Hua Yan's name was known to all on the day the Crown Prince selected his concubines; she wasn't some nameless nobody.
Xia Ze hadn't expected this woman to be the Crown Princess Consort; even at his young age and often housebound due to illness, he had still heard plenty of rumors about her.
The rumors about her boiled over like hot water earlier this year when, after she entered the capital, she kicked out Young Master Zizhan from Shunfang Gambling House and drew a disastrous Marriage Destiny Fortune Stick at Qingshui Temple on Banbi Mountain. Then came the rumors of her infertility, causing quite a stir.
The liveliest gossip concerned the Empress Dowager issuing a Marriage Annulment Decree: the Hua Family of Lin'an caught it perfectly, spreading the decree far and wide. His servant brought him a rubbed copy of the decree from outside, which he also perused.
