OOC: This is postdated.September 4374Southern Voice is a left-leaning magazine, focusing predominantly on political, cultural and economic events in Shu, Han and Southern Anle
Historically, the magazine has had a close relationship with the Sun Clan and the Imperial HouseholdEXCLUSIVE: Crown Prince marries commoner with massive outpouring of supportStory by Wang TingfeiOVER THE SUMMER, the Indralan public has been gripped by a real life fairy-tale, occurring between the dashing Crown Prince and a lowly peasant. In a feud held inside the Imperial Palace, which extraordinarily was leaked to the public, the Imperial Household faced off with scholars, priests, servants and bureaucrats, who had expressed their discontent over the Prince's choice to marry a commoner.
The vast majority of Indralans never get to hear the voice of a monarch, however it is likely that most will now never forget that of Prince Yinju, as he declared, "[his] heart is already promised" to the commoner, Miss Kwan Jiang, in a debate which was secretly recorded and
leaked to the media. Despite the Prince's sincerity, the Imperial Household staff continued to protest the engagement, and refused to send betrothal gifts to Kwan. At one point, a servant went as far as to make a threat against Kwan's life, which enraged the Prince such that he reportedly said to a staffer:
"I will begin my walk to the servants' wing of the palace. If [the servant in question] is not arrested and removed by the time I get there, I will kill him with my own two hands."
The news of the Palace establishment working not only against the wishes of the Imperial Household, but in an elitist way against the marriage infuriated the Indralan public. Thousands of Indralans of all political and religious stripes gathered outside of the Palace chanting in support of Yinju. Many republicans even joined their monarchist compatriots in their support of the marriage. The Nationalist Alliance, which advocates a reformist position with regard to the monarchy,
issued a statement in support of the Crown Prince.
By the end of May, the Emperor had issued an proclamation confirming the marriage, but it was blocked from leaving the Imperial Palace by bureaucrats within the Imperial Household Agency. This was the final move which incensed the Emperor and influenced him to make the decision to
fire 1,000 staff members, including a full sweep of the Palace bureaucracy. Awaiting the dismissed servants were thousands of angry Indralans, loaded with an arsenal of expired produce.
With the fundamental officials in the bureaucracy replaced, the Emperor was able to issue a proclamation, which was delivered to the Grand Assembly on
5 June 4374, in which the Emperor said:
"Having already earned Heaven’s ire, [the staff] still thought to be obstreperous and take an egocentric path. How could one regard this disobedience and contrariness as “righteousness”? Thus, the various servants and staff in their fallings simply brought to themselves their fate outside of the Imperial Palace."
The Emperor also discussed his belief in meritocracy and equality as he bestowed his blessing on the marriage, which was set to occur on 6 September 4374. This proclamation, directly dictated by the Emperor and much longer than the most recent marriage proclamation (
between Princess Subin and Prince Jebr of Jelbania) was received by the public enthusiastically.
The Emperor also ensured a vast range of bridal gifts including various gold jewelry, aged tea, money and furniture were sent to Kwan Jiang, much larger than those sent to his own in-laws. Thousands of Indralans flanked the route from Kwan's rural Shu Province village to Tian'an wishing to catch a glimpse of the rags-to-riches princess. However the shy girl, surely and understandably out of her element kept the carriage curtain closed for most of the trip. In breach of protocol, and perhaps in recognition of the value of public pressure, the Crown Prince received his bride outside of the Gate to the Imperial Palace, allowing the public to briefly see the two royals together. Video of Kwan's smile as she sees Yinju has gone viral on Indralan social media.
The two were wed in a traditional and private Jienist ceremony within the Imperial Palace. Well-wishers gathered outside the Palace walls were informed of the marriage by 9 booming strikes of a gong, which sparked a massive celebration in the streets of Tian'an. Having married a commoner, the "People's Prince" as he was first called
in 4367 has certainly lived up to this title.
OOC: For a first person perspective, click here.