Work Text:
On one occasion when Gu Yun was inspecting a border area in the reign of Tai Shi, he heard of a jewel maker famed for his exquisite work amongst the village people.
He didn't pay much mind to it at first. He came from the capital where jewelry of the best quality in the entire country was found, the craftsmanship the common people had praised as such was most likely a common sight in the capital markets. However one day, as he kept hearing about it, he couldn't help his curiosity and decided to visit the store. To his surprise, the workmanship was truly unmatched even compared to those in the capital. And the prices could even be called cheap.
As Gu Yun came to find out, the craftsman was an old man who had wandered the world in his youth and wanted to experience peace in his elder years and had settled in this border town, selling his spectacular work for affordable prices. For him his craft had become his only hobby as well as his job, the work was very detailed, clearly meticulously made. The only flaw was that the gems were of low quality.
So, Gu Yun had fine gems brought to him and asked the master to make him a ring. Gu Yun had only one instruction: the ring shouldn't be inconvenient while writing for someone who dealt with a lot of paperwork on the daily.
Throughout the rest of Gu Yun's stay there, he went to the store occasionally, observing and making sure the ring will fit the person it was meant for but not interfering elsewhere. He could then more than ever tell that this old man was highly experienced and skilled.
When the time for his departure came the ring still hadn't been finished. Not wanting to rush the master he resolved to letting someone bring it to him later. It was after a while that the finished product reached the hands of the Marquis. He then, of course, gifted it to the person he had it made for.
—
Emperor Tai Shi didn't like the emperor's attire with layers upon layers of cloth, finding it inconvenient. So naturally, he avoided accessories that only add even more inconvenience to the attire. The emperor also strangely dressed in relatively simple robes, as he didn't understand nor care for all the patterns and various types of fabric with almost no difference from each other.
This is why, as His Majesty started to show up with an increasing number of rings on his fingers as time flew the people become curious. For someone who does everything according to efficiency, even when it comes to his clothing and meals, what purpose wearing more than twenty rings could serve?
The truth was, his beloved loved the way his fingers looked decorated by rings so much that every time he went to inspect the frontiers and wandered in markets he would keep an eye out for beautiful rings to bring back home so he could see how they would look wrapped around those dear fingers, sometimes having them made personally by various skillful craftsmen.
When dressing for the day's court, the Emperor truly couldn't choose between the many rings he had gotten. He didn't have a preference when it came to these matters, as such, valuing them simply with his feelings, all of them were equally precious gifts from his person. Hence he started wearing all of them at the same time. Although after a while he physically couldn't wear all of them at the same time, no matter how much he wanted to, because his fingers didn't have enough space to carry all of them, reluctantly having to choose between them.
The said beloved even wanted to carve a ring for him himself. He didn't end up liking his first few tries and wished to get rid of them, planning to keep trying until he can get results he's satisfied with but His Majesty insisted on wearing them, having to compromise, he put them in a necklace for him, hidden under the many layers of his royal robes only for the wearer to know and see.
This incident had slipped from Emperor Tai Shi's mind after a long time. It was then that the lover gave him a beautifully made ring carved by himself, engraved with his imperceptible and renowned calligraphy. This one was for His Majesty to wear on his finger, not his neck. Receiving this gift His Majesty part helplessly, part joyfully thought, after all, once this person in his household makes up his mind to do something, he will only be satisfied when the product is excellent.
With time, imitating the dragon, the nobles in the capital also started to wear rings as a statement of wealth and nobility. But alas, the rings they wore to display might couldn't be as precious as those the emperor wore, gifted to him by his cherished person.
—
The Marshall would notice at times how that person unconsciously toyed with the rings he had gifted him.
His eyes would drift to those hands when the person is sitting in that place reserved for the one above everyone else, listening to the people, and would often catch him kneading and turning those rings absentmindedly. When that same person is sitting in the study which belonged to him once, buried in paperwork, busy to the point of not yet having had time to remove his formal clothes, Gu Yun would find him unwittingly rubbing them to his lips.
At the end of the day, when getting ready to go to bed, he would sometimes take the hands in his own, removing the rings one by one himself. Gu Yun would lightly laugh when this person thanked him in return, what is he thanking him for?