All I took from the experience was the sudden understanding that Yun Yu was actually very poetic.
Regardless, I still enjoyed myself quite thoroughly. My strongest impression was of the Huadiao wine Yun Yu had warmed, the memory of which I kept with me to this day.
Sadly, it was now nearly summer and no time to drink warm wine. In addition, my arm had yet to heal, so I had to abstain.
Therefore, at the table I ate only a bit of plain food and took one cup of wine to moisten my mouth and raise my spirits slightly.
At this meal, Yun Tang, Wang Qin, and I, the three great tumors, sat together, and Yun Tang and Wang Qin had each brought along a little tumor of his own, making a perfect contrast, a brilliant sight. This unavoidably gave me a lasting feeling of poignancy.
This meeting today was for the purpose of deciding the time to act, to seize the throne, to imprison or kill Qizhe.
“What time will suit Your Highness Prince Huai?” Yun Tang asked me.
“Any time,” I said.
Yun Tang and Wang Qin still had business to attend to in a few areas; balancing the relative merits and shortcomings, the date was settled for the fteenth of the fth month.
Counting it up, I had been part of the conspiracy for several years. About a month from now, there would at last be an end to it.
When I rose from the table to visit the latrine, after leaving the room, I couldn’t help feeling another bout of sentiment.
During my years of participation, I had contributed to all their plans and strategies. Supposing the emperor or the empress dowager really did become aware of it and the whole thing went up in ames, had I a hundred thousand mouths, I would be unable to talk my way out of assuming guilt.
I stood beside a rock in an open space. I heard Yun Yu’s voice say, “Why is Your Highness standing here instead of returning to the table?”
“I thought the scenery was lovely and couldn’t resist pausing to look,” I said.
Yun Yu smiled and came to stand beside me. He said nothing further. In the warm shades of late spring, he resembled a painting of in nite grace.
On the subject of Yun Yu, I had always felt some qualms, which, combined with guilt, had formed an indescribable tangle.
Yun Yu and Wang Xuan were roughly of an age with my imperial nephews, and they had both been friendly with them in the past. Their familiarity with me had all come after I had joined the conspiracy.
Perhaps because of Yun Yu’s facility in social interactions, his father, Yun Tang, had given him an assignment; in recent years, he had grown closer to me. Leaving aside the conspiracy and his background, Yun Yu was in fact delightful company, with some interests that dovetailed perfectly with mine, so I had gradually been going around with him more and more often, and
he came regularly to Huai Manor. It was precisely this that had caused rumors to sprout up.
Yun Yu was the most remarkable among the aristocratic scions and the court’s young o cials both. Admittedly, he was Yun Tang’s son, but in erudition, experience, craft, ability, and so on, he did indeed surpass others; someone like Wang Xuan was clearly inferior. But perhaps he was too young and self-satis ed. A display of his abilities unavoidably made others say that he was sly and sophisticated, when in reality he was still too easygoing, and nowhere near Liu Tongyi in terms of conduct. Therefore, though Liu Tongyi wasn’t much older than him, at court he surpassed Yun Yu considerably on every front.
Had there been no conspiracy, Yun Yu would certainly have been a future pillar of the court. But a month from now, when the rebellion was revealed, Yun Yu might not even make it out with his life.
I was often thrown into melancholy, sighing at the thought that Liu Tongyi might well be thinking of how to get rid of me. Whether he really did want to eliminate me, I could not know for sure, but each and every one of my own actions was indeed another step toward Yun Yu’s death. Who was I to wallow in self-pity?
Fortunately, I could guess that, should the rebellion succeed, Yun Tang, Wang Qin, and the rest would certainly act in concert to do away with me, leaving their two sides in opposition; or perhaps they would borrow my strength to get rid of one side, then turn around and dispose of me. So even now Yun Yu’s every action might be a step in a plot against my life. That thought made me feel easier.
Many things could not be considered in detail. The more one considered them, the more they chilled the heart.
Taking the current situation as a whole, Yun Tang and Wang Qin wanted to seize the throne and kill Qizhe. In order to demonstrate my loyalty, to defend the Jing family’s empire and Qizhe’s throne, I was a spy inside the conspiracy, seeking the deaths of Yun Tang and the others. The empress dowager, Qizhe, Liu Tongyi, and the court’s honest o cials thought that I was of a kind with Yun Tang and Wang Qin, so they wanted to kill me.
Then the Yun and Wang factions both wanted to eliminate me, and even more to eliminate each other once the rebellion was a fait accompli.
Circles within circles, every person a knife, and each also the sh on the slab.
I still remembered when I had rst become Yun Tang and Wang Qin’s co-conspirator. During a discussion one day, Yun Tang had pointed to Yun Yu beside him and said, “This is my unworthy son Yun Yu, who made his rst entry into court not long ago. I hope Your Highness Prince Huai might instruct him in the future.”
Yun Yu rose, bowed to me, and smiled. Though we had been acquainted before, it was only from that day forth that we really became familiar.
I had never taken notice before, but now I realized that while he didn’t seem to have changed at all in the interim, he had actually changed quite a bit. Of course, so had I. When I had rst become a spy, I had been coasting on a swell of pure hot blood. Now that the great work was on the point of ful llment, my blood had cooled, and I was conscious of the passage of time.
I couldn’t help but sigh. Yun Yu looked at me with his eyebrows raised, still saying nothing.
“This moment and scene make me wistful,” I said. “Life is always changing. When a moment is gone, there is no bringing back the time that
has passed. And at this moment, we cannot bring back the mood of the past.”
Yun Yu’s lips tipped up slightly. Finally he said, “Your Highness, when the wish of many years is on the point of being ful lled, why are you melancholy?”
Since I was already feeling wistful, I might as well do it fully. “It is precisely because of this that I cannot help feeling melancholy.” I looked ahead of me at the swaying canopies of the trees. “Supervisor Yun, if you were not Grand Tutor Yun’s son, would you still be taking part in this?”
Yun Yu turned his head to look at me and said, “What? Does Your Highness mean to ask whether it is only because of my father that I follow you?”
“No,” I said. “Act for the moment as though I were not Prince Huai, only Jing Weiyi, and I will only see you as Yun Yu.”
“In that case,” said Yun Yu, “I can only answer with three words: I don’t know.” He turned his head and looked into the distance as well. “I don’t normally think of such things. There’s too much in front of me to think about already. Why concern myself with nonexistent phantasms? Although
—”
Yun Yu turned back and glanced at me with his brow furrowed. “Can Your Highness still be hung up on Liu Tongyi? Is that the cause of your wistfulness?”
I froze, then said, “Why would you say such a thing? That has nothing to do with it.”
With his hands behind his back, Yun Yu said, “To speak freely, there is really no need for Your Highness to trouble yourself overmuch. The situation is what it is. Our positions have changed. It is outside of our
control. I think that, between us on one hand, and the emperor, the empress dowager, Liu Tongyi, and the honest o cials on the other, it cannot be said who is more righteous. The victor is king, the loser is an outlaw—that is the sole genuine principle in this world. If we succeed, we are right. If we fail, we are traitors. Though His Majesty is Your Highness’s nephew and the present emperor, if he wishes to be rid of us, why can we not wish to be rid of him?”
He spoke so directly that it made me break out in sweat to hear him.
There was sense in everything he said, but to say it so openly, he must have had no fear of being overheard.
I turned the subject away. “Don’t worry. Even if I were still hung up on Liu Tongyi, that would not cause me to disrupt our deployments. Now that you’ve brought up Chancellor Liu,” I said, raising my hand to touch the wound on my arm, “I will say that your gift is truly a little hard to stomach, Supervisor Yun.”
Yun Yu smiled. “I was just looking for a suitable time to explain that to Your Highness. It was a mistake on my part that caused Your Highness to be injured. My original plan did not include that. Your Highness’s wound was unintentional.”
According to Yun Yu, he hadn’t known I would take that road that day. He had previously arranged for the people reporting their grievance to be there, intending that they would stop the sedan, then stab Liu Tongyi. An assassination attempt on the imperial chancellor was no small matter; it would have necessitated a serious investigation. If I had taken the opportunity to volunteer myself to the emperor, perhaps I could have taken over supervision of the case. This way, I would have been in and out of the
imperial chancellor’s residence to check in on him, deepening our relationship.
Narrowing his eyes, Yun Yu said, “When the plan was about to be carried out that day, I was sitting in a tea shop. I happened to see Your Highness’s sedan enter Twilight House. Considering the time, I guessed that you might run into the action, so I instructed those people to act as they saw expedient, and to stab Chancellor Liu or Your Highness as the chance presented itself. I didn’t think it would turn out to be such a success, with Your Highness boldly rescuing Chancellor Liu.” With an expression that seemed very moved, Yun Yu said, “I suppose it was destiny!”
I’d have to be an idiot to take it for destiny.
When it came to Yun Yu, I really had no idea what to do.
Yun Yu smiled. He was outwardly apologetic but had self-satisfaction written all over his face. I only said, “Thank you for thinking of me, Supervisor Yun. I do not know whom you might love in the future, nor what kind of person they will be. I think that perhaps they will not have an easy time.”
Yun Yu’s expression instantly stilled. Then, smiling again, he said, “Why?”
“Your idea of a gift is to stab a person,” I said. “From this I infer that if you fell in love, you might prick that person as full of holes as a honeycomb.”
Granted that I was joking, this was also the truth. Yun Yu sometimes went overboard. If he married one day, and his wife dared to look at another man, or give him an extra smile, or an excess word, perhaps it would provoke Yun Yu into a rage, and he would stab her a few dozen times.
Yun Yu laughed. “So that’s how Your Highness sees me.” Something was o about his tone. I realized that his expression had changed greatly, and his
smile had morphed into a sneer.
I was a little astonished. Yun Yu suppressed his sneer and said calmly,
“Your Highness’s injury was indeed an error on my part. I took only a brief interest in the matter of Chancellor Liu, but I have given o ense. I hope Your Highness will be magnanimous and make allowances for my shortcomings.” With a ick of his sleeve, he turned and left.
I was even more bewildered. Yun Yu had always been able to take a joke, and he had never spoken with such an attitude. Why would he suddenly act like this?
Could it be that something I’d said had inadvertently prodded some secret hurt of his?
Not long after I returned to the table, Yun Tang and Wang Qin went their separate ways. Yun Yu accompanied his father, and I left after them.
Yun Yu had by now resumed his usual manner, as if our conversation in the open space had never happened. I treated it as if it had not happened as well, letting it go.
When I returned home and had just sat down, someone came to announce that Imperial Chancellor Liu had come to visit.
Liu Tongyi was here. What had he come for?
Maybe he thought it would be proper to come regularly to check on the condition of my injury.
Maybe he had learned of me going to Yuehua Pavilion and was coming to investigate.
At any rate, he couldn’t be coming because he missed me. But despite that, I couldn’t resist being glad for his visit.
I went forward to receive him and took him to sit in the waterside pavilion in the rear courtyard.
This pavilion was on the lake, with a oating walkway linking it to the shore. When renovating it, I had given particular instructions for some extra bends to be added to the oating walkway, so it zigzagged over the water, looking artistic from a distance.
It might be said that in all of Huai Manor, this pavilion best demonstrated my elegance.
So I led Liu Tongyi through one courtyard after another, and even when several times on the way, he had politely said, “Your Highness, we can sit anywhere at all,” I persisted; it had to be the waterside pavilion.
After about one mark, we nally reached the entrance to the oating walkway beside Four Seasons Lake. I said modestly to Liu Tongyi, “I personally oversaw the construction of the waterside pavilion and the oating walkway. Every time I come to the pavilion, I feel as if my heart has escaped the mundane and become like the water, like the wind touching the sky.”
“Yes,” Liu Tongyi said positively. “Listening to Your Highness, I also feel as though I am oating, leaving the mundane.” Receiving his con rmation, my pleasure was heartfelt.
As we followed the oating walkway and came to a small gazebo midway, I put my hand on Liu Tongyi’s shoulder and stopped. Liu Tongyi stood still as well, looking a little startled. I smiled faintly at him and rotated a stone crane beside a support beam in a half circle. The oating walkway that had been connected to the land retracted, accompanied by the clank of machinery, breaking contact with the lakeshore.
As expected, surprise and inquiry appeared in Liu Tongyi’s expression.
Modest again, I said, “This retractable walkway is also something I thought of and brought in a craftsman to make.” I looked out on the mirrorlike surface of the lake. “Because I am often sunk too deeply in the mundane, retracting the walkway makes my heart feel more thoroughly divorced from the noise of the world.”
Liu Tongyi looked at me, and the corners of his lips twitched. He said,
“Your Highness truly is a man free of earthly concerns.”
I stared at him and said earnestly, “No, I am a vulgar man. I often strive to improve.”
Liu Tongyi’s lips moved again. Also very earnest, he looked at me and said, “Your Highness, I think you are already far enough removed from the vulgar as it is.”
I held back my undulating emotions. “Chancellor Liu, do you mean that sincerely?”
Liu Tongyi smiled and nodded. “I do.”
At this moment, I could not suppress the surging torrent in my heart.
Unable to help myself, I said, “I nd that at a time like this, my thoughts can nd an echo in yours. I wonder if I might occasionally call you Ransi.”
I had recited the name Ransi in my heart as many times as there were stars in the sky. But it was only on the current strength of my emotions that I could ask this question.
Liu Tongyi froze, then smiled again. “If Your Highness is willing to address me that way, then I am inexpressibly honored.” His hair wasn’t fully bound up today, and his gure in its thin jade-green robe seemed ready to dissolve amidst the blue-green of the lake.
These were the most apparent of formulaic pleasantries. I took them to mean he really did consent, so I called out, “Ransi.”
Liu Tongyi was still smiling. “Your Highness.”
I led Liu Tongyi into the pavilion.
The waterside pavilion had only ve or six rooms. Apart from the two rear corners, where a washroom and latrine were fully partitioned o , the rest of the rooms opened onto each other, spacious and bright, with only screens, bead curtains, or carved wooden shelves making an incomplete partition. I took Liu Tongyi around to have a look at everything, and then we sat on either side of a small table behind a curtain of crystal. I took up the tea set on the table and made tea.
Liu Tongyi lent a hand. “I was just wondering how tea would be brought once the oating walkway leading to the shore was retracted. It turns out this has been arranged.”
“I often spend time here,” I said, “so all kinds of things are fully prepared.”
Actually, apart from when I wanted to cool o in summer, I didn’t come here much. The princess had liked this place very much and often came to it as a retreat. This way she wouldn’t see me, and if she sighed, played the zither, recited poetry, or cried, I wouldn’t know about it; both sides had peace. I suspected that this was where she’d had clandestine meetings with the guard. Perhaps her child had been conceived on the bed here.
As such, all the furnishings in the waterside pavilion had been swapped out over the last few days and smelled brand new. I hoped Liu Tongyi wouldn’t notice.
The tea leaves, tea set, water, mixed fruits, pastries, and so on, were also all present because I had instructed Chief Steward Cao to prepare them at
once while I went to receive Liu Tongyi.
Liu Tongyi added tea leaves to the pot. “While this place is tranquil, it is built on the water and is very damp. Your Highness’s wound has not yet healed. You ought to rest in drier retiring rooms for the time being.”
“Yes,” I lamented, “with this injury, I must temporarily be more vulgar.”
Liu Tongyi’s hand paused as he held a silver scoop of tea leaves. He said nothing.
As the steam coiled, the room lled with the aroma of tea. I said, “Ransi, it is very good of you to go out of your way to come see me so often.”
“I caused Your Highness to be injured,” said Liu Tongyi. “If Your Highness says such a thing again, I will not be able to endure it.”
Pouring the tea, I said, “You came at a lucky time today, Ransi. I had just returned from Yuehua Pavilion. If I had been one mark later, I might have missed you.”
“There is no coincidence about that,” said Liu Tongyi. “I knew Your Highness had gone to Yuehua Pavilion today.” Holding up his teacup, he turned his head to look at me. “I thought that Your Highness would be back by now, so I came over. No luck involved.”
My hand paused. I put my teacup on the table. “You speak candidly, beyond my expectations. You are always so polite and formal with me, I had thought that it would be near impossible to hear you speak from the heart.”
Ransi had spoken openly to me of Yuehua Pavilion. What did he mean by it? I felt a myriad of emotions when he said this, yet all of them left me bereft.
“Because Your Highness speaks candidly, if I continued to conceal and evade, it would be too pompous of me.” He smiled, then put down his teacup. “Every word Your Highness spoke earlier had poetry underlying it.
Each phrase oated in the ether, perfectly re ned. I am a truly vulgar person. I do not know how best to address Your Highness when you are so re ned. This is all I can manage.”
I froze amid the re ned steam rising from the tea, a little bewildered.
“Well, Ransi… I… I think that… you…”
Liu Tongyi leaned against the table, frowning slightly. “Actually, I have never understood Your Highness’s attitude. When Your Highness speaks to others, it isn’t like this, but as soon as you speak to me, you immediately seem to become a di erent person. Therefore, my manner in front of Your Highness has always been fearful, my speech carefully considered and a ected.”
I was frozen for a long time, then nally put my hand to my forehead and let out a lengthy sigh. “Of course I can’t fool you. The di erence between a put-on act and true elegance is apparent.”
It was as if a hammer had smashed my misty dream. I couldn’t help saying with a smile, “Actually, it costs me a great deal of e ort to talk like that. If I’d known you su ered so much to hear it, I wouldn’t have su ered so much myself.”
The mist dispersed, the clouds parted. It turned out that it was I, and not Liu Tongyi, who had been up in the air all this time.
“Thank you for being direct today, Chancellor Liu,” I said. “I don’t know how long I would have gone on like that otherwise. I’ll tell you the truth. I don’t often come to this waterside pavilion. I’ve gone out of my way to receive you here so I could put up a front. It’s true that I oversaw the construction of the pavilion, but it was only renovated, not rebuilt.”
Liu Tongyi raised his eyebrows. I said, “This place was built by my father.
He called it the diligence room. When I was little, he would lock me up in
here every day to study. The mechanism for retracting the bridge used to be operated from the shore, not from this end. He would retract the bridge, and all I could do was sit here and behave myself. It was just like being in a water prison. Even after it was renovated, I still feel a little nervous here.”
Smiling, Liu Tongyi said, “So that’s it. No wonder those bookshelves over there are lled with things like Throne of the Gods and A Hero in Troubled Times. ”
“So that’s what gave me away,” I said with a bitter smile. “How embarrassing.”
I looked at Liu Tongyi. “Ransi, since we have discarded the formalities and the posturing, I want to ask you, what do you think… of me as a person? At court everyone says that I am the court’s greatest malignant tumor, a power-hungry, treacherous prince, a troublemaker at heart. What do you think?”
I xed my gaze upon him. Liu Tongyi’s expression was calm. “A person might not even have a clear idea of what kind of a person he is himself.
How could outsiders pronounce an accurate judgment? Treachery or loyalty are only standpoints. People in di erent positions have di erent views.
Nothing in the world is absolute.”
“And you, Ransi,” I said, “what do you think my standpoint is?”
Liu Tongyi did not answer.
I looked at the surface of the lake outside the waterside pavilion. “Let me speak a little plainer today. It grati es me very much that you didn’t answer just now, because you didn’t speak a falsehood in front of me. I often wonder, if I weren’t Prince Huai and you weren’t Liu Tongyi, would we at least be able to be good friends? If I did not have the title of Prince Huai, I really would only want to be a carefree idler. If you did not have to be imperial chancellor, what would you want to do, Chancellor Liu?”
“Well,” said Liu Tongyi, “I suppose I would also want to be an idler wandering all over the world. Idleness truly is the rarest of things.”
I stood. “Rare it is. There are so many things outside of one’s control. For example, I am currently doing something, and I do not know whether it is right or wrong.”
Liu Tongyi walked over beside me. “I think everyone must encounter situations in which right and wrong are hard to determine. There is something I want to say to Your Highness, though I don’t know whether it is right or wrong. While Your Highness’s injury has yet to heal, you should not go to places like Yuehua Pavilion.”
I turned and stared at Liu Tongyi, then nally managed to ask, “Ransi, as far as my injury goes, do you suspect that I actually arranged it on purpose?
So that I… could get close to you.”
Liu Tongyi looked back at me, his expression and his eyes still as calm as water. “I had not thought of that. Your Highness did no such thing.”
I thought that if Yun Yu had sent a hundred people to brandish their knives and stab me as full of holes as a honeycomb, it would have been worth it to hear this.
Pressing on, I asked, “Well, would you think that I might have ulterior motives for getting close to you?”
Liu Tongyi’s expression sti ened. With a bitter smile, I said, “Don’t answer that.”
And he did not speak. Only, after a moment, and then another moment, I heard a soft sigh.
A hundred thousand emotions surged restlessly in my heart. In spite of myself, I said, “Whether you believe it or not, in everything I say to you, everything I do for you, there is never any ulterior motive.”
Having said it, I was the rst to think it ridiculous. “No, that’s wrong. I ought to say that I have nothing but ulterior motives.”
I met Liu Tongyi’s eyes as they turned on me. “Ransi, actually, I love you.”
Immediately after, I added, “I only wanted to tell you. You don’t need to answer.” I had a fairly good idea of how Ransi would answer me.
Liu Tongyi stared at me. Suddenly, his expression seemed a little lost.
After a moment, he said, “I see.”
It was a surprise to me that I had said it. And just as well that I had.
Perhaps saying it now was for the best. Heaven, or I myself, had nally given me an opportunity. I had thought that I would never live to say it, and having said it, I became increasingly forthright.
I said point-blank, “There’s no need to worry, Chancellor Liu. I’m only saying this because for once I felt like telling the whole truth. I know you are an honorable man, and cutsleeve tendencies are nothing to aunt. I’m sure that my saying these things to you will make you unhappy. I really am very sorry. I don’t know myself why I should love you, but I’ve never been able to let it go. I already regret telling you. Once you leave here, Ransi, just forget everything that happened here today. If you distance yourself from me now and don’t come visit again, it would be completely understandable.”
I had kept my eyes on the surface of the lake outside as I spoke. When I was nished, I was still looking at the water, and kept looking.
Beside me, Liu Tongyi appeared quite calm. My heart hung suspended, waiting, waiting. A long moment later, I heard him speak again. He said, “I see.”
Then once again there was nothing.
I couldn’t resist looking at him. He was also looking at me.
I resisted, resisted to the point that I could resist no more. I said, “Ransi…
isn’t there anything else you want to say to me?”
Liu Tongyi raised his eyebrows and said, “With his a ections at Mount Wu engaged, what needs King Xiang in dreams to seek Jiangnan? ”8
I smiled bitterly. “Don’t worry, Chancellor Liu. Henceforth, I will not mention such things again.”
“It grows late,” Liu Tongyi said. “I fear if I stay longer, I will be disturbing Your Highness’s rest. I will bid you farewell.”
Vapor from the lake beyond the railing seeped into the folds of my clothing. Cold entered my heart.
“Very well,” I said, “I’ll see you out.”
Liu Tongyi and I left the waterside pavilion together. It was dusk now, with ruddy clouds covering half the sky and the whole lake sunk in twilight.
When we reached the gazebo that contained the machinery, I rotated the stone crane, and the oating walkway clanked out once more to link to the shore.
I said, “Ransi…”
Liu Tongyi turned his head and stopped walking. I smiled. “Don’t worry.
Once we leave here, I won’t call you that again.”
Liu Tongyi’s expression wavered, as if he wanted to say something, but he did not say it.
Halfway through the night, I stood outside the door to my bedroom, looking at the solitary moon and coldly twinkling stars. I couldn’t sleep.
Chu Xun’s footsteps started and stopped behind me, then started again, and at last crept up to my side. “Your Highness, it is late, and the dews are heavy. Go to sleep.”
So I returned to the room with him. I lay down and still found it hard to sleep.
Suddenly, close to my ear, Chu Xun said softly, “Your Highness, I… would like to return to Twilight House.”
I rolled over and took his hand under the covers. “A-Mi no longer wishes to stay with me?”
“Staying here, I can give Your Highness no help, perhaps only make trouble,” said Chu Xun.
I frowned and said, “Who told you that?”
Chu Xun did not speak again. But in fact it would be good for him to return to Twilight House.
So I sighed and said, “Then stay with me until tomorrow. After breakfast, I’ll have you escorted back.”
“Thank you, Your Highness,” Chu Xun said quietly.
The next morning, Chu Xun returned to Twilight House. My bed was once again empty, and my heart felt empty too.
Some days later, Yun Yu once again invited me to Yuehua Pavilion. This time we occupied only a small, secluded courtyard, the two of us sitting on the veranda. Yun Yu said, “I detect an anxious cast to Your Highness’s expression. Have you su ered some recent setback?”
I picked up my wine cup. “That’s funny. If you can detect anxiety on my face, you might easily take over the work of the Ministry of Justice or the Court of Judicial Review, or the soothsayer in the street.”
Yun Yu shook his head. “You atter me. It’s too bad there is no mirror here for Your Highness to see your face.” He rotated his wine cup with a half-smile. “I hear Chu Xun recently returned to Twilight House. He isn’t the moody sort. Did you do something to upset him, Your Highness?”
I rubbed the center of my brow and set down my cup. “Supervisor Yun, what gossip have you been listening to now? Just tell it to me all at once.”
Yun Yu sipped his wine and said with a smile, “It’s nothing, only I’ve heard that lately Your Highness has begun another love a air. You’ve turned your attentions to Chancellor Liu and have no more time for Young Master Chu Xun. I thought this was a scurrilous rumor. But seeing Your Highness’s expression today, the romantic tragedy written across your features, I am forced to conjecture and ask pointed questions. I am being a little meddlesome. Don’t take o ense, Your Highness.”
I had expected Yun Yu to know about Chu Xun returning to Twilight House. As for Ransi visiting that day and my taking him to the waterside pavilion, Yun Yu must have been aware of that too. If he didn’t say something to me about it, that wouldn’t be like Yun Yu.
Feigning glibness, I said, “Chancellor Liu’s visit to Huai Manor was perfectly ordinary. Though I really do not know why Chu Xun suddenly wanted to return to Twilight House. I haven’t felt comfortable going to see him again these past few days, alas.”
“Chu Xun isn’t normally moody,” said Yun Yu. “Go see him, Your Highness. Say something. I think it’ll be ne. Hasn’t Your Highness always been good at talking people around?”
“Thank you for the compliment, Supervisor Yun,” I said un appably,
“though I am certainly unworthy of such praise. Speaking of which, your anger must have burned out, since you invited me to dine. A few days ago at Yuehua Pavilion, I really don’t know what I said to upset you. Your expression was all wrong. Was it really something I said that touched a sore spot?”
Yun Yu’s expression stilled slightly. He said indi erently, “Oh, I would have forgotten all about it had Your Highness not mentioned it. I just happened to run into some trouble that day, so I behaved a little rudely.
Please forgive me.”
“It’s nothing, it’s nothing,” I said hastily. “I was just mentioning it.”
I had brought this up only to stop Yun Yu talking and facilitate changing the subject. Half a pot of wine later, with feigned carelessness, I asked Yun Yu, “How have things been at court lately? I have not been to the palace these past few days.”
Yun Yu’s brows pinched together. “It’s been all right, perfectly peaceful on the surface, only… His Majesty… almost certainly knows something. He is making preparations.” Yun Yu xed his eyes on me. “His Majesty has not summoned Your Highness these past few days?”
I shook my head. “No.”
There had been absolute silence from Qizhe recently. Since that day at Huai Manor when I had given him that earnest counsel, I had not been summoned into the imperial presence.
But that had put me in a precarious state. I didn’t know what the emperor was planning.
“There will certainly be preparations,” I continued. “We considered that while laying our plans. But they are unlikely to have concrete evidence, and none of the generals or ministers have taken action recently. Come the fth month, everything will be as good as settled. Even if they know, there will be nothing they can do to us.”
Frowning, Yun Yu said, “I suppose so.” He held back his sleeve and poured the wine. “But my father has heard a piece of news. In the next few days,
His Majesty may be summoning Your Highness Prince Huai and some other princes to the palace for a conference. I do not know for what purpose.”
This news surprised me somewhat. The empress dowager had always kept me strictly segregated from the older princes and, in order to keep us from joining forces, often played favorites among us. Apart from the rst day of each year or some major event we were required to attend together, I had scarcely ever discussed a airs of state with the other princes of my generation. If this news were true, I could surmise little of Qizhe’s intentions.
“Then I’ll nd out when I go,” I said.
Yun Yu looked at me. “I have always counseled Your Highness in the past, and I must say it again. Liu Tongyi is a di cult character. Your Highness ought to stay away from him. Do not be taken in by him.”
I couldn’t help smiling. “You worry too much, Suiya. What could Liu Tongyi do to take me in, and how could I be taken in? Oh, yes, Suiya, I trust you have been managing in the imperial presence and at court?”
Yun Yu looked at me again, then downed the wine in his cup in one gulp.
Then he said, “It is only at such a time that Your Highness would use my courtesy name. I am so unaccustomed to hearing it that it took me a moment to understand what you were saying.” He looked at me with another half-smile. “It seems that Your Highness’s feelings for Chancellor Liu are profound indeed.”
It must be said Yun Yu’s eyes were very sharp.
“So what if they are?” I said. “I’m not so dazzled that I can’t see how things stand. We just aren’t the same kind of person. Sometimes who one has feelings for—or doesn’t—is down to fate.”
Yun Yu nodded slowly, his eyes settling on some unknown spot. “Very true, it must be fate.” He raised his hand, poured another cup of wine, and downed it.
I also raised my cup. Inadvertently, we emptied three or four pitchers.
When the wine in the fourth pitcher ran out, Yun Yu stood and went to bring a fth from inside. It seemed he had been prepared today; a full jug had already been prepared.
After a few more cups, my head began to feel heavy. I waved my hand and said, “Enough, enough, I can’t drink anymore. Trying to drown one’s sorrows in wine only brings more sorrow. Let’s put an end to it.”
Yun Yu, leaning against the railing, shook the wine pitcher. “When you have drunk a thousand cups, drunk to intoxication, then a thousand sorrows will be relieved.”
“That’s spurious reasoning,” I said. “Anyway, let’s say I am sick with frustration over unrequited longing for Chancellor Liu. You’re guzzling down no less than I am. Was I right? Is there a knot in your chest you wish to ease?”
Clutching the wine pitcher, Yun Yu frowned. He stared at me, then suddenly said, “Since wine cannot relieve our sorrows, then shall we switch to a di erent method?”
He put down the wine pitcher. Leaning against the railing, he smiled at me. “What if the two of us, with our inextinguishable sorrows, help each other nd some relief?”
“How?” I said.
Yun Yu looked at me with a smile. “Is Your Highness’s heart so set on pursuing Chancellor Liu that you can’t understand me even when I put it like that?”
“Indeed, I do not understand,” I said.
Yun Yu looked at me for a moment, straightened up, and came to me.
Another moment, and I froze.
I am not an idiot. Naturally I understood what Yun Yu meant. I had heard these jokes before. It was just that they had only ever been jokes.
But now…
In my youth, as Qitan and Qili did now, I, too, had often taken coquetry for romance. I remember I had frequented brothels then and once wrote a slightly salacious and not very prosodically sound quatrain: The fog condenses on round cherries,
The dew weighs down banana fronds.
The moon sinks into emerald waters;
Tonight the cotton rose lies becalmed.
A pile of nonsense to look at it now. I wanted very much to pretend I hadn’t written it. But at the time I had been very pleased with myself, even inscribed the poem on a bed canopy and presented it to the prostitute who was with me then. Of course, he couldn’t very well have told me it was bad, and looked touched when he received it.
Every man has been frivolous in his youth.
At this moment, with my lips and tongue locked with Yun Yu’s, the nal two lines of that poem inexplicably emerged in my mind. I didn’t know why.
Perhaps it was the stillness of the owers at the base of the steps, perhaps the softness of the breeze on the veranda, or perhaps the faint fabric perfume within my embrace.
To tell the truth, however you looked at it, temper aside, there was no fault to be found with Yun Yu. I knew he wasn’t like me and normally had no thoughts in that direction. But right now, I couldn’t very well resist having such thoughts.
When I had nearly sunk into those waters, I captured a sliver of reason, took Yun Yu by the shoulders, and moved him away from me. I took a deep breath and with forced calm said, “Supervisor Yun, this isn’t something to joke about.”
Yun Yu’s eyes were like a lake wreathed in mist, slightly curved. “Now Your Highness has stopped calling me Suiya.”
One sentence, a handful of words, became a ne silk thread that stitched a circle at the very tip of my heart.
I smiled bitterly. “Supervisor Yun, another step, and the joke will become reality.”
“And if it really should relieve our sorrows, why not?” Yun Yu said. He was also smiling. “Your Highness and I are already established in rumor anyway.”
“Rumor is one thing,” I said, “and reality is another. I recall that you aren’t one of my kind, Supervisor Yun.”
“It’s only to relieve our sorrows,” Yun Yu said. “Why quibble?”
The worry was that this relief would only lead to ever more sorrow. I sighed and said, “Suiya, I’m not blind. You have something on your mind today, I can tell.” There was a smile on Yun Yu’s lips, but none in his eyes.
Instead his expression held confusion. This looked a little like that common saying—might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb.
I continued, “You’re keeping it all bottled up inside, presumably because you have encountered some di culty you can’t share with others. But you
can’t fall out with yourself over that. What’s more, what if after we’ve nished relieving our sorrows, I fall for you, but you have someone else.
What would I do then?”
Yun Yu laughed. “Your Highness’s heart is lled with Chancellor Liu. No one else will t. I wouldn’t be so unreasonable as to try forcing my way in.”
He disentangled himself and took a few steps back. My arms felt colder without him.
Then I rose. “Even if you mean nothing by it, Suiya, could you call me Chengjun?”
Yun Yu stood by the table a few steps away from me, looking at me now and then. Finally he said, “I do not dare. When Your Highness becomes emperor, if we have a falling out one day, perhaps it will be counted as an o ense that I dared to call you by name.”
It was precisely because of this that even if Yun Yu had been to me like a favorite type of grass to a rabbit, I would have gnawed the bark o all the old trees in the world before turning my thoughts to him.
We were fellow conspirators, wary of each other, and in reality, I was plotting against Yun Yu. If I were to do anything of a relieving type with him, I would truly be inhuman.
Yun Yu picked up the wine pitcher again and poured out a cup. He raised it and downed it in one gulp. “Fine. If it would be an imposition, carrying on will only be irritating. That would be no good.” He looked at me with a half-smile. “I hadn’t thought Your Highness’s feelings for Chancellor Liu were so profound. Is Liu Tongyi all that?”
I returned to my seat and gave a cough. “That’s a matter of opinion. I like his looks, and his temperament seems to suit me.”
Yun Yu nodded, then said nothing else. A painful silence followed. I felt embarrassed and couldn’t keep my seat. I rose and said, “I have other things to do. I must leave.”
“Please go on ahead, Your Highness,” Yun Yu said dully. “I will stay a while longer.”
“Very well, then,” I said.
When I turned to leave, Yun Yu said behind me, “If His Majesty really does summon Your Highness to the palace for a conference, please pay attention.”
I turned and said, “Don’t worry. No matter what, His Majesty can’t really arrest his imperial uncle just like that.”
Except that Yun Yu had told me to pay attention, not to be careful. There must have been something strange afoot.
F
Yun Tang’s information was indeed useful. The next day, rst thing in the morning, an imperial edict arrived ordering me to go to the palace for a conference.
This gathering seemed quite imposing. Apart from myself, a number of other princes in the generation above His Majesty had come.
Prince Zong, Prince Jia, Prince Fu, Prince Shou, Prince Lu, and I—put together, we made up a banquet of six princes.
I didn’t know what matters the emperor planned to confer with me and the ve other princes about at this conference. Qizhe was very young, but his statecraft was sophisticated. His actions were often beyond expectation, making it di cult to guess his intentions.
I had grown lazy from my days recuperating at home. In my formal attire with my hair in a crown, I felt quite constrained, and on top of that, it was almost summer. The many layers of my court robes felt sti ing. I had to put a fan in my sleeve so I could at least cool o in the sedan.
In the palace, a young eunuch came forward to lead me to Xiude Hall, a tranquil hall with a spacious and cool interior, not far from the imperial gardens. When I arrived, Prince Jia, Qili, and Prince Lu were already seated; Prince Shou was in poor health, and for some years Shou Manor had been for all intents and purposes under Qili’s control as heir. Prince Shou could not undertake the journey today, and so Qili was substituting for him as usual. Qili stood and bowed to me. I exchanged courteous greetings with my cousins Prince Jia and Prince Lu, then took a seat.
The head seat in Xiude Hall was the emperor’s throne, while the other six were arranged in two rows of three facing each other. I ought to have sat at the end of the western row, but Qili had come in his father’s place, and he belonged to the generation below me, so he sat in the last seat instead. I moved up one position and sat between Prince Lu and Qili. As soon as I sat down, I took out my fan to cool myself. Across from me, Prince Jia frowned.
My ve cousin princes were all much older than me, especially Prince Zong and Prince Jia, who were the eldest, even older than my father would have been. These two had never had much contact with me, and certainly they had no opinion of Huai Manor’s style or my proclivities.
There had been discord between the father of Chengdian, the current Prince Jia, and my father. Reportedly, the resentment originated in a struggle for favor between the consort mothers of the late Prince Jia and my father.
The previous Prince Jia had been in league with Liu Xian and his ilk, and he had repeatedly asked the Tongguang emperor to take away my father’s military authority in order to forestall his supposed rebellion. To allay his grudge against my father, the Tongguang emperor had assigned the late Prince Jia’s son, Chengdian, to my father’s forces, and told my father to instruct him in warcraft and martial arts, but Chengdian, being proud and ambitious, would never submit to my father’s discipline. Once, when my father returned to the capital, Chengdian seized the opportunity to launch a sneak attack on the foreign forces on his own initiative, and as a result, fell into a trap and lost over a thousand soldiers. My father punished him in accordance with military procedure. The late Prince Jia went to my father to intercede for him, but my father never deviated from his course; he refused, and father and son hated him even more, believing that the whole thing had
been set up by my father to ensnare Chengdian. The feud became ever more entrenched.
By the time the Yingchang emperor ascended the throne and my father voluntarily relinquished part of his military authority to Chengdian and recommended him to the Yingchang emperor for promotion to commander in chief, the late Prince Jia, Chengdian, and the Yingchang emperor all thought that my father was insincere. They didn’t appreciate it at all.
Though Jia Manor and Huai Manor had always been at odds, Chengdian truly was a loyal prince. When the empress dowager pretended to recruit me, Chengdian thought that I had consolidated my power over the court and was planning unknown insults against the emperor’s loyal subjects. So he tossed his sleeves in a rage and gave up that bit of military authority, which no one had ever wanted him to give up, and shut himself in Jia Manor to write poetry expounding upon his emotions all day. I’d heard that for a time one whole wall of Jia Manor’s study had been plastered with Prince Jia’s sentimental poems. Among them, one long poem, the “Song of the Old Goose,” was particularly well-known. In it, Prince Jia compared Qizhe to the sun, me to dark clouds blotting the sky, and himself to a rm and unyielding old goose.
He was convinced that all good and evil in the world would ultimately receive their just rewards. One day there would be an end to all treacherous ministers. Dark clouds could only temporarily obscure the sun and sky. In the end, the world would burn away the blight and reveal the universe in its full brilliance. The old goose, though his wings be broken by hail, his feathers all plucked by the raging winds swirling through the dark clouds, and his head nearly buried in snow, would continue to lie dormant in heaps of withered grass, on the branches of old trees, holding his head high to
look to the sky until the day came when sunlight shone upon him, letting him regrow his plucked feathers and soar through the blue heavens beside the sun.
Prince Jia collected the long and short poems he had written over the years into an anthology, which he called Songs of a Wild Goose in a Thatched Hut. He had dozens of copies printed. My father-in-law, Li Yue, had received one, and it was said that when he read it, he wept and did not eat for two days. Out of curiosity, I also got myself a copy. I was young and impetuous then. Reading the “Song of the Old Goose” left me very moved. I could not help o ering commentary: “Wild geese migrate north in spring and summer, and travel south in autumn and winter. How could one have its wings broken by hail, or be buried in snow? Only a house sparrow or something of the sort spends all four seasons in one place.”
I spoke these words while standing on the veranda in Huai Manor. There were more than a few spies among Huai Manor’s servants. Before the day was out, my words became known outside my residence and passed from mouth to mouth till at last the whole capital knew that Prince Huai had said the old goose Prince Jia was no better than a house sparrow.
For a time, all the capital’s literati who believed themselves sole beacons of purity in this polluted world were righteously indignant. They wrote poems and articles to express their feelings. The natural order had been turned upside down. The sparrow ran amok, while the wild goose could not spread his wings. The sparrow even dared to mock the brave eagle.
Someone made a drawing of a fat sparrow squatting on the back of a little rooster; the caption read: “Disdain for All Creation.”
A servant came with that drawing and some poems to report to me: “Your Highness, Your Highness, the capital’s pedants are mocking Your Highness.”
I was at a loss. Let them mock. It must be known that the mouths of pedants are like the waters of a ood; the more you try to stop them, the harder they gush. I could only look at that drawing and say, “The sparrow is round and fat, which is very endearing, and the little rooster is drawn very vividly. It’s quite nice. Let them do what they will. Everyone likes di erent birds. Some people like eagles and geese, while I quite like sparrows.”
Naturally, these words in their turn were repeated by the spies, and again passed through many mouths, transforming into all kinds of rumors. One rumor went that Prince Huai had said that sparrows ate well, while geese and eagles went hungry, so sparrows were greater than geese and eagles.
Another went that Prince Huai had compared himself to a prosperous sparrow and was proud to like handsome roosters; the hecklers were a swarm of house ies to him. Yet another went that Prince Huai had said he was like a sparrow and could do without those orioles and swallows.
To compare the enraged defenders of justice to e eminate orioles and swallows was terrible insult and slander. These rumors naturally made the righteously indignant literati even more righteous and indignant, and to the record of my achievements, in addition to persecuting loyal subjects, another brilliant page was added.
Therefore, Prince Jia’s ability to greet me with a bare minimum of politeness today showed excellent understanding and considerable self-restraint. He had always been a stickler. When I began to fan myself in Xiude Hall, in his eyes, it was a colossal violation of protocol, a gesture of disrespect, a sign that I had no regard for my nephew the emperor.
Prince Lu was fairly close to Prince Jia, and he had also never had any time for me. Fortunately, I had Qili sitting next to me as well. I chatted with
him a bit, and Qili asked, “Has Prince Dai come to see you these past few days, Imperial Uncle?”
“No,” I said.
It wasn’t for nothing that I had doted on Qitan. Since my injury, he had come running to Huai Manor regularly, each time bringing something with him, and he hadn’t taken anything away once. The things he brought all belonged to his collection of plunder: a jade ornament belonging to a medicine deity that could prevent disease and disaster; a wine gourd that had been used by the famous physician Hua Tuo; a medicine jar given to Emperor Wu of Han by Dongfang Shuo, which could double the e cacy of medicines decocted in it; and so on. Of course none of them were real, and most of them had been bought with my money. But he gave them to me sincerely, taking them for the real thing, and I did feel quite grati ed and touched. However, for the last couple of days, I had in fact seen nothing of him.
“Yes, from what I hear,” said Qili, “there is a traveling merchant from Lingnan planning to sell him a set of items, including the oil lamp Zhuge Kongming used while assembling a formation that brought deliverance from battle, the zither he played while executing the Empty Fort Strategy, an oxhorn comb used by Meng Huo’s wife, and the cloth that Zhao Zilong used to bundle a-Dou. ”9
My heart dropped. “Sounds like quite a bit.”
“At least from what I hear,” Qili said, “he’ll want a few hundred thousand liang of silver for it all.”
I thought my face must have turned green by now. I considered telling Yun Tang and Wang Qin to just hurry up with that uprising.
“Do not fret too much, Imperial Uncle,” Qili consoled me. “Prince Dai has improved a lot lately. He is still only in talks with that traveling merchant.
He won’t necessarily purchase the items.”
It would be a strange thing if he didn’t. I said to Qili, “I’m going to be busy at home for the next few days. Why don’t you tell him for me that Imperial Chancellor Liu is an expert appraiser, and he should ask the chancellor to look at the items with him. That will be more reliable.”
Liu Tongyi was the only one who could keep Qitan from squandering all my money. Unfortunately, after what had taken place in the waterside pavilion, if I asked him for help again, it would be a little awkward. Qitan would have to ask himself.
As I was speaking, Prince Zong and Prince Fu also arrived. After delivering greetings, they took their seats. Prince Zong stared at the fan in my hand and said, “Isn’t it a little inappropriate for you to wave your fan in the hall, Prince Huai?”
I shut the fan and returned it to my sleeve. “Thank you for the reminder, my royal brother. My negligence led me to be disrespectful.”
Prince Zong looked at me again but said nothing else.
He was like Prince Jia; he had never liked me. But the reason for his dislike was di erent.
Prince Zong, Chengyuan, was the oldest of my generation of princes, with an honest and forthright disposition. He had served as a deputy general under my father. Though he was older than my father, he had always been respectful toward him as his young imperial uncle. After my father’s death, he looked after me and my mother. Later, when I picked up my little hobby, Prince Zong was enraged. He would often strike a table while lecturing me.
Unfortunately, I refused to mend my ways, and Prince Zong gradually became estranged from Huai Manor.
He had always thought I was a failure, a disgrace to the heroic legacy my father had left for the title of Prince Huai, and that I had proclivities that made others contemptuous of me. Therefore, whenever he saw me, he would put on an expression of intense su ering.
When I saw that expression of his, I often felt a trace of guilt. While he su ered, I felt miserable and ill at ease. So, unless it was a matter of utmost necessity, Prince Zong and I did not see each other.
After I put away my fan, the atmosphere inside the hall sti ened.
Fortunately it was just then that the emperor arrived.
Qizhe’s mien was solemn, his brows slightly knit. It seemed we had come to confer on a subject of grave import. When the other princes and I had all performed our bows and resumed our seats, Qizhe said, “We have asked you all here today because of a matter that is of vital concern to the state but nonetheless di cult to discuss openly in court. We will rst deliberate with our imperial uncles.”
We all listened with respectful attention. Qizhe paused brie y, then continued, “Recently, the Kingdom of Nahe dispatched an ambassador to court to hold peace negotiations. They have o ered us two of their cities, yearly tribute, and eternal vassalage.”
When these words were spoken, the other princes present all looked pleased, and Prince Zong and Prince Jia’s pleasure was especially evident.
We had been at war with the Kingdom of Nahe for many years. The ghting was already going on when my father was young and continued as new roads became old roads. Nahe’s old king had passed away, and his only
child, a daughter, had taken the throne. Our nation believed that with a woman in charge, we could win some advantage, and immediately attacked in full force. To everyone’s surprise, the queen, a girl in her teens, was no softer than a man. She joined battle at the head of her own forces and beheaded one of our army’s generals. From there, the erce ghting continued.
But her little barbarian kingdom really couldn’t support a decades-long war. Since the cease re four or ve years ago, she had not attacked the border again, and it was said she had also taken some Han scholars as o cials while the kingdom recuperated and rebuilt. Now Nahe had dispatched an ambassador for peace talks and was willing to become a vassal state; this truly was great news.
But from the solemnity of my imperial nephew’s countenance, it appeared that these peace talks weren’t going to be so simple; the Kingdom of Nahe had made some particular stipulation.
Cautiously, I said, “Since Your Majesty took up the reins of power, your benevolent rule has spread far, and there has been peace and plenty throughout the empire. It is only to be expected that a little barbarian kingdom would submit before the prosperity of our empire as well as the wisdom and sagacity of our emperor. For it to bow its head and become a vassal state is only a matter of course, but the barbarians are cunning.
Perhaps they have made some improper request?”
Sure enough, Qizhe sighed solemnly and said, “That is precisely what troubles us. Nahe’s ambassador has made a request that we do not know how to respond to.”
“If it can trouble Your Majesty, it must be thorny indeed,” I said. “In exchange for paying annual tribute, do they wish for gifts of gold and silk
from us? Or do they wish to learn some agricultural techniques or to borrow some crop seeds?”
None of the barbarian kingdoms were skilled in agriculture, and they had always been envious of our silk goods and dying techniques.
I added jokingly, “At least Nahe’s old king has passed away, and now there is a queen on the throne. A king would have wanted a diplomatic marriage with one of our princesses. This queen at least won’t ask us for a prince.”
Qizhe raised his eyes, looked straight at me, and nodded slowly.
The hall was brie y still.
Qizhe sighed, his expression still solemn. “Imperial Uncle, unfortunately you have it right. Nahe’s ambassador has said that their queen is in the prime of her youth, still unwed, and she has always admired the literary talents and beautiful countenances of this empire’s men. She requests a king consort to share her throne and rule the kingdom with her to demonstrate the sincerity of their vassalage and the peace.”
My cousins, my royal nephew Qili, and myself were all amazed. Shaking his head with great su ering, Prince Jia said, “The conduct of barbarian women is truly shocking.”
Prince Fu also shook his head. “Absurd, absolutely absurd! Is there not a single man to be found in the whole Kingdom of Nahe that the queen can marry?”
“Nahe’s men are short and brawny,” Prince Zong said, furrowing his brow. “There is truly no comparison with the men of our empire.”
Prince Lu said, “Only princesses have ever gone to make diplomatic marriages. Are we really going to o er up a groom? What a joke that will be to posterity!”
My cousins were deeply distressed, but I consulted my nephew the emperor’s august countenance and thought it seemed that he did have some intention of o ering the queen a groom. Matters had reached a critical pass.
Smoothing the emperor’s scales would accomplish two things: rst, it would keep him from suspecting the rebellion, and second, once my meritorious deed was accomplished, adding my actions today, it would be loyalty on top of loyalty; would that not be a good thing?
So I said, “As I see it, if we did agree to this diplomatic marriage, it would not necessarily be a bad thing.”
All my cousins looked my way. Prince Zong frowned, and Prince Jia snorted. Only Prince Fu played along. He said, “Why do you say this, Prince Huai?”
“This request for a marriage alliance shows that the queen must truly admire the men of this empire, and she has promised to share her throne.
Though the queen is a barbarian woman, all women in the world are easily swayed. When a woman marries, naturally she follows her husband. If we do send her a groom, the Kingdom of Nahe will be as good as within our grasp. When the queen’s children are born, they will belong to this empire’s bloodline. Then, perhaps, without expending so much as a single soldier, we will be able to annex Nahe.”
My cousins looked quite unconvinced, but they said nothing to refute me.
Qizhe deliberated in silence awhile, then said, “What you say makes sense, Imperial Uncle. We have also thought along such lines. That is what has led us to hesitate.”
Prince Fu said, “If we really are to choose someone to go to Nahe as king consort, whom shall it be?”
Prince Lu said, “This barbarian woman is a queen after all. To be suitable for her, he must be a prince, a prince’s son, or the son of an important courtier.”
Prince Zong said, “Nahe’s queen is in her twenties. Nahe’s women are all dark of complexion, though it is said that the queen is not unbeautiful. The princes and princes’ sons of this empire either already have settled brides, or they are too young. There appears to be no one suitable among them.”
Prince Fu nodded and said, “It seems we must choose among the sons of the important courtiers.”
Perhaps when he summoned the princes here today, the emperor had planned to have them o er up one of their own sons out of fealty to the nation. But Prince Zong and the others had many years of experience; they were crafty politicians. Prince Zong’s statement had taken all their sons out of the running.
Prince Fu said, “I am not well acquainted with the sons of the important courtiers. Prince Huai and my royal nephew Qili ought to be more familiar with them.” His gaze swept over me and Qili, becoming pregnant with meaning as it reached me.
Qili was unwed. As deliberations had gone on about the choice of groom, he hadn’t made a sound as he sat beside me. He must have been secretly worried. Now that Prince Zong had made certain of his safety, he was immediately energized. Smiling, he said, “To pick the best from among the sons of the important courtiers, little thought needs be given. The most common saying in the capital is ‘If you would speak of men beyond compare, look no further than Chancellor Liu and Secretary Yun.’”
Chancellor Liu—Liu Tongyi. Secretary Yun—Yun Yu.
Qili added, “Chancellor Liu is a pillar of this court. Of course he isn’t an option.”
The hall was silent. Finally, I couldn’t resist saying, “Yun Yu is not suitable either. We must look elsewhere for a candidate.”
Prince Zong, Prince Jia, Prince Fu, Prince Lu, and even Qizhe all looked my way. Qizhe raised his eyebrows and said, “Oh? Yun Yu is the perfect choice from the standpoint of background, appearance, and erudition. Why not him?”
“There are a few unsuitable points,” I said. “First, Yun Yu is sharp-tongued and unconventional. Our choice of king consort ought to be a generous person with a gentle temperament who will be able to sway the queen.
Second, Yun Yu is a little romantic. Is the queen a woman who can tolerate sharing her husband? We want a devoted gentleman. Third, Yun Yu is Yun Tang’s son. That item alone merits careful consideration.”
Qizhe stared at me, apparently deep in thought. Prince Jia said with a sneer, “The points of opposition Prince Huai has brought up contradict each other. You say that Yun Tang’s son is romantic. Isn’t a romantic perfect for pleasing a woman? He can be tender, and in doing so, sway the queen.
There is a hint in your third point, but to my knowledge, Prince Huai has always been close to the Yun family, and often fraternizes with this son of theirs in particular. It does give one cause to consider.”
“I have no answer when my royal brother Prince Jia puts it that way. I am only doing my utmost to perform my duty as a subject, speaking on the topic at hand. Everything will be up to His Majesty to decide.” I looked loyally at the throne.
Qizhe stood and sighed again. “There is another thing that we had not meant to speak of. The ambassador of the Kingdom of Nahe, in requesting
this marriage, named their choice.”
Once again, the princes, Qili, and myself were all surprised. Qizhe looked at me and put his hands behind his back. “The ambassador said that the queen likes slightly older men, especially those with self-possession, consideration, and an understanding of pleasure. For instance…”
Qizhe stared directly at me. I suddenly had a bad feeling.
“For instance, someone like Prince Huai.”
The hall was once again silent. I said seriously, “Your Majesty, I am a cutsleeve.”
Self-possession, consideration, and an understanding of pleasure were in fact especially notable among my numerous charms. I was amazed that the queen, far away in a foreign land, would have got wind of such things. It was truly unfortunate that my interests would never change.
Qizhe continued to gaze at me without any expression. “The ambassador said that the queen is aware of this, but it is her belief that our empire’s women are not good enough, which has driven His Highness Prince Huai to such predilections in spite of himself. She believes that she can make His Highness Prince Huai cease to be a cutsleeve.”
So… so… had word of my exploits really spread so far?
Qizhe was still staring at me. He continued, “The ambassador has also informed us that the queen wanted to pass on a message to His Highness Prince Huai at all costs. The queen wishes to ask Prince Huai, Do you still recall that drizzly afternoon and the vow we made on the little bridge outside the city walls? ”
The hall fell even more silent. The meaningful looks and meaningful expressions left me perplexed.
With a sigh, Qizhe said, “Imperial Uncle, we wish to ask, how could the Queen of Nahe make a vow with you on a drizzly afternoon, on a small bridge outside the city walls?”
With in nite sincerity, I said, “Your Majesty, I truly am a cutsleeve. I have never been outside our borders, nor have I ever gone near the Kingdom of Nahe.”
Qizhe sighed at great length. “Then was it in a dream that the queen met you on a bridge to make a vow in the drizzle?”
I have always considered myself a romantic but not inconstant person. Up to the present, I had never made a vow with anyone, never mind that this foreign Queen of Nahe was all the way at the ends of the earth. Even before I was a cutsleeve, I could have had no connection with her.
I set forth my views earnestly, carefully analyzing every word. If this stuck, it would be no joke. There was every chance it would be considered collusion with an enemy nation.
I talked, and Qizhe listened. I didn’t know whether he believed me.
Qili put in a word for me. “Despite what the ambassador has said, Imperial Uncle may not have made such a vow. Perhaps the queen wishes to sow discord between Your Majesty and Imperial Uncle, or perhaps someone else with a hidden agenda impersonated Imperial Uncle. I wonder whether the ambassador has said what the Prince Huai whom the queen swore an oath with looked like?”
Qizhe put his hands behind his back and said with a smile, “We have not yet asked. We wished rst to ask Imperial Uncle about it.”
Prince Fu said, “Why not send someone to ask the ambassador of Nahe whether the queen described Prince Huai’s appearance to him, and if she
did, send a number of men of similar age to appear before him along with Prince Huai, so that he can identify him. Won’t it be clear then?”
Prince Zong and Prince Lu thought this was an excellent idea. Only Prince Jia objected: “There are so many ways of sowing discord. This barbarian woman occupies the lofty position of queen. She has no need to do this at the cost of her honor. There must be some truth in it. The ambassador has not seen the man who made the vow with the queen. Even if he has heard a description, it must have been vague. We do not know how many years have passed since the vow was made. A man’s appearance can change given enough time. Even if the queen herself came, it would probably take even her some time to recognize him. How could the ambassador recognize him at all?”
“I’m a fairly recognizable person,” I said. “If someone who has seen me describes my distinctive traits, it should be easy enough to know me.
Whether it does any good or not, let us ask. Otherwise, if I truly am to become her groom for the sake of the court, as soon as the Queen of Nahe takes one look and sees I am the wrong man, wouldn’t that be a setback for both our lives?”
Next to me, Qili said with a smile, “Imperial Uncle is agitated. He even talks of becoming her groom. I’m afraid if Your Majesty doesn’t agree, Imperial Uncle’s resentment at this injustice will be irrepressible.”
Qizhe knit his brows and looked at me. After a moment, he said, “Very well. This concerns diplomatic ties between our two nations. It is no small matter. Let us do as Qili says and send someone to ask the Nahe ambassador.”
About half a shichen later, the eunuch who had been sent to ask returned and reported, “The Nahe ambassador says that the queen not only described
His Highness Prince Huai’s appearance, she also painted a portrait of Prince Huai that hangs in her chambers. He has seen it. If Prince Huai stands before him, he is likely to recognize His Highness.”
Once again, everyone in the hall looked my way, my nephew the emperor included.
Prince Fu said, “This barbarian woman really is infatuated.”
“Only we do not know who the target of her infatuation is,” I added.
Qizhe glanced at me again but said nothing.
So I was to go parade myself before the Nahe ambassador so he could identify me.
This identi cation was nothing like having a victim point to a criminal in the Ministry of Justice’s courtroom. It had to be a little more tactful, more circuitous, more in keeping with the dictates of etiquette.
Therefore, quite a lot of bother went into advance preparations for this identi cation. The Ministry of Rites took the lead. On the emperor’s orders, a small banquet was arranged in the imperial gardens to entertain the ambassador, and I and a number of slightly older imperial kinsmen of the younger generation, all close to me in age, were invited to attend.
I went home to change into casual clothes. When I returned to the palace, I rst made my way to a small hall to join my royal nephews, then together we proceeded to the imperial gardens.
The Nahe ambassador was in his forties or fties, with dark skin and a turban wound around his head. The two sides of his mustache turned up; perhaps it had been deliberately shaped that way with paste. In all, he had a strong air of foreignness. He stared intently as my royal nephews and I
approached. When we had taken our seats, he babbled something into the ear of the Han attendant beside him.
The attendant spoke toward the head of the banquet: “Reporting to Your Majesty, Lord Alunan says that these princes and princes’ sons are unfamiliar to him. That person is not among them.”
When I heard this, I instantly felt as if the clouds had parted and the sky had cleared.
Qizhe sat upright on his throne at the head of the banquet. Smiling, he said, “The one in the purple robes there is our imperial uncle Prince Huai.”
The Han attendant immediately whispered into the ear of the ambassador, who abruptly sat up straight and stared at me, then babbled a great deal of things to the Han attendant, who reported: “Your Majesty, Lord Alunan says that it absolutely cannot be this Prince Huai. The Prince Huai the queen admires is well-built and steady, with a step as light as if he had wings. He has a square face. He is a man of unwavering determination and great thoughtfulness.”
Ambassador Alunan dipped his nger in wine and drew a few strokes on the table, then babbled something else. The Han attendant continued, “Lord Alunan is an accomplished artist. He can recreate the portrait painted by the queen. That will tell Your Majesty who this man is.”
Why hadn’t he said so earlier instead of putting me through all this hassle? I’d been caught up in an imperial banquet before he nally got around to spitting out something so important.
I didn’t even bother getting angry. I only wanted to see what man had gotten the idea into his head to carry on with the queen under my name.
Now that I was no longer implicated, while everyone else accepted it, Prince Jia alone looked a little disappointed. As to just who the Prince Huai
that the queen had taken a liking to was, everyone present was eager to learn. Qizhe immediately ordered brush, ink, paper, and inkstone to be brought. Foreigners did admire our midlands culture; while Ambassador Alunan could hardly speak a word of our language, he was very familiar with the inks and brushes of our empire. He rolled up his sleeves, took up the brush, and wielded it. One mark later, he had drawn a portrait on the paper.
Two eunuchs came forward bearing the drawing. I looked at it intently.
The man portrayed had a square face, thick eyebrows, and a brief, sparse mustache. He did look a steady fellow. I thought it was someone I knew; he was certainly very familiar.
“We do not seem to have seen this man,” said Qizhe. “Indeed he looks nothing like Chengjun.”
Prince Zong, Prince Jia, Prince Fu, and Prince Lu all took turns saying they had never seen him, that he didn’t look like me. Only Qili frowned and said, “I do think I’ve seen this man somewhere…” He put a hand to his temple. “I think… I think it’s… I only saw him once or twice, but I think…
he belongs to Huai Manor…”
I had it by now. I stood and acknowledged, “Your Majesty, Prince Shou’s heir is correct. The face in this portrait looks a great deal like my sedan carrier Han Si.”
This business of the Queen of Nahe ultimately turned into a farce. Qizhe sent to Huai Manor to have Han Si brought into his presence. Han Si was also bewildered. All he did was tremble in Jinluan Hall, claiming that he had been falsely accused as tears coursed down his cheeks. Finally, we veri ed
the facts with the Nahe ambassador, and asked again when this had taken place. At last we began to have a clear idea of the sequence of events.
Three or four years ago, just after the cease re between our two nations, the queen had traveled in disguise with a merchant caravan and snuck into our capital. On a certain day, I had gone to a brothel seeking pleasure, and Han Si and my other servants were waiting for me at the gate when they happened to run into the queen.
The boldness of foreign women was indeed beyond imagining. The queen believed that a brothel of male prostitutes was operated speci cally for women to visit, and she wanted to go in and get acquainted. Han Si and the others, concerned that if it came to mischief my mood would be dampened, went to stop her. Among them, Han Si was the most even-tempered. He spoke words of comfort and advised the others not to make trouble for a woman. The queen therefore became smitten with him. It was raining, and the queen did not know the way. She had been separated from her party and was wandering back and forth along the street. Han Si couldn’t bear to see this, so he bought an umbrella by the road and took her to the place outside the city walls where she had arranged to meet her attendants.
The queen said to Han Si, Sentiments have passed between us today. I promise I will come back for you. I will not let you down.
Han Si thought the sentiment was gratitude, and that this was only a promise to return the favor. Because in this empire, no woman would say such a thing to a man.
But it was indeed an oath, and the queen had not gone back on it. She had come for her king consort.
Han Si wept and solemnly swore that he had told the queen his name was Han Si, that he was a sedan carrier, but because my frequenting brothels of
male prostitutes was an inglorious business, he had not dared to reveal what household he belonged to.
The ambassador said that the man who had made a vow with the queen had indeed called himself Han Si, but the queen had thought he couldn’t be an ordinary man. She had memorized the design on my sedan and learned through her investigations that it was Prince Huai’s, so she took Han Si to be me.
During the course of this investigation, Han Si and the Nahe ambassador were in separate rooms. This left absolutely no possibility of collusion, yet their stories coincided on every point; clearly this was the truth.
For a sedan carrier like Han Si to be swept up in such a romance was more splendid than any legendary tale. Only, I had been dragged in and made to sweat as well.
After the matter had been mostly elucidated, Qizhe summoned me to the imperial study and nally said some words of consolation. “This Queen of Nahe business is truly bizarre. There really was no need for you to go through all that.”
“It’s all right,” I said, “though at the time I really was frightened out of my wits. I was worried Your Majesty would send me to be a groom in a foreign land.”
Smiling, Qizhe said, “Didn’t we tell you that we wouldn’t let a new princess cross your threshold? Why do you distrust us so, Chengjun?”
“Of course I would not dare,” I said at once, “but Your Majesty only said that you would not let a princess cross my threshold. You said nothing about letting me cross anyone else’s. That is why I felt some concern at the time.”
Qizhe looked at me intently, then smiled and strolled a few paces away.
“This isn’t over yet. We do not know whether the Queen of Nahe will still
want her beloved Prince Huai as her king consort once she learns he is actually a sedan carrier. If she does, we will have to give Han Si a title to at least give the a air some dignity. Your residence is truly full of talented individuals, Imperial Uncle. Wonderful things are always happening.”
“This is a blessing bestowed upon Han Si by heaven, what one hears of as being written in the book of fate. It has nothing to do with me.”
Qizhe stopped in his tracks. “But you did get dragged into it in the end, and it has been very stressful for you. The injury to your arm has yet to heal. Go home and rest.”
I knelt and touched my forehead to the oor. “I will take my leave. Please do not overexert yourself either, Your Majesty.”
Above my head, Qizhe’s voice said, “We are very grati ed that you are thinking of us, Imperial Uncle.”
I left the imperial study and walked slowly toward the palace gate. A sedan passed by. I looked up and saw a familiar daub of dark blue. I couldn’t help but feel a stirring in my heart. I stood still, saluted, and said with a smile,
“Chancellor Liu, what a coincidence.”
He raised his sleeves and bowed in my direction, just as usual, perfectly polite. “Your Highness Prince Huai.”
And I said politely to him, “I see you are on the way in. Do you have o cial business?”
The corners of his lips rose. “Your Highness Prince Huai is on the way out. It appears your important work is nished.”
I laughed and said, “I have never done anything of great import.”
The smile still lingered on his lips. “I have heard that there is a king consort in Your Highness’s home.”
Was this a joke? How could he still joke with me after leaving the waterside pavilion that day? I would have expected him to want to put as much distance as possible between us.
Was it mockery? I knew he wasn’t the kind of person who took pleasure at the expense of others. Then it was mere politeness. To me, it was a statement I could take as a joke to console myself.
Therefore, I said, “Yes, another notable personage has emerged at Huai Manor. It seems ever more full of talented individuals.”
Liu Tongyi looked at me with his clear eyes. I said, “You have important work to do. I won’t hold you up. I bid you farewell.”
He raised his sleeves and calmly said farewell. I continued on my way to the palace gate. It was dusk, the sky once again half- lled with ruddy clouds.
Han Si did not want to be a groom.
I had thought that the matter of the king consort had come to a temporary close, so when I returned from the palace, I brooded awhile on my sorrows, thinking of my Ransi, then took a nap. When I rose after dark, as soon as I sat down in the small hall, a dark gure burst into the room and prostrated itself, sobbing.
“Your Highness, please take into consideration this lowly one’s many years of service… Don’t make me go to that foreign land… I have an old mother and father at home, young brothers and sisters. If I go, they won’t survive.
Please be merciful, Your Highness…”
Han Si did have some brains. He knew well enough how awesome my nephew the emperor was and hadn’t dared to cry in the palace; instead he had chosen to come home and cry to me.
“It isn’t a question of my mercy,” I said. “Your marriage to the queen was xed by heaven. It is a fated match. In a few days, His Majesty will ennoble you, and the court will support your parents and siblings. There’s no need for you to worry. We all of us must make sacri ces for the nation and the people. There are so many who can’t even imagine marrying the Queen of Nahe and sharing her throne. Why do you want to avoid it?”
Han Si kept sobbing and sni ing. I had never seen a tall, well-grown man cry like this. Han Si said he was scared of the foreigners. He had heard they all ate raw meat and drank fresh blood, and didn’t use salt in their cooking.
He said that his mother had always taught him that a true man could never marry into his wife’s home.
I had to reason with him, try to enlighten him. On the question of marrying into his wife’s home, it mattered a great deal what that home was.
If he married the queen now, went to be her king consort, and made peace at the border, the annals of history would certainly record the greatness of his deeds.
Han Si remained unwilling. He said that it was indecent conduct to give up your own family name. Han Si was his nickname, and his full name was Han Chuanbao. If he married that foreign queen, he would certainly have to take her family name, turning himself into a foreigner. He couldn’t stand that.
I seemed to recall that the Queen of Nahe’s family name was Hehenalu. If Han Si married her, then presumably he would be called Hehenalu Chuanbao or Chuanbao Hehenalu.
I thought that wasn’t a bad name.
Han Si was adamant. He would rather die than agree. The racket he made gave me a pounding headache. I was no master of talking people around,
and in this case, only gentle persuasion would work; I couldn’t scare him.
And we were day by day getting closer to the start of the great undertaking.
If this continued unsettled, would I be able to take part in the rebellion?
Han Si went on making his ruckus for half the night, until I nally convinced him to go to bed. I ate only half a pitiful bowl of thin porridge before going to bed myself.
The next day, I was still asleep in bed at midmorning when Chief Steward Cao came to report that Supervisor Yun had come. I had been expecting him today.
I rose. Chief Steward Cao said, “Supervisor Yun said he was only stopping by for a visit. When he heard Your Highness had not yet risen, he informed me he would bid farewell for the moment and asked that you be noti ed. He simply wanted Your Highness to know he had stopped by.”
“Go ask Supervisor Yun to wait a bit,” I said. “I’m going right now.” By the time I was dressed and washed, Chief Steward Cao came again to report that Supervisor Yun had already left.
Yun Yu had never been so impatient before, leaving just like that. I guessed he must have something important to say and thought Huai Manor wasn’t the right place to say it. After breakfast, I had an invitation sent to the Yun residence, inviting him to eat at Yuehua Pavilion.
Not long after the note reached the Yun residence and before I could dispatch someone to reserve a place at Yuehua Pavilion, an announcement came that Supervisor Yun had come.
I was puzzled. What was all this coming and going about?
Yun Yu entered the room and sat. Before I could ask, he said, “Doesn’t Your Highness think Yuehua Pavilion is common? Why would you invite me
“You like that place, Supervisor Yun, don’t you?” I said. “When inviting someone to a meal, naturally I have to consult their preferences.”
Yun Yu smiled. “It is clear Your Highness is more accustomed to being invited than doing the inviting. Spots at Yuehua Pavilion must be reserved in advance. If you reserve them on the day of like this, all the good courtyards will be long gone, and it will be hard to have decent food prepared. I was worried this would ruin Your Highness’s fun, so I simply came to visit again.”
“No wonder,” I said. “You left in such a hurry today, Supervisor Yun, that I thought it was because you preferred Yuehua Pavilion to Huai Manor, so I sent out an invitation at once.”
Holding his teacup, Yun Yu said with feigned helplessness, “How fortunate that I have always been good at keeping my seat, that I often come here, and that I am not easily embarrassed. Otherwise, with Your Highness speaking so meaningfully, I might have thought you wanted to throw me out.”
I raised my hand. “Don’t. I might throw out any other guest, but I would not dare to throw you out, Supervisor Yun. This morning, I rushed to get out of bed and asked to have you detained, but you still must have thought I was remiss and slipped away so quickly. I wanted to invite you to Yuehua Pavilion by way of apology. Coming here to explain yourself is unusually considerate of you.”
Sighing, Yun Yu said, “Truly, I merit the harshest punishment. This morning I disturbed Your Highness’s rest and withdrew with all sincerity, but that is precisely where disaster arose.”
I also sighed and said, “Forget it. I’m scared of you. It’s not my rst time saying that.”
Holding the lid of his cup, Yun Yu slowly agitated the leaves oating in his tea. “Fair enough. Is it because of this that Your Highness told His Majesty that there were lurking concerns about me being the groom in a marriage alliance, and I was not an ideal candidate?”
These words pricked my heart. It seemed that my saying Yun Yu would not be an appropriate match as Yun Tang’s son had already been repeated.
At the time, I had been afraid lest Yun Yu become a candidate for king consort. Yun Yu could be relentless, and he could endure. If it really had fallen to him, I was afraid he would have agreed without demur. A renewal of hostilities at the border coinciding with the domestic rebellion would have settled everything.
I believed that I could handle Yun Tang and Wang Qin at present.
However, if the Kingdom of Nahe were added to the mix, Qizhe’s throne really would be in danger. Whatever happened, I couldn’t let Yun Yu become the king consort.
I rubbed my temples. “I hope you don’t blame me for blighting your marriage prospects.”
Yun Yu still wore a smile. “Your Highness shielded me before His Majesty.
I ought to be grateful. My reputation, and my father’s, are out in the open.
People are always talking about us. It means nothing for Your Highness to use that as a reason.”
To judge from his expression, it truly was smooth sailing. I sensed no ill-feeling.
“Just as long as you don’t blame me for meddling,” I said. “Yuehua Pavilion is out, but there is a tranquil spot in this residence that I have never invited you to, Supervisor Yun. It’s called the waterside pavilion. Why not drink to our hearts’ content there today?”
I took Yun Yu onto the oating bridge to the waterside pavilion. Recalling how cautious I had been the day I had taken Ransi this way, I felt a little ridiculous.
Yun Yu stood on the walkway looking out at the broad lakeshore. He tapped the folding fan in his hand. “This is a very elegant waterside pavilion Your Highness has. I didn’t know there was such a place in the nal courtyard. Is this where Your Highness hides his beauties?”
I turned the stone crane, withdrawing the oating walkway connected to the shore. Yun Yu was impressed. He added, “I must have guessed wrong.
With this oating bridge withdrawn, it is more like a water prison. Could it be that Your Highness was locked up here to study by the former Prince Huai?”
“You truly are amazing,” I said. “You’ve guessed it. It seems your talents are wasted working at the Imperial Censorate rather than the Ministry of Justice.”
Yun Yu laughed softly.
Here and now, with this person, the scene was a world apart from that day with Ransi. Though the scenery was unchanged, with someone else, my mood was di erent as well.
I watched Yun Yu contentedly gazing at the heart of the lake, and the thoughts I had kept suppressed in my heart once again stirred.
Yun Yu and I sat by the railing in the lightest and most spacious part of the waterside pavilion, in rattan chairs around a small square table, with a jar of good wine and a few exquisite cold dishes.
Eyes slightly narrowed, Yun Yu said, “This waterside pavilion is a good place to cool o in summer, but in winter, it might be a little cold.”
“My father always used to throw me in here to study in the depths of winter. The place was like an icehouse. A dozen burning braziers didn’t help. My teeth were chattering, and I still had to keep reading books on warcraft. Though it turned out all right. Later he decided I was hopeless, and my su ering was at an end.”
Yun Yu lifted his cup and looked intently at me. “When Your Highness wears the imperial robes in the future and rules the empire, the former Prince Huai will certainly be glad in the underworld.”
“Glad?” I couldn’t hold back a laugh. “I’ll be in luck if the old man doesn’t jump out of his co n and hack me to pieces. All my father ever wanted was to serve the emperor, to be loyal to the nation and the people. But he bore the charge of plotting rebellion in secret. That is the fate of the so-called loyal courtier.”
I poured a cup of wine and raised it as well, then rotated it twice. “It is precisely because of this that I have seen through the facade. What is loyalty? What is treachery? The world shouldn’t belong to one man forever.
Since I already bear the charge of infamy, why not substantiate it? The honest o cials who curse me today will have to kneel before me and call me Majesty all the same when I sit up on the throne. As for my father, if he can see me from the underworld, he will also see how his so-called hopeless case commands the empire.”
This speech I delivered to the lake, facing into the wind. It was hot-blooded, impassioned.
The Yun and Wang families were full of cunning. I did not know what Yun Yu was thinking of testing me like that, but what I said ought to have settled his mind.
Yun Yu said, “Your Highness is unusually vocal about your convictions today.”
“Perhaps because the designated day is close at hand,” I said calmly, “I can’t quite hold back.”
Yun Yu smiled. “Nor can my father and I. We want to see Your Highness take the throne. But this period is crucial for our arrangements. Though we do not want to hold back, still we must.”
I took this opportunity to say, “The other day when you told me I must pay attention when I went to court, I wonder what you wanted me to pay attention to?”
Yun Yu sipped his wine, then said, “My father recently received word that Prince Jia seems to have taken on some military authority. I believe some divisions to the north are now in his hands. I wonder whether Your Highness discerned anything in his manner at this banquet of six princes.”
No wonder Prince Jia’s spine had been so much sti er this time in court. I said, “The old goose Prince Jia is ready to spread his wings and laugh proudly in the face of the frost. He has been dormant for so long, I wonder whether he still remembers what to do with those soldiers now that they are under his command.”
Yun Yu looked up at me and put down his empty cup. “In the present situation, our plans must be laid with precision. We must let nothing slip.
Everything must be carefully plotted.”
A faint weariness made its way into his expression. Had there been no rebellion and no plot, had the whole world been like this light and spacious waterside pavilion, what happiness and satisfaction would it have been to sit across from each other like this drinking wine, appreciating the scenery of the lake?
But the circumstances could not be changed at will. Had there been no rebellion, no plot, how could Yun Yu have grown close to me? It was even more impossible that he would be sitting across from me like this drinking wine, looking out on the lake and enjoying the breeze.
I looked at Yun Yu and spoke the words that I had been keeping suppressed in my heart. “There is a piece of advice I have been meaning to give you, but I thought that you would not agree, so I have never said anything. But now we are so close, and the situation is so fraught, I think this might well be a critical piece, so I will say it.”
Yun Yu looked at me, holding his cup. I said, “Suiya, withdraw from this revolt. Do not take part.”
Yun Yu was just lifting his cup to moisten his lips. Hearing this, he instantly looked as if he had choked. “Your Highness… why would you… say such a thing?”
I met his eyes and said, “There truly is no saying whether this attempt will succeed. Wang Qin, your father, and I have put all we have into this e ort. Keeping back a hidden piece is planning for the future.”
Yun Yu looked at me wordlessly. I continued, “There is a valley in a certain place in Xinan, though not as prosperous and comfortable as Jiangnan, that is nonetheless picturesque, and fully equipped. It’s about half a month’s travel from the capital.”
I said to Yun Yu that when he left Huai Manor today, he could encounter an assassin along the way. Once he was out of danger, he would need to recover in peaceful surroundings. He would head to the Yun family’s villa in Jiangnan. He would break his journey in Xuzhou, stay one night, then continue on his way the next day.
Yun Yu was no longer looking at me but at the wine cup in his hand. He only remarked that my arrangements were very suitable.
“I have pondered this at length,” I said. “You are the most suited for this.
You have erudition, resourcefulness, courage, and insight, and moreover you are young, with a long future ahead of you.”
I spoke from the bottom of my heart. It was proper for Yun Tang and Wang Qin to be executed. But toward Yun Yu, I had always felt pity and even guilt.
Yun Yu was a genius. Qizhe needed honest and benevolent courtiers like Liu Tongyi in his court, but he also needed keen ones such as Yun Yu. Apart from having occasional exploratory conversations on the subject of rebellion with me on his father’s orders, Yun Yu had done nothing to betray the court.
Yun Yu put down his wine cup again. “Your Highness, do you say these things to me in jest or in earnest?”
He laughed, stood, and went to the railing. “The arrow is on the string, and perhaps the emperor already has his eyes xed on us. Here and now, Your Highness would still speak of secret arrangements? It’s too late.”
“It’s not too late,” I said. “I speak of it to you because I am capable of following through.”
That valley was a line of retreat I had arranged for myself. Everything else aside, I did carry the reputation of the court’s greatest malignant tumor. It was well within my power to deliver Yun Yu.
“If we succeed and I ascend the throne, I would immediately summon you back to the capital. If we fail, you will stay there. If you wish to take revenge, you can take revenge. If you wish to change your name and remain, you can remain. At least one of us will survive.”
Once Yun Tang and Wang Qin had been executed, if Yun Yu had a change of heart, my nephew the emperor would be willing to overlook past transgressions. It would be best if he allowed Yun Yu to return to court as an o cial, but I knew that this was not a likely outcome. Let Yun Yu place himself outside of all this and go on living under a di erent name, or let him come back to seek revenge against me and stab me to death this time; I would feel better, anyway. Not like now, when every time I looked at him, I felt burdened.
At the railing, Yun Yu turned, then suddenly knelt.
I was startled and quickly rose to lift him to his feet, but it was as if he had been nailed down; none of my e orts could get him to stand. “So Your Highness is not joking. There is no need for Your Highness to be so tactful.
I understand. Your Highness Prince Huai has never fully trusted my father and me. When I made the decision to follow Your Highness, I was prepared to die. This is my purpose. But if Your Highness truly cannot trust my father and wishes to use me as a hostage, then I will comply. Only,” Yun Yu said, looking up, his eyes and his expression perfectly calm, “if you send me to Xinan now, it will certainly draw suspicion from the palace. Better use drugs to secure me. Your residence ought to be supplied with both slow poisons and drugs to subdue. There are also some bottles prepared at my home.”
I had been bending down to lift Yun Yu to his feet, but when I heard this speech, I nearly sat on the ground myself. He might as well have stabbed me, I thought. When it came down to it, all I could say was, “Just… pretend I never said anything.”
What I actually wanted to say was, So that’s the kind of person you see me as.
Or else, How could I suspect you like that?
But I lacked the self-assurance to say that. I had been plotting against Yun Yu’s life all this time. I was in no position to say anything of the sort.
I could only sigh. I spoke as if bargaining with him, almost begging him:
“Pretend I never said anything and stand up now, all right?”
Yun Yu went on kneeling, forcing me to go on: “Supervisor Yun, if I really did suspect you, how could I have treated you like…”
Yun Yu gave a bitter laugh. “I have already re ected on my own actions.
Perhaps I have always been too ippant in front of Your Highness. That day at Yuehua Pavilion, I nearly became a seducer. When I was so shameless, how must Your Highness have seen me?”
In my e orts to lift Yun Yu to his feet, I had already ended up sitting on the ground. I didn’t know what to say. I struggled and struggled again, but all I could think of was, “Suiya, even to forestall me, you can’t hold yourself so cheap.”
Finally, Yun Yu raised his head and looked at me. I said to him, bargaining again, “Pretend I never said anything, get up, all right?”
Still Yun Yu did not move. Finally, I felt pushed to say something sincere.
“As for Yuehua Pavilion, I know you only acted like that because you had something on your mind. You were drunk. My sole concern… I was only afraid of taking it for the truth.”
Yun Yu’s sleeves had been clutched in my hands. Now I let go and found that my palms had been sweating. “Suiya, I’ll be honest. In all this time, you’re the only person who has not stood on too much ceremony with me, who has become close to me. The princess, the people I’ve liked, even Chu Xun, none of them have truly cared about me. Of course, Chancellor Liu is even more impossible…”
In reality, all I asked for was someone to truly care about who would truly care for me in turn, someone to chat with, to drink tea with, someone to talk to, day in and day out, never tiring of it—that was all.
But if that person was Yun Yu, then the outlook was grim.
After that day at Yuehua Pavilion, some things had occurred to me, but they could never be. Even if they existed, I could not acknowledge them.
“It’s only that, at a time like this, talking about these things can do no good, only harm,” I said. “Suiya, you… you know that I am a cutsleeve. If I were to fall in love with you, there would be trouble.”
Yun Yu looked at me. After a long moment, he raised his eyebrows.
“There certainly would be trouble. Your Highness loves Chancellor Liu. How could you fall for me? Your Highness certainly wouldn’t be so ckle.”
As he spoke, he nally got to his feet.
I breathed a sigh of relief and stood as well. “Suiya…”
Yun Yu sighed. “Please do not worry, Your Highness. What happened at Yuehua Pavilion will not happen again. What is in my heart will remain there. I will not speak of it.”
I said, “Suiya…”
Yun Yu looked at me, then suddenly smiled. “I’m joking. That time at Yuehua Pavilion, I really did have something on my mind. I was drunk. If I’d really had any thought of doing something, supposing Your Highness ascended the throne, I would become a courtier who resorts to seduction.
That isn’t a very good reputation. However shameless I may be, it would still be a little too much to bear. I’d rather do without.”
He smiled again. “We will leave it at that today. There are some things Your Highness and I will both pretend never happened. I wish to take my leave.”
I watched him bow. I left the waterside pavilion with him, walked across the oating walkway to the shore. Yun Yu did not speak again, and I could say nothing.
Yun Yu left as soon as we reached the shore. He didn’t stay an extra moment. When he was gone, I returned to my room and sat. It took me a long time to recover.
You could say I really was afraid of Yun Yu. All that time, he had been stabbing my heart, each blow stronger than the last. I thought he must have known all along.
Known that actually I loved him.
Liu Tongyi was a dream of rippling moonlight amid the fragrance of osmanthus owers. It was those lines of poetry he had spoken in the waterside pavilion that had awakened me from the dream, made me understand the tangible good in front of me.
Though I did not wish to dwell on what had taken place at Yuehua Pavilion, I had no choice but to dwell on it. Connecting it with all that had come before, there was absolutely no reason for Yun Yu to have acted that way, unless…
Unless he had fallen for me.
This was a rather bold thought. At my age, I shouldn’t have been imagining things like a fresh-faced youth. But in spite of myself, I indulged in imagination. Taking into account Yun Yu’s behavior lately… my thoughts became increasingly tangible.
For some reason, with these thoughts, I felt an inexplicable joy. But after the joy came grief.
The rebellion was at hand. When this was over, what would happen to me, and what would happen to Yun Yu?
No matter what, there could be no good outcome.
It was absolutely unjust of me to have plotted against Yun Yu. Perhaps this was my punishment.
But why should Yun Yu share in it?
So on this score, I did not plan to admit defeat.
While I was languishing in my bedroom, a messenger came from the palace to say that my nephew the emperor had cause to summon me.
The emperor’s word was absolute; I had no choice but to change into court dress and hasten to the palace.
My nephew the emperor’s brow was slightly furrowed. There was a careworn look on his face. He looked at me and asked, “Why do you look so frustrated, Imperial Uncle? Is there something on your mind?”
I quickly said that it was nothing, just that Han Si didn’t know what was good for him and refused to marry the queen, and I was attempting to enlighten him.
“Oh, it’s about Han Si,” said Qizhe. “We thought that he might not be willing to be a king consort. It is no matter if you are not skilled in enlightening others, Imperial Uncle. Yun Yu often goes to your residence, so why not let him talk some sense into Han Si?”
My heart skipped. “I am afraid that neither is Supervisor Yun especially skilled in these matters…”
Qizhe raised a hand and said, “Forget it, we have no interest in wrangling over the king consort question today. If Yun Yu is not skilled in enlightening others, then we will send Chancellor Liu, who is most excellent at it, to your
residence.” And he really did call over a eunuch and told him to transmit a decree sending Liu Tongyi to Huai Manor for a chat with Han Si.
I watched the eunuch leave to obey this order, in the dark about my nephew the emperor’s plans.
Qizhe circled back to the throne and sat, and had a chair brought up beside me. With a smile that showed his teeth, he said, “All right, Chancellor Liu will go to your residence and have a chat with Han Si, and you can stay here and keep us company, Imperial Uncle. We have nothing serious at hand, only something on our mind that we would like to talk over with someone.” Another half a tooth showed. “Sit, Imperial Uncle.”
Feeling vigilant, I thanked him for his benevolence and sat. Then Qizhe said, “We have been hesitating on the question of a particular person. We do not know the right way to treat him. Should we tackle him, or just let him be?”
“Anyone who could make Your Majesty hesitate must be troublesome indeed,” I said.
“You are perfectly correct, Imperial Uncle. This person—we have never been able to understand him. He has always weighed on our heart, leaving us no peace of mind day or night.”
I said at once, “Your Majesty, a airs of state may be pressing, but you ought to be more mindful of your health.”
“You are always so solicitous toward us, Imperial Uncle,” Qizhe said. “You have been ever since we were little. Whatever we wanted, you were always sure to guess.”
“Your Majesty has done me the kindness of calling me uncle,” I said.
“Though I am not a full uncle, I must still live up to the title.”
My nephew the emperor seemed greatly a ected by this. A great change came over his eyes and his expression as he looked at me. Afterward he said many things to me, mostly concerning memories of his childhood. He spoke of going to play at Huai Manor, spoke of the youthful exploits of Prince Dai and the others. It was not until night had fallen that I was able to take my leave.
Before I left, Qizhe said, “Imperial Uncle, we will remember what you have said today.”
I carried these words back home with me. Perhaps Qizhe already knew about the rebellion.
Maybe the person Qizhe had spoken of hesitating about was me.
Back at the manor, I was surprised to see the imperial chancellor’s sedan.
So Liu Tongyi had yet to succeed in enlightening Han Si. I went around to the rear courtyard to assess the situation and met Liu Tongyi coming from the other direction, having just nished his counseling.
In the lamplight Liu Tongyi looked exhausted. It was clear that he had found persuading Han Si very hard going.
I asked whether Chancellor Liu had succeeded. Liu Tongyi put his hands to his temples and shook his head. I had gotten a taste of the extent of Han Si’s stubbornness the day before and instantly felt a kind of professional sympathy toward Liu Tongyi. Therefore, I earnestly asked him to stay to eat and catch his breath before he left.
Liu Tongyi tactfully refused. He seemed to be in a hurry to get home and go straight to sleep to recover his strength, so I didn’t insist.
The next day, a pigeon came from Xuzhou with a letter.
The letter contained only four words: “All has been arranged.”
Reading this letter was like swallowing a balm for my mind. I immediately told a servant to invite Yun Yu. After I gave the order, I thought that was inappropriate. Every day was too frequent to invite Yun Yu. I needed to do something di erent.
So I called back my messenger. “This evening go to Twilight House to pick up Young Master Chu Xun. Tell him that I miss him and would like him to come play the zither here.”
The messenger looked thoughtful, then grinned and accepted the order.
Then I sent another person to the Yun residence with an invitation, saying that I had o ended Supervisor Yun yesterday and was inviting him to come observe the owers and listen to zither playing tonight.
Over half a shichen later, the person who had delivered the invitation returned with Yun Yu’s response; he said he would certainly come.
I had always liked Yun Yu’s temperament. Once a thing was over, that was the end of it. He wouldn’t dwell on it, and it wouldn’t get in the way of serious business.
Toward evening, Yun Yu was the rst to arrive. He behaved just as usual, as if yesterday had never happened. Taking tea, he looked around and asked me, “Where is the zither?”
I had to say, “You came ahead of it. You’ll have to wait.”
Yun Yu said, “I see,” then said nothing else about it. I took him to an inner courtyard; wine had been laid out on the veranda above the small courtyard where my bedroom was located. The two peony plants there were in perfect bloom.
There was no zither for the present. I rst poured the wine. As no one was around, I said, “Everything has been arranged in Xuzhou.”
Smiling, Yun Yu said, “No wonder Your Highness wanted me to travel via Xuzhou yesterday. Your Highness holds the place in the palm of your hand.”
He dipped his nger in wine and dotted the table with it. “Jiangnan, Jiangbei, Huanghuai, Xinan, and Xibei have all been secured. Only Dongbei and the capital remain…” He connected the drops of wine, turning them into a nearly complete circle. He pointed to the gap. “Time to close the circle.”
Yun Yu wiped away the traces of wine on the table and continued, “My father heard yesterday that Prince Zong and Prince Jia are both leaving the capital. Prince Jia seems to be headed to Xuzhou.”
Xuzhou was a strategically important location in the neighborhood of the Long River and the River Huai. That was why Wang Qin and Yun Tang attached such importance to it. I said, “When Chengdian served under my father, he was in command of Deng Man for a few days.”
Deng Man was deputy general to Wang Zong, commander of Xuzhou.
Yun Yu said, “Presumably Prince Jia has taken those few days of command for the Total Muster Tally.”
“And perhaps,” I said, “he has taken Deng Man for Wang Zong.”
Yun Yu chuckled.
The so-called Total Muster Tally referred to a command tally my father had used in the army. When my father had led troops in defense of the border and scored a major victory over the barbarians, the Tongguang emperor had ordered a set of ood dragon tallies forged for him. In all, one major tally and eight minor tallies had been made. The major tally could mobilize his whole army, while the eight minor tallies could dispatch eight subordinate o cers.
By the Yingchang emperor’s time, most of the young generals and eld o cers who had served under my father had become high generals with authority over an entire region and large forces under their command, so members of the loyalist party, concerned for the nation and the people, said to the Yingchang emperor that Prince Huai’s ood dragon tally could now muster nearly all the military forces of the empire. That was when people began to speak of the Total Muster Tally.
As a child I played with this legendary set of tallies quite a bit, and even used them to dig up anthills. To use my mother’s turn of phrase, deep down my father was still a spoiled little prince; he was always going around dropping things and forgetting things, with no concept of the value of his possessions. When he wasn’t at war, he would often leave that set of tallies here, there, and everywhere, then go searching for them all over the place when it came time to use them, putting his servants in a state of panic. The ood dragon on the major tally my father was meant to keep on his person at all times even had one blunted horn from the time I used it to pry stones out of a rockery.
I had brought the ood dragon tally with the blunted horn to my father.
He looked around while putting the tally away. With one hand stroking my head and the other covering my mouth, he whispered, “Don’t tell your mother.”
It felt as if it was only yesterday. At the time, my father and I had been precisely where Yun Yu and I were sitting now.
Yun Yu said, “Your Highness, how long are we going to sit here? When will the zither be here?”
True, the evening glow had nearly faded. Why had Chu Xun not come yet?
The corners of Yun Yu’s mouth quirked up. “So it is Chu Xun’s playing Your Highness invited me to listen to. You have not gone to see him recently. Perhaps he will not come today because he’s mad at you.”
My face spasmed helplessly. I was just about to speak when a servant came to announce that Chu Xun was nally here.
After all this time, Chu Xun seemed all right. He came over with his zither in his arms and bowed. “So Your Highness wishes me to play for Supervisor Yun.”
When he had put his zither on the stand and was tuning it, a servant came again to announce that Chancellor Liu was here.
Holding his wine cup, Yun Yu smiled and said, “The full complement today.”
I coughed and said, “Chancellor Liu is here in accordance with an imperial edict to persuade Han Si.” He had not succeeded yesterday, so now that he was nished with today’s work, he had to come over to keep persuading.
As I was serving wine here, it was only reasonable for me to invite Chancellor Liu to join us, just as it was only reasonable for him to send me word that he had come to counsel Han Si.
I told Chief Steward Cao to say to Liu Tongyi that I was in the rear courtyard enjoying the owers and listening to the zither, and would Chancellor Liu be so kind as to join me for a drink.
Chief Steward Cao went to obey the order. Soon after, as Yun Yu was holding back his sleeve to pour wine, the sound of footsteps approached. I
looked up and saw a green robe. Next to Chief Steward Cao—was Liu Tongyi.
Chu Xun knelt, and Yun Yu stood to bow. Liu Tongyi said, “Imperial orders compel me to come here again to disturb Your Highness and Supervisor Yun as you enjoy the owers and partake of wine. I hope that I have not spoiled the mood.”
Smiling, I said, “Of course not, it is my great fortune that I can use this coincidence to invite Chancellor Liu to join us.”
Another place had already been laid out for him to sit. I raised a hand and invited Liu Tongyi to take it. Liu Tongyi sat and drank a cup of wine, then stood and bade farewell. “I really am compelled by imperial orders. I cannot delay. Permit me to take my leave.”
“Chancellor Liu is under imperial orders and dares not stay long,” Yun Yu said, “but since we are here to enjoy the owers and listen to the zither, you should at least hear a song before you go.”
I joined in asking him to stay, and Chu Xun also said, “I have not yet had the honor to perform before the imperial chancellor. I have long heard of Imperial Chancellor Liu’s knowledge of music. Perhaps it will be possible for you to give me a few pointers today.”
With a helpless smile, Liu Tongyi said, “In that case, I will snatch a few more moments of leisure.”
Yun Yu lled his wine cup. Chu Xun played a song as cheerful as running water. When it was over, Liu Tongyi said with a smile, “You are skilled indeed.”
“The Imperial Chancellor atters me,” said Chu Xun respectfully.
Suddenly Yun Yu said, “I have always heard that Chancellor Liu is a ne musician, but after all these years serving together at court, I have yet to
experience it. Now that we are all assembled, if Chancellor Liu were willing to play a duet with Young Master Chu Xun, that would be a most uncommon display of elegance.”
I was a little startled. Chu Xun said with a smile, “Supervisor Yun is so funny. How could the imperial chancellor play a duet with me?”
Yun Yu raised his eyebrows and said, “I was only joking. Nothing for Chancellor Liu to take seriously.”
This seemed half joke and half challenge. I was just about to say something to get Liu Tongyi out of it when Liu Tongyi himself smiled calmly and said, “I’m afraid of embarrassing myself in front of Young Master Chu. I would never dare to play the zither.” He turned to me. “Does Your Highness have a ute here?”
I stared blankly, then quickly sent for one to be found.
Luckily, while I knew nothing of musical instruments, I still kept some at home for the sake of appearances. Chief Steward Cao led the search himself.
After a long moment, he returned with a transverse ute of green jade and presented it to Liu Tongyi.
Liu Tongyi took it and said, “If you insist,” and Chu Xun once again pushed back his sleeves and strummed the strings of his zither. Its sound was like a rush of cool spring water. Liu Tongyi put the ute to his lips. A thread of melody like a slow evening breeze winding amid the clouds raised ripples on the spring.
The evening glow was gone, leaving an ink-blue sky. The stars twinkled into view. Beyond the veranda, the twilight was profound, the owers lavishly colored. There was nothing but the leisurely evening breeze and the wine in my cup, as limpid as spring water.
Yun Yu and I leaned back in our chairs, holding our wine cups. Amid the music of the ute and the melody of the zither, I was not intoxicated, yet I felt myself become so.
At this moment, everything was like a drunken dream amid the dim twilight and the scent of owers. It made one unwilling to wake.
But however unwilling, the time to leave the dream would always come.
The ute meandered to a stop, and the zither ended. Yun Yu clapped and said, “Now that I have heard Chancellor Liu play, it will be three years before I dare listen to anyone else play the ute.”
“That is excessive praise, Supervisor Yun,” Liu Tongyi said modestly. He drank another cup, then stood and said, “I truly cannot delay any longer.
Your Highness, I will take my leave.”
I watched that daub of pale green leave the courtyard. In the past, I might have been doomed to spend this night tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. Nor had I been sleeping very well lately. Only now, it was a di erent person keeping me from my slumbers.
When it was time for the night watches to begin, the in uence of the wine had dispersed. Yun Yu said he was tired and went home to sleep, and Chu Xun, holding his zither, asked to leave as well.
I saw Yun Yu o , ate a light snack, then went to bathe. After bathing, I remembered abruptly that Liu Tongyi had not yet come to say goodbye, so I called a servant over to the veranda and asked, “When did Chancellor Liu leave?”
The page who answered said, “Your Highness, the chancellor is still in the small hall talking to Han Si.”
He hadn’t nished yet?
So I strolled over to the small hall to look. When I reached the door, I happened to see Han Si kneeling and touching his head to the ground.
“Thank you, Chancellor, thank you, Chancellor.”
“No need,” said Liu Tongyi. “I will inform His Majesty tomorrow.
Everything I promised you will be done.”
It seemed that Liu Tongyi had at last prevailed. I stepped aside to stand on the veranda. Soon after, Liu Tongyi came out. I said, “You have truly been overtaxed lately, Chancellor Liu. Even such matters require your personal intervention.”
In the lamplight, Liu Tongyi’s features were veiled with weariness. “It is my duty.”
As to how he had nally convinced Han Si, he had not yet reported to Qizhe, so he could not say, and I did not ask. Liu Tongyi was about to take his leave when I interjected, “You’ve spent all this time talking, Chancellor Liu. Have a cup of tea before you go.”
Liu Tongyi and I entered the front hall together. When tea was brought, I said to him, “The tea kept ready here at night is always weak, with a couple of leaves oating in it for avor. I worry I won’t be able to sleep if the tea is strong. I don’t know whether you will enjoy it.”
“I do always stay up late and often drink strong tea,” Liu Tongyi said. “But weak tea is more suitable at night.”
“While you are kept busy by a airs of state, you should still look after your health and go to sleep earlier. While you may not feel it now, if you are always expending your energy, over time it will damage your health.”
Liu Tongyi thanked me with a smile, and I smiled as well and said, “I’ve inadvertently overstepped. It is a frequent problem I have. Please don’t be o ended, Chancellor Liu.”
I deliberately changed the subject. “My habits of going to bed early and drinking weak tea were forced on me in my youth. My father liked to drink strong tea and potent wine, and my mother would not let him. The only thing to drink here at night was weak tea. I was ordered to go to bed as soon as the night watches began. I even imitated the ancients. On summer nights, I caught re ies and kept them in gauze bags, hiding them inside my bed curtains and reading romances in secret. Though they weren’t very e ective, as they didn’t give enough light.”
“Yes,” said Liu Tongyi, “and there are no heavy quilts in summer, so their light is hard to hide. I made do with moonlight to read, which was tiring for the eyes, and cold in winter, so I couldn’t read anymore. Or else I removed the cover of a serious book and stuck it to the novel. Unfortunately, it was hard to make it stick to the binding.”
“That’s because you were too well-behaved,” I said with a smile. “I went right to the bookbindery to have the books bound and spent a little extra to have them made to look like the Six Secret Teachings or the Three Strategies of Huang Shigong or some other books on warcraft. Even so, I was caught because the books were suspiciously new.”
Liu Tongyi laughed softly. “My luck was a little better. My methods could not match up to Your Highness’s, but I never got caught.”
“That was because you were good at learning your lessons, so no one would suspect you,” I said. “When I was little, my father made me read books on warcraft. He was stricter with me than any new soldier he trained.”
My father had once hoped that I would be like him, serve the court, expand the borders, defend our existing territory, and gallop through the passes. In bygone days I had been forced to read books of warcraft, forced
to practice the horse stance. I had even toyed with spear craft for a few days.