Chapter Twenty-Nine
I saw Yiping again in the Sanyang Palace.
Sanyang Palace was built beside the water; the Shicong River that flowed by it cut through the mountains in winding, looping meanders. The imperial gardens stretched for more than twenty li, vanishing from sight in every direction, all bathed in a bright yellow that dazzled the eye. With the imperial presence on the riverbank, the scene was majestic.
The banquet faced the water and lasted until the moon climbed into the branches. Seeing the emperor in such high spirits, the ministers put on forced smiles and laughed along; for a time the riverbank was extraordinarily lively.
I stood apart from the crowd and saw Yiping behind Li Chengyi, pouring him more wine; he lightly took her hand and whispered something. Yiping shook her head but insisted on refilling the cup, then retreated two steps and stood with her head bowed, her face drained of color and clearly exhausted.
“I have not yet been to Qujiang this year, and missed the Qujiang Gathering. Why not imitate the Lanting elegant assembly here on the banks of the Shicong River and hold a ‘Shicong Drinking Gathering’?” The imperial great-aunt suddenly brightened with interest and, smiling, looked at Wan’er. Wan’er quickly bowed and said, “Since His Majesty has such refined inclinations, this servant will order preparations at once.”
The Imperial Aunt nodded, looked at Li Chengqi, and said, “Chengqi, you shall sit at my side.” Li Chengqi stood and complied. Wan’er had already instructed the palace maids and eunuchs to make preparations; in a short while, everyone took their places along the water, small tables at hand, with refreshments set out.
The Imperial Aunt lifted a cup of wine and handed it to Wan’er. Wan’er took it and carefully set it down on the jade tray.
The jade cup drifted slowly downstream with the current, passing before the princes and ministers one after another; regret showed on all their faces. This first cup had been bestowed by the Imperial Grand-Aunt—whoever caught it and composed a fitting line would surely be richly rewarded and win the emperor’s favor. A young palace maid kept following the jade cup among the crowd. Suddenly, the cup snagged on an underwater rock and quietly came to a stop.
The one beside the water happened to be Zhang Jiuling. He hurriedly reached out, took the cup, stood, and bowed to the emperor. “I thank Your Majesty for the wine,” he said, and drained it in one gulp. Just as he was about to speak, however, Wan’er interrupted aloud.
Wan’er bowed to the emperor and said, “This humble maid asks permission to set the topic for Lord Zhang.” Only after the emperor nodded did she smile at Zhang Jiuling and continue, “Young Lord Zhang once left behind a fine line when he entered the National Academy years ago. How about using today’s ‘Shi Cong Gathering of Drinks’ to complete it?” Zhang Jiuling blinked, stared at Wan’er, and for a long moment did not answer.
The Imperial Grand-Aunt laughed and asked, “What line is it that even Wan’er can’t forget?” Wan’er’s brows and eyes were full of charm as she recited softly, “‘Plants and trees have an original heart; why seek the beauty to pluck them?’ Whenever I read it, I feel a lingering regret. Yet Lord Zhang, who wrote that line, has long refused to add the opening and finish the poem,” she glanced at Zhang Jiuling and then said, “Now that you have already drunk the emperor’s gift, Lord, Wan’er will play the villain this once, relying on His Majesty to spur you to complete the poem and fulfill a wish kept for many years.”
The imperial grandaunt nodded and said teasingly, “Then the Son of Heaven will grant your wish and let you lean on him this once.”
Beneath the glazed palace lanterns, Wan’er was dazzlingly beautiful; Zhang Jiuling, however, stared for a moment before clearing his throat softly and lowering his head in thought. Everyone watched him—some with envy, some with jealousy, others with indifferent curiosity. A good line might come by chance, but a good poem is hard to craft. Wan’er’s words were flattering; if he could compose a poem in an instant, it would make a splendid impression before the emperor. If he failed or produced something poor, the effect would be exactly the opposite.
I secretly held my breath for him, but Li Chengqi only smiled at him, seemingly unconcerned.
Only the gentle sound of flowing water could be heard around us. After a while, Zhang Jiuling finally looked up, lifting the corner of his mouth as he said, “Orchid leaves flourish in spring, osmanthus shines clear in autumn. Joyful life thrives, and you are the perfect season for it. Who would have thought that one who dwells among the trees, upon hearing the wind, would sit and be pleased,” he pinched the wine cup, eyes warm with amusement, and calmly recited the final line: “Plants and trees have their own hearts; what do they seek from a beauty’s plucking?”
Silence fell for a moment. The Emperor was the first to laugh and praise, and the ministers quickly echoed him, their voices rising and falling in praise. Only Wan’er and he exchanged glances for a moment; she looked a little dazed, then turned her head to look at the river, a shadow of melancholy in her eyes.
The lively opening had brought this first “Shicong gathering” to its peak.
Yiping seemed a little weak; accompanied by another palace maid at her side, she quietly left the table. Seeing this, I hurriedly told Yixi to wait and followed her away from the banquet toward the pavilion. When we turned to a spot where no one else was around, I quickened my pace and called out to her. She looked back at me in a daze, suddenly with eyes misted as if about to cry.
I signaled for the palace maid at her side to stay nearby, took her cold hand and asked, “Are you feeling any better?” I didn’t dare ask about that matter directly, so I looked at her obliquely. She nodded and said, “After a month of recovery and the prince’s careful attention, there’s nothing seriously wrong now.” After she spoke, she lowered her head and seemed a bit absent-minded.
My heart tightened painfully, and not knowing what else to say, I fell silent for a moment before murmuring, “In this situation, you must protect yourself first. You and he have a long life ahead; there will be other chances.” Yiping had originally been sent to the Eastern Palace as a palace maid, ranked even below concubines. Even if he truly treated her kindly, for the brothers themselves whose lives were hardly secure, how could they possibly guarantee the safety of a maid’s child?
At the time I let her go to honor both of our sincere feelings; now that I look back, I don’t know whether it was right or wrong.
I stayed with her and said a few more words, listened to the clamor by the Shicong River not far away, watched her hurried departure, and only then returned to the banquet. By then Li Longji had improvised a poem, which pleased the Emperor, who said, “Longji’s talent is no less than Chengqi’s.” Li Longji quickly bowed and said, “Your grandson’s lines were merely improvised, compelled by circumstance.”
The imperial grandaunt suddenly looked at me and said, “Yongan.” I had just taken my seat and hurriedly rose again: “Imperial grandaunt.” She regarded me for a moment, then smiled slightly and said, “I heard from Wan’er that at the Qujiang gathering you and Yongtai missed the appointed time and could not enter the palace, and Longji spent the whole night searching outside?”
I froze for a moment and glanced at Li Longji, but he kept his eyes lowered, lost in thought. I could only reply, “It was Yongan who got playful for a moment and caused the princess and the princes worry.” Imperial grandaunt shook her head and smiled, “Young people are allowed some playfulness, but I didn’t expect among so many grandchildren there would be one truly lovesick.”
I had hardships I could not speak of; I could only lower my head and dared not reply.
The Imperial Aunt then said, “Now Longji is also becoming steadier; since a marriage has been granted, it would be better to complete the wedding early next year and give me a few great-grandsons.” My heart lurched; I stood there dazed, knowing I should kneel to thank Her Majesty but unable to move an inch. Li Longji suddenly knelt and said, “Elder brother has not taken a principal consort; how could I, as a younger brother, dare to marry early?”
His words fell like a hammer, and the scene quieted for a moment. Under the emperor’s favor, to speak back so plainly—Imperial Aunt only looked at him in silence. The ministers had all gone mute, not daring to rashly intervene in royal marriage matters.
Wan’er suddenly smiled and said to the Emperor, “Your Majesty, the Prince of Linzi is asking you to pick a fine bride for the Prince of Yongping.” She poured a cup of wine and handed it to the Emperor. “You have long refused to grant a marriage to the Prince of Yongping; how can you let the Prince of Linzi settle his own marriage in peace?”
The Emperor took the cup, clasped it in his hand, and slowly smiled: “What Wan’er says is true.” He glanced at Li Chengqi and continued, “I have been exceedingly cautious about Chengqi’s marriage, yet I did not expect it would be delayed.”
My heart beat faster and faster; I felt suddenly hot and sweating, then cold and trembling, unable to dare think of the person being granted in marriage. Li Chengqi, who had been seated right beside the Emperor, had already risen—water dripping from his boots—silent as a shadow.
The Emperor thought for a moment longer, then said to Wan’er, “I have a good candidate.” Wan’er hurriedly smiled and finished his sentence for him, “I wonder which princess is so fortunate.” The Emperor shook his head gently and said, “Not a Wu family princess, but Yuan of Northern Wei.” Wan’er, unusually taken aback, pondered for a moment without coming up with an answer and could only force a smile: “Your maid truly doesn’t know—His Majesty has already set his sights on a Yuan as the Princess Consort of Yong’an? I wonder which princely household that guest belongs to?”
My mind raced yet I couldn’t think which uncle the Northern Wei Yuan clan would be connected to. Though the Yuan of Northern Wei were honored as guests of the state, long ago, like the Yuwen of Northern Zhou and the Yang of Sui, the imperial line had been wiped out; only collateral branches remained to keep up appearances. How could they be someone the Imperial Grandmother would remember?
The Emperor smiled faintly and said to the woman behind him, “Yunyue.”
Among the palace maids carrying censers behind him, a woman hurried forward, took two steps, and knelt, saying, “Your Majesty.” The Emperor nodded and asked her, “How long have you served at my side?” Yunyue lowered her head and replied respectfully, “Your Majesty, it has been five years.” The Emperor inclined his head and said, “When Dan brought your birth mother into the palace, you were only four or five years old—look how quickly you’ve grown.” Yunyue did not dare answer further.
The Emperor then turned to look at Li Chengqi in front of him and said, “In the past, Crown Prince Zhanghuai repeatedly advised me to treat the Yuan clan of Northern Wei well. Now that I have made a Yuan a consort to you, it is, in a way, fulfilling his wishes.”
I stared fixedly at Li Chengqi’s back, a great sorrow surging up in my chest—for myself, and for him. The Northern Wei Yuan clan sounded like a prestigious, state-guest family, but it was only a name; no one knew the true identity of that palace maid. And here and now, before all the court ministers, the so-called favor from the imperial great-aunt was the biggest joke.
The august Princess Consort of Yongping, it turned out, came from the palace maids of the Hall of Eternal Life, granted in marriage to the crown prince’s eldest son under the name of Northern Wei Yuan.
He straightened his back, paused for a moment, then slowly knelt and said, “Your grandson thanks the Imperial Great-Grandmother for her magnanimous grace.”
Under the palace lamp, his shadow stretched long beneath him; his boots had been soaked by the river, yet he seemed not to notice. My heart felt gnawed by ten thousand ants, trembling with pain—every humiliation, every ache, spread out from his figure, deep into my bones and flesh.
The emperor smiled and nodded, then looked at me and said, “Yongan, come.”
I mechanically shifted my feet and moved to the emperor’s side, letting her take my hand and fumble with it in hers. The warmth of her palm collided with the coldness of mine. I didn’t dare look at Li Chengqi; I only fought to suppress my feelings, tugged at the corner of my mouth, and smiled at her.
She studied me carefully, then looked at Li Longji and said, “If Longji respects his eldest brother so much, then I will grant your wish. Next year in the first month, let’s hold the wedding together.”
Li Longji clasped his hands tightly, bowed his head, and said, “Your subject will obey the decree.”
Wan’er’s voice sounded at my side, full of joy as she offered her congratulatory words. The court officials around the hall likewise sprang to their feet, kneeling to congratulate the imperial grandaunt on her double happiness. Amid that rising tide of felicitations, I slowly knelt and bowed to give thanks.