Eastern Palace
Sandalwood scented the secluded hall.
Wisps floated over the ebony floor, lingering and undulating within the silence. Billowy veils of mist curdled amidst the cloying fragrance.
“Creak—” Xie Wuyang pushed open the door, tearing his collar down as he stripped the bloodstained robe, haphazardly wadding it underfoot.
Clad only in thin undergarments, he staggered into the bamboo partitioned pool. Back braced against smooth stone, he seemed to lose all vigor, slowly sinking until the surface lapped beneath his drooping lashes.
Utter quiet reigned but for the steaming outlet burbling foamy bubbles. Pungent vapors rose from the herbal infusion steeping for some time now.
Submerged, he remained motionless, apparently dozing off.
Through the steaming atmosphere, his breaths drifted feather-soft. Dew-jeweled lashes trembled, slick locks trailing down his chest rising and falling evenly. The soaked sheer fabric clung to his skin, tracing clear lines over narrow wounds left by gravel and shards.
Blood mingled faintly amidst the wavering ripples.
“Your Highness,” Lu Yi said outside, “His Majesty comes.”
“Very well.” Xie Wuyang wearily acknowledged.
Rising from the waters, he swathed the dripping hair under a towel.
Stepping through tendrils of mist, he shook out a cinnabar gauze robe – folded atop glowing braziers until thoroughly redolent with wormwood’s bitterness. Each damp footprint smudged darkly across ebony as he emerged from behind rippling silhouette shadows.
At Lu Yi’s ministrations, he changed into dry underlayers before sweeping the luxurious crimson folds about his shoulders, the stately jadeite crown gleaming within the muted candle glow. Spine straightened, he assumed the punctilious mien of Crown Prince once more.
Leaving the annex hall for the main one, Xie Wuyang halted before thick vermillion swept past the gilded threshold, head bowed toward the imposing figure standing below luminous palace lanterns with filigreed hues.
“Father.”
Without turning, Jingwen Emperor calmly gazed up at the mounted calligraphy, asking tonelessly, “Have you heard about the trespassers at Stone Tomb today?”
“This child has dispatched people for handling.” Xie Wuyang deferentially intoned, “The Princess and Third Prince emerged unharmed.”
“And saw nothing?” Jingwen’s voice sank lower.
“Naught at all.” Xie Wuyang bowed lower still.
No reply came amidst the sepulchral stillness. Soundless pressure emanated from the emperor’s form, an inexorable tide engulfing son and sire that forced Xie Wuyang’s frame taut beneath its massive weight.
Yet Xie Wuyang didn’t stir, only maintaining his kowtow with head lowered abjectly though spine ramrod straight – a warped sapling bending under tempest winds.
An icy draft suddenly swept through the silent hall.
Jingwen reached down to clasp his son’s shoulder. “Rise.”
The warped sapling slowly straightened within restless radiance.
Jingwen gently asked, “Wuyang, how long till your rites?”
“Two years, Father.”
“Two years…” Jingwen echoed ponderously. “You’ve been poorly this early autumn. Venture outside less. Managing today’s accident at the tombs must have wearied you.” Rare hints of a father’s concern softened his gaze.
Xie Wuyang performed another obeisance. “Thank you for your consideration, Father.”
Jingwen halted him, powerfully gripping his shoulder and forcing their eyes to lock.
The guttering lights sculpted their profiles as they regarded each other, one gaze piercing as a blade, the other gaze placid as still water.
At long last, Jingwen released him with final words weighted by somber tones.
“Ours to guard alone, my son. The secret dies with us two.”
Xie Wuyang straightened from his final bow with grave words.
“Your child understands.”
Long after Jingwen’s departure, Xie Wuyang lingered solitary beneath the scintillating palace lanterns. An occasional draft stirred his trailing sleeves as he slowly shut his eyes, motionless as if slumbering once more.
Jiang Kui’s party left the Forbidden Park, turning toward the Virtuous Consort’s Jade Courtyard Palace.
Luxuriantly planted with exotic flora, the early autumn chill hadn’t yet reached the secluded grounds. Sweet osmanthus blooms filled the courtyard with honeyed fragrance around a lotus pond fringed by willows. Clear floral sweetness joined the lotus cakes’ aroma, tempting songbirds to gather greedily under eaves trembling with gold-foil leaves.
“You must be General Zhang’s youngest.” The Virtuous Consort emerged graceful as a painted figure against the osmanthus, lotus cakes in hand. “Still permitted to address you as such little sister before you become Crown Princess in a few days.”
Jiang Kui politely curtsied. “Greetings, Esteemed Imperial Consort.”
The Virtuous Consort smiled. “I’ve told that pair – no ceremony here.”
Crescent eyes crinkled brightly, glowing with kind favor. Only faint lines by those eyes hinted at her maturity behind maintained youth. Heart stirringly beautiful when young, she must have resembled a classical portrait of refined elegance.
As Noble Consort Tang indicated, the Virtuous Consort’s peaceable temperament kept friction minimal with other consorts. Her lilting voice perfectly matched that yielding temper now, soothing as vernal rain to immediately set Jiang Kui at ease.
“I’m native to the southlands, growing up beside rivers and lakes appreciating lotuses and foliages.” She beckoned them to sit, setting out lotus cakes on the stone table. “His Majesty and I also met amidst flowers in their prime. After entering Chang’an, he knew my longing for flowers and especially transported soil from my Huai Prefecture to fill these palace gardens, allowing me to reminisce on homeland vistas.”
“Yet Chang’an cannot truly evoke my south.” She sighed, gazing at darkening flowers. “My blossoms carefully shielded night and day may still perish before autumn ends.”
She indicated drooping peonies along the wall, vivid petals weighed down miserably by the long shadows. Though palace servants kept the braziers burning fiercely, their efforts still couldn’t turn back the creeping cold.
A silken figure stood silent against the dying blossoms, a touch of sorrow dimming her visage.
“Sweets freshly made, enjoy at leisure.” With a gentle shake, she seemed to banish her gloomy turn. Fine brows faintly knit together as she pondered, gaze returning upon Jiang Kui. “After you’re replete, return to my palace for a private word.”
Without awaiting their assent, she glided inside, pale chrysanthemum hem soon disappearing beyond tinkling steps.
Prince Kuan scratched his head abashedly. “Please pardon my honored mother’s occasional melancholy during early autumns.”
Princess Xie didn’t mind in the least. Selecting a cake, she brought it to Jiang Kui’s palm, smiling. “The Imperial Consort’s excellent hand at desserts. Taste and see?”
The soft, yielding cake melted in Jiang Kui’s mouth with bright summer lotus root’s ephemeral sweetness spreading through her tongue. She eagerly nodded while voraciously snapping off neat bites, scooping the morsels between parted lips like a dutiful student or docile kitten beneath gently swaying scarlet foliage framing her snacking with single-minded absorption, food crumbs speckling azure sleeves.
Endeared by the sight, Princess Xie indulgently stroked her hair. “Sister, more delicacies await you.”
After greatly stuffing themselves, Princess Xie turned toward Prince Kuan. “Zhiyuan, will you attend the autumnal feast too?”
En route to Jade Courtyard Palace, they had discussed the imminent banquet. Rumors indicated extravagance unprecedented for Prince Qi’s floating fete on Qie River, inviting nobility from everywhere while showcasing the most superlative dancing girls and drama troupes from the Academy’s entertainers.
“I divined auspices favoring attendance.” Prince Kuan answered.
Princess Xie arched a brow skeptically. “How accurate are these divinations?”
Prince Kuan whispered, “Perhaps not overly so…” He gestured outside. “Also indicated favorable fortunes upon departing the palace today.”
Before promptly tumbling into a tomb.
Princess Xie pondered briefly before asking eagerly, “Zhiyuan, won’t you perform a demonstration for me? I never knew you could divine – tutors forbid me from studying such occult methods.”
Glancing warily around, Prince Kuan extracted numerous slender bamboo divination slips from his voluminous sleeves, solemnly arranging them across the table. Dusk’s fading radiance limned his delicate features with a sedate air reminiscent of a fortune teller.
“Read what?” He queried.
“How about inconsequential romance fortunes for sister at the banquet!” Princess Xie suggested cheekily.
Jiang Kui nearly choked on her cake.
…Inconsequential with her already betrothed?
Murmuring esoterically, Prince Kuan manipulated the slips through deft, strong fingers. With rapt attention, Princess Xie observed him swiftly rearrange them into a hexagram layout.
“Xian – Prosperity. ?? – Beneficial to be steadfast.” Prince Kuan indicated each stick while intoning the interpretation. “Xian meaning ‘Resonance,’ with Yin above and Yang below, two qi responding thusly…”
Impatiently cutting him off, Princess Xie demanded, “The conclusion?”
Prince Kuan scratched his head and tilted an apprehensive glance toward Jiang Kui. “Great blessing…as in highly advantageous romance for my sister-in-law at the banquet—”
Jiang Kui finally choked.
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