Night fell, and all the lamps in the Ganxi Office were lit.
Wang Yongxu lived in one and a half rooms in the east wing, about the same size as Cheng Danruo’s place in the Yan household. The inner room was the bedroom, and the outer room was the hall. The space was small, so meals could only be eaten on the kang bed.
She had prepared six dishes, mostly light stir-fries, and by now they had already gone a bit cold.
Cheng Danruo tasted a slice of candied lotus root, sweet and cloying, to replenish some sugar.
Wang Yongxu propped her head on her hand, her expression conflicted, clearly in the midst of an intense mental struggle: if Princess Rong’an was Emperor Xian of Han, then who was Cao Cao?
His Majesty? That was certainly not right.
“Ever since those several young gentlemen entered the capital, the princess’s mood has been worsening day by day,” she said after a moment of silence. “I know she is unwilling and resentful, but now at least she has come around and is willing to choose a good man – it must at least suit her wishes.”
Cheng Danruo said, “His Majesty selected so many people, wasn’t it precisely so she could choose the one she favors?”
Wang Yongxu said softly, “I heard that His Majesty actually favors Young Master Luo. You haven’t met him – he’s nothing but a martial man.”
“That can’t be.” Cheng Danruo found it strange. “Everyone knows the princess admires Young Master Xie. Even if she cannot find someone similar, she would at least choose the same type. How could there be any logic in a daughter loving a scholar yet being matched to a martial man?”
Wang Yongxu hesitated. “Consort Dowager Luo…”
“Consort Dowager?” Cheng Danruo thought for a moment, then probed, “Who told you about Young Master Luo? The princess?”
Wang Yongxu was not foolish. She caught the odd note in her tone and said suspiciously, “What are you hinting at? You may as well speak plainly.”
Cheng Danruo did not say it directly, however. She looked at her appraisingly, and after a moment suddenly laughed despite herself.
“Have you found the person who caused your diarrhea?” she asked instead.
Wang Yongxu shook her head. “Not yet.”
“You once said that the person who harmed you might have been driven by envy.” The fruit wine was not strong and slightly sweet; Cheng Danruo had developed a taste for it and helped herself to another cup. “But the post of registrar is not considered high, and you have never offended anyone, still less had any entanglement with the palace maids of Xiefang Palace. By reason, no one should hate you like that, right?”
Wang Yongxu could not help nodding in agreement. “I reckon my learning is passable, and I am not one to draw a salary without doing my work. How could it have come to this?”
Cheng Danruo said, “I have read your grandfather’s ci, and I still remember two lines even now – ‘In the season of a hundred flowers, I hope for a son-in-law in years to come.'”
“That refers to Young Master Xie…” The tail of her sentence cut off abruptly. Wang Yongxu’s smile froze on her face, and she looked at her with alarm and uncertainty, her whole face filled with disbelief.
Cheng Danruo smiled, picked up her chopsticks, and ate a shrimp. “Speaking of which, I ran into you once at the Library Pavilion, and Young Master Xie had only just left.”
“I-I have met him too,” Wang Yongxu murmured. “It can’t be, right? How… this is impossible! I had that kind of illness – everyone knows it could not have been me.”
Cheng Danruo did not respond, and instead picked up a piece of crystal chicken to eat.
But Wang Yongxu could no longer sit still. She paced back and forth in the small hall. “I devoted all my effort to the princess and never harbored any improper thoughts. How could it be?”
Yet a voice inside retorted: You and Xu Yi-niang are both foremost among the capital’s young ladies. If Xu Yi-niang was feared, why should you be exempt?
Cheng Danruo said, “Whether it is or not, one test will tell.”
Wang Yongxu asked, “How do we test it?”
“What did the princess ask you to do?” Being in the palace, one could never be sure when one might have dealings with Princess Rong’an, and Cheng Danruo did not want to miss the chance to find out the truth.
Wang Yongxu opened her mouth, but hesitated and said nothing.
Clever as she was, she was still only a fifteen-year-old girl, easily influenced by others -one moment finding this reasonable, the next feeling that that was not wrong either.
The ancients said, “If a ruler is not discreet, he loses his ministers; if a minister is not discreet, he loses his life; if secret matters are not kept secret, they ruin success.” Now the question was whether she should trust Princess Rong’an, who had valued and favored her from the very beginning, or Cheng Danruo, who had saved her twice.
After about fifteen minutes of silence, she finally made her decision.
Wang Yongxu took out a letter she kept close to her person and placed it on the kang table. “The princess wants me to give this to Young Master Yu.” Her voice was calm, but her hands hidden in her sleeves were tightly clenched, clearly lacking confidence in her own choice.
Cheng Danruo noticed and was somewhat surprised. “Why do you trust me?”
“You saved me.” The girl’s face was solemn, her eyes bright. “If I bet wrong, I will have repaid that debt of gratitude too.”
Cheng Danruo burst out laughing at once, wanted to say something, then shook her head and picked up the envelope. “Let’s talk business first.”
She examined the letter in her hand. The envelope was snow-white, the paper wrinkled like ripples, with two or three peach blossom petals tucked inside – an embellishment added at the time of making. It did not feel as smooth as fine xuan paper to the touch, but carried a faint fragrance, and at a glance one could tell it came from the hands of a young lady of a noble household.
Wang Yongxu hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.
“Don’t worry, I won’t open it.” Cheng Danruo pondered for a moment and had an idea.
She looked around, then fetched an incense tube. It was made of bamboo and wood, with removable caps on both ends, so she took them off and used only the round tube.
Then she held the letter up to the candle flame, fitted the incense tube over it, and squinted to make out the writing.
“Who pities the willow catkin for its eight measures of talent, far surpassing a hundred flowers up to the ninth heaven.” She slowly read out the contents, not particularly surprised.
“What?!” Wang Yongxu was dumbstruck, unable for a moment to believe her own ears.
Cheng Danruo let her see for herself.
Wang Yongxu did not know why this allowed one to glimpse the writing inside the envelope, but when she aligned her eye with the round tube, she truly and distinctly saw the ink marks inside.
Who pities the willow catkin for its eight measures of talent, far surpassing a hundred flowers up to the ninth heaven!
She blinked hard, but the contents did not change in the slightest, and immediately her nose and eyes stung with tears. “No,” she murmured to herself, covering her face. “It can’t be.”
That spring, the imperial garden had been ablaze with color, and on a whim she had written a poem praising willow catkins.
The original text was:
In April the spring courtyard is full of apricot and peach, red skirts and green temples vie in loveliness.
Who pities the willow catkin for its eight measures of talent, far surpassing a hundred flowers up to the ninth heaven.
At the time, the princess had even praised her for writing it well, saying that the hundred flowers bloomed right there in the garden, yet the willow catkin could drift beyond the palace walls, free and unrestrained, off to distant places – which showed her ambition.
But looking at it now, “up to the ninth heaven” was far too suggestive.
Only four words remained in Wang Yongxu’s mind: the Wutai Poem Case.
Countless moments from the past months flashed through her mind.
“I know you. You are Wang San-niang, the most talented in the capital.”
“Records Supervisor, you know every allusion there is – how impressive. From now on, you shall accompany me in reading, all right?”
“I don’t know why, but dry poetry and books seem rather interesting when you explain them.”
A scholar dies for one who understands him – so it turned out I was only playing house.
Tears immediately welled out between her fingers.
When she first entered the palace, had she not also harbored lofty ambitions, wanting to prove that even without a good marriage, she could live well and bring honor to her family?
Just then, the princess appeared.
She was innocent and carefree, appreciated her talent, shared a young woman’s private thoughts with her, and favored her beyond compare. Wang Yongxu was both proud and grateful, sincerely hoping to achieve a bond of ruler and minister.
Yet… yet…
She felt both ashamed and mortified – one moment hating the princess for toying with people’s hearts, the next ashamed of her own credulity. Complex emotions tangled in her heart, and for a moment she could not speak.
Cheng Danruo poured a cup of wine and handed it over.
Wang Yongxu took it, threw back her head, and drained it. After a moment, she collapsed into the chair, her expression dark. “The letter cannot be delivered, but how should I explain things to the princess?”
Cheng Danruo asked in return, “What do you think?”
“The princess’s actions certainly chill my heart, but she is the ruler and I am the subject – what can I do?” Wang Yongxu smiled bitterly. “Fortunately, once the consort is decided and the princess marries out, my duties will be finished.”
She gathered her thoughts. “Tomorrow, I will decline this matter on the grounds that I could find no opportunity. Or perhaps I will let her know that someone like me – never mind marrying Young Master Xie – would not be wanted even by an ordinary family, and then she will surely feel at ease.”
What followed would inevitably be self-mockery.
Cheng Danruo nodded and said no more.
After the Song and Yuan dynasties, the rites and teachings had developed to their peak, and the idea of ruler and subject had sunk deep into people’s hearts. To demand that a girl like Wang Yongxu possess astonishing enlightenment was truly unrealistic.
But she did not think this was a proper way to handle things.
If Huang’er’s madness had been the princess’s doing, then this was not the first time. A fifteen-year-old adolescent girl, wielding the power of life and death and protected by lofty imperial authority – who knew what trouble she might stir up next time, and how many people might die?
So what if she was the princess – were other people’s lives really so cheap?
Cheng Danruo lowered her eyelids, hiding the question in her heart.
“You know what you’re doing, so I’m relieved.” Her tone was as usual, and she even drained the last of the wine in her cup. “It’s getting late. I must be going back.”
“I’ll see you out.” Wang Yongxu pulled herself together, took her hand, and said with embarrassment, “You’ve saved me again. In the future, if there is anything I can do, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
Cheng Danruo said, “Then may I really say it?”
Wang Yongxu was startled and quickly said, “Please do.”
“Tomorrow, will you go to the Library Pavilion?”
Wang Yongxu nodded. “Of course I must make a trip there.”
“Have you thought it through?” Cheng Danruo asked a rather strange question.
“Not going wouldn’t work either.” Wang Yongxu smiled bitterly. “I agreed readily, and if I suddenly say I won’t go, the princess will probably become suspicious. It would be more appropriate for me to go and pretend I could not find an opportunity.”
“Then when will you go?” Cheng Danruo said. “I’ll go with you.”
Wang Yongxu looked at her in puzzlement, not understanding her meaning, but did not ask further. “Early si hour (around 9AM), how about that?”
“Excellent.”
The next day at early si hour.
Wang Yongxu applied makeup and powder, and as usual took up her book box, preparing to go to the Library Pavilion.
At the north gate, she encountered Cheng Danruo.
“Going to the Library Pavilion?” She was also holding a medical text, as if they had met by chance. “Together?”
Wang Yongxu glanced around with a light smile, showing not the slightest abnormality. “That would be just wonderful. Fang-niang, you go on ahead to Xiefang Palace; I’ll go to the Library Pavilion with Medicine Manager Cheng.”
The palace servant named Fang-niang did not suspect anything and answered crisply.
Early si hour was nine in the morning. Today there was no grand court session. If the emperor summoned ministers to meet, most likely discussions were already finished – it was precisely the time when meetings dispersed.
“I often go to the outer court at this time, so I may run into my grandfather.” Wang Yongxu passed on her experience. “If you want to see your family, you might try it too.”
Cheng Danruo noted it down. “Many thanks.”
The sky was clear and the air fresh. Passing through the East Glorious Gate, the green tile eaves of the Library Pavilion were already visible.
Today the Library Pavilion was, er… rather lively.
A refined young gentleman dressed in brocade was tugging at the sleeve of a man in red everyday attire, speaking earnestly about something.
The eunuchs in blue robes stood about in twos and threes, craning their necks to watch, their expressions somewhat amused.
Wang Yongxu stopped in her tracks, her voice subtle. “Why is Young Master Xie with Young Master Yu?”
Indeed, the protagonists drawing the onlookers were, apart from Xie Xuanying, none other than Young Master Yu, whom Princess Rong’an had “taken a fancy to.”
Cheng Danruo looked over curiously. Young Master Yu was about sixteen or seventeen, still young, with handsome features – judging by appearance alone, he was indeed passable, but… they had all come to compete for the position of consort, so why stand next to Xie Xuanying?
The difference was like a university campus idol standing next to an international superstar.
Asking for trouble.
But as she drew closer, she revised her opinion of him slightly.
“Young Master Xie, just one hour – no, half an hour.” Young Master Yu bowed repeatedly, pleading earnestly. “Without you in the painting, the flowers have no spirit.”
Xie Xuanying was somewhat helpless. “Young Master Yu, please let go.”
Young Master Yu was beside himself. “Can I really not paint you?”
“No.” Xie Xuanying pulled his sleeve free and turned his head – just in time to see Cheng Danruo and Wang Yongxu.
The two of them were looking at… Young Master Yu?
Wang Yongxu looking was one thing, but Dan-niang, what are you looking at? He pressed his lips together and stared at them suspiciously.
Cheng Danruo’s lips curved slightly, and she said in a low voice, “A good opportunity.”
“What?” Wang Yongxu was startled, then immediately understood. “You mean…”
“With so many people watching, we’ll put on a show.” Cheng Danruo betrayed nothing. “Let’s go.”
Wang Yongxu’s mind was a little muddled; she seemed to have an idea, yet also seemed not to, and could only follow for the moment.
“Ahem.” The shadow of last night was too great, and she instinctively avoided Xie Xuanying, looking toward Young Master Yu. “Why is Young Master Yu here?”
“Records Supervisor Wang.” Young Master Yu recognized her. Yesterday Princess Rong’an had been hidden behind a screen, but Wang Yongxu had stood by the corner of the wall, and the emperor had even asked her to comment on the poems. “I came to look for a painting album…”
Wang Yongxu deliberately said, “For the third question His Majesty posed, have you already drafted an answer in your mind?”
Young Master Yu panicked a little. He knew Wang Yongxu was one of the princess’s people and wanted to make a good impression, but there were so many flowers in the Western Park. He had originally thought of peonies, yet had been unable to decide. “Not yet.”
Wang Yongxu cleared her throat and looked at Cheng Danruo.
Cheng Danruo asked, “Young Master Xie, would it be convenient to speak a few words in private?”
Xie Xuanying was momentarily surprised, looked at them, and took two steps to the side.
Wang Yongxu was baffled and shot her a look. “What does that mean?”
Cheng Danruo handed her the medical book and said quickly, “Get the letter into your hand, but don’t give it to him.”
At a time like this, Wang Yongxu had no choice but to trust her. She slipped the letter into her sleeve and made small talk. “It’s getting late. You had better not waste any more time, Young Master Yu.”
Young Master Yu’s forehead broke out in sweat, and he hurriedly said, “Yes, yes.”
At the same time, Cheng Danruo had already turned her head slightly and said, barely audibly, “Wang Yongxu has the princess’s letter in her hand, and she doesn’t want to give it.”
“A letter?” Xie Xuanying glanced over and indeed saw the corner of a letter peeking out from the sleeve behind Wang Yongxu.
“From Princess Rong’an,” she said. “The contents are very strange.”
Xie Xuanying frowned, but did not ask a single question. He only said, “Understood.” He deliberately put on an impatient look and raised his hand to stop her from saying more.
Cheng Danruo took two steps back, seizing the chance to move away.
He turned and strode over to Young Master Yu’s side. “This is a restricted area of the palace. Young Master Yu had best return early.”
Young Master Yu felt as if a great weight had been lifted and hurriedly took his leave.
“Records Supervisor Wang.” He fixed his eyes on Wang Yongxu. “What is that in your hand?”
