by Fynn Chen
“Mother said Princess Yexuan has a weak constituent,” Zhongtai answered easily and giggled as he continued to rile his cricket up with the grass straw.
“Is that why she always looks so sad?” Zhongxiu asked again.
Zhongtai shrugged his shoulder. “Maybe? I don’t know. Anyway, she won’t be sad for much longer.”
“Why is that?” Zhongxiu asked in surprise and saw his brother’s lips curve into a mischievous smile.
“That is because our father Emperor has decided to get our sister a companion to cheer her up.”
“The young Bo’er princess? What was her name? Princess Zhenwan?” Zhongxiu asked innocently and received a knock to his forehead.
“Who else? How could you be so dense. Haven’t you seen our mother Empress rehearse her lines? They are intending to keep both the wildling princesses in our palace. Princess Zhenyan would be the bride to our brother Zhongxian and who knows… maybe Princess Zhenwan would be your bride or mine in future,” Zhongtai said proudly and replaced the cap on his bamboo container.
Zhongxiu conjured the image of a red-faced, fierce-looking, burly girl clad in heavy armour from the great plains. In her large hands, held a curved sword and the severed head of a wild beast. Zhongxiu shook his head in fright.
“But I don’t want a Bo’er as my bride! They are scary! I hear that they practice witchcraft and can shoot arrows that fly a mile!”
“That is silly! She is a princess and not a shaman. Besides, no one can shoot an arrow that fly so far, especially since she is a princess,” Zhongtai replied with great amusement at his brother’s distress.
Zhongxiu nodded but was still worried at the scary image that he had pieced together in his mind. “I don’t want a Bo’er wife.”
Zhongtai laughed. “Why are you worrying so much? I can have her then, we are not only allowed to have one wife anyway. It will be interesting to have a Bo’er wife.”
“But I only want one wife and yes, brother, you may have the Bo’er princess,” Zhongxiu replied gratefully.
Zhongtai grinned and skipped about his brother with light steps. “I hope she is as beautiful as her elder sister. Then I am sure you will regret giving her to me!”
A troubled expression crossed Zhongxiu’s face before he replied, “but what if she is beautiful but evil?”
Zhongtai stopped skipping and regarded his younger brother with a thoughtful look. “Then I guess… I will not visit her so often. I will have other wives anyway.”
Pursing his lips, Zhongxiu fell into heavy thoughts again. Ever since he had learned of the tragic plight of Concubine Yue, Yexuan’s mother, Zhongxiu was sometimes troubled by the fates of women. He found himself fortunate enough to be born a male, but he still empathised with the females around him.
“What are you thinking so deeply about? Come on, let’s get on with our martial arts practice. Mother Empress and Zhongxian are going to nag at us if they find out we are late again.”
The two young princes then dashed off to fetch their horses to return to their quarters for their martial arts practice and other studies. Later in the day, they pried about the palace trying to find out more about the meeting that would be taking place between the Bo’er royal court and their Pei court.
3 Dandelions and Condors
Wanwan had been fidgeting restlessly as she rode in the horse-drawn carriage. The young princess hated how she could not ride her own horse and was instead confined to such an enclosed space. It was too stifling for her to stay in a carriage and she was missing out everything that was going on around her.
This was Wanwan’s first time in the imperial capital city of Jing’Yuan. A myriad of civilians’ voices in wonderment were about her and she wanted to poke her head out for a view. However, with Yanyan in the same carriage as her, she had been forbidden from doing so.
Ever since the announcement of their visit to the palace, Yanyan had surveyed her from sunrise to sundown, like a preying hawk. Yanyan nagged incessantly at her about the proper and improper behaviours in the Pei court, so much so that Wanwan could memorise all of her sister’s words. Together with Miying, Yanyan supervised Wanwan’s learning of the Pei’s language so intensively that sometimes Wanwan was forced to study overnight.
Usually, Wanwan would not have minded studying in other circumstances since she was quick at learning and enjoyed expanding her knowledge. However, given that she had sensed some hostility in this visit of theirs to the Pei country, there was some reluctance in her studying. If not for Yanyan and Miying’s persistent consternation, Wanwan would not even have bothered lifting a brush to practice any characters.
Shooting a baleful look to her sister who had her eyes shut and her body swaying to the motions of the carriage, Wanwan pouted. She was truly getting restless and it took all of her restraint to not bolt out of her carriage.
“Yanyan, just one peek, please…” Wanwan finally pleaded.
Yanyan opened her eyes partially. Even as she wore a look of disapproval, Yanyan still gave a nod.
“Just a quick one.”
Wanwan lifted the tiny curtain in their carriage happily and was dismayed to find her view blocked by a Bo’er warrior riding astride them. Wanwan was about to request for the warrior to move when she had been stopped by her elder sister.
“I told you, only a quick peek,” the elder princess said sternly.
With a pout, Wanwan let the curtain fall back as she sulked throughout her journey to the palace without exchanging another word with her sister.
It was evening by the time they reached the palace. They were warmly welcomed to the palace by the court subjects, most of whom, Wanwan reckoned held rather high ranks. They all wore clothing with which Wanwan recognised was made from a material called silk. She was taught that the Pei people enjoyed wearing such silk clothing that was flimsy and dyed in flamboyant patterns and colours. It would have looked beautiful for women to be dressed in them. However, when worn by men, Wanwan could not help but think they look overly feminine.
Miying exited from her own carriage and shared a long look with Yanyan, one which Wanwan believed was to convey comfort to her elder sister. Yanyan had often told Wanwan that she was glad that the Khan had decided to bring Miying along because Miying had focused her studies on bilateral relations extensively, especially with regards to the Pei and the Jing. Miying would be in the best position to offer them advices when situations become too complicated.
Jinglie then trotted over, still on his horse, and with a sour look on his face.
Wanwan nodded her head upwards towards the sulking prince to ask why he had on that unhappy look. Jinglie hopped down from his horse agilely and walked over to the young princess to whisper in her ears.
“The people were staring at my hat and laughing at it,” Jinglie replied and Wanwan tried to stifle a chuckle.
She might have been angry too if she had been laughed at but since it happened to Jinglie and not her, she found it laughable instead.
“Who asked you to wear that? Miying already told us to dress like the people of Pei. Blend in. But you stubbornly refused,” Wanwan reasoned smugly.
Indeed, the rest of the royal family members, save for the Great Khan, had dressed like how a Pei royalty would. It was to convey respect. The Great Khan however, should be excused for his dressing because he was their main host and the representative of all of the Bo’er tribes. Jinglie was… just being Jinglie.
The palace was huge and Wanwan had to admit that its architecture was rather impressive with its numerous intricacies and otherwise bold designs. Every gate they passed through, there would be a pair of stone carving of mystical beast guarding it and every other corner they turned, they would be greeted by the sights of elaborate screen carvings adorning the walls. Even the nook and crannies of the palace was filled with wondrous details; a rare plant here and there, railing patterns along the walkways, a couple of artificial waterfalls in the gardens. However, no matter how many magnificent architecture the pa
lace boasts of, Wanwan did not like how there were so many walls and partitions all about them. It was as if they were in a large aviary cage.
Jinglie stared all about him and frowned, clearly disliking the palace as much as Wanwan. After taking numerous turns and going up and down several flights of stairs, they were shown to their guest quarters and were assisted by the numerous palace maids in settling down before the grand feast.
Wanwan had wanted to unpack her things by herself and was not accustomed to so many people poking around her possessions but Miying had also reminded them that it was only polite that they let their hosts help settle them. Wanwan stood at the corner as she watched the maids flutter about the room she shared with her sister. The only thing she would not allow them to touch was the gift that she had prepared for the young princess whom they emphasised Wanwan would be meeting. Princess Yexuan.
Wanwan crinkled her nose at the thought too. The Bo’er princess had heard that the young princess was ill of health and had a penchant for spending most of her time confined in her quarters. Wanwan was not interested in meeting someone like that. The princess wanted to meet someone who was as adventurous as she was and go out hunting together. Just the mere thought of hunting had excited her greatly and she missed her royal brothers already.
“Sister, am I allowed to go hunting? I heard that the imperial forest is impressive!” Wanwan asked hopefully and was met with a sharp stare.
“Of course not,” Yanyan said in an appalled tone.
The elder princess then gripped her sister by her shoulder firmly.
“Don’t you dare run around here without anyone’s permission. We are not at home and we are not familiar with the people here. Even father might not be able to save you if you get into trouble,” the elder princess warned.
Biting her lower lip, Wanwan nodded. She knew the importance of this harmonious relationship they shared with the Pei despite how pretentious it seemed to be. Wanwan could gather from her father and brother’s displeasure that the Pei had more than once overstepped their boundaries and had not taken their peace treaty as seriously as the Bo’ers did. Yet, the Great Khan had time and again closed an eye to such insolences from the Pei at the risk of tarnishing his own mighty image. It was all because of how much larger the Pei was compared to their country. However, in time, Wanwan was confident that her father would be able to unite all people of the steppes and the Bo’ers would be able to become equal in strength with the Peis.
“What are you thinking, Wanwan? The feast is about to start, get dressed quickly,” Yanyan hurried her.
Wanwan exhaled gruffly in annoyance but still did as she was told.
The grand feast was just as extravagant as its name had implied. Swaths of colourful cloths hung from the beams and wound itself around the pillars as they walked along the long, meandering corridors to the imperial dining hall. It would be a lie if Wanwan said she was not impressed with the setting of the event and of the main dining hall. There was a huge raised dais at the head of the hall, the primary place of honour, which would seat the Emperor and Empress of Pei, as well as her father Khan as their esteemed guest.
Other important guests, which included Wanwan herself, would be dining on the red lacquered desks positioned in two straight columns by the opposite ends of the great dais. The middle space of the great hall would be used for entertainment programs that the Pei people had lined up for them. There was also a rumour that the imperial kitchen had prepared at least a hundred dishes with exotic dishes like braised bear’s paw, shark’s fin soup, and bird’s nest dessert. The menu contained beasts that crawled on the ground, swam in the seas, and flew in the skies. Wanwan was slightly disgusted by the extravagance and wondered if their civilians were taken care of with the same level of generosity.
As their party entered the imperial hall, the occupants in it fell silent briefly before murmurs broke out. Yanyan’s unique beauty must have stolen breaths as several heads turned. Their eyes were focused on Yanyan as she walked down the aisle, her long robe and sashes sweeping across the ground. Who could fault them? Like Wanwan, Yanyan had inherited their mother’s beautifully slanted eyes but what really bewitched these lecherous men was Yanyan’s gaze which had equal amounts of tenderness and haughtiness simultaneously. It was a look that spoke of a level of maturity beyond Yanyan’s actual age. Wanwan was secretly very pleased by how easily her sister had managed to charm these people of Pei.
Sitting directly opposite them, was a young gentleman. By the looks of how he was dressed and how he was placed in an area next to primary importance, the sisters reckoned that he could be the one of the more important princes in the Pei family. Later the pair of sisters found out that they were right. They were told politely that he was the eldest prince by the Empress, Prince Zhongxian.
Prince Zhongxian appeared to be entirely infatuated with her elder sister and nearly spilled drinks down his robe when Yanyan had thrown a glance in his direction. It amused Wanwan greatly to observe that, despite how refine the men of the Pei court appeared to be, they were no different from men on the steppes, and could be easily tempted by feminine beauty.
Sitting by her sister’s side, Wanwan was dressed in a pastel blue and silver-white tunic with prancing deer stitches and she absolutely detested her appearance right now. She looked like a frail female child just like… Princess Yexuan.
Wanwan’s eyes had stopped roving around the opulent setting when she spotted the young princess who was dressed in pastel pink tunic with stitches of gold fluttering butterfly along its hem. It was as if their dressing styles were intentionally coordinated.
What made Wanwan’s eyes really settle on the princess, however, was how beautiful the young princess looked. Beautiful yet fragile. Princess Yexuan had a very fine-looking nose with bow-shaped lips that seemed perpetually downturned, as if she were very troubled by worldly-affairs. Her sorrowful look was accentuated by her shimmering yet downcast eyes which might have once been bright and gay. The princess had caught sight of Wanwan looking and must have known who she was because their eyes had connected for far longer than usual.
Frowning, Wanwan turned away. Wanwan did not want to develop an interest in pretty things. Pretty and fragile and sad.
The royal guards soon announced the arrival of the Emperor, the Empress, and the two other younger royal princes between them, Prince Zhongtai, and Prince Zhongxiu. Wanwan snorted. The Emperor had far too many Princes and Princesses by his harem and were all in line and possible candidates for his succession. Unlike her father, the Great Khun’in Khan, only children by his first and acknowledged wife, were conferred the royal status. Perhaps it was a good idea for the Emperor of Pei to have only the children of the Empress in attendance of this feast in the imperial dining hall. At least these three princes looked rather likeable and robust. Maybe Wanwan could make hunting mates out of them.
Then it started to boggle Wanwan’s mind because Princess Yexuan was neither a Prince nor birthed by the Empress. So why was she here as well? Wanwan later understood the reason.
The Great Khan was seated at the dais, side by side with the Emperor and it made Wanwan proud. The young princess however was beginning to grow bored because there was no one to entertain her. Her elder sister was so smitten with Miying that they could not keep their eyes off each other. Meanwhile, Jinglie had disappeared from the grand feast entirely.
Whilst other guests were riveted to the opera play, Wanwan was doing her best to sustain her interest. The trope of dancers too, had put up a stunning performance with how skilfully they sashayed their hips and manipulated the sashes wrapped around their bodies to seduce the audience. However, Wanwan only watched with mild interest. When it was time for the band of musician to perform their pieces, Wanwan began to toy with the lone stalk of dandelion by her desk until she felt eyes trained on her from the opposite side of the hall.
Yexuan was anticipating the young Bo’er princess to look much burlier and fiercer than the girl she was staring at no
w. To be frank, Yexuan was really surprised at how young but intelligent the wildling princess appeared to be. Still, as Yexuan observed more closely, she could see hints of roughness in the child, in her scabbed hands and the wildfire in her eyes whenever she stared at something. Right now, the wildling princess was looking at her, with a glow that burnt brilliantly in her eyes. There was a hint of annoyance and contempt in them too. It riled Yexuan a little and Yexuan stared back at the wildling princess in the same way. She got the slight satisfaction of seeing the fire in the wildling’s eyes flicker just slightly.
It was like a staring contest and neither of them wanted to give in. Yexuan found herself childish for engaging in this meaningless activity but found it amusing at the same time. The young wildling princess must be thinking the same way as her as well because Yexuan thought she saw a ghost of smile threatening to break on the wildling’s face. It was too bad, Yexuan had lost because the smile broke on her face first and she saw the smug grin on the wildling’s face. Discontentment filled Yexuan’s heart right then. She could not explain how her moods was so easily affected by this wildling princess and did not want to find out why.
Later she saw the elder Bo’er princess by the name of Princess Zhenyan approach her younger sister and give her a nudge.
The young wildling princess looked slightly vexed but alas, still got up gingerly from her dining desk to walk towards her. Yexuan felt her heart palpitating and wished she was able to order the wildling princess to back away. Before she knew it however, the wildling princess was before her, holding out what seemed like a huge dead bird. Yexuan nearly recoiled in terror but upon closer inspection, found out that it was a Bo’er hat with an assortment of bird feathers stuck in it. Huge bird feathers.
