by Fynn Chen
“G-Gift,” the wildling princess said curtly in the common Pei language.
Yexuan was more than surprised to find out that the wildling princess had a very pleasant voice despite how displeased she had sounded.
“You made this?” Yexuan found herself asking.
Shaking her head, the wildling princess replied, “but I caught the condors, falcons, and hawks. This one here is from my latest kill.” The wildling princess pointed to one of the larger black feathers that was tipped with white.
Yexuan felt her mouth go dry. This wildling princess had hunted all of these birds at a tender age of ten. The vision of it was enough to send shivers down her spine.
Receiving the gift with an outstretched hand, Yexuan finally found her voice. “T-Thank you.”
Wanwan hummed in response and gave a stiff nod of her head. It was then that Yexuan had remembered the silk handkerchief that she had made for the wildling princess.
“T-This is for you,” Yexuan said as she showed her own gift.
The wildling princess stared at it for a long time as if it were some oddly-shaped living creature. Then, she reached out her hand and took the gift from Yexuan. Yexuan heard some scratchy sounds as the silk slid across the wildling princess’s scabbed hands.
“Dandelions,” the wildling princess said immediately and caught Yexuan by surprise.
This wildling princess recognised the flower, her favourite flower.
“Y-Yes… it is an embroidery of dandelions,” Yexuan felt necessary to say.
“Thank you,” Wanwan said as she slipped the gift into her own tunic, turned on her heels sharply, and walked away.
The princesses’ exchange of gifts had not gone unnoticed by her father Emperor who took this opportunity to state his intentions. The Eunuch had called for the musicians’ performance to be halted and cleared his throat loudly enough to command the attention of the people in the hall.
“Great Khan, I see that our young princesses seem rather fond of each other,” the Emperor spoke loudly for all to hear.
Yexuan felt herself blush and her eyes fell.
The Great Khan bellowed out a hearty laugh and nodded in agreement.
“Pardon our Wanwan for her awkwardness. She had spent too much time with her royal brothers who enjoyed hunting a little too much and may seem a little rude to the refined people of Pei.”
“All Bo’ers are fierce warriors and have equally fierce and capable children, that is something we are all cognisant of,” the Emperor said respectfully.
“You flatter us, Emperor, we are just accustomed to the wild and the vast plains. Wanwan might have been a more tamed child if she had grown up in a court like beautiful Princess Yexuan did,” the Great Khan returned.
Then Yexuan noticed a flash of wit behind her father Emperor’s eyes.
“You talk too greatly about my Yexuan as well. Unfortunately, as it is… my Princess Yexuan had lost her mother at a young age and is stuck in the quarters because of her ill-health. We are aware of and is pained by her suffering. The physician has suggested that her condition might greatly improve if she had a… playmate or a companion... especially one that is near her own age,” the Emperor said.
He was later backed up by his sly minister. “Princess Zhenwan seemed almost of the same age as our Princess Yexuan. Besides, Princess Zhenwan is famed for being the most cheerful child in all of Bo’er. We have also all seen with our own eyes how the two princesses seem rather fond of each other. Might I boldly propose for the Emperor and the Great Khan to consider this arrangement?”
All laughter disappeared from the Great Khan and there was a moment of feared silence before the Great Khan let out another bout of laughter which was joined by the royal court of the Pei. A laughter that implied that the Khan was tickled by the suggestion and would not consider it seriously.
Princess Yexuan clenched her fist beneath her table because now she knew exactly what her father was plotting. She was used as one of her father’s pawn to make the wildling princess, the Khan’s most beloved child, stay in the palace and away from her home that was the great plains.
Yexuan spared a piteous glance in the young wildling princess’s direction and found the princess’s mouth to be grimly set as she witnessed the unfolding of the events but gave no other reactions. Perhaps the young wildling princess was still too young to understand the gravity of the conversation. However, when the wildling princess snapped her head in Yexuan’s direction, Yexuan knew that this wildling princess was wise beyond her age. In the wildling princess’s eyes, there was equal amounts of controlled rage and contemplation.
“We will have to consider this carefully,” the Great Khan said obligingly. “My Wanwan… is really not easy to handle. She has not been starved of riding across expansive plains nor given a rest from her martial arts training before.”
“Are you insinuating that we might ill-treat Princess Zhenwan and deny her of her pleasures enjoyed back home in Bo’er?” The Empress said thoughtlessly, her voice laced with quick offence.
Tension rose from both the Pei and Bo’er royal court and it was then when the Emperor Yinzhun had intervened.
“Please pardon the empress for shooting her mouth off. The Empress just has concerns for Princess Zhenwan just as we all have. Of course, our lands can never be compared with the great fields in Bo’er nor will our martial arts teachers be as impressive, but I assure you, Princess Zhenwan would be given the best resources if she would so kindly be my poor Yexuan’s companion.”
Again, there was silence.
“We will consider this,” the Great Khan repeated after a moment.
The Emperor then took this opportunity to raise another topic. “While we are at it, we should also look to strengthen our countries’ ties. It is not unheard of for previous Pei Emperors to take in one of the princesses from the steppes as their royal consort thereby paving the way for continued peace between our two countries. Might I propose a marriage agreement for Prince Zhongxian and your Princess Zhenyan.”
Prince Zhongxian, upon hearing his name, stood up from his desk and bowed reverently towards the great Khan and the Bo’er royal entourage. His eyes lingered a little longer at Princess Zhenyan, wearing a gentle smile on his face. The elder Bo’er princess returned the gesture but Yexuan noticed that there was some stiffness in the elder princess’s movements.
The Great Khan became silent again but this time round there was more understanding. It seemed as if the Khan knew that such a marriage arrangement for political purposes was inevitable, but he would have very much preferred for one of the Emperor’s princesses to marry one of his princes instead. Yet, it would be difficult for the Khan to reject such a proposal as well because the prince her father Emperor had offered was the eldest son of the Empress and therefore, most likely to become the successor of her father’s throne. Besides, if this was to be Prince Zhongxian’s first marriage, then Princess Zhenyan would likely become his Empress in future.
“The unifying of our families is a huge decision. I would have to discuss this carefully with the other Khans,” Khun’in Khan said politely.
“Wise of the Great Khun’in Khan to consider over our proposal indeed. Should the royal princesses be willing, we can prepare their quarters as soon as they are ready.”
“Thank you for the offers, Emperor Yinzhun of Pei. We will ponder over the offers very carefully. However, let us not detract from our negotiations of the peace treaty at hand.”
“Indeed, indeed,” the Emperor concurred.
Sharing another glance with Princess Wanwan, Yexuan had a copious amount of regret for attending the banquet that day and wondered if she were to be blamed if the wildling princess was forced to stay in this palace.
We really should not have been at the banquet. We really should not have interacted. Princess Zhenwan, you and I, we really should not have been embroiled in such grand schemes between two countries…
4 The Zither and the Sword
The compl
ications arising from finalising the peace treaty between the two countries had hampered Wanwan from returning to her homelands. This delayed return to Bo’er was beginning to gnaw away Wanwan’s patience and she had let her vexations show during a morning sword art practice in the martial arts training room with the Pei princes, Prince Zhongtai and Zhongxiu.
The young Bo’er princess craved for the grasses and dusts beneath the soles of her feet. She missed the azure blue sky with an abundance of predatory birds circulating in it. She missed her combat trainings with her brothers and other children. Yet, no matter how much she thought of or missed home, Wanwan was still stuck in the palace.
What made things worst was that Jinglie had returned to the great plains to bear the responsibility of relaying messages to his father, Im’Run Khan. Yanyan was perpetually stuck with Miying during their spare time and Wanwan was left to herself most of the time.
Both her elder sister and Miying had been devastated by the proposal the Emperor offered. It made Wanwan angry, she was angry that they were being manipulated. This would explain why the Emperor had wanted the discussions to be on his territory.
The only thing that made Wanwan’s stay slightly more bearable was the presence of Prince Zhongtai and Zhongxiu. Despite not being as good as her brothers, the two princes were still fairly-skilled in weapons, especially with the sword and the spear. Unlike the Bo’er sword which was shorter and slightly curved, the doubled-edged sword used by the Pei people was long and straight.
Wanwan had never been trained in the sword of the Pei people and under the tutelage of the princes’ fine teachers, the practice of the Pei sword had kept Wanwan occupied for a length of time. Once Wanwan had gotten used to the weapon after a couple of weeks, her interest in it began to wane. What the princes lacked in the area of martial arts, they made it up in their jovial personalities and their sensitivities to her moods.
Noticing the princess’s fading fascination with the Pei style of swordplay, the royal brothers then suggested something new to do.
“Should we pay a visit to Yexuan?” Prince Zhongtai asked in a spur of moment.
“The princess?” Wanwan asked and realised that during the two weeks of their stay, she had not seen the princess again.
It was like what they had said, Princess Yexuan would never leave her quarters unless absolutely necessary. Prince Zhongxiu cautioned his brother about the possibility of disturbing the courtly princess, but Prince Zhongtai had no such concerns.
“Zhongxiu, we have been playing so much with Princess Wanwan and have not visited Yexuan for a while, she must be missing us already,” Zhongtai coaxed.
A look of consternation was still evident on Prince Zhongxiu’s face, but he nodded.
“Yes, Yexuan must be a little lonely. Princess Wanwan, would you like to go visit our royal sister?”
Wanwan did not understand why there was a need for the princes to make such a fuss about visiting their royal sister. Back in her homeland, people visited each other whenever they felt like it. There was no restriction and no clear delineation of territories amongst their own tribes. However, she decided to not be too bothered by their exchange of concerns.
Shrugging, Wanwan said in a tone that was flatter than she had expected, “let’s go then.”
Prince Zhongtai chuckled.
“You sound so unwilling. Come on, our royal sister is not always boring. She can sometimes be an interesting playmate when she is not too sick,” Prince Zhongtai said.
“When she is not too sick,” Prince Zhongxiu agreed in a soft voice.
Recalling how Princess Yexuan looked during the banquet; with a most fragile expression resembling a frost flower that would crumble at the lightest touch, Wanwan felt slightly troubled.
Shaking the image out of her mind, Wanwan asked the princes, “why is Princess Yexuan always so ill? Is she under some black magic?”
The princes looked at Wanwan as if she were speaking gibberish and Wanwan realised that they must not be used to tales of magics and witchcrafts which were common back in her homeland. Throwing her hands up in defeat, she reworded her question.
“Why is Princess Yexuan always so sick?”
The two princes shared a look with each other before they both turned towards Wanwan.
“Beats me… father Emperor has been doing everything he can to cure Yexuan; providing her with the best treatment and feeding her the most expensive medicinal herbs, but it just does not seem to work. Mother simply said that Yexuan has a weak constituent,” Prince Zhongtai said.
Wanwan was unconvinced and narrowed her eyes as she thought of the various possibilities of the princess’s prolonged sickness but decided to keep her guesses to herself.
“Well then, let’s visit Princess Yexuan. Lead the way to her quarters, princes.”
Both princes nodded cheerfully and whilst Prince Zhongtai ran ahead, Prince Zhongxiu had held out a hand for Wanwan to take. Wanwan looked at the prince’s outstretched hand tentatively and after seeing the small smile on his face, decided to take it. Prince Zhongxiu’s smile became wider as he led Wanwan carefully on.
They were greeted by the melodious sounds from a musical instrument coming from within the quarters of Princess Yexuan. One which Wanwan recognised as a zither and saw grins on the princes’ faces. Wanwan remembered the sound from that instrument because a passing merchant who had received generous meat and mead from their tribesmen had gifted one such musical instrument to their father Khan. Their father Khan had in turn given it to her elder brothers and Yanyan. Yanyan had tried playing the instrument several times but had failed so miserably. It sounded almost like tragic moans from a funeral procession and other times like birds crying.
“Our Yexuan is in the mood for music today so she must be feeling rather well. You’re lucky Princess Wanwan, let’s try to get in,” Prince Zhongtai said merrily.
The part of the palace where Princess Yexuan lived was far quieter and desolate compared to where the princes’ quarters were. For some unexplainable reasons however, Wanwan preferred this place a lot more than where the princes lived.
The garden landscape was simple yet well-maintained with willow trees overhanging a pond that reflected peace and had a statue-still quality to it. The only disturbances on the surface of the pond were the light breeze blowing across the open space and the willow leaves frolicking the waters in a lazy, sensual manner. Unlike most areas of the palace which had well-manicured walk paths, the grounds of this section of the palace were covered mostly by a soft blanket of grass. Wanwan spotted a large open pavilion which stood by the pond and envisioned practising martial arts in it herself. Coupled with the faint music from the zither, the mental image had brought about much serenity to her heart and Wanwan found her mind temporarily absolved of her earlier frustrations. This is a beautiful place. There are so little features yet so many sights to take in at the same time. Wanwan thought to herself.
Palace maids and royal guards were sparse but the two princes still led Wanwan to skirt around the compound discreetly. Wanwan could not help but relate to their behaviours as thieves, like how her brothers, Zhenyin, Zhenxun, and her would often behave when they were trying to steal a taste of roast from the cooking yurts. It thrilled Wanwan a little.
Prince Zhongtai later went ahead after warning his brother and her to remain hidden behind a willow tree. From their hiding spot, Wanwan saw Prince Zhongtai whip his head around and confirming that there were no stray palace maids about the princess’s compound, Prince Zhongtai said in a singsong voice, “Yexuan! We are here!”
The tune from the zither never ceased. It was when they were this close that Wanwan found out just how charming the music sounded, completely unlike Yanyan’s attempts.
“Yexuan!” Prince Zhongtai used that singsong voice again and the music stopped abruptly.
Wanwan almost felt sad that the song was interrupted and was curious about how it would have sounded if it ended naturally. Back in her homeland, she liked to play t
he Tsuur, which was similar to the bamboo flute of the Pei people. The Tsuur sometimes calmed the cattle like her mother said it would and Wanwan was pretty good at it. However, it has been a really long time since she had played it and the piece that Yexuan had played on her zither reminded Wanwan of certain fond memories.
The doors to the princess’s quarters creaked open slowly and, in its place, stood a simply clad princess. Yexuan must not have been expecting to see Wanwan and a flicker of surprise passed over her face.
“Prince Zhongtai, Zhongxiu,” Princess Yexuan said with a small curtsy before she turned to Wanwan. “Princess Zhenwan,” Princess Yexuan added, with a more formal curtsy than the one she gave her brothers.
Wanwan stared, not knowing if she was supposed to greet the princess back in the same way. In the end, she did.
“What brings you to my quarters?” Princess Yexuan asked curiously.
Prince Zhongtai had a huge grin plastered across his face. “Why are you so formal, sister? Is it because Wanwan is here? Just drop all formalities with her, she is just like us, only wilder.”
Wanwan gave a mean jab to the prince in his ribs and heard Prince Zhongxiu holding in a snigger. Meanwhile, Princess Yexuan pursed her lips as she shuttled her attention between her royal brothers and Wanwan.
“You got close really quickly,” Princess Yexuan said pointedly. “I am sorry brothers and Princess Zhenwan, I am not feeling well enough to receive guests.”
Wanwan read Princess Yexuan’s expression and knew she was not welcomed. It was apparent to her that Princess Yexuan had no intentions of getting too well acquainted with her. That did not matter, Wanwan did not want to be her friend either.
“Don’t lie, Yexuan. We heard you playing your zither so you must be in better spirits today,” Prince Zhongtai said obtrusively.
Which was why she did not want me to ruin her good mood. Wanwan thought to herself.
