by Fynn Chen
“Because you always return the pearl to me even though I insist that you keep it,” Wanwan said in a tone that made her sound more wilful that she had meant to.
However, it had worked in placating Yexuan because in the next moment, the courtly princess had cupped a side of Wanwan’s cheek, and it made her heart beat wildly for a while.
“Who knew my little wildling princess could be so adorable. Anyway, if you wish for it to look more three-dimensional then you would have to work with different colours. Come, let me show you.”
Wanwan did not know when it had started but she enjoyed just staring at Yexuan while doing nothing, or rather she was not doing anything while Yexuan was redoing her embroidery of the sickening night luminous pearl. The way Yexuan’s deft fingers held the slippery needle between her forefinger and thumb, and the light crease that appeared between her brows when the courtly princess was concentrating, was so lovely to behold.
“Are you even looking?” Yexuan asked in annoyance.
“I am looking… at you,” Wanwan said cheekily and was met with a fierce glare from Yexuan.
Over the past two years, Yexuan had also became fiercer, and that was good because it meant that Yexuan was able to fight against those misogynistic ministers who belittled and even disregarded her proposals in court. If only Wanwan could participate in their politics, Wanwan would shut these ministers up with her fists.
“I was referring to the embroidery!” Yexuan set the work down and said exasperatedly.
“I know you were… but I prefer looking at you,” Wanwan said again and this time round, Yexuan’s brows twitched a little before her cheeks flushed red.
“Wanwan… why are you always so… flirtatious?” Yexuan asked, a small sigh escaping from her lips.
Wanwan cocked her head backwards in surprise, “am I? And you don’t like it?”
“I… I don’t know.” Yexuan sounded uncertain and it was rightfully so because even Wanwan felt uncertain now.
Whatever it was, Wanwan then decided that she had better stop goofing around lest Yexuan got angry again. From time to time, Wanwan would accidentally prick her fingers as she berated embroidery for being a too delicate and troublesome chore whilst Yexuan would smile kindly at her. Wanwan did not mind making a fool of herself and doing embroidery, as long as it was with Yexuan.
Yexuan, I do not know when it had happened, but becoming privy to this smile of yours has become a muse greater than any of my past pleasures.
15 The Might and Will of Women
Yexuan was once again attending court meetings along with her other royal brothers. Usually held in the main hall of the outer court, the Hall of Moral Accordance (道德和谐堂), this was the only Hall of Pei that preserved the complete architectures of the past dynasties. Eighty-eight pillars that were lacquered in gold and crimson red paint seemed to extend endlessly towards the sky, supporting the high ceiling of the great hall. In the middle of the hall was a raised dais with a Dragon throne anchored upon it. This legendary Dragon throne was made entirely of gold and designed with intricate twin dragons and cloud carvings all over it. The twin dragons’ body were intertwined throughout the back of the throne with each of its head protruding from the throne’s armrest.
If one cared to examine more closely, each of the dragon was different from another. One resembling the mightiest horned dragon passed down in legends from generation to generation and the other, a winged dragon described in ancient scrolls, carrying with it the most ancient knowledge, and borne from when men were created. A giant luminous night pearl was set in the middle of the crest rail, warding off the evils that lurked in the halls even after the setting of the sun.
The ministers, officials, and royal children alike stood at attention in two sections, left and right. The princes were at the most forefront on the right, with the ministers on the left. Yexuan stood behind the princes and was the only princess to attend the court sessions. Before her, the second eldest princess, Princess Yangzhao, used to attend court sessions as well, but that was before she was married off to the eldest son of the Agriculture minister.
The Emperor and ministers were in the midst of discussing one of Yexuan’s numerous proposals for flood relief in several towns in the Ying’Xi province. Thus far, the reception towards it has been mixed but Yexuan was fervent to push it through. If the Emperor were wise, this proposal could potentially win back civilians’ hearts by showing that the crown was aware of their sufferings and would address them directly. And the crown would go to the extent of sending princes and princesses to personally oversee the disaster relief.
“Princess, we are not in favour of the proposal for your own safety,” A minister, Minister Song, voiced out. “We are all well aware of the numerous assassination attempts on the members of the royal family and you being one of the most highly-regarded princesses will certainly be targeted.”
Yexuan replied with calm. “Which is why, minister, I have also planned to bring along more imperial guards with me and engage our military power. Firstly, it gives us more manpower to aid with the relief and secondly, it would be for my safety as you have claimed it.”
Another minister, Minister Guo, guffawed rudely before he spoke, “Princess Yexuan, you might still be too young to comprehend certain… complications… our military forces are fully engaged in outposts to deter the army of Jing and Bo’er forces from intruding into our homelands. They cannot possibly be mobilised for such… trivialities.”
Anger blazed in Yexuan’s chest but she held it in. “Minister Guo, as far as I know, the army of Jing and the Bo’er forces are heavily involved in war with each other, and we still have peace treaties with both countries. According to numerous reports, our army has been living such a carefree life that they were able to organise flamboyant events every few months with the attendance of you. I see no point why our military troops are idling in those outposts and not be utilised for more important missions.”
Minister Guo had purpled as the Emperor turned a severe eye upon him.
“This is outrageous, Princess Yexuan! You must have been influenced by false reports written by a handful of individuals seeking to tarnish my reputation. I have been loyal to the imperial family and vowed to serve the country. I would never condone our military troops to fall into such disrepair! Emperor, I implore you to not believe in such false reports!”
Minister Song then jumped to Minister Guo’s aid as he cried falsity upon Princess Yexuan’s reports. The court once again erupted into a heated debate between the ministers as some of the ministers were Princess Yexuan’s informants and report gatherers. Naturally, they stood on Princess Yexuan’s side against the other ministers.
In the midst of the furious exchange of words, Prince Zhongxiu interceded.
“Ministers and Father Emperor, might I have a say? Let us set the false reports on our accused ministers aside. Given how there has already been much civilian unrest, it would take us a disproportionately long time to tell the truths from false. May we instead, focus on Princess Yexuan’s proposal. This is a proposal that my royal brothers, Prince Zhongxian and Prince Zhongtai gave full support for, and for that, we would be glad to participate in it as well.”
The commotion amongst the ministers had simmered down as the three princes had explicitly stated their support. The other princes who were not named by Prince Zhongxiu made no comments. It was Prince Zhongxian who spoke this time round, commanding the undivided attention of all.
“Father Emperor, Prince Zhongxiu is right. Let us not be distracted with the ministers’ deeds in this court session and focus on the relief efforts instead. We implore you to give your considerations to Princess Yexuan’s proposal, time is of a critical factor to this relief program, and it could be one of our best chances to win back the trusts of our civilians. We must re-establish our reputation and not let another one of our royalties befall the fate suffered by Princess Zhenyan.”
Yexuan looked to the eldest prince by the Empress and fe
lt a lump forming in her throat. Her royal brother had sounded so convicted and emotional that she was certain that he had truly fallen for Princess Yanyan. Yet, as far as Yexuan observed, Princess Yanyan always seemed so distant from Prince Zhongxian, as if her heart and mind laid elsewhere. Also, if her deductions from Wanwan’s tales about Princess Yanyan and the mighty Bo’er War Adviser Miying were true, then Princess Yanyan’s heart already belonged to someone else. Yexuan sighed as she brought her concentration back to matters at hand.
“Very well… my princes have valid points. I will leave this proposal to Prince Zhongxian who will be in charge of and for Prince Zhongxiu, Prince Zhongtai and Princess Yexuan to be involved as well. Defence minister, guide the princes and princess along in the engagement of ‘said’ idle troops. Ensure that security is at its highest given the rise in rebel activities and ensure no harm comes to the princes and Princess Yexuan.”
“Yes, your majesty,” The defence minister replied in reverence.
**
Wanwan had been waiting in Yexuan’s quarters when the courtly princess had returned from the court session looking exhausted. After removing her court robe and leaving it on her bed, Yexuan went over to Wanwan and gave her a tired smile.
“How did the court meeting go?” Wanwan asked as she practised with a dagger, repeating certain motions.
“Some of the ministers disapproved strongly to my proposal but fortunately I was backed up Prince Zhongxian and Zhongxiu,” Yexuan stated briefly.
“Let me guess, its Minister Song and Minister Guo who were against your cause,” Wanwan said with a lift of her brow and another swish of her dagger in the air.
Yexuan shut her eyes and nodded. “Yes, it is them.”
Wanwan gave a derisive snort. “What excuse did that shameless pair use this time round?”
“They made it sound nice, Minister Song said it was for my own safety since there have been numerous assassination attempts on the royal blood.”
Wanwan paused in her practice and shot a look at Yexuan. “He said that?! When he knew that you have the mighty Bo’er princess, Bo’er’ji’ji’te Zhenwan, by your side at all times?”
Yexuan shook her head and brought a hand up to massage her temple. “Remind me how your ego got so huge.”
Wanwan laughed heartily and sheathed her dagger, approaching Yexuan with a confident gait. “That is not my ego speaking, it is my confidence in protecting you, my courtly princess.”
A small smile graced Yexuan’s face before she let out a huge sigh. “Wanwan… I don’t need you to protect me. We have imperial guards and you are also a princess. You are not my guard, you are my companion.”
“A companion who can double as a guard, isn’t that even better?” Wanwan said.
Yexuan shook her head in defeat before she held out her hand. Wanwan knew what she wanted and laid the sheathed dagger which belonged to her mother in the courtly princess’s hand. If it had been years ago, Wanwan would never have let anyone touch her precious memento but it was Yexuan, and they had been together for a few years now.
“Why have you been practising so much with the dagger lately?” Yexuan asked as she examined the dagger and traced a finger over the patterns branded on the leather sheath.
Wanwan took the dagger from Yexuan’s hand and said, “you know it, I explained when I had gifted one to you. A dagger is swifter and easily concealable. It’s a better weapon when it comes to close combat.”
Yexuan blinked. “Are you really thinking of… Wanwan please… if there is an assassination attempt on us, I want us to run together, and not for you to fight.”
Wanwan nodded. “It is just for precaution then. I won’t let what happened to my sister happen to us.”
Empathy had entered Yexuan’s eyes and Wanwan forced herself to look away. Yexuan still took Wanwan’s hand nonetheless. “Wanwan you don’t have to hide your anger or nervousness about your sister’s incident from me, you know that right? We have already known each other for so long, you can tell me whatever you wish to, and I will keep them a secret.”
Wanwan shuddered dramatically and shrugged. “Princess Yexuan, you make the matter sound too serious. Don’t worry, I am feeling well, neither too angry nor too nervous now. I will meet my sister in a short while, be careful when you are alone.”
Yexuan mimicked Wanwan’s smirk. “Princess Wanwan, it is broad daylight. I have my dagger skills learned from you and I am surrounded by dozens of guards. Don’t worry about me.”
Wanwan’s expression had darkened as she held Yexuan’s hand tighter. “My sister is a formidable fighter herself. Besides, she and Prince Zhongxian were protected by dozens of guards that night too…”
But before Wanwan could finish her sentence, Yexuan had put a finger to the wildling princess’s lips. “Okay, I will be careful. Now go find your sister.”
Nodding, Wanwan left promptly but when they had untangled their hands from each other’s, Wanwan felt the usual lingering warmth from their contact.
**
Trotting leisurely on Scarlet, Wanwan arrived at her sister’s courtyard. A eunuch working at her sister’s quarters rushed out hurriedly to receive Scarlet’s reign, absorbing from his previous mistake and staying out of Scarlet’s biting range. Wanwan uttered her acknowledgement of his service and told the eunuch that there was no need to announce her arrival to her sister who was told to be resting. Her other royal brothers, Prince Zhenyin and Prince Zhenxun had dropped by earlier in the day to have tea and desserts with Yanyan, but they had already left some time ago.
Pacing about her sister’s courtyard, Wanwan feigned her admiration for the potted floras as she observed the palace maids, eunuchs, and imperial guards, in quiet. In total, there was one junior eunuch, eight palace maids, and nearly two dozen imperial guards working at Yanyan’s quarters. Amongst these people, the imperial guards reported to the head of imperial guard, General Tian, while the junior eunuch reported to the head of palace eunuch, Eunuch Quan. These were men that the Empress had little influence over so Wanwan exercised less scrutiny on them. However, since bribery was rampant in the palace, Wanwan could not completely eliminate them from careful observations.
Regardless, Wanwan focused her attention more on the palace maids. Two of whom had never been changed since Yanyan’s arrival in the palace. Another two who used to work in the Empress’s courts. The rest were either new or were rotated from other quarters. The Empress was a seasoned veteran in the matters of the imperial harem and from Wanwan’s experience in sieving out the Empress’s spies in Yexuan’s own quarters, Wanwan knew that the Empress would only entrust a single individual to spy on her elder sister and report all activities in Yanyan’s quarters to her. It was unfortunate that the previous spy had been rotated away and Wanwan pondered which was this new individual whom she should be more wary of. An imperceptible smile touched Wanwan’s lips as she found her. Silly of the Empress to always reward her palace maids in the same manner. Revealed beneath her sleeve, was an exquisite bangle that could never be afforded on a junior palace maid’s salary. This was a palace maid that would be the most overlooked by Yanyan, for she had just been selected as a palace maid. Wanwan sighed at the Empress’s ways, these palace maids were all the same, enticed by beautiful jewelleries and opportunity to earn quick taels.
Wanwan observed some more to prove her assumptions before the same eunuch scurried towards her.
“Princess Zhenwan, it has been a while since you have been here. Do you require us to announce your presence? Or to bring you some hot tea and desserts?” The eunuch asked.
Wanwan smiled sweetly at him ignored his questions, and instead asked, “who maintains these potted plants? They are growing so well. Is it her or her or her? What were their names? My sister introduced them to me the last time I came but I forgot.”
The eunuch kindly recited their individual names to Wanwan and Wanwan memorised them. The palace maid whom she suspected was the Empress’s informant was a tea serving girl named Y
uxiang. Typical. As a tea serving maid, it would be the most convenient for her to spy on her sister.
Wanwan thanked the eunuch for his patience and asked him to prepare for tea and snacks for she was ready to meet her sister. Miying had been with her sister all day and never once stepped out of her sister’s quarters. Wanwan entered Yanyan’s quarters noiselessly. After making sure that there was no one about her, Wanwan’s lips formed into a wicked smile as she pushed open the door to her sister’s bedroom suddenly.
Miying was feeding Yanyan medicine tenderly and they both had gasped in surprise upon Wanwan’s intrusion.
“Wanwan!” Yanyan scolded but winced later from the pain.
Wanwan regretted her prank immediately and bounded over to her sister’s side.
“Yanyan!” Miying immediately showed care for her elder sister.
Fearing that Yanyan’s injury might have been reopened, Miying had undressed her sister without hesitation and shame. Even Wanwan had flinched a little in shock. Fortunately, there were no signs of Yanyan’s wound splitting and Miying look relieved.
“Princess Wanwan… you should not scare your sister like that…” Miying reproached in a kindly manner.
“I am sorry, I did not expect my sister’s reaction to be so big,” Wanwan said with slight remorse. Afraid that the commotion within the room would invite unnecessary attention, Wanwan shut the doors behind her before going over to her sister again.
Yanyan sighed. “It is fine. Wanwan why have you come to visit me?”
“Why can’t I visit my elder sister?” Wanwan threw the question back cheekily.
Yanyan was unamused but a smile broke on Miying’s face. “Now I am reminded of just how strong-headed you two sisters are.”
“Oh, Miying you haven’t seen just how much fiercer my sister has become,” Wanwan teased. “She almost walloped me in the tent because I went out to stargaze with my companion.”
