by Fynn Chen
Wanwan blinked at her sister’s words and saw that the expression on Miying’s face had turned impassive once again. The atmosphere was serious and Wanwan felt as though a stone had settled upon her chest. Regaining her composure, Wanwan smiled up at her sister and replied, “I am always objective, sister.”
**
A court assembly was called for in the evening as the sun was dipping below the horizon. This assembly was held at a smaller hall, the Hall of Moral Supremacy. In attendance was some of the highest-ranking ministers, including Minister Song and Minister Guo, as well as the parties who were involved with the relief program. Discussion was carried out during the session to give due updates on the status of their relief efforts, and on the attacks during the course of their work. It was not frequent that Wanwan attended such court sessions but Yexuan detected no feelings of discomfort from the Bo’er princess. In fact, other than the court robe which looked ill-fitting on Wanwan, the wildling princess looked entirely unfazed.
Representing the relief party, Prince Zhongxian had given a succinct summary of the timeline of the events during the relief program. After which the ministers had expressed their opinions and asked a flurry of questions. Some of ministers questioned the viability of a future relief program but at the same time there were others who had received reports of the surge in civilians’ confidence because of this relief effort. Amidst the debates, Yexuan was slightly distracted by Wanwan’s reactions. It was evident to Yexuan that Wanwan was struggling a little to maintain her composure and was beginning to become restless. If Yexuan had read Wanwan’s mind correctly, the wildling princess viewed all these as meaningless banters. Yexuan was caught in between feelings of amusement and worries for the wildling princess. Hoping that she could send a warning to prevent Wanwan from doing anything reckless, Yexuan tried to catch Wanwan’s attention. Wanwan tilted her head a fraction to meet Yexuan’s eyes. Then, a slight smile was produced on Wanwan’s face. Wanwan’s gaze returned to her ground as she squared her shoulders, with a renewed quality of discipline in her body language. Yexuan’s heart lurched as she wondered how Wanwan could read her intentions so easily and a smile wended into Yexuan’s face as well.
Ultimately, the Emperor had commended them for their efforts. The princes, Yexuan, and Wanwan all accepted with humble bows. Wanwan was especially praised by the Emperor and the ministers for her bravery while defending the relief camp, and they alluded her involvement in the relief programs to her efforts in forging closer ties between Bo’er and Pei. Yexuan felt her mouth curve into another involuntary smile and watched with pride as her father Emperor had elevated Wanwan’s status and bestowed her the title Undaunted Protector of Pei. Wanwan was also heavily rewarded with riches much to Minister Song and Minister Guo’s displeasure.
The sky had already darkened. Wanwan and Yexuan had gone straight to Yexuan’s quarters after the court session ended. Wanwan was spread-eagled on Yexuan’s bed whilst Yexuan had requested for tea and snacks to be made, mainly for Wanwan. Shaking her head with a bemused smile, Yexuan sat herself by Wanwan’s side and blew a breath playfully at the wildling princess. Wanwan winced a little and screwed her mouth to a side before throwing an annoyed glare at Yexuan. Yexuan giggled. The giggles died down when Wanwan’s hand shot out to muss up Yexuan’s hair. Yexuan tried to dodge Wanwan’s playful hand but it was futile as the wildling princess was just that much quicker.
“You are bullying me,” Yexuan said with a pout.
Donning a lazy smirk, Wanwan retracted her hand and folded it behind her head as she adjusted herself to meet Yexuan’s eyes. The look on the wildling princess’s face and the way her gaze was directed at her made Yexuan’s face heat slightly.
“Only I can do this to you,” Wanwan said in a haughty voice.
Grooming her hair, Yexuan replied with taunt. “Really? Well, the princes do this to me at times too.”
Sitting herself upright and narrowing her eyes, Wanwan asked. “Which prince? Why do I not remember witnessing it?”
Turning her face away to hide her smile, Yexuan laid herself down on the bed, and let out a long sigh. Wanwan rested a hand on the small of Yexuan’s back and rubbed the spot in a small circular motion. Warmth spread down the lower back of body and another sigh of contentment escaped from Yexuan’s lips.
“Even with the seduction of your skilful touches, I still won’t be telling you,” Yexuan said.
“Such a tease. Anyway, they are your brothers, so I will not get jealous. But besides your brothers, only I can do this to you.”
There was a hard edge to Wanwan’s tone and Yexuan really adored it. Things had changed from the time they had confessed their feelings to one another. Or perhaps these things had always been there, building up slowly over time.
Yexuan flipped herself over when she heard a yawn escape from Wanwan’s lips. Cupping Wanwan’s face, Yexuan took a good long look at her companion. The wildling princess looked really worn out from convening with her royal siblings. Judging from the tension when they had just arrived at the palace in the morning, Yexuan knew that Wanwan must have received a bout of harsh lecture from Princess Yanyan. Yexuan felt a dull ache in her chest as she detected the exhaustion on Wanwan’s face. Still wearing the sly smirk on her face, Wanwan reciprocated Yexuan’s touch with a caress to the courtly princess’s face.
“Yexuan, I am donating the chest full of gold and silver your father Emperor has bestowed upon me,” Wanwan said as she closed her eyes.
“Y-You are donating all of them away?” Yexuan asked in surprise.
Wanwan nodded with her eyes still shut, the smile on her face stretched wider. “I have enough money of my own. Use them to fund your future initiatives. Just squeeze my name somewhere in your proposal and treat it as acknowledgement for the donation.
“You are the best!”
Yexuan laughed as she sprang up and threw her arms around Wanwan’s neck. Wanwan’s eyes opened in rude shock as she squared her body to prevent both of them from tumbling off the bed.
“Woah, Princess Yexuan. If we break our backs, then we would not be participating in any future initiatives.”
Giggling, Yexuan hugged Wanwan even tighter, and was keenly aware that their bodies were heavily moulded against one another. Wanwan had rested her hands on Yexuan’s hips before roving some ways upwards and snaking around her waist. The urge to challenge Wanwan’s sturdiness was so tempting and Yexuan made another attempt to rock them over the edge of the bed once more. Yexuan squealed as Wanwan tickled her ruthlessly in return.
“Yexuan, if you make any more noise, the palace maids are going to come running in.”
Catching her breath, Yexuan pecked Wanwan on her cheeks. “They won’t. They have been given strict orders never to interrupt us at this timing. Thank you, Wanwan, you really are the most generous and the best.”
“I know. No choice, the heavens had given my companion a charitable heart,” Wanwan replied.
Yexuan let out another ill-suppressed giggle and pressed a hard kiss onto Wanwan’s lips. They tumbled over across the bed with Yexuan pinned under Wanwan. Holding Yexuan with care, Wanwan had learned to angle her face better to deepen their kiss. Yexuan nearly broke out into a snigger amidst their kisses.
“Ticklish?” Wanwan asked.
Biting her lower lip, Yexuan shook her head. “Just… not used to it yet.”
Snorting a laughter, Wanwan replied, “you will eventually get used to it.”
The confidence surging from Wanwan was what captivated and worried Yexuan at the same time. Pressing a hand to Wanwan’s chest, forcing her to lie down, Yexuan said, “rest for a period Wanwan, let me get some foods prepared for you.”
Wanwan’s hold around her gradually slackened and she nodded. The wildling princess rested for a few moments before her eyes popped open much to Yexuan’s amusement. Wanwan’s nose must have picked up the smell of the pot of freshly brewed Chrysanthemum flower tea and steaming hot pork buns flavoured with five spices.
Bounding over quickly, Wanwan wasted not a moment as she pulled two stools out for themselves and took the heavy tray from Yexuan before setting it down on the table.
With the windows opened and room infiltrated by the soft glow from the moon, the princesses enjoyed their late evening sipping hot tea and conversed about everything, ranging from the wonders of the everchanging skies to the happenings on the dusty earth. Eventually, they broached the sensitive topic about the lives that were lost during the night of infiltration by the rebels.
One of Yexuan’s maids and several more of her imperial guards had perished during the deadly attack. In addition to the crown’s bestowment of grievance monies to their families, Yexuan had also used a portion of her own savings to compensate them. She had not been particularly close to the maid that had died. Nevertheless, Yexuan’s heart still ached at the premature loss of a young life when she overheard her other palace maids discussing about the deceased maid’s younger siblings and sickly parents. Before Yexuan slipped further into dispiriting ruminations, Wanwan held a cup of tea up to honour their deaths.
“In place of wine, I raise this cup of tea to give my due respects to their sacrifice. May they rest in peace with the knowledge that Princess Yexuan has taken due care of their families.”
A bitter smile touched Yexuan’s lips as she lifted her own cup of tea and added on a few more words of gratitude, in memory of their services and wishing them a smooth passing through the netherworld and on to their next lives. As she downed her own cup of tea, Yexuan once again wondered how she would cope with such devastating situation if she were by herself and was grateful for Wanwan’s presence to share her miseries.
“The maid they have selected for me this time round is rather young, about your age,” Yexuan said with a tinge of heaviness in her voice.
“Oh, is it? Then maybe you can have another playmate or someone to talk to,” Wanwan replied casually.
Yexuan frowned, she had not wanted that, the only companion she needed was Wanwan. Wanwan seemed to not have taken notice of her frustrations as she ate and drank as before. What was more maddening was that Yexuan thought she had made it clear to the wildling princess when they had first sealed each other’s lips in the tent.
“Why? You don’t look happy? You don’t like to have younger maids?”
“It is not that,” Yexuan said curtly.
With confusion written all over her face, Wanwan asked, “then what is it?”
“Figure it out yourself,” Yexuan snapped.
Wanwan’s brows creased as she munched on her pork bun and thought hard. Eventually, she gave up and tugged at Yexuan’s sleeves, beckoning for her enlightenment. In the end, Yexuan relented. “I don’t want another companion. I only want you. I have said it before.”
Wanwan paused briefly amidst her bite into another pork bun. Then, wearing a humoured smile, Wanwan said as she chewed, “Yexuan, you need other friends too. Also, I said playmate, not companion. They are different in terms of definition. I already know that I am your one and only companion. There is no mistaking that status, it was conferred to us when I was ten and you were twelve. The kiss that we had in the tent was acknowledgement of that same status. Is it not?”
Yexuan broke into a smile at Wanwan’s words and pressed her lips together as she nodded. Wanwan lips curved into a slanted smile, stuffing the remnants of the bun into her mouth. After cleaning her hands, Wanwan scooted her seat towards Yexuan, and looped an arm around the courtly princess’s waist. Yexuan tipped her head to rest on Wanwan’s shoulder.
“She will be arriving at my quarters tomorrow. Do you want to come over and meet her as well?”
“Sure, anyway I am almost always at your quarters or you are at mine. I will get to see this new palace maid of yours sooner or later,” Wanwan said with a glint of amusement in her eyes.
That was true and that fact pleased Yexuan so greatly that she had lifted her head and peered into Wanwan’s eyes, letting a smile as sweet as honey spread across her face. In return, Wanwan had pinched her cheek lightly and made it colour.
“You have got to stop doing that to me, I am older than you are.” Yexuan tried to sound stern.
“We are companions, so we are of equal status,” Wanwan said cockily and pinched Yexuan’s other side of her cheek as well.
“Stop it!” Yexuan said a little louder but Wanwan did not listen and increased her assaults on Yexuan’s cheeks instead.
“What are you going to do if I don’t?” Wanwan challenged with an impish smile on her face.
Frowning deeply, Yexuan’s hands had shot out too as she pinched both sides of Wanwan’s cheeks. Wanwan must have willingly let her do it because she did not even dodge.
“I will do the same back to you,” Yexuan said childishly.
Before they both realised it, they were chasing each other around in the room, making sounds of merriment and squeals alike as they took revenge on one another. Their game of chasing finally ended when they had toppled over each other on the bed once more.
Laughing, Wanwan had caged Yexuan in with both arms on her side. The wildling princess was propped up on those sinewy arms of hers that had alluring faint scars along them. Those beautiful arms. Yexuan could not help but reach out and ran her finger over one of the numerous scars; a tiny, dented star shape on her right upper arm. Yexuan was present when Wanwan had gotten this injury. It was slightly over a year ago when Wanwan had been sparring with Zhongxiu and the prince had accidentally torn Wanwan’s skin open with a blunted spear. Wanwan had shrugged the injury off, claiming it to be small and inconsequential, but both Yexuan and Zhongxiu insisted she applied ointment on it immediately.
Wanwan looked at her own scar briefly before returning her attention to Yexuan’s face. A mesmerised look glazed over Wanwan’s eyes and before Yexuan anticipated it, the wildling princess had dived in to place a kiss on her cheek, then another on the other side.
“Ointment for the pinches,” Wanwan said tenderly as she brushed aside a stray lock of Yexuan’s hair.
Yexuan did not know where she had gotten the idea from, but she found herself interlocking her arms behind Wanwan’s neck as she pulled the princess in. Instead of Wanwan’s cheeks however, Yexuan kissed the wildling princess full on her lips again.
“Hope the ointment spreads by itself,” Yexuan said naughtily and saw Wanwan’s grin spreading.
“No longer ticklish?” Wanwan teased and Yexuan’s face reddened slightly with embarrassment as she shook her head.
Letting out a heavy sigh of contentment, Wanwan had collapsed her body on top of Yexuan right after and a gasp escaped from Yexuan’s lips.
“I’m tired,” Wanwan said with a wilful whine.
Yexuan smiled at Wanwan’s child-like antics and smoothed her palm over Wanwan’s hair.
“Then sleep,” Yexuan whispered into Wanwan’s ears.
“I will. Cuddle me tightly in your arms,” Wanwan demanded.
Letting out a soft sigh of her own, Yexuan acquiesced.
Minutes later, Wanwan was asleep, their bodies positioned in a half cuddle by each other’s side as Yexuan looked fondly at the sleeping princess.
“I love you, Wanwan,” Yexuan said quietly before closing her own eyes and descended into a blissful rest.
20 Hidden Truths and Wandering Spirits
The harsh sun and volatile weathers were finally beginning to abate at the end of the long summer season, giving way to comfortable breezes accompanied by light rains. This was the day when the people of Pei celebrate Qixi, also known as valentine’s day, where gifts and words of love were exchanged between lovers.
It was a great pity that the appreciation and romanticism of the festival which was widely celebrated by the common townspeople did not spread to the inhabitants of the palace. According to the princes, such festivals which perpetuate common romances were not worthy enough of celebration as they would only give rise to taboo and scandalous relationships forming within the palatial walls. Wanwa
n scoffed when she learnt that such a meaningful festival was being snubbed on, and regrettable that Yexuan would be missing out on such an occasion to have fun.
Standing before them was a young maid, fourteen of age, slim of build, and with rather sharp and beautiful features. Yingqi, which meant ‘Outstanding Jade’, was her name and Wanwan thought that it suited her really well. The ‘Ying’ in her name also described the charm of her bodily physique which had a sturdy quality, and the ‘Qi’ foretold of her refined personality. Despite Yingqi’s head constantly hanging low, Wanwan could see a certain quality of intelligence reflected behind the young maid’s canted eyes.
When Wanwan was first introduced to this new palace maid, Yingqi, she felt a strange sort of connection. It was neither romantic nor of camaraderie, just a certain sense that this palace maid could be similar to her in some ways. Regardless, Wanwan decided to place her instincts aside as she introduced herself to the new palace maid.
“I am Princess Zhenwan from Bo’er, but you can call me Princess Wanwan. I live in the quarter across your Princess Yexuan’s quarters.”
“I am Y-Yingqi. I entered the palace since the age of twelve a-and have been serving at various quarters b-before coming here to serve P-Princess Yexuan,” the palace maid stuttered and Wanwan found that rather adorable as well.
Something felt different about Yingqi compared to the other palace maids. However, Wanwan could not put a finger to what exactly that difference was.
“Hello Yingqi, I arrived in this palace even earlier, at the age of ten, as Princess Yexuan’s companion. Do treat Princess Yexuan well, I will be watching,” Wanwan accented those last words on purpose and saw the new maid flinch a little.
“Don’t you scare my new maid off. No maids would dare come to my quarters if you do that,” Yexuan said sharply. Then in a gentler voice, she addressed the new palace maid and took Yingqi by her arms. “Yingqi, come along with me. I will introduce you to one of the other palace maids, Juanxin. She will bring you to familiarise around this place.”
