Chapter 6

I heard that the duke had summoned Pei Yao to his study and discussed military secrets with him all night.

When we met in the morning, Pei Yao stared at my elaborate jewelry, faded makeup, and clothes unchanged from the night before. “Didn’t I send word asking you to rest first?”

“Our hair had not been bound together, nor had we drunk the wedding wine,” I said flatly. “I thought that even with important business to attend to, you would find time to come back once.”

He looked embarrassed and could think of nothing to say. Qiuying hurried to smooth things over. “It’s getting late. Why not finish the ceremonies now, so we can enter the palace and pay our respects early?”

We glanced at each other briefly, then both looked away. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him nod. I took the offered way out and completed the rites with him.

But after waiting through the night, all my eager anticipation had become exhaustion. I could barely keep my eyes open long enough to finish. It left me feeling thoroughly miserable.

Once the rites were done, we washed, changed, and climbed into the carriage in the faint morning light to go to the palace.

The swaying carriage made me drowsier still. After stifling several yawns, I leaned against the wall and fell asleep.

I woke the instant we stopped and felt my cheek, afraid I had drooled and spoiled my makeup.

My cheek was dry. I breathed easier, but before that breath was quite out, I realized something was wrong with my position. Looking down, I found that although my face had stayed against the carriage wall, both legs had somehow draped themselves over Pei Yao’s. A little farther and they would have been around his waist. The posture was… difficult to describe.

Seeing me awake, he swallowed and coughed softly, but said nothing.

I hurriedly pulled my legs back, asked Qiuying at the front for a bronze mirror, and tidied my makeup. I gave him an awkward smile, unconsciously crumpling the ribbon at my breast into a terrible mess.

Inside the palace gates, one of my aunt’s attendants informed us that His Majesty and the empress were at the drill ground before the hall. We were to present ourselves there, so we changed course.

The drill ground was crowded and noisy. In the open space at its center, a dark-skinned Kunlun slave, barefoot and bare-chested, was demonstrating his elephant-training skills.

At his urging, the elephant, twice a man’s height, rose upright and shook its head, then sank down in a bow and curled its long trunk. Its colorful embroidered trappings jingled delightfully.

The performance ended just as we sat down after paying our respects. The Kunlun slave bowed too, looking equally good-natured.

Princess Xingyang saw the performance finish, then noticed us. Her lips curved. “I hear Kunlun slaves have the strength to lift great bronze vessels. And General Pei can draw a bow rated at a hundred shi. I wonder which would win in a wrestling match. Why not let them compete? What do Your Majesties think?”

The emperor frowned slightly. My aunt’s face had already turned cold. “General Pei is the descendant of an illustrious military family and a pillar of the state. How can a Kunlun slave be compared with him?”

The princess curled her lip. “It’s only wrestling. What has rank to do with it? I cannot believe a general of our dynasty would lose to a mere Kunlun slave.”

She gave Pei Yao a pointed look.

His expression remained calm, neither servile nor arrogant. “I am only an ordinary man, without this slave’s exceptional strength. I shall spare you an embarrassing display.”

The princess rolled her eyes and pouted, visibly disappointed.

Seeing his niece pout, the Prince of Lujiang offered a suggestion. “Why not have the Kunlun slave fight a tiger?”

The crown prince and the other princes lit up. They had evidently thought of it already, but had been reluctant to suggest it lest it damage their benevolent reputations. Now they looked expectantly at the emperor.

After a moment’s deliberation, His Majesty could not bear to disappoint them. “Permitted.” The attendants led out an enormous tiger with a white brow and fierce, slanting eyes.

Several yards away and behind a high iron fence, I was already frightened at the sight of it.

It was roughly ten feet long. Its glossy, striped coat could not conceal the hard lines of muscle beneath. It moved silently and gracefully as a cat, yet its sheer power seemed to surge toward us. One roar shook the ground and sky, making me shrink back instinctively.

Beside me, Pei Yao gently patted my knee. “It’s all right. I’m here.”

I forced myself to steady my nerves. The tiger sprang at the Kunlun slave with the force of a collapsing mountain.

He rolled low beneath its belly, then darted left and right to evade its attacks.

He had only a dagger, no longer weapon, and dared not strike recklessly. The ravenous tiger chased him mercilessly. He seemed to hope to outlast it, but as he scrambled to defend himself, more and more wounds appeared on his body.

Unable to bear it, I sighed, closed my eyes, and turned away.

The next moment, the tiger roared. Pei Yao suddenly lifted his wine cup and hurled it into the sky.

It flew so high I nearly lost sight of it, then fell in a beautiful, swift arc straight onto the tiger’s head. The beast had pinned the Kunlun slave and was about to bite his neck. The cup struck with a tremendous crash, covering its head in blood. Roaring, it abandoned the slave and lunged at the fence on our side!

The women shrieked. Baring its teeth, murderous and ravenous, the tiger seemed ready to tear someone apart. Everyone’s faces went pale. In terror, I caught Pei Yao’s wrist. He rose, ready to strike again, when a bright blade suddenly emerged inside the tiger’s open mouth. The Kunlun slave had leaped up and driven his dagger down through its head, killing it in one blow.

Its eyes clouded. Its great paws twitched twice, and then it toppled over with a crash.

It had all happened in an instant. By the time everyone understood, the Kunlun slave had placed a hand to his chest and bowed to Pei Yao.

Pei Yao nodded, then turned to the emperor, went down on one knee, and clasped his fists. “I could not bear the sight and acted rashly, spoiling the entertainment for Your Majesty and the princes and princess. Please punish me.”

The emperor laughed heartily. “What offense have you committed? With a single cup, you reversed their fortunes. A splendid display! A bodhisattva’s heart and a guardian warrior’s strength—excellent! I give you this Kunlun slave and the tiger’s skin. May you show the same resourcefulness and compassion on the battlefield, opening new territory and winning glory for our dynasty!”

There was meaning beneath those words. I dared not examine it too closely.

Sure enough.

After we left the palace, before we had even eaten supper, a decree appointed Pei Yao general of the Left Martial Guard. He was to lead fifty thousand men by sea to reinforce the campaign against Goguryeo.

He had been in the capital only a few days to marry me. The room had scarcely grown accustomed to him before the emperor sent him away.