Chapter 4
At that thought, I struck my forehead hard against the blue stone paving and cried out,
“My character is poor. I am grasping and quarrelsome, and my sister and I have long been at odds. If we both marry into the Eastern Palace, the household will never know peace.”
Shen Rushi went pale.
“Nonsense!”
“But everyone in the capital knows that I fight and grasp for things from you.”
Mother knocked over her teacup.
“You are the one at fault, and you think that gives you a right?”
Someone drew a sharp breath.
“Miss Shen has yielded so much already. Why is she still not satisfied?”
I turned sharply toward the young woman.
“If your sister offered you her husband, would you willingly take that burning seat as mistress of the household, with their vows of undying love standing between you?”
“Would you spend your whole life meek and half dead, watching your sister and brother-in-law live in loving harmony? Or would you shamelessly steal your sister’s lover to make him your husband?”
Her face went white. She fell silent.
Mother looked up at me, resentment and hatred in her eyes.
“Your sister only wants what is best for you. Apologize to her.”
I raised my head toward the empress.
“Your Majesty can see for herself. Whether I fight or refuse to fight, I am wrong. What place could there be for me in the Eastern Palace?”
A trace of panic entered Shen Rushi’s face.
“You are my own sister, born of the same mother.”
I looked at her.
“Which is why I do not want us to become enemies over a man.”
That single sentence
struck a raw nerve in many of the noble young women.
Who could count how many sisters had become enemies over marriage?
Even the empress had suffered from it.
Only those who had lived it knew the bitterness and pain.
A draft through the hall made the empress’s eyelids flutter.
Her gaze swept over my drab, matronly clothes before she released a long breath.
“Very well. After all, it is the elder Miss Shen alone whom the crown prince favors. Return the younger Miss Shen’s vase to her.”
By then,
my back was soaked through.
Only when an attendant approached carrying the Guanyin vase did I finally breathe freely.
He was just about to place it in my hands
when a sharp, cold command rang out beyond the doors.
“Wait.”
The crown prince, Xiao Shiyu, strode in, wearing golden boots and a jade crown.
He passed everyone else and snatched the Guanyin vase just as it reached me.
Then he swept out his sleeve and addressed the room in an icy voice.
“The magpie ritual is merely an auspicious gesture. My choice is Ah Ru. The flower was only ever meant to fall into her vase.”
“This supposed double choice is nothing but someone’s vicious scheme to climb into power.”
Murmurs filled the hall.
The magpie was specially trained. Guided by the vase’s color and the scent of its water, it would place the flower precisely in the vase chosen beforehand.
But today,
it had circled from side to side, unable to decide.
In the end, the blossom fell, landing exactly on Shen Rushi’s pear-shaped vase.
Then the magpie turned and placed the stem in my Guanyin vase.
Without some interference,
it would never have behaved so strangely.
Xiao Shiyu sneered at me.
“You intend to step over your sister into the Eastern Palace. Did you ask whether I would allow it?”
His eyes held an impenetrable disgust, and a hatred so deep he seemed to grind his teeth with it.
In that moment, I understood with absolute clarity.
He had been reborn too.
And he had not forgotten how he died one step short of ruling the realm—or how he died at my hands.
He thought I still wanted to enter the Eastern Palace.
“Crown Prince, the younger Miss Shen has already—”
“There is no need to say more, Mother. I have made my decision.”
The empress had scarcely begun when he raised a hand and interrupted her.
With a crash, he smashed the Guanyin vase.
The scented liquid that attracted the magpie spilled across the floor.
As everyone gasped,
he turned coldly toward me.
“What punishment does the younger Miss Shen deserve for scheming against the Eastern Palace’s marriage?”
Shen Rushi tightened her grip on her handkerchief.
I saw it.
My lips curved, and my answer rang out.
“Scheming against the Eastern Palace is punishable by death.”
Every face changed.
Xiao Shiyu mocked me.
“Then you are willing to die?”
I lifted my eyes to his.
“Since the Eastern Palace is involved, the matter must be investigated thoroughly.”
“If I am guilty, I will accept death.”
After all, I would rather die than let them have their way.
Before I had finished,
Mother cried out,
“No!”
Realizing her breach of etiquette, she hurriedly bowed.
“A scandal would be inauspicious on such a joyous day.”
I looked at her.
“The scandal has already been smashed at your daughter’s feet, Mother. You can no longer cover it up.”
Shen Rushi knelt perfectly straight.
“His Highness will not punish you. For everyone’s peace, can you not stop pressing so hard?”
I laughed.
“When His Highness wanted me dead, your Buddhist compassion did nothing to save me. Now that I ask for justice, I am pressing too hard.”
“Sister, is my life worth less than another few moments of these ladies’ time?”
Shen Rushi’s eyes reddened.
“I have already yielded the crown princess’s position to you. What more do you want?”
The crown prince’s expression turned colder still.
“As if she were worthy. Let me make this clear: at today’s selection, I want only Ah Ru.”
I let out a breath.
“I do not want your crown princess’s position. I want justice.”
“If justice is not on my side, I am willing to die.”
Bang!
The crown prince struck the table.
“Who besides your sister do you think you can threaten with your worthless life?”
“Summon the Imperial Household Department. Begin with the Guanyin vase.”
He looked at me, his eyes as cold as a winter pool.
“You want an investigation? Let us see what tricks you have left.”
Shen Rushi’s smug smile froze.