Chapter 7

On the third day of Xie Qingwei’s disappearance,

the princess’s rage had grown almost to madness. The Jinwu Guards worked from dawn until late at night, going between the homes of the noble ladies who had attended the banquet, yet finding nothing.

For a time, Shengdu’s great families lived in fear.

After answering their questions through a screen once more, I changed my clothes and went out with my brother.

Xue Shao had sent word yesterday.

The Ninth Prince would see me.

Jiahui Ward was crowded with horses and carriages. Outside the carriage curtain, the world swayed past.

The women in the street wore brilliant colors. Even their veiled hats came in every shade, like flowers in bloom.

The sight was one I had known since birth, yet suddenly a thought occurred to me…Why must women cover their faces when they went out, while men need not?

Following that thought came the old scenes my grandmother had described with a smile to lull me to sleep as a child.

It had been an age when a female emperor ruled and a female chancellor assisted her. At court, women officials held their heads high and men lowered their eyes. In ordinary life, women could go out freely, study, trade, and establish their own households.

Even at weddings, the man knelt and the woman stood when they bowed to heaven and earth, to show the honor due a woman.

Sadly, I had never seen that glorious world.

From the time I was born, women were expected to obey the instructions on female virtue and conduct and know their place. Achievement belonged to men. Supporting husbands and raising children belonged to women.

Had my grandmother’s youthful dreams never opened before me for that instant, had I not witnessed the new decrees issued after the Ninth Prince’s accession,

I too would have believed that men’s superiority over women was heaven’s manifest will.

That this was simply how the world should be.

“We’re here.”

My brother lifted the carriage curtain and handed me my veiled hat.

Holding the brim beneath its soft silk, I felt an urge to throw it out of the window. In the end, I put it on, covering my head and face. I might defy convention, but the Jiang clan still had married aunts and unmarried sisters.

How cruel. The law at least provided that a married daughter should not suffer for her birth family’s offenses. Yet chastity seemed to override every other principle in the world.

If your sister was unchaste, you must be unchaste too.

Rumor could destroy anything. The natural closeness between mothers and daughters, between sisters, was twisted into chain after chain.

A tea boy led us into a small room.

The Ninth Prince was brewing tea. Xue Shao sat cross-legged nearby. I removed my hat and was about to bow when the prince smiled and raised a hand. “We’re out in the world; dispense with ceremony. Come, taste my tea.”

She pushed two cups toward the empty seats.

I sat down and was about to drink when Xue Shao said quietly, “You had better drink water.”

I paused. The Ninth Prince protested, “After three days apart, you should look at a person anew. You last tasted my tea five days ago. How can you still think so little of me?”

Xue Shao looked back at her without expression.

Anxious about the awkward atmosphere, my brother hastily said, “I happen to be thirsty. Thank you for the tea, Your Highness.”

With graceful movements, he took a sip.

“…” Watching his expression, I set my cup down as though by chance.

“Thank you for agreeing to see me, Your Highness.”

The Ninth Prince’s interested gaze left my brother’s face. She smiled at me.

“I’m very curious. What secret did Xie Qingwei reveal that made you knock him unconscious to protect me, even at the cost of offending the princess?”