Chapter 2
The palace matron who had come to fetch me began urging us to hurry.
If we didn’t leave now, the palace gates would close.
The carriage wheels creaked as they turned.
Father, Mother, and my sisters grew smaller and smaller.
I stuck my head out and strained to see them, but soon I couldn’t see them at all.
The carriage passed through the bustling streets.
At last, it rolled slowly to a stop before the palace gates.
The matron said the carriage couldn’t go any farther. I would have to walk the rest of the way.
I jumped down and gazed curiously at the palace walls before me.
The red walls and blue-gray tiles seemed to stretch on forever.
With my little bundle on my back, I scurried along as fast as my legs would carry me.
At first, the matron walked with little steps. Then she had to jog to catch up.
“My lady, slow down.”
I turned and waved to her.
“Hurry up, Matron!”
But the matron’s face suddenly changed, and she dropped to her knees and bowed low.
I turned back.
All I saw was a redwood litter inlaid with gold.
The person upon it sat in a languid recline.
She wore rose-red brocade embroidered with indigo auspicious clouds.
But even the richest brocade couldn’t compare with her beauty.
I had thought my eldest sister’s looks were unrivaled in all the world.
Yet this woman was even more beautiful than my sister.
For a moment, I could only stare.
Then a woman dressed as a palace maid snapped at me:
“Whose maid are you? Why aren’t you bowing to the noble consort?”
The matron behind me hurried forward on her knees.
“Forgive her, Your Highness. This is the duke’s third daughter, newly appointed Attendant Yu by His Majesty.”
“Attendant Yu has only just entered the palace and doesn’t know the rules. Please forgive her, Your Highness.”
Only then did the noble consort on the litter turn her gaze to me.
A smile made her beautiful face still more dazzling.
Her lovely, slightly upturned eyes met mine with amusement.
“Tell me. What are you looking at?”
“You’re pretty, Your Highness.”
The noble consort suddenly laughed.
She beckoned to me. I went over obediently and looked up at her.
Her long, luminous white fingers slowly tipped up my chin.
“Tell me, what would happen if I charged you with gross disrespect today and had you beaten to death?”
The moment she said it, the matron behind me began kowtowing and begging her to calm her anger.
I tilted my head and thought very carefully before answering:
“Then my mother would be very sad.”
“What?”
Most of the noble consort’s swagger vanished at once.
Her lovely eyes widened a little, and she asked again:
“What did you say?”
“If you have me beaten to death, my mother will be very sad. Not just Mother. Father will be sad too. And my eldest sister, my second sister, Matron Tao, Uncle Li, and Ah Hua. They’ll all be sad.”
The noble consort seemed not to have quite caught up. Without thinking, she asked:
“Who’s Ah Hua?”
“Ah Hua is my cat. It’s ever so fat.”
The noble consort fell speechless. The noble consort looked up at the sky. The noble consort waved me away.