Chapter 7

I stared in confusion. The Grand Princess burst out laughing. “Your brother is shy. He is only teasing you.”

Pei Mingjue frowned and seemed about to speak, but a maid announced from beyond the curtain, “Your Highness, the marchioness requests an audience.”

I flinched. The Grand Princess patted my back soothingly. “Do not be afraid. She is no one important.”

“Mother, I’ll send her away.” Pei Mingjue sneered. “Only coming now—she has some nerve.”

After Pei Mingjue left, the Grand Princess said nothing about the matter. She fed me half a bowl of medicine before coaxing me to sleep.

When I woke again, the bed curtains hung low and quiet candles burned around me. I shot upright and called in panic, “Mama.”

“Yes, Mama is here.” The curtains parted, and the Grand Princess embraced me. “My darling, Mama has been right beside your bed.”

She had not changed her clothes, and her pearl hairpins were disheveled. She truly had remained beside me, waiting for me to wake.

My chest and nose ached. I blinked desperately, but could no longer hold back. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“I did not lose my memory. I remember everything.” Clutching her sash, I spinelessly burst into tears again. “Your Highness, what I did was despicable.”

“Silly child. How can you be so foolish?” Her trembling lips pressed to my forehead. “You called me Mama, so you are my daughter.”

“I once had a little girl too. She died before she ever opened her eyes. When I saw you, I do not know why, but my heart filled with joy.”

“Xiaoman, stay at the Grand Princess’s residence.” Her tears ran down my cheeks and into my mouth. “Mama needs you. Will you come and be my child?”

That night, held in Mama’s arms, I did not dream.

Life at the Grand Princess’s residence was peaceful. Everyone there called me Eldest Young Mistress.

We delighted in the same things. On rainy days, we took a boat onto the lake to listen to the rain. We shared a blanket across our knees and leaned together as we talked. Whenever the conversation became lively, our laughter startled the fish from the hooks.

Pei Mingjue reeled in his line and said helplessly, “That is the third one.”

“Brother.” I rested my cheek on my bent knee and asked deliberately, “Will we get to eat a fish you catch today?”

“I am not your brother.” Pei Mingjue scowled again. “Call me that once more and you will not eat a single one.”

The Grand Princess burst out laughing.

On the Mid-Autumn Festival, the palace held another polo match. The prize was again a pearl personally selected by His Majesty from the imperial treasury.

It was larger than last year’s pearl and brighter too, glittering brilliantly in the light.

I formed a team with familiar companions once more. I had changed into my riding clothes and was about to enter the field when I heard someone call, “Xiaoman.”

My brother and Mother stood inside the grounds. When I turned, my brother asked with delight, “Xiaoman, have you been well?”

I did not approach. Mother looked far more haggard than before. Watching me with yearning, she called again, “Xiaoman.”

“Your sister had a terrible fever that day and almost did not survive,” Mother said through tears. “I truly had no choice. That was why I could not come see you.”

“How have you been? Has your health improved? When today’s polo match is over, shall we go home?”

“The Grand Princess is using her power to bully us,” my brother said indignantly. “We have visited many times, but she always refuses us entry.”

“She even claimed you had lost your memory and used that as an excuse to keep us from seeing you.”

“I did not lose my memory,” I finally said. “I simply did not want to see any of you.”

My brother’s and Mother’s expressions froze in unison, as though they could not comprehend my words.

I said nothing more. I mounted and galloped away. In the distance, Pei Mingjue sat high in his saddle. When I reached him, he extended his polo mallet and tapped it against mine.

The gong sounded and a scarlet lacquered ball flew into the air. Pei Mingjue and I moved in perfect accord, passing and receiving as our horses raced side by side and churned up yellow dust.

One strike split the air. The colored ball slammed into the brocade beside the goal, and His Majesty clapped and laughed. Once again, the pearl was mine.

Sweat drenched my hair, but I had no time to wipe it away. In my haste, I stumbled as I dismounted and shouted, “Mama!”

In the eastern pavilion, the Grand Princess and Mother turned at the same moment, expectation in both their eyes.

“Mama! I won you an eastern pearl!” Laughing, I ran over, swept past Mother, and plunged straight into the Grand Princess’s arms.

“Oh, my darling.” The Grand Princess hurriedly asked, “Did you hurt yourself getting off the horse?”

“Mama, did you see?” I was beside myself with excitement. “Did you see the goal I scored just now?”

“I saw, I saw.” The Grand Princess wiped the sweat from my forehead with her handkerchief and laughed. “You are like a little monkey.”

“Li Xiaoman!” An angry shout rang out behind me, and someone seized my collar.

Mother dragged me from the Grand Princess’s embrace. “Who are you calling Mama?”

She raised her hand to slap me.

With a sharp crack, the Grand Princess clamped a hand around Mother’s trembling wrist.