Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Shangyuan Palace Banquet.
Only two topics were on everyone’s lips, both concerning Xie Liuzheng.
One was that he had been repeatedly impeached in court, accused of growing arrogant and overbearing on the strength of his military merit, flouting rites and propriety.
The other was that His Majesty had bestowed upon him a marriage.
And the bride of that bestowed marriage was sitting right beside me.
“A Young General can’t help being a bit hot-blooded. Sister Zhao, you needn’t worry.”
Across from us, the Duchess of the State consoled her: “These past months, foreign enemies have probed the border several times. War may flare at any moment. Young General Xie is still of great use.”
Zhao Yuluo lowered her head with a demure smile and took a small sip of light wine.
She was so gentle and beautiful-truly a fine match for Xie Liuzheng.
Her family background was impeccable; her father had once served under Old General Xie, and rumor had it she had harbored feelings for Xie Liuzheng for many years.
She was another version of my former self.
She had no guard up with me at all. Holding my hand, she said, “I felt like old friends the moment we met, Sister. I like you very much.”
She did not call me Lady. She called me Sister.
“You may not have seen me before, Sister, but I have seen you.”
She said she had once seen that painting Xie Liuzheng kept.
The person in the painting was me.
Under what circumstances, and at what closeness, could she have seen the painting he kept hidden on his person?
At the very least, Xie Liuzheng trusted her.
He treated her differently from everyone else.
She said that when she was younger, living in Saibei with her father, she would chase after Xie Liuzheng calling him Brother, always following in his footsteps.
That was a stretch of time I knew nothing about.
It was also the happiest time of Xie Liuzheng’s life.
In Saibei, his father and brothers were still there; his family was still whole.
And she had been there with him.
“Sister.”
She wouldn’t let go of my hand, and with a smile she said something I didn’t quite understand: “You and I could originally have been family, too.”
“Isn’t that so?”
From the main seat, my elder sister looked over at the two of us. “Young General Xie is the Crown Prince’s sworn younger brother. Little sister, that makes you doubly her sister-in-law.”
I smiled, slipped my hand free, and raised a cup in toast to my elder sister.
Then I rose and went to a side hall to change.
Snow lay everywhere in shining drifts; above the palace corners and pavilions hung a sliver of cold moon.
“Little sister, at least Zhao Yuluo is clean.”
I hadn’t noticed when my elder sister came to stand beside me, but she, too, was looking up at the moon.
“Did you think Xie Liuzheng is some saint, free of all grudges?
“Who would want a woman who isn’t clean?
“Tell me, little sister: with warm fragrance and soft jade-a beauty at his side-how long do you think he can hold out?”
When I still said nothing, she pronounced her judgment: “Not long. Men are all the same.”
The night deepened.
When I returned to the feast, the wine had gone to Zhao Yuluo’s head. A soft flush colored her cheeks, making her look even more lovely.
“In this snowy weather, the roads are hard to travel.”
The Duchess of the State asked with concern, “Sister Zhao, will someone from your household come to fetch you?”
“It’s no matter.”
My elder sister cut a sidelong glance past me. “Right now Young General Xie is with His Majesty giving his report. He’ll come for her later.”
“Someone to fetch her-now that is a blessing indeed.”
Everyone at the table chimed in, voices teasing and congratulatory.
Blessings on all sides.
“Lady, the carriage back to the Eastern Palace is ready,” Ah Ying said to me.
I took my leave ahead of time.
At the steps outside the gates of Zhaoyang Palace, the Duchess of the State stopped me.
She blocked my path, yet for a long while she did not speak.
“He is young and capable. He could have had a smooth and brilliant future.
“It is the Eastern Palace that confines you. What do you expect him to fight it with?
“If he clings to love between man and woman, you will ruin him sooner or later.”
Her tone was even, but every word struck to the heart.
“Ah Jin, one cannot be so selfish.”
“Teacher’s wife.”
It had been a long time since I’d addressed her that way.
The Duchess of the State had once been teacher’s wife to both me and Xie Liuzheng.
I used to be greedy for the crisp pastries she made.
So Xie Liuzheng would pester teacher’s wife to teach him how to make them.
She laughed at him: what business does a proper man have cooking for a woman?
He said, it’s a blessing.
When he was in Saibei, war flared often. He seldom sat with family for a meal.
I was in the capital. My mother died early, and most of the time I ate alone.
“Now, we can eat together.”
Teacher’s wife patted his head and said, “You two can eat together for years and years.”
Years and years.
And now, it has only been three.
I looked at the Duchess of the State, and at the vast Zhaoyang Palace behind her.
“You, too, once blessed him and me, just like today.”