Chapter 5
Chapter 5
The next day, Jade Lion returned to spray my residence.
He brought two companions, both ownerless toms. The palace had quite a number of strays.
“Will you ever stop?”
Jade Lion held his tail high. “What can you do to me?”
I glared at him.
An angry yowl came from behind me.
“Get out of my territory!”
Beauty!
My girl had come home—and she had brought three cats with her.
One was a massive longhair with gleaming golden fur and jade-green eyes. The second was slightly smaller, a wild-looking tabby marked like a tattooed street boss.
They were Golden Glaze, the ginger tom of Consort Wang’s palace, and Jade Tabby, the tabby of Consort Jiang’s palace.
The third was Frostbrow from Tenth Sister’s residence.
“…”
The cats began arguing the moment they saw one another.
Heavens, what kind of spectacle was this?
“Beauty! Beauty!” I called.
My rebellious daughter ignored me.
Small as she was, she stood grandly in the center like a gang leader. The two big toms flanked her, with Frostbrow bringing up the rear to enjoy the show.
The tension sharpened.
Once everyone had worked themselves up enough, the fight began.
My understanding of cats was overturned yet again.
First, Frostbrow joined in.
Golden Glaze and Jade Tabby faced Jade Lion and his two followers. I expected a two-against-three battle.
Instead, as soon as the five toms tangled together, Frostbrow crept around behind them. Then she began leaping up and smacking Jade Lion’s backside with both paws.
Golden Glaze was already battering him senseless, so Jade Lion could not spare any attention for her.
Frostbrow sank her teeth into his leg.
Jade Lion screamed. Golden Glaze pinned him down, and the male and female cats proceeded to pummel him as he rolled helplessly across the ground.
Jade Tabby, meanwhile, was fighting both strays alone.
They were large ownerless toms. Many such cats lived in the vast palace grounds, roaming freely—which meant surviving by their own hunting skills.
They knew how to fight. How they had become Jade Lion’s lackeys was anyone’s guess.
Jade Tabby was beginning to struggle.
With a furious roar, Beauty charged over to sacrifice herself.
The instant she reached the battle, one stray knocked her flat with a single slap.
“…”
Could someone please tell me which cat was supposed to be my rebellious daughter’s romantic lead?
Jade Tabby leaped in front of her and blocked the stray’s next attack.
Then a sixth cat entered the battle.
An outraged voice thundered from the roof.
“Insolence!”
“What?”
A huge white cat was pacing along the roofline.
That was Feilian, Father’s lion cat.
He roared, leaped down, and joined the ranks of Beauty’s gallant protectors.
The battle turned instantly.
The two strays were clever enough to flee before they suffered serious injuries.
Jade Lion was not so fortunate.
The others pinned him down and thrashed him. Golden Glaze mostly stopped hitting him and simply held him in place while Frostbrow slapped him over and over.
Beauty stood to one side with Jade Tabby and Feilian, watching.
I stared in disbelief.
I still did not understand how any of this had happened.
Jade Lion was badly hurt, so I ordered my servants to return him to Yunxiao Palace at once.
Beauty was already inviting her friends inside.
“My mom cooks delicious food.”
Fine.
I still had a little time, so I went to the small kitchen and made them a meal.
The palace employed people specifically to prepare food for cats, and they used only the freshest, finest fish. No one, however, made mixed meals.
I combined seasonal pumpkin, egg yolk, organ meat, and fish.
The cats were delighted.
I had assumed these cats were acquainted—perhaps even friends. Instead, I discovered that each operated as an independent faction, and the toms refused to acknowledge one another.
Only Beauty and Frostbrow were close.
After eating and washing their paws and faces, Beauty began grooming Frostbrow.
Frostbrow was a little younger than Beauty. White fur near her forehead gave the calico her name.
To human eyes, Frostbrow was a lovely cat, her three colors arranged in crisp, distinct patches. Male cats seemed to prefer muddier tortoiseshell coats without clear boundaries, like Beauty’s.
Frostbrow loved being groomed. She purred and even rolled over to show Beauty her belly.
The three big toms each occupied a separate corner and cleaned themselves.
None would submit to another.
“Aren’t you friends?” I asked.
“Tch,” said Golden Glaze.
“Hmph,” said Jade Tabby.
Feilian turned his head toward me.
I looked back expectantly.
“This food is excellent,” he declared. “I shall return tomorrow.”
“…”
Golden Glaze did not react, but Jade Tabby exploded.
“Then I’m coming too!”
“Impudent! Insolent!” Feilian roared.
Jade Tabby bared his teeth. “Who the heck are you?”
Consort Jiang had a slight regional accent. I did not understand why Jade Tabby had inherited it when three generations of his ancestors were capital cats.
I looked at Beauty anxiously.
All three males were handsome by my standards. Feilian, however, was rather theatrical, while the tattooed street boss Jade Tabby was far too rash.
Golden Glaze seemed relatively normal, but he appeared to be Frostbrow’s romantic lead.
I lowered my voice.
“Beauty, I still think Ink Pearl is best. He’s steady.”
She pushed my face away with one paw.
“Mom, cats have excellent hearing.”
“…”
Golden Glaze pawed at me. “I will return tomorrow too.”
Frostbrow gave a happy little trill.
I brought the male cats with me to the imperial study to ask Father’s forgiveness. The Crown Prince was there as well.
Both men looked at me as though words had failed them.
“You mean,” my brother said slowly, “these cats suddenly charged into your residence and beat up Little Five’s cat?”
Before I could answer, Feilian meowed several times.
“Yes. I did it,” he was saying.
Father’s eyes widened. “Feilian?”
“Although my beloved did not invite me, she needed me, and so I came.”
“…”
How could such a magnificent, powerful cat be so theatrical—and faintly greasy besides? I suddenly understood why Beauty had invited Golden Glaze and Jade Tabby, but not him.
Father laughed and pointed. “He’s talking to me. Like a tiny person.”
“As expected of a cat from Father’s palace,” the Crown Prince praised.
I hurried to the point. “Father, Fifth Sister’s cat was badly injured.”
“Why trouble yourself over such a small matter?” Father smiled. “Isn’t there a veterinarian?”
The Crown Prince smoothly took over. He described Jade Lion’s rampages throughout the imperial residence.
On the surface, he spoke only of a cat. Beneath that, he accused Fifth Sister and the Empress of bullying the entire harem.
Father understood.
He issued an order granting rewards to Yunxiao Palace.
What a marvelous spectacle. Naturally, I had to see it.
When I arrived, Consort Wang, Consort Jiang, and Tenth Sister were already there—with their cats.
Attendants held the animals obediently behind their mistresses. They were palace cats, after all, trained to remain quiet and elegant on formal occasions.
Neither the Empress nor Fifth Sister had appeared.
Mother Consort came out from the inner hall.
Consort Wang smiled. “Consort Lu is so devoted. Jade Lion is injured, and here you are waiting on everyone hand and foot. How moving.”
Mother Consort shot me an angry glance. Of course she was furious. Jade Lion had been injured at my residence, and I was the one who had dragged the matter before Father. The Empress had surely vented her anger on Mother Consort.
Consort Wang noticed and suddenly said, “Little Nine, you were clever to ask your father for a separate residence so early.”
Consort Jiang tried to smooth matters over.
“The Ninth Princess is exceptionally gifted. Naturally she needed her own residence so she could be properly educated.”
The attempt at diplomacy somehow made the insult worse.
Mother Consort’s face turned nearly black.
She forced out, “I have always been blessed. My daughter has gained the Emperor’s favor on my behalf.”
Consort Wang burst out laughing.
She said nothing, yet Mother Consort flushed scarlet.
The four highest consorts all came from great clans. They paid court to the Empress while representing their own political interests.
Mother Consort was lowborn. Reaching Zhaoyi, the highest of the nine consort ranks below the great consorts, was as far as she could ever climb—and she still had to serve as the Empress’s footstool.
These women despised her, and she knew it.
They were also mocking her for bearing a brilliant, favored princess and still driving that daughter to separate herself as quickly as possible.
Strange, really. The Empress humiliated her. Consort Wang and Consort Jiang mocked her.
Yet Mother Consort’s eyes told me that the person she hated most was me.
She only said, “Elder Sisters, Her Majesty has finished dressing.”
I sat beside Tenth Sister and felt her tense immediately. She looked to me for help.
I patted her arm and whispered, “We juniors shouldn’t say anything.”
“All right.”
Behind us, Frostbrow agreed eagerly.
“Yes, yes, yes.”