Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Everyone in the palace assumed that Fourth Sister and I would both choose Qin Yan.

He was, after all, exceptionally accomplished.

As a nephew of the Empress’s family, he could have relied on inherited privilege. Instead, gifted in both letters and arms, he had passed the highest imperial examination at seventeen on his own merit.

Father thought highly of him. Qin Yan had performed well in office these past few years, and Father believed he might one day rise to the heart of the government.

Prince consorts had rarely wielded much real authority in previous dynasties, but Father trusted the Qin family and had no reservations on that score.

It seemed all but certain that Qin Yan would become a prince consort.

I had no doubt he would be Fourth Sister’s.

Yet he appeared uneasy. He asked one of the Empress’s eunuchs to secretly bring me to the attic behind the deer park.

We had played there as children. Qin Yan used to bring Fourth Sister and me things from outside the palace-storybooks, toys, and whatever curious trinkets happened to be fashionable in the entertainment quarter.

But after the incident with the crown, I stopped coming whenever Fourth Sister invited me. Qin Yan and I had not spoken alone in a long time.

The eunuch led me upstairs and stood guard outside. I looked in. Shelves crowded with antiques divided the room, while fierce noonday sunlight danced in bright patches among the old books.

Qin Yan stood before a lattice window, rubbing his thumb over a blue-jade archer’s ring. Beyond the divider, a pair of dusty clay dolls held his gaze.

The door creaked shut behind me.

He looked up and smiled when he saw me. “Jiajia.”

The eagerness in his smile startled me. Then understanding came. Ah… He must be uncertain of Fourth Sister’s feelings and had summoned me to ask about them in secret.

When he handed me a box, I became even more certain.

Inside lay a magnificent gold hairpin set with a pomegranate-red jewel. In the past, he had always insisted that I should never dress as splendidly as Fourth Sister. Yet now he had spent a small fortune on such an extravagant ornament for me.

What a lavish bribe.

Qin Yan watched me nervously.

“…I hurt you before, and since then, you haven’t wanted much to do with me. I was afraid…”

Afraid I would refuse to pass a message to Fourth Sister. I understood.

I gave him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. You placed first. What could you possibly be afraid of?”

Light flooded his eyes, and he released a breath.

“Truly? Wonderful. Jiajia, you have no idea how happy I am.”

He had grown far more composed since entering government service, and it was rare to see him smile with such abandon. But I understood. To marry the woman he loved was surely cause for joy.

When he continued grinning, I could not resist teasing him. “If you smile until your face goes stiff today, what will you do when you become a prince consort and cannot smile at the wedding?”

Qin Yan hurriedly covered his face and rubbed it hard. It took him some effort to settle down.

Even then, he kept staring at me as though a butterfly had landed on my cheek.

Uneasy beneath his gaze, I scratched my face.

After a moment of silence, I remembered that I, too, had something to ask. Lowering my eyes to hide my shyness, I said softly, “That gentleman you knocked from his horse the other day… Is he well?”