Chapter 4
The banquet was held in an enormous palace hall.
Though Mother had repeatedly warned me not to talk or look around too much, I could not resist peering about.
The hall blazed with light. Fist-sized luminous pearls had been fashioned into a staircase, glowing a translucent green. Above it stood a wooden beam from which hung nine glittering golden dragons holding pearls in their mouths. The extravagance was staggering.
Perhaps I was too nervous, but as I stood there, the dazzling light made my eyes ache.
My eldest sister and I followed Mother, watching her converse easily with the other noblewomen.
At last, the emperor and empress arrived, accompanied by an exceptionally handsome youth.
Everyone knelt in homage, crying ten thousand years to the emperor and a thousand years to the empress and crown prince.
So the handsome youth was the crown prince.
The emperor’s voice was gentle, yet his words carried the unmistakable authority of a ruler.
At the start of the banquet, he raised his cup and gave an impassioned speech. Everyone knelt again, acclaiming his long life.
Then the ministers stepped forward one by one to sing his praises. Pretty palace maids filed in bearing delicacies. Wine, beauty, fragrance, song, and dance filled the hall in a celebration of peace.
After a few extra cups of wine, the emperor chatted amiably with his ministers. When he addressed Father, Father was overwhelmed by the honor.
The emperor praised him for carrying out his duties well, calling him incorruptible and decisive—a rare talent at court.
The empress smiled graciously. “The Duke of Su could hardly enjoy such a reputation without his wife’s devoted support. If Your Majesty is to reward him, you must not neglect her.”
The emperor laughed, stroking his beard, and agreed three times in succession.
Mother hurried forward and knelt in thanks. “All that I have today is due to Your Majesty’s grace. I would never presume to take credit.”
“I have long heard that the duchess has a daughter of extraordinary beauty. Now that I see her, she truly is lovely as an immortal. The duchess already holds the first rank. Would it not be better to make this heavenly daughter a commandery princess?”
The empress spoke with playful warmth, her eyes full of admiration as she looked at my eldest sister kneeling beside Mother.
“Ha! My empress is right. As you suggest, she shall be Commandery Princess Shuyan. Such beauty deserves such a rank.”
“Indeed, Your Majesty. I hear the princess is soon to come of age. Our women marry at fifteen. Why not complete your kindness and grant her a fine marriage as well? Wouldn’t that be splendid?”
Kneeling to one side, I could not make out the emperor’s or empress’s expression. From the corner of my eye, I only saw Mother begin to tremble.
The emperor was in excellent spirits. “Minister Fang, is your lovely daughter betrothed?”
Father clasped his hands. “Your Majesty, my daughter is not.”
“The prince of Boliu is seeking a bride,” the empress said. “He is a talented young man, and your daughter a beauty. I can think of no more suitable match. What does Your Majesty think?”
The smile in the emperor’s eyes deepened. “Wonderful, wonderful! How could I fail to bring about so perfect a union?”
With a few words, the emperor and empress settled the course of my eldest sister’s life.
Only then did I begin to understand. Perhaps Father had long known that the emperor intended to marry her to Boliu for an alliance. That was why, though he normally paid no attention to such things, he had changed the outfit Mother selected and ordered my sister dressed in all her finery.
As for me, he had brought me because I was the plainest of his children, not because he valued me. A flower beside a pile of dung looked all the more delicate.
Father was silently pledging his loyalty to the emperor to secure his own rise.
Perhaps Mother had foreseen it. But what difference could foreseeing it make?
Though she came from a distinguished family, a wife had to obey her husband. Before absolute authority, she could change nothing.
Father knelt and cried his thanks for the emperor’s boundless grace, drowning out Mother’s trembling voice.
The emperor looked even more pleased. With a sweep of his hand, he personally ordered the crown prince at his side to help Father rise.
As for my eldest sister, so newly made a princess, no one cared how she felt.
For a noble family’s legitimate daughter to have her fate arranged by the emperor and empress was the greatest honor of her life.
Standing on the luminous stairs, the crown prince helped Father up with every appearance of sincerity, speaking of pillars of the state and the like.