Chapter 7

The emperor often sent the crown prince on inspection tours, and he had not visited our residence for a long time.

Ever since I acquired my limp, I had become well known among the capital’s great families. Noblewomen and young ladies often invited me to their gatherings.

If I accepted every invitation, the empress might think her favor had gone to my head. After all, these people were not interested in me. They were making a show for her benefit.

But I could not turn them all down and give people reason to call me aloof and arrogant.

So I politely refused most invitations and attended only a few gatherings at households known for their strict principles. I was neither too conspicuous nor too retiring.

Only by taking favor and disgrace calmly could I hope to earn a respectable mark.

The next time I saw the crown prince was at my coming-of-age ceremony.

He must have only just returned. When he handed me my gift, I could clearly see tiny flecks of mud on his cuff.

“I touch my long sword with its jade-adorned hilt; the lovely jades ring out, clear and bright. Yuqiang—jade and its chime. Do you like those two characters?”

I bowed gracefully. “I thank Your Highness for granting me a name.”

Only upon receiving her first hairpin did a girl take her formal place among her peers. The room was full of the capital’s prominent noblewomen and young ladies. None had ever seen the crown prince attend a girl’s coming-of-age ceremony, much less personally bestow her name.

At once, they looked at me differently.

The smile in Father’s eyes deepened. Clearly, things were unfolding just as he had hoped.

Perhaps the crown prince’s gesture gave Father the wrong impression. After too much wine that day, he began indulging in fantasies. “A man should choose a virtuous wife. In my view, my daughter might well contend for the position of crown princess.”

Leaning on my walking stick, I watched coldly as Father talked to himself. His expression made it seem that my becoming crown princess was already settled.

The very next day, however, he was proved wrong. The crown prince had brought a woman back with him.

Word spread that the crown prince, usually so composed and dignified, had galloped through the streets with her, astonishing countless onlookers.

I knew who she was. Her name appeared constantly in the crown prince’s letters: Lin Lanshuang.

She was the daughter of the General of Far Expeditions, who had won that great victory over Boliu, and had always lived with her father at his frontier posting.

I knew nothing of her story with the crown prince. Yet the first mention of her in his letters had been as natural as taking a drink of water.

Summer had barely begun then. I was in the courtyard practicing with my crutches. They had rubbed calluses beneath my arms, and the pain made me sweat.

The crown prince’s letter read, “My young friend Lanshuang sends the fourth young miss a garden full of spring.”

I searched the envelope again, confirming that it held only that single sheet. As I puzzled over it, a south wind blew past, carrying the scent of flowers.

The garden full of spring was right before my eyes.

I wrote back, “In return, I can only send my young friend Lanshuang a smile. ^_^”

With each exchange, we grew closer.

Though I was supposedly corresponding with the crown prince, I knew such lively words could never have come from his pen.

“The marmots of the Gobi are terribly clumsy. They don’t know to avoid people, so hunters often catch them. Enclosed: a drawing.”

“Spicy Sichuan hotpot is the sole love of my heart. Delicious! Enclosed: a packet of hotpot seasoning~”

“Passing through Jiangzhou, I found the county deputy bullying the common people. I beat him up in the street and fled. It’s windy here, and the flatbread is good. As the journey is long, enclosed: a heap of flatbread crumbs.”

Through her letters, I came to know the character of different places. The sea at Qiongzhou, the springtime of Jiangnan—scene after scene unfolded before me like painted scrolls.

Though we had never met, I already considered her a kindred spirit.

It was hardly surprising that the crown prince should love so remarkable and spirited a woman.

Her arrival, however, offended the capital’s young noblewomen.

They could not understand how he could love a woman who flouted the rules so openly.

She was certainly beautiful, but she rode horses in public, showing herself for all to see.

She had none of the deportment expected of a well-born young lady in the capital.

I heard that when she went to the palace for an audience, even the empress, usually so gentle and gracious, treated her coldly and said she would find two matrons to teach her proper manners.

While she was confined to her residence learning the rules, I sent a card requesting a visit.

Father scolded me for being foolish. The empress had taken a dislike to that woman, he said. Wouldn’t sending my card now amount to openly opposing Her Majesty?

I answered seriously, “The crown prince is heir to the throne. Even if he obeys the empress and cannot marry this woman for now, how do you know he won’t bring her into the palace once he succeeds?”

Father frowned. He had plainly taken my words to heart. The crown prince’s recent uncharacteristic behavior showed just how much this woman meant to him.

After a long while, Father finally nodded. “Then wait half a month before you visit.”

He glanced sideways at me. “I had no idea you’d become so full of opinions.”

I lowered my head. “It is all thanks to Father’s excellent teaching.”

I had never defied Father. The first time I maneuvered around him was for a woman I had never met.

Later, amid the desert and stony wastes, the beautiful woman danced in the wind and asked why I had wanted to come that day.

I answered gladly, “To send my young friend a smile.”