Chapter 5
From that day on, Her Ladyship cast off her sickly languor. She ate and slept well, and her health returned quickly.
I presented Eunuch Yue with a set of gilt chess pieces carved from mutton-fat jade. That very night, the imperial carriage arrived at Zhilan Palace.
As the saying goes, a brief separation makes husband and wife sweeter than newlyweds.
Her Ladyship wore an ordinary gown and only the lightest touch of makeup. Seated on her couch, she smiled, and His Majesty’s gaze softened like spring water.
He put an arm around her shoulders. “You no longer resent me?” he asked gently.
Tears filled her eyes. “Of course I resent you! A living man was reduced to a handful of ash. But a man ought to kill the enemy for his country and die wrapped in his horsehide. Only then does he meet a worthy end. My brother received every honor after death, and Sister-in-law adopted the finest boy in the clan. Mother tells me that Your Majesty also granted them a residence and vast estates. My resentment has faded. Besides…”
She gave him a wounded sidelong glance. “Besides, I hear Your Majesty recently found a new beauty and that the two of you are inseparable. My heart aches unbearably…”
His Majesty coughed twice and laughed. “Whoever she may be, she cannot compare to my Rong’er.”
With that, he bent and kissed Her Ladyship’s cheek.
I hurried the servants out and lowered curtain after curtain, hiding the passion that filled the room.
Her Ladyship and His Majesty had reconciled. I should have been pleased, but for some reason, sorrow pressed painfully on my heart.
I had lived in the palace long enough that, though I still could not always hear the blades hidden in polite words, I had learned to keep joy and anger from my face.
Thus, when I saw the beautiful, willful Consort Hua and Consort Zhen, serene as a white-jade Guanyin, in the empress’s palace, my face remained blank. I merely supported Her Ladyship in silence, feeling the faint tremor beneath her many layers of gauze.
Consort Zhen was far less composed. She knocked over the tea, dropped her cup, and scalded the back of her hand red.
The empress smiled. “The Jian sisters have not been in the palace long. It is only natural that they should lose their composure before the incomparable beauty of *Zhaoyi* Hui. Once they have seen more of her, they will grow accustomed to it.”
Her Ladyship smiled as well. “Your Majesty flatters me. While I was ill, I heard much of the famous beauties of the Jian family. Now that I have seen them, their reputation is clearly deserved. Younger Sister Zhen, in particular, has extraordinary poise. No wonder His Majesty cannot bear to part with her.”
Consort Hua gave an offended snort.
Consort Zhen looked mortified. Her lips parted, but in the end, she said nothing.
News that Consort Zhen had burned her hand in the empress’s palace quickly reached His Majesty.
By imperial order, servants from the Imperial Household Department fitted silk sleeves over the teacups in the residences of the senior consorts Consort Zhen visited often. The covers were thin and snug, and kept the cups from burning one’s hand even when held for a long time.
Every tea set in the empress’s palace was replaced with thicker porcelain that held in the heat.
They said that when the Household Department came to make the exchange, the empress was taking her afternoon rest. The servants were left standing outside her hall for four full hours.
His Majesty, meanwhile, bestowed on Her Ladyship a complete scholar’s set and sheets of fine rice paper patterned with crimson blossoms in clear water.
Her Ladyship gave a radiant smile. “His Majesty wishes me to spend more time writing and painting, and less time watching over his precious darling.”