Chapter 6
In time, the eldest young lady gradually returned to her old self, playful and fond of laughter once more.
But she hardly ever left the estate, and she rarely attended flower-viewing parties or banquets anymore.
Instead, she studied more and more lessons and examined an ever-growing number of account books.
She told me that from now on, the Jiang family had to slowly disappear from the world’s notice and retract all its claws and fangs.
Chewing on a meat bun, I thought that sounded rather profound.
Then I bit into the bun and found a slip of paper. Apparently, even meat buns had become profound these days.
General Li had written the note to the eldest young lady. He told her that he would soon leave for the north. He intended to win the greatest possible military distinction—one so momentous that even the emperor would have to acknowledge it—and then petition for permission to marry her.
He didn’t ask the eldest young lady to wait for him. He asked her to trust him.
She burned the note, carefully poured the ashes into a sachet, and tucked it inside her clothes.
I watched her features soften little by little.
I knew she would wait for him—and that she would do far more than merely wait.
Tsk. Beauty truly led people astray!
When General Li departed for war, his procession passed along the capital’s most prosperous avenue.
Mounted on a towering horse and clad in silver armor, he looked imposing and extraordinarily handsome. The flowers tossed by young women and married ladies along the road nearly buried him.
The eldest young lady didn’t see him off, but I did. Ha! I simply had to tell her how General Li had been pelted from head to toe with flowers!
Once I watched him pass safely through the city gates, I decided to buy a stick of candied hawthorn and return to the estate to report.
Beside the peddler from whom I usually bought my candied hawthorn, I found Ah Yu.
He handed me a stick, and only then did he allow the nearly tearful peddler to go sell his wares elsewhere.
I asked, “You aren’t going with the general? Did he ask you to tell me something?”
“The army travels slowly. I’ll catch up with them shortly.”
He looked at me, then at the candied hawthorn in my hand. After struggling for ages, he finally said, “You… should eat less and train properly. And be careful of Princess Rouyi.”
What?
The nerve! Weren’t you the one who gave me the candied hawthorn?
Furious, I shoved it back into his hand. “Eating doesn’t interfere with my training! Take it back, you miserable bean sprout!”
What rotten luck!
Only after I turned to leave did Ah Yu’s voice come from behind me once more. “I’m sorry I hurt you last time…”
After returning to the estate, I told the eldest young lady all about General Li being showered with flowers. Then I passed on Ah Yu’s warning to beware of Princess Rouyi.
First she joined me in teasing the general. Then her smile faded, and she pulled one letter from a stack of correspondence.
The invitation was pristine and elegant, faintly dusted with gold. If one leaned close, one could even catch the scent of orchids.
It was an invitation from Princess Rouyi.
After considering it for a moment, the eldest young lady asked me, “Xiaozhu, if I attend a banquet at the palace, can you keep me safe?”
I said I could.
And so I entered the imperial palace for the first time in my life.
The palace was vast, stifling, silent, and bound by countless rules. With my head lowered, I followed closely behind the eldest young lady until we met Princess Rouyi.
Princess Rouyi was beautiful as well—graceful and dignified, calm and poised. Her deep almond-shaped eyes were impossible to read.
She looked at the eldest young lady, her gaze traveling downward inch by inch. There was no jealousy in it, only intense dislike.
The eldest young lady pretended to be frail and trembled ever so slightly, looking every inch the innocent damsel in distress.
When a princess showed that she disliked you, she didn’t have to lift a finger. Plenty of others would rush to torment you to death.
Against overwhelming martial strength, every scheme was useless.
Someone flung hot tea at the eldest young lady. It splashed onto the floor instead.
Someone deliberately tried to trip her and ended up falling flat on her own face.
Someone else tried to push her into the lake and shoved nothing but air.
Honestly, none of them had the slightest imagination. I hadn’t even needed to use my full strength!
At last, Princess Rouyi met with the eldest young lady alone.
She enunciated every word. “Although I had no wish to steal your marriage, matters are now settled, and neither of us can change them. If you are an intelligent young woman, you should understand that His Majesty will never allow you any involvement with the general. Even becoming his concubine is impossible.”
“Besides, if the general truly valued you, he would have handed over his command tally that day and begged His Majesty to withdraw the decree. Clearly, you are not someone he could never bear to give up.”
“That is all I have to say. I wish you success in finding a suitable husband someday.”
The eldest young lady and I returned home. The moment she entered her room, she flung out her arms, lay down on the bed, and stared blankly into space.
I ventured, “Eldest Young Lady, did we lose today?”
She turned her face toward me. “What do you think, Xiaozhu?”
I slapped the table. “Of course we won! If we hadn’t, why would Princess Rouyi have said all those things?”
The eldest young lady smiled faintly. “Was anything the princess said wrong?”
I nodded. “Of course it was. Military command isn’t merely power. It means responsibility for two hundred thousand lives. Those soldiers have followed the general through life-and-death battles, and he has a duty to protect them and their families. Surrendering his command rashly, without making any arrangements, would be stupid.”
The eldest young lady burst out laughing. “Xiaozhu is so clever.”
I lifted my chin smugly. Naturally!
Then she added, “So where could I possibly find a better husband than him?”