Chapter 4

Chapter 4

That night, I slept at the foot of Lord Fuyong’s couch.

Curled up in the thick, luxurious fur lining of his greatcloak, I drifted into a hazy sleep.

My dirty hand had only brushed it once, yet the rich white sable fur was immediately stained with a smudge of grime. Because of that, he gave it to me.

It was an unexpected and precious gift.

At first, I thought Lord Fuyong had simply discarded the greatcloak. Only later did I hear the palace servants say that he was diligent and frugal, not a man given to extravagance or waste.

Then why, exactly, had he bestowed the cloak upon me?

At the time, I did not understand. I only could not wait to put on that gorgeous greatcloak.

When I appeared before the family head again, his expression was one of astonishment. For a long while, he did not speak.

I told him I had already gained Lord Fuyong’s trust and would soon infiltrate Crown Prince Jie’s estate. The family head stared fixedly at me for a long time.

“Can you truly succeed?”

“This slave only wishes to try.”

Lord Fuyong was, indeed, a man of great cunning.

When he heard that Crown Prince Jie had dreamed at night of a Divine Maiden, he wrote him a letter with his own hand, saying that he had encountered a mysterious woman on the road, light as an immortal, one who fed on wind and drank dew, and who ought by rights to belong to an enlightened lord.

Naturally, Crown Prince Jie was delighted to hear it.

Yet I still had my doubts. “My lord, why give me to Crown Prince Jie, and not to the Duke of Qi?”

He answered mildly, “My father is already old and muddleheaded, while my elder brother is in the prime of life. This is the best arrangement for you.”

“My lord truly isn’t worried at all?”

“Worried about what?”

“You should know that Xia and Shang were ruined by Daji, and mighty Zhou fell because of Baosi…”

“Ha!”

At my puzzled question, the man before me burst into laughter so uncontrollable he could hardly restrain himself.

After that, he ordered his attendants to bring a bronze mirror and instructed me to look into it often and see myself anew each time.

I held the mirror, utterly baffled. When I looked at the palace servants, they too were covering their mouths to hide their laughter.

The days slipped by swiftly.

On the day Crown Prince Jie sent people to fetch me, the sky was dim and overcast, and a fine rain was falling.

Among those who came to see me off, however, Lord Fuyong was nowhere to be seen. After they urged me again and again, I was carried onto the carriage, lifted high on their shoulders, and borne out of the palace chambers with a swaying jolt.

I still wanted to look back, but then I heard someone snicker by my ear. “Stop looking! Our lord left the State of Qi two days ago!”

“Exactly. You’d better remember his kindness!”

“If he hadn’t felt a moment of pity, a little beauty like you would be one of the dozen or so Lord Wei strangles to death every year!”

The two of them took turns mocking me, one after the other.

As before, I could only hear their voices and could not see them.

When I heard that he was gone, I felt somewhat bereft.

Before my eyes, there seemed to appear an exquisite ox-drawn carriage, and that tall, slender figure seated upright within it. His body was like a jade mountain, his black hair like flowing water. I drew in a deep breath, and at the tip of my nose I seemed to smell that clear fragrance again…

Like sandalwood mixed with honey, like frost beneath the moon.

I did not know how long we had traveled when the carriage suddenly lurched to a stop. We had collided head-on with another procession of carriages and horses.

The lead rider was a thin, tall young man. He was quite handsome, the black velvet trim of his robe collar cutting diagonally along both cheeks, his features sharp and distinct even in the gloom.

He studied me darkly for several moments, his gaze like a knife.

“So you are the Divine Maiden Fuyong spoke of?”