chapter 1
Tonight was the imperial family banquet, yet the great hall lay so quiet that not even the sounds of drinking could be heard.
Everyone watched me with bated breath.
For at that very moment, I was dancing upon the lotus leaves in the lake.
Gauze veiled my body and made my waist appear slim enough to encircle with one hand. Silver bells chimed along my swirling skirts, and the gauze streamed behind me carrying the scent of flowers.
No one seemed willing to breathe, as though a single sound might shatter the dazzling dream.
Through my veil, I looked toward the reigning emperor.
He could not take his eyes off me.
Beside him, however, Consort Yi’s face had nearly twisted out of shape.
When my dance ended, the hall remained silent for a long moment before praise erupted on every side.
Even the worldly Prince Hao, a man impressed by nothing, struck the table in admiration.
“To think that even a humble beauty in Your Majesty’s harem possesses such mastery and grace. This subject is truly awed!”
The emperor was plainly delighted. He beckoned me forward and ordered me to remove my veil.
I obeyed.
The instant the veil fell, the hall became so still one could have heard a pin drop. Somewhere among the assembled consorts, a woman ground her teeth.
The emperor simply stared.
I looked at Consort Yi.
Her expression remained composed, but in her palm she had snapped one of her jeweled nail guards.
I knew I had succeeded.
That night, my dance astonished the court, my beauty captivated the realm, and my name spread across Chang’an.
The next day, I leaped three ranks and became Lady Xue.
Rewards arrived by the chest, each packed in gilded lacquer boxes.
Jing Ye had only recently ascended the throne. He had not yet named an empress and doted exclusively on Consort Yi.
I was the first woman in the harem to steal even a sliver of her favor.
But this was only the beginning.
Sitting in my chambers, I frowned at Xiaocui.
“Isn’t today’s Willow-in-the-Wind Powder ready yet?”
“It is, Your Highness. I’ll bring it at once.”
Before Xiaocui could move, a cold female voice cut in.
“Willow-in-the-Wind Powder?”
Consort Yi.
I immediately knelt in greeting and forced a smile, trying to change the subject. “What brings Your Highness here today?”
She refused to be distracted.
“Willow-in-the-Wind. Is it named for the phrase ‘a slender willow trembling in the breeze’?”
She swept a glance over me where I knelt, then lounged lazily upon my couch.
“I knew there must be a reason. Few people alive could dance atop lotus leaves, yet you managed it. Could it be… this powder?”
I lowered my head and said nothing.
Consort Yi did not waste any more words. Her personal maid had already found packet after packet of the powder in my kitchen.
Tears gathered in my eyes as I looked up at her pleadingly.
She bent close, her nails digging into my flesh. “Di Aoxue, you should consider it a blessing that something of yours has caught my eye. Do you understand?”
Xiaocui kept her head down, nearly frightened to tears.
I did not dare speak again. I merely watched as Consort Yi took every packet and left.
Only when the room was empty did I laugh.
The powder was not what made me light as a swallow.
I was light because I was a snow marten.
Even in human form, I weighed no more than a marten. Of course I could dance upon lotus leaves.
As for the Willow-in-the-Wind Powder…
I only hoped Consort Yi would drink every last drop.
My sister had been the only person who knew I was a demon.
Now that she was dead, no one knew my secret.
I had once been a wandering demon. My sister was the one who took me in.
That day, believing no one was around, I changed from a marten into human form.
The moment I finished, someone shrieked. A girl pointed at me, stammering, “Y-you’re a demon?”
“What of it?”
“D-do you eat people?”
I studied her. She was perhaps twelve or thirteen, the baby fat still clinging to her cheeks and making her as adorable as a ball of snow.
On a whim, I teased her.
“Of course. I’m going to eat someone right now.”
She trembled all over, yet pulled an osmanthus cake from her robe and offered it to me.
“D-don’t eat people. I’ll bring you food from now on.”
I froze.
I had expected her to flee screaming about monsters.
Instead, she gave me an osmanthus cake.
It was still warm from where she had kept it against her chest. Even my icy hands felt a little warmer around it.
The girl seemed to wrestle with herself before finally blurting, “Wait for me here at this time tomorrow.”
I had not intended to return.
Somehow, I did.
The moment she saw me, she whipped out a paper talisman and held it high above her head, declaring with great solemnity, “Little demon, I have subdued you! From now on, you can only stay by my side. You are forbidden to hurt anyone ever again!”
There were at least five mistakes on the talisman. It could not have subdued a chicken, much less me.
Besides, she was so afraid of hurting me that she only waved it in the air and refused to let it touch me.
I looked at her helplessly. Her waist bulged with what could only be a large stash of osmanthus cakes.
Who brought snacks for a demon she meant to vanquish?
Then I met her eyes. They were beautiful, shaped like peach blossoms in March.
I stared.
The human world has many names. Monks call it the world of red dust, the dead call it the realm of the living, and immortals call it the mortal plane.
Demons call it the Play of Dust.
When I saw those eyes, I suddenly wanted a part in that mortal play.
I did not yet know that the longing to step onto its stage was called love.
I sighed at the owner of those eyes. “Well, since your talisman has subdued me, I suppose I have no choice.”
From then on, I changed back into a snow marten and followed her everywhere.
When she worked gold, I slept in her lap.
When she left home on business, I took human form and cared for her mother, whose mind had begun to fail.
Our days passed peacefully. She turned nineteen while I still looked fifteen or sixteen.
Demons do not age.
She was not frightened in the least. If anything, she smugly insisted that I call her Sister.
She had no plans to marry. She meant to become the finest goldsmith in Chang’an, and she did.
One day, she even received a commission from the palace.
Before she left, she embraced Mother and me, grinning from ear to ear.
“This is a big order! When I get back, we’ll go to Spring Breeze Tavern and treat ourselves to something good!”
Mother and she beamed like happy fools. Together, we saw her off.
But because the emperor had not visited Consort Yi for two days, Consort Yi quarreled with him and decided to sneak out of the palace for fun.
She saw my sister entering the palace.
She ordered her servants to knock Sister unconscious, stripped off her clothes, put them on herself, and stole Sister’s exit token to escape.
The emperor was both frantic and furious. When he demanded to know who had given Consort Yi an exit token, my sister was dragged before him.
Pale but composed, she tried to explain.
“Your Majesty, someone struck this commoner unconscious. When I awoke, my outer robe and token were gone. It was not—”
Before she could finish, the emperor swept off her head with his sword.
Seated upon his towering warhorse, he looked magnificent—a man driven by the deepest love.
He wiped the blood from his blade and said coolly, “No matter who it is, anyone who harms my Yi’er will pay.”
Then he rode out with his guards and found Consort Yi.
They returned upon the same horse, emperor and beauty wrapped in tender affection. All Chang’an praised it as a great romance.
My sister died without even an outer robe. After her body was thrown into a mass grave, beggars violated it.
Mother waited in vain for her return and came down with a raging fever. I hurried out to fetch a physician.
When I returned, I learned that Mother had somehow heard of Sister’s execution. She had gone to beat the grievance drum and demand justice.
Fearing the scandal would stain her reputation and ruin her chances of becoming empress, Consort Yi declared that Mother was raving mad. She had Mother dragged away and beaten to death.
After receiving the news, I stood silently in our little courtyard for a very long time.
Then I entered the palace.
Since they loved romance so dearly, I would see their romance through to the end.
I wondered whether the tale of an emperor and his beauty dying together would be romantic enough.