Chapter 12: Beautiful Blooming Peony (Part 3)
He gave her a very straightforward reason and she was stunned by his words. After a long time, she said, “Perhaps…Your Highness should’ve taken it more prudently?”
“This is the most prudent choice, and somehow things like family background, character and propriety have been chosen for me, so I just need to choose the one that looks most pleasing to my eyes. What do you think?”
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She can only say, “Congratulations to Your Highness on finding a good mate.”
He suddenly held up a palm to her without saying a word.
Huang Zixia didn’t know what he wanted for a moment. She turned around and saw that Wang Ruo had come to the inner hall under the guidance of the female official. Then she suddenly realized.
There was a little noise in the front hall. It turned out that Princess Qi Le saw Wang Ruo go to the back hall with the female official. Naturally, she clearly understood Li Shubai’s choice. Her cup trembled and the warm soup poured on Grand Tutor Liu’s daughter.
(Grand Tutor is a government official who responsible for civil affairs)
She quickly grabbed her own handkerchief and wiped it for Miss Liu as she said, “Oh, I wasn’t paying attention momentarily…” Before she finished speaking, her eyes suddenly turned red and could not speak, almost bursting into tears. She bit her lower lip and turned her head, grabbed the jade basin in the hands of the palace maid standing behind her, pretended to gargle her mouth, and stifled her tears.
Huang Zixia had no time to bother about her, instantly opened the silk brocade box in her hand, took out the peony flower and handed it to Li Shubai.
Wang Ruo’s cheeks flushed red and lowered her head as she walked to Li Shubai.
She was only sixteen or seventeen years old, slender and tall, even one head taller than the female official who was standing beside her. Her dress was embroidered with plump begonia flowers and exquisite silk cloud patterns. On her head, there were six rows of golden hairpins decorated with jewels which swayed and dangled as she moved. But such gorgeous clothes and ornaments, on the contrary, she appears to be a little immature, had a look of incomprehension on her face.
She walked step by step, shyly bowing her head, afraid to look at people.
Li Shubai waited for her to come to him and handed her the peony flower in his hand. His voice showed a kind of gentleness, “Your name is Wang Ruo?”
Her body jerked as if struck by lightning.
Huang Zixia saw her clenching her hand. Then, she involuntarily lifted up her chin and stared at Li Shubai in a shocked and excited expression. In her eyes instantly condensed a thin sheen of moisture, the whole person seemed to be in a trance, body slightly trembling as her hand tightly gripping her own sleeve cuffs, unable to utter a word.
Huang Zixia thoughtfully looked at Li Shubai standing opposite of Wang Ruo. Penglai Pavilion was located on a high platform. He stood by the window of the back hall. The sunlight slanted in from the outside, shining on him thoroughly, making him look like the son of a heavenly deity which was made out of crystal clear jade. The crimson peony in his hands looked radiant in full bloom, and yet couldn’t take away the slightest bit of brilliance from him. On the contrary, he was more and more charming and peerless.
Huang Zixia thought in her heart, ‘If he can’t make the girl fall in love with him at first sight, but he should’ve at least not frightened her!’
Li Shubai obviously also noticed Wang Ruo’s strange reaction, however he didn’t say anything.
Wang Ruo felt herself reacting disproportionately, and instantly raised her both hands to cover her lips as she stammered in panic, “Prince Kui…really…it’s really you?”
Li Shubai raised his eyebrows and did not speak.
“I… I didn’t expect that I would be so lucky, therefore my behaviour was a bit rude just now. Please forgive me…, ” she said incoherently, and the whole person was at a loss. When she looked up, she saw that Li Shubai did not respond. Her eyes suddenly sparkled with tears, and they were about to burst into tears.
Li Shubai still didn’t speak, his expression changed slightly but was obviously more gentle than earlier. He handed her the crimson peony flower in his hand and said, “It doesn’t matter. I think you must be unaccustomed to such an environment compared to the peace and quiet at home. It is I who did not seek your prior permission and yet startled you.”
Wang Ruo nodded with tears and smiled as she bowed to the prince before extending her hands to hold the crimson coloured peony, holding the flower tightly in her arms and her face was as red as the Begonia.
At that moment, Huang Zixia just in time to see a drop of tear fell on the peony flower, and the petals trembled slightly, then it splashed and dissipated into fine mist.
***
“What do you think of Wang Ruo?”
On the way back in the carriage, Li Shubai asked Huang Zixia.
Huang Zixia hesitated for a moment, then said, “I am just an insignificant eunuch in the palace, I dare not presumptuously discuss the prospective prince consort.”
Turning a deaf ear, Li Shubai picked up the small glass bottle in the carriage and gazed at the red fish swimming slowly inside. He was not even bothered to refute her.
Huang Zixia had to say, “There seems to be a problem.”
“Which is?” He flicked the wall of the glass bottle with his finger, and his tone was flat. “When she hadn’t seen me yet, the relaxed and calm demeanor was absolutely sincere – she didn’t care if I would choose her to be the prince consort.”
“However, after being invited in by the female officer and seeing your face, she had completely changed. The shock and joy were too strangely overwhelming, and with that, she became more suspicious.”
“Hhm.” Li Shubai nodded, and his gaze finally shifted from the fish to her. “Also, when I left Penglai Pavilion, I exchanged the geng tie* with her. I found some places that we should be concerned about.”
(庚帖 Geng tie – a written marriage proposal on which are stated the birth chart – year, month, day and hour of one’s birth)
He took a piece of red paper out of the drawer of the carriage, put it on the table and pushed it towards her.
Huang Zixia took it and looked at the words written on it.
Wang Ruo, the fourth daughter of the Wang family branch, was born in the 6th year of Dazhong, intercalary 30th day of the tenth month during the period of mao shí. Father Wang Zhong, mother Jiang, elder brother Wang Jia, Wang Xu, younger brother Wang Fu.
(卯时 mao shí = the period of the day from 5 a.m.to 7 a.m)
(大中 Dazhong is the calendrical system in Tang dynasty)
In just a few numbers. She looked at it, calculated it in her heart, and returned the red paper to him, saying, “This written marriage proposal is a fake.”
He nodded slightly. “You’ve seen that too?”
“Hhm. In the sixth year of Dazhong, there were only 29 days in the tenth month, not 30 days.”
“Not bad,” Li Shubai finally raised the corner of his lips and said, “Could you also possibly, like me, naturally memorize the Lunisolar calendar?”
“My memory is not as good as Your Highness’; however, I’ve a way to calculate the Lunisolar calendar. The date can be calculated, which shows that the fraud is a bit crude.” As she spoke, she looked at the wedding proposal card again and said, “The character for “intercalary” is a little smaller. According to the general marriage proposal writing method, there should be a space between the years and months, but there is none here. Obviously, the character “intercalary” was added afterwards, and for this I have no idea why.”
“It is because on the 30th day of the tenth month is my mother’s death anniversary which is ominous.” He said faintly.
She nodded, “So, in order to avoid this, they made a last minute change in hopes of getting away with it.”
“Your reasoning makes sense, but according to the procedure, there are more doubts.” He put his finger on the red paper, and his expression was cold, “The birth chart in the wedding proposal card should be calculated and combined by the imperial astrologer. If he saw the date ‘30th of the tenth month’, he would surely put forward that it was the death day of my consort mother, and that she could not be selected. Even if someone made a fake birth chart for her, he would not have made such a hasty amendment, and made a big mistake. If it had been submitted as 30th of the tenth month, then when the imperial astrologer reviewed through the spouse compatibility chart for these candidates would have immediately discovered that such a day did not exist, let alone let this birth chart appear in front of me.”
“Therefore, this Wang Ruo, who may not have been among the candidates at all and had not been reviewed, finally stood in front of us,” Huang Zixia guessed, “Maybe it’s because she is the sister from the empress’s family, so the empress especially asked for her to make bypass all the cumbersome procedures and act conveniently.”
“Maybe. I am not worried about Wang Ruo; she’s just a chess piece. What I care about is who sent her to me and what is the hidden agenda,” Prince Kui had a momentary thought before he continued, “They had left faints clues and signs, perhaps, this time the selection of the consort is greatly related to the cursed talisman I got back then.”
Huang Zixia nodded and recalled Wang Ruo’s shocked look and the tearful smile on her shy face when she saw Li Shubai. As a woman, she felt that emotion was far from what a chess piece would possess. But she was not specifically sure what it was.
Li Shubai saw her pondering in silence. “It seems that the situation you have to face about the selection of my imperial consort is much more complicated.”
“The more complicated the inside story is, the more loopholes will be revealed, so we can catch more clues; complexity is not a bad thing.” Huang Zixia said.
Li Shubai gazed at her. There was no hesitation on her face. She was quiet and calm. This was a kind of self-confidence that revealed her being fully aware of her own ability, which could not be questioned by others. He felt somewhere in his heart slightly throb, which made him dare not look at her. Instead, he could only lift up the carriage curtain in a concealed manner, and looked behind them.
The selection of imperial consorts was over. The noble ladies went back to their respective homes. A group of chariots and horses left the Great Daming Palace and entered Chang’an city.
The wild grass which grew in the previous year was still beside the road. The new green grass was only two or three inches long. The mountain was mottled with yellow and green. When the wind blew, waves of yellow and green alternately showed in layers.
Behind them was the carriage of the Wang family. An old servant drove two strong horses of variegated colors in slow-moving.
He put down the curtain and said, “Wang’s carriage is in the back.”
Huang Zixia thought for a while, stood up and opened the door, she said, “When we get to the intersection in front, I will get down first.”
“What’s the rush? I don’t have a time limit.”
“Of course I’m in a hurry. It’d be good if I could go back to Sichuan a day earlier.” After she spoke and seeing that she was at the crossroad, as the carriage turned and slowed down, she jumped down.
Li Shubai narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked through the curtain, saw her stagger on her feet a little but got back to her center of gravity and stood still on the ground before he looked down at the little red fish in his hands.
Huang Zixia looked at the carriage of the Prince Kui manor driving away to the direction of Yongjiafang before she turned in the opposite direction to Anxingfang.
As expected, the carriage of the Wang family slowed down and stopped beside her. A middle-aged woman lifted up the curtain and asked, “Aren’t you the eunuch who serves for Prince Kui? Where are you going?”
She looked up and said with a smile, “Thank you for your concern. I’m going to the western market to buy some goods.”
The woman turned to the back and said a few words to the people on the wagon, and then she smilingly said, “We are going to Guangdefang which is next to the western market. If the little eunuch doesn’t mind, I can give you a ride. What do you think?”
Huang Zixia declined, “That doesn’t seem proper, how can I ride with the noble family…”
“Aiya, we will be a family soon. You were the servant beside the prince and of course we will have many opportunities to meet in the future.” The woman was smiling delightfully and she looked amiable. She quickly opened the carriage door and let her in.
After Huang Zixia got on the carriage, she saw that Wang Ruo was in the carriage. She quickly paid her greetings to the future prince consort and thanked the woman. The woman was more than 40 years old, but she had a kind of graceful charm. Even the corners of her eyes were slightly wrinkled; it only added a kind of charm to her. You could imagine that she must have been a beauty when she was young.
Huang Zixia sat on the seat by the door and caught a glance of Wang Ruo from the corner of her eyes. Her sitting posture was very beautiful with one hand lay on another hand resting on her left leg. Under the wide sleeves of lotus flower colored silk clothes, she had a pair of soft and delicate palms, and her pink fingernails on the snow-white fingertips, formed a perfect appearance.
Huang Zixia looked at the hands and thought, in the past, although she was a young lady of the governor’s family, she would always go out riding with her brother and Yu Xuan every day. She even played polo and football much more aggressively than men. When did she ever pamper her hands like this?
When she was in the middle of thoughts, the old woman suddenly asked her, “Have this little eunuch been serving with the prince all this while?”
She quickly shook her head and replied, “I only started a few days ago. Before that, the prince was all served by other eunuchs. Unfortunately, this time the eunuch has fallen ill and several of the eunuchs were infected, so I was temporarily transferred to work for the prince for a few days.”
“That’s also because little eunuch is so prudent in doing things that you won the prince’s trust.” The woman laughed and she inquired further, “Does the little eunuch know well about the everyday lives of the prince?”
“Everyday lives? Not really.” She said honestly, “I’m clumsy, and seldom serve people. I only go out with His Highness once in a while.”
“You are someone close to the prince, and should’ve known something.” The woman’s eyes flashed brightly as she spoke, “Little eunuch, tell us what color he likes and what tastes does he prefer, and what is the temperament of the palace maids around him?”
Huang Zixia suddenly found herself in an unprecedented and difficult situation. “Prince Kui…he doesn’t like other people following him all the time, he prefers to be alone…about the palace maids, I didn’t see any.”
‘Was a clean freak, deserted personality and difficult to deal with,’ she added a few more words in her inner thoughts.
“Momo.” Wang Ruo couldn’t help but call her in a low voice.
(嬷嬷 mómo = elderly servant / wet nurse)
Huang Zixia found Wang Ruo was about to bury her head in her clothes, and her cheeks turned pink as if she was slightly drunk, which was inexpressibly moving.
“Aiya! This little miss-ah! Since you have accepted the token of recognition, it’s fine to get to know the prince as soon as possible, isn’t it?” The woman quickly put her arms around Wang Ruo’s shoulder and said with a smile.
Huang Zixia finally breaks free from momo’s probing questions, and she said, “Miss, you don’t have to worry. Prince Kui is a good person to get along with. Moreover, you are the daughter of the Wang family, and also born with such a good appearance. Since the prince noticed you at a glance among so many people, he must love you more than any treasure, and would never bear to part with you.”
Wang Ruo lifted up her head and looked at Huang Zixia, “Thank you very much. Little eunuch, I hope….I hope it will turn out the same…as you said.” The corners of her lips curved slightly in a stiff smile and a layer of panic appeared on her face as she spoke.
“I …I ..as soon as I saw the prince, I didn’t know what to do. My body when rigid when I walked… you has seen it too, Prince of Kui must have thought that I am stupid, and with that thought, it made me more and more nervous. I was afraid that he would not be satisfied with me, but I didn’t know what to do. I was nervous until my back was sweating… “
As Huang Zixia could hear Wang Ruo speak haltingly of her deep upset and nervousness, she comforted, “Don’t worry, the prince won’t mind, he will understand you.”
The woman immediately agreed and said, “Yes, it’s the dream of many women in the capital to marry Prince Kui. Our family’s little miss has always admired him since childhood. Little eunuch, you should understand this kind of troubled heart, don’t you?”
Huang Zixia nodded, “Yes of course, this humble servant understands.”
Wang Ruo let out a sigh of relief and said softly, “Thank you very much.”
She didn’t say a word after that.
When the carriage arrived near Guangdefang, Huang Zixia thanked them again and got off the wagon.
Not far from the western market, she felt that it was not appropriate to go back to the Prince Kui manor immediately, so she walked into a noodle shop at the corner of the market.
It was a small noodle shop, and she joined a table with a pair of mother and daughter; the daughter was only seven or eight years old, sitting on the stool, her feet did not reach the ground. The other used chopsticks to clip long noodles into short sections and fed them to her daughter.
Huang Zixia looked at them vaguely in a trance. The other saw that she had been looking at her and said with an embarrassed smile, “The child is small, and the noodles are too long; it is not convenient for her to eat.”
“Well, yes.” She answered, but her eyes were burning hot in an instant. She remembered that when she was about ten years old, her mother also helped her clip short noodles. Her father, sitting opposite her, shook his head and said, “She’s already so big, still being spoiled by you. You have to do it by yourself now.” Her brother on her left hand side, with a big mouthful of noodles shouted while laughing at her, “Shame, shame, in the future, you have to find a husband who will serve you and take over from mother after you get married.”
She was so angry that she had left her chopsticks, and ran back to her room. But after a while, her mother still brought the meal over and coaxed her to eat with a soft voice. She ate a few mouthfuls, looked up and saw her father standing far out of the window looking at her. Seeing her looking up and he pretended to be just passing by, walked slowly on the gravel path in the backyard and left.
Even the patterns of pebbles arranged under her father’s feet and the shadows of trees falling on her mother’s hands outside the window at that time were now brought back to her in a vivid and incomparable way.
Because of the fluctuation of this memory, she was deeply intertwined with sorrow and resentment. It was not until she bit her lips tightly and held back her trembling breath, swallowed the indignation together with the tears into her stomach and buried it deeply in her own blood.
Father, mother, brother…
With tears in her eyes, she ate the noodles bit by bit and swallowed them into her stomach in sorrow.
All the present grievances, blood and tears, one day, she would go back to Sichuan and seek redress personally.
Hazel’s note: There’s a correction on the relationships between the Empress Wang and Wang Ruo, they were actually cousins by patrilineal.
Cloud Manor 