Yesterday was greatly auspicious, the best of days for marrying. Readers, what this writer wishes to speak of today is that yesterday the banquet at Grand Princess Qianjin’s residence was opened wide, and as the auspicious hour drew near the one person nowhere to be seen was the bridegroom, Eleventh Master Yang. On hearing this news County Princess Liyang tore her round fan on the spot, smashed her pearl crown, threw herself into the Grand Princess’s arms and wailed aloud. Truly a fine farce.
—Zhuyan Book Pavilion, Nanzhi Que, the twenty-first day of the twelfth month, the fourth year of Xihe
“What? Say that again!”
County Princess Liyang did her utmost to stay calm, but the slight tremor in her voice gave away how agitated she was.
The female official did not dare look at County Princess Liyang and said with lowered brows, “In answer to the County Princess: word has just come from the Yang household. Their servants found that Eleventh Master Yang was not in the house when they took the ceremonial robes to him. He has disappeared, and they have already begun searching all of Chang’an for him.”
“Disappeared?” County Princess Liyang’s tone could certainly not be called calm, and the slight working of her lips showed she was clearly furious. “This County Princess thinks he has fled the wedding. Is this County Princess so far beneath the notice of that Eleventh Master Yang?”
If he had objections to the marriage, why not say so earlier, instead of pulling a scene like this on the very day of the wedding, dragging her name through the dirt in front of all Chang’an and leaving her utterly humiliated.
There was a smack, and the crimson round fan that had been resting at the edge of the dressing table was flicked to the floor. The pearls and jewels set on its face burst and scattered across the ground with a clattering, and the broken fan face spun and finally rolled to a stop before a lotus-root-colored skirt.
For the wedding the Duke of Zhenguo’s household had prepared for the Yu sisters gowns in tender colors that would not draw attention from the bride [1]the guest making a clamour and usurping the host (xuān bīn duó zhǔ, 喧賓奪主) (Idiom), a lesser party taking the notice that belongs to the principal jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3253962_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3253962_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. Yu Qiuchi had chosen a pale orange one, and what was left for Yu Nanzhi was a lotus-pink high-waisted ru skirt. Now, facing the glances open and covert coming at her inside Xianyun Pavilion, Yu Nanzhi felt as though she were sitting on thorns [2]a thorn-spike in her back (máng cì zài bèi, 芒刺在背) (Idiom), acutely uncomfortable under hostile scrutiny jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3253962_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3253962_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. The cloud-toed embroidered shoes under her skirt drew back an inch or so. She hesitated a few breaths, then bent down after all, picked up the round fan and handed it over to County Princess Liyang’s maid.
“Which household’s young lady are you? Why has this County Princess never seen you before?” County Princess Liyang’s mood had calmed a little, and she suddenly asked Yu Nanzhi.
Yu Nanzhi answered, “This humble girl is of the Duke of Zhenguo’s household, and is second in the family.”
County Princess Liyang understood. “So you are the younger sister who was found after Yu Qiuzhi. You are pretty enough, only your courage is too small. You don’t even dare look at this County Princess once. Is this County Princess so frightening?”
Yu Nanzhi bit her lip and answered with lowered lids, “The County Princess is uncommonly radiant today, beyond what a brush could copy, and so this humble girl dares not look straight at you.”
In fact she was silently grumbling a few words about Yu Qiuzhi, who had stayed behind at the Duke of Zhenguo’s household picking broad beans. In earlier years Yu Qiuzhi had had some trouble with County Princess Liyang: she had once gossiped in private that County Princess Liyang’s constant coming and going with young men was a breach of the rites, and one of County Princess Liyang’s “lackeys” had heard it [3]a dog’s leg (gǒu tuǐ zi, 狗腿子) (Slang), a servile hanger-on who does another’s dirty work jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3253962_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3253962_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. Afterward County Princess Liyang did nothing openly, but in fact she put a foot in Yu Qiuzhi’s way several times without leaving a trace. If Yu Nanzhi had not deliberately made inquiries of the “people” in the know all over Chang’an, the plants and animals, she probably would not have known the hidden part of it either.
So this time she had deliberately taken Yu Qiuchi to sit in the farthest corner from County Princess Liyang. But an accident had come up sideways and she had still been miserably caught in the splash.
“Timid as a mouse as she is, Second Miss Yu speaks rather pleasantly [4]a mouse’s gall-bladder (lǎo shǔ dǎn zi, 老鼠膽子) (Slang), a person of no courage at all jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3253962_1_4').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3253962_1_4', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.” County Princess Liyang said. “A pity someone thinks nothing of this beauty. In that case, Huangli, have everything prepared. I will go to the front and see my mother first, and we will talk after.”
With that the bright, striking girl rose and walked out. The wide cuff of her pheasant robe swept past with the force of the motion, and the eight-inlay flowered-tree crown crashed off the hat stand to the floor.
The girls present felt a tremor in their hearts, but County Princess Liyang acted as though she had not heard and walked quickly out.
The female official called Huangli curtsied slightly to everyone and began to perform the duty of a personal female official, cleaning up after County Princess Liyang. “The County Princess was in a hurry to find Her Highness. If there has been any neglect, we hope the ladies will be generous.”
With a thing like this happening, even if County Princess Liyang’s behavior had been more extreme, everyone would only have felt it was as it should be.
Having pointed out a few maids to clear up the wreckage in the room, Huangli bowed and withdrew. By the direction she took, she was going to the courtyard where the men guests were.
“Where is that female official going?” Yu Qiuchi whispered in Yu Nanzhi’s ear.
Yu Nanzhi lowered her voice to answer. “She should be… going to fetch the ‘Lackey Gang’ for the County Princess.”
The “Lackey Gang,” as the name says, was a crowd of wastrels and hangers-on who spent their days with County Princess Liyang and took every cue from her. Wherever County Princess Liyang pointed, they struck. They were a well-known force among the sons of the great houses of Chang’an.
Yu Nanzhi reckoned that with County Princess Liyang’s temper she probably meant to gather them to look for Eleventh Master Yang.
As for what would happen after he was found…
Everyone knew clearly that County Princess Liyang was holding in a breath of anger and would have to find somewhere to let it out.
With the principal gone, there was no point in lingering in Xianyun Pavilion. The young ladies of the various households went out one after another to wait for what came next. Yu Nanzhi and Yu Qiuchi were among them, walking slowly along the long corridor of the Grand Princess’s residence garden together with Feng Congrong.
Because Grand Princess Qianjin was fond of gardening, when the residence was renovated the craftsmen had specially led a hot spring into it, so that although it was the middle of winter there was not the least sign of snow in the garden but a spreading warmth. The early cherry, which should have bloomed in spring, was already out, pink-white flowers weighing down the branches.
“The stir County Princess Liyang makes later is certainly not going to be small.” Feng Congrong made her prediction flatly and finally.
Yu Qiuchi nodded. “The County Princess was so fierce just now. Eleventh Master Yang is certainly in for it.”
“Does Third Sister Yu pity him?” Feng Congrong raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat surprised.
“No.” Yu Qiuchi shook her head. “For the bridegroom to flee the wedding on the day of the marriage is an unbearable disgrace for any woman.”
Feng Congrong then asked Yu Nanzhi, “What does Sister Nanzhi think of it?”
Yu Nanzhi took two steps forward and leaned half her body on the railing, stretching out a gleaming white palm. A cherry petal fell quietly into it. The sunlight of a snowy day scattered, and the girl holding the flower stood in the middle of the beam, glimmering faintly all over. A swallowtail butterfly that had not gone to sleep came fluttering and settled on her fingertip.
Yu Nanzhi, who had been silent for a while, suddenly spoke, her eyes full of worry about being blamed by the elders. “Sister Congrong, Third Sister, let us go and look in at the warm chamber. The elders are all waiting over there, and it would not do to be late.”
In fact the great play was about to open, and it would not do to be short of an audience.
Yu Nanzhi came back to Feng Congrong and Yu Qiuchi, and the three of them went straight toward the other end of the long corridor together.
The swallowtail did not leave. It beat its wings and fluttered up and down, always two or three steps ahead of them, as if it were leading the way.
Only Yu Nanzhi could hear the swallowtail’s chatter.
【Eleventh Master Yang’s mother, Madam Xu, has arrived.】
【Grand Princess Qianjin has arrived too.】
【Madam Xu is squeezing her handkerchief and has started to cry. She really does look pitiful.】
【Quick! County Princess Liyang has started walking over there too!】
Although the swallowtail was broadcasting live, nothing could match seeing it with her own eyes. Yu Nanzhi could not help walking a little faster.
The swallowtail beat its wings lightly, circled once around Yu Nanzhi’s hair knot, then suddenly flew nimbly ahead. Its wings drew a flowing arc in the air, and it finally landed steadily in another person’s palm.
Yu Nanzhi’s steps froze at once, but her gaze locked tightly on the figure at the end of the long corridor.
She had run into him again.
“Greetings to the Prince of Qinghe.”
Feng Congrong and Yu Qiuchi bowed first, and Yu Nanzhi, coming to herself, followed right after, lowering her head and gathering her sleeves in a clasped-hands salute exactly like theirs.
Today Cui Zixu wore a cloud-mountain blue long robe with a bamboo pattern, which set off the young man’s tall, upright figure exactly as it should. His usually distant expression had eased somewhat because of the butterfly in his palm.
“No need for courtesies.” Cui Zixu nodded slightly by way of a return salute.
Cui Zixu was standing on the only road to the warm chamber, and there was no way at all to avoid him. Yu Nanzhi could only walk toward him as if nothing were the matter, and at the edge of her vision she glimpsed the swallowtail still lingering cheerfully on Cui Zixu’s shoulder.
What a creature, one look at a pretty face and its friends were nothing [5]sees beauty and forgets its friends (jiàn sè wàng yǒu, 見色忘友) (Idiom), to abandon one’s friends the moment someone attractive appears jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3253962_1_5').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3253962_1_5', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.
Even though she could not hear the swallowtail’s chatter because of Cui Zixu, Yu Nanzhi could still guess what the little butterfly was thinking, wasn’t it that at the sight of a handsome man it could not tear itself away [6]unable to walk on (zǒu bù dòng dào, 走不動道) (Slang), rooted to the spot by something one cannot stop looking at jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3253962_1_6').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3253962_1_6', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); and wanted to admire his beauty from every angle?
“Are the three ladies also going to the warm chamber?” At the very instant they were about to pass him, Cui Zixu spoke and stopped them.
Feng Congrong knew that the two Yu sisters were both rather timid by nature, and that making them deal with Cui Zixu would undoubtedly be asking of them what they could not manage, so she took the task on herself. “In answer to Your Highness, several elders of the Duke of Zhenguo’s household and this humble girl’s grandmother are all at the warm chamber. This humble girl is taking the two Yu sisters to join them.”
“I am also going to see my mother.” Cui Zixu brushed the butterfly off his shoulder. The swallowtail flapped only a few times in the air before it settled again, at a slant, on Yu Nanzhi’s hair. Cui Zixu was taken aback at this too. He lifted his lids and looked at Yu Nanzhi. “By the look of it this butterfly likes Second Miss Yu very much.”
“Your Highness the Prince is joking.” Yu Nanzhi curved her lips politely and shifted back a small amount, clearly not wanting to be too close to Cui Zixu.
Her reaction was all taken in by Cui Zixu. He said, “It came from Second Miss Yu, and in the end it returns to Second Miss Yu.”
For some reason Yu Nanzhi tasted the faintest thread of loneliness in his words, like a puppy abandoned by its owner waiting at the roadside with its ears drooping.
Yu Nanzhi’s heart softened for an instant, and she made up an explanation on the spot. “Perhaps it is because this humble girl stood by the cherry tree over there for a while just now and some of the scent got onto me, and this swallowtail was drawn by the flower scent.”
Cui Zixu said nothing, and Yu Nanzhi did not know whether he believed this explanation.
Counting the time, County Princess Liyang should be reaching the warm chamber any moment. She could not go on being delayed here.
So Yu Nanzhi reckoned.
Cui Zixu lowered his eyes and glanced at Yu Nanzhi. She thought she had hidden it well, but he saw the urgency in her heart. He drew in his sleeves, put his hands behind his back and made way. “I still have to wait for someone. Please go ahead, all three of you.”
As Yu Nanzhi saw it, Cui Zixu’s action was even rather too thoughtful, but it did fall in exactly with what she wanted. She thanked him in a low voice, took Feng Congrong and Yu Qiuchi with her and quickly passed through the inner gate at the end of the corridor.
“Your Highness, who was that just now…?”
Not long after the three young ladies had gone, a grey-clad attendant dropped out of a tree. When he had arrived he had happened upon Cui Zixu talking with Yu Nanzhi and could only jump into the tree crown and hide, and so of course he had seen the whole of it.
“Too much mouth.”
Two simple words, and yet soaked in cold.
The attendant understood this was not his to ask and swallowed his words back into his belly at once.
“By the way,” Cui Zixu asked, “have you found where Eleventh Master Yang is?”
The attendant answered respectfully, “There is word.”
“Then let us go and see my mother.” With that Cui Zixu turned and walked straight off, but halfway along he suddenly bent down and picked up a cherry petal from the ground.
He held this stroke of faded red between his fingertips and passed it under his nose. It seemed the faint remaining flower scent could still be smelled. A genuine smile traced itself at the corner of Cui Zixu’s mouth, and with great care he tucked the petal into the brocade pouch at his waist.
She had dropped it.
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