Among ten thousand contending flowers the plum alone is bright, into whose house will the Cui family’s bright pearl fall? Through news off the small path, this writer hears that Grand Princess Heyang means to seek a good husband for her only daughter, County Princess Wanquan. Readers may as well guess which household’s young master will be the one chosen [1]hit the peacock on the screen (què píng zhòng xuǎn, 雀屏中選) (Idiom), to be picked out as the accepted son-in-law, from the archery test set on a painted screen jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3253949_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3253949_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.
—Zhuyan Book Pavilion, Nanzhi Que, the ninth day of the twelfth month, the fourth year of Xihe
“How can this Nanzhi Que spin a story out of thin air like that?”
Inside Grand Princess Heyang’s residence, County Princess Wanquan held her chopsticks, eating her morning meal. When the maid had finished reading out the contents of the little newspaper, she frowned.
“Let This Palace see.” Grand Princess Heyang came forward with light steps, the warmth of a recent bath still on her, a scented breeze about her and her hair-pendants swaying gently, supported by two palace maids as she came out from the inner room. She picked up the little newspaper offhandedly and skimmed it in a few sweeps of the eye, nodding as she read.
“Nanzhi Que’s information really is well informed, and her mind is very quick. This Palace only summoned the young masters of a few households and questioned them, and she guessed This Palace’s intention.”
“Mother—” County Princess Wanquan’s eyes widened at once, and her cheeks flushed red.
So what Nanzhi Que said was true after all. Her mother really was choosing a husband for her. She had met the young masters of those several households mentioned in the little newspaper a few times, but she did not know any of them well.
“You girl are so overbearing every other day. What is there to be shy about?” Grand Princess Heyang stroked her daughter’s head. “Whose daughter has never had her first flutter of longing?”
Since it concerned the great matter of her whole life, County Princess Wanquan could not be bothered to be coy. She tugged at Grand Princess Heyang’s sleeve and asked, “So which one has Mother taken a liking to?”
“Well, as to that…” Grand Princess Heyang deliberately left her hanging, but in the end she could not hold out against her daughter’s assault. She tapped the tip of County Princess Wanquan’s nose and told her to sit properly first. “There are more young masters in Chang’an than anyone could count. Cut one crop and another comes up. This Palace’s daughter must of course pick the very best. Still, this Nanzhi Que does things with a bit of novelty.”
She had openly set up a wager at the end of today’s little newspaper, betting on which household’s young master would catch Wanyi’s eye. Readers could write to Zhuyan Book Pavilion themselves and vote, and Zhuyan Book Pavilion would post the running tally at the end of the little newspaper each day.
In the days to come, Wanyi would be the most watched young lady in Chang’an, her every move followed closely.
Grand Princess Heyang did not take offense at this, she took it as an honor.
Only her daughter deserved such a display.
County Princess Wanquan straightened her back, and the little dissatisfaction she had felt toward Nanzhi Que was entirely gone. She told the maid beside her, “From now on bring me a copy of Nanzhi Que’s little newspaper every morning. This County Princess wants to see how this wager turns out in the end.”
Fourth Miss Cui, Third Miss Zhang and Seventh Miss Liu had only been passed over in a few strokes before. How could they compare with a show as grand as hers?
From now on the noble young ladies of Chang’an could only look up at her, Cui Wanyi.
“Oh, by the way.” County Princess Wanquan’s eyes suddenly brightened as she remembered something. “Why did this Nanzhi Que mention only me and not Fourth Brother?”
Cui Zixu was fourth in his generation of the Cui clan, and County Princess Wanquan always called him Fourth Brother.
Her Fourth Brother was handsome and full of spirit. The moment he came back to Chang’an and showed himself at her mother’s birthday banquet, he had drawn all the looks. Overbearing as she was, she could just about bring herself to share today’s front page with him, but today’s little newspaper had not given him a single stroke of ink.
Blind as bats, the lot of them!
“What is there to mention him for?” The moment this son came up, Grand Princess Heyang grew angry.
Almost twenty years of age, and he neither entered court as an official to establish a career nor mixed with the daughters of other households to establish a household. Who knew what he thought about day after day.
County Princess Wanquan linked arms with Grand Princess Heyang and whispered a few words in her ear. Grand Princess Heyang’s brows lifted slightly. “Is what you say true?”
County Princess Wanquan said, “A thousand times true, ten thousand times true. Yesterday I saw Fourth Brother speaking privately with a young lady, right in the corridor behind Fengyi Pavilion.”
Grand Princess Heyang was interested at once. “Did you see clearly which household’s young lady it was?”
County Princess Wanquan shook her head. “It was too far away. I didn’t see.”
That person had been wearing a crimson cloak, but there were quite a few ladies at the banquet dressed that way, so there was no telling who it was.
“Ah—” Grand Princess Heyang sighed quietly.
In that case it would have been better not to say anything, and spare her raising hopes for nothing only to have them dashed completely in the end.
Grand Princess Heyang went on holding her forehead, her expression aggrieved. “If I must wait for that brother of yours to really set his heart on some young lady, your mother will be waiting till kingdom come [2]until the monkey’s year and the horse’s month (hóu nián mǎ yuè, 猴年馬月) (Idiom), a date that will never actually arrive jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3253949_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3253949_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.”
“It has been only one night, and Mother and Little Sister are talking about me again. What for?”
Speak of the devil [3]speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives (shuō Cáo Cāo Cáo Cāo jiù dào, 說曹操曹操就到) (Idiom), said when the very person under discussion walks in jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3253949_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3253949_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. The jade-like young man walked in slowly, lifted his robe and sat down, covered his mouth and yawned, the corners of his eyes still carrying the weariness of one not long awake.
“Talking about when you will bring me back a sister-in-law.” County Princess Wanquan shot back directly.
The rising steam blurred his eyes. Cui Zixu’s hand, scooping wolfberry and white fungus porridge, paused, and he did not answer. After he had eaten most of the bowl, he took the handkerchief the maid handed him and wiped his lips clean, and at last answered, “I already have plans for that. There is no need for you to trouble yourselves.”
At this Grand Princess Heyang’s eyes lit up. Then she lowered her lids and drank a mouthful of sanlejiang, thinking, “This boy always avoided the subject before. If he says this now, does it mean something may actually come of it?”
After that Grand Princess Heyang did not raise the subject again, for fear Cui Zixu would change his mind. The morning meal in the princess’s residence was eaten quietly. Before long Cui Zixu rose and gave County Princess Wanquan a meaningful look. “I am going to Baiguo Garden. I may see Third Master Xie today. I will tell you when I come back.”
Third Master Xie, Xie Lingze, was eighteen this year, jade-like in looks and brilliant in bearing, and was also a well-known elegant young master in Chang’an. If anyone in that long string of names Nanzhi Que had listed pleased County Princess Wanquan most, it was he.
County Princess Wanquan snorted and stamped her foot hard, thoroughly awkward, but muttered, “Who wants to know about him.”
That was what she said, but in her heart County Princess Wanquan honestly hoped that when Cui Zixu came back he would say more about these young masters, so that she could compare their merits and faults.
Cui Zixu smiled and said nothing. He put on a fox-fur cloak and stepped out into the snow. Out of the corner of his eye he happened to catch sight of a magpie hopping and hiding among the crowded red plum branches. He stopped quietly, his thoughts flying off to who knew where.
Half a cup of tea’s time later, a carriage with an ornate canopy set out from the princess’s residence. The direction it took was not Baiguo Garden, but Qinren Ward, where the Duke of Zhenguo’s household lay.
The Duke of Zhenguo’s household, Cuiwei Hall.
Plate after plate of fine pastries and soups was brought to the tables, but the people in the hall sat at their own tables eating their morning meal in silence, with nothing to say to one another.
Cuiwei Hall was where the Grand Madam of Zhenguo lived. The Grand Madam was old and liked quiet, and rarely troubled the young people of the household. To call almost the whole household together just to eat a breakfast, as she had this morning, was simply unheard of.
The Duke of Zhenguo’s household had two branches. The first branch was Yu Nanzhi’s own father, the Duke of Zhenguo Yu Shouhua, and his second wife Madam Zhou. The second branch was Yu Shouchun, Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, his wife Madam Ji, their sons Yu Shuhuai and Yu Shuchang, and their youngest daughter Yu Qiuchi.
Neither of the two married couples heading the first and second branches could make out what the Grand Madam of Zhenguo was really driving at [4]what medicine she was selling out of her gourd (hú lu lǐ mài de shén me yào, 葫蘆裏賣的什麽藥) (Idiom), a person’s true intention, kept deliberately hidden jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3253949_1_4').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3253949_1_4', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. They could only exchange a glance or two now and then, and could not even eat properly.
Yu Nanzhi did not care how many undercurrents ran through the table. She picked up a jade-dew cake and bit into it, and the juice of the plum-blossom fruit filling burst on her tongue, fragrant and sweet and soft. It was exactly the taste she liked. So she put away three more in a row. Of the six jade-dew cakes in all, two thirds had gone into her stomach.
The Grand Madam of Zhenguo, attended by servants, had eaten half a bowl of bird’s-nest soup. She lifted her eyes a little and caught sight of her granddaughter like this. After such a mishap at the princess’s residence yesterday, the girl could still be so perfectly at ease. There was no telling whether nothing truly troubled her [5]she has a big heart (xīn dà, 心大) (Slang), untroubled by things that ought to worry a person jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3253949_1_5').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3253949_1_5', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, or whether it was an act.
Still, as she saw it, it might well be both, there was no knowing yet.
“Where are the Third Son and the Eldest Miss? Why haven’t they come?” the Grand Madam of Zhenguo asked suddenly, as if by chance.
The places that belonged to Yu Shutang and Yu Qiuzhi were empty, and the soups and pastries set out on their tables had long gone cold.
Yu Shutang’s great scene last night, when he burst into Shuming Court, had been stopped in time by Yu Shuhuai, but everyone in the Duke’s household who should know about it knew.
Madam Zhou had only this one son and had loved him like a treasure since he was small, so of course she had to make excuses for him. “Mother-in-law, allow me to explain. The Third Son is young and fond of sleep, and he played rather late last night. He will probably sleep a while longer. When he wakes, your daughter-in-law will send him at once to pay his respects to you.”
The Duke of Zhenguo swallowed a mouthful of mutton botuo, his cheeks bulging, eating with relish. Hearing this, he punctured Madam Zhou’s lie without hesitation. “Awu, how can you lie to Mother? Hasn’t the Third Son been awake this long while? When I came out of my courtyard this morning, I heard him from a long way off pestering his page to go and get him the new eight-cornered palace lantern from Eldest Master He’s house in Yong’an Ward.”
She had never imagined her husband would cut the ground from under her [6]take her stage apart (chāi le tái, 拆了臺) (Slang), to undercut someone in front of everyone jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3253949_1_6').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3253949_1_6', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. Madam Zhou could not keep her face for a moment, and the chopsticks reaching for food hung in midair for several breaths without moving. But she was after all only a second wife, with no notable family behind her, holding her footing in the Duke’s household barely by way of her son, so a bellyful of anger could not be let out. She could only lower her colors and say no more [7]furl the banners and still the drums (yǎn xī xiē gǔ, 掩息歇鼓) (Idiom), to break off a fight and withdraw in silence jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3253949_1_7').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3253949_1_7', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.
Yu Nanzhi lowered her head and smiled.
Earlier, the weeping willow outside her bedroom had told her this news. Eldest Master He of Yong’an Ward was one of the top lantern makers in Chang’an, any palace lantern that passed through his hands was worth no less than ten strings of cash apiece, and one still had to queue and wait. Yu Shutang did not care for delicate things like palace lanterns and preferred whips and blades instead. The lantern was being sought for Yu Qiuzhi. Seventh Miss Liu had earlier produced a palace lantern with six panels of beautiful women at a poetry gathering and had been the talk of everyone. Yu Qiuzhi had long wanted one too, and it had to be better than the one belonging to Seventh Miss Liu, her sworn enemy since childhood.
“The Third Son is already seven, and he has been at his books for three years. He is not so young any more, he should know better.” The Grand Madam of Zhenguo brought up Yu Shutang again. Instinct told Madam Zhou that nothing good would follow. Her lips moved as she tried to say something, but the Grand Madam cut her off directly. “If he has done wrong, he must be prepared to bear the responsibility. Someone go and call the Third Young Master here for me.”
The Duke of Zhenguo added at the same time, “And pass on my order: if he refuses, have the guards tie him up and bring him to Cuiwei Hall!”
By the look of it, Yu Shutang really was in for it.
“Eldest Uncle.” Yu Shuhuai suddenly clasped his hands toward the Duke of Zhenguo, and when he raised his head his face was entirely serious. “I hear there is nothing seriously wrong with Eldest Sister’s health and that she can go out already. She should come as well and apologize to Second Sister.”
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