The next day, an imperial decree spread through the palace: all princes, nobles, and high officials were to attend a banquet with their families to celebrate the arrival of the King of the Northern Desert.
The Prince of Chu’s residence was, of course, included.
As always, the Prince of Chu showed no interest in anything. Only just before departure did servants rouse him, dress him, and arrange his hair—he was still half-drunk and barely conscious.
Princess Consort Zhao, on the other hand, was in high spirits. The day before, she had already ordered her maids to bring out embroidered gowns and jeweled hairpins for selection. That morning, before dawn, she had lamps lit and began dressing early.
Jiang Congyan did not know why the Emperor had specifically ordered officials to bring their female family members into the palace. A faint unease stirred in her heart—but she had no choice but to go.
The three set off in a carriage and reached the palace gates in less than half an hour. After disembarking, they were led inside by eunuchs, passing through long corridors until they reached Yunlong Gate. There, male and female guests were to part ways—and just then, they encountered Zhao Zhen, Minister of Agriculture, arriving with his clan.
The Zhao family was a powerful aristocratic clan favored by the Emperor. Zhao Zhen was the current patriarch. The Emperor’s most favored concubine, Noble Consort Zhao, was his younger sister—and the current Princess Consort of Chu was also from the Zhao clan, his cousin.
Upon seeing her brother, the Princess Consort’s face lit up. She hurried over, lifting her skirts slightly.
“Brother!”
She took his arm with girlish affection.
“What have you been busy with? You haven’t come to see me these days.”
Zhao Zhen smiled warmly. “The King of the Northern Desert has arrived—there’s much to handle. Once this is over, I’ll visit often.”
The two stood chatting and laughing.
Jiang Congyan watched them, feeling something faintly off.
Just then, from the corner of her eye, she noticed a palace maid in green beckoning to her urgently, mouthing words silently.
Jiang Congyan approached. The maid, almost in tears, whispered anxiously,
“Miss, the Princess urgently seeks you. Please come quickly to the garden grove.”
Glancing back, Jiang Congyan saw that the Princess Consort was still absorbed in conversation and hadn’t noticed her. She nodded and followed the maid through a side path.
The maid, Nüxia, served the Sixth Princess.
After winding through bamboo groves and flower clusters, they arrived at a secluded bamboo courtyard. The Sixth Princess stood waiting anxiously. The moment she saw Jiang Congyan, her eyes lit up as if she had found salvation.
“Sister Yan, what should I do?” She rushed forward and grabbed her hand.
“Don’t panic. Tell me everything first.”
Two years ago, Jiang Congyan had met her at a winter banquet. The girl had been bullied, her dress soaked by another princess, crying alone in a corner. Jiang Congyan had simply given her a hand warmer.
That small kindness had changed everything.
Since then, the Sixth Princess clung to her whenever she entered the palace—like a frightened fawn seeking safety.
“They want me to marry a barbarian!” the princess trembled.
Jiang Congyan gently squeezed her hand. Calm and composed, she asked,
“How can you be sure? Has there been a decree, or something else?”
The Sixth Princess explained:
Yesterday, Noble Consort Zhao had sent her fine clothes and jewelry—and ordered her to perform at the banquet.
“The Fifth Princess hasn’t married yet… Consort Zhao wouldn’t sacrifice her… so she chose me…”
On the other side of the wall, Tuoba Xiao suddenly stopped.
He recognized the voice—the Han girl he had met at the Liangzhou border.
Could she be a princess?
For the first time, he felt a flicker of anticipation.
At twenty, still unmarried—a rarity among his people—he had come personally to choose a Han bride he liked.
So he lingered, openly eavesdropping.
“I understand,” Jiang Congyan said softly, wiping away the princess’s tears.
Her calm voice alone steadied the girl.
“If the Consort wants you to perform, it means she cannot decide the marriage herself. She wants you to attract the King’s attention. So long as he does not like you, her plan will fail.”
“How do I make him dislike me?” the princess asked.
Jiang Congyan replied thoughtfully:
“A man who says, ‘I will choose my own wife,’ must be ambitious and calculating. Such men rarely like weakness.”
“When you perform, appear timid and fearful. Play soft southern melodies—he will grow impatient.”
The princess’s eyes brightened in realization.
“Thank you, Sister Yan!”
On the other side, Tuoba Xiao felt a flicker of admiration—her judgment of him was accurate.
But their conversation displeased him.
If the princesses didn’t want to marry him—he didn’t want them either.
Still… that girl—
He wanted to see her.
The banquet began.
In the grand Taiji Hall, magnificence filled every corner—gold, incense wood beams, carved pillars, blazing braziers. The Emperor intended to display the wealth and power of Liang.
Yet beneath the grandeur, tension simmered.
When Tuoba Xiao entered, he ignored court etiquette and sat casually with legs stretched out.
Outrage erupted among the officials.
“Barbaric!”
“No sense of propriety!”
But he didn’t care.
When rebuked, his general even laughed and challenged them to combat.
The hall grew tense until the Emperor smoothed things over.
Midway through the banquet, the curtains separating men and women were lifted, leaving only a silk screen between them.
Tuoba Xiao looked over—but could only see blurred silhouettes.
The Sixth and Seventh Princesses were brought forward to perform.
They were beautifully dressed—but timid, shrinking, afraid to even raise their eyes.
He frowned.
Not her.
His mind returned to the girl from the border—
Wrapped in white fur, standing alone in a barren land, clean and untouchable, as if she did not belong to the mortal world.
He had not even seen her face—but had already imagined it.
Everyone assumed he was choosing a princess.
The Sixth Princess trembled under his gaze, making mistakes in her performance.
“Don’t notice me… don’t notice me…”
But what Tuoba Xiao was truly thinking was—
Should he simply lift the screen… and see if she was there?