The carriage rolled toward the Commander's residence. Wind from the window lifted the hair at Qingyuan's temple and laid it across her cheek, where it tickled faintly. She turned her head and rubbed against it, a childish gesture that still held a child's innocence.
Baoxian reached over and tugged lightly at her sleeve. She was plainly still rattled by Qingyuan's earlier decision. "Miss, if the Palace Marshal asks about it later..."
Qingyuan gave her a reassuring look, telling her to put her heart back where it belonged. When people are suppressed for too long, an extreme urge to destroy takes root in them. She knew what she was doing.
Qingru had been shielded too well by the Xie family. Whether it was the old lady or Madam Hu, no matter how wild or crafty Qingru was, they always forgave her without asking why. Qingyuan would never forget that slap. In the Xie household she was only an overlooked concubine's daughter, but at the Chens' she was her grandparents' treasure, and no one there had ever laid a finger on her. Yet once back at the Xies', she had been slighted like this, and the old lady had not spoken a single fair word. Qingru was told to apologize, Qingru refused, and the matter simply faded away.
A gentleman can wait ten years for revenge, and Qingyuan had always been patient. What is the hardest thing in the world to bear? A long-awaited dream destroyed, with no way to argue and no way to undo it, like water spilled on the ground that cannot be scooped up or gathered back, and all you can do is watch it soak into the dust. Only a person without desires has no weakness. Qingru was full of desires and so full of weaknesses, and Li Congxin was her greatest ambition. What would happen if that hope were crushed? She might weep and wail, or become a laughingstock. Qingyuan did not want anything terrible to happen to Qingru. One hard lesson would be enough.
"Guess how Second Miss will wear that pendant," Qingyuan said, smiling with perfect, harmless innocence. A person in a hurry to get ahead would use anything she was given to the fullest. She was almost looking forward to seeing what Qingru would do.
Baoxian was still anxious. "I'm afraid it will offend the Palace Marshal..."
It was true that the plan was not entirely free of risk to herself, but she wanted to gamble. Recent events seemed wrapped in a haze that kept her from seeing clearly. Perhaps this was a chance to break the deadlock. Once she had sorted out the small details, she would know which road to take.
The distance from the Xie residence to the Shen residence was considerable. On an ordinary day it would have been bearable, but the weather had turned steadily sultrier, and sitting in that cramped space for so long was stifling. At last the carriage stopped. The bell on the groom's whip jingled, and Baoxian pushed open the door, climbed down, and turned back to help her.
Fangchun came out through the gate. This time she did not call Qingyuan "little sister" but addressed her properly as Fourth Miss. She was every bit as familiar as before, though, and slipped her a wink, saying quietly, "You must be tired from the road. I've had iced bowls prepared, so come in quickly."
Once a woman is married, even if she dislikes socializing, she has to learn to manage it. Fangchun went on to greet the other Xie daughters, making sure of each one's seniority, and said with a smile, "Fourth Miss told me your sisters are all close in age. How nice that is. Standing together, the four of you look about the same size. With ages so near, you must have plenty to talk about."
Qingru had heard people discuss this Commissioner's wife at banquets. She had leapt up in the world through her marriage into a prominent family, but that did not change the fact that her own family's standing was low. In these times, noble ladies cared a great deal about birth, and a woman from a small, modest household like Fangchun's was simply beneath Qingru's notice.
Of course such thoughts stayed private. Her face wore a proper smile, and every movement matched what was expected of a girl from a great house.
Qinghe, the eldest of the sisters, naturally spoke for the others in deferring to the Commissioner's wife. She made a neat curtsy and said with a smile, "Thank you for your hospitality. There are so many of us, and we are sure to impose on you, madam."
"Not at all," Fangchun said, smiling. "The men of the house are busy with official duties and rarely at home, so a lively occasion like this makes me happy. The male guests have their own side to attend to, and we needn't worry about them. Did the heat bother you on the road? I've had ice chests set out in the rooms, and it will be cool inside." As she spoke she took the eldest Miss by the hand, then the Second Miss, her eyes keeping the Third Miss in the conversation too, and ushered them all into the residence with warm good cheer.
Sure enough, a huge bronze ice chest stood in the middle of the floor as soon as they entered, even larger than the one taken to Huguo Temple that day. Qingyuan couldn't help laughing. Fangchun could not do without this fine thing in summer. She feared the heat that much. A bronze chest was easy enough to find, but being able to afford the ice inside was another matter.
In any case, there was the ice chest and there was a seven-wheel fan as well. Two maids knelt to one side, slowly turning the axle, and the breeze carried the chill off the ice so that the whole room turned cool in moments. Fangchun, wanting to do right by her guests, had cool tea and iced fruit and pastries prepared. Having finished that, she still had the male guests to see to, and it was a bit too much for one person. In the end she said to everyone with a smile, "Since no elders are present at today's banquet, and the other side has only your brothers and Chunzhi, and you have all met the Commander and the Commissioner... why don't we simply put everyone together? A crowd is livelier. Even at your spring banquets in Hengtang there were never so many taboos. If we insist on keeping men and women strictly apart, it will only look as though we're putting on airs."
Since the hostess had said so, no one had any reason to object. They all rose and moved to the great flower hall. Qingru had been rather listless until she heard that everyone would dine together, and then she came back to life. Supported by Lüzhui, she followed the crowd with a measured step. Just as they brushed past one another, Baoxian saw the beast-face pendant hanging from Qingru's button. Startled, she turned to look at Qingyuan.
Qingyuan remained entirely composed. She took her hand and said, "Let's go." The pendant had come with a little pouch. Qingru had found the pouch a nuisance and taken it off, and openly wore the jade by itself. Whom could she blame?
The party filed into the great flower hall. Qingyuan had never been there before. Seeing how vast and deep the hall was, she couldn't help exclaiming at the spaciousness. The windows on the north and south sides stood open to the floor, hung with neat rows of bamboo blinds, and sunlight passing through the weave of the slats cast a mottled, tiger-striped pattern across the lotus-patterned blue bricks. This was a man's world, cold, decisive, imposing. The men who had been talking freely in the hall all stood to greet the women as they came in. So the sweep of "Ballad of the Knight-Errant" had the gentle turns of "Three Refrains of Yangguan" set into it, and all that hardness could no longer stay hard.
Among so many people, only the three Xie brothers led by Zhengze had truly come to enjoy the banquet. Everyone else had a private agenda. Li Congxin was pleased to see Qingyuan, who had stepped out beyond the festooned gate. Qingru was pleased because her heart would finally have a place to rest. She had thought it over carefully in the carriage and realized she had never once told Chunzhi what was on her mind. If she went on like this, she would very likely miss her chance. Qingyuan had always kept her head down and tail tucked, and since she dared not reach for the Marquis of Danyang's household, it would do no harm to make that young marquis give up on her. Just look: the pendant he gave her, she passed to someone else; the list of names he had kindly offered to help her out of trouble, she used to find a more glorious buyer. What must the Third Young Master be thinking now? At the Great Buddha Temple last time, Qingru had gone in Qingyuan's place to meet him, and hadn't they talked happily together? He was clearly a gentle, tender-hearted man, and perhaps he was not without feeling for her. If she pressed forward a little more and gave him a push, there might well be a good outcome.
So that pendant appeared in a prominent spot on her collar, where everyone opposite could see it, Li Congxin included. For a young woman to go so far as to wear a man's ornament on her person showed how determined she was, so determined that she was moved by it herself.
Li Congxin saw it, of course, and was secretly surprised by the Second Miss Xie's boldness. Zhengze happened to be seated beside him. Congxin turned his head, smiled, and tipped up his chin. "So your sister already belongs to someone. Why have you never mentioned it?"
Zhengze was stunned for a long moment, wondering whether he had missed something. When had Qingru been promised to anyone? How did he not know? So when Li Congxin asked, he had no answer. Seeing his sister sitting stiffly upright across from him, he felt deeply ashamed and wished his sigh could reach her ears: hurry up and hide that man's trinket, and stop embarrassing us.
Qingyuan was still seated beside Qinghe, carelessly picking out pastries for her and saying in a low voice, "Isn't it true that food from someone else's kitchen always smells better? I feel like the cherry cakes here are nicer than ours at home."
A couple of days earlier, Qinghe had received a letter from Li Guanling. It was full of tender feeling and promised that the marriage was unchanged, and his family was arranging for the viewing. Once an auspicious day was chosen, they would send the invitation by fast horse to Youzhou to request a date. Having received such a promise, Qinghe's heart had finally settled, and she paid no attention to anything outside her own world, putting all her energy into small trifles. At Qingyuan's words she pushed up her sleeve and picked up her chopsticks. "Really? Let me taste one."
A banquet could not be without refined music and dancing. Kucha girls came whirling in, dancing the Hu whirl, their skirts cut into strips and swelling out like lanterns. Their snow-white lotus feet spun on cushions no bigger than plates, landing precisely every time, as though their toes would take root the moment they touched down. The mood in the hall rose; applause broke out here and there. Qingyuan, who had been busy with pastries, finally looked up too. Smiling, she kept time to the lively melody.
This Hu dance had both nimble grace and wild, rough energy. The Kucha girls wore ornaments of animal bone at their waists but had finely made bells tied at their wrists. Four dancers, eight hands, shook them together, drew close, and gathered into the shape of a lotus. Then in an instant they burst apart, and where the petals had been, a pair of eyes appeared, two lines of sight. Qingyuan had no time to dodge and met them head on. They were Shen Run's eyes, looking over at her with cool indifference.
The Palace Command was meticulous in everything it did. With such a conspicuous banner on Qingru's chest, there was no way he hadn't seen it, yet he showed no sign of any emotional change. That very calm unsettled Qingyuan all the more.
"When will this banquet end?" Qingyuan said with a smile, turning her eyes away to speak to Qinghe. "I want to go home."
Qinghe was bored to death as well, though she had to look as if she were enjoying herself. "My face feels nailed in place," she said quietly. "I have no idea what I'm smiling at."
At this she really did want to laugh. So everyone was just forcing their way through it. A dinner at the Commander's house was indeed not an easy meal to enjoy.
Still, the hardest stretch had passed, and the mood loosened. After the meal Qingyuan waited anxiously for a while, but Shen Run did not come to make trouble for her, and the heart that had hung in the air all this time finally settled.
Her flat denial last time had led to this time's speechlessness; there truly was a fate at work in the dark. By now Commander Shen must have noticed Qingru. Getting Qingru to wear that pendant would end her hope of marrying into the Marquis of Danyang's household and also draw Shen Run's attention to her. Two birds with one stone: that was exactly as Qingyuan had first planned.
Fangchun was somewhat confused as well. "That Second Miss of yours... why is she wearing a man's pendant?"
Qingyuan smiled and shook her head.
Fangchun felt a little helpless. A person with too many opinions of her own is hard to steer. She decided not to interfere, and turned to tell the maids to bring in a large fruit table, laid with all kinds of fruit and cold dishes for people to help themselves.
On the other side of the flower hall, after the Hu dance ended, two men came on to perform the Kangju sword dance. Foreign performances were showy things. The backs of the blades seemed to grow out of their bodies, and from neck to spine to waist and belly the swords could be swung in flowers, flush against the skin.
Qingyuan didn't like watching it. It struck her as too bloody; one slip at any moment and there would be bloodshed. So she left the hall and chose to look at the scenery from beneath the veranda. It was too noisy inside, and the waves of reed-pipe music made her head ache, so outside was quieter. Courtyards in Youzhou were built very deep, unlike Hengtang, where the houses were built like tubes and standing in a courtyard well felt like sinking to the bottom of a pond. The depth here was one of scenery, with views layered one within another and stretching into the distance. People said Jiangnan gardens had a special ingenuity, but in terms of layout, Youzhou was far more refined than Hengtang.
If only it would rain. A garden after rain would surely be lovelier than under a bright sun... Qingyuan was thinking this over when, without warning, a small door beside her suddenly opened. Someone reached out a hand and pulled her inside.
It was a man's strength, and the single yank was startlingly forceful. Her heart nearly leapt out of her throat. Her feet stumbled, she couldn't stop herself, and she fell straight into his arms.
As for who it was, there was no need to ask. She was both frightened and annoyed. She didn't know why their private meetings always went like this: last time in the narrow passage, and now dragged into this room. Once she had steadied herself, she pushed him away in a panic and took a few steps back until her back was against a long table. She couldn't very well put on a stern face, so she stammered, "Palace Marshal, we can talk properly. You always do this. It's very improper."
Propriety? Shen Run smiled. "I have never been a man who cares about propriety." Seeing her glance toward the wall shared with the neighboring flower hall, he pressed in a little closer. "I advise you to think twice, Miss. If you draw anyone here, then even if you don't want to follow me, you may not have a choice."
Qingyuan was not a muddled person. For an instant the thought of calling for help really did spring up, but a moment later she gave it up. This was where young women lost out: the more they cared about their reputations, the easier they were to control.
Shen Run was no stranger to pleasure quarters and had plenty of tricks for toying with a woman's feelings. He lowered his head, one hand braced on the table beside her, the corner of his mouth curved in a smile. In that posture and with that look, he was like a refined, elegant beast with her firmly in its jaws, leaving her nowhere to run.
He liked seeing her thrown into confusion. From the first time she came to his residence and spoke at length, neither humble nor proud, he had wanted to see just how brave this young girl was. Now it seemed she was indeed bold. He had seen through the deeper meaning behind it at a glance, but his own close-worn jade pendant hanging on another woman was enough to make him feel humiliated.
Qingyuan was uncomfortable. She couldn't understand why this Commander, so dignified in front of others, was so frivolous in private. A military man's build was tall and agile, and handling a young woman would be effortless for him. He was standing too close. Once the distance between two people is broken like that, she was bound to feel unsafe.
His warm breath fell faintly beside her ear, and she instinctively shrank away. "Palace Marshal, please be dignified. I may not be worth mentioning, but I am still a girl from a respectable family."
"A respectable family?" He gave a soft laugh. "Does the Xie family count as respectable, to you?"
Qingyuan was stumped by the question. The Xies were certainly not a respectable family; everyone in it was selfish and greedy. She had had no choice in being born into such a household, but surely no one could deny that she herself was a pure girl.
"I will ask you only one thing," he said, his voice low, rumbling beside her ear and holding back anger. "Why is what I gave you on someone else?"
Qingyuan flinched, as though she could feel the cold hardness of fangs against her neck. When she drew back a little, he leaned in a little. Only when she was bent into an awkward curve did he stop, satisfied, and wait for her answer.
"Has the Palace Marshal forgotten what happened at Huguo Temple? I tried again and again to return it to you, and you insisted it wasn't yours. If it isn't yours..." She smiled innocently. "Then naturally I may do with it as I please."
"Hm?" His tone was strange. Seeing that she was still smiling, he realized this girl was a difficult one. Her composure in danger had still exceeded his expectations, though, and his interest only grew. He said lazily, "Fourth Miss surely doesn't intend to credit Shen with fine things like keeping his word? Shen Run's reputation is rotten. Haven't you heard? When I leave something with you, you ought to keep it well. You can't refuse it, and you can't give it to someone else. What you did today disappointed me greatly. Shen Run is a man who repays every grudge. If you anger me, have you thought about what will come next?"
At this point, playing dumb was no use. Qingyuan drew a breath and tried to bargain with him. "Palace Marshal, can we speak standing up straight? From what I have seen of my family's elders lately, they do seem to want a marriage connection with you. In my humble opinion, a family and standing like yours is better matched with a daughter of the main wife. I passed the pendant along on your behalf, so why not take a look at my Second Sister? She was born to the senior madam and is dearly loved by the old lady. If you are willing, I will arrange an introduction for the two of you. What do you think, Palace Marshal?"