“She said someone put aconite in her wine.”
I was shocked. Aconite was a poisonous herb that aborted an unwanted fetus. “Who would do that?”
She sighed. “No one would be so heartless to do that. But she is angry. That’s the reason. You should be careful. Don’t let her see you. You don’t want any attention right now.”
My heart sank. Would Jewel accuse me of poisoning her?
That night, when I lay on the mat, I could not sleep. Would I be sleeping on the cold floor in the Yeting Court tomorrow? Or worse?
? ? ?
The night before Jewel’s coronation, the Emperor summoned the Talents to serve him. The other eight Talents and I arrived in our silk gowns and waited on a large mat in a corner. The Emperor sat inside the ring of candles, drinking. The news of Jewel’s miscarriage had shaken him, I could tell, and he looked sad, his eyes bleary, his whiskers sagging. He did not ask us to take off our clothes or approach him. Soon, the other Talents grew tired of waiting and began to whisper about tomorrow’s coronation.
“Mei,” Plum whispered in my ear as he leaned over me on the mat. “I found out why Jewel was banished.”
“You did?” I almost bolted upright. The Emperor, holding a jug with his left hand, was trying to grab his sword with his right. He seemed to have trouble doing it. “Why did he banish her?”
“Not the Emperor. It was the late Empress. She was jealous, because Jewel was beautiful and the Emperor liked her. The Empress made an excuse, killed all of Jewel’s family, and banished her to the Yeting Court.”
“Really?” I glanced at the other Talents, who were growing quiet and turned around to sleep.
“That’s not all. Here’s the best part,” Plum said. “Jewel was the Emperor’s older brother’s concubine before she became the Emperor’s.”
I sat up. “The Emperor’s older brother?”
“Yes.”
“Are you certain?”
“No doubt about it. I came across an old woman with a bad hip at a eunuch’s burial. She told me. She was in the Emperor’s brother’s household many years ago. She did not recognize Jewel at first. But when I mentioned Snow Blossom, she remembered.”
“Did the Noble Lady see her when she was in the court nine years ago?”
Plum peered at the Emperor. He had grabbed the sword, but his hand shook, and he dropped it. He cursed. “Oh, no, I do not think any of the ladies did. The Emperor put her in a special hall, hiding her from the Empress. That was why it angered her.”
No wonder no one had heard of her. What would the Noble Lady think when she heard of that scandal? She would be surprised, for sure, but Jewel’s coronation was tomorrow. It was too late. We could not stop her even if we worked up the gossip overnight.
“I wish I had known this sooner. She’ll be crowned tomorrow.”
“There’s something else.” Plum cupped her hand around my ear. “Jewel keeps a special handkerchief.”
“Special?” It was common to keep a handkerchief, of course. Everybody had one.
“It belonged to a man.”
“The Emperor?”
She made a face. “If it belonged to him, it wouldn’t be special.”
“Then to whom did it belong?”
“Wine!” The Emperor’s loud voice echoed in the chamber, startling me.
Plum rose. “Wait for me. When I return, I’ll tell you.”
The hem of her skirt brushed my knee as she passed me.
I gnawed my knuckles. Finally! I knew Jewel’s secret. What an interesting past she had, and she had kept a man’s handkerchief?
“Tell me, Plum,” I urged when she padded back. “Whose handkerchief is it?”
“All I can say is it has a man’s name stitched on it.”
My heart pounded. “What kind of name?”
“It says Jiancheng, or something like it. I can’t be certain. Jewel keeps it close to her.”
I knew that name. Emperor Gaozu’s firstborn, the Emperor’s older brother. So Jewel had indeed been his concubine. “How did you find out about it?”
“A laundry woman mentioned it a few days ago. But I couldn’t prove it. It was chaotic today, with her losing the baby this morning. Many people came and left her chamber. I slipped in and took a peek. Swiftly. It has a pair of love ducks and that man’s name.”
The Noble Lady would be pleased to hear that. I glanced at the Emperor, who had gotten a good hold on his sword and stood up, as though trying to perform a sword dance. I turned to Plum and said in a low voice, “Do you swear by it, Plum?”
She shrugged. “I can’t. I may be wrong.”
“A handkerchief,” I repeated in a low voice. “Wait here, Plum. I’ll be right back.”
Yet I could not leave immediately. The Emperor turned toward me, thrust his sword, and shouted. Anxious, I bit my nail and waited. Finally, he spun around.
I slipped out of the chamber and ran to the Quarters of the Pure Lotus.
? ? ?
The Noble Lady’s hand flew to her chest as I finished my words. “Are you certain about that? She was his brother’s concubine?”