“After this, they will have some refreshments. Then I shall walk to him,” the Noble Lady said. “You will come with me.”
“I shall be glad.” The Emperor turned the bow slowly, looking for a target. Then an arrow flew into the air. A whimper came from the clearing. The Emperor groaned in disappointment. He had missed.
I stifled a yawn. What was the fun about hunting if the animals were already trapped? Shielding my eyes with my hands, I craned my neck, pretending to have a better look at the Emperor’s next shot, but I searched among the imperial members quickly. Pheasant was not there, and neither was his older brother, Taizi.
I could not remember the last time I had seen the heir. Was it the night he fought with Prince Yo? I did remember, however, after Prince Yo’s exile, Taizi was also in dishonor. Rumor said the Emperor was irate at his inclination to violence and doubted his ability to reign. Taizi was thus disciplined. He was not allowed to hold any wrestling bouts, and his allowance and the number of his retinue had also been reduced.
“Are you looking for someone?” The Noble Lady shielded her eyes too.
“Oh, no,” I said quickly. “Taizi did not come.” Pheasant’s other brother, Prince Wei, was present. He was obviously too fat to pull a bow. Sitting in a sedan carried by four sweltering women porters, the obese prince looked like an elephant riding a lily pad, a peculiar sight among the adroit riders.
“It appears the Emperor did not invite many important people.” The Noble Lady licked her lip, the shadow of the ginkgo branches spreading a dark cover over her gold necklace. “The Emperor’s uncle is not here either.”
I scanned the sweaty faces of the ministers. She was right. “Why was the Uncle not invited to the hunt, my Noble Lady?”
“It’s getting worse between the Uncle and the Duke. Two days ago, the Duke suggested a promotion of a minister. The Uncle disagreed, saying the man was incompetent and the Duke has taken his bribe. The Emperor told his uncle to shut up and promoted the man the Duke chose.”
“I see—”
A shriek came from my right. “You spilled wine on me.” The Pure Lady, her hand on a maid’s ear, was gritting her teeth. “You clumsy maid!”
“Don’t look at her,” the Noble Lady said to me. “She is looking for trouble. Could you serve me some wine?”
I went to fetch the wine jug from a tray behind me. “I imagine the Emperor’s uncle is very upset to be excluded from this important event.”
The Noble Lady nodded. “I heard the Uncle lost his temper during the audience. He said the Emperor was unwise and ungrateful and many other things. The Emperor was angry. He ordered his yearly allowance taken away and suspended his duty in the court for a month.”
That would be a blow for an old man who was used to his power. I filled her cup. “I suspect he did not take it very well.”
“I only hope he will come to his senses somehow. There is no peace in the court if he continues to quibble with the Duke. Who is that etiquette teacher?”
“Who?” I followed her gaze. Rain had appeared next to the Pure Lady. She bent low and whispered into her ear. The Pure Lady jerked up her head and fixed her gaze on me. If her gaze could kill, I would have been dead ten times over. “Remember a female minister spread the rumor that I sold the Emperor’s night robe for money?”
“That’s her?”
I nodded.
“What is she doing with the Pure Lady?”
“I don’t know.” Rain was not to be underestimated. She had teamed up with Jewel, but because I had already stopped seeing Pheasant, they could not harm me. What were she and the Pure Lady conspiring about? “I wonder what she’s telling the Pure Lady.”
“Don’t worry about her.” The Noble Lady turned to stare at the Emperor, who was taking a break from shooting, and Prince Ke and the other princes mounted their horses, ready for their turns.
“Shall we go to the Emperor?” I asked with hope.
“Not yet.” The Noble Lady shook her head. “Have some wine, Mei.”
I nodded and took a sip from a cup. The wine tasted bitter but smelled fragrant, reminding me that, at home, Mother, Father, Big Sister, and I used to sit under a ginkgo tree and drink ale during the Moon Festival.
“My Noble Lady, do you think of your mother?” The Emperor had agreed to continue to search for my mother, but sometimes, I could not help thinking that they would never find her, and she was already gone…
She faced me. “My mother?”
“I’m sorry.” I regretted it immediately. I might have offended her. The Noble Lady’s mother, the Empress of the Sui Dynasty, had died in the rebellion that overthrew the dynasty. It was a violent and gruesome death, many had whispered.
“No, no. No need to apologize. I think of my mother all the time, and I can tell you”—she turned to face the clearing, where her son pulled his bow to shoot—“children are birds, and a mother is the tree. No matter how far the birds fly, they always long for the tree to rest on.”
I stared at her. “But a tree will fall…”