The Emperor gathered the cavalry from the west border and sent them to the south, leaving the border towns vulnerable to the Western Turks, who seized the chance and attacked, rampaging from one town to another. While our people on the border writhed in fire and smoke, it was Taizi who saved them. He led his cavalry and drove through the Turks’ yurts in the moonlight. With the camp in disarray, the heir captured their leader and asked to wrestle him. If the Turkish leader won, they would stay; if they lost, they would return to their territory for good. The Turks agreed, and the wrestling started with men’s shouts. But it ended quickly, as Taizi threw the Turkish leader off the ring after only three shoves. Forced to honor their bet, the Turks withdrew in shame.
Taizi did not stop there. He continued south and vowed to crush the peasant army. The slight-framed southerners, who had never seen a man of such a stature, believed they had seen a god. They scattered with their hoes and rakes as the prince galloped toward them. In that strange manner, the rebels were defeated, and Taizi returned home, where the Emperor accepted him with a much-softened face.
? ? ?
Sickness ravaged me after my return from the park that morning. For weeks, I lay in bed. My limbs felt wasted, my joints hurt, and I was hot and cold intermittently. The imperial physicians said my vital force, qi, was disturbed. “An evil wind has attacked your body and enfeebled your mind. Once you regain the balance of your yin and yang, your qi shall be restored.” They advised me to keep the chamber’s door closed and remain inside. They also prescribed drinking hot water steeped with ginger and cane sugar. “That will increase the flow of your jade liquid, which will help stimulate your internal organs and facilitate qi to travel through the rest of your body.”
Jade liquid was saliva, one of the three vital elements, the physicians believed. I did not understand the importance of the elements, but I was glad to see the dryness in my throat went away after a few days. A few weeks later, my strength returned, and my head was clear again.
But I was unable to rid my mind of the sight in the canal.
? ? ?
Sitting in front of a bronze mirror, I drew the shape of moth wings on my eyebrows with a kohl stick. The line looked squiggly. I wiped it away and began to draw again, slower that time.
When I finished, I stared at my face in the mirror. The sickness had sharpened my chin. My oval face had lost its softness, and my cheekbones protruded. Around my eyes, the skin looked brittle, like cracked ice, and some creases had appeared.
Had I grown old?
I was only eighteen, but I felt more like an old woman on her feeble march to her grave. The dreadful feeling crept over me like mists enveloping the woods. Life was meaningless. When I walked in the garden, the trees looked pale, the grass silvery, and the flowers blanched. The birds swung in a sad motion, and the winds moaned poignant melodies. I missed Pheasant. I wished I could hold his hand and talk to him again.
I put down the kohl stick, dipped a brush in red cream, and began to draw the beauty mark. Should I try a hawk or a kite? But why bother? A different bird might appear on my face, but the only bird of my affection would not leave my heart.
Urgent footsteps pounded in the corridor. The doors swung open.
“Plum?” I raised my head. “What’s wrong?”
I had not told her about what had happened in the canal, although I really wished to. But for her own safety, it was better she did not know.
“Mei, something happened in the Eastern Palace. The Noble Lady asked you to go there.” She was panting, pulling at my sleeve.
“Let me finish.”
“There’s no time. You must hurry.”
I put down the brush and draped a shawl on my shoulders. “What is it? Why are you so frantic?”
She wiped her face. “I don’t know, but she said it was urgent. You must go there now.”
“Is she there too?” I asked as we scurried down the courtyard.
“Yes. She sent me to fetch you.”
We left our compound and went down the path that led to the east side of the court. Many servants were also headed toward the Tongxun Gate, the only entrance to the Eastern Palace.
When we arrived at the palace, many ministers had already gathered there. Some shook their heads, whispering, while the others surrounded the Emperor’s uncle, who stood in the corridor of the library.
“Disgrace! May our ancestors forgive us,” he shouted, waving his fists at the people around him. His position in the court had been resumed, but the ministers looked reserved. They only nodded politely. The Uncle turned to the hunchback man, Wei Zheng. “I warned you, Chancellor. He can’t be trusted. What would you say now?”
The Chancellor only leaned over his cane and rubbed his eyes, his jade pendants clinking at his belt.
What could the matter be? Had Taizi hurt anyone? He was a hero after his victory, and the Emperor seemed to accept the fact that he would make a decent heir. He had ordered Taizi to study classical music and learn how to govern. The heir had obeyed. He had dispersed his wrestlers, hired troupes of musicians, and spent mornings playing music and afternoons reading Confucius and even books by Han Feizi, who drew up the legal system that our kingdom had adopted eight hundred years ago. He even accompanied the Emperor to the morning audiences and attended discussions on how to restore peace to the south. None of his brothers, even Prince Ke, could find any fault with him.