Chapter 4

I didn't answer. I already knew why.

Now that her brother's life was safe, she had nothing left to restrain her.

She had probably clung to him more fiercely than ever, wearing away what remained of his patience.

Besides, news of my father and brother's victory over the enemy in the northwest had reached the capital before dawn.

Nobody knew better than Gu Chengzhang whose side he should be at now.

Pale moonlight softened the window. Where he couldn't see, I smiled.

The board was set.

This time, I would win.

7.

Victorious dispatches kept arriving from my father and brother in the northwest. The emperor was delighted, and his gifts to me grew ever more generous.

Gu Chengzhang spent noticeably more nights in my chambers.

I knew it was a display for the court. I was happy to cooperate.

Han Yan could barely conceal her hatred.

Whenever she looked at me, she seemed ready to tear a piece of flesh from my body.

"Wanhe."

I set down my teacup, my expression calm, my voice without a ripple.

"Something will be happening at her pavilion soon. Keep a close watch. Pay particular attention... to anyone handling medicines."

Three days later, Wanhe reported quietly.

"Your Highness, someone did secretly bring a packet in from outside. We've checked. It's a very powerful abortifacient."

I turned the jade bracelet on my wrist and smiled.

"She couldn't wait after all. Put that drug into the red bird's nest soup she eats every day. Make certain she brings it back herself."

Before dinner that evening, I was playing chess with Gu Chengzhang.

A maid from Han Yan's pavilion came stumbling in.

"Your Highness! The Lady of Excellence... she's bleeding!"

By the time we arrived, the physician had taken her pulse. He shook his head with a sigh.

"My condolences, Your Highness. The imperial child... could not be saved."

Han Yan lay bloodless on the bed. At the sight of Gu Chengzhang, she wept as though her soul had left her. She pointed straight at me.

"It was her! Your Highness, it was the Crown Princess! She must have drugged my soup!"

His gaze darkened as he turned toward me.

At precisely the right moment, I looked shocked and hurt.

"What do you mean, Sister? Red bird's nest is a regular palace allowance. We both receive it. Besides..."

I met his eyes calmly.

"Your Highness, I find this strange too. Perhaps we should investigate whose hands today's ingredients passed through. And who... has lately been in secret contact with people outside the palace."

He immediately ordered a thorough investigation.

In less than an hour, the evidence was brought in.

The person who'd bought the drug was Han Yan's closest maid. Two days earlier, she'd secretly left the palace and purchased it from an apothecary in a quiet alley.

The shopkeeper's statement and the maid's confession matched perfectly.

Han Yan finally panicked.

"No! That's not what happened! Someone is framing me!"

I interrupted her, deliberately adding a suggestive note.

"Could it be... you never wanted His Highness's child in the first place? Is that why you thought of this?"

"Nonsense!"

Gu Chengzhang rejected it at once.

"Why would Han Yan not want my child?"

As though reluctant to speak, I lowered my voice.

"I only heard it mentioned... Before entering the palace, Lady Han was deeply attached to a distant cousin. He works at the Military Patrol Office in the south of the city now. They nearly became betrothed."

Gu Chengzhang whirled toward her.

"Is that true? Why did you never tell me?"

Her face turned white.

"Your Highness! That's all in the past! I haven't had any dealings with him for a long time!"

"No dealings?"

I raised an eyebrow and took a plain cloth bundle from Wanhe.

"Then why did someone ask a palace servant to bring you salted plums from home a few days ago? And why did you hide them so carefully at the bottom of your dressing box?"

Inside were only a few ordinary salted plums.

Gu Chengzhang's expression darkened alarmingly.

He stood motionless, watching her with cold, unfamiliar eyes.

She struggled out of bed and tried to catch his sleeve.

"Your Highness, please listen! Those plums were only..."

"Silence!"

He flung her hand away so forcefully that she fell back onto the bed.

"No more explanations! You... had better look after yourself!"

He turned and left without a trace of tenderness.

Behind him, Han Yan's sobs collapsed into despair.

At the doorway, I glanced back. The faintest smile touched my lips.

Then I turned calmly and walked into the moonlight beneath the corridor.

What a beautiful moon tonight...

8.

After losing her child and the prince's favor, Han Yan shut herself in her rooms.

Gu Chengzhang never publicly punished her, but he no longer visited her pavilion either. He drank every day to drown his sorrow.

That night, he came to me reeking of wine.

He staggered, a persistent darkness between his brows.

I went to support him. The moment I'd seated him at the edge of the bed, he clung to me like a drowning man finding something to hold. He buried his face against my neck, his breath hot and heavy.

"Lingyi..."

His hoarse voice held a deeply suppressed pain.

"Why... how did it come to this..."

I didn't push him away. I gently smoothed his disordered hair. Only once he'd stopped trembling did I speak.

"Your Highness, we can rarely have everything we want. Some paths, perhaps, were wrong from the beginning."

Half comfort, half sigh, the words made him hold me tighter.

When he'd quieted, I dipped my head slightly, exposing the pale length of my neck to the soft candlelight.

A faint fragrance lingered in my hair. Mixed with the scent on my nightclothes, it slowly entered his breath.

As expected, his breathing grew heavier. The hand at my waist grew warmer.

Enough.

I turned my face, my lips almost brushing his ear.

"The physician took my pulse today, Your Highness. He said the pregnancy is secure now. Exactly three months..."

I paused deliberately. When his body tensed, I continued in a voice at once shy and trembling.

"...If you wish, I... can attend you."

He shuddered. Looking up, he still had wine in his eyes, but unreadable emotions churned there before giving way to desire.

His throat moved. Then he bent and laid me very gently on the brocade bedding.

Candlelight swayed within the warmth of the bed curtains.

He was far gentler and more restrained than before. Sweat fell against my neck, startlingly hot.

The next day, he actually stayed for breakfast. His gestures carried a faint, almost imperceptible dependence.

He was placing food in my bowl when a sound came from the door.

I looked up.

Han Yan stood timidly at the entrance in a plain moon-white gown. Her face was bare; a simple silver pin was the only ornament in her hair.

My heart sank.

When had she ever dressed so simply since entering the Eastern Palace?

Anything this unusual meant a scheme.

"Your Highness..."

Her voice broke at once, her eyes reddening.

"Last night, I dreamed... of the first time we met in the imperial garden. You said you loved me in this dress. Like a magnolia in the moonlight..."

Gu Chengzhang's chopsticks stopped in midair. His eyes settled on her and, sure enough, softened.

Seeing it work, Han Yan let a tear fall at exactly the right moment.

"I wasn't blessed enough to keep your child... I don't ask your forgiveness. I only hope you'll... take care of yourself. Please don't harm your health with drink anymore..."

Every word struck his tenderest place.

After a silence, he set down his chopsticks, went to her, and took her into his arms.

"Let's not speak of the past."

She sobbed against his chest. But over his shoulder, her eyes met mine in unmistakable triumph.

He stroked her back, soothing her gently.

"Come. I'll take you back myself."

Watching them leave, Wanhe stamped her foot.

"Your Highness! How dare she..."

I continued to spoon up my soup, expression unchanged.

"What's the hurry?"

I stirred the clear, glistening broth, a smile at my lips.

"The harder she performs today, the harder she'll fall when he truly sees her."

Autumn sunlight came through the lattice and struck my nail guards, throwing off a cold gleam.

"Let her enjoy herself a few more days."

9.

Days passed. My belly grew round, and the birth drew near.

At the palace's Lantern Festival banquet, the emperor and empress, mindful of my condition, granted us permission to leave early.

Our carriage moved slowly along the palace road.

Gu Chengzhang sat in the principal seat, eyes closed. Han Yan sat opposite. From time to time, her gaze passed over my belly, revealing emotions too tangled to hide.

Nobody spoke.

I stroked the child kicking now and then inside me. Looking up at Han Yan, I smiled gently.

"Sister, would you like to feel? This little one has been so mischievous lately, always kicking me."

Before she could respond, I took her hand and placed it firmly on my rounded belly.

The instant our hands met, she jerked hers back as though burned.

Now!

Using the momentum of her withdrawal, I screamed and fell backward. My back struck the carriage wall hard. I immediately clutched my belly, turning deathly pale, my cries weakening.

"Ah! My stomach... Your Highness... save our child..."

Gu Chengzhang's eyes flew open. His pupils contracted at the sight. He lunged to catch me, all composure gone from his voice.

"Lingyi! Don't be afraid. I'm here!"