Chapter 4

Before I could finish, Pei Yuan clamped a hand over my mouth, determined not to let me say "power."

Relying on her lack of taste, Li Qing downed several bowls in succession, then argued with Bai Zhu.

"My young lady is impressive too!"

"She can sit in her father's study all day!"

I turned and clamped a hand over her mouth. One more word and we'd be guilty of reading official case files without permission. Thirty strokes of the rod.

Bai Zhu and Li Qing bickered noisily.

Amid all the commotion, both chickens disappeared without a scrap left.

On the way home, I couldn't stop marveling at how good they had been.

Pei Yuan said he'd take me to try whole roast lamb in the northwest someday.

"Even better."

"There's a place on West Street," I said.

"I own it."

I immediately leaned closer, all ears.

He said he had once wanted to change the city's layout. But he had held little authority then, and no one would open a shop on West Street.

With no other option, he opened a restaurant himself. The court officials inevitably paid him the courtesy of trying it.

One visit led to another. More shops opened, until West Street became one of the capital's most prosperous districts.

"Seven years. I've been in the capital seven years."

Leading his horse, he gave an almost inaudible sigh.

"Galloping is forbidden in the capital."

"The horses can't run here. Neither can I anymore."

My heart ached a little.

Father said Pei Yuan had been called a prodigy from childhood. He could fight on horseback and write treatises on flood control.

Even the late emperor had praised his great potential. On his deathbed, he had entrusted the young emperor to Pei Yuan, who was still young himself.

Seeing his lonely expression, I brought out a jar of good wine I'd recently put away as soon as we got home. I meant to get drunk with him.

We drank from dusk until dawn, talking about everything and nothing, then food and recipes.

By full daylight, we were both hoarse.

I rose to make hangover soup. Uneasy, Pei Yuan insisted on coming with me.

"I do know when to restrain myself," I protested. "I won't make it undrinkable."

"That's not what I meant. I want to thank you."

I gave him a disdainful look.

"Rather a paltry thank-you, Your Highness. You think a bowl of soup will do?"

He said he'd cook for the next few days instead.

Early the following morning, however, he said he had business to attend to. I shouldn't wait for him at dinner.

"What a shame. I'll just scrape something together at home."

Li Qing looked uncomfortable.

"Are you really going to scrape something together?"

"Of course not!"

What I hadn't expected was for Pei Yuan to return with a food box while Li Qing and I were busy eating.

He surveyed the seven dishes and a soup.

"May I ask which of these is the meal you scraped together?"

Grinding his teeth, he squeezed my shoulder.

"Slippery as an eel now, aren't you?"

"Taking advantage wherever you can. You've let it soak into every inch of you, haven't you?"

Once I had eaten enough for my belly to protrude a little, the Marchioness of Chengen brought pomfret and declared it a double blessing.

"Double?" I asked.

She said the empress was pregnant too.

I beamed.

"Then congratulations to Her Majesty and to you. But this belly is only fat."

She promptly turned to leave.

"I'll come and talk another day."

Pomfret certainly deserved its place at the head of the three finest fresh fish.

As steam rose, its delicious fragrance filled the courtyard.

Pei Yuan brought home a leg of lamb and asked what we were celebrating.

"Quite a spread."

I told him the empress was pregnant.

He remarked on how quickly I heard the news.

"At least I haven't failed the late emperor's trust."

Suddenly, he grew serious.

"Song Ci, in my ten years in the capital, I've held high office. I've seen people swear loyalty unto death, and others stab me in the back. It's a difficult road. I never know if tomorrow I'll still be directing affairs of state, or if the day after I'll lose my head."

"Nor did I expect to eat quite so much terrible food along the way."

"Fortunately, it's still been a happy time."

I interrupted in all seriousness.

"Are you planning to usurp the throne or fake your death again?"

He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"I'm trying to tell you that I love you."

"In the next few days, I'll request a posting to the northwest. Will you come with me?"

Before I could nod, Bai Zhu burst into the courtyard.

"Your Highness, something's happened!"

"His Majesty collapsed in the Hall of Diligent Governance. The imperial physicians say he's been poisoned."

Pei Yuan told me not to worry.

"Stay here. Eat well."

But no sooner had he left than men from the Ministry of Justice arrived.

The tea estate manager arrested a few days earlier had died in the Imperial Prison after eating my cooking, they said.

"Please come with us, Your Highness. Don't make things difficult."

I said I would, but Father should lead the ministry's men here himself.

"The minister cannot intervene in a matter involving his family."

There were too many of them. I doubted I had a choice.

Excusing myself to change, I put on a coat of flexible golden-silk armor. Then I went out and told the household guards to escort me.

Li Qing followed.

"I'll come with you."

I squeezed her hand and told her to stay.

Not until my second day in the Imperial Prison did Pei Yuan arrive with a food box.

I was dizzy with hunger. I hadn't dared touch anything to eat or drink in there.

He said Li Qing had been quick-witted enough to find someone to carry word to him. But the Hall of Diligent Governance was heavily guarded; the message had only reached him today.

"How are you?"

I bit angrily into a chicken drumstick.

"They haven't dared torture me. But I'm afraid someone will take advantage of this."

He understood. With the residence empty, it was bound to be searched. If someone slipped something in amid the confusion...

He tapped my forehead and told me to give my brain a rest.

"Eat first."

"I'll bring Li Qing here later. All your food and drink will come from the residence."

"The household physician has found an antidote. Her tongue is cured too."

I was about to speak when he popped a fish ball into my mouth.

"And your father's here. Things won't get out of hand."

I must admit that the meals Steward Chen brought every day suited me wonderfully.

My own father, who hadn't shown his face for some time, saw that I had actually put on weight in prison and couldn't help advising me.

"Eating is instinct. Restraint takes ability."

"You can't go through life without a shred of ability..."

"But I have instinct to spare," I supplied.

He ground his teeth and ordered the jailer to move me.

"The cell next door is bigger. Get some exercise when you're free."

With a bigger cell, I ate even more.

A few days later, though, my food supply stopped.

Father said men belonging to the Marquis of Chengen had found evidence of Pei Yuan's intention to rebel in his study.

Even Bai Zhu had been sent to the Imperial Prison.

Looking miserable, he said the residence was in chaos. People were leaving or scattering.

"Even... even His Highness has disappeared."

Father said everything was a muddle. He would question us when he had the time.

Worse still, Steward Chen had fled too. Now Father was our only hope for three meals a day.

Fortunately, he was upright and honest. He hadn't been implicated by Pei Yuan and remained Minister of Justice.

Unfortunately, he treated everyone equally. The three of us ate what the other prisoners ate.

I watched myself shrink by a whole size before he finally tossed me a plate of mung bean cakes.

But I'd never eaten mung beans, even as a child.

Li Qing reacted quickly. She broke all the cakes open and extracted a slip of paper.

Only two words were written on it.

"Thinking of you."

Disgustedly, she stuffed it into my hand.

"At a time like this, he's still playing these games."

I said nothing. I merely closed my eyes to rest.

As darkness fell, a small oil lamp was lit outside.

Its light flickered as a figure approached the cell.

A guard ordered the jailer to unlock the chains.

"Your Highness, the prince sent me to escort you to the palace."

I feigned delighted surprise.

"It's done?"

He nodded.

"Yes, Your Highness. It's done."

I hurried eagerly to the door, picked up the padlock, and swiftly locked us in.

"Bai Zhu!"

At my shout, several prisoners rushed out of the neighboring cell and subdued the guards who had come for me.

Li Qing shielded me and kept asking, "What's happening?"

"His Highness sent word. There'll be trouble tonight."

She was even more baffled.

"When did he send word?"