Chapter 3

“I won’t see her alone.”

He looked at me helplessly.

“You should go home, Second Miss.”

I fled, bedraggled as a stray dog.

From the corner of my eye, I saw my sister leaning against Pei Yan’s shoulder. She was beaming, and his expression was full of tenderness.

In the carriage home, I still refused to give up. I kept trying to think of a way to stop the marriage.

Before long, however, I changed my mind.

Because I met Song Mingzhang.

In a private room at a teahouse, a young man in white sat straight-backed across from me.

His brows looked as though they had been brushed in ink, and his long eyes tilted slightly upward.

A small brown mole marked the bridge of his nose.

So Song Mingzhang was this handsome.

He set down his teacup and inclined his head.

“Miss Ye.”

Then he began explaining his household circumstances.

“My parents died when I was young. My only relative living with me is my widowed maternal aunt. She manages the household.

“As for my leg…”

He rose and took a few steps.

“I expect you’ve heard about it.”

He had a slight limp in his right leg, scarcely noticeable.

But that was not what concerned me.

“If you’re unhappy with this match, I’ll find a way around it. You needn’t force yourself. Just tell me honestly what you think.”

I was silent for a long time.

My gaze settled on his attendant.

“Could you have him walk a few steps for me?”

The boy did as I asked.

I watched him. Both his legs were sound.

So those rumors were false.

Song Mingzhang was neither sinister nor brutal, and he had no intention of breaking the legs of everyone in his household.

I thought it through.

Even if I escaped this marriage, my sister would urge Pei Yan to marry me off to someone else.

Since I would have to marry anyway, I might as well choose someone with rank and power.

But a few things needed to be settled first.

“I won’t allow you to take concubines. Can you accept that?”

His voice was gentle.

“You needn’t worry, Miss Ye. If you are willing to marry me, you will be my only wife for as long as I live. If I break that vow, may my line die out and may I meet a wretched end.”

“Very well. I’ll marry you.”

After I left, his attendant watched me go and could not help muttering, “Your betrothed certainly is an odd one.”

Song Mingzhang took a sip of tea.

“I find Miss Ye innocent and endearing.”

When the decree granting our marriage arrived, Mother looked indifferent.

“You have Hengzhi to thank for your marriage to the Prime Minister.

“If she ever needs anything from you or your husband, you mustn’t refuse.”

My sister wrapped her arms around Mother’s neck from behind and rested her chin lazily on her shoulder.

“We’re getting married on the same day. Whose ceremony will you attend, Mother?” she asked coyly. “Why not go to the Prime Minister’s residence first, then come to the Eastern Palace afterward?

“His Highness won’t mind.

“Yingying needs you there to support her more than I do.”

Mother patted her hand, affection brimming in her eyes.

“The elder comes before the younger.

“Of course I’ll go to you first.

“If there’s time afterward, I can still go to the Prime Minister’s residence.”

I lowered my eyes and said nothing.

When she prepared our dowries, it was the same refrain: the elder came first.

My sister received a grand dowry of thirty-six carrying loads.

My own ten loads sat forlornly on the ground.

Mother even brazenly kept the land deeds and shops Pei Yan had sent me.

Fortunately, I had long since stopped caring. This would not hurt me anymore.

On our wedding day, gongs and drums filled the air.

As I left the residence, I happened to pass Pei Yan in his wedding robes.

“Second Miss, may your marriage be a happy one,” he said quietly.

I held my fan before my face.

“And may Your Highness and my sister be of one heart, growing old together.”

Then the two bridal sedans departed, one heading east and the other west.

By the time the wedding banquet ended, Mother had still not appeared.

Exhausted after the long day, I sat on the edge of the bed and gently pounded my aching legs.

The dragon-and-phoenix candles burned brightly.

Their glow tinged Song Mingzhang’s face red.

He stood beside me and ventured cautiously, “Should I sleep on the floor tonight?”

He actually began fetching bedding.

I caught his fingertips, my cheeks flushing.

“Husband, let’s go to bed.”

Beneath the quilt embroidered with mandarin ducks, one night made us a pair.

A branch of pear blossom leaned over flowering crabapple.

After our wedding, Song Mingzhang treated me with every consideration due to his wife.

His aunt was kind too, and willingly taught me how to manage the household.

In short, I lived very well in the Song residence.

So I seldom visited Mother.

If I went back, they were sure to upset me.

My sister, by contrast, had Pei Yan’s permission to go home every day. She was so attentive that one might have thought she had never married.

Mother often complained to her.

“That Ye Ying is an ungrateful creature. The moment she marries above herself, she forgets her parents.

“I always said she couldn’t compare to you in any way.

“If Song Mingzhang ever tires of her, the Ye household won’t take her back.”

But Mother need not have worried so much.

One day, I was reading a storybook, slumped over the table.

Before long I grew drowsy and fell asleep.

Through the haze of sleep, I felt something warm and soft touch my cheek.

My eyes flew open.

Song Mingzhang’s handsome face was right before me. His ears were scarlet.

He bent and lifted me into his arms, carrying me toward the bed.

I looped my arms around his neck and leaned close to his ear.

“Song Mingzhang, did you just steal a kiss?

“Do you like me?”

“Yes,” he answered hoarsely.

“I have for a very, very long time.”

I looked up in surprise, but before I could ask more, his kiss silenced me.

When I asked again the next day, he would not answer.

Not long afterward, floods struck Suzhou.

The court’s relief funds were skimmed at every stage of their journey.

In the end, less than forty percent actually reached the victims.

As Crown Prince, Pei Yan requested an imperial mandate to investigate in the south. He chose Song Mingzhang to accompany him.

Perhaps he noticed my unease.

Before leaving, he reassured me.

“Mingzhang is both my close friend and my brother-in-law.

“I’ll see that he comes to no harm.”

After they departed, I leaned by the window.

The pomegranate blossoms in the courtyard blazed red as fire.

It was a beautiful sight, but my thoughts were too tangled to appreciate it.

My fears proved justified.

Half a month later, Pei Yan was secretly brought back to the capital, gravely wounded.

The imperial physicians took turns treating him. Only after expending a great many precious medicines did they manage to save his life.

My sister nearly cried herself blind.

I ran everywhere seeking news, but learned only that Song Mingzhang was missing.

The person who told me knew no more than that.

So I went to the Eastern Palace.

Pei Yan had taken his medicine and fallen asleep.

After a maid announced my arrival, my sister came out to see me herself.

Her eyes were red, as though she had just been crying.

“Didn’t you promise you wouldn’t see His Highness again?

“If you have too much leisure at home, I can give your husband a few beautiful concubines. Then you won’t have time to pester him.”

For Song Mingzhang’s sake, I could only endure it.

I humbled myself and pleaded as gently as I could.

“Sister, I came to ask His Highness about Song Mingzhang.”

She gave a cold laugh.

“Perhaps he’s already dead in Suzhou.”

At that vicious curse, I could no longer hold myself back.

I raised my hand and slapped her.

It was the first time in my life I had defied my sister.

Her almond-shaped eyes widened in astonishment.

Holding her cheek, she stood stunned for a long time.

The door creaked open.

Pei Yan stepped out, his face pale. He coughed several times into his fist.

My sister clutched his sleeve, looking deeply wronged.

She embellished everything that had just happened.

After hearing her out, he looked at me.

His eyes were cold as frost.

“Mingzhang and I were separated when the assassins attacked.

“Rest assured, I will find him.”

A little hope rose within me.

Then his tone changed.

“I understand that you’re anxious about your husband. But you insulted my wife, and that cannot go unpunished. You will kneel here for eight hours.”

It was midsummer. The sun scorched the ground.

After only an hour on my knees, darkness began swimming before my eyes. Sweat soaked through my clothes.

Just as I was about to collapse, my sister’s exquisitely embroidered skirt came to a halt in front of me.

She pursed her lips.

“Go home.

“And remember today’s lesson.” She paused. “If you dare see His Highness behind my back again, kneeling will be the least of your worries.”

I did not understand.

Why was she so wary of me?

As though a few words from me could steal away the Pei Yan who was so passionately in love with her.

On the day Song Mingzhang returned, his aunt had a welcoming banquet prepared well in advance.

The moment he saw me, he frowned.

“Yingying, you’ve lost so much weight.”

I had worried about his safety every day.

I could neither eat nor sleep properly. Of course I looked worn.

“But His Highness promised me…

“He said he would tell you I was only pretending to be missing while I investigated in secret.”

Pei Yan had done no such thing.

He did not trust me.

Only after the corruption case was completely resolved did he send someone to explain what had happened.

Song Mingzhang was furious.

“I’ll go to His Highness and demand an explanation.”

He turned to leave.

I wrapped my arms around his waist from behind.

“Don’t.

“He is your sovereign, and you are his minister. You mustn’t damage that bond on my account.”

After all, in this life Pei Yan had married my sister, just as he wished.

He would not take his own life again. One day, he would occupy the highest seat in the realm.

Song Mingzhang could not afford to offend him.

It took a great deal of soothing before his anger finally subsided.

A few days later came the Empress Dowager’s birthday.

Song Mingzhang and I went to the palace for the feast.

I saw Mother there.

She gave me one glance before turning back to chat with the other ladies. Whenever she mentioned my sister, pride and satisfaction shone in her face.