Chapter 7
Edward Quan ·
Sister Hui came out of the house. The moment she saw me, her face went pale.
“Anhe, why would you do this to yourself? Lin Zheng, go get the scissors!”
“You silly girl! Are you hurt anywhere? Let me have a look.”
I hugged her arm and gave it a little shake.
“It’s my fault. I didn’t explain things clearly. But when I first met you, I hadn’t received the letter from the capital yet. I didn’t even know I was a Commandery Princess.”
6
“They only bestowed the title on me at the Hundred Flowers Banquet. When the letter arrived, I was too busy eating and forgot I was supposed to tell you.”
“My father is the Minister of Works—you already knew that. And my maternal grandfather is the Grand General Zhongyong. I have an eldest, a second, and a third brother…”
At the mention of my brothers, an idea suddenly flashed through my mind.
“They’re all handsome. None of them has ever married, and they don’t have any so-called ‘white moonlight’ either.”
Sister Hui waved both hands. “Stop, stop! How did we get onto that? Do you think your sister is that shallow?”
“Your three brothers… do they look like you? How tall are they? What do they weigh? What size shoes do they wear?”
Me: …?
Lin Zheng: …
She cleared her throat twice. “Anyway, go on. What were you saying?”
“The Crown Prince, Dongfang Heng—we grew up together. We were childhood sweethearts. The Empress once meant to arrange our marriage.”
“But he has Jiang Xian, the granddaughter of Grand Tutor Jiang, in his heart.”
“I don’t like him anymore. When I look at him, snakes start crawling around in my brain. I can’t even eat.”
“Our relationship is nothing more than sworn siblings now.”
“If I run into him again, I’ll take another route. Please don’t stop seeing me just because he’s the Crown Prince…”
“We absolutely must not fall out, Sister Hui. I’m begging you.”
As I spoke, something crashed behind me.
I turned and saw Dongfang Heng. A brocade box lay on the ground by his feet. Inside was the jade hairpin he had given me on the day I came of age.
The hairpin had broken in two.
He bent down to pick it up. When he looked up, panic was plain in his eyes.
“Anhe…”
“I’ll return to the capital and break off my engagement to Jiang Xian. I won’t marry her anymore. All right, Anhe? Forgive me. I only took a wrong turn for a moment.”
“Without you in the palace, even the food has lost its flavor. The Crown Princess should have been you. Come home with me.”
“Imperial Brother, since you heard all that, good. Let’s make this clear. We were too young to understand when we promised to share a table for a few years and thought it could last a lifetime.”
“But even if Jiang Xian had never appeared, I would no longer be willing to marry you.”
This trip to Lizhou had made me realize that the world held far more delicious things than anything I had ever tasted before.
“Why did I make those food balls for you? I loved spending time in the kitchen. Why did you forget that?”
“If it’s something I love, I’m happy to work hard at it.”
“One time, I came out of the kitchen and you frowned at me, then smiled and told me to go wash up and make myself presentable.”
“You heard people call me ‘Little Glutton Xu’ for so long and never once told them to stop.”
“So I’ve known for a long time: if I married you, we might get through the first year, the second, the third, even the fifth—but eventually neither of us would be happy.”
“Imperial grace is what you love. Burning incense, composing poetry, playing chess, studying the art of rulership—you and I have never shared the same ambitions.”
I have no grand aspirations. My world has always come down to two things: finding delicious food to eat and making delicious food for others to taste.
“The principal wife of the Eastern Palace couldn’t possibly be someone with an appetite like mine. You were right about that—and you’re the heir apparent, after all…”
Dongfang Heng stumbled back two steps. Nothing but grief remained in his eyes.
“So you heard all of those words…”
“Anhe, I’m sorry.”
I smiled faintly.
“Having another older brother who cares for me makes me happy, too.”
“Year after year, month after month, you’ll still be my brother. That’s the one thing that truly won’t change.”
“Imperial Brother, how about this? When our business expands to the capital, we’ll still have to rely on your support.”
His smile was faint. He reached out to pat my head, but even that was restrained.
“All right.”
14
Dongfang Heng left with a few dishes.
As soon as he was gone, Sister Hui turned in a circle to inspect me and raised her thumb.
“Anhe, well done! So clear-headed and perceptive. I never saw that side of you.”
“You made me worry for nothing. If anyone knows how to handle people, it’s you!”
I laughed.
“We grew up together. Childhood sweethearts always know each other pretty well.”