Li Yan stood frozen, watching the Emperor’s imperial carriage vanish past the entrance of the Plum Garden. The young women beside her crowded closer, one whispering, "Sister Yan, what should we do? Should we go tell the Grand Princess?"
Li Yan sighed softly. "Of course we must tell her."
Liu Che idly kneaded the plum-scented sachet in his hand, mulling over A’jiao’s recent behavior. It felt profoundly unsettling. A normal woman should be like Li Yan—finding ways to "accidentally" encounter him—rather than constantly avoiding him. Or was it truly just that her pregnancy made her unfit to attend to him?
The Emperor decided to return to Yunguang Hall. To him, Li Yan was merely a delicacy already served upon the table, to be tasted whenever he pleased. He still needed to settle things with A’jiao before his mind could be at ease.
After all, she was carrying his child; he couldn't let her act so recklessly.
The lights in Yunguang Hall had already been extinguished. As Liu Che entered A’jiao’s bedchamber, Nan Ke, who had been sleeping on the floor nearby, scrambled up. She hastily helped the Emperor undress and carried her own bedding out of the room.
Sensing movement beside her, A’jiao snapped awake. She turned over and froze when she saw the man stealthily preparing to lie down next to her.
"How do you wake so easily?" Liu Che lay down, tugging at A’jiao’s quilt and pulling her into his arms.
The man brought a chill from the night air with him. A’jiao shifted away slightly, asking, "Why has Your Majesty come back again?"
Liu Che pulled her back, draping an arm over her shoulder. "I went to see Lady Yan and Lady Xing. I snapped a plum blossom for you, and then I came back."
A lamp flickered outside the bed curtains, casting a faint, hazy glow into the space. Liu Che used the dim light to study A’jiao’s expression, but she had only just woken and her face was a mask of dazed confusion.
The physical features of "Chen Wan" were merely above average; in the palace, she didn't stand out at all, and she couldn't even compare to the younger Lady Wei sent by the Wei family. Liu Che felt a twinge of regret. In terms of delicate gentleness, the Wei Zifu of years past could rival Li Yan, but in terms of sheer beauty, he still felt that A’jiao’s true face was the only one that could stand on equal footing with Li Yan.
It was a pity that the old A’jiao’s personality had been so overbearing. Her twelve points of beauty had been dragged down five points by her temperament. It wasn't until she had gradually grown quiet that he realized she was actually a rare beauty. Unfortunately, just as he had begun to appreciate her, she had fallen into that delusional state.
She had spent her days acting half-mad, making life-and-death scenes, and then came the jump into the lake. Once he learned she could never conceive, his desire to visit the Jiaofang Hall withered away. Then came the witchcraft scandal, and they had no contact at all.
Looking at her expression now, Liu Che suddenly felt a wave of nostalgia for A’jiao’s original body. The woman before him merely gave a slight nod before shrinking back into the quilt. Liu Che pulled her up a bit and tucked the covers under her chin.
A’jiao was becoming more awake by the second. Sharing a quilt with Liu Che was truly uncomfortable. Liu Che’s expression soured as he tucked his cold hands into the crook of A’jiao’s neck to warm them.
"Jiaojiao... do you dislike me because I’ve grown old?" Liu Che asked gloomily.
A’jiao, who had been somewhat groggy, was instantly jolted wide awake. She stared straight at Liu Che, her heart pounding. Dislike? Certainly, but she couldn't say that! She forced a smile. "Does Your Majesty think... that in my heart, true devotion is worth less than mere physical appearance?"
Liu Che felt slightly relieved. "I naturally believe your heart is sincere. Sigh—perhaps I am overthinking things!"
He turned on his side and pulled A’jiao into his embrace. Before long, he was fast asleep. Listening to the snoring right in her ear, A’jiao covered her ears, unable to sleep.
She had heard that the Emperor had recently punished more people. A’jiao took up her brush to write a letter to Lin Gao, telling him not to personally manage the shops. After all, the status of a "son of a respectable family" was far better than that of a merchant. She also mentioned that Liu Che had been lingering in Yunguang Hall these past few days.
As the saying goes, the longer the night, the more dreams may arise. A’jiao feared Liu Che might notice something amiss. After all, his hands were never still at night. She tried to push him away every day, yet he insisted on staying at Yunguang Hall every night.
What a headache!
At the same time, Liu Che considerately issued an order: in three days, Lady Yan’s mother would be allowed into the palace for a visit. When A’jiao heard this news, she paced around her bedchamber a dozen times before she could calm down.
She had nothing else to prepare, so she prepared a heart full of past memories to recount in detail before an old friend. Moreover, Lady Yan was carrying "Lord Yunhe," so she could not afford any carelessness.
Shen Xu’er was carried into the palace in a small green-curtained sedan chair. She first went to the Jiaofang Hall to thank the Empress before she could proceed to the Jiuhua Hall.
Yan Zheng was overjoyed, her morning sickness momentarily forgotten. When mother and daughter met, there was a great deal of weeping. The Yan family had originally been merchants, but because the former Empress Chen had married off her personal attendant to them, she had specially granted the Yan family the status of "respectable family." To this day, the family shops were managed by household staff.
The mother and daughter had three hours to converse.
After much talk, Shen Xu’er finally couldn't help but ask, "Zheng’er, that Lady in the palace... can I see her today?"
Yan Zheng nodded. "Don't worry, Mother. I sent word to her yesterday, and she replied saying she would definitely come."
Just as they were speaking, an attendant announced from outside: "The Lady has arrived!"
Yan Zheng led Shen Xu’er out to greet her. Although "Chen Wan" held no formal rank, she had been granted the title of "Lady" by the Emperor himself, and her lifestyle and expenses surpassed even those of a *Jieyu*.
A’jiao looked at the fifty-year-old woman before her. Her graying hair was meticulously combed into a bun, and she wore a lake-blue skirt and robe. Her posture was dignified and graceful; A’jiao could hardly see the lively, clever, and stubborn "Guan Yan" of the past.
A’jiao raised her hand to excuse their bows, took each of them by a hand, and led them into the room to sit. After a few pleasantries, A’jiao dismissed the servants, leaving Nan Ke and Mian Fu to guard the door.
Shen Xu’er was already trembling with agitation. "This old woman dares to ask the Lady—how did you obtain that jade pendant? And... and how do you know those things from the past?"
Yan Zheng supported her mother, her heart filled with alarm and suspicion. Then she heard the Lady above them speak.
"Guan Yan, I am A’jiao. Do you believe me?"
A’jiao? Who was A’jiao?
She looked at her mother, only to see her mother’s body shaking violently. Seeing this, A’jiao continued, "Your parents died when you were young, and you were taken in by the Song family, distant relatives. At the age of three, you were sent to the Grand Princess’s manor. Because you were pretty, you became my playmate. At five, you, Cun Mo, Ji Shu, and Xi Zhu officially became my maids. The place where I lived..."
"These things are not difficult to discover if one investigates!" Shen Xu’er’s emotions were reaching a breaking point.
A’jiao fell silent for a moment, then said, "Below your breast, there is a scarred tooth mark. When I was seven, I was being naughty and bit you during a scuffle. I bit Ji Shu under the chin, Cun Mo on the wrist, and Xi Zhu on the waist." Thinking back, she wondered how she could have been so unruly as a child, bullying her own maids and liking to bite people.
Shen Xu’er’s face turned deathly pale. One’s life history could be investigated, but such private matters could not. She remembered her mistress being spoiled beyond reason as a child, acting without restraint. They, the serving girls, were often driven to both tears and laughter by her antics.
Once, for some reason, the mistress had quarreled with a prince in the palace. The two young royals started fighting, and the maids, though small themselves, rushed to intervene. Her mistress had been seeing red, biting anyone who tried to stop her. She had been bitten in such an awkward place; the wound was deep, and though it healed, it left a scar.
After she married, her husband had even teased her about it, saying she must have been too chubby as a child, for a thin child’s flat chest wouldn't have given the mistress enough to sink her teeth into.
Tears fell from A’jiao’s eyes. "And when I entered the palace, the four of you followed me. I said I would find good families for you, but you were stubborn and would only marry that Song cousin of yours. When the four of you married, I gave each of you a string of *liuli* beads, all the same style, with your names carved inside! Am I right...?"
Shen Xu’er was dazed for a long time until Yan Zheng poured a mouthful of warm water into her mouth. Only then did she snap back to reality. She suddenly threw herself at A’jiao’s feet and began to wail.
"Princess! Is it really you, Princess?"
Yan Zheng’s face was white, and she could barely remain standing. She knew her mother had been a female official serving Empress Chen in her early years and had been "granted leave" to marry by the Empress’s grace. The Yan family had gained their respectable status because of this.
But how was it that these words made it sound as if the "Lady Chen" before her was the Empress Chen of those years? She was utterly confused.
"It’s me! It’s me! It’s me! I’ve come back!" A’jiao’s tears fell like rain.
After they had cried for a long while, Shen Xu’er was the first to recover. Choking back sobs, she said, "I heard from Zheng’er that the Princess is with child. You mustn't cry!" She reached out to wipe A’jiao’s tears.
She looked back at her daughter, who was standing there like a stone statue, and her heart suddenly constricted—she remembered that the Princess used to loathe the Emperor’s concubines, and now Zheng’er was pregnant.
A trace of bitterness rose in her heart. Shen Xu’er helped A’jiao sit back down, then pulled her daughter down to kneel in the hall to perform the formal kowtow.
Yan Zheng followed her mother’s lead in a daze, unable to say a single word. A’jiao knew this was impossible for others to accept easily, so she didn't press her, leaving the girl to process it in her own time.
A’jiao asked about the current status of the others. Shen Xu’er answered everything she knew without reservation, and the two of them sighed over the past.
A’jiao smiled. "Why sigh? I thank the heavens just to see you all again. I never thought we would meet. I truly didn't realize Yan Zheng was your daughter. Ah!"
Shen Xu’er looked at A’jiao’s face and sighed. "This child was never one to stand out. Though she was selected as a *jiarenzi*, I thought... who knew she would actually conceive? And it just so happens that the Princess is also expecting. It is truly a blessing!"
They had grown up with A’jiao. Even though they weren't with her during her final years as Empress, they had kept in constant contact with the palace. They knew better than anyone how much the Princess had longed for a child. Back then, they had sent so many medicinal prescriptions into the palace!
A’jiao clutched her non-existent belly, her smile suddenly vanishing.
***
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
沈姁儿 | Shen Xu'er | Yan Zheng's mother, formerly A'jiao's maid Guan Yan.
观砚 | Guan Yan | "Observing the Inkstone"; Shen Xu'er's name when she was A'jiao's maid.
存墨 | Cun Mo | "Preserving the Ink"; one of A'jiao's four original maids.
寄书 | Ji Shu | "Sending the Letter"; one of A'jiao's four original maids.
惜竹 | Xi Zhu | "Cherishing the Bamboo"; one of A'jiao's four original maids.
棉凫 | Mian Fu | A maid serving A'jiao in Yunguang Hall.
琉璃 | Liuli | Colored glaze or glass; often used for precious beads.
家人子 | Jiarenzi | "Daughter of a respectable family"; a rank for palace women or candidates for concubinage.
云合 | Yunhe | Likely a name or title referring to the soul of the child Yan Zheng is carrying.
