Chapter Eight

Since the imperial edict had already been faked, we could not afford to fail now.

I looked straight at the general and said calmly,

“General, what do you mean? Do you intend to take charge of those close to the emperor as well?”

He seemed to hesitate.

I bowed again and said,

“I serve in the palace under Miss Shangguan’s orders. If the general believes I have acted improperly today, you may refer the matter to Miss Shangguan for judgment later. I carry the imperial edict today and must beg your pardon for not being able to stay.”

No matter what, a mere garrison commander could not easily move against me; for now I shifted the burden onto Wan’er — he probably wouldn’t dare to verify.

After hearing this he narrowed his eyes and studied me, then suddenly turned his head and whispered to the man beside him.

Could it be that he truly intended to stop me from meeting Li Longji and was sending someone to confirm?

I drew a quiet breath and forced myself to remain composed. As long as the audience in the Zichen Hall wasn’t over, no one here would recognize me.

Li Longji at my side had already knitted his brows tightly, impatient, about to scold him again; I tugged his sleeve before I could.

He looked at me in surprise; I quickly shook my head.

There were also guards outside the Zichen Hall—if a conflict broke out here, it would surely arouse suspicion, and things would become even more uncontrollable.

For now I could only gamble on the general’s nerve. Even if he had doubts, he wouldn’t be one hundred percent sure; as long as he hesitated even a little, there would be a chance to turn that into fifty percent apprehension—

The more I calculated, the less certain I felt.

Just as I was about to speak and urge him again, a figure in pale lotus-colored attire came running from afar.

She was another young palace maid. She lowered her head, hurried up, and knelt, saying,

“Your servant greets the Prince of Linzi.”

Li Longji glanced at me in puzzlement, then said to her,

“Rise. What urgent matter do you have?”

I was still puzzled when the maidservant stood up and looked up.

Seeing her face, I felt a thrill of joy—she was the palace maid I had called out to serve tea at the banquet that day.

She also stared at me intently and said,

“I came looking for you, sister.”

Her words were ambiguous; I guessed she had been watching the standoff from afar and didn’t know what was happening…

I suspected she had come to help and asked hurriedly,

“Did Miss Shangguan send you?”

She nodded urgently and said,

“Yes.”

I let out a silent breath and said,

“I’m about to take the Lord of Linzi to the Penglai Hall. This general seems worried someone might forge an imperial edict and endanger the Lord of Linzi—”

She immediately understood my meaning, fumbled for her waist token, and handed it to the general, saying,

“We are palace maids from His Majesty’s side; this token proves it.”

The commander examined it closely, saw that it was indeed a specially made waist token, and had no excuse left to block us.

He could only bow and step aside to let us pass.

The little palace maid and I exchanged a glance; the guide led the way, entering through the Fengyang Gate, avoiding the Zichen Hall and heading straight north.

It wasn’t until we reached the inner court of the Daming Palace that I finally exhaled.

To the northwest of the Taiye Pool stood the Penglai Hall.

I glanced back instinctively — no one was paying attention — and signaled the little palace maid to stand to one side, then lowered my voice and said to Li Longji,

“May I speak with the Prince of the Commandery alone for a moment?”

Li Longji motioned for the young eunuchs who had been following to step aside, then looked at me with a smile and said,

“I’ve been waiting to hear you say that; been waiting a long time.”

His dark eyes were full of triumphant amusement.

I looked at him in resignation and asked,

“When did you realize I was lying?”

He thought for a moment and replied,

“When you tugged at my sleeve. I couldn’t believe a palace maid serving the Empress Dowager would have the nerve.”

I smiled at him and pressed on,

“If you saw through me, why didn’t you expose me?”

He shrugged and answered,

“You helped me — why would I expose you?”

There was still a touch of childishness in his handsome features, yet he insisted on holding himself like a prince of the commandery, which made me suppress a laugh.

When Li Longji saw me staring and smiling, he looked at me puzzled.

I quickly wiped the smile away and said,

“The commandery prince isn’t wrong about that. Whether I’m one of the emperor’s attendants or not, I’m indeed here to help you. Today is the day the Wu princes pay their respects; if you make a scene at the Fengyang Gate you’ll surely bring trouble, so I dared to forge an imperial edict to stop you.”

Li Longji frowned at me and shook his head.

“What you did wasn’t just daring — it was courting death.”

I nodded and said,

“Since the lord understands the danger, heed a maidservant’s advice.”

I lifted my chin and pointed at the young palace maid.

“That maid is indeed from the imperial household. I will have her escort the lord to Penglai Hall. If the emperor asks, the lord should say he was delayed, and that he had a minor misunderstanding with the gate commander at Fengyang Gate, so he couldn’t make it to Zitan Hall in time to greet the Wu clan princes.”

The matter at Fengyang Gate can’t be completely hidden; it would be better for him to say it himself.

With none of my uncles present in the Penglai Hall, naturally no one would make trouble for him, and I reckon the Imperial Ancestress wouldn’t say anything after hearing it.

He’s a half-grown child and an imperial grandson; some clashes with servants are forgivable.

He pondered for a moment, then nodded and said,

“I understand that reasoning. If I speak of it myself, the Imperial Ancestress won’t order an investigation, and this matter won’t reach the young lady’s ears.”

He truly was a perceptive one.

I thought of the earlier scene and watched him with a smile, sighing,

“If the Junwang were really that perceptive, he shouldn’t have acted as he did earlier, and I wouldn’t have had to clear things up at the risk of losing my head.”

Li Longji snorted lightly and said,

“Perceptive or not, the illustrious Li family can’t be humiliated by some gate guard. Besides, he compared himself to Wu Chengsi when confronting me.”

I had said almost everything that needed saying, then added,

“Penglai Hall lies northwest of Taiye Pool. Right now the Emperor is in a council with the princes of the Wu clan; Your Highness can enjoy the view of Taiye Pool first, and when the time is right go to Penglai Hall for the audience. I won’t stay long.”

He turned his head to glance at the vast expanse of water and murmured,

“Big brother mentioned strolling around Taiye Pool last night; today I’ll follow the same route.”

When he said “big brother,” I understood he meant Li Chengqi.

Last night he had left the palace later than the Prince of Hengyang, and unexpectedly, after returning to the mansion he had specially mentioned it to Li Longji…

For a moment I found myself a little restless and accompanied him in silence before saying,

“There are many eyes in the palace; I won’t stay.”

He called out to stop me, then after a moment’s thought said,

“Never mind. If I ask your name you would no doubt worry I’d let it slip. Thank you for your help today.”

I shook my head and smiled, then whispered a few words to the little palace maid and bowed before taking my leave.

A few days passed without anyone at court speaking of it in private—what could have been alarming turned out harmless.

Imperial Physician Shen came to follow up again, and seeing that I had been complying with his orders, he smiled and gave a few admonitions, then handed me a prescription on the spot.

For some reason, ever since our first meeting, I had thought there was something odd about him.

He never seemed to mind that I was a commandery princess; his words often had a teasing edge, and even Yiping privately wondered whether this physician was unusual.

Uneasy, I had Yiping quietly try to find out about his background.

The physician’s family name is Shen and his given name is Qiu; he also has an elder brother at the Imperial Pharmacy Bureau named Shen Nanliao.

The two brothers hold exalted positions there: the elder brother enjoys the emperor’s favor, while Qiu himself is famed for having studied in childhood under the “medical god” Sun Simiao.

Only after Yiping had carefully recounted everything did I finally understand completely.

That night I had told Yiping to find someone young, just someone who could keep a steady hand so there wouldn’t be any whispered gossip in the palace.

Only now did I learn that that accidental night had led me to a physician both highly skilled and of exalted standing.

No wonder he seemed so indifferent to my status whenever we talked…

At dinner I couldn’t keep it to myself and told Wan’er, who covered her mouth and laughed,

“No wonder you haven’t been seen outside the palace for days — turns out you’ve caught a drinking sore.”

She sighed in admiration and said,

“Even the Princess Taiping, when she asks Little Shen the imperial doctor to see a patient, has to hope he’s in the right mood that day. You’re really lucky—your drinking sore even gets a prescription from the Divine Physician’s own closed-door disciple.”

I added more food to her plate and said sullenly,

“Sister, don’t laugh at me. His brother — Shen Nanliao, wasn’t he truly favored by the Emperor? How have I never seen him?”

The Emperor is quite fond of the princesses and dukes living in the palace; whenever they fall ill he always has the more senior physicians from the Imperial Medical Office attend personally.

If he were really favored, then during that high fever I had in the first month last year, when many of the middle-aged chief doctors consulted, why wasn’t this man there?

Wan’er looked me over rather obliquely, making me feel inexplicably uneasy.

After a long moment she sighed and said,

“I didn’t want to tell you this, but it’s better you know, so you won’t offend him later.”

She cast a quick glance toward the door and added,

“Shen Nanliao is the emperor’s new favorite; now, even that monk Xue Huaiyi isn’t on his level.”

New favorite?

I lifted my eyes to her and saw her nod again.

These past two years in the palace, thanks to Wan’er’s hints, I had gradually learned that the big, broad-shouldered man who often wore monk’s robes was Xue Huaiyi—the emperor’s kept lover outside the palace—but she had never once mentioned the imperial physician Shen Nanliao…

A flash of memory struck me: the scene by the Taiye Pool a month ago.

Could that man have been Shen Nanliao?

She continued,

“This man is far more cunning than Xue Huaiyi. Xue is arrogant in public but shallow at heart, whereas he—”

She fell silent for a moment and said,

“He entered the palace the same year as I did and has managed, step by step, to reach his current position. Just thinking about it makes me feel something’s off.”

I listened without replying, then took another piece of flaky pastry from the warmed golden tray and set it in front of her.

Wan’er suddenly remembered something, smiling as she looked at me.

“Want me to tell you some things related to him? Would you like to hear?”

My hand paused slightly.

Seeing the hint of teasing in her smile, I immediately knew what she meant, and merely smiled.

“Sister, didn’t you tell me to let him go? Why bring him up on purpose?”

Wan’er said,

“To me, you are all still children; your innocence and confusion are sincere and easily forgotten. Telling you a few things about the prince’s circle might help you avoid trouble later.”

My heart warmed.

I looked at Wan’er earnestly and said,

“Thank you for taking care of me all this time.”

Wan’er raised an eyebrow and shook her head with a smile.

“Maybe it’s because I get along with you, or because your surname is Wu. In any case, if I point things out to you, it’s also for myself.”

“I entered the inner court from the prime minister’s residence, and later the Penglai Hall from the inner court, solely on the emperor’s word. But what about after the emperor? You have blood ties with him—if you remember what I’ve done, it might one day be a lifeline.”

Nearly three years of acquaintance—I’ve gone from a nine-year-old child to who I am now.

Can all the things she’s done really be only for herself, as she says?

Her blunt remark today left me momentarily at a loss.

After quietly eating another piece of pastry, I smiled and said,

“Sister, why turn nine parts sincerity into ten parts calculation?”

Wan’er propped her chin on her hand and looked at me.

“I’ll put the ugly part up front — you’ll remember my good side better,” she said with a shake of her head and a smile.

“Alright, get on with the story. Did you hear about the incident the other day when the Prince of Linzi entered the palace?”

I pretended not to know.

“What happened?”

Wan’er wasn’t much concerned with my act and continued,

“The Prince of Linzi was stopped at the Fengyang Gate and got into a verbal clash. Standing on his carriage, he actually shouted, ‘What does my Li dynasty have to do with you!’”

I quickly chimed in,

“Didn’t the prince’s entry to the palace coincide with the day the uncles were there to pay respects?”

She nodded.

“Luckily, the emperor learned of it in the Penglai Hall while the Prince of Linzi was apologizing — if it had come out during the audience, it would have led to a severe punishment.”

“Right now it’s a hot issue; with all the princes present, the emperor certainly won’t cover for him.”

I nodded in agreement, and she went on,

“That day both Taiping Princess and I were in Penglai Hall and we were startled to see the Prince of Linzi kneel and beg forgiveness.”

“But can you guess how the emperor responded after hearing it?”

That’s exactly what I most wanted to know.

I hurriedly asked,

“Was His Majesty furious?”

Wan’er smiled softly and said,

“Not a bit of anger—only joy.”

I truly didn’t understand this time, staring at her waiting for the rest of the story.

She took a sip of tea and said,

“Though he scolded him a few words on purpose, he immediately laughed and praised him, saying the Prince of Linzi is young but ambitious, with the bearing of a royal.”

Wan’er’s expression was one of wonder as well; she likely hadn’t expected such a reaction from the Emperor.

I had never imagined such a joyful outcome either.

Remembering that youthful, spirited boy, I couldn’t help feeling happy for him.

“So it seems the Imperial Grandmother truly dotes on this grandson.”

Wan’er nodded and said,

“This matter has surely reached the ears of some of your uncles. How much of the emperor’s favor is genuine and how much is feigned, no one can see through it, but at least the status of these grandchildren in her heart is not that low.”

After she finished speaking, she did not continue on that topic and instead talked about going to Luoyang’s Fengxian Temple to burn incense.

I made casual replies as I listened, while carefully pondering her veiled words.

Now, amid the struggle between the Lis and the Wus for the crown prince’s position, my imperial grandaunt’s attitude toward Li Longji this time might perhaps be an indication about the crown prince’s post?

“Yongan,” Wan’er called to me, “on this trip to Luoyang, several of the Crown Prince’s princes will be attending; you need to be more cautious.”

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