Chapter 325: The Wind Rises in the Locust Tree
Dusk always falls faster in Prince Rong's mansion than elsewhere. Beneath the wisteria trellis in the west courtyard, Zhihua clutched a half-embroidered baby bellyband, the silver thread on her fingertips gleaming coldly in the twilight. Mianyi sprawled on a bamboo couch in the corridor, reciting the Three Character Classic. Her childish voice, shredded by the wind through the cracks in the west courtyard's blue bricks, made the laughter emanating from the east courtyard even more jarring. Today was the twins' first birthday banquet, and Emperor Qianlong had specially gifted them a chef from Jiangnan. They were probably clamoring for the "Grab the One-Year-Old Ceremony" (a ceremony to celebrate the birth of a boy and a girl).
"Mother," Mian Yi rubbed her eyes and turned back, "Why hasn't Father come to see me yet?"
Zhihua put down her bellyband and walked over to the bamboo couch to straighten his shirt. The moon-white soft silk jacket made the child's features look even more like Yongqi's, yet the timidity in those eyes was nothing like the pampered and lawless children of the East Courtyard. She traced her fingertips behind her son's ear, where she found a tiny cinnabar mole, identical to Yongqi's.
"The prince is busy." Her voice was soft, but her nails were pinching crescents under her sleeves. "When he's done, he'll come naturally."
Before he finished speaking, the East Courtyard erupted in cheers, followed by Xiaoyanzi's crisp laughter and scolding: "Mianrui, you heartless little bastard! Instead of grabbing the jade pendant, you grabbed your uncle's sword tassel!"
Mian Yi's eyes lit up, and she was about to run for the door on her short legs, but Zhi Hua grabbed her. "Don't go," she said in a low voice, the golden hairpins at her temples casting tiny shadows in the twilight. "The brothers and sisters in the East Courtyard are busy, so we won't cause any more trouble."
As they were talking, footsteps were heard outside the courtyard. Zhihua looked up and saw that it was Xiao Luzi, Yongqi's servant. She quickly stood up and asked, "Is the prince back?"
Xiao Luzi lowered his hands, his eyes evasive. "To the Concubine, the prince is in the East Courtyard with the princess and the young masters. He sent me to... to fetch the volume of 'Essentials of Horseback Archery' that the prince left in his study."
Zhihua's fingertips tightened suddenly, leaving red marks on her palm. She looked toward the east courtyard, where candles blazed brightly, even the window paper reflected swaying figures, like a painting soaked in honey. "Got it," she said, turning and heading back to the inner room, her voice as calm as ice. "Wait in the corridor."
On the sandalwood desk in the study, the book "Essentials of Horseback Archery" lay open, at the chapter on "Horse Taming." As Zhihua reached for it, her fingertips suddenly brushed against something hard—a jade pendant, bluish-white mutton-fat jade, carved with a phoenix with outstretched wings. It was the same one Xiaoyanzi often wore. Perhaps Yongqi had accidentally brought it back from his visit to the East Courtyard this morning.
She pinched the edge of the jade pendant, the cool jade against her palm like a piece of unmelted snow. From the corridor came the sound of Mian Yi reciting "The Beginning of Life." Laughter from the east courtyard drifted in on the wind, humming in her ears.
"Concubine," Xiao Luzi urged from outside, "the prince is still waiting."
Zhihua tucked the jade pendant into her sleeve pocket, picked up the book, and turned around. As they passed the bamboo couch, Mianyi asked again, "Mother, can I go to the east courtyard? I want to play with my sister's rattle."
Zhihua squatted down and straightened his tilted cap. The hairpins on her temples fell, hiding the turmoil in her eyes. "When you finish reciting the Three Character Classic," she said in a voice so soft it sounded like a sigh, "Mother will take you there."
As Xiao Luzi was leaving, holding the book, he ran into Xiao Jian entering through the Moon Gate. His blue-gray brocade robe was still stained with dust, and the sword at his waist had a tassel hanging from it; he must have just come from the Fang family. He saw Xiao Luzi, nodded briefly, and headed for the east courtyard, his steps as brisk as the wind.
Zhihua stood in the corridor, watching the figure's back. The jade pendant in her sleeve pocket pricked her palm, causing it to ache. She suddenly remembered three months ago, at a similar dusk, Xiao Jian had taught Xiao Yanzi swordplay under the crabapple tree in the east courtyard. Their swords clashed, their laughter throbbing. Yongqi sat in the corridor, watching, not even noticing that his tea had gone cold.
At that time, she still felt that such a scene was very annoying.
Now the wind blew from the direction of Huaiyin Courtyard, carrying with it the scent of stale fallen leaves. Zhihua gazed at the courtyard, which never saw the sun, and suddenly smiled. She turned back to her room and fished out a small brocade pouch from the bottom of her dressing box. Inside was something Li Ma Ma had given her before she was banished—a small handful of dried Hehuan powder and a piece of yellow paper with a talisman drawn on it.
"Mother?" Mian Yi rubbed his eyes and yawned.
"Go to sleep," Zhihua covered him with the quilt, her fingertips brushing across her son's eyebrows, "When you wake up, Ama will be here."
The wind outside the window suddenly picked up, rustling the leaves of the wisteria trellis. The candles in the east courtyard were still burning, and I could faintly hear the signature "guaiguailongdidong" of mosquitoes, mixed with the laughter of swallows, like a string of silver bells blown away by the wind.
Zhihua blew out the candle and sat in the darkness for a long time. The jade pendant in her sleeve pocket gradually warmed from the warmth of her palm.
(End of this chapter)
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