Chapter 5

With this friendship established, Pang Liangji warmly invited Baozhu, Wei Xun, and the others to attend his wedding three days later.

Lively by nature, Baozhu could never sit still. Yang Xingjian's cold had struck like a collapsing mountain but was retreating like silk drawn out thread by thread. Although his life was in no danger, there was no telling how long it would take him to recover enough to travel. Cooped up in the inn every day, she was already bored and stifled, so the Pang family's earnest invitation tempted her. Still, she wanted to dress appropriately for a ceremony; a crooked, lopsided bun simply would not do.

She said hesitantly, "I left in such a hurry that I didn't bring a maid to do my hair and makeup..."

Before Pang Liangji could speak, Steward Pang readily promised, "There's no need to worry, young lady. Tomorrow I'll send our household hairstylists here to attend to you. Out here in the countryside, we don't have as many fashionable styles as they do in the Capital. Please tell them whatever you need-it will broaden their horizons, too."

Baozhu brightened. Pang Liangji lets his imagination gallop through the clouds and says whatever comes into his head, but his steward is certainly considerate. She asked, "Are you inviting me to serve as a bridesmaid and accompany the bride? I've done it several times for my brothers and sisters at home."

This time, the eldest and the sixth both shook their heads.

Pang Liangji paid no attention whatsoever to her expression and bluntly refused. "Absolutely not! The most dazzling woman at the wedding has to be my wife. You're quite pretty yourself-there's no way I can let you steal her thunder."

Baozhu was on the verge of losing her temper, but Wei Xun said, "When people block the bridal carriage and make mischief at the wedding, the bridesmaids bear the brunt of it. It's not a pleasant role. This isn't like the ceremonies in your family."

Huo Qilang chuckled. "That's why you should let me accompany the bride. I'm not afraid of a little mischief-the wilder it gets, the more fun it is!"

Pang Liangji rolled up his sleeves, ready to unleash a tirade, but the steward seized his clothes from behind and gave them several hard tugs, pleading with him not to say another word. Forcing an appropriately courteous smile, Steward Pang told Baozhu, "You are an honored guest invited by our master, young lady. You needn't serve in any capacity. Your presence at the ceremony alone would bring radiance to our humble gates."

Baozhu nodded. Having me attend really does make this commoner's wedding an exceptionally distinguished affair. They ought to feel overwhelmed by the honor.

By then, the rain had stopped completely. Unwilling to waste any more time, Baozhu called over the innkeeper and asked whether Lingbao County had any famous sights or historic sites, intending to ride out on her donkey.

The innkeeper thought for a moment. "Twenty li southwest of here, there's Crown Prince Li's Tomb. It's the tomb of Liu Ju, Emperor Wu of Han's son, who died after being falsely accused. Sizi Palace and Guilai Wangsi Terrace there are quite famous. Many scholars passing through make a special trip to see them."

It was not far, so Baozhu immediately decided to visit. She called Thirteenth Son over to carry an oil-paper umbrella, and the two of them headed out together.

Wei Xun tipped back his head, drained the remaining wine from his bowl, and stood to follow them. Puzzled, Pang Liangji asked, "It's just a big earthen platform. There's nothing worth seeing. Are you planning to dig your way in and have a look at the underground burial chamber while you're there, eldest senior brother?"

Wei Xun smiled calmly. "I'm no longer in that line of work."

Pang Liangji's heart tightened. He did not know whether Wei Xun had found the elixir formula or abandoned the search entirely. "Then what are you following them for? Wouldn't it be better for us brothers to drink together and go over the steps of the ceremony beforehand?"

Hearing the donkey's hooves clopping away outside, Wei Xun had already grown impatient. He gave Pang Liangji a perfunctory answer. "I'm going to lead the donkey. Haven't you heard that I was captured alive?" With that, he darted out, lightly cleared the threshold, and swiftly vanished from the inn's doorway.

Pang Liangji turned back in astonishment, only then noticing the teasing smile Huo Qilang had been holding back for so long. With boundless amusement, she said, "Sixth senior brother isn't the only man in this world who makes a fool of himself."

The sky was overcast. Beneath the gray clouds, the distant mountains blurred into indistinct outlines, like a landscape beneath Wang Wei's brush, layer upon layer of ink bleeding outward. The boundless peach groves had been washed by the rain; up close, their branches and leaves looked all the more vividly green, like the blue-and-green landscapes of Li Sixun and his son. The contrast between the near and distant scenery lent it a charm all its own.

The air was fresh and moist, with neither blazing sun nor heat. It was indeed fine weather for roaming among hills and streams.

On the way to the Han dynasty ruins, Baozhu sat on her donkey and eloquently recounted the origins and aftermath of the witchcraft disaster that had occurred seven hundred years earlier.

In his later years, Emperor Wu of Han had grown muddleheaded and placed his trust in the treacherous minister Jiang Chong. Jiang Chong was at odds with Crown Prince Liu Ju and deeply feared that Liu Ju would take revenge once the emperor died, so he fabricated a witchcraft case to frame him, accusing the crown prince of plotting rebellion. Forced to take up arms, Liu Ju and the Wei Clan fought the imperial troops, but they were ultimately defeated by overwhelming numbers. He then fled to Lingbao County, where the soldiers pursuing him discovered his whereabouts. Unwilling to suffer the humiliation of capture, Crown Prince Wei resolutely took his own life.

Only a year later did Emperor Wu of Han awaken to the terrible mistake he had made, unjustly killing his capable and benevolent heir. He executed Jiang Chong to avenge Liu Ju, but the dead crown prince could not be brought back to life. All the emperor could do was weep as he built Sizi Palace and Guilai Wangsi Terrace for him.

Listening intently to this ancient tale of political intrigue that had cost tens of thousands of people their heads, Thirteenth Son found it both moving and thrilling. "There's been a deposed crown prince in our time, too. Luckily, that ended with him being locked up instead of everyone slaughtering each other."

Baozhu was deeply displeased. Seeing that no one else was around and the road was deserted, she scolded him darkly. "How could Li Chengyuan possibly compare to Crown Prince Wei, Liu Ju? He isn't worthy! If we're talking about a worthy prince slandered by treacherous ministers and consequently estranged from the Son of Heaven, that should be my elder brother, Prince Shao. Li Chengyuan deserves, at most, that word 'Li'-'cruel.' If I ever manage to turn my fortunes around and destroy him, I'll make certain he receives that posthumous name."

Realizing he had angered her, Thirteenth Son hastily apologized, though inwardly he did not quite understand.

Wei Xun was also surprised by how furious she was. He turned back and asked, "What did he do to offend you?"

Her face full of anger, Baozhu said, "His vile deeds are beyond counting, but I'll mention just one. The year the Tibetan army invaded, we couldn't raise enough military pay and provisions. Li Chengyuan submitted a memorial directly to the Son of Heaven, proposing that I be sent to the Tibetan king, Trisong Detsen, in a marriage alliance to end the threat of war. Trisong Detsen was already a sixty-year-old man. I was only nine that year."

Wei Xun was startled, and fury surged through him, though his face betrayed nothing. He merely gave a cold, derisive laugh.

Baozhu continued, "Fortunately, my parents had doted on me since childhood. Mother was still alive then, and Father couldn't bear to part with me either. Naturally, they wouldn't let me suffer such an injustice. Li Chengyuan simply wanted to cut away the support around my elder brother and leave him isolated."

Thirteenth Son was stunned as well. "He's that wicked? Was he also the one who slandered your elder brother?"

"Yes," Baozhu said. "He had already lost his influence by then. Seeing that my elder brother was about to become crown prince, he joined forces with Prince Wei."

Thirteenth Son asked, "What sort of nasty things did they say?"

Baozhu did not want to explain in detail. She only said stiffly, "They were extremely sinister, extremely vicious rumors."

So vicious that they had stripped away the Son of Heaven's trust and affection in a single night. In a few fleeting years, her brother had gone from a candidate for heir apparent to exile in the desolate borderlands.

They had set out together in such high spirits, only to unwittingly upset and anger her. Both martial brothers felt regretful.

Just then, Baozhu spotted a stone stele beside the road, engraved with the four characters "Wind and Rain over the Han Terrace." Knowing they had arrived, she told Wei Xun to lead the donkey down the smaller path.

Because the witchcraft disaster was such a famous political incident in antiquity, local officials in successive dynasties had devoted considerable effort and funds to maintaining and restoring Crown Prince Li's Tomb. Once, luxuriant woods and slender bamboo had surrounded the tomb, with pavilions and terraces scattered among them, making it a lovely destination for a spring outing. But after the An Lushan Rebellion, the empire had lost more than half its households, and the region no longer possessed the wealth and resources of the flourishing Tang era. The site had gradually fallen into neglect.

From a distance, Sizi Palace was already crumbling, and Guilai Wangsi Terrace was nothing more than a great earthen platform.

Crown Prince Li's Tomb lay right along the "corridor between the two capitals," Chang'an and Luoyang. Scholars and poets passing through liked to come here to pay their respects and compose poems reflecting on the present through the past. Many poems had been inscribed on the walls of the surviving buildings nearby.

Baozhu recited the most famous of these, Bai Juyi's "Thoughts at Sizi Terrace," to the two martial brothers. She also explained the allusions in its lines about the shuttle being cast aside at the Zeng family's loom and the gathering of bees in the Yin family's garden.

Wei Xun listened attentively to the end, then remarked, "From what he says, the treacherous minister Jiang Chong played only a limited part. It was Emperor Wu of Han's own readiness to believe rumors that drove a wedge between father and son."

Hearing this, Baozhu felt as though a sharp dagger had plunged into her chest. For a moment, she was too overcome with sorrow to speak.

Of course, this was not Wei Xun's fault. Although he had never received an education, he was exceptionally clever and eager to learn. Whenever she mentioned passages or verses in their everyday conversations, the slightest explanation was enough for him to grasp the meaning and apply it elsewhere. Had he been born into a family of officials or distinguished scholars, there was no telling how outstanding he might have been, or how brilliant his literary talents.

In commenting on those two poems in "Thoughts at Sizi Terrace," he had immediately grasped the poet's essential point.

No matter how treacherous men slandered someone, it was ultimately the Son of Heaven himself who chose to hear only one side, believe it, and wrong his own flesh and blood. How could Baozhu fail to understand that? But her father had doted on her since childhood, and the bond between father and daughter was too difficult to sever. She had never dared to think deeply about the heart of the matter. Now Wei Xun's unwitting words had laid it bare, and the pain was so great she could barely breathe.

Wei Xun immediately noticed her uneven breathing. Looking back at her, he asked in bewilderment, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Unwilling to admit that a single remark had struck such a nerve, Baozhu forced a smile. "I suppose I got greedy earlier and drank a little too much osmanthus li. The breeze has made me a bit dizzy."

Wei Xun examined her carefully. Her dazed expression and pale complexion did not look like the effects of too much wine. Suspecting that Old Yang had passed his illness to her, he immediately lost all interest in sightseeing. He hurriedly helped her down from the donkey and had her sit beside the road to rest. Thirteenth Son quickly took down the waterskin and held it out, urging her to drink a little to steady her breathing.

The two martial brothers stared at her face and body with such concern that they might have bored holes through her. After a while, however, Baozhu herself thought things through. The proposed marriage alliance had long since passed, after all. A bear had torn the entire skin from Li Chengyuan's face, and he was now both blind and mute. Surely that was many times more agonizing than death.

And Prince Shao was still far from being driven to suicide as Crown Prince Wei, Liu Ju, had been. Once she reached Youzhou and brother and sister joined forces, they might yet have a chance to turn the tables.

With that realization, her spirits naturally settled. Baozhu took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the fresh air after the rain. In the distance, she saw a line of wild geese flying across the sky and decided to stake her luck on a shot, testing what fortune the future held.

She immediately drew her horn bow from its case, strung it, and raised it. Pouring every unhappiness in her heart into the arrow's tip, she lowered her shoulders and exerted her strength, drawing the bow to its fullest extent until it curved like a full moon. Her arms did not tremble in the slightest.

Once her quarry came within range, she adjusted her aim slightly. With a humming vibration of the bowstring, the arrow shot toward the flock as though chasing the wind and pursuing the moon. A goose fell at once, dropping squarely onto Guilai Wangsi Terrace.

The shot swept forth with the force of a rainbow, steady and fierce, over an exceptionally long distance-certainly nothing a sick person could have managed. Reassured, Wei Xun and his junior brother loudly praised her with heartfelt admiration.

Joy lit up Baozhu's face. Smiling, she told Wei Xun, "Quick, run over and fetch it for me. Be careful not to break its wings. Fallen on hard times or not, I can't attend someone's wedding empty-handed. A wild goose makes a gift with a lovely meaning for newlyweds."