Consort Xian

The Eldest Prince brought a basket of steamed buns to the Condensing Dew Pavilion.

His imperial father favored punishment by association: when a son erred, his mother was always punished. Some days ago, his mother had been confined for half a year because of him, and the Eldest Prince felt guilty.

Consort Xian kept a low profile and rarely socialized with the other imperial consorts. Her natal family had fallen on hard times but retained its scholarly distinction, and she was a cold beauty, educated and well-mannered.

She loved Buddhist scriptures, and an elusive, otherworldly air of Zen suffused everything she said and did, cleansing the soul.

Perhaps that was also why the Qi Emperor seldom spent the night at the Condensing Dew Pavilion. No one wanted to sleep embracing a Buddha statue.

The bond between the Eldest Prince and Consort Xian was faint. They were like tenants living beneath the same roof. In his memories, the Buddhist scriptures seemed more like his mother's children; she never put them down.

Yet this very mother had quietly secured passage through the imperial guards when he sought to kill the crown prince and seize the throne, allowing him to bypass the tightest defenses and reach the inner palace.

Only after his death had he learned that his mother shared a past with Su Changhuai, commander of the imperial guards.

What past affection could make the Su family stake its fortunes on clearing a path for a rebel?

His rebellion had failed, and he had been killed. The crown prince had slaughtered three households in a single day.

Everyone connected to the Eldest Prince's rebellion had been wiped out.

His mother had burned herself to death.

This woman had lived quietly and departed quietly. No one knew her thoughts.

"Mother."

The Eldest Prince quietly bowed.

The Tiger-Skinned Cat kept at the Condensing Dew Pavilion caught the scent of meat, leaped down from the rafters, and rubbed against the Eldest Prince, meowing.

Consort Xian lifted her attention from her book. The bodhi beads in her hand stopped turning as she calmly waited for him to continue.

As a child, he had been boisterous and impetuous, the complete opposite of his mother. She never played with him and could go days without speaking a word to him. At first, he had felt hurt; over time, he had drifted away of his own accord.

Now he could finally settle down and keep her company for a while.

"The crown prince gave me these buns. They're delicious, so I brought some for you to try."

The Eldest Prince opened the steamer basket and set out the piping-hot buns, holding the greedy cat back from them.

Consort Xian studied him for a moment.

"The crown prince clashed with Junior Tutor Xi in the classroom today."

The Eldest Prince glared at his attendant eunuch.

Xiao Liangzi covered his swollen face, the result of the slaps he had been punished with in the classroom, and shrank back.

"It wasn't a clash. The crown prince is straightforward and innocent. He merely said he disliked Junior Tutor Xi. If there's anything you wish to know, Mother, ask me directly. There's no need to listen to a treacherous servant's nonsense."

The cat's wheedling meows became urgent cries.

The Eldest Prince could no longer hold the cat in check. "Bring some meat. This cat is too wild. Why don't you keep a gentler one, Mother?"

Consort Xian lowered her eyes, slowly turning her bodhi beads.

"Not too wild. Too spoiled."

"Did His Majesty blame you?"

The cat kept trying to get onto the table to eat the buns, and the Eldest Prince battled wits with the animal. Whenever the cat jumped up, he picked the cat back down.

Up the cat went again, and down he carried the cat again.

"No."

Xiao Liangzi complained indignantly:

"Your Highness, our prince had been kneeling in the Hall of Bright Virtue for quite some time before the crown prince arrived. His Majesty greeted him personally and held him without letting go. Only after doting on him for ages did he remember to let our prince rise."

"His Majesty is far too partial."

Violence surged in the Eldest Prince's heart. Unable to tolerate any more, he barked an order.

"Drag this servant out and beat him to death for his repeated slander."

Xiao Liangzi turned deathly pale and dropped to his knees with a thud. "Your Highness! I spoke the truth! I only meant well for you! Spare me, Your Highness!"

Seeing no one move, the Eldest Prince demanded, "Do my commands no longer carry any weight?! Drag him out!"

When everyone saw that Consort Xian did not intervene, two eunuchs immediately seized Xiao Liangzi and dragged him away.

"Spare me, Your Highness! Your Highness! Please spare me!"

Xiao Liangzi's terrified cries gradually faded beyond the door.

The bodhi beads in Consort Xian's hand remained still for a long while. Only once the shouting ceased did she begin turning them again, speaking in an inscrutable tone.

"Since you're on good terms with the crown prince, bring him here to play more often."

The cat, provoked past endurance, meowed and unleashed a flurry of feline punches. The Eldest Prince hissed softly; blood appeared on his hand.

The nanny beside Consort Xian hurried over in concern to apply medicine and bandage it.

"Your Highness, why provoke the cat? If you get scratched, you're the one who suffers."

Despite the scratches, the Eldest Prince was in an excellent mood.

"I'll invite him over. But he's afraid of cats, so we'll have to hide this one away lest the cat frighten him."

Consort Xian scrutinized him again.

"Didn't you dislike playing with him before?"

"That was then. This is now."

"Princess Baozhu visited yesterday and brought a sachet. She said you'd asked her for it."

Princess Baozhu was the Qi Emperor's younger sister, only ten years old that year.

A maid presented the sapphire-blue sachet. On closer inspection, it carried a woody pine fragrance.

The Eldest Prince remembered that the crown prince had loved wearing sachets by the age of thirteen or fourteen, always carrying a woody scent.

He could not remember why he had asked Princess Baozhu for this sachet.

He tied it to his waist. "Please thank Aunt for me, Mother."

Consort Xian nodded.

The Eldest Prince urged her, "Eat, Mother. The buns will soon get cold."

"Go attend to your affairs. I'll eat them."

The Eldest Prince nodded. "Mother, could you help me find two people?"

Consort Xian asked, "Which two?"

That vile pair were named Jiang Yao and Sima Hui.

One was an ordinary peasant girl; the other was the descendant of a disgraced official.

One was tucked away in some unknown corner, while the other was the eldest son of a southern household rich enough to dine to chiming bells and rows of bronze cauldrons.

The former would be difficult to find.

The latter needed no finding, but he could not kill him yet either.

Nor could he explain why he wanted to find two children of six or seven. The Eldest Prince sighed. "Never mind."

He was still too young. Princes could only leave the palace and establish their own residences at thirteen. Until then, his every move would remain beneath his imperial father's gaze. No matter how many ideas he had, he could only hold his troops in place.

"Mother, I'll take my leave."

Consort Xian nodded.

Only after the Eldest Prince had gone far away did Consort Xian dismiss her servants, keeping only Nanny Ning beside her, and set the plate of buns on the floor.

The cat that had been shooed away ran over with a meow, eager to enjoy the feast.

Consort Xian calmly opened her Buddhist scripture.

"Nanny, why doesn't he hate the crown prince anymore?"

Nanny Ning had no answer.

"Your Highness, let go of what you should let go. The empress is already gone."

Consort Xian tightened her grip on the bodhi beads, her voice turning vicious.

"Her son is still alive."

Nanny Ning urged her, "You must think of the Eldest Prince."

A trace of a smile appeared on Consort Xian's face, faint as mist and gone in an instant.

"I already am."

As long as she did not love him, he could live.

It didn't matter. There were still many days ahead. Until the end, there was no winner.

Xi Ming returned home.

His second wife hurried out to greet him.

"My lord, you're back."

Xi Ming's face was dark, and he said nothing.

Seeing this, his second wife signaled with her eyes for the servants to make arrangements in the study while promptly ushering him into his room. She loosened his clothes and belt and helped him change out of his official robes.

With a cautious, placating smile, she said, "My lord, your eldest son is waiting in the study."

"Will you be checking his schoolwork today?"

Xi Ming washed his hands with clean water. Looking at the nail on his little finger, he recalled the crown prince's mockery in the Hall of Bright Virtue and spoke in a sinister tone.

"Fetch the scissors."

His second wife's heart quailed. She did not know what he intended, but she dared not disobey.

Her hands trembled as she offered him the scissors.

Xi Ming immediately trimmed his nails.

When he finished, he rose and went to the study.

His second wife released a long breath, nearly collapsing.

Her maid caught her. "Madam..."

His second wife shed tears and sobbed softly:

"I was so afraid he'd take the scissors into the study. If he crippled the eldest young master, wouldn't my Yu'er be next?"

She pressed her palms together and prayed fervently. "Heaven, please protect the eldest young master and let him live well. As long as he's all right, my Yu'er can be all right..."

The maid supported her mistress in sympathy, unable to reply.

Not a single servant stood outside the Xi Residence's study. A dark figure landed outside it, not at all concerned about discovery, and brazenly eavesdropped.

Screams and childish cries reached his ears from within.

He faintly caught a few words.

"Call me Teacher..."

"...trimmed the nails..."

The shadowy figure found what he heard strange, but did not dare let his thoughts stray in that direction.

Only after a final, high-pitched cry of "Your Highness the Crown Prince" did the sounds inside cease.

The dark figure outside the door shuddered, disbelief flashing in his eyes.

He swiftly left and headed for the imperial palace.