Bathing

Over the past two days, Qi Yu had been exhausted in both body and mind and had skipped all his lessons. De'an had already gone to inform Grand Tutor Sun, saying that the Fourth Prince had suffered a fright and the imperial physician had prescribed quiet rest. The Grand Tutor set his ruler on the lectern and said, "His health comes first. He can make up the lessons," then called Qin Wei over and told him to copy the past few days' lecture notes and deliver them to Yuning Hall. Qin Wei copied the notes even more neatly than usual, writing every character squarely within its grid. He knew Qi Yu probably had no inclination to read them right now, but he still copied them with great care.

Qi Yu really had no inclination to read them. He did not even want to remember what the lecture notes looked like. When Chun He brought his medicine in that morning, he was leaning against the headboard, playing with the rabbits. Gray Rabbit lay on his lap as he broke a carrot into little pieces to feed it, poking its ear after every piece. Its ears twitched with each poke until it finally grew annoyed, jumped off the bed with the carrot in its mouth, and ran away. Light Gray Rabbit, however, did not run. It crouched beside his pillow, nudging his fingers with its head.

"Your Highness, it's time for your medicine." Chun He brought the medicine bowl over.

Qi Yu sniffed the bowl of medicine and wrinkled his nose. "I'm already better."

"The imperial physician said you need to take it for another two days."

"What the imperial physician says doesn't count."

"Does His Majesty's verbal decree count, then?" Chun He held the bowl a little closer. De'an had come over expressly that morning to convey His Majesty's instructions: he had to finish the medicine.

Qi Yu took the bowl, tipped his head back, and gulped it down in one go. He shoved the bowl back into Chun He's hands, then flopped onto the bed and pulled the covers up to his chin. "Tell A Ping not to bring me any lecture notes these next few days. If the Grand Tutor asks, say I have a headache."

"How long are you planning to take leave, Your Highness?" Chun He set the empty bowl on the tray.

"I don't know. It's not as if I'm inheriting the throne." He pillowed his head on his hands. "Father protects me from above, and my brother the Crown Prince holds things up at court. They're both so capable. Who would I be working hard to impress?"

Chun He's hands paused around the tray, and she said nothing. She knew His Highness was speaking thoughtlessly, but on closer consideration, he was not wrong. With His Majesty protecting him from above and the Crown Prince holding things up at court, the Fourth Prince really did not have to strive desperately like the other princes. She had never seen His Majesty force the Fourth Prince to study anything. Whenever he tested their learning, His Majesty's face would darken if the other princes could not answer, yet when the Fourth Prince could not answer, he would make His Majesty laugh instead. Still, she always felt that His Majesty's expectations of the Fourth Prince seemed to lie not in his studies, but elsewhere. As for what that "elsewhere" was, she could not say.

"What will you do today, then, Your Highness?" Chun He asked.

Qi Yu rolled over onto his stomach and buried his face in the cotton pillow, his voice muffled. "Go to Father's. I've wanted to soak in that big pool of his for ages."

The bathing pool in Xuanzheng Hall was in a warm chamber on the western side of the rear hall, fed by hot spring water. Built of white marble, it was long and wide enough for five adults to stretch out their limbs comfortably inside. Hornless dragon heads were carved along its edge, hot water burbling from their mouths. Steam wreathed the room, making the entire warm chamber feel like a spring morning. By the time Qi Yu arrived, the pool had already been filled. De'an had long since had the bathing supplies prepared: towels folded in neat stacks, soap beans in a small celadon dish, and a plate of sliced pears beside it to soothe his throat.

The palace attendants stood in a row. Two young eunuchs knelt beside the pool to test the temperature. One added hot water while the other stirred the surface with a long-handled wooden ladle to distribute the heat more evenly. Chun He draped clean nightclothes over the screen, then checked the sinking-grade agarwood in the incense burner once more. A Ping arranged the bathing towels by size: large ones for drying his body, small ones for his face, and a cotton cloth specifically for his hair, softer than all the rest.

Qi Yu took off his outer robe and draped it over the screen. Wearing only a pair of short drawers, he slowly descended the nonslip stone steps into the pool. The water was just right, neither hot nor cold. He sat down, and it rose past his chest to his collarbones. Warmth enveloped him from every direction, wrapping around his whole body. He rested his head against the pool wall and closed his eyes. The white marble, warmed by the hot water, felt comfortable against the back of his neck. A few dried mugwort leaves floated on the surface; he had brought them from Yuning Hall himself. Chun He had said mugwort calmed the mind, and since he had been sleeping poorly these past few days, he had taken a handful and tossed it into the pool.

The two young eunuchs knelt beside the pool, one pouring water over his shoulders with a dipper while the other added hot water. Chun He rolled up her sleeves, worked the soap beans into a lather between her palms, and gently spread it over his hair. Her fingers had only just slipped into his hair, before she had even begun to massage his scalp, when she realized his breathing had already grown slow and even. Qi Yu slumped against the pool wall, his head tilted to one side, his mouth slightly open and his eyelashes motionless. Chun He softly called, "Your Highness." No response. She called again, but still there was no response.

She turned and gave De'an a meaningful look. He was standing beside the pool keeping watch, and at the sight, he hurried over and bent his head to look. Steam rose from the pool. The Fourth Prince's whole body had turned pink from soaking, and his face was flushed, but he was sleeping deeply and did not respond no matter how they called him.

"Quickly, inform His Majesty," De'an said in a low voice.

Qi Xiao was reviewing memorials in the West Warm Pavilion. When De'an entered, his steps were noticeably quicker than usual. He bowed beside him and lowered his voice to a near whisper. "Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince has fallen asleep in the bathing pool. Chun He called him twice but couldn't wake him." Qi Xiao set down his brush, rose, and headed out. Two covered corridors lay between the West Warm Pavilion and the bathing pool in the rear hall. He walked very quickly, the wind lifting the hem of his dragon robe so that it brushed past several pots of autumn chrysanthemums beneath the corridor pillars. De'an trotted behind him and pushed open the door when they reached the bathing pool.

Steam filled the pool. Qi Yu slumped sideways against the pool wall, his head resting on the stone pillow at its edge, fast asleep. The water reached his chest, and mugwort leaves drifted gently on the surface. Chun He knelt beside the pool, soap lather still on her hands, her face full of helplessness. Qi Xiao took one look, crouched down, and reached out to pat Qi Yu's cheek.

"Yu'er."

No response. He patted him twice more, a little harder this time. "Qi Yu." Still no response.

The water was slowly cooling. De'an reached in to test its temperature and shook his head slightly at Qi Xiao. If he soaked much longer, he might catch a chill. Qi Xiao did not call him again. He stood and waved a hand to the side. The two young eunuchs hurriedly moved away. He bent down, slipped one hand beneath Qi Yu's knees and the other behind his back, and lifted him out of the water. The boy's body was limp from the hot water, pressing wetly against his chest. Water streamed from Qi Yu's hair and toes, gathering into a small puddle on the stone steps beside the pool. Chun He hurriedly handed over a blanket. Qi Xiao took it and wrapped Qi Yu snugly from head to toe. The cotton blanket was absorbent and soon soaked up the droplets on his body.

Once in the bedchamber, he laid Qi Yu on the imperial bed. The blanket was already half wet. He pulled it away and tossed it onto a nearby chair, then used a dry towel to wipe the remaining moisture from Qi Yu's body. When he reached his hair, he spread out the cotton towel, wrapped it around Qi Yu's head, and gently rubbed. The droplets in his hair were absorbed, and the strands spread across the pillow, carrying the fresh scent of mugwort. He took the nightclothes from Chun He, lifted Qi Yu's upper body, and slipped the sleeves over his arms. The boy's arms were soft and limp, letting him move them however he wished, like a cloth doll with its cotton stuffing pulled out. He fastened the ties of the nightclothes, then drew up the quilt to cover Qi Yu to just below his shoulders. He tucked its edges in, securing it beneath his chin.