For a Lifetime
Bai Jingyan turned her head and looked up at the Emperor seated on high. The Emperor's lips were curled upward as he murmured something with Consort Chu. No matter how seductively she performed, it seemed Li Tianfu could not captivate him.
The women of Xiliang dressed with astonishing boldness. Even with her chest laid bare, she showed not the slightest hesitation in flaunting her beauty. The pale, supple skin of her waist stood in vivid contrast to her crimson skirt, and the hearts of the men in the great hall pounded in their chests.
Li Tianfu danced her dazzling dance, stepping in time with the melody as she advanced. Her waist, slender as a water snake, moved with powerful grace to the rhythm. It was a figure that could steal a man's very soul. Gazing at the Emperor with wanton eyes, she smiled wide, and beneath lashes that curved like delicate fans emerged eyes that were mysterious, dreamlike, and utterly bewitching.
When the notes of the tiger-striped qin shifted, the woman, her eyes brimming with a smile more radiant than peach blossoms, leapt lightly upward and landed atop the drum held aloft by one of the men.
So light was she that she could dance upon a drum.
Li Tianfu smiled, flung her sleeves wide, and stepped gently upon the drumhead. Then she spun swiftly, her skirt whipping through the air. From a distance it was as beautiful as a red plum blossom in full bloom—beautiful enough to make the blood surge just to watch.
The chimes, the drums, and the qin quickened, and the speed of the woman's spinning quickened with them.
Even the Emperor sat upright, his eyes fixed on Li Tianfu.
Li Zhijie's lips curled upward. He tapped his palm lightly with his fan.
Li Tianfu whirled round and round up there, leaping from drum to drum. She moved so fast that only a crimson blur trailed behind her. The spectators, gripping sweat in their palms for fear the lovely dancer might tumble from the drums, watched with breathless fascination.
The music stopped abruptly, and Li Tianfu's spinning stopped with it. She traced the shape of a peacock with her fingers and stood steady atop the drum. The men who had knelt holding the drums rose slowly, and in the brilliant glow of the hall's palace lanterns, Li Tianfu stood enchantingly still, like a peacock perched upon high.
She turned her head to look toward where the Emperor sat. Clear and pure though her gaze was, it held a flicker of desire within it, teasing at the hearts of every man present.
Slowly, she spread her arms. Then, bending her slender waist, she stepped down from the drum where she had stood barefoot. She looked like a fairy descended from the heavens. She offered a graceful bow.
It was a scene that could captivate the soul of any man—indeed, even a woman like Bai Jingyan.
Li Zhijie rose, paid his respects to the Emperor, and spoke.
"This dance is offered to His Majesty the Emperor of Jin by the Princess of Xiliang. We pray for His Majesty's health and longevity for ten thousand years."
"Wonderful!"
The Emperor of Jin clapped his hands.
"The Princess's dance puts the whole world to shame."
"I have come by the command of the Empress of Xiliang, escorting Her Highness the Princess to seal a bond of peace. We look forward to an eternal friendship between Xiliang and Jin."
Li Zhijie smiled.
Consort Chu, beside the Emperor, clenched her fists. When the Emperor laughed aloud, she lightly caught the hem of his robe and looked up at him with brimming eyes—eyes full of resentment.
The Emperor, still smiling, took Consort Chu's soft, slender hand in his and said with a chuckle.
"The Princess of Xiliang is beautiful enough to set a man's heart racing—she would make a fine match for our Jin. But the Crown Prince already has his principal wife. A pity, though it may be, she will have to enter as a secondary consort."
With that, the Emperor turned his gaze to Consort Chu, regarding her with affectionate eyes.
The Crown Princess flinched, lifted her head, and looked toward the seat where the Emperor sat. Her pupils trembled faintly, and she clutched her handkerchief tight.
The Crown Prince, as though this were entirely unexpected, rose hurriedly to express his gratitude.
Li Tianfu had always had supreme confidence in her own beauty. In Xiliang, she had believed, every man could be laid at her feet if she so wished. Her target had been the Emperor—but the Emperor seemed to have no interest in her whatsoever.
Li Tianfu clenched her fists. The Crown Prince would do. So long as she stood at the center of Jin's power, the day would come when she could wipe out the entire Bai family.
Li Tianfu lifted her head, walked forward with a seductive gaze fixed on the Emperor, and offered a light bow.
"Our Princess suffers from an ailment of the throat. This is her way of expressing her gratitude to Your Majesty."
Li Zhijie smiled apologetically at the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, we beg your gracious understanding."
"Your Majesty……"
Consort Chu whispered in the Emperor's ear with a voice sweet with affection.
"Today You have arranged a fine match for the Crown Prince. But is the Liang King not also Your son? And it was the Liang King who arranged this union between Your Majesty and your humble concubine. If I cannot repay that debt to the Liang King, my heart will never be at ease. Rather than that, on a joyful day like today, why not have Your Majesty arrange a match between the Liang King and the Zhenguo Commandery Princess as well?"
Murong Yu, who had been holding a wine cup close by, felt his heart tighten, and he instinctively glanced at his younger brother, Xiao Rongyan.
The envoys of Liang, unable to hear the whispered exchange between Consort Chu and the Emperor, assumed only that the Emperor was in high spirits, and one of them spoke up with a smile.
"Your Majesty, Liang too wishes to conclude peace with Jin and draw closer ties with your great kingdom. We humbly request that you permit the Fourth Prince of Liang to take the County Mistress of Nan Tao, the foremost beauty of Jin, as his principal wife."
Yeo Bohwa smiled and nudged Liu Yafu with his elbow. Liu Yafu bit her lower lip hard, her cheeks flushed, and looked up at Wei Qiheng. But Wei Qiheng was staring straight at Bai Jingyan alone. At that, Liu Yafu's face crumpled.
"I hear the Emperor of Yan is also seeking out a match for the Ninth Prince of Great Yan."
The Emperor said with a smiling face, looking toward the Emperor of Yan.
"If there is anyone you have set your heart on, speak freely. It happens to be my birthday today—it would be a fine occasion to arrange a good match."
Murong Yu gave a slight nod, then spoke with measured grace, swaying his wine cup gently.
"At first I thought to match my younger brother with the Gaoyi County Princess. But on reflection, it seemed the difference in their years was rather considerable."
Murong Yu looked at Bai Jingyan.
"Later I considered the Zhenguo Commandery Princess, but it turns out she has sworn never to marry. So I turned my thoughts to the County Mistress of Nan Tao—until last night, when I heard that the Fourth Prince of Liang had requested her hand. He swore he would take no secondary consort, no concubine, but would want the County Mistress of Nan Tao and her alone for the rest of his life. Hearing this, I pondered it long. Could my brother truly do the same? In the end, I set the thought aside. If my brother should ever meet a woman who wins his heart here in Jin, Your Majesty, I ask that you lend him your aid then."
Wei Qiheng, hearing the Emperor of Yan's words, rose and offered his thanks.
"Your Majesty, I am grateful that you have yielded such a fine match to me."
Yeo Bohwa covered his mouth with his fan and murmured in a low voice.
"The Emperor of Yan is not only handsome in appearance but so composed and thoughtful as well. The true greatest beauty under heaven! I hear the Ninth Prince of Yan and the Emperor of Great Yan were born of the same mother—surely they must look alike? Perhaps I should think on this a little more."
"Father has already granted the Fourth Prince of Liang's proposal! And besides……"
Liu Yafu pouted her lips.
"Great Yan is a poor, weak country. Everyone knows I'd only suffer if I went there."
Wei Qiheng turned his head, looked at Bai Jingyan—calm and utterly unbothered—and then walked toward her.
Liu Yafu's eyes went wide, and she stared at the scene as if she could not believe it.
Wei Qiheng respectfully raised the jade tablet from his waist and offered it to Bai Jingyan.
"My lady, I am Wei Qiheng, Fourth Prince of Liang. Yesterday at Lake Taoyin, the moment I saw you from afar, I fell in love with you at first sight. I wish to take you as my principal wife. I have already sworn before the Han King and His Majesty: if I may take you as my wife, I will never take a secondary consort or a concubine. For the rest of my life, I will look upon you alone."
The hand gripping Xiao Rongyan's wine cup tightened. He raised his head and looked at Bai Jingyan.
Bai Jingyan was startled. Hadn't the Fourth Prince of Liang meant to take Liu Yafu, the County Mistress of Nan Tao, as his wife? She turned her gaze to Liu Yafu.
Liu Yafu's complexion was beyond description. She clenched her fists. What was with that look in Bai Jingyan's eyes? Was it a provocation?
The moment Consort Chu heard his words, her heart plummeted.
"Your Majesty, did the Fourth Prince not swear yesterday that he would take the County Mistress of Nan Tao as his wife? That is why you summoned the Han King to the palace—so why then……"
The news that Wei Qiheng had pledged to take Liu Yafu as his wife before the Emperor and the Han King had already spread far and wide through the capital. That he had vowed never to take a secondary consort or concubine in his lifetime had made the match a celebrated tale of devotion throughout Dadu.
The courtiers laughed and, glancing toward where Liu Yafu sat, called out to Wei Qiheng.
"Fourth Prince, have you mistaken the person? That is not the County Mistress of Nan Tao. That is the Zhenguo Commandery Princess, Bai Jingyan. The County Mistress of Nan Tao is over there, that……"
Wei Qiheng followed the direction of the pointing finger and looked at Liu Yafu. She sat there, her face drained white, and the Han King's expression had gone stiff as well.
The rumor that the Fourth Prince of Liang had knelt before the Han King and begged for his daughter's hand in marriage had been spread by the Han King himself—a man who treasured his dignity as dearly as life. And now the very prince who had once knelt to beg for his daughter was proposing to Bai Jingyan.
"What?"
Wei Qiheng stared blankly at Liu Yafu, then turned his head again to look at Bai Jingyan, who had risen from her seat.
"But…… I was told the County Mistress of Nan Tao, Liu Yafu, was the foremost beauty of Jin. Then why……"
That one thoughtless remark crushed Liu Yafu's pride into the dust.
What was the Fourth Prince saying? Was he suggesting that Liu Yafu did not deserve the title of foremost beauty of Jin?
The young ladies who had long disliked her merely covered their mouths with their fans and giggled.
Liu Yafu was a woman overflowing with self-regard. And because she had always placed singular confidence in her own looks, she could not bear such an insult.
Rising with a smile, she offered a composed bow and then spoke.
"The Fourth Prince of Liang has mistaken me for the Zhenguo Commandery Princess. The title of foremost beauty is but an empty name—I, Liu Yafu, cannot claim to deserve it. The Zhenguo Commandery Princess is a meritorious hero of Jin, who rendered great service in the recent southern campaign. Your Excellency has a discerning eye. My congratulations, Commandery Princess."
Liu Yafu was deliberately hinting to Wei Qiheng that Bai Jingyan was the ferocious woman who had put ten thousand surrendered soldiers of Xiliang to the sword. She wanted to see the boastful prince recoil in horror once he learned Bai Jingyan's identity.
Only then would it be Bai Jingyan, and not herself, who became the laughingstock.
Xiao Rongyan raised his brows slightly and smiled a faint smile.
There is always someone who fails to read the room and believes they can win a war of words against Bai Jingyan.
Unfortunately for them, Bai Jingyan was not only eloquent but a woman of brilliant stratagem. Not one of those seated here could defeat her.
How could the Han King simply stand by and watch his cherished daughter—the child he had treasured so dearly that even her glance would not have hurt if it landed in his eye—suffer such humiliation? He lowered his head, recalling the Emperor's attitude toward Bai Jingyan, and then picked up where his daughter had left off.
"In our Jin, we do not name a woman the foremost beauty on the strength of her looks alone. My daughter is supreme in virtue, in appearance, and in talent alike. That is why she is called the foremost beauty of Jin! Of the four virtues—virtue, speech, merit, and composure—virtue comes first, and composure last."
The Han King was the only king in Jin who bore a different surname, and so he chose his words with the greatest care. He was especially skilled at reading the moods of others, and somehow it seemed to him that the Emperor was rather enjoying the sight of Bai Jingyan's discomfiture—so he sharpened his tongue all the more.
"Jin never judges a person by appearance alone. A woman, surely, must know calmness and gentleness as her beauty, and a good heart as her virtue. How can a woman who reeks of bloodlust and savagery be called a beauty? How could a woman of excessive strength ever guide a household, show filial devotion to her parents-in-law, and raise her children? And worse—to seduce the Fourth Prince of Liang without a shred of propriety or shame, and deliberately, without revealing her identity, thrust people into an awkward situation—that is the mark of a truly wicked heart."