The Hair-Washing Rite
Zhen Xiangzhi hurried inside to find the Crown Prince, and Bai Jingyan was about to leave when the side gate creaked open.
A matron attending the Crown Princess emerged from the side gate and bowed to Bai Jingyan.
"This humble servant pays her respects to the Commandery Princess."
The Crown Princess knew all too well how important Bai Jingyan was to the Crown Prince, and she had long sought to bring Bai Jingyan over to her side. The moment she heard that Bai Jingyan was waiting at the rear gate, she had immediately sent the matron to invite her inside.
"Her Highness the Crown Princess, mindful that you are in the midst of your hair-washing rite, has asked that you join her in her garden instead."
"Urgent business brought me here despite the discourtesy of the hour, but since the rite is still underway, I shall not enter. I have already relayed the matter to Master Zhen, and I will not disturb Her Highness in her busy day. Please convey my words to Her Highness in my stead, Matron. Tell her I regret being unable to offer my greetings in person."
Unable to press the matter, the matron nodded with a smile.
"I shall deliver your words to Her Highness exactly as you have spoken them."
After relaying the message with impeccable courtesy, the old matron escorted Bai Jingyan back to her carriage.
But then the side gate opened once more, and Zhan Yu came walking out.
At the sight of Bai Jingyan, a smile crept into the corners of his eyes.
"This humble servant pays his respects to the Commandery Princess. His Highness has read the letter. He asks that you come into the residence so that you may discuss it together."
When Bai Jingyan hesitated, Zhan Yu continued.
"His Highness the Crown Prince asks that you not feel too reluctant, Commandery Princess. He says that since he is only taking a concubine by imperial decree and against his own wishes, there is hardly anything worth congratulating him for."
At those words, the Crown Princess's matron, head still bowed, felt a glint flash through her eyes. The amusement in her face deepened by degrees.
Zhan Yu's words made it sound as though the Crown Prince did not hold the Xiliang Princess in the slightest regard—that he did not even consider taking a side concubine to be a joyful occasion at all.
Only then did Bai Jingyan climb down from the carriage once more, instructing Nuo Ping to wait outside, and followed Zhan Yu through the grounds, avoiding the eyes of the household, until they reached the Crown Prince's study.
The Crown Prince had been thoroughly sick of Li Tianfu's coquettish airs ever since he had first laid eyes on the Xiliang Princess at Yuhua Terrace. He had accepted her only because the Emperor had ordered him to take the Xiliang Princess as a side concubine—and yet this woman, who had carried on an illicit affair with a eunuch, now meant to assassinate him.
Taking a concubine had become neither a pleasure nor an honor anymore. It had become something that simply turned his stomach.
By the time Bai Jingyan arrived at the study, all three of the Crown Prince's advisors had gathered there. As she entered, the three men rose and bowed to her.
"We pay our respects on behalf of His Highness the Crown Prince."
"Commandery Princess, there's no need for such formality. Sit, quickly."
The Crown Prince was dressed in his court robes and still holding the letter from moments before. His face had darkened, and his thin lips were pressed tightly together.
Bai Jingyan exchanged courtesies with the three advisors before taking her seat.
Advisor Fang stroked his beard and spoke up.
"Might this not be some scheme by Yan to sow discord between us? After all, war could break out between Yan and our Jin at any moment."
Bai Jingyan inclined her head slightly before speaking.
"There is merit in Advisor Fang's reasoning. But whether this letter is true or false, I believe we ought to concern ourselves first with His Highness the Crown Prince's safety."
Zhen Xiangzhi nodded.
"Someone left this letter hanging on our residence's door handle today. I have already sent men to find out who delivered it, though I cannot say when we might catch the culprit. In any case, the Xiliang Princess's palanquin will arrive shortly, so it would be wise to station several skilled guards at His Highness's side."
Bai Jingyan said, "There are thieves who steal every day, but where in the world is a man who guards against theft every day?"
The Crown Prince's face grew darker and darker. The hand holding the letter trembled violently.
"A princess who came for a marriage alliance, carrying on like that with a eunuch! And she means to kill me on top of it? What in the world is Xiliang playing at?"
He might have endured the affair with the eunuch. But this woman would live out her days in the Crown Prince's residence, become his side concubine, and share his pillow. And she would be preparing, at any moment, to end his life? How was a man supposed to live with such fear hanging over his head?
Bai Jingyan looked at the Crown Prince.
"Even so, a single letter of unknown origin cannot stop the Xiliang Princess from entering the Crown Prince's residence. All the more so since it was His Majesty's will that she be taken as your concubine."
Advisor Fang spoke up.
"For the moment, Your Highness should proceed with taking the concubine as planned, while skilled guards stand close watch and protect you. And if Prince Yan Li Zhijie enters the residence with her, the guards should be instructed to keep a close eye on him as well. If anything so much as smells amiss, they must seize him at once."
The Crown Prince turned his head toward Bai Jingyan.
"What is your counsel, Commandery Princess?"
"I believe Your Highness should send someone to the palace and report the matter of this letter to His Majesty plainly and without omission."
"I think the Commandery Princess is right."
Advisor Fang chimed in as though in agreement.
"Even if today passes without incident, there is no guarantee tomorrow will be safe. Only by reporting it now will His Majesty be unable to dismiss the matter later as some petty quarrel between husband and wife. It will also give Your Highness just grounds should you ever wish to cast the Xiliang Princess aside."
Zhen Xiangzhi shot Advisor Fang a sharp glance.
The reason Bai Jingyan had the letter sent to the palace was this: even if the Xiliang Princess caused no trouble at the Crown Prince's residence today, the act would make clear to the Emperor that the Crown Prince had no intention of spending a single night in Li Tianfu's chamber—and, moreover, that this had nothing whatsoever to do with being displeased by the Emperor's choice of bride.
With fair warning given in advance, all the Crown Prince would need to do after the Xiliang Princess entered the residence was keep her displayed like an ornament and assign servants to keep her closely watched. That would be the end of it.
And yet Advisor Fang was pushing the Crown Prince into danger just to force the truth of this letter into the open? And what if an actual assassination attempt followed? Did the man even understand what he was saying?
Zhen Xiangzhi truly felt that Advisor Fang had grown old. When they had been in the Southern Border together, there had at least been some thread of logic in the man's words, but since returning from the campaign, not a trace of it remained.
Zhen Xiangzhi opened his mouth to rebut him, but seeing that Bai Jingyan said nothing either, he furrowed his brow and swallowed his objection.
"Your Highness, the side concubine will be entering the residence through the side gate. Will the Crown Prince go out to receive her?"
Zhan Yu asked in a low voice from beyond the door.
In truth, there was no need for the Crown Prince to personally greet a concubine being taken into the household.
But if the concubine's family were a house of great power—or if the Crown Prince wished to grant her that measure of face—he could go out to welcome her himself.
However, there was no chance that the Crown Prince, harboring a furnace of rage in his chest, would go out to greet her.
The Crown Prince clenched the hand gripping the letter into a fist, then slipped the letter back into its envelope.
"Zhan Yu. Come in."
He handed the letter to Lin Shijie.
"Master Lin, you will escort Zhan Yu to the palace. Along the way, teach him exactly what he is to say."
Lin Shijie received the letter with both hands and answered at once.
"Have no fear, Your Highness. I shall instruct Zhan Yu thoroughly."
"Then I shall take my leave."
Bai Jingyan rose from her seat.
"Wait."
The Crown Prince turned his head toward her. He was barely containing the fury smoldering inside him.
"There's no need for you to seclude yourself. Tell the Crown Princess that the Zhenguo Commandery Princess is an honored guest of our residence."
The Crown Prince wanted to show the Xiliang delegation something—that even with this concubine, a legitimate-born Xiliang princess, entering his household, he cared so little for her that he would invite Bai Jingyan, who was in the midst of her hair-washing rite, into his home.
It would soothe his own temper, certainly—but if Bai Jingyan truly appeared at the gathering, everyone would call her disrespectful. For a woman in the middle of her rite to attend another's wedding celebration was to cast ill omens upon it, nothing less.
"I am deeply grateful for Your Highness's consideration, but my appearance at the residence today is already a grave breach of propriety. If I show myself in the great hall, the guests will condemn me for it."
Bai Jingyan bowed to the Crown Prince.
"I shall await word in the rear garden of the residence. Once Your Highness has seen the matter through safely, that is when I will return home."
"You were invited by me—who dares condemn you!"
The Crown Prince's voice was firm. Then he rose and strode out of the room.
Before a concubine could enter the household, tea had to be offered to the Crown Princess.
When word reached her that the concubine's palanquin had arrived and the Crown Prince had not gone out to greet her, the Crown Princess's spirits lifted considerably. Supported by her matron, she emerged into the great hall and took her seat in the place of honor.
Then the Crown Prince appeared in the hall with his retinue of guards and Bai Jingyan in tow, and the guests were visibly stunned.
The young nobles of Dadu standing beside Xiao Rongyan were startled as well.
"Sister Bai, what brings you here?"
Sima Ping asked, keeping his voice low.
Xiao Rongyan, too, flinched in surprise.
When his eyes met Bai Jingyan's, he offered a faint smile and a light nod.
Murong Li, the Yan prince invited as an honored guest, set down his teacup, rose from his seat, and smiled at Bai Jingyan as well.
"Your Highness."
The Crown Princess rose, bowed to the Crown Prince, and turned her gaze to Bai Jingyan. Knowing full well why Bai Jingyan had come, she smiled warmly.
"Commandery Princess."
"Crown Princess, the Zhenguo Commandery Princess is an honored guest I invited personally. See that she is well received!"
The Crown Prince continued with a smile.
"It was thanks to the Zhenguo Commandery Princess that Great Jin won the great victory in the Southern Border war! That is the very reason we are able to make peace with the legitimate Xiliang Princess today. So the Commandery Princess must join us at this gathering, without fail!"
"Of course."
Smiling, the Crown Princess stepped forward, took Bai Jingyan's hand, and patted it gently.
"I had already sent my matron to bring the Commandery Princess here myself, but she declined on account of her rite. Your Highness truly does have a way with everything."
Having said her piece, the Crown Princess turned and gave her matron an order.
"Bring a chair for the Commandery Princess. Right beside me."
The Crown Prince, his temper still not fully settled, spoke again.
"Stop the music. The Commandery Princess is still in the midst of her hair-washing rite."
The guests froze for an instant. To think the Crown Prince held the Commandery Princess in such esteem.
Advisor Fang opened his mouth as if to say something, then frowned and swallowed his words instead. Gazing at Bai Jingyan through muddled eyes, he watched her take a modest seat at the Crown Princess's side, conversing with her in hushed tones.
Only when he saw that Bai Jingyan showed none of the astonishment or self-satisfaction one might expect from a woman so suddenly favored did Advisor Fang finally smooth his knitted brow.
Zhen Xiangzhi worried for Bai Jingyan. This display by the Crown Prince was clearly an attempt to exorcise his own misfortune by elevating her. Those who did not know the truth would question the nature of the Crown Prince's relationship with her, and her reputation could be stained by it.
He felt a flicker of regret. He should have confirmed that Bai Jingyan had gone home before delivering the letter to the Crown Prince.
As time passed, Li Tianfu, dressed in crimson, entered through the side gate, supported by her maids.
The Crown Princess straightened her back, radiating a grand, composed air. Even the smile at the corners of her mouth looked far more genuine than it had moments before.
When Li Zhijie arrived at the gates of the Crown Prince's residence and heard no music drifting from within, he sensed at once that something was off.
It was only after stepping inside that he realized no one approached him or greeted him with a smile. Every eye in the hall was fixed on the Xiliang Princess Li Tianfu—and every one of those gazes carried either pity or barely veiled mockery.
Li Zhijie forced his expression into composure and looked straight ahead, without so much as glancing around. The musicians, clutching their instruments, were already hurrying out of the great hall with quick, hushed steps.