Chapter Twenty-Five: Tipsy

The Little County Princess had praised him, only to say afterward that she was not good with words. After saying something like that, how could she still claim she was inarticulate? In all the world, was there any more beautiful or sincere way to praise a person’s appearance?

He had read countless books, yet for a moment he could not think of anything better than that. It was strange. She was only a young girl, and yet a single sentence from her had occupied his thoughts for so long.

He had entered the palace wearing jasmine, but few people had paid him any attention. When she returned, however, a gardenia was pinned into her coiffure, its radiance concealing the luster of the pearl hairpin she had worn before. There were likely quite a few who noticed it.

At the very least, the Crown Prince had. After the palace banquet ended, he walked with Ke Mingxu for a while and saw the jasmine tucked into his lapel.

“So it was you who left Chang’an Hall on the pretext of having business elsewhere, only to seek out the Little County Princess.”

Ke Mingxu did not know why the Crown Prince had suddenly said such a thing, but there was nothing he dared not admit.

“When the Little County Princess left, she glanced at me. I thought she had something to say, so I made an excuse to go after her and speak with her for a few moments.”

There was a teasing note in the Crown Prince’s voice. “So that was it. Then what did you two talk about?”

Ke Mingxu smiled. “Nothing more than idle chatter. The Little County Princess is still young, after all. How much could she possibly have on her mind? When a question occurs to her, she wants to ask it at once. It was nothing out of the ordinary.”

The Crown Prince was about to press him further when Ke Mingxu suddenly grew solemn.

“In my opinion, Your Highness would do well to visit the Southern Garden less often. She has already been stripped of her title and reduced to a commoner, and His Majesty has issued a strict order forbidding anyone from visiting her.”

“It would be better for Your Highness, for Her Highness the Crown Princess, and for her herself if you saw her less.”

He had wanted to say these words during the day, but had never found the opportunity. Xu, in the Southern Garden, was no longer the Crown Prince’s secondary consort. She was a commoner who had committed a grave crime.

For a crime of such magnitude, the fact that the Emperor had not ordered her death already counted as mercy. If she continued to become entangled with the Crown Prince, she might not even be able to preserve her life.

The Crown Princess came from the Jiang family of the Marquis of Suchang in the northeast, a family that had devoted itself wholeheartedly to Yanliang for many years. The Crown Princess herself was virtuous and gracious, a model for all women. For the sake of the country and for his own sake, the Crown Prince should not treat her in this way.

The Crown Prince was not angered by his words. Instead, he sighed as they walked along the long palace avenue.

“If I could truly see things as clearly as you do, Wanniang would never have made such a mistake. She simply cared too much about me.”

Did she care about her position, her future position—or about him? This time, Ke Mingxu kept the question to himself. In the past, he had already said such things far too many times.

The Crown Prince continued, “It is not that I do not know how good Jianiang is. If she had been my childhood companion, perhaps my heart would not belong to Wanniang now. But there is no such thing as changing the past. In matters of love, who comes first can sometimes be very important.”

Yet Ke Mingxu felt that perhaps it was not so important after all. If everything truly came down to who arrived first, perhaps he would already be with her now.

Still, seeing that she was doing well, he had gradually come to accept matters as they were. There were many worthwhile things to do besides yearning for one person. He would not allow himself to stop moving forward.

The Emperor loved Empress Yuanli. The Crown Prince loved his former secondary consort. Even the Little County Princess’s mother had come from the Xu family. The men of the Jing family, it seemed, were all captivated by women of the Xu family.

The Crown Prince’s affairs ultimately had nothing to do with him. The Crown Prince’s foolishness was not limited to this one matter. Ke Mingxu merely had a teacher-and-student bond with him, having once served among the Crown Prince’s attendants.

Their conversation had reached an impasse, so Ke Mingxu said no more.

He had drunk a little at the palace banquet that night. His tolerance for alcohol was not poor, but the palace wines were all of the finest quality. After returning to his residence, he had intended to sleep in his clothes, yet the intoxication slowly rose through him and kept him from resting peacefully.

There had always been many things in this world that went against one’s wishes. He would not torment himself over them. He went out into the courtyard and gazed at the full moon, suddenly thinking of the Little County Princess’s face.

The fragrance of jasmine and gardenia mingled in the courtyard. He took an ancient zither from his room and, beneath the moon, gently played a piece called Spring Snow.

Spring Snow was his favorite melody. But if one played only Spring Snow and had no one to answer it, even he could not help feeling a little lonely.

She had said that her birthday fell on the Qixi Festival. Under ordinary circumstances that would have been fine, but Qixi made things inconvenient. When the time came, he would have no choice but to prepare a gift and send it to her.

* * *

The moment Jinghu returned to Chang’an Hall, she attracted a great many gazes. She was usually unconcerned—she had long since grown accustomed to such attention—but now she could not help touching the gardenia in her hair.

Ke Mingxu had pinned it there for her. Though she could not speak of it to anyone, she secretly hoped that more people would admire it.

Such a beautiful, fragrant gardenia had been placed in her hair by the man she loved.

Once she returned to the hall, the Emperor paid her no further attention. Instead, he was speaking with Consort Bai, who sat beside him, though Jinghu could not make out what they were saying. Her earlier distraction had drawn the Emperor’s notice and earned her father’s reprimand. Naturally, she did not wish to cause any more trouble.

Zhenning had remained inside the hall the entire time. She had probably drunk quite a bit during the many toasts, for her cheeks were flushed with two rosy clouds, yet her thoughts remained perfectly clear.

She came over to Jinghu and asked, “Jingling, what exactly did you go off to do just now?”

Jinghu touched the gardenia in her hair again. “Take a guess.”

Zhenning sat up straight, glanced at her, and silently shaped the name Ke Mingxu with her lips.

The Little County Princess suddenly looked guilty, as though she had been caught stealing, and hurriedly covered Zhenning’s mouth. Then she could not help asking, “How did you know?”

Zhenning was still somewhat drunk. Her eyes shimmered as they moved, lending her an unusual charm.

“I don’t know what you went to do, but I do know that near Chang’an Hall, there is only one place where gardenias and jasmine grow together.”

“You can keep your eyes fixed on Lord Ke, so why can’t I? Perhaps no one else noticed the jasmine in his lapel, but I did.”

She paused, then continued, “That gardenia—he pinned it in your hair, didn’t he?” She leaned closer. “Jingling, you are quite something.”

“I have heard that many women in the capital admire Lord Ke, but he has always kept people at a distance. Why is he so good to you?”

Jinghu merely smiled, unable to suppress her delight and pride.

Still, perhaps one reason he treated her so well was that she was so young. Being “still young” was truly a double-edged sword.

How long would it be before she could stand openly beside him before the eyes of the world, hand in hand?

The moment she returned to her residence, the Little County Princess removed the gardenia from her hair and placed it in a glass bowl filled with clear water. Holding it in her hands, she stood before the window.

The quieter the world became, the brighter the moonlight seemed. When would she be able, as she had tonight in the garden of Chang’an Hall, to bathe in the moonlight with him night after night?