Although Qin Mo’s health was poor, he genuinely had many concubines.
Qin Xiang counted them off like a string of family heirlooms—daughters of decent families, taken in because their birth charts matched his. That was one category. The other: Qin Mo’s maidservants. Whenever he fancied one, he’d drag her into his room.
Yun Qian glanced askance, unimpressed. She had no real impression of Qin Mo. In her past life, Lin Yao had entered the palace and become an imperial consort. From start to finish, the Lin family had never once mentioned this betrothal.
Which meant that in the previous life, when Qin Xiang came seeking a bride, the Lin family had refused the match, and Qin Xiang returned to Zhenjiang. It was unknown why she had later entered the palace.
In her past life, when Yun Qian met Qin Xiang, the other woman had been eighteen or nineteen, in the flower of youth. She was beautiful, gentle, exquisitely tender. The Emperor adored her—so much that he had deposed his Empress to put Qin Xiang in her place, and let her play with the Imperial Jade Seal. Every rumor proclaimed Qin Xiang a bringer of national ruin.
Yun Qian returned to the present. The youth before her had wide eyes, waiting dumbly for her reply.
“Men take three wives and four concubines all the time. It doesn’t bother me. Rest well, young master. I’ll have the wedding robe sent over tomorrow.”
Her sister-in-law took it in stride, expression unchanged, radiating pure elegance and understanding—which made Qin Xiang look petty and calculating.
A punch into cotton. Qin Xiang felt drained. Her sister-in-law was too virtuous. Her brother must have amassed several lifetimes of good fortune. Qin Xiang felt a sting of jealousy—then a sudden pang of sorrow. Sister-in-law!
Among the Qin servants who had accompanied Qin Xiang to the capital were page boys and maidservants; all were quartered apart, near the outer gate, completely separated from Qin Xiang.
A night passed, and Old Madam Yun came calling again, demanding to see the son-in-law who had arrived yesterday. Unexpectedly, the servants of the Prime Minister’s Residence refused outright. Furious, Old Madam Yun screamed at the gate that Prime Minister Yun was an unfilial daughter, drawing a crowd of onlookers.
The servants dared not let the matter escalate. They hastily ushered Old Madam Yun inside and sent someone to the palace to fetch Prime Minister Yun.
It was barely dawn, dew still clinging—well before the court session ended.
After the commotion, a servant waited at the palace gate, anxious for Prime Minister Yun to finish court.
Meanwhile, the Empress Dowager had kept Yun Qian in the palace, presenting over a dozen portraits of young gentlemen for her minister to choose from.
The Empress Dowager, past fifty and well preserved, leaned against a Floating Cloud Pillow. Traces of her youthful beauty lingered on her dignified face.
A dozen eunuchs held the portraits in a row—all rare, handsome young masters from across the capital and beyond, faces like polished jade, pedigrees illustrious.
Yun Qian swept one glance over them, mild as air. She lightly brushed her sleeve and said to the Empress Dowager, “Your subject does not care for young gentlemen.”
The Empress Dowager’s gaze sharpened, then turned amused. “I see. No wonder you’ve been unmoved all these years. Which family’s daughter has caught your eye?”
“It’s not quite liking.” Yun Qian lowered her eyes, pressing down a hint of coldness with her falling lashes, and put on a respectful air.
Seeing her admit a preference for once, the Empress Dowager advised kindly, “If you keep refusing to marry, the scheming around you won’t stop. You must choose.”
Yun Qian bore heavy responsibilities—even the Emperor wished to take her into his harem. She had no father, only a mother, and no aristocratic family behind her. She had been raised up by the Empress Dowager; with her backing, if she became an imperial consort, the Emperor’s path would run far smoother.
Despite repeated pressure, Yun Qian refused to yield.
The Empress Dowager showed no intention of forcing her. Instead, she gave Yun Qian the choice—if Yun Qian nodded, even becoming an imperial consort was acceptable.
That was when Yun Qian said: she preferred women.
The Empress Dowager relaxed. After a thoughtful pause, Yun Qian said, “I hear His Majesty is searching for treasures to present for Your Majesty’s birthday.”
“I’ve heard something of the sort—some beauty-preserving treasure from somewhere. He sent men to look for it.” The reminder stirred the Empress Dowager. A woman of a certain age always wishes to age slowly. She was no exception.
Female officials were emerging in the court in succession, each younger than the last. Several under Yun Qian were barely seventeen or eighteen, lovely in appearance, with skin as white as shelled eggs.
Yun Qian’s mention made the Empress Dowager sense something amiss. “What’s wrong with it?”
Yun Qian shook her head and said no more. They fell silent.
After a moment, Yun Qian spoke again, this time about leave: “Your subject wishes to request a day off tomorrow.”
“Oh? For what?” The Empress Dowager’s interest was piqued. Since Yun Qian entered court, she had attended even with a fever—she never asked for leave.
Yun Qian pressed her red lips together. “To marry.”
“What?” The Empress Dowager was shocked, unable to hide it. “Marry whom? You just said you liked women. What sort of marriage is this?”
“A scholar. From Zhenjiang. His family is in trade.”
“His looks must be stunning.” The Empress Dowager said dryly. The great families had been watching Yun Qian for years, ever since she rose to prominence—marrying off such a powerful ally would guarantee a family’s prosperity.
A valued subordinate was marrying. The Empress Dowager waved a hand and bestowed generous gifts—some for Yun Qian, some for the future spouse.
The Empress Dowager’s gifts flowed into the Prime Minister’s Residence, past Old Madam Yun’s eyes, streaming straight to the guest courtyard.
Old Madam Yun grew frantic and grabbed Yun Qian. “The Empress Dowager’s gifts—how could you give them to that boy?” She should be honoring her own mother instead!
Yun Qian stopped and pried her mother’s hand off her arm. “The Empress Dowager bestowed them on my spouse; they should go to him. Mother is tired. She should go home.”
“I’m not tired. Are you truly marrying tomorrow?” Old Madam Yun didn’t find her daughter’s rejection improper—she’d grown used to it over the years.
Yun Qian didn’t want to answer. She shot the steward an impatient look, and he promptly stepped forward to escort the old lady out of the residence.
The Prime Minister’s Residence was quiet. Yun Qian was used to living alone and didn’t like others in the house. Old Madam Yun had tried to move in several times, but was always refused on the grounds that a mother with sons of her own could hardly live in her daughter’s home.
After driving her away again, Yun Qian returned to her Ripple Water Pavilion, shed her official robe, undid her bun so her hair cascaded over her shoulders, and changed into a water-blue summer gown with a crossing collar.
She was about to head to the guest courtyard when three or five people came in. “A-Qian, A-Qian, we heard the Empress Dowager gave you a pile of treasures. What for?”
Yun Qian frowned. “I’ll treat you to wine.” Don’t make a fuss in the residence.
The group was surprised, but Yun Qian shooed them out of the residence and followed after them.
At the door, Yun Qian pulled the steward aside and gave a few quiet instructions. He nodded like a pestle and agreed to everything.
“Since when did you learn to drink?” the colleagues asked, amazed.
“Just now. Hurry up.” Yun Qian urged the coachman, dropped the curtain, shut the door, and breathed a faint sigh of relief.
The people in the carriage exchanged bewildered looks. The carriage rattled away; the residence vanished behind them. Yun Qian leaned against the wall of the carriage, expression aloof.
—
The wedding robe arrived at the guest courtyard at dusk, laid out with the Empress Dowager’s gifts.
Gazing at the red robe, Qin Xiang’s expression turned complicated. Arrive yesterday, try on the wedding robe today, marry tomorrow. This was faster than a woman giving birth!
The robe fit perfectly; no alterations needed. After Qin Xiang took it off, the maids put it away for tomorrow.
This was her first wedding ceremony, and she was nervous—especially since it was built on lies. She couldn’t sit still.
She’d napped again after noon, so she was quite alert now.
Many scholar’s implements were laid out on the table—all gifts, apparently. Qin Xiang couldn’t be bothered, but boredom won. She ambled over and peered at them.
The moment she reached the table, footsteps sounded beyond the door. It opened, letting in a gust of warm air.
Qin Xiang’s brow tightened slightly. Two breaths later, someone stepped over the threshold. Water-blue sleeves shimmered like liquid, perfectly framing a woman’s gentle, graceful beauty.
Yun Qian wore no perfume; the warm breeze carried the scent of wine—faint, not unpleasant.
Qin Xiang’s eyes fixed on Yun Qian’s peach-tinted cheeks. She’d been drinking.
Yun Qian stepped forward slowly, sweeping a cool glance over the gifts on the table. Then she turned to Qin Xiang, and a softness rippled through her eyes, dissolving the sharpness of the political arena.
“Do you like them?”
“No.” Qin Xiang shook her head honestly. She wasn’t really a man, after all.
But Yun Qian asked, “Would you like some Iced Cheese?”
The light in Qin Xiang’s eyes changed. Yun Qian curved her lips. Little girls were so easy to please. A single bowl of Iced Cheese could bring out a scattered sparkle in those dark eyes.
Maidservants brought two bowls of Iced Cheese, frosted with icy droplets, the milk peaks utterly tempting.
The two sat across from each other. Yun Qian, though she’d drunk, sat up straight. Qin Xiang, by contrast, had already lost all composure.
Yun Qian didn’t move; her hands were limp. After half a day of drinking, she felt drowsy.
After sitting a while, Qin Xiang blinked up and saw her sister-in-law’s eyes softly closed—as if drunk. Chewing her Iced Cheese, she quietly slid her sister-in-law’s untouched bowl toward herself.
Sleep well!
She took a big, satisfying bite. Just as she felt triumphant, the sister-in-law across from her stirred, and she hastily slid the empty bowl back.
The drunken woman opened her eyes. Seeing an empty bowl, she blinked—had she finished it?
Yun Qian instinctively touched her lips. Warm, no chill. She looked at Qin Xiang, head down, hard at work. She’d finished hers already, while Qin Xiang had only eaten a couple of bites?
Yun Qian straightened up, snatched back the bowl Qin Xiang had eaten only a little of, and without a second thought, scooped a spoonful into her own mouth.
The wine burned in her chest, heating her whole body—especially her heart, which felt like it was set over firewood.
Qin Xiang gaped. Right before her eyes, this grown woman had, without a word, stolen her food.
Yun Qian swallowed a bite as the icy pearls melted on her tongue. She looked up mildly. “Want some?”
Qin Xiang froze. How could a drunk still have such presence? In the future, Qin Mo would never be able to hold his head up.
A moment of secret glee bloomed on Qin Xiang’s face like a lotus flower. But the next second, Yun Qian scooped up a spoonful and offered it to her lips. She wasn’t even holding the theft against her.
Qin Xiang leaned back, not daring to open her mouth. This was improper.
Yun Qian didn’t press it. She turned her wrist and put it in her own mouth instead. The chill was alluring, the sweetness delightful.
Qin Xiang couldn’t quite read the woman before her. Poised and beautiful, serene and virtuous—yet beneath it ran the authority of one who sat above all others. Cool and dazzling, she stood like a lotus, looking down on the world.
After eating most of it, Yun Qian gave the bowl back. She rose, a bit dizzy, swaying slightly. Qin Xiang instinctively reached out to steady her.
Their eyes met. Yun Qian’s gaze was hazy, and before her suddenly appeared the Little Empress in phoenix coronet and robes—a thousand charms, bewitching, soft to the very bone.
Yun Qian narrowed her eyes, her face like snow, and asked with a smile, “Do you know how to kiss?”
One sentence sent Qin Xiang stumbling back two steps. “K-kiss?”
“With all those concubines, you must know how. How about you teach me?” Yun Qian smiled shyly, as coldly beautiful as a white lotus rising from water. She extended a fingertip and tapped the corner of Qin Xiang’s lips. “Oh, it’s cold. You stole my Iced Cheese… then pay me back with a kiss.”
