The Emperor moved with extraordinary speed. He had even prepared the wild goose in advance — one he had shot himself. It was only wing-injured, alive and lively, which could be considered as good as unharmed.
After the sacrificial rites to heaven, earth, and the ancestors had been performed, all the officials gathered in the Grand Polar Hall, each taking their assigned positions. The Yellow Gate Attendant led the ceremonial banners and axes of authority. After the Secretariat Attendant presented his bow, he handed the imperial edict to the Supervisory Secretary. The Emperor emerged from the western chamber and ascended his throne. The chief and deputy matrimonial envoys took their positions. After the assembled officials had bowed, Yang Changyuan stood to the northeast, facing west, and read the imperial decree aloud: “Today, taking the daughter of the Xiaoyao Marquis, Lady Xie, as Empress, We hereby command the honored gentlemen to carry the imperial token and proceed with the rites of presentation of gifts and proposal.”
The chief and deputy matrimonial envoys bowed again and received the command. Thereafter, the imperial edict and the ceremonial seals were exchanged, and the rites were complex and solemn in their dignity.
Once the rites were complete, the Emperor withdrew, and the officials departed the Grand Polar Hall in sequence. The imperial edict was placed upon a carriage adorned with oil-painted netting and led by oxen. The chief and deputy matrimonial envoys also boarded their carriages and set off toward Princess Yongning’s residence to perform the rites of the first matrimonial presentation.
Having gone through this entire sequence of ceremonial procedures, even a robust man from Hexi like Li Weifeng was exhausted — he boarded the carriage and collapsed straight into it.
But even a rough-and-ready man such as he had profoundly appreciated, through these intricate and meticulous rites, the imperial grandeur and the rigid hierarchy of rank and station that suffused them all.
By carrying out this ceremony without a single deviation, and welcoming the Empress through proper and legitimate ceremonial procedure — the character of “esteemed” was inscribed upon her person.
Waiting to receive and respond to the ceremony at Princess Yongning’s residence was, naturally, Xie Yuzhang’s blood uncle, Prince Shou. Prince Shou stood inside the main gate, not moving a step out of place, continuing the intricate ceremony in full.
And yet, at this point, the sky had only just brightened.
The Emperor’s moves were so swift they left people’s eyes dazzled. The news that Princess Yongning, Xie Yuzhang, was to become Empress spread rapidly throughout the capital, becoming the hottest topic in teahouses and wine shops.
As for Xie Yuzhang herself, she had entrusted all the matters pertaining to the six betrothal rites to her uncle Prince Shou. Prince Shou had formerly served as the Clan Administrator of the Xie imperial clan — there was no one more knowledgeable than him about how such matters ought to be conducted.
“The young lady of our family is actually going to be Empress,” Prince Shou remarked with boundless emotion. Then he added, “I haven’t left the village in several years. Yunjing still looks much as it did before — just as lively and prosperous.”
Prince Shou was the closest elder relative Xie Yuzhang had by blood. It was fitting for him to serve as the head of family and preside over the matter of the six betrothal rites.
For this reason, Xie Yuzhang temporarily brought both Prince Shou and Xie Baozhu to stay at the Princess’s residence. The food there was refined and delicate, no different from the standard of the previous Zhao dynasty period, and Prince Shou ate with great contentment every day.
Xie Yuzhang actually still had a concern in her heart that she had not yet voiced.
She was going to enter the palace as Empress — so what was to become of Jia You?
All of Jia You’s painful memories were within the imperial city. She was now slowly becoming more like a normal young woman. To bring her back into the deep inner palace — Xie Yuzhang was uncertain whether that would be appropriate.
Looking at Prince Shou now, she felt he had truly become like a changed person compared to before. Prince Shou’s household also had Xie Baozhu — a thoroughly steady and reliable person. This was a true blood uncle by the same grandmother, and a true elder half-sister by the same grandmother — Xie Yuzhang had already been considering whether to entrust Jia You to their care.
Yet before she had voiced this thought, on that very day, Jia You suddenly came running in.
Since bringing Jia You to the Princess’s residence, they had never seen Jia You like this. Xie Yuzhang was startled to see Jia You burst in breathless and without having been announced, and quickly asked, “What’s happened?”
“Sister!” Yet Jia You was still dragging someone along — a girl in a maidservant’s attire, her expression somewhat frightened. Jia You pulled her forward and said, “You speak!”
Xie Yuzhang frowned and looked at the maidservant.
The maidservant quickly knelt. “This servant is Ping’er from the Nineteenth Young Lady’s courtyard. I was originally a third-tier servant in the courtyard. Recently, since the Nineteenth Young Lady’s second-tier maid Qiu’e and Yingying have both been married off, everyone has been promoted in turn…”
Xie Yuzhang frowned. “Get to the point.”
“Yes, yes!” Ping’er said in a frightened voice. “This servant was recently promoted to second-tier and is now permitted inside the Nineteenth Young Lady’s chamber, where I saw the painting on the wall…”
Xie Yuzhang paused slightly. “Which one?”
Jia You cried out, “Elder Sister Fu Kang!”
Xie Yuzhang’s sharp gaze shot over. “You saw the painting of Fu Kang — and then what?”
Ping’er said, “This servant looked at it and felt the person in the painting seemed familiar, though I couldn’t recall who it was. Today, something suddenly clicked in my mind, and I remembered — so I told the Nineteenth Young Lady.”
And that was why Jia You had reacted this way. Xie Yuzhang nodded and said, “Tell me.”
Ping’er said, “In our residence’s main kitchen, there are a number of regular firewood-delivering woodcutters. One of them, called Shi Youtian, has a wife who is skilled at making braided cords and often brings them to the residence to sell. His wife’s appearance… truly looks very much like the person in the painting.”
Xie Yuzhang raised her hand to quiet Jia You, who had been about to speak, then asked, “You have seen her yourself?”
Ping’er said, “Twice.”
Xie Yuzhang asked, “When?”
Ping’er thought for a moment, then said, “Once was in the sixth month of last year. Once was in the sixth month of the year before last.”
Xie Yuzhang paused.
For in her heart, she had never truly believed Fu Kang was still alive. In that war-torn calamity, so many families had been destroyed, so many people had perished. A young girl captured by riotous soldiers — how could she have survived? Or if she truly had survived, why had she never made contact with the Xiaoyao Marquis household? Even Xie Yuzhang herself had returned for several years — why had she not come to make contact?
Xie Yuzhang had been interrogating the maidservant Ping’er with the intention of finding flaws in her account and shattering Jia You’s hope. For hope followed by disappointment was the most wounding thing of all.
But the times Ping’er had mentioned gave her pause.
For those two times — the year before last in the sixth month, the Xiaoyao Marquis household had been destroyed; and last year in the sixth month, she had emerged from mourning and returned from the western hills with Jia You.
These timing points…
Xie Yuzhang felt her own heartbeat unconsciously quicken. She continued asking, “You have only seen her twice, with such a long interval — how do you remember so clearly?”
Ping’er answered, “Because she was unlike others — one half of her face was exceedingly beautiful, while the other half was destroyed by fire and very frightening to see. I saw her twice and could never forget her afterward. And moreover, that husband of hers was plainly a rough country man, while her own manner of speaking was unlike ordinary people. Before, I had said to the other maids — I don’t know which family’s young lady she was, who had fallen on hard times in the years of war and was keeping company with a woodcutter.”
Jia You cried out, “Sister!”
She still remembered that night very clearly — the sky above the palace had been ablaze with fire.
Xie Yuzhang’s breathing also grew a little uneven. She quickly composed herself and asked, “Do you know where she is now?”
Ping’er said, “This servant does not know. Perhaps the kitchen staff would know.”
The old woman who managed firewood and sundries in the kitchen was promptly summoned. A woman of her station had never once entered the Princess’s main receiving room, and she trembled, not daring to let her eyes wander.
When asked about Shi Youtian, the old woman said, “He delivered firewood here just this morning. He’ll be coming again tomorrow. As long as the weather doesn’t turn windy or rainy, he generally comes.”
Jia You seized Xie Yuzhang’s arm. Xie Yuzhang patted her hand in reassurance, then told the old woman, “Good.”
Yin Yin’s life these years had been quite simple. Each day she lit the fire, cooked, and did the washing. She had by now become a capable wife; all the household tasks she had mastered. Only Shi Youtian felt great tenderness for her and did all the heavy and rough work himself, letting her attend only to the lighter tasks.
Yin Yin lived on coarse tea and simple rice, yet felt thoroughly contented.
On this day, Shi Youtian as usual shouldered his firewood and set off to deliver it to the Princess’s residence in the city. During the year that Princess Yongning, Xie Yuzhang, had gone to the western hills to observe mourning, the residence had used less firewood — he had originally stopped for a while and sought other customers. But once Princess Yongning’s mourning period ended, Yin Yin had told him to go back to the Princess’s residence and begin delivering there again.
In this way, she could from time to time hear bits and pieces of news.
For example, the Nineteenth Young Lady had today eaten almond cream pudding, or had taken some sweet dew tonic. All of it gleaned by Shi Youtian’s sharp ears from listening to the servants and maids talking among themselves. Knowing that she liked to hear these things, he would come home and relay them to her.
Listening to these things, knowing that Xie Yuzhang was looking after Jia You very well, she felt at peace.
She was inside the room braiding cords when she heard Shi Youtian’s voice coming from outside, sounding somewhat tense, calling, “Yin Yin, Yin Yin — come out here for a moment.”
The sun was still high in the sky — why was he back so early today? Yin Yin felt vaguely puzzled, yet suspected nothing. She called back “Coming” and walked outside, still talking as she moved. “How are you back so early…”
Her words came to an abrupt halt when she caught sight of the two beautiful women outside the door.
The two beautiful women, hand in hand, were both strikingly lovely. The older one was of transcendent beauty, peerless in appearance, and was gazing at her in stunned silence. The younger one had already let tears fall.
They were no strangers — they were none other than her elder sister, Princess Baohua, and her younger sister, Princess Jia You.
Yin Yin was no stranger either — she was none other than Princess Fu Kang, who had survived that catastrophe.
This morning, when Xie Yuzhang met Shi Youtian and learned from him that his wife’s given name was “Yin Yin,” her mind had rung with a thunderous crash.
For Fu Kang’s name was precisely Yin Yin.
Once she learned the other details, it was almost entirely confirmed who this Yin Yin was.
She and Jia You had suppressed their burning urgency all along the way and followed Shi Youtian out of the city to his home.
A rough-looking man, standing before a low and simple house, calling out “Yin Yin” — and the young woman who emerged from within, though half her face was ruined, though dressed in plain cloth with simple hairpins, though already a grown woman — who else could this be but Fu Kang, the gentle and endearing Fu Kang from within the palace?
The three of them stood there, looking at one another.
Jia You opened her mouth, wanting to call out “Sister.” But in this moment of overwhelming joy mingled with sorrow, she could not produce the right sounds — only “ah, ah” sounds came out. She threw herself forward and wrapped herself around Fu Kang, crying “ah, ah” without stopping. Like a mute child who could not speak.
“Don’t cry, don’t cry — I am perfectly all right,” Fu Kang held Jia You and gently patted her.
Fu Kang raised her eyes. Her sister stood there, tears running down her face, yet smiling at her.
This sister of hers was remarkable — she had survived eight years on the grasslands and come back. She was again a Princess, and now was going to be Empress.
Xie Yuzhang had not asked Fu Kang why she had not come to find her. For that morning she had already learned everything from Shi Youtian’s own mouth.
Shi Youtian had been a conscripted laborer seized during Huang Yungong’s march. During the capital’s chaos and fighting, a great many people had died — especially inside the palace, where the palace maids had perished in a most horrifying manner.
Leaving the bodies unattended would easily cause plague, and so those bodies were all dragged out to be buried in a mass grave somewhere.
While the other conscripts went to relieve themselves, Shi Youtian had heard a faint sound coming from the pile of corpses. That young girl had half her cheek and shoulder and arm burned away. Her clothing barely covered her, and her body bore marks all over — a single glance told what she had been put through.
But she was still alive.
Shi Youtian took advantage of the others’ absence and dug her out of the pile of corpses, hiding her quietly in a grove of trees.
Afterward he sent food and water to this young woman. With a shortage of medicine and doctors, she teetered on the brink of death, yet ultimately survived by some miracle.
At that time, outside Yunjing’s walls, all around were silent, deserted, village ruins with broken walls and crumbling pillars. Shi Youtian found a place and hid her in an empty room.
And so it continued like this until Huang Yungong was defeated in battle, and Yunjing was restored to peace.
Fu Kang became the wife of this man who had taken care of her throughout.
She had never told him her former identity, and had never thought of making contact with the Xiaoyao Marquis household.
She only wished to live quietly in a place where no one knew her — so that no one would know what she had been through.
“Baohua… Sister…” Fu Kang looked at Xie Yuzhang, tears and smiles together.
Xie Yuzhang walked over and opened her arms, gathering both sisters into her embrace.
“It is all right now,” she said. “We are all alive.”
In this life — things had truly turned out so well.