After the first dance performance, Prince Qi immediately assigned Mi Moyan to learn the dance moves from Danniao instead, polishing her crude and clumsy movements and re-choreographing them, attempting to recreate the Zhezhi dance that the Imperial Consort had performed at the palace banquet years ago.
Having indulged in sensual pleasures for decades, Li Yu was well-informed and sharp-eyed, extremely knowledgeable in appreciating all kinds of dance and music. The teams of female dancers, singers, and musicians he possessed were also carefully selected top talents, their standards no less than those of the palace Musical Training Institute.
Whether Bao Zhu was willing or not, she was summoned by Li Yu every day. Sometimes he would observe her dance practice, sometimes he would have her kneel beside his throne as pleasing decoration, immersing himself in fantasies about the various auspicious omens she brought.
Xu Shiyi and Zhang Gougou, the master and disciple duo responsible for kidnapping the Guanyin slaves, were Prince Qi’s personal bodyguards. The two experts took turns on duty beside him.
To prevent Bao Zhu from harming anyone, she was chained to the dragon lamp like a pet, her movements restricted, with no dignity to speak of. The pain from this humiliation was so intense that Bao Zhu sometimes even experienced strange hallucinations, as if her soul had separated from her body, looking down from above at the absurd and pitiful scene before her.
Prince Qi and his supreme brother shared the same father but different mothers, and bore considerable resemblance. The direction of their wrinkles, their voices and expressions, and their unwillingness to accept aging and their desperate struggles against it were all identical. As the sun set in the west and they approached their final years, the two brothers chose different means of escape. The emperor entrusted his energy to alchemy in pursuit of immortality, while Li Yu devoted himself to sensual pleasures, secretly obsessed with seeking substitutes for the Imperial Consort.
Bao Zhu saw her father’s shadow in this evil man.
The “Princess’s Death” case that she had always been unwilling to think deeply about could never escape the emperor’s shadow. Did her father harbor the same evil seeds as Li Yu? What the three of them shared was that ineffably precious “true dragon bloodline”—the status symbol that had once made Bao Zhu proud, but now plunged her into despair. She flowed with the same blood as them.
Prince Qi organized banquets almost every day, sometimes for his own entertainment, sometimes to entertain guests, with singing, dancing, and drinking without end. He did not avoid openly displaying his new Guanyin slave, even with a hint of showing off, as if she were a rare bird or exotic beast in his collection. His guests showed no particular surprise at this.
From this, Bao Zhu deduced that the true situation of Guanyin slaves after their “ascension to immortality” was probably an open secret tacitly understood within a small circle of Luoyang’s upper class.
These beautiful youths from common backgrounds, with devout hearts, wanted to change their destinies. Through fierce competition, they were selected to become the incarnation of Guanyin that ten thousand people revered. Who would have thought the final outcome would be to become playthings of the powerful, dying miserably after enduring countless torments and humiliations.
And Li Yu, by sharing this depraved secret with other powerful figures, bound these people together, forming a small group with common interests, attempting to maintain his revered status in the Eastern Capital even after his defeat in political struggles.
Ironically, extravagance, debauchery, and obsession with diversions were the safest qualities for an idle member of the royal family, while diligent governance would invite the monarch’s suspicion. Prince Qi relied precisely on such a profligate reputation to protect himself under imperial scrutiny.
Though he officially held the position of Eastern Capital Governor, nominally the highest official in the Luoyang region, it was actually a sinecure. The emperor gave him no military or political power, and all governmental affairs were handled by the bureaucratic institutions under the Henan Prefecture Governor. The guards of Prince Qi’s mansion wore no armor, so when Bao Zhu first saw them during her escape attempt, she had mistaken them for wealthy household servants.
However, power based on blood ties remained so formidable. A trivial personal hobby or some fickle emotional fluctuation could stir up bloody storms among the lower classes. Even Li Yu, such a loser in political struggles, could still bring tremendous fear to countless innocent people by virtue of his royal status.
When would Wei Xun arrive to rescue her? Today? Tomorrow? Or in the next blink of an eye, would she see his agile figure leaping over the high courtyard walls? Did she have enough strength and will to persist until the Golden Osmanthus Banquet?
Just as Bao Zhu knelt in the pavilion, suffering unbearably from wounded dignity with her mind wandering, an attendant hurried to Li Yu and whispered, “Madam has arrived.”
Li Yu frowned slightly and asked, “She has always disliked singing and dancing. What is she doing at Auspicious Cloud Hall?”
The attendant looked terrified and only dared say, “This servant does not know.”
After a moment, a group of maids and servants surrounded a middle-aged noblewoman like stars around the moon, walking in from beyond the vermillion lacquered gate. She strode with dignified steps directly to Prince Qi’s seat, curtsied slightly, and said, “Ten thousand blessings to the Great King.”
Li Yu looked completely impatient, nodding carelessly. Seeing her unfriendly expression, he asked, “What does Madam want?”
So this was Princess Qi. Bao Zhu silently observed this woman, noting her serious expression and dignified bearing. From her demeanor and bearing, she must come from a prestigious family. But for some reason, her face was bare of makeup, her jewelry was extremely plain and simple, and she wore a high-quality gray monk’s robe with a string of ivory prayer beads around her wrist. This appearance was nothing like the mistress of a princely mansion, but rather like a lay practitioner cultivating at home.
“I have come regarding the Golden Osmanthus Banquet,” Princess Qi said directly. “I heard the Great King wishes to use osmanthus flowers as the theme to entertain that group of dissolute friends.”
Li Yu’s face darkened with displeasure. “When do I not hold banquets? How does this interfere with you?”
Princess Qi gestured lightly for the servants and attendants around her to withdraw. But Bao Zhu was chained to the dragon lamp, unable to move, and Li Yu had no intention of having her withdraw either. She could only listen to the couple’s conversation like a piece of furniture.
Princess Qi’s gaze was icy as she asked flatly, “Is this the Great King’s new plaything this year?”
Li Yu admitted frankly without any evasion, “That’s right.”
“She must be skilled in singing and dancing,” Princess Qi said with a hint of sarcasm in her tone.
Li Yu smiled, saying carelessly, “She’s still far from it.”
“Planning to use her at the Golden Osmanthus Banquet?”
“It’s the same every year. Madam knows what’s involved—do I need to report to you?”
Princess Qi’s face was frosty as she said coldly, “I cannot stop the Great King from seeking pleasure, but the term ‘Golden Osmanthus’ belongs exclusively to me. The Great King knows this well, yet uses a depraved banquet to defile osmanthus flowers. I come from the Wang family of Taiyuan, generations of cap and tassel nobility, descendants of a pure and prestigious family. I cannot endure such humiliation.”
Li Yu seemed only now to remember the connection between osmanthus flowers and his wife. He irritably slapped the armrest of his couch and said loudly, “Yes, yes, you are Princess Qi, the Eastern Capital Governor’s wife, descendant of the Wang family of Taiyuan. Every year the first osmanthus branch from Great Toad Light Temple belongs exclusively to you. For twenty years you have been Luoyang’s most noble woman. What else are you dissatisfied with?”
Bao Zhu was slightly startled, remembering the golden osmanthus branch that Wei Xun had given her in the lacquer box, which should have originally belonged to this noblewoman before her. The monks at Great Toad Light Temple probably had no idea of the inside story and had picked the second branch as in previous years, presenting it to her as the first.
Li Yu continued, “The first osmanthus branch has already been given to you, and you’ve shown it off as well. Now that osmanthus flowers throughout the city are in full bloom, you’re still monopolizing the flower’s name—isn’t that somewhat excessive?”
Princess Qi had not expected her husband to completely disregard her reputation and dignity. Trembling with anger, the prayer beads on her wrist rattled.
“It seems nothing I say will help—the Great King’s mind cannot be changed.”
Li Yu said coldly, “I hold these banquets for other purposes. You have a woman’s shallow understanding—don’t ask too many questions.”
Princess Qi said, “Even when Uncle was alive, he couldn’t dissuade you. I naturally have even less learning and eloquence. I can only recite Buddha’s name daily to pray for the Great King’s blessings, hoping to resolve some of the karmic obstacles from defiling the Bodhisattva.”
Li Yu gave a cold laugh and said, “Wang Sui ascended to become a Buddha himself—his physical body undecayed, his name preserved in history—yet he left me nothing useful. He must have kept secrets, perhaps taking some elixir that made his physical body indestructible like vajra. I donated so much merit money for his temple construction and introduced expert protectors for him, but in the end couldn’t even get his disciple to complete a set of Nine Aspects paintings. You Wang family people are truly insatiably greedy and ungrateful!”
Hearing the phrase “physical body undecayed, name preserved in history,” Bao Zhu remembered that Wang Sui was the secular name of Master Tan Lin, the abbot of Toad Light Temple. She hadn’t expected him to be Princess Qi’s uncle. But this wasn’t particularly surprising—both came from the Wang family of Taiyuan, and powerful prestigious families intermarried with each other, maintaining kinship ties within the same network of relationships.
Seeing her husband’s obstinate determination, Princess Qi was at her wit’s end and could only plead, “I only ask that the Great King not involve Jihui and the others anymore. They are to become heir princes and commandery princes—how can they begin indulging in wine and women at such a young age, doting on household entertainers?”
Li Yu was already extremely annoyed and waved his hand dismissively, “As long as you can keep your sons from running to Auspicious Cloud Hall, handle them however you like. The children are grown—must they report to me in advance for approval to favor any woman?”
“I won’t let them become like you…” Princess Qi murmured under her breath, gripping her prayer beads tightly. “There is one more matter I must inform the Great King—this year we had floods in early spring and drought in summer. Several southern estates had complete crop failures and cannot collect rent or grain.”
“I understand. I’ll find a way,” Li Yu replied perfunctorily.
Princess Qi bowed and took her leave. Having his mood spoiled by his wife’s interference, Li Yu was displeased and called for musicians and performers to present a lively lion dance, but found it tedious. He reached out to touch Danniao’s hair, looking at the fresh and beautiful young girl beside him, but was frustrated by his inability despite his desires, making him even more irritable. If she was truly an auspicious person, why couldn’t she help him return to his youth?
“Dismissed. Go back and practice dancing well.” Prince Qi gave the order, and servants came to unlock the chains and escort Bao Zhu back to Rainbow Garment Pavilion.
After a full day, she was exhausted. Bao Zhu collapsed on the couch, barely having strength left to turn over. This was completely different from the physical fatigue caused by hunting and horseback riding. What she endured was the mental torture of servile flattery and forced compliance, constantly fighting a deadly battle with her self-respect and pride. The thought of risking incest to serve a blood relative who coveted her mother made her feel constantly on the verge of collapse.
Bao Zhu again looked up at the roof beams above.
During her journey, she had seen in a ruined haunted house the scene of a rope used for suicide by previous occupants swaying in the wind. Now she personally experienced that extreme humiliation and despair worse than death.
Should she end her life early to preserve her dignity? This thought flashed through Bao Zhu’s mind. She could not tolerate living in humiliation like a slave. The osmanthus flower goddess, Green Pearl throwing herself from a tower…
“Get up and drink water. While there’s still light, practice a bit more.” Mi Moyan’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
Bao Zhu couldn’t help but groan. Since Mi Moyan discovered Li Yu’s interest in her dancing, he had been meticulously supervising her dance practice, hoping she could use this to survive. Except for not actually hitting her, his strictness almost approached that of Aunt Zhao.
“Did you save dinner for me?” Bao Zhu asked pitifully.
Mi Moyan refused directly, “I did. The matron doesn’t dare mistreat anyone but you now. But you have to finish practicing before you can eat—this reduces weight and makes you more graceful when leaping.”
Bao Zhu said angrily, “I don’t need gracefulness. Only lynx consider how high they can jump. What I need is the strength to smash dog heads.”
Mi Moyan rushed over in three quick steps to cover her mouth, scolding in a low voice, “Can you stop casually saying things that would get nine generations executed?”
Bao Zhu thought darkly: If the old thief had the nerve to execute her nine generations, he’d have to include himself too—mutual destruction wouldn’t be bad.
She rested lying down for a moment. Under Mi Moyan’s urging, the two left their room together to go to the northern hall for practice. But they saw several female dancers in the courtyard huddled together, quietly talking about something, their expressions showing poorly concealed excitement.
Mi Moyan asked curiously, “What’s happening?”
“Jade Pot was called out.”
“She’s called to perform eight out of ten days—what’s strange about that?”
The dancer said in a low voice, “This time is different. A maid from Madam’s quarters came to summon her. Maybe because a young master requested it, the master will show mercy and give her the status of a legitimate wife!”
Bao Zhu and Mi Moyan exchanged glances, both feeling somewhat surprised.