Senior Maidservant Song had stepped in to smooth things over and reconcile the parties, urging the wives to return home — she had no wish to see the Grand Princess bear the ill repute of facilitating mass separation. Beneath all her words, the message was one thing: this matter brings nothing but harm and no benefit to the Grand Princess. Why would Her Highness help you?
Ye Lingbo had stepped in to lay bare the benefit the Grand Princess stood to gain from this matter.
The Yangling City wives had many shortcomings, but they had solidarity, and they had wealth. Every one of them held a title of nobility, and if they could also secure the fields, estates, and assets through separation, they would become a formidable force among the capital’s ladies of rank.
They owed the Grand Princess a debt of enormous grace, and being as forthright as they were, they would never forget it. After this, the Grand Princess’s standing in their hearts would rank only slightly below Madam Wei’s.
And Ye Lingbo had been ruthless enough to point out directly that Madam Wei’s health was failing. Even if she were to live long, she would have the will but lack the strength.
Which meant this force was, in effect, available only to be used by the Grand Princess.
Up until this point, what the Grand Princess had called “presiding over the Flower Viewing Banquet” had amounted to little more than being a lofty idol, high above all — and though an idol commands reverence and none dare give offence, the capital’s ladies had said their prayers and lit their incense under the idol’s watchful eye, and had gone right on scheming, fighting, and selling off their servants all the same.
Grand Princess Zhao Weihua, who had once taken part in the contest for succession and surpassed men in doing so — could she truly be content to remain a wooden effigy? Especially when the Empress Dowager was directing the Princess of Pingjun to use the Chen family to undermine her authority, flouting the rules she had laid down.
Qinglan’s remonstrance had appealed to the Princess’s emotions and conscience. The Yangling City wives’ outcry was raw courage, carried on the heat of righteous blood. These were all deeply moving — but Lingbo believed in none of them.
She believed only in interest, and she appealed through interest alone.
All the grand talk of righteousness and benevolence — she had seen through it long ago. Any argument could be made from either side. Upholding justice for the Yangling City wives was right — but Senior Maidservant Song’s saying about tearing down temples rather than ruining marriages also had its logic. When power stands behind you, people will always come to dress up your cause.
Only interest does not change. The Yangling City wives possessed a force — and the Grand Princess needed that force. It was as simple as that.
This was all Lingbo believed, because only this could bring her family and herself true and lasting safety. Of course, the words still had to be said with delicacy — as she put it, framing it as the wives relying on the Grand Princess, rather than the Princess needing the wives.
The Yangling City wives did not fully understand, but they sensed the change in atmosphere, sensed that Ye Lingbo’s words had worked some subtle effect. Even Wei Shanhu had grown calmer.
It was then that Qinglan spoke.
“Your Highness, please forgive my younger sister — her words were too bold. She is direct by nature and, in her anxiety for the wives, forgot to consider Your Highness’s position. This is a grave matter with many unresolved questions — it cannot be decided rashly…”
Wei Shanhu could not let that stand, predictably.
“What unresolved questions?” she demanded at once. “Do we look like people who speak without meaning it? Who go back on their word? If any such person exists, Yangling City would not keep them — let all of us take an oath here and now…”
Qinglan did not let her continue. She smiled faintly and said, “Setting others aside — General Luo did not take a concubine without consent, and Madam Luo is not among those who were wronged. Why then is it you who leads this call for separation?”
Wei Shanhu took the bait perfectly.
“Elder Sister Ye, I know today you have been helping us — but you need not dissuade me. I have always hated being called Madam Luo in the capital. What is the point of marrying, only to lose your own surname? I am Wei Shanhu, and I am only Wei Shanhu. Yes — Luo Yong did not seek a concubine. He came back and told us himself. And I did not come here to seek separation. But Madam Wei’s health is not good, and so I am the head of this group. When the ladies are wronged, I must bear that responsibility with them and lead them in seeking justice.”
She glanced at the female officials and senior maidservants around her, then knelt before the Grand Princess. “Your Highness, I know I have not learned the capital’s propriety well, and I am still learning. If Your Highness orders me beaten, I accept it. But I must still ask: inviting a wolf through our door was indeed our mistake — the mistake of the Yangling City wives. But we associated with the young Madam Chen because we believed her to be a lady of the Flower Viewing Banquet — a sister to us. We trusted in the Grand Princess’s repeated decrees, and it was on that trust that we opened our doors to the ladies of the Flower Viewing Banquet — only to invite in a wolf and find fire breaking out within our own walls. I am the leader, and I bear the leader’s responsibility. Your Highness presides over the Flower Viewing Banquet — should Your Highness not also bear the presiding authority’s responsibility?”
With such words on the table, what more could the Grand Princess say?
Female Official Qin, naturally: “Insolent — do you dare to question Her Highness?”
But the Grand Princess silenced her with a gesture. “Though your words are extreme, they are not entirely without merit. I did establish repeated rules against impropriety at the Flower Viewing Banquet. Since you are resolved to seek justice, I will give you justice.”
A handful of words. The wives were overwhelmed with gratitude. Several of the more impulsive ones burst into tears at once. Even Wei Shanhu — who had been strung taut as a fully drawn bow all day, holding her spine straight as a rod as she knelt on the floor — at last let go of her tension, sinking down onto the floor for sheer lack of strength, unsure whether it was joy or grief, and finding her face already wet with tears before she had even noticed.
The Grand Princess raised her hand; Female Official Su stepped forward. As Female Official Qin handled legal proceedings, Female Official Su handled documentation — every court office needs both. The Grand Princess then gave her decree, and Female Official Su raised her brush.
“It is late today. Return home first, discuss among yourselves — how many of you wish to separate, in what manner, what property is to be divided. Once you have deliberated, come back together to see me tomorrow.”
The wives’ hearts clenched at once, fearing this meant the matter was being deferred. But they saw the Grand Princess exchange a look with Senior Maidservant Song, who immediately stepped forward smiling. “Dear foolish ladies — Her Highness has given her word to uphold justice for you, and Her Highness’s word is kept. It is only that there are more than thirty of you, and some may find themselves like Madam Luo — with no need of separation — while others may be unable to part from their children, or have private circumstances they have not spoken of. You may discuss this in private; no one is required to separate. And dividing assets requires careful deliberation as well. Do not worry — Her Highness’s word, once given, is never empty. At the very least, this old servant will come back with you — consider it my pledge to you as well — and I shall give an account to Madam Wei.”
Of course she had no intention of merely giving an account to Madam Wei. She was going to assist with the division of fields and assets, to ensure nothing was lost — for a loss to them would be a loss to the Grand Princess as well. The one who handled documentation suited that role; the one who handled legal proceedings had sufficient authority. Senior Maidservant Song handled interest — and she would not surrender a single shred of it.
The wives knew none of this. They were flooded with gratitude and took hold of Senior Maidservant Song’s hands. “Thank you so much, Senior Maidservant — with you accompanying us, our minds are at ease.”
Senior Maidservant Song only smiled, and with a slight tilt of her head indicated the direction of the Grand Princess. The wives had spent enough time in the capital learning proper etiquette to catch on. They rose at once, straightened their clothing and composure, and under Wei Shanhu’s lead, prostrated themselves fully before the Grand Princess, saying in one voice: “We thank Her Highness for upholding justice. Your subject-wives will repay this grace as grass repays the dew, as the ring repays the gift.”
Such uniformity — thirty or more titled ladies bowing their heads in deference. Even the most unbothered of persons could feel the weight of such power, the surge it sent through the chest. But it was perhaps a little too plainly stated; Female Official Su stepped forward at once and said with a smile: “There is no thought of repayment here. Her Highness acts in the name of justice. This one matter alone will bring Her Highness into conflict with no small number of people.”
The wives were more moved still, many shedding tears and pressing their foreheads to the floor. “Her Highness’s great grace and virtue are something we could never forget in this lifetime. Were we reborn as cattle or horses, we would gladly serve in return.”
The Grand Princess smiled at last and said, “Very well — you have been kneeling all day and are still not tired? Jingrong, arrange carriages to send them home. And send the two Miss Ye sisters home as well.”
Qinglan and Lingbo came forward to offer their thanks. Female Official Qin remained cool and detached. Female Official Su Jingrong, unable to hold herself back, came over quickly to help both of them to their feet.
The Yangling City wives were sincere in their feelings. Though they knew to thank the Ye sisters, and even Wei Shanhu — prideful as she was — had adjusted herself to address Qinglan as “Elder Sister Ye,” they had no real grasp of how significant a role the Ye sisters had played in bringing everything to so satisfying a conclusion.
What they had been able to follow was only Ye Qinglan’s earlier address — moving them with feeling, guiding them with reason. But the words Lingbo had spoken after — those were one of the highest arts of counsel: enticing with interest. And the two exchanges Qinglan made at the end, which drew Wei Shanhu into speaking with such righteous force — those were the other half of that art: persuading through principle.
Lingbo had laid bare for the Grand Princess the benefit of upholding justice for the Yangling City wives — sharp and precise, but in the end too naked, too pragmatic. In this world, though everyone acts from self-interest, it cannot be spoken aloud. Beyond interest, there must always be a presentable face — just as every good play, however it unfolds, needs in the end a righteous and clear-eyed purpose, a fine quilt to cover what lies beneath.
Qinglan was that quilt. She turned the conversation back, let Wei Shanhu herself speak the grand righteous words, let her petition the Grand Princess to uphold justice. This way, the Grand Princess’s involvement was not a matter of seeking power or advancing a faction — it was the fulfillment of her duty as the presiding authority of the Flower Viewing Banquet. It was the righteous path.
These two Ye sisters — this was what it truly meant to be made for each other. The one who dealt in interest was sharp as a blade, performing the work of the master butcher — finding the joints and seams, entering between them without force, dividing all the stakes and considerations as cleanly as butchered meat, and extracting from it all the most precious portion to lay before the Grand Princess.
And the elder sister, having read to the very bottom of every classic text, always had the most righteous, the most luminous argument at hand — to drape that prime cut in brilliant brocade, so that the Grand Princess might receive it by every principle of propriety. Even if it were brought before the censors at court for examination, not a single fault could be found.
Only sisters like these could have cut their way out of a household that devoured people alive — where a favored concubine destroyed the principal wife, where a father wore a smile and heard nothing, where a stepmother schemed against fortune and lives.
The Yangling City wives did not understand this. But under the Grand Princess’s command, who was simple? Both Female Officials Qin and Su were no fools; neither was Senior Maidservant Song. The moment she had seen the guests out, Female Official Su came to attend the Grand Princess while murmuring a quiet complaint: “This is the second time now — Your Highness has sent her away just like that.”
“If not sent away, what is to be done — bestow a title of nobility? She has refused marriage herself, and she is twenty-four years old already. What exactly is there to bestow?” Female Official Qin said coolly. “But the younger sister is interesting. A remarkable person.”
“Remarkable — I’d call it calculating.” Female Official Su was thoroughly unimpressed, and went on to complain: “Your Highness is far too hard on Ye Qinglan. I have heard of keeping a concubine in an outer residence — but never of keeping a strategist in one.”
The Grand Princess had been at it all day, and even her robust constitution showed signs of weariness. Female Official Su Jingrong was young enough to be her daughter. Hearing this, the Grand Princess smiled and gave Female Official Su a light tap on the forehead. “Jingrong, that is a bit too pointed.”
Female Official Su did not mind, but a glance at the doorway revealed a palace maid hovering there, looking as though she wished to speak. “What is it?” she asked.
“In response to the Senior Official,” the palace maid stepped forward and curtseyed, “Marquis Cui has come with several Northern Vanguard generals, presenting a card and requesting to escort the wives home.”
“Just as I expected — they’ve come to cause trouble,” Female Official Qin said with a frown. “These men — they treat their wives as personal possessions. One can only hope those Yangling City wives are as resolute as they claim, and don’t go back home and reverse course — refusing to separate after all. That would have been a great deal of effort for nothing.”
She finished, then noticed that everyone in the room was smiling — the Grand Princess and the senior maidservants, but also Female Official Su.
Female Official Qin had chosen of her own will not to marry and remained in the palace. Though she understood the world, she had cut herself off from matters of love entirely. Female Official Su, on the other hand, had a betrothal already made; the Grand Princess and the senior maidservants had all lived through such things themselves — and so every last one of them understood.
“Female Official Qin has gotten confused as well — they’re hardly here to cause trouble,” one of the senior maidservants said with a laugh. “With Her Highness present, no faithless man would dare show his face. Those who’ve come to escort their wives — those are the men of integrity.”
“Men of integrity — that I’m not certain of,” Female Official Qin said. “Cui Jingyu had his engagement broken by Ye Qinglan and has since been elevated to a marquisate. How could he not feel vindicated? If he had true feeling, he would have proposed again long since. The Northern Vanguard’s reputation in such matters is not good to begin with. If Your Highness values Ye Qinglan, the right course is to bring her in early and give her a position as a female official.”