As punishment for Zhang Fen’s role in harming Lin Fei — kicking someone who was already down — Xie Yuzhang had once struck her with a riding crop. The blow had been aimed at her shoulder, but in truth it had not actually landed; it was only an empty swing meant to frighten her. Yet the incident had taken place several years before Xie Yuzhang’s rebirth. Which meant it had occurred in both lifetimes, and in both lifetimes she had made an enemy of Zhang Fen.

In her previous life, Zhang Fen had reached the pinnacle of dignity — aside from the Emperor and Li Zhenzhen, there was no one who could give her grief. If there had been any choice at all, Xie Yuzhang truly had no wish to see her.

But in this life, things had been reversed — Zhang Fen was deeply unwilling to encounter Xie Yuzhang.

For one simple reason: Xie Yuzhang was still a princess, and her status was higher.

From the moment word spread that Xie Yuzhang was to return to the capital — that Mobei had submitted and the princess of the former Zhao was seeking to come home, and the Emperor had approved — Zhang Fen had started saying unflattering things about Xie Yuzhang and Lin Fei everywhere she went. She had nearly come to blows over it with the young ladies of the Yang family.

But at the time she had imagined that even if Xie Yuzhang returned with some small merit to her name, after eight years of being trampled upon by Hu people on the steppe, she would come back skulking and cringing, keeping her head down and making herself small. She had never once imagined that on the day Xie Yuzhang entered the city, she would ride in on a tall and magnificent horse, spirited and commanding, with a gaze that swept the entire crowd.

And she had never imagined that before the morning meal was even done, word would come from the palace that Xie Yuzhang had been enfeoffed as a princess of Da Mu.

The news sat so badly in Zhang Fen’s chest that she could not finish her lunch.

But in the days since, the weather had still been cold; the new year had already passed, and it was the slow, quiet time when outings and banquets were sparse. Zhang Fen and Xie Yuzhang had managed to avoid each other without a direct encounter, each keeping to her own territory in peace.

She had never expected that a casual outing on the streets today would land her face to face with Xie Yuzhang.

At the moment of recognition, Zhang Fen froze.

But Xie Yuzhang smiled with warm sweetness: “Why, it’s the Marchioness of Beirong.”

Zhang Fen’s expression was unpleasant. “Of all people, it had to be you.”

Xie Yuzhang said: “It is indeed myself, Your Ladyship. You and I are old acquaintances, after all, and the Marquis of Beirong and I are well-acquainted too — you need not stand on ceremony, Your Ladyship. Please be at ease.”

Both held titles of honor, so neither needed to kneel before the other. Yet Xie Yuzhang’s status was somewhat higher, and Zhang Fen had already failed in courtesy by not offering a greeting first.

Since Xie Yuzhang had been enfeoffed as a princess, Zhang Fen’s mother had warned her not to go around talking recklessly anymore. Zhang Fen’s face had gone iron-gray; she bit her tongue and restrained herself — but then at last managed a hurried curtsy. It was far too quick, too perfunctory.

Xie Yuzhang received it without returning the gesture, accepting it with perfect composure.

Zhang Fen swallowed her fury and said with cutting sarcasm: “I never expected to meet Your Highness here. What fine taste you have — are you shopping on behalf of the women of the Xiaoyao Marquis’s household?”

Xie Yuzhang made a sound of mild surprise and sighed: “Marchioness of Beirong — though I know the Zhang family has served the Xie family across four generations, what is past is past. The Xie family now stands as Da Mu’s subject just as the Zhang family does. Your Ladyship need not keep all that history so close to heart — I take it as a kindness already. As for your sentiment — I am well aware of it. Your Ladyship’s grandfather served as chief minister under the former Zhao, as chief minister under Huang Yungong, and as chief minister again under Da Mu — a true man of outstanding talent, this I fully believe. I cannot imagine that the sage texts were all fed to the dogs.”

No matter how she twisted the words, she would always be caught in them. The root of it was that Zhang Fen’s grandfather, Zhang Gong, had made himself agreeable to every power in turn and never fallen from grace — and if one wished to be blunt about it, he was no better than a man who had served three different masters. In fact, more than a few people had quietly made exactly that jab.

There was no favorable ground to stand on in this exchange, and Zhang Fen’s face went iron-gray. Without another word, she turned on her heel and walked out.

She had come like the wind and left like the wind.

Exactly as Xie Yuzhang remembered from a lifetime ago — this woman had always known when to cut her losses. Currying favor with those above her without a second thought; stepping on those who had fallen without a moment’s hesitation.

Xie Yuzhang smiled and shook her head, then turned to find Jia You shrinking behind her. She smiled warmly and took her sister’s hand. “Do not be afraid. Do you remember her? She used to be a study companion for your sister. Later when I brought your Lin sister back to live in Zhaoxia Palace, she was relieved of her duties and went home.”

Once they were back in the carriage, she said again: “In this city of Yunjing, there are plenty of people who want to watch the Xie family’s daughters make a spectacle of themselves. You simply must not be afraid — whatever happens, you have your sister here.”

Such petty skirmishes between women were harmless — they left no bones broken and no tendons torn. At this point they could not touch Xie Yuzhang in the slightest, and she treated it entirely as entertainment. Her mood was completely unaffected. She took Jia You to browse on and on, buying jewelry and accessories, buying all manner of snacks and trinkets.

She noticed Jia You staring at those little playthings made for children, and Xie Yuzhang deliberately asked: “Shall we buy some for Yaya?”

Jia You spoke for the second time that day: “Yes.”

Xie Yuzhang broke into a smile, took her sister by the hand, and acted once again as a generous patron and lavish spender.

While she and Jia You were having such a fine time browsing, she had no idea that across the street, a window of a certain tavern stood open, and a group of men was watching her from afar.

Someone remarked with admiration: “It is not her features that are beautiful — this princess is beautiful in her very bones, in the vigor and spirit that lives there. Vivid and alive.”

“Think of what she has lived through — a precious flower caught in a sudden downpour, yet refusing to wither away. She turned her face to the storm and bloomed all the more brilliantly for it. That is a rare quality indeed,” someone said. “Such a quality in a woman is truly uncommon.”

“Is that not so. Most women of the world — never mind weathering storms — you only have to marry them off, set them to pot and stove and bearing children, and their radiance fades away. Fine pearls turning day by day to fish eyes.”

Someone called out: “Come look at the ninth young lord’s painting — it’s done!”

At another window stood a writing table. A young man not yet twenty with his mouth clenched sideways around two paintbrushes, a third one gripped in his hand, kept glancing rapidly across the street, then sweeping his brush across the paper. A portrait of a beauty was gradually taking shape.

Everyone marveled in admiration: “The ninth young lord’s brushwork grows deeper and more masterful by the day. In this age only Xiaoyao Marquis might surpass him — but give it time, and he will surely rise to be counted among the great masters.”

Someone said: “Give me this painting, ninth young lord. I’ll offer you one hundred strings of cash.”

The ninth young lord spat the brushes out of his mouth with a “pfft,” looking disgusted. “Step back.”

The room burst into laughter and they shoved the man: “You crass thing, stop talking money.”

Three bets had now been struck. “Such a beauty — and yet the Emperor doesn’t take her into the rear palace. One wonders what he’s thinking.”

“Perhaps he considers her a princess of a fallen dynasty, or a woman widowed twice — bad luck. They’re superstitious about such things, men of war. Even more so once they become emperor.”

“What a beauty, squandered so — the Emperor truly has such self-discipline.”

“Of course. No doubt.”

The men, together and speaking of a beautiful woman, naturally grew bolder.

“This princess has been married — twice — and is now a widow living alone. Who knows whether she is keeping faithful.”

“Keeping what? Out there on the steppe, the Hu people fall for each other and take their pleasure right there under the open sky. No need to keep anything.”

“If that is so, it truly makes one curious who might yet become this princess’s confidant.”

“It need not be beyond the reach of you or me.”

At these words, the room erupted in laughter, and they began to wager among themselves. Jade ornaments, fine horses, and precious antique books changed hands as stakes.

The young man known as the Ninth Young Lord said: “I stake that ancient inkstone of mine — the one with the mountain stream and flowing water pattern in pine-green.”

Everyone gasped and laughed. “Deng Ninth Lord is willing to stake that! He means business!”

Deng Ninth Lord had lips as red as rouge and teeth as white as jade — a truly beautiful young man. He smiled with abandon: “Because in the end, every last thing in your hands is going to end up in my pocket.”

The room erupted in laughter, curses, and playful blows.

On the first day of the third month, Xie Yuzhang entered the palace to pay her respects. Li Weifeng had official business and they had not managed to come together as arranged, so she came alone to visit Li Zhenzhen, and brought up the matter of Jia You to share with her.

Li Zhenzhen was actually rather lonely in the palace. Xie Yuzhang had a gift for easy conversation, and even the sound of her voice was soft and pleasing to listen to.

“So she is doing much better now?” Li Zhenzhen asked.

Xie Yuzhang said: “Because of this little one, she has started opening her mouth from time to time — though it’s all just ‘yes’ and ‘all right’ and nothing more than that. Still, it is much better than not saying a word at all. Don’t you agree, Noble Consort?”

Li Zhenzhen said: “Indeed.”

She also said: “Our Nan’nan is visibly growing more cheerful too. All thanks to you.”

Xie Yuzhang said: “What credit do I deserve — it is all because Your Highness was willing to trust the Mao clan of Zuozhou, knowing how to recognize talent and put it to good use.”

Li Zhenzhen discovered, quite unexpectedly, that whatever her motives had been in drawing Xie Yuzhang closer, she was genuinely and wholeheartedly pleased to have conversations with her. No matter what her underlying purposes were.

Xie Yuzhang had once been a princess high above all others, yet there was not a trace of arrogance about her now. She had let go of the past entirely and made her peace with the reversal of their positions. Unlike the women of the great aristocratic families with their airs and their snobberies, and without the roughness of the ordinary military wives, everything she said was a pleasure to hear — far better than the wives of the ranked officials Li Zhenzhen received day after day.

“I am glad you have a heart to come and keep me company,” Li Zhenzhen sighed. “You do not know how stifled I am here day after day.”

Xie Yuzhang looked at her.

Li Zhenzhen was always dressed in the most lavish and splendid style. Every time the three consorts were gathered together, she stood out in sharp contrast against Noble Consorts Deng and Cui’s understated, refined elegance — the difference was particularly striking.

Xie Yuzhang, having grown up in the palace, could dimly understand her.

If she had guessed correctly, this woman was in truth a woman without a husband — she was keeping a widow’s bed beside a man still living. Just as eunuchs who had lost their manhood became all the more consumed by a hunger for money — the parallel ran true in its own way.

Her craving for power was also very likely rooted in the same thing. Because a person living must have something to strive for, something to hope for.

There were those whose circumstances were wretched, and she herself was one such person — over these years since leaving the capital, what she had sought on the steppe was nothing more than “survival.” Only after returning to Yunjing, with Li Gu’s protection around her, did she have the standing to seek “dignity.”

And Li Zhenzhen was far luckier than she had been — after losing her father’s protection, she had been taken under Li Gu’s shelter almost immediately. So from the very beginning, what she sought was already higher than what Xie Yuzhang had sought.

As Li Gu climbed step by step, and with the visible security of Li Ming’s bloodline under his protection, the Commandery Princess of Hexi’s whole life was laid out before her eyes without cause for worry. But Li Zhenzhen was still so young — how could a person live without any purpose to aim for?

To eat and sleep and wait for death was the life of a pig, not a person.

In this position, with the Empress’s seat one step away — if she did not make a bid for it, how could she rest easy in her heart?

What a weight of unfulfilled longing to carry.

In truth, in this world no one could entirely control their own fate — who was not being carried along by the current of events? Every person.

Xie Yuzhang said in a soft voice: “Though His Majesty advocates simplicity in the new dynasty and discourages extravagance, Your Highness need not restrict yourself too much. With only a handful of people in the rear palace, what could the cost truly amount to? The Bureau of Music is in such a sorry state now — Your Highness should not hold back on His Majesty’s account. Go ahead and pull the Bureau of Music back together properly, take on a few troupes of performers, and have music and entertainment every day. It will be so much better.”

Li Zhenzhen laughed and said: “When it comes to the art of enjoying life, I cannot match you.”

Xie Yuzhang said: “Because I grew up in Yunjing — everything I see comes from that world, from the beginning. Unlike the great old lord, who spent his life in the saddle on the Hexi frontier, living by iron and blood — of course he would not be attached to such things.”

Li Zhenzhen’s tears suddenly spilled down.

Xie Yuzhang said: “It is my fault — I should not have said that.”

Li Zhenzhen wiped her tears away, fixed her gaze on Xie Yuzhang for a long moment, and then said in a low, measured voice: “Yongning — come into the palace and keep me company.”

“The position of Noble Consort De is still vacant. Come — I will give it to you. The dignity of one of the four consorts will not be a slight against you.”

“Our Emperor — in bearing and in character, he is first-rate in every way. He will not wrong you.”

“Do not think that Noble Consorts Shufei and Xianfei will use their family backgrounds to oppress you. With me here, I will shield you, and make sure you live in the palace free from all worry.”

Li Zhenzhen looked at Xie Yuzhang with fervent eagerness. “Yongning — come.”