Xie Yuzhang finished bathing, her skin flushed pink and tender from the steam, her eyes bright and dewy. Even Zadariyali and the other women, all female themselves, could not tear their gazes away, exclaiming in admiration one after another.
They smoothed fragrant oil over her hair and body, then dressed her in the Ashina clan’s wedding garments.
A female slave carried over a box, which Zadariyali personally opened. Inside lay a heap of gemstones and beaded strands, and the tent instantly blazed with a dazzling radiance.
“All of these are gifts from the Khan to you,” Zadariyali said with a smile. Her voice carried just the faintest trace of pride, the pride of one who bore the Ashina name.
Xie Yuzhang accepted them without ceremony, saying, “Please convey my thanks to the Khan — I simply adore anything that glitters and gleams.”
Zadariyali and her sisters-in-law all laughed. “Who doesn’t?”
They draped strand after strand of gemstone necklaces around her neck. Craftsmanship beyond the frontier was undeveloped, and the jewelry was bold and rough in style — the stones were large, barely polished, retaining mostly their natural shapes. They were strung into long, sweeping lengths, worn in many overlapping layers around the neck, cascading down over the chest.
The gemstones and the beauty set each other aglow, and even the female slaves broke into genuine smiles.
“You are truly beautiful,” Zadariyali said. “From now on, you shall be the most radiant pearl of the steppe.”
Xie Yuzhang lowered her head shyly, playing the part of a young bride to perfection.
The women wished to apply makeup to Xie Yuzhang’s face, but when they looked at her, they were at a loss for how to begin, and found themselves quite at a disadvantage.
Xie Yuzhang said, “Let my ladies’ maids do it.”
The frontier women stepped aside. Xie Yuzhang’s ladies’ maids came forward and opened the cosmetics case she had brought along. The exquisite contents made the frontier women’s eyes go wide.
The maids used delicate tools to trace and define with meticulous care, and when the makeup was complete, even a princess of Zadariyali’s stature — born into one of the great tribes — stared in stunned silence.
So this was how refined a woman’s face could be made to look. How was this even done? No — first of all, one would need such delicate tools in the first place!
A lady’s maid glanced at the dumbstruck frontier women, then lowered her gaze, concealing her disdain and sorrow.
The Princess had long since warned them: no matter how astonished or envious the people here seemed toward anything they had brought from Yunjing, they must never let their feelings show on their faces.
Merchant caravans from the Central Plains also brought many fine articles for women, and noble ladies like Zadariyali, who lacked for nothing, possessed many beautiful things as well. But even the finest goods a caravan could carry — how could they possibly compare in refinement and elegance to things crafted within the deep inner palace of the Da Zhao dynasty in Yunjing?
All the more so because Xie Yuzhang’s things had always been of the very finest quality, the kind that even noblewomen in Yunjing could not necessarily obtain.
The women admired everything and could not resist asking Xie Yuzhang about the details of her makeup. Xie Yuzhang patiently explained each item — what every tool was used for, what was inside every little jar and vial.
She also had her ladies’ maids bring out floral dew water to give as gifts to the women, and they were all delighted. The fragrance of the floral dew was truly wonderful, and with only such small bottles of it, they all resolved to save it for the night they were alone with their husbands.
Zadariyali clapped her hands. “Alright, alright, let’s not waste any more time. Tugohana, Suku — go and see how the preparations are coming along over there. How much longer before we can begin?”
The sisters-in-law agreed and departed with smiles, returning shortly after. “It has grown dark, and the Grand National Preceptor has already raised the altar. In about half an incense stick’s worth of time, we may begin.”
Zadariyali was a woman who had raised children and presided over many grand occasions. With thoughtful care, she suggested that Xie Yuzhang attend to her personal needs beforehand, lest she be urgently pressed mid-ceremony.
The frontier word for this was a single, blunt term — nothing like the Central Plains language, with its many refined and informal substitutes such as “visit the privy,” “pay one’s respects,” or “change one’s garments.”
This was something everyone had to learn when studying the frontier tongue.
From intricate refinement to plain simplicity — the direction in which language and script shifted was the very direction Xie Yuzhang’s future life would take.
The ladies’ maids all felt a quiet pang of sorrow in their hearts. They did their best to conceal their feelings and helped Xie Yuzhang rise to take care of things first.
The Khanate’s wedding was nothing at all like those of Da Zhao.
Outside the felt tent, bonfires had been lit in clusters, and enormous iron pots hung over the flames, boiling large cuts of beef and mutton. Whole sheep, skewered entire, were roasting over the fire.
In the open clearing before the royal tent, an altar of stacked timber had been erected.
Grand National Preceptor Abazha stood atop the altar in his most magnificent ceremonial robes — feathers and animal pelts covering him entirely. Seen from a distance, in the firelight, he looked like some monstrous beast.
The clearing was packed with people, with only the felt-carpeted pathway left open. The majority were men, with a small number of women. Every one of them was dressed in their finest — ox horns, animal bones, feathers, and gemstones glittering in the firelight like a swirl of demons dancing in the dark.
Xie Yuzhang was perhaps the least bothered by the smell of blood and tallow of anyone in the whole bridal procession. Supported by two female slaves, she stepped onto the felt carpet leading to the altar.
The aged Khan of the Ashina clan stood before the altar in his ceremonial finery, gemstone necklaces and animal bones and wolf fangs hanging in layers around his neck.
Both sides of the carpet were lined with people. Those standing at the very front were surely of the highest rank, yet on the whole it was a disorderly and formless crowd. These were the frontier peoples — not a realm of rites and music.
When the female slaves came forward escorting the Da Zhao princess, the crowd first erupted in cheers and shouts — “The princess is here!” “The bride has come!” — a great clamor of voices. But the moment they caught sight of the Zhao princess’s face by the light of the fires, the sound died out all at once.
They had thought her beautiful enough when they saw her in the daylight. They had never imagined she could be even more beautiful than that.
The firelight and the gemstones made Xie Yuzhang’s face luminous, her skin glowing with a luster like pearls.
As she placed her hand on the female slave’s arm and stepped onto the felt carpet, the crowd held its breath as one.
Beautiful and noble, the Da Zhao princess walked with graceful composure toward her husband.
Xie Yuzhang kept her gaze fixed ahead, undisturbed by the people around her. Not until she drew near to the aged Ashina, and a group of people dressed in Central Plains garments appeared at one side of the carpet, did Xie Yuzhang turn her head slightly and let her gaze drift toward them.
Passing over Prince Shou and the Fifth Imperial Prince, ignoring the official presiding over the ceremony, Xie Yuzhang found Li Gu among the crowd.
Even in a gathering like this, he was so striking. Or at least in Xie Yuzhang’s eyes, he was — so luminous, impossible to overlook.
There was not a single expression on Li Gu’s face. One could read nothing of his joy, anger, sorrow, or delight.
His gaze, too, was calm — as if the grand ceremony being held had nothing whatsoever to do with him, as if he were merely an ordinary general executing a mission to escort the bridal procession.
As if there had never been, between him and her, a moonlit night like that one, a snowlit brilliance like that one, a spark that blazed so dazzlingly for just an instant.
Xie Yuzhang drew her gaze away from Li Gu and looked toward the aged Khan ahead. Many frontier people had curly hair; the aged Khan of the Ashina clan had a great beard and mane of hair splaying in all directions, like a lion — old, yet still fierce.
The Ashina Khan extended his hand to Xie Yuzhang. Xie Yuzhang smiled gently and placed her own hand in his palm.
By the firelight, the people of Zhao could see it clearly — the back of the aged Khan’s hand was corded with raised veins, his skin covered in deep furrows. Princess Baohua’s hand, however, was slender and fair, tender as a pale young scallion.
What Xie Yuzhang did not know was that Li Gu, who had shown not a single flicker of expression until that moment, suddenly tightened his grip on his sword hilt with brutal force, his knuckles draining to a pale, bloodless white.
The ceremony proceeded without a hitch. Grand National Preceptor Abazha performed a ritual dance atop the altar while chanting long passages of scripture.
The frontier people all joined in, chanting softly alongside him. The men’s voices merged together — deep and resonant, conjuring a strange and otherworldly power.
The long dance and chanting finally drew to an end. The men brought forward an ox as a sacrificial offering. Grand National Preceptor Abazha descended from the altar, plunged his sharp blade into the heart of the sacrifice, and on the spot split open the chest to extract the heart.
Prince Shou averted his gaze. The Fifth Imperial Prince pressed his sleeve over his mouth and nose, nearly retching. Li Gu watched the entire ritual without once blinking.
Grand National Preceptor Abazha raised that hot, bloodied heart high above his head. He recited an incantation of some unknown tongue over the heart, then used its blood to smear several streaks across the aged Khan’s face.
The already commanding face of the aged Khan became yet more fearsome and terrifying.
When Abazha turned toward Xie Yuzhang, she closed her eyes and tipped her face slightly upward.
Even Abazha — as the Khanate’s National Preceptor and the tribe’s Grand Shaman, who had presided over countless such ceremonies — paused before that flawless face glowing in the firelight. It was a rare moment of hesitation for him.
But as a Grand Shaman, he possessed his own aesthetic sensibility, rooted in the steppe.
He dipped his finger in the ox-heart blood and drew two streaks across each of Xie Yuzhang’s cheeks — left and right — then pressed a single bloody fingerprint in the very center of her forehead, much like the decorative flower markings Central Plains women would paste at the center of their brow.
The Ashina Khan took Xie Yuzhang’s hand and bowed to the Shaman — for in this moment, the Grand Shaman was the voice of the divine they worshipped, bestowing his blessing upon this marriage.
When the two of them turned to face the crowd, Li Gu heard sharp intakes of breath from the people around him.
The bloodied streaks had not marred Xie Yuzhang’s appearance at all — instead, they made her beautiful in an uncanny, otherworldly way.
In this moment, even Li Gu forgot that she had not yet reached the age of fifteen.
Abazha received a torch and set the altar alight. Special blocks of fat had been stuffed among the timbers beforehand; the moment fire touched them, they melted and ignited. The altar became, in an instant, the largest bonfire in the encampment.
In the light of the flames, the aged Khan drew his blade and pointed it straight at the night sky, bellowing something aloud.
The Fifth Imperial Prince asked, “What did he say?”
The interpreter leaned close to his ear and said, “Something along the lines of ‘may the gods bless the Khanate.'”
The Fifth Imperial Prince said “Oh,” then watched as the crowd erupted with fervor, everyone drawing blades toward the sky and shouting. He let out a sudden sigh. “Baohua really is beautiful.”
It was, more or less, the sentiment on every person’s mind.
Ashina led Xie Yuzhang back to the great tent and took his seat, receiving the congratulations of his subjects.
Some seven or eight princes had come for this occasion, but Wuwei was not among them. It could be assumed that when Ashina had departed, Wuwei had remained to hold the center of the Khanate — much like when an emperor of the Central Plains set out from the palace, the Crown Prince would oversee affairs of state in his absence.
The princes each came forward in turn to offer a toast, speak a few words of blessing, and present their gifts.
Xia’erdan’s offering was a skirt studded all over with gemstones, like the beautiful starscape of a summer night.
Ashina was greatly pleased, and said to Xie Yuzhang with a smile, “Only a skirt so beautiful could be worthy of your beauty.”
He continued, “This son of mine is very fierce — in battle, he moves like a wolf.”
Xie Yuzhang inclined her head. “To be the mother of a prince so fierce — Baohua is most honored.”
Xia’erdan stiffened.
Xie Yuzhang glanced at him.
How strange. Months ago, in the palace of Yunjing, in the Taiji Hall where the court banquet was held, surrounded on all sides by the palace’s inner guards with their gleaming armor and sharp halberds, Xie Yuzhang had only needed to catch a glimpse of Xia’erdan’s face to go rigid and cold all over, like prey caught in a serpent’s gaze.
But now, seated on the high dais, she looked down at Xia’erdan with her chin slightly lifted, and found only that his features were too delicate — tending toward something shadowy and sinister — and though he was tall, he was too gaunt. In every way he was a person who made one uncomfortable just to look at, yet… she felt no fear.
None at all.
When the princes had finished their congratulations, the leading generals each came forward in turn as well.
The Ashina Khan drank every cup offered to him and refused no one. Xie Yuzhang only inclined her head and smiled.
These visitors consumed a fair amount of time, and by the time they had all returned to their seats, the sounds of rowdy music and singing were already drifting in from outside the great tent. The frontier peoples drank and ate around the bonfires, singing loudly and forming circles to dance in lively celebration.
Zadariyali leaned close and whispered something in the Ashina Khan’s ear. Ashina turned to Xie Yuzhang. “My beautiful bride, the time for the men’s drinking has come. You may go and rest.”
Xie Yuzhang gave a slight bow, then rose and was helped away by Zadariyali and Suku, departing slowly.
She moved with a serene and refined grace that the frontier women did not possess. The men watched her retreating figure until she disappeared from sight.
At the Zhao delegation’s seats, Li Gu occupied the humblest place at the far end. This time, Xie Yuzhang did not look at him.
She returned to her own tent and said to Zadariyali, “I must trouble you with something. My elder brother who came to see me wed — he truly cannot hold his drink. The National Preceptor gifted me some sobering medicine. Could you quietly call him out for me and have him come by here for a moment?”
Zadariyali thought over the faces of the people in the Zhao delegation. There were two who looked about the right age to be an older brother. She asked, “Is it the remarkably handsome one? Or the powerful and imposing one?”
Xie Yuzhang said, “The handsome one.”
Zadariyali went.
Xie Yuzhang instructed her ladies’ maids to bring in the medicine that had been simmering all afternoon, and waited for the Fifth Imperial Prince to arrive.
In her previous life, after that night, her royal uncle and her nursemaid Senior Lady-in-Waiting had only ever said to her: he is your husband.
They had all felt that since it was bound to happen sooner or later, while it had come somewhat early, it was not entirely unacceptable. Only this Fifth Elder Brother of hers had gripped her arm in anguish and said: if only I hadn’t been drunk — I would have thrown myself in to stop him!
And so, no matter what had come after, Xie Yuzhang had never been able to treat the Fifth Imperial Prince as a stranger.