“Lady Hai, it is an honor to finally meet,” she said, before looking past me to Lotus. Her face changed. “And what is this you have brought for me?”
“Leilu plums, Your Highness, as I heard your taste—”
She closed the distance between us in two quick strides and slapped me hard across the face, so hard I tasted blood. I swallowed thickly, trying not to cough, as I heard titters behind me. “How dare you bring white mourning fruit into a home soon to welcome new life?”
Four
Thus, white became the color of death, for so lovely and pure was the maiden of white that she could not endure the mortal world.
—Winter and Spring Annals, 417
To my horror, I lookeddown at her robes and saw, beneath the voluminous silks, a slight bulge to her stomach. My own dropped.
“I beg forgiveness, Your Highness, I did not realize—”
“Stupid girl,” she snapped. “Take those away.” She pressed a protective hand over her stomach, as if shielding her unborn child from the sight. Lotus fled with the offending fruit.
“I see now you know little of the ways of court,” Princess Ruihua said, still breathing hard. “Follow me.”
I bowed again and followed as she led me into an adjoining parlor, where a table was prepared with dinner. A pretty girl with skin like glass waited by the window.
“This is Lady Caihong,” Princess Ruihua said. “Consort to the Imperial Commander.”
I raised a brow. The girl looked to be in her mid-twenties, nearly half the age of Sky’s father.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” said Lady Caihong. “I’m sohappy for you and Prince Sky. I still remember him as a little boy—he used to cry after losing at go.”
“Caihong grew up in the palace,” Ruihua explained. “She often played with the princes when she was little.”
Even stranger, then, that she’d ended up with their father. But I only nodded.
“How is your son?” Caihong asked, when we were seated.
“Energetic as always,” replied the princess. “I thought the second time would be easier. You know how Peony is, as calm as they come. But Baoxia is trying to run before he can walk!”
“Boys are different,” said Caihong, smiling. “How fortunate you are, to have a third child already on the way. Princess Yifeng was singing your praises earlier. She prays some of your good luck will rub off on her.”
Ruihua’s smile was wry. “Princess Yifeng makes her own luck. I have no doubt good fortune will soon follow her.” Her eyes dipped briefly to Caihong’s figure, which was as slim and flat as a folded fan. “Perhaps good fortune will soon follow you too.”
Caihong colored and looked away. “I have long since given up hope of bearing my own child. But the Imperial Commander is good to me, despite my deficiencies.”
Ruihua frowned. “But perhaps it is not your fault,” she posed. “Have you ever considered…”
“No,” Caihong said firmly, her tone final. “The fault is all mine.”
To avoid awkwardness, Princess Ruihua gestured for us to eat. Tentatively, I selected a piece of roasted duck, coating its crispy skin in sweet plum sauce. Adding green onions and sliced cucumbers, I wrapped the bite in a thin pancake, then stuffed it into my mouth. The flavor was exquisite—perfectly balanced between savory and sweet.
“What an appetite!” Ruihua commented. “And yet such a lovely figure. How fortunate you are.”
I could not tell if this was a compliment or an insult. Bowing my head, I murmured my thanks.
Both ladies waited a beat, as if expecting something from me. I did not know what they could possibly expect, until they resumed conversation and moved on to other matters—only then did I understand that I might’ve complimented Ruihua in return.
My cheeks flushed even warmer.What am I doing here?
“And how is His Highness?” asked Caihong.
Princess Ruihua sighed. “Busy, as always. He’s been traveling along the western coast for over a fortnight, but is expected home tomorrow.”
