Epilogue
“Where is that wastrel man who destroyed you?”
Mama’s voice boomed through their home, and Ji Yue looked up at her husband with horror in her eyes. They’d been married barely two days and had only just left the Forbidden City with all the pomp the Emperor could give. Her parents had been at the ceremony, of course, smiling and nodding with their customary aplomb, but Mama’s eyes had been cold whenever she looked at her daughter. And now, a day later, she was at their new home and the reckoning was at hand.
“Don’t worry, my love,” Bo Tao said. “I will handle your mother.”
“You don’t know what she’s like–”
“Ji Yue! Where are you?” her mother demanded.
Ji Yue sighed and stood. “We are in the library, Mama.” She stepped around the woman’s screen and opened the door. Mama stomped down the hallway to her, and Ji Yue forced herself to smile warmly, though inside her heart quivered in fear. Mama did not look happy.
“You!” Mama bellowed as she completely ignored her daughter to glare at her new son-in-law. “I know your worth, Sun Bo Tao, and I spit upon it! But for you, my daughter would be an Empress!”
“Mama!” Ji Yue cried, but Bo Tao held up his hand to stopher. Then he turned his smile on his new mother-in-law and gestured to a nearby chair.
“Would you like some tea?”
“I want nothing from you who ruined–”
“Good, then. That means we will finish by the time the English ambassador gets here.”
Mama frowned as she peered out the window toward the street. “The white devil comes here?”
Ji Yue stepped forward. “The head white devil, Mama. Bo Tao has been named First Minister to the Dragon Throne. His salary is commensurate with a general.” Then Ji Yue gestured to the area behind the woman’s screen. It was tight in this little room, but there was adequate space for her little desk. “I will sit here and take notes.”
Mama’s inked in eyebrows shot up to her hair. “He lets you take notes on his meetings?”
Bo Tao nodded. “I begged her to do it. She is brilliant in her notes.” Then he nodded toward her mother. “You taught her well.”
Mama nodded, accepting her due. “She would have been an excellent Empress.”
“In that,” Bo Tao said with a bite in his tone, “you did not teach her well.” Mama gasped in shock, but Bo Tao did not give her time to speak. “You taught her that she is smart–”
“She is smart!”
“She is brilliant,” Bo Tao agreed. “But you also said she was not beautiful.” Then he stepped forward. “Do you know nothing about men, Madame Chen? Her skin glows, her smile is alluring, her waist is willowy and seductive.”
Mama grimaced. “Aie, I have taught her to hide her flaws.”
“There are no flaws, Madame Chen. Her feet are beautiful, and her smile lights the heavens. Had she known these things, she might indeed have caught the Emperor’s eye. Butyou missed her beauty, Madame Chen, and so she had no understanding of her true worth.”
Mama stood flabbergasted by Bo Tao’s criticism. It was the first time ever that Ji Yue had seen her mother stand with mouth hanging open. And in that silence, her new husband continued.
“I saw your daughter’s worth immediately, her beauty, her charm, and yes, her brilliance, and I wanted her for myself.”
“You admit it then!”
He bowed. “Of course. Because I am a man who sees worth even the Emperor does not. That is why I am now First Minister.” He went and drew Ji Yue into his arms. “I see my wife’s value. I know that she is perfect in every way.” Then he leaned forward. “Just as I see your value, Madame Chen.”
Mama straightened, and her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“One wife who listens behind the woman’s screen, who speaks to the wives, and hears the chatter of children is invaluable. But to have two women–one young and beautiful, the other canny in the ways of the older generation–that would be a treasure beyond compare.”
Mama paused, her brow furrowed in thought. “I serve my husband,” she said slowly.
“Of course,” Bo Tao agreed with a smile. “I would expect nothing less, especially since your husband’s fame will grow when it is known that his daughter is wife to the First Minister.” Then he turned and pressed a warm kiss to Ji Yue’s forehead. “But in our new house, there will be a much larger library with more room behind the women’s screen. And I will have work enough for many assistants.”
