Three days and fourteen hours earlier.
An apricot-yellow phoenix palanquin came to rest before an imposing gatehouse. Palace maids hurried forward and lifted the curtain, revealing a beautiful woman. A young man in white, who had followed the palanquin on horseback, swung down from his saddle and tossed the reins to a servant. He straightened his young lord’s cap and robes, then stepped forward.
“Mother, we are home.”
Golden hairpins, jade ornaments, and phoenixes decorated the woman’s hair in careful order. A seven-tailed golden phoenix set with red gems trembled at the center as she walked. A pendant shaped like nine linked rings held her hair in place at the back. On one side was a white jade hairpin tipped with an ear pick. On the other were two solid-gold pins bearing symbols of good fortune and long life.
Her hair was arranged in the high, formal style of a married woman. It made her look dignified, magnificent, and lovely, perfectly suiting both her age and position. Pearls and jade rings hung from her ears. Two red embroidered ribbons trailed down her back, their golden diamond knots combining a warrior’s boldness with feminine charm.
She wore an emerald palace gown. No pendants hung from the broad leather belt plated with gold around her waist. Instead, it held two bulging purses and a swift saber in a sharkskin sheath.
Her quick boots had deerskin uppers, sturdy leather soles, and colorful embroidery. Every step carried the force of a dragon and the confidence of a tiger.
She could only be an honored lady of the imperial palace.
As soon as she passed through the wide front gate, Princess Fang hurried toward the main hall. She waited until the great vermilion doors closed behind her, then complained, “All this ceremony is far too troublesome. I do not know how my imperial sister-in-law endures it. The pile of pearls and jewels on her head would exhaust me by itself.”
The young man in white snapped open a fan and waved it furiously with one hand. With the other, he pulled open his collar to let in some air.
“Her Majesty does not have to fight anyone like you do. She never needs to worry about heavy jewelry slowing her down when she dodges. She can treat the weight as exercise.”
“Only you could invent such nonsense.” Princess Fang laughed and scolded him without slowing her steps. She raised her voice. “Lady Zhai, how is everything in the inner household?”
“Madam, the eldest young lady finished her sword practice. She ate two bowls of cold noodles with sesame sauce, three date buns, and two bowls of millet porridge, then went to study. Her maternal uncle collected the eldest young master early this morning, and all his servants went with him. The second young master became feverish after sleeping in the cold last night and secretly drinking chilled wine this morning. He took his medicine and fell asleep not long ago.”
Princess Fang nodded. “Where is my husband?”
They had already reached the middle hall. The young man in white bowed, then went aside to drink sour plum juice.
Princess Fang entered a private room. Several maids helped remove most of her ornaments, leaving only four simple golden pins and a jeweled flower. They also changed her palace gown for a dark green wraparound robe covered by a gauzy outer coat of the same color. Subtle woven flowers decorated the robe, while tender green bamboo adorned the outer layer.
The skilled maids worked swiftly and gently as Lady Zhai, the household’s inner manager, reported, “Madam, the master returned from court and is eating with several literary guests in his study. He was impeached again this morning. They accused him of failing to promote worthy officials or punish useless ones, even though he is the chief minister. His Majesty immediately ordered him to remove his official cap and reflect on his conduct. The master agreed without showing the slightest change in expression. After court, the men who impeached him held a victory feast at Five Directions Tower. During the meal, they boasted that he would never hold military authority again.”
Princess Fang found a moment to sip her sour plum juice. She smiled.
“My imperial brother just invited the two of us to an outing and feast in the countryside. I wondered how my busy husband had found the time. It seems he truly is free now. Those fools are not worth making plans with. No matter how loudly they protest, the emperor understands my husband’s value. The crown prince also knows that the court cannot honor civil officials while neglecting its generals. Well, I will go see how my husband is doing. Perhaps he is drowning his sorrow in wine again.”
She laughed loudly, loosened her collar, and removed the soft armor beneath her clothes. She tossed it to Lady Zhai. “Put this away for me.”
Lady Zhai stopped Princess Fang’s hand as she began to unfasten her saber.
“Madam, there is nothing wrong with setting aside your weapon and armor when you meet the master. But if anyone else is with him, please remain on guard.”
“Lady Zhai is right.”
Princess Fang casually slapped her bottom, then opened the door and left with a hearty laugh. “Lady Zhai truly is a delight.”
Lady Zhai blushed and stamped her feet. “You have not changed in all these years! You must rid yourself of that bad habit!”
Maids, servants, guards, and groundskeepers saluted as Princess Fang passed. Her eyes shone with amusement, and her steps were light.
She stopped outside the study in high spirits. Inside, several literary retainers sighed over how the emperor had trusted wicked ministers and groaned over the injustice done to their master. They went on and on, offering nothing but empty scholars’ talk.
Princess Fang stood there in flowing green, the two red ribbons hanging from her hair making her look as lovely as a flower. Yet she was naturally bold, openhearted, and careless of formal manners. She planted one foot on a white marble seat used for playing board games, then crooked a finger at the servant beside the door.
“Who is in there?”
The servant hurried over and saluted. “Madam, the master claimed he felt unwell and went to rest in the cooling pavilion by the lake. Only a few old scholars are inside.”
Princess Fang raised one eyebrow, turned, and walked away. Several old scholars came out after hearing her voice. All they managed to offer her retreating back were useless praises.
“Her Highness is truly heroic.”
“Her Highness deserves every tale told of her.”
“Her Highness has the bearing of a peerless warrior.”
The young man in white followed her. They walked beside the lotus pond and rounded a projecting section of the artificial hill, where they found a stone chamber. Rooms like this, built inside artificial hills to remain cool during summer, were commonly called Snow Grotto Palaces.
“Mother, I will wait outside,” he said.
Princess Fang acknowledged him. Amid the fragrance of lotus blossoms, she used her fine saber to push aside a branch and saw her husband.
Her green robes blended with the trees, making her look like a charming mountain spirit. “Why are you in here? It is no longer so hot outside, and this place has grown colder. Be careful not to catch a chill.”
The chamber was made of snow-white stone. Her husband stood within it dressed in spotless white, elegant and unadorned, like an immortal descended to the mortal world. Beneath his sword-like brows, star-bright eyes held endless tenderness. His red lips seemed made to speak a thousand loving words. Even in silence, his natural authority and mastery of both civil and military arts were enough to captivate anyone who saw him.
This was the nation’s grand chancellor. His military achievements had earned him a place among the highest ministers, and many trials had eventually made him chief of them all.
He was a strong and handsome middle-aged man. He possessed everything a woman might ask of a husband: tenderness, consideration, authority, rank, good looks, courage, and unwavering loyalty. In bed and out of it, he was an excellent partner.
He belonged to Princess Fang alone.
“I am not cold.” His voice was clear and refined, though it still carried the commanding force left by years in the army. “Seeing you makes me warm.”
A bright smile appeared on Princess Fang’s full, beautiful face. She looked slightly tired but delighted as she stepped closer and gently took his hand.
“Do not worry about what happened at court. You are a giant among officials, and I am chief of the martial world. As husband and wife, we support each other. My imperial brother trusts you, but he cannot let one faction hold all the power. He must push you down every so often so that the officials who oppose you but remain loyal to him have room to breathe. You and I treat people politely, though our followers sometimes go too far. I do my best to restrain them. Still, I can hardly punish them for accomplishing the right thing.”
“I know.”
His hand was large, his fingers strong. He gently stroked her lips. “I remember everything you tell me.”
Her smile remained beautiful.
Princess Fang leaned into his embrace, then suddenly trembled. Perhaps the Snow Grotto Palace had grown too cold. Her body felt numb, and sharp pain spread through it.
No. That was impossible. With thirty years of inner energy, such mild cold could never affect her this badly.
She cried out and struck her palm toward his chest with all her strength.
The young man in white heard the unnatural cry and immediately looked inside. The question on his lips died before he could speak.
Princess Fang lay on the floor, neither moving nor responding. A pool of crimson spread from beneath her, terrible against the white jade floor. Machinery still turned somewhere inside the grotto, most likely the sound of her attacker escaping through a hidden passage, but the young man had no time to give chase.
He hurriedly pulled an antidote pill and a life-preserving pill from his purse and placed them in Princess Fang’s mouth. Blood and clothing hid the wound, but the depth of the dagger showed that it was severe. Her spine had also been damaged.
He pressed several acupoints to stop the bleeding, only to find that the injury was too grave. Even sealing the points could do no more than slow the blood.
*This is bad.*
He left Princess Fang where she lay. The cold floor would at least slow her bleeding. Then he went to the secret door and jammed its mechanism shut.
The moment he reached the garden, he lit three smoke signals.
Black smoke mixed with red and blue rose in a tight column as wide as a great water jar. It shot straight into the sky.
Black, red, and blue together marked the most urgent signal they possessed.
After lighting it, he raced back into the grotto. He shook a packet of wound medicine and a handkerchief from his sleeve, poured all the medicine onto Princess Fang’s wound, and pressed the cloth down hard.
The young man counted silently. The thunder of approaching hooves came later than he had expected. The attack itself had happened in a flash, but every moment afterward felt unbearable.
A young man in red rode at the head of a group of capable fighters dressed in black shirts and red trousers. Their tall horses trampled straight through the garden, destroying flowerbeds as they passed.
The young man in red leaped from his saddle beside the smoke signal. “Who was hurt?”
The man in white shouted back, his voice close to tears, “Younger brother, Mother is dying! Our foster father did this!”
The man in red began issuing sharp orders. “Twenty of you, secure the area and capture whoever is in charge. Three of you, watch from the hilltop. You two, tell Fifth Lady to seize the estate’s Three Guardian Treasures. Tenth Lady is to gather every fighter belonging to the four of us. Find a way to get us out of the capital alive.”
The twenty-five men who had followed him immediately obeyed. He rushed into the stone chamber and knelt beside the unconscious Princess Fang.
“Eldest Brother, what happened to Mother?”
The man in white hesitated. “Foster Father, he…”
The man in red roared, “Chen Liang! You still call that old traitor Foster Father? He placed men along the road to ambush us. Fortunately, he acted in haste and could not gather many. Only two of our brothers were wounded.”
“Wang Qian!” Chen Liang snapped back, then immediately stopped himself. This was no time to argue. “Mother’s spine is injured, and the blade was poisoned.”
Wang Qian bellowed, “Why did you not say it was poisoned sooner?”
“What have I done wrong now?” Chen Liang demanded.
Wang Qian charged out of the grotto. “Leave ten men to defend this place. Everyone else, seize carriages, medicines, and anything useful for treating poison!”
Chen Liang shouted from inside, “Notify Lady Zhai!”
“We do not yet know friend from foe!” Wang Qian answered sharply.