The Heart Given to Brighten the Moon - Chapter 19

Her Majesty the Empress was not quite the picture of opulent luxury that rumors suggested. If Song Mingyue or Zhao Huan were like the blossoms of spring and the moon of autumn, then He Lian Wanyan was the sun of summer and the mountains of winter. She possessed three parts feminine grace and seven parts heroic spirit, a perfect fusion that commanded admiration.

Shen Danxin’s last romantic interest back in her previous life bore a striking resemblance to the Empress before her, both in appearance and temperament. They had spent over half a year together in the same apartment, bickering incessantly over trivialities, but in matters of substance, Shen Danxin had to admit she was outmatched. Eventually, that formidable woman left a single letter of resignation and departed for parts unknown without a word of farewell.

Gazing at the noble and exquisite woman before her, Shen Danxin felt a lingering sense of trepidation. The “young beauty” Song Mingyue might be easily fooled by her antics, but the Empress was not so simple. If a deception went wrong, a few lashes would be the least of her worries; she feared the entire Qingmo Academy might be dragged down with her. However, Shen Danxin still felt she had a winning hand thanks to her ex-girlfriend, she knew exactly how to read women of this type. While she might not handle them with perfect ease, she was more than capable.

This was precisely why she had dared to speak so boldly to Chang Ping earlier; she wasn’t afraid of the Empress’s anger, she only feared not being granted an audience.

“Painter-attendant Shen Danxin pays respects to Her Majesty the Empress. May Your Majesty enjoy eternal peace.” Shen Danxin performed a full kowtow, keeping her eyes lowered.

“Is that the ‘Portrait of Court Ladies’ by Master Cai in your hand? Why did he not deliver it personally?” He Lian Wanyan took a handkerchief from a maid, wiped her hands clean, and walked straight to Shen Danxin, picking up the sandalwood box of her own accord.

Shen Danxin instinctively looked up and froze. He Lian Wanyan was less than an inch away from her. Looking up from below, the “rising peaks” of the Empress’s chest nearly obscured half of her face. In the midst of her shock, a sudden chill ran down Shen Danxin’s spine; out of the corner of her eye, she saw Eunuch Chang Ping staring at her with a freezing, murderous gaze. Her heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly lowered her head, wishing she could bury it between her knees.

“Master Shen, Her Majesty asked you a question,” Chang Ping reminded her coldly.

Shen Danxin snapped out of it and stammered, “To, to answer Your Majesty, my Master strained his back while planting flowers these past few days and found it inconvenient to come in person.”

He Lian Wanyan broke into a charming smile. “Planting flowers? When did he develop such a refined interest? You likely don’t know your Master; he used to treat the birds and flowers of Jitian Palace with nothing but disdain, calling them ‘utterly vulgar.’ Only this Chaofeng Yard was somewhat pleasing to his eye. Now that he’s fumbling with plants himself, it serves him right to strain his back.”

Shen Danxin was speechless, finding this exquisite woman, who was in the prime of her middle years to be exceptionally endearing.

He Lian Wanyan handed the sandalwood box to a maid and said to the cowering Shen Danxin, “Rise. Since you are here, stay and accompany this Empress in admiring the work before you depart.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Chang Ping shot her a warning glare in secret, but the emboldened Shen Danxin pretended not to see it, following the Empress like a happy little tail.

Chaofeng Yard was located in the rear courtyard of Jitian Palace. Leaving the yard, they crossed a path through a lotus pond and followed a corridor deep inside until they reached a small cottage surrounded by a bamboo grove. A small gold-plated plaque hung on the rosewood doorframe, with four characters carved in Seal script: The Cottage of Leisure.

The cottage was not large, but it was perfectly appointed. The furniture was arranged with comfort and taste; the bookshelves were neatly organized with rare scrolls and paintings, yet there were very few purely decorative objects.

As they walked along the corridor, Chang Ping’s expression grew peculiar, looking as if he were struggling to hold back his words. Upon reaching the door, he finally couldn’t help himself: “Your Majesty, this place.”

He Lian Wanyan stepped inside first, spared a glance for Shen Danxin behind her, and smiled. “It is no matter.”

Jitian Palace had eighty-three rooms, ranging from guest chambers to studies and warming halls, yet “The Cottage of Leisure” was a place no one was allowed to enter save for He Lian Wanyan and her personal maid, Hong Luan. Not even Chang Ping was permitted. Today, since Hong Luan was absent, Chang Ping stopped exactly one foot from the threshold, bowed his head, and answered: “Yes.”

Shen Danxin usually appeared reckless and unrefined, but she had a keen eye for detail. Seeing such abnormal behavior from a high-ranking palace official like Chang Ping, she froze the moment she stepped one foot inside.

He Lian Wanyan walked to the desk and saw Shen Danxin’s look of hesitation. She laughed mockingly, “You dare to demand an audience with me, yet you are afraid to enter my Cottage of Leisure?”

If she were only here to deliver a painting, Shen Danxin wouldn’t be so cautious; she’d have her nose in the air. But she was here to ask for a favor. The cowering Shen Danxin gave a forced smile and said, “This lowly one stepped in quite a bit of mud at the flowerbeds before coming; I was merely afraid of defiling Your Majesty’s pure sanctuary.”

He Lian Wanyan didn’t bother exposing her cowardice. She slid the box open and smiled. “Do you expect this Empress to do the work herself?”

A wise man submits to the circumstances. Shen Danxin immediately stepped forward, her face wearing a smile even more fawning than Eunuch Fengzhong’s. She carefully removed the scroll. “I wouldn’t dream of troubling Your Majesty.”

The scroll was mounted with gold-leaf flecks. Though the women in the painting were bright and moving, they were “utterly vulgar.” Shen Danxin took one look and furrowed her brow. Seeing this, He Lian Wanyan asked, “What do you think?”

“A decline in quality,” Shen Danxin clicked her tongue, offering an unshielded evaluation. Only then did she hurriedly cover her mouth, looking in a panic at He Lian Wanyan, who seemed to be enjoying the show. To her surprise, the Empress actually gave her a playful wink, her vivid crimson lips curling into a teasing arch.

Shen Danxin thought, Oh no. Just as she was about to explain herself, He Lian Wanyan spoke first: “I hear your portraits are a case of ‘the blue being even better than the indigo’ surpassing your master. Hui’er has had the honor of seeing your work and spoke of it with great praise. From the looks of it, has your brush already surpassed Cai Xun’s?”

“Her Highness offers too much praise. Even if this portrait is in decline, this lowly one is still far inferior to my Master.”

He Lian Wanyan picked up the portrait and looked at it meticulously once more. Then, she abruptly issued a dismissal: “You may return. Come back to see me only when you bring your Lanxi Stream Play.”

And she’s vengeful too.

The failed Shen Danxin stood in a daze for a moment before hardening her resolve and bowing. “Yes. Then this lowly one shall return to trouble you tomorrow. I shall take my leave.”

After walking a mile away, Shen Danxin couldn’t help but let out a roar toward the sky. Remembering Chang Ping’s smug, triumphant face upon her departure made her want to pound her chest in frustration. Playing hard to get, it’s the favorite trick of women like her! I must keep my composure; I cannot lose my head! Shen Danxin took a deep breath, then a long exhale. With her head held high and a warm smile on her face, she headed back toward the Qingmo Academy.

Cai Xun’s reputation as the empire’s greatest portrait artist came from his youth spent traveling the world and observing countless people. He had tasted the sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty flavors of life, which allowed his brush to capture both the form and the spirit. Although he stayed out of politics, he understood its dark undercurrents perfectly. He often nagged his trouble-making disciple about the affairs of the court, all to protect the hard-won hundred-year legacy of the Qingmo Academy.

Zhao Zongqian’s decree had been issued, but if the Mistress of the Mid-Palace intervened, the matter might still have a path for a workaround. The key was whether that intervention would be executed skillfully and securely.

The three-hundred-year-old systems of the previous Jin Dynasty could not be dismantled in a day; many continued to endure. Historically, the Han followed the Qin, and the Song followed the Tang. No matter how brilliant Zhao Zongqian’s imperial statecraft was, he could not escape the game of balance. What remained from the previous dynasty were not just laws, but also powerful clans and noble families that were “too tasteless to eat, yet too valuable to throw away.”

Many concubines in the harem came from such backgrounds. Some, after the fall of Jin, had been desperate to send eligible women from their families into the palace to seek safety. Others did it to pave a political path for their clans. The Third Princess’s maternal family was the powerful Lin clan of Qingzhou. After she was sent far away for a political marriage, the men of her family rose like “chickens and dogs ascending to heaven” the highest among them becoming the Governor of Qingzhou. Pity the Third Princess’s mother, Consort De of the Lin clan, who passed away from illness shortly after. And her brother, who was supposed to take a post in the Ministry of Personnel, saw his career cut short and returned to Qingzhou in disgrace.

In every dynasty, the harem and the court were inextricably linked, and the Southern Jin under Zhao Zongqian’s rule was no exception. Cai Xun didn’t say much; he always stopped at the perfect point when discussing deep connections, but it was enough for the well-read and sharp-witted Shen Danxin to sniff out the hidden truths.

That night, dark clouds obscured the moon. Shen Danxin didn’t dare light a lamp, groping her way through the dark to the small courtyard. There were three main studios; the one closest to the Feixie Pavilion in the center was Cai Xun’s, the one on the left was Yu Mengren’s, and the one on the right was Yan Mengqing’s. Shen Danxin oriented herself and crept toward the left. Just as she was about to push the door open, a sudden dry cough erupted behind her. Shen Danxin jumped a foot in the air, her body performing a graceful mid-air spin.

“Oh, it’s just you, Master,” Shen Danxin panted, clutching her chest and wiping cold sweat from her brow.

Cai Xun seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Looking at his disciple’s pathetic display, he snorted, “With courage like yours, you’d starve to death even as a thief. What are you doing here?”

Old Man Cai might not be as sharp-tongued as Shen Danxin, but his mind was crystal clear. If Shen Danxin so much as twitched a finger, he knew she was up to no good; if her almond eyes blinked, that “dog’s mouth” was certainly about to spew something other than ivory.

Shen Danxin gave a “hehe” grin, wiggling her way over to Cai Xun with a fawning air. “Your disciple remembers there is a copy of Master Kanmin’s Lady Yuan Visiting Her Kin in Minzhou in Master Meng’s studio. I wish to borrow it for a moment.”

Cai Xun took a small step to the side, looking at her with a furrowed brow. “In his entire life, Master Kanmin only had one famous portrait that ‘Visiting Kin’ piece. How do you know of it?”

Shen Danxin put all her effort into a fawning smile. “Was it not you who made me read The Hundred Schools of Ink, Master? It is all thanks to your meticulous instruction.”

Cai Xun felt a surge of regret for that choice, but his face remained cold. “I asked you to study the orthodox classics, not to use them for your wicked schemes!”

“Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda! It outweighs the Nine Heavens, how can it be a ‘wicked scheme’?” Shen Danxin muttered with her hands tucked in her sleeves, looking aggrieved.

Cai Xun couldn’t be bothered to listen to her excuses; his ears were growing calluses. He said calmly, “I hear Her Majesty the Empress wishes to see your ‘Stream Play’ painting?”

Shen Danxin nodded, not daring to say much.

Cai Xun actually let out a sigh, turning away with his hands behind his back. “Look out for yourself. Tomorrow, your Master shall wait for you to return for lunch; Her Majesty has gifted some scallion oil pancakes.”

Shen Danxin stood like a wooden chicken. As Cai Xun’s back grew distant, another sentence drifted back:

“It is in the scroll tube beneath the artist’s desk.”

By the time the cautious Shen Danxin returned to the guest rooms, the light in Cai Xun’s room had already been extinguished. She stood outside the door in a daze for a long while before finally letting out a sigh and returning to her own room.