Wind And Snow On The Jade Steps - Chapter 9

As evening approached, a red glow slowly spread across the horizon. Wisps of cooking smoke drifted lazily through the alleys, and a white cat nestled by the foot of a wall stretched its limbs before darting across to the south side of the street.

Inside the Manor of the Eldest Princess.

A servant cautiously tugged at the sleeve of the person beside him, whispering in a low voice, “Sister Qingzhou, what time is dinner being served tonight?”

Qingzhou wasn’t sure herself.

Originally an attendant serving directly before the Emperor, Qingzhou had been gifted to Princess Huai’an five years ago. While it was called a gift, it was effectively an act of surveillance. Every week, she was required to enter the palace and report on the happenings within the Princess’s manor, recounting every detail, no matter how small.

Princess Huai’an, Jiang Yu, was well aware of this, yet she held no grudge. She treated Qingzhou like any other trusted member of her inner circle, allowing her to serve closely and granting her rewards without bias. This often led Qingzhou to marvel at the supposedly deep bond between the royal sisters.

However, the Princess was always one to keep her emotions hidden. Her expression remained cool and distant, and she rarely shared her inner thoughts. Despite serving her for five years, Qingzhou never truly knew what was on the Princess’s mind.

For instance, at this very moment, she was at a loss. The Emperor had been occupying the study for hours, and she couldn’t tell if the Princess was displeased by it. If she were to call for dinner now, would she be breaking the delicate balance maintained between the two?

She reasoned that since the Princess had always been close to the Emperor, she wouldn’t fuss over the use of a study. Yet, to say there was no emotional turbulence felt wrong. After all, the Princess had locked herself in her inner chambers for the past two hours.

Since Qingzhou hadn’t been on shift today, she hadn’t been by the Princess’s side to hear what was said or see what was done, leaving her even more in the dark. Finding an opportunity, she grabbed another servant who was coming out from the inner room to change shifts and asked, “Did Her Highness say anything?”

The servant glanced at her. “Her Highness said a great deal. What exactly are you looking to hear?”

“I didn’t mean anything by it, I’m just unsure whether to serve dinner as usual,” Qingzhou smiled. “I don’t know what Her Highness intends.”

The servant offered nothing extra, simply saying, “Proceed as usual.”

“And will the Emperor be dining here?” Qingzhou pressed.

The servant arched an eyebrow. “How strange. I serve the Princess, yet you ask me about the Emperor’s will? If even you don’t know, how should I?”

The tone was sharp, a direct jab at Qingzhou’s role as the Emperor’s eyes and ears. Qingzhou coughed awkwardly and muttered, “If you don’t know, you don’t know. There’s no need for that tone.”

“I thought I was speaking quite normally, perhaps you are just being sensitive,” the servant said, shaking her head before turning to a waiting junior attendant. “Go tell the kitchen to serve the meal. The Emperor hasn’t left yet, so regardless of whether she eats, present her portion first.”

The junior attendant hurried off to follow the orders.

It was at this moment that Jiang Yu stepped out. A servant lifted the curtain for her as she crossed the threshold, her robes trailing behind. Standing under the eaves, she pulled her cloak tighter and looked at the servant who had been bickering with Qingzhou. “Lantiao, do not be rude.”

Lantiao pouted, looking indignant. She shot a final glare at Qingzhou, bowed to the Princess, and withdrew.

Jiang Yu always preferred wearing white. The only accent on her outfit was the collar of her cloak, which was intricately woven with peacock feathers and gold thread. Leaning on the hand of another servant, she walked slowly along the corridor and gestured toward Qingzhou with a slight tilt of her chin. “Go and invite the Emperor to dine.”

Inside the inner chambers of the Manor.

The meal lasted a full hour before the Emperor finally boarded her carriage to return to the palace.

In the eastern corner of the room stood a marble rack holding several white jade vessels. Jiang Yu stood before them, staring for a long time. Suddenly, she reached out, grabbed one, and tossed it lightly onto the floor.

The piece was of high quality and didn’t shatter. Instead, it rolled a few times with a sharp clatter, developing a thin crack but remaining whole. It was just like her relationship with Jiang Chu, even though the words spoken today were heavy and biting, the bond was frayed but not yet severed.

The dinner had been utterly tasteless.

Lantiao stood by, hesitating over whether to pick up the jade. After a moment, she whispered, “It was a gift from the Emperor. If it displeases you, Highness, it is fine to break it.”

“It would be a waste to break it,” Jiang Yu said, brushing her sleeves as she sat gracefully in a chair. “I simply don’t want to look at it anymore. Have someone move it to the storehouse.”

Lantiao murmured an assent and began helping her remove her jewelry. Holding a lake-green agate pendant up to Jiang Yu’s ear to test the look, she said softly, “Tomorrow is the Princess Regent’s birthday banquet. You must attend, shall we wear this one?”

Jiang Yu nodded absently. “You and the others can choose the pairings, there is no need to ask me.”

Once the silence was broken, it was easier to speak of other things. Lantiao sighed softly and smiled. “I truly don’t know what to say. I don’t know if I should congratulate you, Highness, for finally speaking your mind and escaping this sea of bitterness, or if I should warn you not to be so reckless. When I heard you say, ‘If you persist in this, we shall never see each other again in life or death,’ I broke into a cold sweat.”

Jiang Yu remained silent. After a moment, she turned and took Lantiao’s hand, patting it gently.

“You should congratulate me,” she said, “on escaping this sea of bitterness.”

Lantiao’s eyes grew red. “We have seen how you’ve lived these past few years. Though the Emperor treats you well in terms of food and clothing, she watches your every move and crosses lines in her behavior. It is more painful than being cold or hungry. And that Qingzhou, she is so hateful, reporting your every move. Now that things are out in the open, shall we still keep her?”

Jiang Yu looked at her, and after a while, her cold, flat tone softened slightly.

“Enough, I’m not even crying, so why are you?” She touched Lantiao’s forehead lightly and said, “Qingzhou was only following orders, she isn’t to blame. Tell her she is to return to the palace today.”

***

As Qingzhou returned to the palace, another person was also entering.

In the dead of night, the State Preceptor walked quietly along the palace paths. The scent of rue incense filled the brightly lit Imperial Study. The Emperor was working tirelessly, showing no sign of rest. The Department of Ceremonies had presented the name tablets for the evening’s selection half an hour ago, but the Emperor hadn’t even looked at them before dismissing them.

The State Preceptor’s hair was stark white, making her highly visible in the dark. An attendant guarding the outer hall spotted her immediately and announced in a low voice, “The State Preceptor has arrived.”

Before the words had even faded, the State Preceptor had entered the hall. Her steps were light and slow, yet she seemed to move with incredible speed.

An attendant was grinding ink with his head bowed, ignoring the world outside, but when he saw the Preceptor enter, he lowered his head even further.

Jiang Chu had just closed a petition. She rubbed her temples, her eyes full of exhaustion. She ordered another candle to be lit and leaned back in her chair, twirling a vermilion brush between her slender fingers.

Exhaling a long breath, she looked at the woman who treated the Hall of Diligent Government like her own back garden. “Ali, it is already the second watch. Why have you come in such a hurry?”

The Preceptor didn’t answer immediately. She looked around the room and found a chair to sit in.

Jiang Chu sat up after a brief rest and opened another scroll, sighing, “Don’t just sit there in silence. I am exhausted today and have no energy for guessing games.”

The flickering candlelight carved sharp outlines onto the Preceptor’s face. Her eyes were long, but her eyebrows were so faint they were almost invisible. An attendant timely served tea, and the Preceptor took a sip, her voice carrying a hint of a smile. “Junshan Silver Needle? This batch tastes a bit bitter.”

Jiang Chu looked up sharply, staring at her with a half-smile. The Preceptor arched an eyebrow in return. Their eyes met, and the sounds of the brush on paper and the grinding of ink both stopped. The hall became so quiet one could hear a pin drop.

The attendant bowed and, sensing the mood, quietly withdrew. Only then did the Preceptor answer the Emperor’s question.

“I knew Your Majesty was suffering in your heart, so I came to see you.”

Jiang Chu raised an eyebrow. “And how did you know that?”

The Preceptor took another slow sip of tea. “I simply know. I saw that one of the white plum trees in the courtyard has withered.”

Suddenly, Jiang Chu could no longer maintain her front. She dropped the brush and sat with her head in her hands, whispering, “Even when you aren’t here, you know I am hurting. How could she not know?”

She paused and then added, “She knows, which is why she intentionally said those things to pierce my heart.”

Half of the Preceptor’s face remained hidden in the shadows where the candlelight couldn’t reach. She watched in silence for a long time before asking, “What did the Eldest Princess say?”

Jiang Chu closed her eyes. “She said there is no possibility for us.”

The Preceptor’s heart gave a heavy thud. For a split second, she thought the Emperor had discovered something, but she quickly realized Jiang Chu was merely repeating the Princess’s words. She frowned slightly as Jiang Chu continued to murmur to herself.

“I treat her so well. I don’t even ask for her whole heart, I only ask that she look back at me, and I would be satisfied. After what she said today, where does that leave me?”

“She brought up the fact that I drugged her yesterday, I saw that she had been depressed lately, and that medicine was meant to improve blood circulation. The dosage was light and harmless to the body, the aphrodisiac effect was merely a side effect. If it weren’t, how could General Shen have cleared it so easily? I have not sunk to such a despicable level.”

“At the end, she said her feelings for General Shen are sincere and asked me not to trouble the General. General Shen has performed great service for the state, I would never hold a grudge against her for this. Does Yu truly think I am such an unreasonable person?”

The Preceptor stood up abruptly and walked to Jiang Chu’s side. She reached out and tucked a stray lock of hair behind the Emperor’s ear.

Jiang Chu didn’t move, only slowly closing her eyes. She looked very much like the Eldest Princess, though her features were sharper, like a sword drawn from its sheath, while the Princess was more elegant, like snow atop a jade terrace.

The Preceptor lowered her arm and said, “Your Majesty is the most brilliant ruler I have ever seen.”

Jiang Chu closed her eyes tight as the flickering flames bathed her face in a warm yellow glow. She took a deep breath and continued, “My Mother the Emperor and my mother the consort both passed away early. Yu was only two years old then. I was the one who feared the people in the Princess’s quarters would neglect her, so I raised her by my side, not daring to blink for over ten years.”

“Even if I have these filthy, improper thoughts, they are not something I can control.”

“Would I ever hurt her? We are of the same flesh and blood, we are bound by bone and sinew.”

“I have endured this for over a decade. How many decades does a person have in a lifetime? I thought I had hidden this shameful longing well enough, but I never imagined she knew all along.”

Jiang Chu opened her eyes and suddenly grabbed the Preceptor’s sleeve. Two lines of tears welled up in her reddened eyes and rolled silently down her cheeks.

Shaking alongside the candle flame in the cold wind seeping through the window, she whispered, “Ali, she knew all along.”

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