Leaping lightly off the roof, Feiyan tapped down in the snow dusted grass below, and realized that she had landed in the middle of a large garden which connected to the East Palace of the Prince.
Dammit…this…how is there a side courtyard here? And I don’t have my mask…
Although she had spent most of her life traversing the halls of the great palace of Moutan, she was only really familiar with the main hall where Court was held and the Crown Prince’s East palace. The inner palace was normally forbidden to her, and she had been given strict instructions to avoid the Peony Palace of the Queen no matter what. Of course, as a Shadow she had seen the palace plans and knew its layout, but that didn’t mean she spent her spare time messing around.
Squaring her shoulders, she decided that there was no point in trying to retrieve her regular clothing from the Prince’s chambers, since he and Xia were no doubt very occupied. However, that meant she’d have to wear the silk dress until she could find something to steal and wear in its place. The thing she regretted the most was leaving behind her silver mask. Cursing herself and Xia, the only thing she could do now was to act normal in front of any inner palace servants she couldn’t avoid and to get back to the Chancellor’s residence as soon as she could.
Taking a quick breath, she calmed herself and changed the rhythm of her movements.
Right…I’m a woman right now, not the Crown Prince…
Shortening her strides, she moved slowly and gracefully, climbing the gentle rise of a stone bridge that had been built over a pond filled with boisterously splashing koi fish. As she came to the high centre of the bridge, she realized her mistake too late: at the bottom of the bridge, down the other side, was a tall man, who looked to be in his forties.
Dammit! I should have noticed the koi splashing! This time of year they are sluggish and they wouldn’t have normally been this lively. This person…his clothes are very fine but very subtly worn…the Shoban yoke truly has done nothing for the palace budget…
Concealed by the construction of the bridge, the man had been there this entire time, with the only clue to his presence being the splashing of the koi reacting to the feed he was throwing into the pond.
The man’s ear was very good. Even though her footfalls had been light, he turned to her immediately, and shifted his stance, a sure sign that he had been trained in martial arts.
A man with martial arts in fine clothes with access to the inner palace…she took in the thread of gold used to embroider the dragon patterns over the man’s outer robe, and Feiyan realized with shock that this man was…
“Which concubine is this who comes into the King’s presence but is slow to give her greeting?” asked the man with a gently teasing tone, eyes crinkling at the corners. “Have I startled you my dear?”
Feiyan flushed when she recalled what she was wearing. She was also relieved that she had automatically bent her head to hide her face, crossing her hands at her hip in a rigid curtsy.
“You may raise your eyes, little one. You must be new to the palace to have wandered here. Speak - what is your name?” asked the man. Although his voice was gentle, there was something hard about it as if he was warily assessing her.
Feiyan swallowed and slowly raised her face to his. As her eyes met his, she realized that he was staring at her, almost in horror.
“M-Mother?” the King blurted in shock, his eyes huge. He gripped the railing of the bridge as if he was going to break it into two, and then he got a hold of himself. “No…you are not she.”
“No…your Majesty. Please forgive me. This lowly one is a Shadow of Lord Mu’s guard. I ask mercy for trespassing into the King’s presence…this lowly one stumbled into this place by accident.”
“Lord Mu…?” he asked, frowning slightly.
Although she didn’t show it, she was inwardly shocked to see a bunch of different emotions flit across the King’s face. They had passed so quickly that she wasn’t really sure she had actually seen them. She also felt uneasy: Having watched him at court many times, she knew that the King was normally a man of great composure…calm and restrained, not easy to read…To allow a mere Shadow to see his thoughts meant that he had truly been startled by her appearance. She flinched a little wondering how odd she must look in the silk brocade dress, eyes lined, with her lips rouged a rose-coloured hue.
“I see. You are Mu Feiyan, the Crown Prince’s Shadow,” stated the King in a more composed manner, eyeing her with new comprehension.
She nodded, relieved that he had finally recognized her.
“Yes, your Majesty. At first, I was at the Crown Prince’s side, but he has dismissed me to return to my quarters,” she said, blithely committing lèse majesté. There was no way she’d give away that the Crown Prince was probably tangled up with his new lover, even if it meant that she was lying to the King.
Unfortunately, it seemed that the two culprits were still outside in the garden, and Feiyan blushed crimson as one of them chose that particular moment to moan obviously and loudly.
Yet with a quickness that even her father might have praised, she stepped forward and boldly reached into the bowl that the king was holding to throw a huge handful of fish feed into the pond, causing a huge stirring and splashing of the koi below, covering the sounds that came from over the wall of the East Palace.
Stepping back just as quickly, she appeared not to have moved at all…the only hint of what had just happened being the faint remnants of red on her cheeks and the strangled expression on the King’s face.
If the King was surprised it was quickly smothered by another very different emotion.
There was no killing intent, but I did not sense her movement until it was already too late. She moved just to protect his privacy…and even though I raised the bowl to block her, she slid her wrist around and over. In those few seconds, how many times did our hands move around the bowl?…and yet not a single bit was spilled onto this bridge. How decisive! She has learned well.
Feiyan wasn’t sure what she was seeing on the King’s face. It was a mix of something she couldn’t understand at all, and very faintly, there might even have been moisture in his eyes.
“Mu Feiyan,” said the King in a commanding tone.
Feiyan’s neck prickled.
“Here!” she said, kneeling immediately, albeit a tad awkwardly in the heavy brocade dress.
“You have trespassed into my Queen Mother’s favourite garden. Do you know what the punishment is?” he asked softly.
“No, your Majesty.”
“The garden is forbidden to all except the King…You would do well to remember that. Since you have protected the Crown Prince well thus far, I will forgo the punishment tonight. Return to Lord Mu immediately.”
“This lowly one thanks the King for his grace and takes leave,” she said, feeling a slight zing down her spine. However, it became a thunderbolt as the King reached his hands down and raised her up, cupping her cheek.
“Y-Your Majesty!” she gasped.
“You’ve grown up, Mu Feiyan,” he said solemnly as his eyes travelled over her upturned face.
“Yes…” she mumbled, trying to avoid the searching stare.
“Go now,” he sighed, “Before I regret it even more…”
Not understanding his tone or his words, she hastily snatched up her skirts after he released her. Turning without another glance she fled out of the garden, running as fast as the heavy gown would allow.
The King sighed again, watching her until she exited the gate, and then he slowly walked up to the middle of the bridge.
Xiao Jing Feng noted that the pond had not yet frozen this year. He wondered if the coming winter would be milder than what it had been in the past. If so, it would mean less work for the servants, and no doubt they would be pleased that they did not have to move his Majesty’s koi to the inner pond. It also meant that he had had the pleasure of feeding them one last time. They had been sluggish with the increasing cold, and he had worried that it was already too late in the season to feed them. Tonight, thanks to a little swallow, they had glutted themselves on their last meal. He smiled in spite of himself and turned towards the sound of a door closing.
His trusted eunuch, Byul, came out of the small side residence where he had been inspecting the cleaning of the rooms and he draped a cloak over his King’s shoulders.
“You are getting too old to be out in the cold like this,” the King admonished the old eunuch, even though he had been the one standing in the autumn night. He sighed and put the cloak around the old man instead.
The eunuch laughed breathlessly and bowed.
“Your Majesty worries too much about this old servant. Reporting to your Majesty: the rooms are being well kept. Everything is as you remember it,” he said.
“That’s good,” said the King.
Peaking around him, the old eunuch’s eyes crinkled. He had just seen the flicker of a dark haired girl in a red dress.
“Did you take an interest in that little concubine? Shall I summon her to your chambers?” he asked.
“Ah…no need…” the King said absently, not bothering to correct the misunderstanding.
Byul was still sharp, but his eyesight was not what it used to be. It was clear that he had failed to recognize that the beautiful dark-haired girl who had just now fled from her sovereign was not a concubine, but something much more dangerous than that.
Byul sighed, trying to hide his worry. Thus, his tone was only mildly pleading:
“It would be in your Majesty’s interest to have a few more sons. Your Majesty is still young and there are many pleasing beauties in the harem…if the Crown Prince were to take ill again…”
“There is no need to remind me that there is only one Prince in this kingdom,” the King said, perhaps more sharply than he intended, but then he patted the old eunuch’s shoulder in apology. “Forgive me Byul…the Shoban envoy for the annual review of the Inspectorate will arrive soon and the day’s matters weigh heavily on me. It is time to return…”
I never thought I would repeat the days of my youth, building my strength in the shadows. We can only hide our secret preparations against Shobu for a short time…everything will come to light sooner or later…
Xiao Jing Feng was about to exit the small garden, but then stopped in his tracks when he saw the procession of guards in the avenue, surrounding a large palanquin, and noted the same girl now kneeling in the snow with her brocade robes blossoming around her like a flower bud that had newly bloomed.
The King silently raised his hand to Byul, indicating that he would quietly observe before announcing his presence. His brow creased slightly as it was obvious that the owner of the Peony Palace was making things hard for Mu Feiyan.
What bad luck! thought Feiyan, as she tried to keep herself from feeling the cold dampness seeping up through her dress where her knees pressed into the snow covered ground. It seemed that she had traded snow for frost,* in running into the person that she wanted to avoid the most…
As she had exited the moon gate, escaping into the broad avenue, she had run straight into a procession of servants and guards who appeared to be escorting a large palanquin. Of the two palanquins in the Royal palace this one belonged to the Queen of Moutan, Cho Ahnjong.
“Which woman has so brazenly approached the King?” demanded the Queen from behind the curtain. “Who is it?”
The eunuch standing next to the curtain smirked down at the kneeling girl.
“Your Majesty, I do not recognize this one…she must be a new concubine…”
“And?” the voice was waspish.
“She is rather well dressed for a concubine without rank…” the eunuch said, smile widening. “The garments must be stolen. Perhaps, we should remove it from her person?”
Do you think it’s that easy to humiliate a Shadow of Lord Mu?
Feiyan raised her eyes, causing the eunuch to recoil from their clear coldness. When he stumbled back, her lips curved into a feral smile.
“You can try it*…” she said softly.
“Impudence! How dare you raise your face to your betters!” the eunuch said shrilly, raising his hand.
What happened next was the sound of a sharp crack, followed by an outraged cry of pain, and then the schwing of swords being drawn as the guards surrounded her.
Feiyan remained kneeling, but she was now twisting the broken wrist of the eunuch that had tried to slap her. The guards thrust their glaives menacingly close to her face, but her expression held no fear.
“I belong to Lord Mu,” she said, calmly. “Even if a crime has been committed, it is not up to a eunuch to decide how I am to be punished.”
With that, she flung the offender to the ground where he writhed and wailed in pain, holding his broken hand.
The guards shifted uneasily. Lord Mu’s Shadows were elite guards and thus the girl was not someone easily discounted.
I must look really different as a girl…How have they not recognized this face…? wondered Feiyan.
The head of the Queen’s guard looked uncomfortable.
“Your Majesty, if what the girl says is true, then it must be reported at once…we cannot easily act on one of Grand Chancellor Mu’s people,” he said, from the other side of the palanquin.
There was a stiff silence and then a hiss of breath as the curtain was yanked open and a head heavy with jewellery was poked out as the Queen exited the palanquin. There was a general murmur of dismay as the Queen walked forward and yanked Mu Feiyan’s face up so that she could properly see who causing the problem.
“You!” the Queen whispered, her voice thick with rage. “Why is it you again?”
There was another sharp crack, but this time it was the sound of Queen’s fan smacking against Feiyan’s cheek, cutting her.
Feiyan lowered her eyes, but she couldn’t help the resentment that bubbled within her…not just for herself, but also for the Crown Prince who feared and hated his mother more than any other person in the whole kingdom.
“The Crown Prince’s Shadow gives greeting to her Majesty,” Feiyan whispered so that only the Queen could hear it, but she could not help purposely adding: “For his sake, I would suggest you refrain from hitting my face any further…unless your Majesty wishes to explain the injuries to the Court yourself…?”
“You wretched animal, are you threatening me?” the Queen shrieked.
Incensed, the Queen struck Feiyan’s mouth, splitting her lower lip. She was about to strike her again, but there was a clatter. The guards backed out of the way as a figure exited out of the moon gate and swiftly grabbed the Queen’s raised hand.
“W-Who…?!”
“My Queen…” interrupted the King very gently. He regarded the queen with a look that was full of pity and sadness. “My Queen…you are not well…”
The wild light faded from the Queen’s eyes as she blinked, realizing just who was holding her wrist.
“Your Majesty!” she whispered, as the entire retinue knelt in obeisance around her.
“Listen to my order: the Shadow Mu Feiyan has trespassed into a forbidden area of the palace,” the King intoned, his gaze still holding that of his Queen. “She is to be locked in Lord Mu’s water prison for three days and three nights as punishment.”
The King had spoken, and no one contradicted him.
There was a collective sigh as the King’s guards seemed to appear from nowhere, jerking Feiyan to her feet. She stumbled over the long hem of her dress, wisps of hair falling out around her face. She might have looked dishevelled, but her eyes smouldered with defiance.
Since things had been decided just like that, the King leaned his face close to that of his Queen and murmured something to her. Eliciting a slow nod, the Queen stepped back with a curtsy and then re-entered the palanquin. The King gave the leader of her guard a meaningful glance, and those carrying the palanquin left quickly, leaving only the King, Byul, and the King’s guards who were still holding Feiyan by the arms.
The wind rushed down the avenue, hitting Feiyan in the face.
“Your Majesty, thank you for saving me. I will remember this grace and return it,” she said quietly.
He snorted.
“Such arrogance! Return it? Mu Feiyan, have you seen the Lord Mu’s water prison?” he asked, his tone sharp.
She nodded.
“Learn restraint. You have not grown up as much as I had thought,” he said, and turned to walk away.
For no particular reason, the words hurt, but Feiyan couldn’t say that he was wrong. It had been childish to provoke the Queen like that, and she bit her lip as the guards dragged her, none too gently, to the water prison. Nonetheless, the King had indeed given her grace. By punishing her himself, he had prevented the Queen from venting her anger in a much more insidious or prolonged manner, and no one could say anything against it as it was an order from the King.
What she didn’t see was Byul’s worried look as he scurried after his master, and the almost imperceptible quiver as the King walked away with a heavy heart.
Uncut jade has no use.* Yet it makes me a liar and a coward if I say I do this for her sake…he thought as he walked away.
Although he felt regret, the King accepted that there was no going back to change the past. He had cut that bond, and the child’s fate was no longer his to decide. What little he did now, would likely make no difference.
***
Although there were multiple opportunities for Feiyan to escape the King’s guards, she decided that she would cooperate for now. Her father’s opponents at Court were not few. If she escaped, she would be causing unnecessary trouble for him, and the last thing she wanted was to throw the Shadows into uproar. She would just have to consider the water prison as training.
Unfazed by her sullen silence, the King’s guards took her down a familiar subterranean passage, where they chained her wrists to a metal ring attached to side of the pool, kicking her down into the stone water cage before throwing the grate over her head with a resounding clang. They didn’t even bother to lock it, so sure that the chains would be enough to hold her.
The square pool was at least fifteen feet deep, and on the walls just above her, demon faces with slithering tongues in their mouths covered the pipes that would pour water into her cage. Once these sluices were opened, the water prison would fill to overflowing twice a day – once in the morning and once at night.
Feiyan yanked the chain experimentally, glancing up over her head at the grate. Already shivering in the chest deep ice-cold water, she clenched her teeth remembering the frenzied rage in the Queen’s eyes and the disappointment in the King’s voice. From what she had seen Cho Ahnjong’s fits were getting worse. She wondered if her father had noticed, but these thoughts were interrupted by the clank of the sluice as the guards opened a valve next to the pool.
“Well, stinky girl…just obediently stay here. We won’t be accompanying you,” the guards laughed. As they turned to leave, one of them twisted the valve next to the door, and the demon faces clanked open their gaping mouths.
Three days of freezing water in the late autumn…if you drown here, Mu Feiyan, it’s your own fault…she thought to herself.
Balling her fists, Feiyan waited for the rush of water that would herald the first round.
Gods…of all things…why did it have to be water…?
Biting her lip, she shuddered.
*Feiyan is referencing ‘雪上加霜’ (Xuě shàng jiā shuāng). The literal translation is ‘Adding frost to snow,’ meaning “going from one disaster to another” or “going from bad to worse”
* 你可以试试 – my translation is literal, but it sounds so much cooler (and deadlier) in Chinese…!
* 玉不琢,不成器 (Yù bù zuó, bù chéng qì) - A more literal translation would be ‘uncut jade cannot be made into anything’. It’s interesting to note that the word ‘器’ (device/implement) is the same character used for weapon (武器 – wu qi). In this case, the King doesn’t just think of her as raw materials to be made in something, but he is specifically thinking of honing her into a weapon.
