They had once drunk together. Ye Jiao had gotten drunk and slumped over Li Ce's back, making him spin in circles. Then, she spread her arms and legs wide, shouting that she was a spinning top spirit. Li Ce never forgot that scene.
Everything about Ye Jiao—her every move—was like a fish leaping into a tranquil pool, rippling the mirror-like stillness of his heart, reflecting a sea of peach blossoms and endless drifting clouds.
He held her as they spun until his strength was drained, and only then did he put her down.
"What madness is this?" Ye Jiao punched Li Ce's arm with a clenched fist, hitting him hard enough to make him stagger back a step and cough lightly.
"My lady mother has agreed to give you to me in marriage," said Li Ce, brows and eyes smiling. Even the sharp bridge of his nose and the clean lines of his jaw seemed to soften under the glow of his grin. Perhaps it was because he had hurried over—his cheeks were flushed, and his usually pale lips carried a hue like ripe pomegranates.
"Congratulations, congratulations!" Princess Consort of Zhao, Cui Jin'er, laughed broadly, clapping her hands in jest. "Look at how delighted the Prince of Chu is—if Miss Ye asked for a mountain of gold, he'd carry it to her on his back!"
Li Jing, however, appeared unimpressed. Folding his arms, he scoffed, "Do you not know how frail Little Ninth is? Forget a mountain of gold—he couldn't even lift my two Taihang stones."
Li Ce took the teasing in stride and smiled. "Fifth Brother, are you not happy for me?"
"I'm happy," Li Jing replied, then warned, "But don't forget—Lady Ye's consent is one thing. His Majesty has yet to grant the marriage. Be careful that the Marquis of Wu isn't snatched away by someone else—then you'll have nowhere to cry."
Suddenly remembering something, he turned to Cui Jin'er and asked, "Have we chosen a name for our child yet? Time is tight."
Ye Jiao was as robust as a young ox. Once married, she would surely conceive right away. They needed to decide the child's name in advance.
Ye Jiao invited them to the front hall for dinner. Li Jing waved it off. "We'll be along shortly."
The couple sat at the stone table, dipping their fingers in water to sketch and scribble on the surface, solemnly choosing a name for the child.
Li Ce and Ye Jiao walked ahead. Whenever they walked side by side, their fingers would instinctively intertwine, shoulders edging closer until they bumped and were forced to separate.
Li Jing and Cui Jin'er agreed that the nickname had to be plain—it brought good fortune. But as for how plain, they couldn't reach a consensus.
Li Jing suggested, "If it's a boy, call him Ah Niu. If it's a girl, then Zhi'er."
Cui Jin'er immediately wiped the names away. "Your daughter is not a pheasant!" she said, rolling her eyes.
"But the name is both humble and auspicious!" Li Jing protested. "Emperor Gaozong's childhood name was 'Zhi Nu'!"
"I don't care!" Cui Jin'er said. "No one's calling our child 'pheasant'—not even if we have a hundred!"
They glared at each other, neither willing to concede. After a while, Cui Jin'er bowed her head and said, "I think the Prince of Chu is quite a good match. Remember when we got engaged, and you were furious with the Empress Dowager because you couldn't marry your favorite courtesan?"
Digging up old grievances was her specialty—she could always find a way to turn any argument back to past slights.
"Alright, alright." Li Jing surrendered instantly. "No Zhi'er. You pick the name, satisfied?"
Cui Jin'er beamed triumphantly and said, "Then why don't you carry me in circles, like the Prince of Chu carried Miss Ye?"
"In your dreams," Li Jing said with disdain.
Cui Jin'er spat in jest, unfazed, and wrote a single character on the table: 缓 (Huan).
"Let's call her 'Huanhuan,'" she said with longing. "'The Book of Rites' says: 'Deliberate carefully, proceed slowly, plan gradually.' Since the Prince of Chu's courtesy name is Shen Si (Deliberate Thought), the child he gives us shall be called 'Huanhuan.'"
Li Jing frowned as he looked at the character. "Will she be slow to act when she grows up?"
"Rather than worry about that…" Cui Jin'er sighed, "We should worry about whether he'll even give the child to us. We're the only ones happy right now. Do you think they'll agree?"
The courtyard remained unchanged, the character on the table still damp. Just moments ago, joy had lit their faces, but now gloom shadowed them.
"If it were me," said Cui Jin'er, "after ten months of pregnancy and childbirth, I would never give my child to someone else."
Li Jing knit his brows and, after a moment, tried to comfort her. "Ye Jiao is resilient."
"And your Ninth Brother?" Cui Jin'er traced the word "缓" again. "I don't think he's as easygoing as he seems."
"Didn't you hear him call me Fifth Brother?" Li Jing replied, somewhat guiltily. "At worst, we'll ask Father to issue a decree. He wouldn't dare defy an imperial edict."
"Even so…" Cui Jin'er kept writing the character over and over, as if repetition might make the child real. "Your Highness," she sniffled, "I don't fear pain. I'm willing to bear the child myself."
Li Jing was instantly filled with sorrow. Over the years, Cui Jin'er had suffered much for her inability to conceive. When things went wrong in a marriage, the world rarely blamed the man. The woman always bore the brunt, as though it were all her fault.
"Jin'er," Li Jing drew her into his arms, kissed her forehead, and vowed, "Let us pray to the heavens. On New Year's Day, I'll burn the first incense. On the fifth, I'll welcome the God of Wealth. On the ninth, the Jade Emperor's birthday, I'll offer cattle and sheep. I won't attend the lantern festival. I'll kneel before the Goddess of Fertility and pray. I'll pray from the first month all the way to the Hungry Ghost Festival in the seventh, and bring us a child."
"And if…" Cui Jin'er's voice trembled, "the gods still refuse?"
Li Jing helped her to her feet, eyes resolute. "Then that Li Shensi had best not blame me for what I must do!"
His dramatic tone made Cui Jin'er burst into laughter. He gently embraced her and coaxed, "If we have a child, what reward shall the Princess grant me?"
"You want another woman, don't you?" Cui Jin'er kicked him playfully. "Don't even think about it!"
It was the twelfth lunar month, the season of preparing for the New Year. But the death prison in Chang'an would not offer an extra scrap of meat for the occasion.
Accused of colluding with Tubo and framing the Duke An's household, Baili Xi had already been imprisoned for over a month. His family had been stripped of all property, exiled from the capital, and friends and kin avoided him like the plague. Thus, no one came to visit.
Yet Baili Xi often strained to catch any whisper of wind, eager for news about Prince Jin, Li Zhang.
Finally, newly imprisoned officials murmured that Li Zhang had returned to the capital. Another said the Emperor was deliberating over the heir. Then came whispers that the matter of appointing a crown prince was no longer being discussed.
Baili Xi dared not inquire directly. In sleepless anxiety, he finally saw a familiar figure.
The man was cloaked, his powerful form veiled beneath a hood. Standing outside the prison door, he said, "Master."
Baili Xi's tears fell unchecked as he clung to the icy bars.
"Your Highness…"
Prince Jin, Li Zhang, knelt and opened a food container, pulling out dishes one by one. The meals were freshly made and still steaming.
Yet Baili Xi had no appetite. He urgently asked, "Why hasn't the crown prince been named? What's happened? Did this criminal implicate Your Highness?"
Li Zhang raised his eyes, a glint of sovereign arrogance flashing within their icy depths.
"No one can implicate me," he replied coldly. "I came here to ask you something."
"What is it?" Baili Xi asked eagerly, hoping he could be of help.
Li Zhang lifted the last dish and asked, "Between Li Chen and Li Ce—who stands in my way?"
Who had changed the Emperor's mind about naming him heir?
Could it be? In just half a year, those two inconsequential illegitimate sons had grown wings strong enough to threaten him?
…