The Last Concubine (12 page)

After he had helped the princess out of the chair under the covered walkway, escorted her into the house, and taken her cloak, Ning bowed deeply, hoping to convey to her without words that she should disport herself like a princess and not let the other women outshine her. Then he gratefully followed a maid who showed him the way downstairs to the kitchen.

L
AN
’
XIU
paused in the doorway, her heart beating so hard she was afraid the other women would hear it and know how frightened she was. She had visited Mei Ju since the first time they had met but had spent most of her time playing with the children, who accepted her uncritically as a large but amusing playmate. The other wives would be sure to examine her person, dress, and jewels with sharp eyes, and they might not be so kind. When she walked into the sitting room, she forced herself to smile and bow deeply, as befitted the seventh and lowliest of the concubines gathered there.

She remained bent low until she heard Mei Ju’s voice, admonishing her to come in.

“My dear Lan’xiu, don’t stand there like a ninny. We observe no ceremony here. Come in and meet the other wives.”

Lan’xiu straightened up and advanced into the room, which seemed filled with beautiful women, although there were only five and one was Mei Ju, with whom she was already familiar. She was glad she had worn a pretty dress instead of the drab one Ning had despised, for they were all beautifully attired in brilliant silk robes.

“Lady First Wife,” she said, going to her knees to kiss the gold ring on Mei Ju’s hand, a symbol of her higher status.

Mei Ju smiled at this show of respect. “Please, be seated here at my right, Princess Lan’xiu. I will pour you some tea to warm you up. It is terrible weather, is it not?”

One of the concubines spoke up. “It is good for the farmers.”

Another girl laughed. “You make it easy for us to remember you were a farmer’s daughter, Fen.”

“Second Wife Ci’an has been unfortunately taken ill and could not attend this day,” Mei Ju explained. “Fen, who speaks often of the farmers, is third wife; Huan is fourth.” The two women sat together upon the divan, close enough together to wreath their arms about each other’s waists.

Lan’xiu bowed to them from her chair. They nodded back to her in return.

Then Mei Ju indicated a pretty woman with a round moon face and tranquil expression. “That is Alute, sixth wife, and the most restful creature.” She indicated the last woman, slim as a sprite and fairly quivering with energy. “And Bai is fifth wife, completely the opposite. She lives with the faeries conversing in her skull and is off with the pixies most nights. But she makes us all laugh.”

“Even Ci’an,” Bai piped up. Her face was like that of a pixie, full of mischief and light—not precisely pretty but very engaging. “You must forgive me for saying so right out loud, Princess, but you are so very beautiful! I have never seen a girl as lovely as you are!”

“And Bai is not much for proper manners,” Huan said officiously. “I hope you will forgive her.”

“Oh, Huan, you are not my mother!” Bai rolled her eyes comically.

“There is nothing to forgive,” Lan’xiu said in her soft voice. “I take no offense.”

“I’m sure you must be used to being stared at,” Fen said enviously.

“Where I come from, the women live apart. I usually saw only my mother and my servant,” Lan’xiu said. “It is you who must forgive me. I fear I am not very clever in conversation. I’ve not been in a room with so many people often.”

“The household did not meet as we do?” Fen asked. “That is barbaric!”

Huan interjected, “Fen has advanced ideas on the subject of rights.”

“The… household there… was… different.” Lan’xiu did not wish to explain any of the details of her old home. It had been a relief when she was able to shake the dust of her homeland from her shoes, even if it meant facing an almost certain death in a strange land.

“If I looked like you, I would dance and sing all the day long,” Bai said. “But your eyes are full of sadness. And yet your smile says there is happiness inside. What magic would it take to coax your joy to come out to play?”

“You already dance and sing all the day long, Bai,” Mei Ju said affectionately. “I can’t think of a single thing that could elevate your spirits even more.”

“Well, it would be nice to be so beautiful,” Alute put in placidly. “And a princess. Did you wear a crown?”

Lan’xiu squirmed uncomfortably. “No, I usually dressed much plainer than I am today, especially when I was riding my horse—” She put a hand up to cover her mouth in dismay. She had not meant to reveal even that much.

“I used to ride,” Fen said. “But only to the fields. And I led the horse home at the end of the day, because it had worked so hard and was as tired as I.”

“It seems you might have liked a ride home yourself after a day’s work in the fields,” Huan said, staring intensely at her friend. “This life is more fitting for someone as pretty as you.”

“Once I learned the rules here,” Fen said with an answering smile. “At first it seemed strange not to go to the fields, and to dress in one’s best every day.” She gazed admiringly at her hands, which were slim and shapely. “And now my hands are soft, not hard from work. And I am able to grow my nails long.”

Lan’xiu noted with interest that Fen alone of the women wore jeweled nail guards on each finger, which unfortunately made her pretty hands look a bit like claws. With a little trepidation, she asked, “What rules must I follow here? I would cause no offense through my ignorance.”

Fen and Huan looked at each other and giggled while Mei Ju looked both pained and embarrassed at their response. Alute seemed to feel she was not required to answer any question as long as the others were there to do so, but Bai knew no such shyness.

“First Wife takes precedence in all matters and governs within the household. She settles any disagreement. Treat the other wives as you would be treated, except for Ci’an. It is not permitted to sneak outside and quench the flame that burns in another wife’s lantern—”

“Bai!” Mei Ju exclaimed in protest. “No one has ever—”

“Ci’an has thought about it. You know she has,” Bai said. “It is only her locked door that prevents her from doing it.”

“I am sure the Princess Lan’xiu would never consider doing anything so ill-bred,” Mei Ju said, still shocked.

Bai pointed to Lan’xiu, who had covered her smile. “See! A little bit of the happiness has leaked out! It was only a jest, Princess. I would never suggest that you would do such a thing—”

“I wouldn’t,” Lan’xiu retorted and giggled again.

“I just wanted to see you laugh.” Bai folded her hands with a satisfied smile.

“You are a mischievous imp,” Mei Ju scolded, but then she smiled. “But I cannot be angry with one who always manages to make me laugh. Just take care you are on good behavior when my husband lights your lantern.”

“He likes it when I misbehave,” Bai said with a sly smile. “He spanks me. I like it, so I am very bad sometimes. He says he knows just how to make me behave myself.”

Aghast, Mei Ju turned to Lan’xiu. “Don’t listen to her, Lan’xiu. Bai is just teasing you. Hüi Wei would never strike a woman—”

“Oh ho! He wouldn’t?” Bai chortled, delighting in the shocked look Alute was giving her. Fen and Huan were pointedly ignoring her, their faces flushed with embarrassment.

“He is too gentle and kind. He is master here and we all strive to please him. There is no need for him to use force,” Mei Ju said sternly.

“I hope not,” Lan’xiu said faintly. She was no longer sure who to believe. It seemed that each wife saw a very different man through the prism of her own experience with Hüi Wei. She dared to sneak a look at Bai, who gave her a knowing smile when their eyes met and rubbed her bottom with one hand as if it were still smarting.

“Please have some more tea, Princess,” Mei Ju said, desperately trying to restore decorum.

“Please, call me Lan’xiu,” Lan said. “I am no princess here, only the humblest concubine.”

“Well, at least one person mouths the truth at this celebration of prevarication and lies,” a harsh voice said.

Lan’xiu jumped and turned to see who had spoken.

“Oh gods, Ci’an has made a miraculous recovery and just in time to join us,” Bai groaned.

A woman posed in the doorway, as dramatically beautiful as Lan’xiu, although in a completely different manner. Her hair was coal black and shiny as a panther, her skin was dead white, which made her crimson lips gleam like cherries against the snow. Her eyes were long and dark and glittered like black ice in winter. Her face had a hard look, as if there wasn’t an ounce of extra flesh on her body, none of the comforting roundness of Mei Ju or the softness of Alute. She was handsome rather than beautiful and almost masculine in her features. While still youthful and attractive, Ci’an looked as if she would not age well. She wore a black cheongsam embroidered in red with a patterned white sash and large gold earrings hanging nearly to her shoulders. There was no ring on any of her fingers.

Lan’xiu stood up and found they were of equal height, which evidently did not please Ci’an. Lan’xiu bowed low, as befitted the last concubine giving respect to the second.

“Yes, just in time to bring this party to life. I have heard much about your arrival, Princess of Nothing,” Ci’an said. Her voice simmered with rage, and she looked daggers at Lan’xiu. “A pretty enough bit of fluff, but you have no rank here and your lantern was lit only once. I know you spread your legs for my husband, but he has not returned to give you a second jab. He must have been disappointed with your performance. What a great pity for you. I fear you cannot be the new favorite.” She waved a hand at Alute. “The stupid little pigeon here currently bears that title. My husband greatly prefers an empty hole with nothing much to say.”

Lan’xiu felt her face flush and wondered how this woman could know that it rankled so to see the other lanterns lit while hers remained dark. It would not do to reveal how she longed for her lord to visit her again, to be held once more in those strong arms, to feel the weight of his body bearing down upon hers. She had thought that perhaps Hüi Wei had truly been as captivated with her as she had been with him, but alas, it seemed not to be so. She wanted to look away from Ci’an’s cold, triumphant eyes, but Princess of Nothing or not, she was still a princess, and she was not going to let this woman stare her down. She bowed punctiliously before she sat down again. “Greetings, Second Wife Ci’an.”

Mei Ju spoke up sharply. “Hüi Wei is
my
husband,
Second
Concubine
! You will refer to him as our husband as befits a mere third-rank concubine! It is by my forbearance alone that you bear the title of second
wife
at all!”

Surprised to hear such an authoritative tone from so gentle a woman, Lan’xiu kept her eyes on Ci’an to watch her response.

“Yes, Lady First Wife. I dared to forget my lowly, ignominious place here for a moment.” Ci’an bit her words off as if sinking her teeth into raw meat and spat them at Mei Ju.

In the silent battle of stares that followed, it was Ci’an who dropped her eyes first and Lan’xiu had an inkling of how much it enraged the woman to submit. The needs of safety in her own home had honed Lan’xiu’s skills at lip reading, and she was able to discern the words that Ci’an muttered to herself. “If I had but borne a son….”

A movement at the door drew Lan’xiu’s attention. Two soldiers came to stand inside the threshold, their watchful gaze fixed on Second Wife. Ci’an noticed them as well and went to a chair opposite Mei Ju’s and sat down, waving her hand at the soldiers as if to dismiss them.

“Be at ease, my handsome young prison-keepers. I promise I have not brought my poison or dagger with me. I am not in the mood for murder today.” Ci’an’s teeth were sharp and pointed when she smiled. “I came only to get a glimpse of the new acquisition. I can hardly wait until Mei Ju invites us all to pat your swollen belly when you increase.” She leaned forward as if to speak confidentially, but her loud voice ensured that all could hear. “They tell me your sheets didn’t show much blood the morning after. Who knows how many chickens have lost their lives in the name of virginity? Rumor has it one disappeared the next morning from the kitchen gardens.”

Her cheeks flaming, Lan’xiu sat up even straighter. She opened her mouth to retort and then closed it. Just because Ci’an seemed incapable of following the rules of polite society, it was no good reason for her to sink to the same depth. Instead she managed to reply calmly, “I am fond of chicken dumplings.”

Bai burst into laughter. “I like a good chicken dinner myself. With rice and cashews! What is your favorite nut, Lan’xiu?”

“I am partial to almonds,” Lan’xiu said, turning to Bai with a slight smile of relief.

“No, the right answer should have been me, Bai!” Fifth Wife giggled at her own wit.

“Almond milk is good for the skin,” Alute piped up. She stroked her fingers over one of her own smooth cheeks with pleasure.

Ci’an rolled her eyes. “Always the bright one, isn’t she? And Bai will now tell us how
her
favorite nuts are the ones within the nutsack that hangs between the legs of
our
husband, and Fen will lecture us on how the peasants put nuts by for the winter and give us recipes that substitute nuts for meat as if we were ever expected to cook a meal ourselves, and then Huan will applaud her and tell us
again
how brilliant and forward thinking her
dear
friend Fen is.”

“When did you start to study gastronomy?” Bai inquired. “But then, you have so
much
time on your hands to study.” She fluttered her lashes while giving Ci’an a disingenuous smile.

Lan’xiu had to admire Bai’s imperviousness to Ci’an’s venom. Nothing seemed to daunt her, and it seemed a good habit to acquire if one were forced to consort with Second Wife.

Ci’an appeared to be simmering with rage, but then she laughed instead of lashing out. “Bai, I vow you alone know how to spike my guns. If only the others were smart enough to learn from you.” With exaggerated courtesy she bowed to Lan’xiu. “It was my most humble honor to meet you, Princess Lan’xiu. I hope you will be as happy a captive here as I within this gilded cage.” With that she swept from the room, knocking over a small table bearing her teacup as she went, not even reacting when it shattered on the floor, splashing the tea everywhere.