After the hunt, Tantai Yue and Tantai Tong took up residence at the Prince of Yong’an’s estate in Yanjing. The imperial physicians came several times and thoroughly assessed Tantai Tong’s condition, though they told only Tantai Yi and said nothing to her.
Tantai Tong remained unaware that anything was amiss with her health. Over the past few days, many prominent families had sent her invitations, and she had come to know quite a number of young ladies her age.
That day, she received yet another invitation to a tea gathering and was preparing to attend when Tantai Yue clung to her, insisting she stay and play mahjong with him.
In just a few days, Tantai Yue had been utterly dazzled by Yanjing. He had tried his hand at all manner of pastimes, but what captivated him most was mahjong. He could play with Tantai Qinyue and the others well into the night without breaking up. Tantai Tong, however, simply did not have that kind of stamina. Even sitting down for tea and conversation with the other girls left her exhausted, which was hardly surprising given how frail she was.
With Tantai Yue pestering her, Tantai Tong could only feel helpless. “How old are you already, still clinging to me like this? I’m your meimei*, not your jiejie*.”
(*TN: meimei= younger sister, jiejie= older sister)
Tantai Yue promptly bared his back. Though he was robust and had mostly recovered over the past few days, he still had bandages wrapped around him, purely as an excuse to stay home and play mahjong openly. “I’m injured! Tongtong, can you really bear to leave me here like this?”
Tantai Tong had no answer. Petite as she was, once Tantai Yue latched onto her, she could not even move, nor could she truly get angry. She could only puff out her cheeks and glare at him. “Stop making a fuss. I’m going to the tea gathering and will be back early. I’ll play with you when I return, all right?”
Tantai Yue brightened at once. “Fine, go quickly and come back quickly. I’ll wait for you at home.”
At last rid of him, Tantai Tong let out a sigh of relief and boarded the carriage with her nanny.
She came from a distinguished background and had grown up on the northern frontier, so her temperament was still somewhat simple and unguarded. The first stirrings of affection in her life had been for Song Lingyun, yet he was already betrothed. His fiancée had been engaged to him at fifteen, but after the engagement, her mother passed away, and she observed three years of mourning. Before that period ended, her father died as well, adding another three years. Even now, she had yet to marry into the Song family.
No matter how much Tantai Tong liked him, she would never interfere in another’s marriage. She also knew that Song Lingyun had never taken a concubine, remaining so upright and devoted. He truly was the ideal husband in her eyes.
Unfortunately, they simply had no fate together. She had done her best to let go, and it was precisely for this reason that she had acquiesced to the Prince of Yong’an’s plan to keep her in Yanjing.
As for whom she would marry in the future, she did not know. She only knew that she would likely never meet another man as steadfast and devoted to a single person as Song Lingyun.
Pushing these thoughts aside, she went to meet the friends she had recently made. The atmosphere at the tea gathering seemed somewhat heavy. Curious, she asked about it, and one of her companions said, “Tong-meimei, you’ve only been in Yanjing a few days, so you may not know. Look over there, do you see her?”
Following the direction of her finger, Tantai Tong saw an exceptionally beautiful young woman seated gracefully to one side. She seemed to embody the line, “Her silken skirts whisper, her slender waist adorned with gold; her brows, delicate as though unpainted.” Her skin was like congealed cream, her brows like distant mountains veiled in mist, her bright eyes shimmering with life. Every movement was filled with elegance, exquisitely refined.
Tantai Tong herself was pretty, but she had not seen many people. Faced with such beauty, she could not help but feel a trace of timidity. She asked softly, “Who is she?”
Her friend replied, “She’s from the second branch of the Lin family, named Lin Xuemei.”
There was a hint of disdain in her tone. She pulled Tantai Tong closer, lowering her head, and whispered in her ear, “I’ll tell you something in confidence. It’s not even certain she’s truly from the Lin family. She was only brought back a few months ago. Some experienced matrons recognised her at a glance as a Yangzhou ‘slender horse’. Do you know what that is?”
Tantai Tong shook her head. “No. What is it?”
Her friend, still a teenage girl herself, flushed with embarrassment at the topic, but after biting her lip, she forced herself to continue. “It’s… women trained in Yangzhou specifically to serve men. They’re even worse off than courtesans. They can’t bear children and are treated as mere playthings. If a man grows tired of them, giving them away is already considered good. If worse comes to worst, they’re sold to the lowest brothels.”
Tantai Tong’s face flushed red at once. “…Who told you such things?”
Seeing her reaction, her friend grew awkward. “I only heard it from others. Don’t you think she looks like a vixen?”
Tantai Tong could not help but feel displeased. “You haven’t seen anything with your own eyes, yet you believe such things? Do you not know how important a young woman’s reputation is?”
Her friend’s expression stiffened at the rebuke. Although she was displeased, she did not dare speak harshly given Tantai Tong’s status, and could only soften her tone. “Everyone says so, it’s not just me. Why are you taking it so seriously?”
Tantai Tong said angrily, “So that gives you the right to slander someone so casually?”
Her friend’s face cooled. “Princess*, do not be angry. It was my fault. I won’t mention it again. I’m feeling unwell, so I’ll take my leave.”
(*TN: Fyi, the Princess title here is jùnzhǔ (郡主) aka. Commandery Princess/ Princess of the Blood, was a title for daughters of princes (princes of the blood), specifically the daughters of qīnwáng (亲王, first-rank princes), who were typically the emperor’s sons or brothers.
The other Princess title is gōngzhǔ (公主) which is the exclusive title for a daughter of the emperor.
There were different ranks among princesses as well (e.g., 长公主 for the emperor’s sister, 大长公主 for his aunt… similar to “Princess Royal”), but the core meaning remained: direct daughter of the reigning emperor.)
With that, she rose and left without another glance.
Their dispute had gone unnoticed by the others, but once her friend had gone, the young woman who had been labelled a “Yangzhou slender horse” looked over at Tantai Tong. Then she stood and walked towards her.
“Are you alone?”
Lin Xuemei curved her lips in a smile. Her beauty was truly breathtaking; even that single smile could stir the heart. Though Tantai Tong was also a young lady, she found herself momentarily dazed by it. Catching the faint, distinctive fragrance about her, she unconsciously lowered her guard. “I am. Are you as well?”
Lin Xuemei’s smile softened slightly. “I am. In that case, shall we keep each other company?”
Tantai Tong nodded rather blankly. Lin Xuemei lowered her gaze to look at her, and a gentle smile blossomed again on her lips, a beauty capable of toppling kingdoms, peerless and radiant.
*
Over the past few days, Tantai Yi had been somewhat distracted. His eyelid had been twitching incessantly.
“Uncle Qin,” he said, “I gave Lord Song a little of that southern medicine and granted him three days’ leave. Only two days have passed, yet my eyelid keeps twitching. Could it be that Lord Song is speaking ill of me?”
The old eunuch was already busy to the point of exhaustion and still had to listen to him ramble. “Your Majesty is overthinking it. Young Master Song is broad-minded. How could he bear a grudge over such a trivial matter?”
Tantai Yi interlaced his fingers and rubbed the back of his hand with a restrained air. “Uncle Qin, I wish to ask you something.”
“What is it, Your Majesty?”
“I have seen Lord Song’s rear, yet he seems unwilling to let me look, always making excuses to fob me off. I do not even know whether he has truly used the jade insert.”
The old eunuch hesitated. “Does Your Majesty believe Young Master Song has not used it?”
“I have already said I would make him Empress, yet his heart is not sincere. Even now, he has only managed the smallest one. I suspect he is deceiving me.”
The old eunuch fell silent, then asked in shock, “Your Majesty intends to make Young Master Song Empress?”
Tantai Yi paused, not expecting to have let that slip. “I did not intend to hide it from you. However, I have been absent from court for too long and have sent too many officials to the black prison. If I were to immediately establish Lord Song as Empress, my royal uncles would certainly oppose it. That is why I have been attending court diligently, striving to be an even more enlightened ruler than the late emperor. In that way, the obstacles will be fewer.”
As emperor, Tantai Yi held immense power. The dragon tally and imperial seal were both in his hands. The military forces held by the Princes of Yong’an and Huainan were, in truth, still his. If he wished to reclaim them, they would have no choice but to comply. Moreover, both princes had been utterly loyal to the late emperor, and would relinquish power willingly.
In this era, legitimacy mattered above all. Tantai Yi was the rightful ruler. Even as a tyrant, he was still the sovereign acknowledged by Heaven, embodying the destiny of Liang.
Yet precisely because of this adherence to orthodoxy, he could not act entirely as he pleased. Securing Lord Song’s position as Empress was therefore extremely difficult. Unbeknownst to Song Pu, Tantai Yi had already begun shaping public opinion: that he attended court properly because of Lord Song, that he treated officials with restraint because of Lord Song, that he even released prisoners from the black prison because of Lord Song.
In this way, Lord Song’s reputation had improved considerably, though he himself likely knew nothing of it, being the sort who paid no heed to matters beyond his immediate world.
Having gone to such lengths, Tantai Yi could not help but feel he had worked exceedingly hard. And yet, he could not even take a proper look, which left him feeling rather aggrieved.
The old eunuch remained silent for a long time, utterly unprepared for such a revelation.
He had misjudged the boy. He had thought he would not even grant him a consort’s rank, yet at some point he had already promised him the position of Empress.
After a while, he finally said, “Does Your Majesty not know that the Founding Emperor greatly favoured his male consort, yet never made him Empress? How then can Your Majesty…”
Tantai Yi replied coolly, “That was because the Founding Emperor was constrained by the five great families. I have seen that he never painted spring pictures with women, only with his male consort. Presumably, like me, he regarded that consort as his wife. In that case, I am far better than he was. I dare to make Lord Song Empress. He did not.”
As he spoke, a trace of smug satisfaction appeared on his face.
The old eunuch: “……”
