Chapter Thirty-Two: King Xiang and Chu Yu

Lingran averted her gaze and walked over to place the tray on the table, but she couldn’t help stealing another glance at the man out of the corner of her eye.

He, too, shot her a cold, sidelong look.

This time, Lingran finally sensed that something was amiss.

Today, instead of letting his hair fall loosely, he wore a black ceremonial crown adorned with a piece of white jade at the front, embroidered with twin dragons vying for a pearl. That kind of hat… it was the same style she had often seen worn by Ming dynasty emperors on television! It was said that princes and dukes of the Ming, if granted robes and hats by the emperor, would also wear this style.

Quickly, she shifted her gaze to his clothing. It appeared that golden coiling dragons were embroidered across his chest, back, and shoulders. A jade belt was cinched tightly around his slender waist, with exquisite pendants hanging on either side, and over his silk robe, a sheer, gauzy coat as light as cicada wings.

This outfit—how could it possibly be worn by a mere male concubine?! Even without much knowledge of Ming dynasty customs, Lingran could tell these were garments fit only for royalty.

Wu Wei, standing to one side, was desperately making faces at her. Seeing that she still hadn’t caught on, he was forced to bark out, “In the presence of His Highness the Prince of Xiang, how dare you not pay your respects!”

“Xiang... Prince Xiang, Chu Yu?” Lingran’s mind went blank. She remembered how, just yesterday, she had mistaken him for a male courtesan, and had even said that it was his good fortune not to share a bed with Prime Minister Chu. At the time, when he had seized her throat with murderous intent but let her go, had he really just spared her for the time being, only to come now to settle accounts? Her knees buckled, and she collapsed to the floor, abjectly kneeling and pressing her forehead to the ground. “Your servant pays her respects to Your Highness.”

Now that she knew who he was, all sorts of rumors about him and his father surged through her mind. She thought of Chu Liuxiang’s notorious perversity, and recalled the wealthy heiresses mentioning that Prince Xiang had eleven concubines; just yesterday, Mo Han had been bestowed to him as his twelfth wife after their wedding night... Suddenly, the man’s good looks seemed far less alluring, and all she wished was for him not to pursue last night’s blunder.

But Chu Yu ignored her prostration, turning to Wu Wei and saying, “Enough dawdling; get started!”

Wu Wei glanced at Lingran. He had no idea what grievance always-amiable Chu Yu could possibly have against this girl, nor did he dare plead for her. All he could do was set up his tools at the stone table, and with swift, practiced strokes, begin sketching the outlines of hairstyle and clothing.

“Your Highness, last time you said there was something unsatisfactory with the portrait—where, exactly?” Wu Wei asked as he began to color the robes.

Still kneeling, Lingran’s knees were starting to go numb; she squirmed uncomfortably.

Chu Yu rose, tossed out a single word—“The eyes”—and strode into the house.

No wonder the portrait couldn’t capture him, she thought. He barely bothered to explain, just tossed out the word “eyes” as if that would suffice! How was Wu Wei supposed to fix it? Lingran quickly shot Wu Wei a pleading look.

Wu Wei lowered his voice and asked, “What did you do to offend this King of Hell?”

Lingran almost laughed at his use of “King of Hell,” but her face remained full of grievance. “Yesterday at the birthday banquet, I saw him and thought he was like Lord Red Sash... a male courtesan.”

“You told him that?” Wu Wei stared at her in disbelief.

Lingran nodded.

Wu Wei shrugged. “Then there’s nothing I can do for you. The thing he hates most in life is Red Sash, and you took him for...?” He gave a theatrical shudder. “It’s a miracle you’re still alive!”

Lingran wanted to cry but had no tears; she could only look at him with pitiful, beseeching eyes.

Wu Wei glanced at her, looked away, then couldn’t help glancing back, and finally sighed, “Alright, alright, I can’t resist a beauty’s plea. I’ll take a risk for you.”

“Thank you, little immortal!” Lingran fawned, bowing repeatedly in gratitude.

Wu Wei put down his brush and headed toward the house. Lingran wanted to follow, but he waved her off. “You’d best stay kneeling. This isn’t some minor offense—you can’t act as if nothing happened!”

Lingran slumped back down, hoping that, given Wu Wei seemed to have a good rapport with Prince Xiang, he might help smooth over last night’s mistake for her. Now, whenever she recalled Chu Yu’s icy gaze in the darkness, her neck tingled with dread; he hadn’t been joking—if his mood had shifted, she might have been sent to the afterlife in an instant.

But Wu Wei had only spoken a few words inside before Chu Yu came out again.

Lingran could have ground her teeth in frustration—kneeling under the blazing sun was torture! What’s more, she’d barely eaten since yesterday; running back and forth, she hadn’t even had time to fill her stomach, and now they’d come to disrupt her peace before she’d had a chance to get angry! But seeing him emerge, she hurried to kneel up straight.

“Who are you, and why are you here?” Chu Yu finally paused beside her, sounding impatient, but at least not mentioning the male courtesan incident.

“Um, well... I... this servant was a birthday gift from Eunuch Liu Yongcheng to Lord Chancellor Chu, and last night...” Remembering Wu Wei’s warning about Red Sash, she quickly raised her voice: “Last night, Lord Red Sash took one look at me and called me ugly, then threw me out. I begged Chief Steward Yu, and he said he’d assign me to a remote part of the gardens as a maid, since the old caretaker here just passed away...” She looked up at Chu Yu with a pitiful glance, then bowed her head.

Hearing that Red Sash had rejected her, Chu Yu’s gaze lingered on her face for a moment. Though his expression remained blank, his eyes no longer seemed so cold and terrifying. He grunted in acknowledgment, as if he meant to say more, when suddenly a brawny man in a studded soft armor rushed up the steps, dropped to one knee, and urgently reported, “Your Highness, Princess Gu’an has once again descended upon Wanxiang Garden, stormed straight to the Moonview Chamber, and beaten the twelfth lady. Lady Sun tried to intervene and was kicked as well—she still can’t get up. It’s utter chaos over there.”

Chu Yu’s brows knit slightly. Wu Wei, having overheard, hurried over and said, “Your Highness, you’d best go at once!”

“Bring the portrait as soon as it’s finished,” Chu Yu ordered, then followed the burly man away. This time, he didn’t hurry—seemed the emperor’s menials were more anxious than the emperor himself.

Finally, Lingran could rise from the ground. She rubbed her knees vigorously, thinking of the troublesome Princess Gu’an, certain that Chu Yu wouldn’t be returning anytime soon. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she slipped into the pavilion for a drink of water.

“My, aren’t you one to bully the weak and fear the strong? The moment he leaves, you’re not afraid of me anymore?” Wu Wei strolled over, half-smiling.

“He’s really nothing to be afraid of, is he? Think about it—a man with twelve wives can’t possibly have time for anything else. Besides, that princess seems dead set on becoming one of Nanjing’s Thirteen Beauties.”

“Nanjing’s Thirteen Beauties?” Wu Wei chuckled at her remark, evidently catching her meaning. “If she wanted to be his thirteenth wife, it would be easy. The problem is, she’s a princess—she can’t marry down to a prince as a concubine. She wants to be his princess consort, but he doesn’t want to marry her. That’s all.”

Lingran’s stomach gave a loud grumble, so she asked, “Prince Xiang told you to finish the portrait today, right? What do you want to eat? I’ll go down to the kitchen and get it for you.”

Wu Wei agreed absently, still muttering to himself about how to get the eyes right.

Lingran nearly cheered with delight. She hitched up her skirts and dashed down the mountain—how could she pass up such an opportunity? She simply claimed that Prince Xiang himself had ordered her to fetch the finest wine and dishes to treat Master Wu, who was painting at Lanze Pavilion.

Sure enough, the kitchen staff didn’t dare slack off. They barked orders at the maids and quickly packed a large food hamper, complete with a flask of fine wine for Lingran to carry away.

Leaving the kitchen, Lingran gazed at the food and wine in her hands, her heart bursting with joy. This time, there’s no way he’ll refuse my request!