Chapter Seventy: He Arrives

The female students gathered in the examination yard had more or less arrived together. Jiang Li followed the teacher leading her to one side of the assessment area, where she had to draw lots to determine the order in which she would be examined. The lot-drawing was done from a long, oval wooden container; Jiang Li and Liu Xue took turns picking small slips of paper from it.

The recorder read aloud, "Jiang Li, thirteenth. Liu Xue, eighteenth."

Altogether, there were only thirty candidates. Jiang Li was placed smack in the middle—not quite high, not quite low. No sooner had the numbers been called than, at the other end, Jiang Yu'e gave an exaggerated cry, loud enough for Jiang Li to hear: "Second Sister is number thirteen, right after Third Sister, who is twelve! What a coincidence!"

Jiang Youyao was twelfth?

Jiang Li was stunned for a moment, then a smile flickered across her heart; indeed, it was a remarkable coincidence.

Liu Xue, however, was not as calm as Jiang Li. She shook her head in concern. "This is troublesome. Jiang Youyao's skill in music is among the best in Mingyi Hall. Last year, her ‘Butterfly Transformation’ stunned everyone, and her skills must have improved since. The better she plays, the worse it is for you; even if you perform well, you’ll appear mediocre by comparison."

People always love to compare; after witnessing jade plates of delicacies, they turn to look at coarse bread, making rare flavors seem all the more unattainable, and simple fare increasingly unpalatable.

It was certainly unfavorable for Jiang Li.

"Why must Second Girl be right after Third Girl?" Grand Madam Jiang frowned. They were all members of the Jiang family—if Jiang Li lagged behind too much, it would hardly be glorious for the family.

Jiang Youyao was secretly delighted, never expecting such a stroke of luck; she felt as if Heaven itself favored her. Surely Jiang Li would be overshadowed and humiliated.

Meng Hongjin, observing the scene, snorted coldly, her schadenfreude evident. Her own musical skill was inferior to Jiang Youyao’s, but seeing Jiang Li embarrassed was cause for satisfaction.

Yet Jiang Li herself had no mind for such concerns. She noticed Princess Yongning but had not yet seen Shen Yuyong. Still, she knew that with Princess Yongning present—a rarity—Shen Yuyong would surely come as well.

As she pondered, the girls around her suddenly grew excited again, stirring the nearby crowd into a bubbling commotion. Liu Xue’s astonished voice reached her ear: "Is Prince Cheng here as well?"

"Prince Cheng?" Jiang Li looked toward the source of the excitement, and indeed saw a man in blue robes taking his seat beside Princess Yongning. It was Prince Cheng.

Prince Cheng and Princess Yongning were siblings, both born of Consort Liu. When Jiang Li was part of the Shen family, she had gleaned some palace secrets from Shen Yuyong. In the days of the late emperor, Consort Liu and Consort Xia vied fiercely for favor, but after Consort Xia’s untimely death, Emperor Hongxiao was raised under the Empress and eventually became Crown Prince.

Prince Cheng had once been but a step away from that position. Perhaps because of his former favor, Consort Liu retained her bold and unrestrained manner, which Prince Cheng inherited. His sharpness was excessive—were the emperor not merciful, a suspicious ruler might have made Prince Cheng suffer much more.

His arrival caused a stir; Jiang Li even overheard noble girls whispering shyly, "Prince Cheng is truly handsome…"

Jiang Li suddenly recalled that Prince Cheng had a principal wife but no concubines. Among the noble girls present, some with slightly lower status might aspire to become his concubine. She wondered if Prince Cheng had come to select a suitable woman. The thought of Jiang Jingrui’s remark about "choosing a wife" made her want to laugh.

But before her smile could reach her eyes, Jiang Li was suddenly stunned. Not far from Prince Cheng—or rather, Princess Yongning—sat a familiar figure. Clad in pale blue robes, his features were gentle and refined; the traces of youthful beauty lingered, but maturity had brought steadiness and dignity.

Even from a distance, Jiang Li could recognize him at a glance—or rather, even across mountains, rivers, or centuries, she would know him anywhere.

He was her husband; the beloved companion of childhood, who once sketched her brows and painted her eyes, who promised to hold her hand for a hundred years and grow old together. He was her husband, her confidant—and her enemy, the one who had watched her descend into the underworld.

Jiang Li abruptly closed her eyes.

Memories surged, fragments of bygone years threatened to piece themselves together into a whole, only to halt abruptly at the crucial moment—like a bronze mirror shattered, the last image reflected was of a desperate figure fleeing outside the window, struggling in another’s grasp.

That chilly, familiar yet alien silhouette.

Jiang Li opened her eyes, numb.

Even from afar, with barely a glance, she was certain she saw Shen Yuyong exchange a look with Princess Yongning. Princess Yongning was vibrant and lively, whispering with bright eyes—a living woman. Yet Xue Fangfei was dead, reduced to a heap of bones buried in earth, cold and decaying.

She lowered her head, unable to cry, unable to smile.

Liu Xue, unaware of Jiang Li’s turmoil, tugged at her sleeve. "The examiner has arrived—look, that’s the Fairy of Soaring Grace…"

Jiang Li, her heart in tumult, had no choice but to look where Liu Xue pointed. She saw a woman in snowy white, adorned with new yellow ribbons. Her lips were vivid, her teeth pearly, her brows elegant and her bearing radiant and unique. As she moved, her wide sleeves fluttered, giving her the appearance of a celestial being, awe-inspiring in her beauty.

That was the Fairy of Soaring Grace. She had once been a performer at Immortal Tower, selling her art but not herself. Her unparalleled mastery of the zither had captivated the noble youths of Yanjing, earning her a reputation more virtuous than most noble ladies. Later, she fell in love with a tea merchant’s son, who redeemed her from servitude. She left the tower and devoted herself to domestic life.

Everyone in the capital lamented that they could no longer hear her play, but her artistry was beyond question. Her presence as examiner today was hardly surprising.

Among the young men present, many blushed and dared not meet her gaze, for though she was married, her beauty surpassed that of maidens.

Jiang Li was marveling at the Fairy’s ethereal grace when Liu Xue suddenly exclaimed, "Duke Su has arrived as well!"

As if to emphasize her words, the surroundings grew hushed, with only faint, careful breaths breaking the silence, as if everyone feared disturbing something sacred.

After the snowy white, a deep, vivid red followed—a red so mournful, so intense.

It was Duke Su, Ji Heng.