Chapter 16

 

Chapter 16 Torment

 

The General’s Mansion was laid out differently from other noble households.

The women and the old madam lived in the inner quarters. The young sons were lodged in their own courtyards outside, separated by a pavilion in the middle.

Every wing of the residence was lively and occupied; no yard ever stood empty.

Strictly speaking, there was no need to pass through the bamboo grove on the way to Qionghua Court. But Guiyuan had lost her way, and Lan Yunying had not known that this grove contained seven or eight chambers, each the sleeping quarters of young maidens.

Wei Xiao’s gaze did not let go. He looked into those eyes so like his wife’s. The day the Lan family’s younger daughter had arrived in Chang’an, he had been shocked and since then had avoided looking her in eyes.

He would not boast of being a gentleman of lofty restraint, but as a man seasoned by years in the barracks had no need of lectures to understand relations between men and women.

Soldiers learned such matters on their own. Their bodies brimming with energy, they trained in formation by day and sought amusement by night.

Even those with wives and children could not keep from seeking their pleasures outside.

And for that very reason, Wei Xiao kept himself clean. He disdained any entanglement that blurred the line of honour.

His conscience was clear. Toward his wife’s younger sister, he bore no thoughts beyond what was proper. What lingered in his mind was only this: if twin sisters shared the same face and figure then perhaps it was the eyes that revealed the difference.

It was his wife’s eyes that had always drawn him.

If only she were not so cold, if only she would show a temper now and then, if she would laugh, speak, and act with liveliness. And yet, even if she never did, how else could he draw her near?

Lan Yunying, under his scrutiny, felt all but defenseless. Yet she dared not let a trace of fear slip out.

Meeting his eyes directly, she asked, “Where is brother-in-law headed?”

Wei Xiao withdrew his gaze. “Today is Jun-niang’s first lesson with the lady instructor. I am waiting here for them.”

He added bluntly, “Your elder sister is not at Qionghua Court. She should be returning with Jun-niang to the bamboo grove.”

Lan Yunying faltered, searching for words. After a moment, she said, “If my sister has business, then I shall return first to the east wing.”

A few days ago, Wei Xiao would likely have kept silent and let the conversation end there. But today, he felt there was something to grasp; just as he had once noticed that faint trace of citrus fragrance shared by wife and sister alike.

His tone even, he said, “The east wing is rather far from here. Why not wait instead?”

Lan Yunying’s thoughts began to blur. She forced a smile. “Brother-in-law is right.”

Though she had done nothing amiss, standing in her sister’s place gave her the guilty conscience of a thief.

At home, she had never lied to her mother. But once beyond the boudoir, she had learned to lie with open eyes, to pass her days in idleness.

Morning glories wound up the railings of the walkway and blossoms a vivid purple. After two days without rain or wind, their leaves hung limp, heads bowed.

Guiyuan this time pressed her lips shut, determined to hold her tongue. Whatever the General asked, she would not answer in her Madam’s stead.

Wei Xiao’s questions rose and fell with measured ease. Leaning on the authority of “brother-in-law,” all he asked circled, inevitably, around his wife.

He mentioned the upcoming Spring Banquet, recalling even the smallest details. “Your elder sister said the seamstresses will arrive tomorrow at dawn to measure for the banquet gowns.”

Lan Yunying replied, “She told me so.”

She longed for the banquet to come quickly and end quickly, so that she might return to Luoyang in peace. At such occasions, Pei Ye’s weak tolerance for wine would surely cause trouble. The Officials, old family friends and the Duke’s Mansion’s many ties which all meant endless toasts.

On the very day he first entered the General’s Mansion, he had drunk himself insensible with Second Master Wei, only to be carried home on Wenbo’s back.

The thought made her chest tighten. She asked, “If wine is pressed upon him at the banquet, could brother-in-law shield my husband and take two cups in his place?”

Catching her worried glance, Wei Xiao remembered that his wife had asked him the very same thing the night before.

Her brother-in-law’s capacity for wine had already been tested that first evening. His own was strong so it was his duty to lend support.

“You need not worry,” he said. “I will look after him.”

“Thank you, brother-in-law.”

Her shoulders eased at last.

She remembered the betrothal papers exchanged last year. Wei Xiao, in truth, was not so old.

Back then, her younger sister had spoken with sharp disdain to their mother, sneering that the Wei family was daydreaming, presuming too much. Wei Xiao was but a martial man; the Lan clan had long been a family of scholars and officials. How could they stoop to join with the Wei of Hedong?

Their mother had laughed at such arrogance. To the world, Wei Xiao was a great hero. Yet in her sister’s mouth, he was worth no more than a crude, rough soldier.

But when the court decreed the marriage, no refusal was possible. To wed into the Wei family was both command and honor, a glory added to the Lan name.

Lan Yunying’s eyes drifted to the tangled morning glories.

It had only been last year, her sister muttering every one of Wei Xiao’s faults. But now, looking back, it felt like some distant past.

As she and her sister had not merely deceived the Wei family and the Pei family. They had deceived the imperial court itself.

The young girls, bright as though dipped in sugar, chattered merrily as they returned to the bamboo grove.

“Uncle!” Wei Jun half-ran, half-walked, though mindful of her teacher and aunt following behind. She slowed her steps, calling, “Uncle, Grandmother says I did so well today that she will reward me with a foal!”

Wei Xiao chuckled. “Have your mother take you there.”

Wei Jun pouted. “But mother doesn’t know which foal is the cleverest. Uncle, you must take me!”

The other girls stood obediently aside.

Lan Yunjin conversed easily with Du Zhen, thanks in part to Yunying’s quiet reminders the day before.

Xue Yan urged the children to return to their rooms to change clothes and rest before luncheon. “Jun-niang, the foal won’t vanish this very moment.”

Wei Jun looked up pitifully at Wei Xiao.

He promised to take her to the stables after they had eaten.

Niece and uncle sealed the promise with a hooked finger, lest the foal slip from her grasp.

Lan Yunjin smiled, taking Yunying’s arm, and said to Du Zhen, “Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times. This is my younger sister.”

In Luoyang, Du Zhen had been a celebrated talent, and she and Yunying had long enjoyed warm friendship.

She stepped forward, smiling. “Ying-niang, that was unfair of you. In the past you came alone to the poetry gatherings, while the other young ladies always brought their closest friends. With such a precious sister, why did you never bring her to Hibiscus Tower to compete in verse?”

Her words carried the regret of meeting too late. “And so I only meet your sister today.”

Lan Yunjin only smiled, casting a sidelong glance at her elder sister.

Yunying’s cheeks colored. Slowly, she said, “Miss Du, the blame is not my sister’s. I am used to idleness, my reading and writing are careless. Had my sister taken me to Hibiscus Tower, I would only have disgraced her. I couldn’t have managed a single poem or half of it.”

Du Zhen took it as modesty and offered words of encouragement. Then she spoke of the sisters’ recent marriages, adding her congratulations. “When I heard the news, I was both anxious and happy. If only I had wings, I would have flown to Luoyang with a gift.  At least now Ying-niang is here in Chang’an. And your sister, she is wed to the young master Pei, is she not?”

Lan Yunying’s eyelids twitched. She answered with a single “Yes.”

Du Zhen seldom spoke rashly of others’ marriages. She only sighed softly at the workings of fate.

She teased, “That is well. The young master’s talent is admired by all. Perhaps your sister may learn a poem or two from him.”

Madam Zhang then invited Du Zhen to stay for luncheon in the mansion.

At table, Du Zhen explained the schedule: each morning, the young girls were to study two full hours, with progress examined at mid-month.

If the pupils proved suited, she would, after a year, continue with embroidery and qin-playing, all matters of women’s conduct, learning, and everything else.

Madam Zhang’s delight showed plain on her face. The other wives too, one after another, presented formal gifts of apprenticeship on behalf of their daughters.

The girls had begun late, already far behind their Chang’an peers.

But coming from a military household, if they could master the Four Books and Five Classics, grow eloquent and articulate, there would be no need to worry. Without that, they might have only strength in their limbs, and be mocked or taken advantage of in society.

Madam Zhang ordered two fine jars of golden cassia wine to be opened and Du Zhen did not refuse.

The women drank happily, while Wei Jun, as she had hoped, was taken by Wei Xiao to pick out a lively foal.

She clung to Lan Yunjin at the stables, begging to play.

Yunying, thinking Pei Ye preferred silence, did not return to the inner courtyard to see him.

…

By nightfall, the full moon was round and pale, like a peeled, steamed taro and white as snow.

Lan Yunjin finally had a moment’s rest. She sat at her dressing table with her eyes closed, gathering her strength.

Wei Xiao, in a short, narrow-sleeved robe, sat properly upright on a stool facing her mirror.

He seemed never to tire of looking at the Lan daughter, perhaps because he rarely saw his wife’s reflection in the mirror: indistinct, hazy, blurred, and all the more captivating.

Momo Zhou knocked on the door, leaning halfway in but not with medicine this time.

“Master,” she said, “a maid just told me that during the day the young master Pei’s steward came looking for you. Unfortunately, you and the young lady weren’t in the courtyard. A while later, the young master Pei himself came with the steward, also asking after you.”

“The maid meant to go find you, but the young master Pei said it wasn’t anything urgent, just that he wished to invite you for tea.”

“When was this?” Wei Xiao asked.

“Likely before midday,” Momo Zhou replied. “Since neither you nor the young lady returned for lunch. The maid has grown more forgetful. Had she spoken sooner, the young master Pei wouldn’t have missed you twice.”

Wei Xiao glanced at the bronze mirror, but his wife’s face was no longer in sight.

Lan Yunjin, rubbing fragrant balm into the back of her hand in small circles, said calmly, “If husband is free tomorrow, perhaps go visit my brother-in-law.”

She suspected Pei Ye was seeking clues through Wei Xiao, but on the surface, she could not stop them from meeting.

Wei Xiao instructed Momo Zhou to have a maid tell the east wing the next morning that, after breakfast, he would go for tea.

---

The seamstress Madam Shen arrived to measure the Lan sisters for new clothes.

The spring banquet at the palace was approaching, and Madam Zhang had already chosen several lengths of Shu brocade days earlier.

In Chang’an, when noble ladies gathered in private to admire flowers and sip tea, they would all name Madam Shen as the one they wanted to make their gowns.

These past two years, the emperor had ordered against extravagance. Even in the palace, the empresses and concubines had to live more frugally, their meals rarely including meat.

Madam Shen always said that while luxury might be set aside, dignity and proper appearance could not.

After taking measurements, the sisters chose their colors and patterns. Madam Shen advised that one wear a light shade, the other dark, so they could be easily told apart.

At the Spring Banquet, there would be many unmarried young ladies present.

Since the sisters were already married, and both striking in appearance, they ought not draw undue attention.

Madam Shen was worldly and experienced. Lan Yunjin let her decide without objection.

Yunying, however, felt little excitement about the banquet and only unease and dread.

Lan Yunjin’s thoughts wandered. Compared to what lay ahead, the banquet was hardly the most difficult hurdle.

Meanwhile, Wei Xiao went to the east wing for tea.

But tea was not Pei Ye’s true purpose.

Wenbo crouched beside the low table, holding the teapot to refill Wei Xiao’s cup.

“My brother-in-law asked for me, did something happen?” Wei Xiao asked.

Pei Ye found it hard to speak. His fine, elegant features could not conceal his frailty. How was he supposed to ask Wei Xiao…?

Should he speak directly and ask whether Wei Xiao had noticed his wife did not seem like Yunying?

Or should he circle carefully, sounding him out step by step?

Pei Ye lowered his head. “I’ve troubled you these days. If I do not express my thanks, I would feel ashamed before you.”

To Wei Xiao, Pei Ye’s overly formal manner only made him seem more tedious. Every few words included thanks.

Just like his wife. Scholars, he thought, always clung to polite phrases.

Yet now, he did not mind hearing his wife say them.

But from Pei Ye, the politeness was hollow and dull.

Wei Xiao rubbed the rim of his cup but did not drink. “If one day Yunying and I return to Luoyang and stay at your household, would that too be considered troubling you?”

Pei Ye was struck silent.

He motioned for Wenbo to fetch wine instead.

Turning his words, he said, “I forgot, you do not like tea.”

Wei Xiao had no interest in drinking with him. Talking with someone he found unpleasant was already torture enough.

“No need to trouble yourself,” Wei Xiao said, and drained his cup in one swallow.

Wenbo froze in place. The general… truly was a forthright man.

Pei Ye no longer wanted to hesitate. He rose and opened the wine jar himself.

In his household, they did not keep strong spirits. He would not get as drunk as last time.

“Today, I only wished to ask you—” Pei Ye faltered.

Wenbo’s face tightened with dread, as though someone had clamped a hand over his nose and mouth.

My lord… if your suspicions are wrong, what then?

Pei Ye finally said, “When will elder sister… return home to visit?”

Wenbo let out the breath he was holding.

Wei Xiao’s eyes grew sharp, though he did not answer at once. His brother-in-law was paying too much attention to his wife.

At last, Wei Xiao replied, “Yunying will not be returning to her family for another month or two.”

Pei Ye’s thoughts surged. He drank cup after cup, his head growing muddled.

He had so much he wanted to say but he had only two pieces of handwriting as proof.

Voices crowded his mind that of Yunying’s, Yunjin’s, Wei Xiao’s cool tone.

Wenbo paced anxiously around the room, restless and stifled.

Near midday, the blinding sun slanted through the windows of the side chamber.

When Lan Yunying returned, she found Wenbo helping Pei Ye onto the bed, a wine jar on the table.

Wei Xiao had not yet left.

As a wife seeing her husband drunk, Yunying hurried over to assist.

Pei Ye still had a shred of awareness.

Suddenly, Yunying’s face appeared before his eyes, shattering the walls he had built inside himself.

In a voice like a nightmare breaking loose, he whispered, “Yunying.”

It was like a muffled thunderclap, splitting the room in two.

Wenbo looked at Yunying in horror, ready to weep.

It was ruined. Completely ruined.

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