The Golden Hairpin – Chapter 14: Enthralled by the Golden Sun and Purple Wisteria (Part 2)

Today, Wang Ruo was dressed in a light blue skirt with embroidered blooming flowers patterned on her sleeves and lapels. Her black hair was in a loose bun on the top of her head, and there were only two or three pink begonias worn underneath the hair bun, which looked so charming.

Her eyes lit up when she saw Huang Zixia coming; she was smiling broadly as she lifted her skirt and quickly walked to the door to receive the coming guest. The smile on her face was pretty like a flower. Even Huang Zixia also found her smile was compelling and it’s infectious, naturally the two became close with each other like friends for many years.

She glanced nervously at Huang Zixia, “In the morning, Senior maids Suqi had already told me all the names of the imperial concubines, princesses and other imperial relatives in the palace. There are so many people, and I’m having trouble remembering all of them! After that, Senior maids Suqi also said that you have lots more to tell me. Oh, what can I do now? I’m a little worried.”

Huang Zixia’s soothing voice could be heard as she comforted her, “Don’t worry. Your Highness is smart and intelligent. In no time, you’ll get on all right.”

“It’s not true. When I was a child, I was learning the simplest song and uhm, it’s called… ‘Flowing waters’, and everyone else learned faster than me. My aunt always says that I am stupid, oh..what should I do?!” Her shoulders slumped and felt bad about herself, and then she quickly asked, “Are the prince’s family rules and regulations difficult to learn?”

“It looks fine to me; moreover, Your Highness comes from a large family with an ancestry of hundreds of years. Maybe there are more rules in your family instead.” Huang Zixia said while handing the rule books she had brought to her. She took a glance at her worried face before adding another sentence, “These are only a part of the rules and regulations in the mansion. When the princess consort has finished reading it, I will bring others next time.”

For the rest of the day, Huang Zixia ate snacks, sat there leisurely while watching Wang Ruo study the books earnestly. With that, she had a guilty conscience, hence she took a book and read through as well. It would be utterly embarrassing if she wasn’t familiar with the rules as compared to the princess consort who was just a new member in the family.

However, today wasn’t as nervous as she was yesterday when she studied the books. After a moment of reading, her thoughts drifted as her eyes wandered around the room when she saw Wang Ruo was sitting there in a daze holding one of the books.

Seeing her as if in absence of mind, Huang Zixia closed the rule book in her hand, and asked, “What is Your Highness thinking about?”

“I was thinking about…. some things that Senior maids Suqi taught me earlier.” She said hesitantly.

Huang Zixia asked with a smile, “Well, what did Senior maids Suqi say?”

“Senior maids Suqi gave me a talk about the book ⟪The Female Prohibition⟫, in the subject of ‘Fidelity’ which she said, ‘A virgin maiden once married off can never remarry, but the husband can remarry. Nowadays, many women are not satisfied with their husband’s family and go to the court for a divorce. Their behaviours and minds are so perverse, and as a woman, the vows of chastity must be loyal from one until the end. Nevertheless, the royal family would pay more unbending attention to this matter.’ ”

Huang Zixia nodded and said, “The education of ⟪The Female Prohibition⟫ should’ve begins at home and whereas Senior maid Suqi was just narrating a conventional example. How does Your Highness feel about it?”

“I… I have, of course, read it before.” Wang Ruo quickly said, ” I just suddenly thought of one or two things, and felt a little flummoxed.”

“May I ask what’s bothering Your Highness? Can you tell me about it?”

“It is… I heard that Empress Wu was once known as Emperor Taizong’s Talented Lady*, and also in the other events that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang bestowed the Princess Consort Shao to become Noble Consort Yang* in his… harem.” She said hesitantly.

(Talented Lady – Imperial concubines ranks given by the emperor. Empress Wu married twice; her first marriage was with Emperor Taizhong of Tang and then her second marriage to the emperor’s youngest prince, Emperor Gaozong of Tang.) 

(Noble Consort Yang 杨贵妃 ‘yang gui fei’- She was one of the historical Four Beauties in China’s dynasties. She was married to Li Mao, the Prince of Shao as Princess Consort Shao and then remarried to the prince’s father, Emperor Xuanzong.)

Huang Zixia didn’t expect it to be such tricky questions. Even thousands of historians would not be able to delineate about it, let alone her. What else could she do? After a momentary contemplation, her mouth curved into an ironic smile and replied, “In this dynasty, there are indeed some things that are hard to say.”

“Then, how about the Han dynasty? There was also Emperor Wu’s mother, Wang Lao, who was married to a commoner, abandoned her husband and daughter, and then married into the palace as if it was her first marriage. And later on, she became the mother of the world… Am I right?”

Huang Zixia was stupefied for a long time, and finally she could only say, “Our great land of China has a history of thousands of years; there will always be one or two people who are different from each other, but they are also far and few.”

Wang Ruo looked fixedly at the book on the desk and asked hesitantly, “Therefore, Chonggu, what do you think of this Empress Wang who concealed her marriage history and entered the palace as a virgin maiden. Let’s say the Emperor Jing of the Han dynasty should find out about it in the future, what would be her….her ending?”

Hearing this, Huang Zixia naturally laughed, “Why should Your Highness worry about the history of the past? In the end, the Empress Wang became the Empress Dowager Wang, and her family was full of wealth. Her son, Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty, later learned that his mother had a daughter with a commoner. He also visited her personally and called her sister. I think the royal family also has feelings, and everything can be judged with common sense.”

“Hm.. I would think so too.” She held the book in her arms tightly, but she seemed a little lost in thought.   

Huang Zixia thought over silently in mind what she had just said, but couldn’t grasp the point so she let it go for a time being. Soon after, her gaze followed Wang Ruo’s line of sight and it led to the stalk of peony on the table. 

This peony is exactly that beautiful colored peony, and it now sits in a large crystal bowl with shallow water just enough to immerse the short flower stem in preserving the flower. But the flowers looked wilting nonetheless, and the petals were slightly rolled up, and one or two petals had dropped. 

When Wang Ruo realized that Huang Zixia was staring at the flower, she blushed and immediately lowered her head to roll up the scroll, looking uneasy and shy.

‘It’s strange indeed, by looking at her behaviour, it seemed that she truly adored Prince Kui.’ 

Huang Zixia studied over her secretly. She deeply felt Wang Ruo’s yearning for Li Shubai was real just like any other young girls when they fall in love. Huang Zixia’s mind was disoriented momentarily as if she had been influenced by her emotional and softened mood.

Wang Ruo’s head bent even lower as she stroked the beautiful flower in the crystal bowl. Just after, a charming and soft voice could be heard, “Chonggu, you must be laughing at me in your heart.”

“Why should I laugh at you?” Huang Zixia smiled.

She shyly raised her hands to cover her face and whispered, “I wonder if you can feel my feelings right now. I… I have been thinking about what my future husband will be like, what kind of life I will live in the future and what kind of person I would depend on. As soon as I was brought into the inner hall and saw the prince for the first time, I understood everything. At that moment, I seemed to see clearly the path of my life opened up in front of me,… and I didn’t fear the future anymore. I saw him standing in the light, holding the peony in his hand; his whole body was as clear as jade. Immediately, I knew that he was the man of my life..”

Huang Zixia couldn’t help but think back about the situation when Wang Ruo first met Li Shubai. Somehow in her heart, she felt Wang Ruo’s reaction was different as described by her just now, yet she flashed her smile and said, “Recalling what you looked like at that time, I understand.”

“You can’t mention it to anyone else.”

“Ok.” Huang Zixia sat by her side, looking at her rosy cheek and longing in her eyes. Suddenly, her dark eyes glinted with a little melancholy, the image in front of her eyes changed as if she was dreaming. At dusk in early summer, dragonflies were flying all over the pond, when she looked back with lotus flowers in her arms and saw the young man looking at her from afar. 

Unconsciously, her mind drifted far away in deep thoughts and when she pulled back to reality, she felt a slight pain in her heart. 

She turned her head to look at the red sun, and then slowly stood up and said, “It’s time for this humble servant to take a leave now. Your Highness can keep these books for further readings.”

“Ok.” Wang Ruo’s hand was still unconsciously stroking the peony petals, but it only destroyed it even more.

Huang Zixia went to the door and saw purple wisteria blooming all over the small courtyard, and the enchanting purple was like mist around the pergola. The setting sun in spring is dazzling gold, shining on the purple wisteria, setting the whole courtyard off in gold and purple colors. For that instant, there were stirred up feelings in her heart, she could feel Wang Ruo’s shy and timid joy.

Therefore, she looked back at Wang Ruo and teased her with a smile, “Please rest assured, Your Highness. This humble servant won’t talk about it to others. I will only relay to the prince that the princess consort still treasures the piece of beautiful peony that His Highness gave her.”

Wang Ruo, who was embarrassed and angry, stood up and stamped her foot, “Hmph.. you are so…”

However, before Wang Ruo could finish her sentence, Huang Zixia already left the room with a grin on her face. 

***

Prince Kui mansion’s carriage that came to pick up Huang Zixia had already stopped at the gate of the Wang household. She got into the carriage and passed the streets and lanes of Chang’an all the way. When the carriage reached the east city, the carriage stopped suddenly. 

With that, Huang Zixia furrowed her eyebrows and wondered who was it so bold to stop the carriage of Prince Kui’s mansion. When she lifted the curtain of the carriage, she found that the car was parked by a restaurant. In front of the window on the second floor above her head, a man was standing there looking down. He was dressed in purple, and as the setting sun shone on him, just like the enthralling purple wisteria and golden sun in Wang Ruo’s small courtyard. He was looking at her in the carriage below with his usual casual eyes, which were more profound in the sunset, but there was no expression on his face revealing his emotion.

Li Shubai was watching her from upstairs; needless to say, she did not dare to neglect him. Without delay, she jumped out of the carriage, went into the restaurant and upstairs to the private room and knocked on the door. Immediately someone came to open the door. It was Jing You, the eunuch who was always with Li Shubai. Eunuch Jing You had not yet recovered from the cold; he told Huang Zixia to serve the prince attentively, and then closed the door and left. 

In the private room, she and Li Shubai were not the only ones present, but also the Prince of Zhao, Li Rui and Prince of Hubei, Li Ren, who were also dressed in their casual clothes, and a woman sitting in front of the table gently plucking on the zither’s string. The woman was in her forties, and her facial features were very beautiful, but the aging sign on her face could be clearly seen. When she saw Huang Zixia come in, she nodded to her slightly without saying anything and played the zither softly. The sweet-sounding zither was clear and soothing.

Seeing that she was looking at the woman, Li Shubai said, “She is Madam Chen Nian, a disciple of Dong Tinglan. The day before yesterday, Prince Zhao said that she was here in Chang’an. Therefore, Prince Run and I made an appointment to come here today to listen to her skills.”

Ever since this dynasty, the musical instruments and music of Huhua ethnic in the western regions had been very popular for a time. The seven stringed instruments were seldom appreciated because of its insipid ancient sound. However, Dong Tinglan was highly praised for his superb talent in zither in the heyday of Tang Dynasty where Gao Shi also wrote poems for him as it reads: “Do not worry there would be no bosom friends along the way, in this great world, who wouldn’t know this honourable man.”

Huang Zixia nodded to the woman to give her regards.

Li Rui’s mouth involuntarily curved into a smile and he said, “Fourth brother, it seems this little eunuch has become very important to you now. What were you busy with today?”

“He has a good memory, so I ordered him to go to Wang’s household to teach the rules of the mansion.”

“Oh,” he raised his brows and continued, “Is he not only able to solve a crime, but also has the ability that seen once and will never forget just like the fourth elder brother?” Li Rui asked another question with a wry smile.

Li Shubai only gave him a low hmm as a reply without saying a word. 

And at this moment, Huang Zixia saw that the glaring setting sunlight was reflecting on Madam Chen Nian’s eyes. She frowned and walked to the window to pull down the bamboo curtain in front of her.

As a result, Li Rui said with a smile, “The little eunuch is very meticulous.”

At the end of Madam Chen Nian’s song, the sound of zither resonated like resounding jade, making the people forget the common customs, and no one answered Li Rui’s words. After hearing the last reverberations of the music, Madam Chen Nian rose gracefully from her seat to salute the people.

Li Ren praised, “It’s wonderful. You can imagine the style of Great Dong at that time.”

Li Rui added, “Indeed, it’s very well played. Do you want to join the teaching workshop? Maybe we can help in referring you to them.”

Madam Chen Nian modestly shook her head, “I’m old. Now I’m working as a zither player in Yunshao Garden in Jiangnan. I’m afraid I can’t adapt to the teaching workshop anymore.”

Li Rui curiously asked, “Why did you come to Chang’an this time?”

Madam Chen Nian replied, “I was studying under the teacher’s school with my senior sister Madam Feng Yi. We have good relationships and supported each other for many years. A few months ago, Feng Yi suddenly bid her farewell to me, saying that she would escort her daughter to Chang’an, and will stay there at least one to two months, or three to four months at the most, before returning. But now it has been more than five months. There has been no news from her, and I went around asking all the people, I found that no one knows why she has come to Chang’an and who she is escorting. The only way for me was to come to Chang’an alone to inquire about the news. Who knows, not only I couldn’t find her, but also the money I had was all spent. Fortunately, I met some of my old schoolmates and they introduced me to this place so I could play the zither and had the chance to meet the noble people.”

Li Ren spoke smilingly, “I know what you mean. You hope I can help you find the whereabouts of your senior sister, don’t you?”

“Yes, if you can get the whereabouts of my senior sister, I’d be really grateful!”

Li Ren said, “Well, Chang’an isn’t that big, but not small either. How about I’ll write you a letter? Then you can go to the office of yamen and ask them to draw a portrait for you and look for the person.”

Madam Chen Nian looked at him with joy and gave a deep bow to him. She said, “No need for trouble to redraw the portrait as I have with me a small portrait of my senior sister and me together which was drawn a few years ago. The one I have always taken with me looks very similar to us. I’ll take it and show it to them.”

“That’s even better. You can give me the portrait and right away I’ll write the letter for you.”

Li Shubai gave a look to signal Huang Zuxia and she obediently walked out the room to get the brush and ink from the shop.

As Li Ren was writing the letter at the side, Madam Chen Nian sat in front of the zither and adjusted the strings one by one. Huang Zixia sat opposite her, and helped her to open the box of rosin powder and wipe the strings.

Madam Chen Nian liked her very much because she was very thoughtful just now. Looking at her hand, she asked, “Can the little eunuch play the zither?”

“I have learned pipa and konghou before, but I didn’t have patience. So, I only learned a little, and then I abandoned it.”

a) 箜篌 kōnghóu – Chinese harp; b) 琵琶 pípa = Chinese lute; c) 琴qín = guqin 古琴 (a type of zither)

“It’s a pity, because your hands are perfect for playing the zither.”

Huang Zixia was a little surprised, and said, “No one has said before that my palm looks good.”

“By looking at your palm, it seems to have enough strength, and when you play the zither or pipa, because the palms are a little larger, and you can press the strings with a larger span.”

Huang Zixia smiled and said, “It’s probably because I used to like playing polo, so, it has become like this.”

When Li Rui heard polo was mentioned, he quickly jumped into the conversation, “Hey, you little eunuch likes to play polo too? Sure, I will call you up when we get to play some other day.”

Huang Zixia immediately said, “It’s just that I’ve played one or two games before.”

“I couldn’t believe you dared to play polo especially in that thin body of yours. You could easily lose your arms and legs at any time.” As he spoke; he reached out his hand and wanted to pinch her shoulder but she shrank back and stared at Li Shubai. He just ignored her stares and coughed softly. 

However, Li Rui could hear him cough, he smiled, returned to his place and sat beside Li Shubai. Huang Zixia lowered her head and continued to sort out the rosin powder. She looked up occasionally and saw Madam Chen Nian’s lowered face, with a high bridge nose and a small chin. As she thought to herself, Madam Cheng Nian’s outline seems to have a very similar profile with her mother.