"Prince Jing, what are you talking about?" A flash of alarm crossed Xing Qin'er's face. "What do you mean by 'the accuser playing the accused?' Are you saying that I was the one who harmed Master Tan?"
Xie Lin said mildly: "If the young lady's conscience is clear, why has she moved to conceal her hands?"
Xing Qin'er was on the verge of a rebuttal when Emperor Jingyuan narrowed his eyes from his high seat and gestured to the Imperial Physician: "Go and examine whether Noble Daughter Xing's nails carry any issue, as Prince Jing suggests."
Xing Qin'er saw the Imperial Physician approach, shrank back, and shook her head: "No — it wasn't me who harmed Master Tan!"
The Imperial Physician, however, showed not a shred of pity. He motioned for two palace servants to hold down Xing Qin'er's arms, then raised her wrist and said calmly: "Noble Daughter, pardon the intrusion." With that, he took up a thin wooden probe and extracted a small pinch of white powder from beneath Xing Qin'er's long nails.
"Is that the poisonous substance that harmed him?" Honored Consort Hui covered her nose and mouth, unable to resist asking.
The physician ground the powder between his fingers, sniffed it, touched it to his tongue, and after a long moment shook his head: "No, no — Prince Jing, the powder at the tips of Noble Daughter Xing's fingers appears to be nothing more than ordinary face powder residue from having touched her own face. It does not carry the scent or taste of the sour pear twig powder found on Noble Son Tan's face!"
Hearing this, Xing Qin'er dropped to her knees weeping: "Your Majesty, this subject-girl has been wronged!"
The Emperor's brow furrowed heavily into three deep lines, and something close to impatience was already plain on his face: "Third?"
Called upon by the Emperor, Xie Lin showed no fluster at all. He simply lowered his eyes and said lightly: "Father Emperor need only ask the Imperial Physician to take a closer look at the colour at the very tips of Noble Daughter Xing's index and middle fingers."
"What does Prince Jing imply by that?" The physician seemed to have grasped something. His expression turned grave. Without hesitation he seized Xing Qin'er's wrist, and upon seeing the yellowish tinge at the tip of her index finger, cried out in sudden shock: "Not the sour pear twig powder, but sour pear twig water?"
Noble Consort Rong could not help covering her nose and asking with curiosity: "Imperial Physician, what is the difference between sour pear twig and sour pear twig water?"
Emperor Jingyuan also looked toward him.
The physician recovered from his astonishment and carefully explained to the assembled: "Sour pear twig water is sweet to the taste; in liquid form it is colourless, but when it dries upon fabric it turns a pale yellow, and its taste is sweet yet astringent. I had initially believed that Noble Son Tan had fallen prey to face powder into which sour pear twig powder had been mixed in advance, which would have caused the facial itching and sores. But if it were sour pear twig water — its toxicity when combined with face powder is far greater. I fear that Noble Son Tan's complexion may be very difficult to restore."
"How cruel!" Noble Consort Rong exclaimed, then added with pity: "What a wretched suffering for Noble Son Tan to endure."
At that moment, palace attendants who had been quietly dispatched to Chuxiu Palace to gather evidence returned to Shokang Palace, carrying a cosmetics box.
"Sir, this is the powder compact used by Noble Son Tan — please examine it." The attendant carefully opened the lid.
The physician tested the face powder inside and reported to Emperor Jingyuan with a bow: "This compact's face powder contains nothing problematic."
Emperor Jingyuan nodded, and then another attendant hurried into Shokang Palace with a message: "Your Majesty, Noble Son Tan has regained consciousness."
"What does he say?" Emperor Jingyuan asked.
The attendant knelt and reported: "Noble Son Tan says that after taking the cosmetics box from Noble Son Bai's hands, he went to Noble Daughter Xing's room. Since both he and Noble Daughter Xing were from the damp southern prefectures, and felt the dryness of the capital compared to home, he noticed after applying the powder that his face felt unusually dry. He says Noble Daughter Xing was the one who told him that if his face felt dry, he should apply some fragrant flower dew before the powder — and she applied it herself with her own hand."
When the attendant finished, Xing Qin'er's expression changed abruptly. Her face went white, and her eyes darted with panic.
It had nearly slipped past them — nearly fooled them with the words of one small young woman. Emperor Jingyuan slammed his teacup down and pointed at Xing Qin'er: "Noble Daughter Xing — have you anything further to say?!"
Xing Qin'er knelt on the ground. With her deeds laid bare, only tears rolled silently down her face: "…This subject-girl has nothing to say."
Emperor Jingyuan's eyes turned sharp: "As the daughter of a Huayuan county magistrate, you not only deliberately harmed the son of a Qingzhou concurrent administrator, destroying his face, but you attempted to frame the legitimate son of the Changping Marquis — crimes compounded upon crimes! Come — drag Xing Qin'er out of the palace! Take her to prison and place her in the Ministry of Justice's custody for adjudication. Additionally, the Huayuan county magistrate has failed to discipline his daughter. Reduce his salary for three years and demote him to district clerk!"
Hearing this verdict, Xing Qin'er's eyes glazed over for a moment — then, as palace guards stepped forward to seize her, she suddenly lunged to her feet and hurled herself like a gust of wind toward one of the stone pillars in Shokang Palace.
Bai Guo, shocked by what Xing Qin'er was doing, stumbled back a step — only to find someone reaching forward and pulling him gently ahead.
"Careful. You might hurt yourself."
A jade-smooth voice sounded near his ear. Bai Guo lifted his eyes and his ears immediately went red. He stammered: "Prince… Prince Jing…"
"Shh."
Xie Lin gave a quiet laugh, then shook his head and pointed behind Bai Guo.
It was only then that Bai Guo realised the Imperial Physician's medicine box had somehow ended up behind him — another step back and he would have gone sprawling in a most undignified fashion.
His expression flustered, Bai Guo felt a pang of private mortification at being so clumsy and hopeless. But Xie Lin had already let go and was watching him with an amused smile.
Neither of them had made much of a movement, and Xing Qin'er's collision with the pillar was drawing every eye in Shokang Palace — so no one noticed the small exchange.
As for Xing Qin'er, who had been single-mindedly set on death — inside the imperial palace, the guards were all formidable fighters. To the alarmed cries of the gathered consorts, she was stopped before she could do herself real harm.
At that moment, the Empress Dowager, who had been watching from the sidelines, stilled the prayer beads in her hand and let out a low sigh. "And what was the point of all that."
Xing Qin'er's attempt at death had failed. In the end she was dragged away by the palace guards.
The matter of the case was thus concluded. Emperor Jingyuan rubbed his forehead and sat in silence on his high seat.
Prince Qin, who seemed entirely oblivious to the sombre atmosphere in the palace hall, looked rather wide-eyed at the returning Prince Jing and asked with some curiosity: "Third Brother — when did you get so knowledgeable?"
Xie Lin drank down a sip of wine, lifted his gaze, and said evenly: "The Classic of Herbology records that the sour pear flower comes in red and yellow varieties, slightly sour, cold in nature. When the sour pear flower blooms, both flower and branch may be picked together and repeatedly pounded in a stone mortar; once the yellow juice has been washed out, a madder-red dye is produced. Fourth Brother, if you were unaware of this, perhaps go home and read more books."
Prince Qin's smile froze for a beat, then he made a show of ease: "Third Brother speaks sense — this younger brother was ignorant."
Emperor Jingyuan, hearing the exchange between the two brothers, felt the irritable tension inside him dissipate somewhat.
At this point in the hall only Liu Lingfei and Bai Guo remained. The selection still had to continue.
Emperor Jingyuan was naturally more inclined to designate the Left Imperial Censor's daughter Liu Lingfei as Prince Jing's legitimate Princess Consort — but thinking again of his son's volatile temperament, he called Xie Lin's name and asked: "Third, what do you think of Noble Daughter Liu? Clever and perceptive, outstanding in bearing and appearance — I would bestow her to you as Prince Jing's legitimate consort. How does that suit you?"
"This son considers it — not quite suitable."
Xie Lin glanced sideways at Liu Lingfei. His normally placid brows knit almost imperceptibly, and his next words carried not a shred of concern for social nicety: "Noble Daughter Liu is naturally outstanding in character and appearance, clever and perceptive — a woman of the first order. But from this son's perspective…"
Emperor Jingyuan braced his face and asked: "What have you seen this time?"
"Noble Daughter Liu… tends to talk rather a great deal." Xie Lin paused, then added: "Father Emperor may not be aware — this son prefers those who speak little."
Liu Lingfei, who had been radiantly flushed a moment before, now felt her colour creeping toward green.
Emperor Jingyuan was nearly driven to laugh out of sheer exasperation: "Wretched creature — how can you say a thing like that?!"
Xie Lin's expression remained unchanged.
Emperor Jingyuan found there was truly nothing he could do with him. He was already suppressing a growing storm of irritation over Xie Lin's endless pickiness.
He waved his hand and bestowed several valuable gifts upon Liu Lingfei by way of compensation, dismissing her. Then he saw that only the Changping Marquis's son Bai Guo remained on the floor of the hall. Almost without thinking, Emperor Jingyuan found himself venting his frustration: "Since you like those who speak little, then this Changping Marquis's son — silent, simple, and uncomplicated — why not bestow him to you as your legitimate consort?"
Having said it, Emperor Jingyuan narrowed his eyes and sat back almost in anticipation of Xie Lin immediately dropping to his knees to beg him to change his mind.
The consorts in the hall also gave little exclamations of shock.
It should be understood: in the founding era of the Great Jin, while a ger-born Empress Consort had appeared, and gers' status had risen considerably as a result, the imperial family placed the utmost importance on the perpetuation of its bloodline. To take a ger — one whose capacity to produce heirs was greatly limited — as a legitimate primary wife was akin to cutting off half of one's chance at legitimate descendants.
This was why most of the imperial nobility were unwilling to seek a ger as a primary spouse. Within the imperial family, those given a ger in marriage were tacitly understood to have withdrawn from the succession.
Xie Lin, as the reigning Emperor's third son — the illustrious Prince Jing — had just been publicly bestowed a ger as his legitimate Princess Consort by Emperor Jingyuan himself…
Off to one side, the Empress Dowager also felt Emperor Jingyuan had been too harsh on Xie Lin, and was about to speak — to persuade Xie Lin to simply wed the Liu family daughter from earlier — when a calm, unhurried voice from below rose: "Given that he is the son of the Changping Marquis — proper in conduct and measured in speech, quiet and well-mannered — it would seem fitting."
"Very well, very well, very well!" Emperor Jingyuan was infuriated to near speechlessness. He flicked his sleeve sharply and said in a weighted voice: "Inner Attendant — let this be duly recorded: the Changping Marquis's son Bai Guo, steady in propriety and gentle in nature, is by imperial decree bestowed as Prince Jing's legitimate Princess Consort, to be formally wed to Prince Jing on an auspicious date after the new year!"
The marriage decree had truly been issued.
The moment the Emperor's words fell, the several consorts who had borne the Emperor sons could no longer conceal their private delight. Their handkerchiefs flew up to cover their faces as they struggled not to laugh aloud — some very nearly did.
They all looked at Xie Lin standing in the centre of the hall, his expression still placid and unruffled — and almost as one, they all had the same thought:
Could it be that this Prince Jing had been kicked in the head by a donkey?
As for Bai Guo — his mind had already gone blank.
He had actually been betrothed to Prince Jing?
Bai Guo stared dazedly in Xie Lin's direction, his fingers curling tight. He quietly, forcefully dug his nails into his own palm.
"Sss…"
A soft, sharp intake of breath; Bai Guo blinked, and with great seriousness pressed his lips together.
It hurt. So he was not dreaming.
