by Qinghan CeCe
She walked toward Taiji Palace’s gate and slipped through the partially opened door.
Someone was out there, standing tall in the night. He calmly watched her come out, a silhouette against the backdrop of the dawn sky. The moonlight in his eyes seemed to shiver when he saw her.
Huang Zixia stopped, confused.
It was Li Shubai. “What’s the matter?” he said coldly. “Let’s go.”
“Prince . . . ,” Huang Zixia said helplessly, looking up at the faint contours of his face. “You were waiting for me the whole time?”
He turned partly away. “I was in the neighborhood.”
Huang Zixia couldn’t help but smile.
Li Shubai was walking toward the carriage.
Huang Zixia hurried to catch up and couldn’t help but ask, “If I hadn’t understood what you meant and gotten killed, you’d still be waiting?”
“First, Empress Wang is in semiexile; how could she kill the person who revealed her identity now? How could she explain that to the Emperor?”
She was too inexperienced with the court to know that. And if there really wasn’t anything to worry about, why’d you kick me in the water three times and stay here waiting all night?
“So . . . second?”
“Second, she let Little Shi go. I think she’s exhausted.”
“Third?”
“Third,” Li Shubai said, finally turning to look at her, a wind flowing between them, “if you didn’t understand my hint, then clearly you’re not the legendary Huang Zixia.”
Huang Zixia smiled.
Disaster had been avoided in the tender night. She and Li Shubai sat in the carriage and headed for Kui Palace. The carriage’s golden bells shook gently. Inside, the red fish slept on the bottom of its jar like a flower.
Outside the window, Changan’s street lamps slowly passed.
Faint light and deep shadow, time passing slowly.
The two feet of space between them indistinct.
CHARACTER LIST
Yang Chonggu (杨崇古)—eunuch alias of Huang Zixia
Huang Min (官声)—civil governor of Shu, father of Huang Zixia
Huang Yan (黄彦)—son of Huang Min, brother of Huang Zixia
Li Shubai (李舒白)—Prince of Kui, aka Li Zi (夔王): benefactor of Huang Zixia, favorite son of Emperor Xuanzong
Pang Xun (庞勋)—a rebel Li Shubai killed
Jing Yang (景阳)—eunuch who accompanies Li Shubai
Prince Yi (益王爷)—father of Princess Yue Qi
Princess Qi Le (岐乐郡主)—woman who wants to marry Li Shubai
Zhang Xingying (张二哥, 张行英)—solider who helps Huang Zixia
Brother Lu (鲁大哥)—member of royal guard with whom Huang Zixia sneaks into Changan
Li Run (鄂王李润)—Prince of E, brother of Li Shubai
Li Rui (排行第九的昭王李汭)—Prince of Zhao, brother of Li Shubai
Li Wen (康王李汶)—Prince of Kang, brother of Li Shubai
Lady Zhao (赵太妃)—concubine of the late Emperor
Lady Wu Tai (吴太妃)—concubine of the late Emperor, mother of Li Shubai
Wang Yun (王蕴)—nephew of Empress, former fiancé of Huang Zixia, and military commander
Minister Wang Lin (尚书王麟)—Board of Punishments official on Four Directions Case, father of Wang Yun
Cui Chunzhan (崔纯湛)—Minister Cui, minister of Central Court, also helping with Four Directions Case
Yu Xuan (禹宣)—orphan Huang Min adopted after moving to Chengdu
Jing Yu (景毓)—eunich of Li Shubai
Jing Yi (景翌)—eunich of Li Shubai
Su Qi (素绮)—eunich of Li Shubai
Wang Ruo (王若)—wife-to-be of Li Shubai
Chen Nian (陈念娘)—older musician who lost her friend
Feng Yi (冯忆娘)—Yunshao Court musician who mysteriously disappeared, friend of Chen Nian
Zhou Ziqin (周子秦)—undertaker/forensic scientist who wants to be a detective
Minister Zhou Xiang (周侍郎周庠)—father of Zhou Ziqin
Xian Yun (闲云)—female attendant of Wang Ruo
Yan Ling (延龄)—attendant of the Empress
Ran Yun (冉云)—servant of Wang Ruo
Zhang Ling (长龄)—servant of the Wang family
Yong Ji (永济)—eunuch of the Emperor
Prince of Yi (益王)—father of Princess Qi Le
Jin Nu (锦奴)—pipa player, adopted daughter of Mei Wanzhi
Mei Wanzhi (梅挽致)—Empress Wang
Xuese (雪色)—daughter of Mei Wanzhi
Lan Dai (兰黛)—third oldest woman of Yunshao, adoptive mother of Xuese
Little Shi (小施)—rescued with Xuese by Li Shubai
Jingxiu (敬修)—husband of Mei Wanzhi, a painter
Emperor Wang aka The Prince of Yun (郓王)—Emperor, husband of Empress Wang, brother of Li Shubai
Guo Wan (郭纨)—oldest concubine of Prince of Yun
Yongling (永龄)—attendant who waited on Wang Shao when she first joined Yun Palace
Wang Fu (王芙)—first wife of Prince of Yun, died in the palace
Linghui (灵徽)—daughter of Guo Wan
Ying Luo (璎珞)—attendant in Yun Palace
Fang Fei (芳菲)—attendant in Yun Palace
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2016 Guo Yi
Qinghan CeCe is one of China’s leading authors. She has been writing for more than ten years and has published eight novels, both in print and online, which reflect her fascination with “one thousand years of history, all for one dream: moving every reader.” The Golden Hairpin, originally published in her homeland in 2015, is the first of CeCe’s work to be translated into English. She lives in Hangzhou, China.
ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR
Photo © 2014 Alex Watson
Alex Woodend is a writer/translator whose fascination with Spanish and Chinese began at Franklin & Marshall College. At Columbia University, he wrote his master’s thesis on contemporary Chinese literature. He currently lives in New York and is at work on essays, translations, and original fiction.