The palace banquet (2) An extra chapter for Charlotte’s dream

Hurriedly finding a place to relieve myself, I quickly returned to the palace banquet. Zhang Bitong and Yunqing had already arrived ahead of me. My heart skipped a beat, and I hastened over.

“Where have you been?” Zhang Bitong was evidently displeased.

“Just now, I—”

“Your Grace, it would be wise to change your attire now. If you wait any longer, I fear His Majesty may leave early,” Yunqing interjected. I shot her a grateful glance.

“Yes, yes, yes, let’s hurry and change. Hand me the gown, Xiaoxiao.”

“At once!”

As I passed the costume to Zhang Bitong and she turned to enter the room, my gaze froze. From the direction of the banquet, light and lively music began to play.

I saw someone step onto the stage, dressed in dance attire, and I had to call out to Zhang Bitong, “Your Grace—”

Both Zhang Bitong and Yunqing turned to look, their faces filled with shock and confusion.

Someone was performing the exact same dance that Zhang Bitong had prepared—and that someone was Lin Tanwei.

Lin Tanwei was now clad in a soft, figure-hugging dance gown, a sash cinched at her waist, a floating veil upon her shoulders, and glittering ornaments crowning her head. Four musicians were arranged on either side: to her right, one struck cymbals, another played the pipa; to her left, one fluted a horizontal bamboo, another clapped his hands in rhythm.

As the drums and music resounded, Lin Tanwei lifted her sleeves, spinning left and right in time, like snowflakes drifting through the air, or wild grass fluttering in the wind. As the dance reached its climax, the tempo quickened and Lin Tanwei spun, finishing with a dramatic pose.

Although her performance was somewhat forced—it was clear she was no professional dancer—she carried herself with enough grace to impress.

I glanced at Zhang Bitong beside me. She was so enraged that her hands clenched the dance gown in a fierce grip.

“Your Grace, this—” Yunqing, too, was bewildered.

“What ‘this’!” Zhang Bitong snapped, flinging the dance gown to the floor and stomping on it as she cursed. “All my painstaking practice, wasted! That wretch stole my moment!”

While Zhang Bitong fumed, I saw the Emperor step down from his seat, personally helping the half-kneeling Lin Tanwei to her feet.

With this dance, Lin Tanwei had surely regained the Emperor’s favor.

Once, Zhang Bitong had won the Emperor’s affections by being the first to dance. Now, fate had turned; Zhang Bitong’s glory had been snatched away by Lin Tanwei’s unexpected performance.

“That despicable woman must have known I was going to dance, and deliberately took the stage first to steal my thunder. I will expose her and let His Majesty see her vile scheming for what it is!” said Zhang Bitong, storming forward, only to be stopped by Yunqing.

“Your Grace, please be calm.”

“Why are you stopping me?”

“Your Grace, the Emperor is in high spirits. You may not gain his favor by confronting him now. Besides, what proof do you have that she deliberately stole your moment? His Majesty is well acquainted with the rivalries among the ladies of the harem. If you march out there now, he may not—”

Zhang Bitong considered Yunqing’s counsel, but her face betrayed her reluctance to yield.

Yunqing continued, “Your Grace will have another chance. There is no need to act rashly. Why not return to the banquet—”

“Return? Nonsense! I’d rather retreat to my palace than suffer this humiliation.” With that, Zhang Bitong strode away in a fury.

Yunqing hurried after her, but I pulled her aside. “Aunt Yunqing, allow me to stay behind and see if anything else happens, so I may report to Her Grace.”

“Very well. Come back soon so we can all keep vigil together for the New Year.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

To my mind, Lin Tanwei’s sudden appearance was no accident. As a palace maid cast into the Laundry Bureau, how could she have gained entrance to such a closely guarded banquet?

I lingered outside, waiting for an opportunity. As expected, because of Lin Tanwei’s appearance, the banquet ended sooner than usual. The Emperor, with Lin Tanwei in his arms, was the first to depart. The Empress presided a while longer, then dismissed all the consorts and princes to their respective palaces, leaving her own retinue to keep the New Year’s vigil.

Tonight’s luckiest was Lin Tanwei, who would have the Emperor’s company for the night.

As the palace maids and eunuchs began tidying up, I noticed Long Zhan directing the Imperial Guards to withdraw in an orderly fashion.

I approached him. “Master Long, I have something to discuss—do you have a moment?”

Long Zhan glanced at me, then turned to his subordinate. “Di Xiao, take over here.”

“Yes, sir!”

He and I walked aside. Long Zhan asked, “What is it?”

With so many maids, eunuchs, and guards passing by, I said, “Master Long, you said you had something for me. Why not give it to me now? I can’t wait until tomorrow.”

He was momentarily surprised, then his lips curved into a faint smile. “Come with me.”

I followed Long Zhan to his quarters. He entered the inner room, instructing me, “Wait here a moment.”

A short while later, he emerged holding a pair of black boots.

“These are for you.” He handed me the boots.

But I did not take them. Instead, I demanded coldly, “Was it you who let Lin Tanwei in?”

“Hm?” Long Zhan seemed taken aback.

My voice turned icy. “The banquet was under heavy guard. Without your permission as the commander of the Imperial Guards, Lin Tanwei could never have set foot inside. What did she offer you? Money? Or the promise of promotion once she regained favor?”

Long Zhan held the boots in one hand, and with the other, suddenly pushed me against the wall, trapping me with his arm. I tried to free myself, but he leaned in, his face inches from mine, his presence overwhelming. I was caught in his narrow embrace, my breath coming short, his face so close I grew flustered.

“In your heart, am I such a petty man, swayed by wealth and power? Whatever Lin Tanwei could give me, could I not gain on my own?” His double-edged question left me speechless.

After a moment’s pause, I asked, “Am I wrong? Was it not you who let her in? When she came to Cuiwei Palace before, seeing her hands, I knew that with her family’s wealth, she must have bribed many in the Laundry Bureau to avoid hardship. But the palace banquet is different. No matter how many she bribed, without your approval, who could have let her in?”

Long Zhan stared at me, then, with a sigh of resignation, said, “Xiao Xiao, you’re far too clever.”

“So you admit it!”

“I do.”

Anger flared in my chest. I shoved Long Zhan away. “Master Long, I misjudged you. Keep those boots to curry favor elsewhere—I don’t want them!”

With that, I stormed out.

As I walked, the cold crept into my bones. I didn’t know why I was so angry. If it were just that Lin Tanwei had upstaged Zhang Bitong, I had no reason to care—rivalry in the harem was ceaseless, and Zhang Bitong’s rise or fall meant nothing to me. But why did I feel such fury? Was it because I had come to admire Long Zhan for his past kindnesses, had come to trust his character, and now could not accept that he would stoop to this for money?

The biting wind left my face numb. I laughed bitterly at myself. Xiao Zhi, who are you to question Long Zhan so? Even if things were just as you thought, what right have you to confront him?

I trudged back to Cuiwei Palace with heavy steps, only to see Lanyan, Xiao Luzi, Hongxiu, and Yunqing all kneeling on the floor.

Sensing trouble, I hurried in and bowed. “Your Grace.”

“Kneel with them!”

“Yes, Your Grace!”

I knelt with the others, bewildered. Was Zhang Bitong about to blame all the attendants of Cuiwei Palace for tonight’s disaster?

“I’ll ask you all again—who betrayed me? Who told that wretched Lin Tanwei what I planned?”

Betrayed?

Zhang Bitong suspected there was a traitor in Cuiwei Palace?

A traitor?

A sudden realization struck me. Zhang Bitong was not wrong to suspect this. I had been so busy accusing Long Zhan of letting Lin Tanwei into the banquet that I hadn’t considered how Lin Tanwei happened to perform the very same dance—something she was clearly unskilled at.

Unless, Lin Tanwei had known exactly what Zhang Bitong was preparing. Not only did she wish to regain favor, she wanted to steal Zhang Bitong’s thunder entirely, leaving her no room to protest.

“Your Grace,” Yunqing looked up, “perhaps it was just a coincidence? Lady Tan—”

“Don’t call her ‘Lady’! She hasn’t been granted a title yet!” Zhang Bitong snapped. “I don’t believe in such coincidences. One of you must have told Lin Tanwei. Xiao Luzi—was it you?”

Xiao Luzi’s knees trembled. “Your Grace, I am innocent! I never said a word, and I didn’t even know what dance you were preparing!”

“Then Hongxiu—was it you?”

“I was in the kitchen the whole time, rarely serving in the front. Like Xiao Luzi, I truly had no idea what Your Grace was planning.”

“Then it must be Lanyan, Xiaoxiao, or Yunqing. I kept it secret, but you three attend me most closely—you must have known. Did one of you accept a bribe from Lin Tanwei and betray me?”

Yunqing quickly said, “We would never dare, Your Grace. Perhaps it really was just a coincidence. If you had performed before her, the honor would be yours, and none of this would have happened. Please reconsider.”

Zhang Bitong was half convinced, half suspicious. “Could it really be so simple? But even her costume was identical to mine.”

I replied, “Your Grace, this dance is well-documented. I myself learned it from a book. If the instructions are the same, it is not impossible for others to replicate it.”

Zhang Bitong found no immediate rebuttal. Though I said this merely to placate her and spare us punishment, I did not truly believe it. Such coincidence seemed far too convenient. Lin Tanwei could buy off the Laundry Bureau, and even Long Zhan. Why not someone in Cuiwei Palace? Money makes the world go round, after all.

Was it Hongxiu, Lanyan, Xiao Luzi, or Yunqing?