Yuan Yuhan yanked him back from Mu Fengqie with an embarrassed, “Sorry — Zhanzhi, he just got a little carried away. Don’t mind him.”
Good grief — Jing wasn’t supposed to be that worked up, was he? If he wanted to catch up, he could wait until after the banquet. Why make a scene now? Besides, she clearly didn’t want to talk; she was still sulking.
“All right, everyone, please take your seats. Zhanzhi, have a seat as well; there are still envoys on their way.” Yuan Yuchuan coughed twice, forcing a return to ceremony and dissolving the awkwardness between them.
“Princess of Huaman and her delegation!”
“Long live the Emperor.”
“Princess, please rise.” The Huaman delegates were dressed in the languid, sensuous fashions of their tropical homeland; their women favored airy, revealing silks that drew more than a few stares.
Yuan Yuchuan couldn’t keep his eyes off the Huaman princess. He’d never seen a woman like her — all sway and promise. As the new Emperor with no empress yet, a union like this would steady his court quickly; a child or two would root her in the palace.
“We come on a matrimonial mission,” Huaman’s spokesperson announced.
“Oh? Has the princess chosen a match?” Yuan Yuchuan sounded hopeful. A bride could solve a lot of things for a new throne.
The princess swept her gaze across the hall, bored and assessing. Just as she opened her mouth to declare her intention to enter the palace, her eyes landed on the shadowed corner where Jing sat.
He was breathtaking. He carried an unusual air—noble, reserved, infuriating. If she married him, she’d command his deference and his protection.
“Your Majesty of the Qian court,” she said, pointing directly at him, “I have chosen him.”
She pointed straight at Jing.
Jing didn’t notice. From the moment Mu Fengqie had entered, Jing’s attention had been fixed on her and her alone; he hadn’t heard a word of the court’s announcements. Yuan Yuhan called him, “Zhanzhi, Zhanzhi,” a few times with no response. When every eye in the hall turned to him, Yuan Yuhan elbowed Jing hard.
Jing’s glare cut like a blade. Don’t you dare interrupt unless it’s important, it said.
Yuan Yuhan shivered under that look. “Zhanzhi — the Princess of Huaman has come proposing a marriage.”
“What concern is that of mine?” Jing snapped without looking toward the princess.
“She’s chosen you!” That declaration hit like a stone across the water. Yuan Yuchuan’s face had soured; why did every woman he fancied seem to fall for Jing instead? First Mu Fengqie, now this princess — was Jing’s rank that irresistible? He held supreme power; the palace should have been his.
Jing didn’t even glance at the princess. “I have no interest in her. Does she not know what she looks like? Marry me? Ridiculous.”
“You—” the princess bristled, incensed. “It is your good fortune that I take a liking to you. I am a princess of a sovereign realm. You are only a mere subject. Marrying into my house would be you lowering yourself — and you dare refuse?”
“I told you. I’m here representing the Marquis of Zhongning.” Jing’s voice was flat and final, wrapped in aristocratic disdain. “I have no intention of marrying for your sake.”
The princess’s face flushed with outrage. “I will not be talked down to! When my father sent me, he said any man of this court was mine to choose. If I like him, he will be mine.”
Even Yuan Yuchuan bristled at that. Were the Huaman rulers trying to insult the young emperor’s authority because he had just ascended? It was presumptuous to suggest the princess could take any man at leisure.
“Enough,” Yuan Yuchuan said, the words sharp. “Princess, please be seated. We will discuss the marriage later.”
The princess sniffed, another cold look at Jing, and then at the high seat where Yuan Yuchuan presided. She sank back to her place with the coolness of a queen slighted.
“Prince of Dongmeng, Prince of Jiner, the Grand Princess have arrived!” the herald called next.
“Long live the Emperor.”
Laughter and formal greetings followed. The Emperor received them with practiced charm. These delegations were careful and respectful, unlike the offhand insolence of Huaman’s envoy — perhaps the Huaman king had truly sent an ill-advised daughter.
Jing’s gaze kept drifting to Mu Fengqie across the table. She ate delicately, offering crumbs to a child beside her; their closeness was intimate. Had she married during the three years since? No — she would not leave him. She was only angry, that was all. He would find a chance to explain; she would forgive him. He had missed her these years—missed her so painfully—
“We, brother and sister of Jiner, come to propose marriage,” announced the Jiner prince with grave confidence.
“Is that so?” Yuan Yuchuan asked. “Which of our maidens does the prince favor?”
“The prince has yet to wed,” the Jiner prince said. “I come in the hope of choosing a consort from your court. I promise the girl I choose shall become worthy to be a nation’s mother.” His tone brimmed with certainty; all Jiner’s governance sat in his hands—his coronation was only a matter of time.
“Very well. There are three eligible princesses in the Qian court. After the banquet, the Jiner prince may look them over and see if any catches his eye.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” The Jiner prince returned to his place with the Grand Princess at his side.
The Huaman princess bristled again. “Why did you immediately consent to the Jiner prince’s proposal, Your Majesty, but delay where I am concerned?”
“Princess,” Yuan Yuchuan said, “if Zhanzhi were of the imperial line, perhaps I could command such a match. He is not. He is, in fact, the Marquis of Zhongning, and his rank is not light. I cannot force his marriage.”
“You—an emperor unable even to arrange the unions of his own subjects. What a pitiable reign. I look down on you.”
“How dare you.” Yuan Yuchuan’s face darkened. “Is this the attitude with which Huaman attends a trinational council? If you will be so disrespectful, then perhaps there is no need for marriage negotiations at all. Huaman may as well be absorbed into the Qian realm and called Hua City.”
“Your Majesty, have mercy.” The Huaman envoys hit the floor, scrambling to kneel and placate their ruler as the princess’s words had nearly pushed the assembly to a breaking point.