Chapter 4: Ji Xiang
Fu Ying Zhong (英忠) raced ahead of his younger brother, Ying De (英德) into the hunting ground. Hunting was one of Ying Zhong's favourite past times and it was convenient when he discovered a piece of wild woodland to perfectly serve his purpose. The wood was located close to his parents' favourite haunt, You You Valley; he and his brothers discovered it quite by chance when riding around You You Valley a year ago. The small wood was overrun with wild animals and with no sign of anyone living near it.
As much as he enjoyed hunting, Ying Zhong much preferred the private hunts in this wild wood with his brother, Ying De and his cousins, his uncle Er Tai's sons (when they came to Beijing for visits) than the organised expeditions in the Imperial hunting grounds with the princes. The organised hunts meant too many people in too small a piece of ground, which, in Ying Zhong's opinion, took all the fun out of the sport. Besides, half the fun was looking for the animals, and well, the animals were too easily found when they were scared out of their wits by the sound of hunting horns and drums.
It was a beautiful late spring day that Ying Zhong and Ying De set out on a ride to You You Valley, and it was only a habit that they brought their bows and arrows with them. Ying Zhong had hoped that his father would be free that day to accompany them, partly because his mother refused to let his thirteen-year-old youngest brother, Ying Yi (英义), to accompany them on any hunting outing without their father. However, that morning, their grandfather, the Emperor Qian Long, had arrived at Xue Shi Fu and wanted to see their father.
So Ying Zhong set out on the ride with Ying De, and on a whim, challenged his brother to a race into the hunting ground.
"I win!" Ying Zhong cried triumphantly as he slowed his horse, waiting for Ying De to catch up.
Ying De smirked at his brother as he caught up and stopped beside him. "You do realise you cheated, you know? You took off and then told me it was a race."
"You are just sore you lost!" Ying Zhong crowed.
"Then I hope you won't be sore yourself losing that deer to me!" Ying De sped past Ying Zhong before he could register what his brother just said, chasing after a deer that just passed behind them.
"Oh no, you don't!" Ying Zhong exclaimed and took off after his brother and the deer; his horse was faster no matter what. Having caught up to his brother now, he slipped his bow off his shoulder and put an arrow to it, taking aim.
Ying Zhong's arrow shot through the air, but instead of hitting the deer like they both expected, at the last moment, the deer that was standing in position to be target to the arrow fled. As soon as he saw the deer leap away, Ying Zhong sighed in disappointment. However, his disappointment quickly made way for shock and panic as a startled, female cry of pain greeted him as his arrow pierced through a bush.
Ying Zhong and Ying De looked at each other in shock for a moment when a female form fell through the bush, the arrow piercing her chest. Then they got off their horses and rushed to the girl, who lay unconscious on the ground.
Ying Zhong lifted the girl's body and rested her against him. She looked quite young, about Ying De's age. Despite the situation and his panic that his arrow could kill her, Ying Zhong's first impression was that she was very pretty. Yet there seemed to be something in her features that made him wonder where he'd seen her before. He slapped her cheek, trying to bring her to consciousness. "Miss! Can you hear me? Wake up!"
"Where did she come from? And why was she behind the bush in the first place? No one lives around here!" Ying De asked while feeling her wrist for a pulse. "She's still alive. I think we must get her home. Whoever she is, she's going to need the best physicians if she is going to live through this."
The two brothers, with the girl slumping against Ying Zhong on his horse, raced their way back to Xue Shi Fu. Never had the ride seemed so long to Ying Zhong and all the while, a million questions filled his mind. Who was she? What was she doing in the hunting ground, as it was such a secluded wood that not many were aware existed? And most importantly, would she survive this wound? Ying Zhong could see that the arrow had pierced dangerously close to her heart. He tried not to think of the consequences if she did not live. He could not bear the thought of accidentally killing a girl, and an attractive girl, at that.
Ignoring the astonished stares of the servants, Ying Zhong lifted the girl off the horse and rushed inside the house. "E'niang! Ah Ma!"
Ying Zhong, with the girl in his arms, and Ying De met their parents and grandfather in the main room of the house.
"What happened? And who on earth is that?" Zi Wei asked as her sons rushed into the room, looking panic stricken with a gravely injured girl in Ying Zhong's arms.
"Huang Shang ji xiang!" Ying De said breathlessly. Seeing as his brother was too preoccupied to even greet their grandfather, he decided that Ying Zhong wouldn't be much use in telling the story either. "Long story. We were out hunting and Ying Zhong was aiming for a deer. The deer escaped, and somehow, she appeared out of nowhere, and got hit by the arrow. We don't know who she is, but she really needs medical attention. If we could call a physician here…"
It took a moment for Zi Wei, Er Kang and Qian Long to realise what was happening. Zi Wei shook her head and quickly ushered Ying Zhong out of the room. "Quickly, then, get her into a guest bedroom. Ying De, get someone to summon the Imperial physician." She turned to Qian Long for a moment for permission.
"Yes, yes, by all means, summon the Imperial physician!" Qian Long said impatiently. Then, he turned and caught Er Kang's eyes, both of them looking at each other in astonishment, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu rushing over them.
For the next hour, the whole house bustled with treating the girl's wound. At long last, Hu Tai yi had removed the arrow from her body, had the wound cleaned and bandaged and rushed off to get the necessary medicine.
Zi Wei, Er Kang, their four children, Ying Zhong, Ying De, Xuan Zhuang (玄庄) and Ying Yi, and Qian Long gathered around the girl's bed. Ying Zhong had not spoken a word to anyone since the moment they left the hunting ground, his mind too full for coherency. He was glad that his brother had the sense to take over and explain things to their parents and afterwards to the physician. He only felt like he could breathe again after Hu Tai yi had told them she was no longer in danger.
Zi Wei looked at the girl lying seemingly lifelessly on the bed and something stirred within her. She had felt the feeling before, it was a sense of inexplicable kinship she once felt the moment she lay eyes of Xiao Yan Zi. It was the tender feelings that drew her to the girl who changed her life forever. Now, looking at the young girl in front of her, Zi Wei felt as if she knew her. Certainly, there was something in her face that looked strangely familiar, yet Zi Wei knew she had never seen the girl before in her life.
"You said you were aiming for a deer and ended up shooting her?" Er Kang asked his son.
"Yes," Ying Zhong said. "I mean, she was behind a bush or something and I didn't see her until it was too late and she fell through the bush." He looked up at his father helplessly, as if expecting to be reprimanded, but his father was looking at him only with curiosity.
The Emperor murmured, "It is strange coincidences could happen." He looked at Er Kang again and the two men exchanged a look that made them both realise they were thinking of the same thing.
"Coincidence?" Zi Wei asked, looking at her husband.
"Well, a swallow was shot exactly like this, once," Er Kang said. Zi Wei's eyes widened in understanding. The children only looked at each other in confusion at the cryptic explanation.
"Is there nothing to show who she might be?" Qian Long asked. He did not know why, but for some odd reason, the Emperor found himself incredibly curious about this girl's identity. Perhaps it was the strange familiarity in her countenance; perhaps it was the way she suddenly appeared on the scene and how it so blatantly reminded him of another young girl who had appeared like this, long ago.
"No, nothing," Zi Wei answered. "I checked, she doesn't have anything to identify herself on her. But by the looks of her clothes, she must have been suffering some hardship lately. Her clothes are of good quality but they are incredibly frayed and worn."
"There's this," fifteen-year-old Xuan Zhuang, who had been sitting by the girl's foot, spoke up. She had rested her hand somewhere on the blanket and felt something hard underneath. She lifted the blanket and rolled up the right leg of the girl's trousers to reveal a silver anklet of strange design.
"Wait," Zi Wei said, leaning closer to look at it. "I've seen something like this before! This design…" She frowned in concentration, trying to remember where she'd seen it before. "Dali! I saw some jewellery with design like this in Dali!"
"Dali?" Er Kang asked, feeling that the situation was just getting weirder and weirder.
"Yes!" Zi Wei went on. "This design is native of the Bai Yi ethnic group. I remember because we went shopping in the market and the vendor was explaining to us how Bai Yi parents give their baby girls a piece of jewellery with this design at birth because it symbolises beauty, happiness and fertility. The jewellery is meant to be worn throughout the girl's life. And Xiao Yan - " Here, she trailed off.
"Ah!" Er Kang said, as he, too, remembered the shopping trip. Upon hearing this tradition of the Bai Yi people, Xiao Yan Zi insisted on buying an anklet. The others had pointed out to her that the baby she was carrying was not necessarily a girl. She had grinned and argued that it didn't matter, as if this one was not a girl, she would keep the anklet for a future baby girl that she would have. Zi Wei had said that since they had a pact to marry Xiao Yan Zi and Yong Qi's first daughter to Ying Zhong, they had better all hope the child Xiao Yan Zi was carrying was a girl and that the anklet really would bring her all it promised.
"And Xiao Yan Zi - ?" Qian Long asked.
"And Xiao Yan Zi actually bought one." Zi Wei frowned as she inspected the anklet on the girl. "Actually…she bought one that looked…exactly like this!"
"What?" Er Kang exclaimed. As an instinctive reaction, he leaned in to look at the anklet as well. He hardly remembered or ever cared to remember what the anklet Xiao Yan Zi bought years ago looked like so the anklet on the girl's ankle didn't look familiar to him, but he knew Zi Wei had spent half an hour with Xiao Yan Zi and Qing Er picking out the one Xiao Yan Zi eventually bought so if anyone would recognise it, it would be Zi Wei.
"You said Xiao Yan Zi bought an anklet like this, meaning it for her daughter?" Qian Long asked slowly.
"Yes." Then Zi Wei shook her head. "Of course, there are probably hundreds of anklets like this in Dali, so obviously the chances of this being the one Xiao Yan Zi bought are very slim. What this does tell us is that this girl either was born in Dali or is of the Bai Yi ethnic group or has some connections to the Bai Yi group of people."
"Is it just me or do either of you think that this girl looks strangely familiar?" Qian Long asked, looking at Zi Wei and Er Kang.
Zi Wei looked at her father. Then she looked at the girl on the bed. Surely, surely, it could not be so. She shook her head, wondering if they were all just looking too much into something that could be a total unrelated coincident.
"Huang Ah Ma, you are not suggesting…"
"I'm not saying anything, I'm just saying it's a set of bizarre coincidences, is it not? And do you not find her familiar?"
"Yes…I mean, even before I saw the anklet, there's something about her face that…but surely…no!"
Er Kang looked thoughtful for a moment then said, "I find it interesting that her feet are unbound."
"And?"
"If we assume she is a Han, don't you think it's very odd that she doesn't have bound feet?"
"I assumed I was a Han for half of my life, and I never had bound feet," Zi Wei pointed out. "But my mother had reasons for never binding my feet. She knew better. It didn't sit well with society though."
"Exactly," Er Kang stressed, albeit still cryptically.
"You are saying…?" Qian Long asked.
"Well, what you just suggested, Huang Ah Ma, this seems to support it."
"But what you are suggesting doesn't immediately follow the fact she doesn't have bound feet," Zi Wei protested. "Extremely poor families would not bind their daughters' feet if they need them to do work in the fields."
"Does she look like she's been doing hard labour out in the fields? Her skin is a bit tanned but not what you'd expect from someone who had to do hard labour."
"Well, if we deduce she is from Dali, chances are she doesn't have to be a Han. There are quite a few ethnicities down there, and not all of them practice foot binding," Zi Wei said.
"And thus girls, Han or otherwise, with unbound feet will probably be more easily accepted than in Shandong," Er Kang said. "I'm saying, it does have something to support what Huang Ah Ma suggested. I'm not saying it is definite, and it is certainly unlikely, but not impossible."
Qian Long didn't say anything but just looked at the girl. He did not know if he was simply convincing himself to see this or it was really there, but the more he looked at her, the more he found she resembled both of them.
"I have no idea what you're all talking about," Ying Zhong finally spoke up, reminding Zi Wei, Er Kang and Qian Long that the children were still around and they were all looking at the three with confused expressions.
Zi Wei sighed and looked at Er Kang and Qian Long, resigned to the explanation that must now come. "Xiao Yan Zi is my sworn sister and Wu Ah Ge's wife. You all know that."
"Is?"
"Neither of them are dead." Four pairs of raised eyebrows met Er Kang's statement. "At least…last I checked."
"But - " Ying Zhong started, not really knowing what to say. Like the rest of court, he had always been told that his uncle, Wu Ah Ge, and his first wife, his mother's sworn sister, had both died of an illness when they came back from rescuing his father from Burma nearly seventeen years ago. Now suddenly, his father was saying they were alive! Surely the death of a prince and his consort had to be investigated thoroughly and therefore a sure thing!
Slowly, Zi Wei and Er Kang explained to the children the circumstances behind Wu Ah Ge and Huan Zhu Ge Ge's "deaths".
"What does this have anything to do with this girl?" Ying Yi asked at the end of the story.
"Chances are, nothing," Zi Wei said, though she was hardly convincing herself. No matter how the reasonable part of her told her that the chances of this girl having any connections to Xiao Yan Zi or Yong Qi was slim, there was a nagging feeling at the back of her mind that told her there was more to the girl than she was willing to face.
"I don't think we could say anything about who she is before she wakes up and can tell us," Qian Long said. "All right, I'm going back to the palace. Zi Wei, summon all the physicians here if you need them. And keep me informed of her condition. I admit I am rather curious about her, especially with all the coincidences. All our suspicions might turn to naught and she might just be a random commoner but then again, she might not be. Inform me when she wakes up."
Ji Xiang opened her eyes and squinted in the bright light that flooded in, feeling an intense pain in her chest. As she got used to the light, she saw that there was a group of people around her - strange people. Her first instinct was to panic and struggle, but she couldn't find the strength to do this and as her body got used to her surrounding, there was something so very alluringly comfortable about her situation that she couldn't even bring herself to feel agitated anymore.
"You are awake! How are you feeling?" The woman who spoke was about her mother's age, and kindly looking. Her voice gave Ji Xiang a comforting feeling of being cared for and loved that she hadn't felt for such a long time. If she was a little less dazed and in pain, she probably would had teared up at the concern in that voice.
"I - " Ji Xiang opened her mouth to speak but found it painfully dry. The woman seemed to understand as she turned to a young man standing beside her, who looked to be a couple of years older than Ji Xiang, and asked him for a cup of water. This he brought; the woman helped her sit up and put the cup to her lips.
Ji Xiang looked around her as she sipped the water slowly. She could already feel the moment that her sense of touch came to her that she was in a heavenly soft, warm bed, but now she could see that it was placed in a richly furnished room. There were four people around the bed. There was the young man, the woman, an older man who looked as he could be the woman's husband, and an elderly man in his seventies. The thing that was most striking to Ji Xiang was the fact that they did not wear the clothes normally seen worn by even rich people. In fact, the woman wore an elaborate headpiece that Ji Xiang knew was only worn by women in the imperial court. The older man wore the blue robes worn by magistrates, but instead of the mandarin square on his chest, used to signify Han officials, on his robes was a large circle, embroidered with dragons. Lastly, the elderly man was dressed in robes coloured yellow, also embroidered with dragons.
Realisation of what their dress meant, what the ranks of these people must be, made Ji Xiang cough as her eyes widened.
The woman put handed the cup to the young man and patted her back while she tried to regain her breath and convince herself that she was not imagining things. Ji Xiang looked up at them somewhat fearfully. Where on earth was she? She could not possibly be in the imperial palace!
"I see you've somewhat realised how we might be," the woman said, with a hint of amusement in her voice. She placed a comforting hand on Ji Xiang's arms and there was no hint of hostility in her tone; in fact it spoke of gentleness and care. "I am Ming Zhu Ge Ge, but you can call me Zi Wei Ge Ge. This is my husband, Fu Da ren, my son Ying Zhong. And this, perhaps you've already guessed, is His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor. You are currently at my home, Xue Shi Fu."
Though she had already suspected it, the revelation of these people's identities still shocked her as she stared at Zi Wei Ge Ge in shock. On meeting her eyes, however, much to Ji Xiang's confusion, Zi Wei's eyes widened as well and she didn't quite manage to smother the gasp that escaped her. Ji Xiang blinked and looked around to see Fu Da ren also staring at her eyes. Ji Xiang blinked again and looked down, feeling immediately fearful and abashed, and also rather uncomfortable. She knew her eyes were striking and usually drew a lot of attention, bu the Fu couple's shock spoke of something other than just the fact that her eyes were unusually large.
Ji Xiang knew that it didn't matter how she got here and what happened since she got here, she must somehow say something to greet these illustrious people, but it was as if all words deserted her and she couldn't have recognised a polite greeting if it danced in front of her.
"Child, look up and let me look at you," the Emperor said. If Ji Xiang had ever allowed herself to think about what the Emperor's voice sounded like, she wouldn't have imagined it to be this kind. Yet she felt terrified and confused. There was a sense of intimidation too, as she had no idea why these people seemed so mystified and in awe by her presence. It was rude and it was probably some sort of crime to not obey immediately, but Ji Xiang stared at her lap, not daring to lift her face.
"Don't be afraid," Zi Wei said gently. There was more intense emotion in her voice now, as if she was holding back tears. Ji Xiang slowly lifted her eyes and looked at the Emperor.
There was an odd look on the old man's face as he studied her closely. She could also feel Zi Wei and Fu Da ren looking at her.
The Emperor, Zi Wei and Fu Da ren all tore their eyes away from her and in turn, looked at each other in shock and some sort of silent understanding. At last, after a long, confusing and, to Ji Xiang, eerie silence, Zi Wei cleared her throat and asked, "What's your name?"
"My - my name is Ai Ji Xiang," Ji Xiang whispered slowly. She cast her eyes down again, but if she had been looking at them, she would see three pairs of eyes widened around her in shock.
"Ai?" Fu Da ren finally spoke, disbelief ringing in his voice. He paused for a moment, then asked, "What's your father's name?"
"My father's name is Qi," Ji Xiang said, even more confused now. She glanced up to see that the Emperor was giving her a very strange look. Fu Da ren had stood up abruptly and paced in an agitated manner around her bed and Zi Wei gripped her handkerchief with a sharp intake of breath.
"Your mother…your mother isn't called Xiao Yan Zi, is she?" the Emperor asked her. The way his voice shook slightly as he asked her this, and the fact that he knew her mother's name astonished Ji Xiang so much that she forgot her fear. She stared at him, her mouth opened to answer but no sound came out. So she nodded silently.
The Emperor was now staring at her as if she was a ghost. Zi Wei had pressed a hand to her mouth and Fu Da ren stood to stare at her. Even Fu Ying Zhong looked aptly dazed.
Ji Xiang looked around, feeling ever more confused, until Zi Wei finally came to her senses and shook her head. "Oh my, I'm sorry, dear. We're practically interrogating you and you must be feeling rather confused."
"Yes…" Ji Xiang whispered slowly. There was something about these people that unnerved her, yet comforted her at the same time. "What…why am I here?"
"Well, you somehow were in the wood that my son, Ying Zhong was hunting in and he accidentally shot you with an arrow. You've been unconscious for three days," Zi Wei explained to her. "Ying Zhong brought you here and we've had the Imperial physician looked at your wound. It's going to heal slowly, but you've got to stay in bed for a while, I'm afraid."
So that would explain the pain in her chest, but it didn't explain anything else.
"As for your parents…" Fu Da ren said slowly. "For now, what you want to know is just that we know your parents. Rather well, in fact."
Zi Wei smiled at her. "Your mother is my sworn sister."
Ji Xiang stared at her. No, she couldn't have just heard right. How could her parents possibly know these people? But then, how else would the Emperor know her mother's (slightly odd) name?
"Surely…are you…are you sure?" Ji Xiang whispered.
How could her mother be sworn sisters with a princess? The idea was so foreign to Ji Xiang, she couldn't even grasp it. Her mother was least like any princess that Ji Xiang had ever read about or imagined. Princesses were demure, gentle and ladylike, and her mother…was not, most of the time. Zi Wei looked and sounded like the textbook definition of a princess, so Ji Xiang could hardly comprehend how she and her mother would ever have anything in common enough to want to swear as sisters. Besides, how would have her mother met any princess and get to know her enough to swear as sisters?
"Quite. The anklet you are wearing tells us you are from Dali, where my sworn sister is living. Your surname is Ai…" Zi Wei said, smiling.
"…And more prominently, you resemble your parents very much in looks, and you have your mother's eyes," the Emperor finished somewhat gruffly.
Ji Xiang just gaped at them. Fu Da ren chuckled. "I know this must be a shock, because I have an idea of what your parents might not have divulged to you. However, for now, you shouldn't worry just yet about why or how we know your parents. You should just rest and let your wound heal."
Ji Xiang fell back asleep soon after that conversation. Zi Wei, Er Kang and Qian Long sat around her bed, staring at the young girl in front of them, none of them knowing what to say.
"I can hardly believe it," Zi Wei whispered, stroking Ji Xiang's hair. "It's so incredible."
"I don't know what is more incredible right now, that she is somehow in Beijing or that she came our way in almost exactly the same manner Xiao Yan Zi did…" Er Kang shook his head.
Qian Long just stared at Ji Xiang. This was his granddaughter, Xiao Yan Zi and Yong Qi's daughter. When Zi Wei and Er Kang came back from Dali years ago, they had told him that Xiao Yan Zi was expecting a child, but the information never really became real to him. Ji Xiang must be the child. Yet, having not seen Xiao Yan Zi and Yong Qi in so long, to imagine them as parents was an odd prospect to Qian Long.
"Right now, what I'm wondering most is what on earth is she doing in Beijing?" Qian Long finally said after a long silence.
"That's bothering me, as well," Er Kang said pensively. "Somehow I don't think she's meant to be in Beijing. I mean, the only way I could think of that would lead to her being in Beijing, by herself, is that something happened and her parents sent her. But if that were the case, they would send her to look for us, and she has no idea who we are. And I can hardly imagine Yong Qi and Xiao Yan Zi sending their daughter all alone all the way from Dali to here, no matter what the reason is."
"Well, no matter how and why she ended up in Beijing, I must say it is most certainly something ji xiang that she found her way to us," Zi Wei sighed. "But that raises even more questions right now. If she's not meant to be in Beijing, do Yong Qi and Xiao Yan Zi know she's here? Do they know where she's gone? If not, they must be out of their minds with worry right now!"
"I know…but we can't do anything now, except to wait for her to get better and tell us her story. But it is lucky that however she came to be here, she found her way to us," said the Emperor.
"I've just thought of something. She looks at lot like Yong Qi, with Xiao Yan Zi's eyes. Anyone who knows them who sees her would not miss the fact," Er Kang said.
"You're worried that Zhi Hua will see her," Zi Wei said.
"Yes. I mean, really, Zhi Hua is not stupid. She knows all these years that neither Yong Qi nor Xiao Yan Zi is dead. If Zhi Hua sees Ji Xiang, I think she can put two and two together."
"The chances of that are rather remote, don't you think?" Zi Wei asked. "Xue Shi Fu is rather big, and Zhi Hua rarely comes to visit us anyway. Even if she does, there's no saying that she'll see Ji Xiang. Anyway, Ji Xiang is wounded, she won't move around much."
"Yes, but I think by summon the Imperial physician here, we've attracted attention," Qian Long sighed wearily. "Usually, if it weren't so life threatening situation, Xue Shi Fu doesn't summon the Imperial physician but have your own personal physician. This time, we've summoned Hu Tai yi, and though he will not divulge who he treated, he doesn't know, at any rate, rumours are still around the palace that someone in Xue Shi Fu is fatally injured."
"I know," said Er Kang. "Several people asked me about it this morning before the court audience. I told them that we had a guest, a family friend, staying who is injured. If Zhi Hua comes here, even by courtesy, she would ask after the patient, and perhaps even the identity of the patient."
Zi Wei was unconcerned about that problem. "Then we tell whoever asks that it's a friend. What are they going to do, pry and demand to know who it is?"
"I'm not saying that people will demand to know. But people might want a name attached to the mysterious 'friend' identity. We can't very well say that we can't divulge a name, that would make it rather obvious that we're hiding something," Er Kang pointed out.
"From what you lot have been through, the chances of your having friends that no one in court knows is rather big you know. I think the question we need to answer now, is what will we tell Ji Xiang? She obviously does not know anything about her family's true identities. But considering her wound, she'll be here for a while. She'll want to know how her parents know us. Do we tell her the truth? It does sound like she has no idea who her parents truly are."
"Of course she wouldn't know. I think it would rather defeat their purpose of being in Dali if she knew. I don't know what we should tell her though," Zi Wei said helplessly. "I don't think we can tell her the truth without mentioning Zhi Hua. How would that affect her? What after knowing the truth, how could she continue with her life as before?"
"If we don't tell the truth, what do we tell her?" Er Kang asked. "We can hardly lie to her, and it's rather hard to think of a plausible explanation of her parents' relation to us without lying. The thing is, we don't know how much she knows right now. But either way, don't you think that sooner or later she would have to know who she really is, who Yong Qi, Xiao Yan Zi, Qing Er and Xiao Jian really are?"
"Why would she ever have to know the truth?"
Er Kang stared at her. "Zi Wei, have you forgotten our agreement with Yong Qi and Xiao Yan Zi?"
"What agreement?" Qian Long asked.
Zi Wei smiled. "We had an agreement for a marriage between Ying Zhong and Yong Qi and Xiao Yan Zi's daughter, obviously that's Ji Xiang now. This just makes Ying Zhong and Ji Xiang's meeting even more ironic and fated, I think."
Qian Long shook his head in amazement. "Why am I not surprised about this? When exactly did you make this agreement anyway?"
"Actually, strangely enough, Xiao Yan Zi and I first talked about it the night Yong Qi married Zhi Hua."
"She just miscarried then," Qian Long said with a frown.
"I know, that's what we were talking about. And I was trying to take her mind off Zhi Hua. Anyway, we made it a deal after Ying Zhong recovered from the smallpox."
"You know, I've just realised, we have talent for making situations incredibly complicated. I mean, let's put aside what we're telling Ji Xiang about her parents' relationship to us for a moment. For the two of us, and Yong Qi and Xiao Yan Zi as well, obviously, as best friends and parents, we all think this is a great match. But the four of us, of all people, should know that arranged marriages without love could potentially lead to disaster."
"Oh Er Kang," Zi Wei smiled. "Just because we agreed on it, before we even knew Yong Qi and Xiao Yan Zi would have a daughter, doesn't mean that we can't be flexible about it. I mean, obviously they have to meet first and get to know each other before they actually marry. And now that they've met, if after we tell them, they don't want the match, could we bear to force them into it? Of course not."
"I think you've both wandered miles away from the point," Qian Long interjected. "Don't go matchmaking your children just yet or tell them anything about the match. I think right now we need to get Ji Xiang to survive this wound, find out why she is in Beijing. Also, back to the point, what are we telling her?"
"Well, either way, we could not dump the whole story on her," Er Kang said. "How about we tell her the general idea, how Xiao Yan Zi and Zi Wei met and sworn as sisters first…then as the occasion arises, if the occasion arises, we tell her more?"
"That's a good idea," Qian Long agreed. "Take it slowly. I don't think the poor girl could take much more shock anyway."
Ying Zhong sat by the bed, feeling the wonder of everything that happened since he shot that arrow still overwhelming him. He'd often wondered about his aunt and uncle, who he'd always thought to be dead, because there were times when he overheard conversations between his parents that implied there was more to the deaths than met the eye. This obviously was it: they weren't dead. Now, incredibly, Ji Xiang came to them in the most unexpected and startling manner.
Ying Zhong looked up as his mother sat down beside him and found her to be looking at him in a very strange way. Over the past days, he had caught his parents looking at him like this many times, but had tried to push it aside. Now the exasperation was getting to him.
"E'niang, why do you and Ah Ma keep looking at me like that?"
His mother feinted incomprehension, which considering her skills on deception, it was about as effective as trying to hold water in her hands. "Like what?"
"You know like what, E'niang."
"Well, it's just a very strange coincidence, Ying Zhong, of how Ji Xiang came to us. Xiao Yan Zi came into the palace in exactly the same way, you know. Yong Qi was also aiming at a deer and ended up shooting her."
"So?" Ying Zhong asked suspiciously. "It's a coincidence, I get it. But why do you keep looking at me?" Zi Wei hesitated. Ying Zhong sighed. "E'niang! Please! Do you expect me to fall in love with her or something, like her parents did?"
Zi Wei smiled. "Of course not! You hardly know her, Ying Zhong, I can hardly expect you to love her just like that. It's just strange, that's all, how you two meet, especially considering…"
"Considering?"
Zi Wei was saved from having to answer her son's question when Ji Xiang stirred. She tried feebly to sit up but Zi Wei held her down on the bed.
"Don't get up. There's no need. Are you hungry?"
"A bit."
She didn't dare to say anymore and in any case, she had no idea what else to say. As kind and sweet as Zi Wei Ge Ge was, it still made Ji Xiang nervous that she was being taken care of by a princess. Still, she allowed herself to enjoy it; it had been so long since she had been cared for like this and Zi Wei inexplicably reminded her of the comfort that only her mother could give.
Zi Wei told Ying Zhong to go get the kitchen to make Ji Xiang some food. A few moments later, Ying Zhong returned to the room with his father in tow. Ji Xiang looked around at the three of them with a bit of apprehension.
"Relax, dear," Zi Wei said to her. "I know you must have a lot of questions regarding how your parents know us, and we will answer them for you. But we must ask you to not treat us as strangers. Your mother is my best friend and sworn sister, so you are much like my own daughter."
Ji Xiang nodded.
"We must ask you, though," Er Kang said, "how you came to be in Beijing. Considering your father's tendency to worry about the smallest things when it comes to people he loves, even despite your mother's sense of adventure, I can hardly imagine them willingly let you go from Dali to Beijing alone."
Er Kang's words finally forced Ji Xiang's muddled mind to consider how exactly it was that she left her home and the worry that her entire family must have gone through when they discovered she had disappeared.
"Oh no!" Ji Xiang gasped. "My parents! You must help me send news to them. They must have turned Dali upside down looking for me when I disappeared!" Then Ji Xiang told them of how she was kidnapped and brought to Beijing and how she escaped. Her audience, especially Er Kang and Zi Wei, were shocked into silence following her story.
"Well, you really are Xiao Yan Zi's daughter, aren't you? Get into the worst imaginable kind of sticky situation and still come out unscathed. But then again, you are Xiao Yan Zi's daughter, and if you are anything like your mother, you must have a talent for getting into sticky situations." It took Ji Xiang a moment to realise that Er Kang was teasing her. "I think your parents must have been thinking of that to name you Ji Xiang. You really do need the luck."
"Er Kang!" Zi Wei said reproachfully, but with a smile.
"I would hardly call being shot with an arrow and nearly killed unscathed, Ah Ma," Ying Zhong pointed out. "Somehow I don't think it was very ji xiang of Ai Xiao jie to be standing right in the way of my arrow."
"Oh no, Fu Shao ye," Ji Xiang said with a smile. "I think I was very ji xiang to have been there. After all, I know no one in Beijing and am without any way of getting back home. With your arrow, I get to come live here and meet people who know my parents and can perhaps help me."
"Of course we will help you," Zi Wei said comfortingly. "You are not going anywhere, young lady, before your wound completely heals. Meanwhile, I will send news to your parents so that they can stop worrying."
"Thank you, Ge Ge," Ji Xiang said gratefully.
"Call me Aunt Zi Wei," she said gently.
Ji Xiang hesitated for a moment. Then she said, "Yes, Aunt."
"As for the story between your mother and I," Zi Wei continued speaking, "what happened was this. I was not raised in the palace. Until my mother died when I was 18, I lived in Jinan. After my mother died, I went from Jinan to Beijing to find my father. In Beijing I met your mother and we swore as sisters, and she helped me a lot in finding ways to meet the Emperor, my father."
"Your father is also one of my best friends," Er Kang went on. "So are your aunt and uncle."
Ji Xiang nodded. The slightly wistful ways they talked about her parents and aunt and uncle told Ji Xiang there was probably more to the relationship than just normal friendship, but she didn't ask for more information. She had grown up knowing that there were things that her parents wouldn't tell her and that she shouldn't press for them. These newly revealed relationships between her parents and a princess answered some questions about her family's connections but with that also opened even more room for enquiries. Ji Xiang felt that this wasn't the time contemplate them. Her body was in too much pain to take the mental pain of confusion as well. Surely as bad as her wound felt, she would have plenty of time to find out.
"Can you tell us more about your family?" Zi Wei asked, emotions rising in her voice. "I know your parents don't want to make their connections to us generally known so correspondence had been rather nonexistent since we last saw them, before you were born."
"What do you want to know?"
"Well, for example, like do you have any siblings, cousins…."
"I have two brothers and a sister. Jian Jun is actually my twin."
"Twins? Well, we would never have guessed then, would we?" Zi Wei looked at Er Kang with a delighted smile.
"Jian Wen is two years younger than me, and my sister - "
"Ru Yi," Zi Wei cut in.
"How did you know?"
Zi Wei shrugged. "It was a guess. And considering how your mother was obsessed with cheng yu and four-word phrases when we last saw her, if you're named Ji Xiang, you must have a sister called Ru Yi. The two always go together."
Ji Xiang told them about her family life, which was all much to the interest of Zi Wei and Er Kang.
"Well, it certainly seems that Yo - Ai Qi and Xiao Yan Zi have done well for themselves," Er Kang remarked offhandedly to Zi Wei.
Zi Wei sneaked a glance at Ji Xiang and saw that her brows were knitted together in a way that was very much characteristic of Yong Qi, and with a mental wince to herself, Zi Wei realised that Ji Xiang must have caught Er Kang's slip.
That day was the first day that the physician had let Ji Xiang out of bed, fifteen days since the day Ying Zhong shot her with the arrow and she was brought to Xue Shi Fu. She was strolling in the garden with Xuan Zhuang. As much as Zi Wei wanted to spend as much time as possible with Ji Xiang to know more about her family, Zi Wei also knew that Ji Xiang was not entirely comfortable around her yet, and that her title was still in the way between them. On the other hand, perhaps it was because they were closer in age, Xuan Zhuang seemed to be able to draw Ji Xiang out of her shyness and the two became fast friends.
Of course, Xuan Zhuang had been warned by her parents that Ji Xiang did not know anything about her and her parents' identities and that she was not to say anything that would give it away. Xuan Zhuang didn't know whether her parents wanted her to lie to Ji Xiang if she ever asked whether Xuan Zhuang knew anything about the friendship between their parents but was thankful that Ji Xiang didn't bring it up. Perhaps Ji Xiang was still in disbelief about the fact that her parents had a close friendship with a princess, or she thought that Xuan Zhuang would not know any more than she did, but she didn't ask.
Yet Xuan Zhuang and Ji Xiang bonded through their mutual inquisitiveness and eagerness to learn new things. Ji Xiang fascinated Xuan Zhuang with her stories about growing up in the multi-ethnic community in Dali while Xuan Zhuang intrigued Ji Xiang with tales of Beijing and life in the imperial family.