Chapter 13: Wangjun
"Bi Yushuang; the name I was called before I entered the Palace, and now as well." Bi Yushuang's face had some bewilderment, and she blinked, asking, "It's just that it's been a long time that no one has called me; then, what about you, what are you called?"
Jiang Changbai was somewhat hesitant; it seemed as if she didn't want to cause this elder of hers who was six years younger than her to know her identity, so she didn't reply at all, only furtively rubbed at the coil of beads in her hand. Yet Song Juguang wasn't the slightest bit concerned, and replied easily, "Song Juguang, the 'guang' of 'radiant light'."
As a result, Jiang Changbai also had to reveal her name.
Even if Bi Yushuang had lived deep in the palace for many years, she still knew the taboo name[1] of the current emperor. She saw her complexion change dramatically at once, the smiling expression of before disappearing in an instant, and she rushed to give obeisance to Jiang Changbai. Regardless of whose age was greater and whose was lesser, Bi Yushuang in the end counted as Jiang Changbai's elder, and as a result, Jiang Changbai also hurried to return the courtesy.
One responding the the other, yet it caused the atmosphere of moments before, which could be counted as friendly, the dispel entirely.
"Bixia is in fine spirits; she's playing this mourner[2] as a fool." Bi Yushuang appeared displeased, as if she was taking to heart having been tricked just then.
Jiang Changbai, knowing she was in the wrong, hurriedly apologised, not forgetting to explain, "We merely didn't want to cause you to be too uncomfortable."
"Bixia jests; seeing that the sun is getting stronger and stronger, this mourner will return to the palace first." Bi Yushuang wasn't willing to speak much, and, with a single phrase, she turned around, about to leave. What Jiang Changbai had wished to ask, she hadn't finished asking, and so she took a step forward first, wanting to obstruct her. It was just that, when her hand had only just risen, she hesitantly lowered it once more.
It seems to not be too appropriate, Jiang Changbai thought to herself.
Yet Song Juguang didn't pay attention to any appropriateness or inappropriateness; she knew what Jiang Changbai was thinking in her heart, and she candidly raised her voice and called out, "Concubine Dowager, halt."
She'd only just spoken when she sprang forward in a few steps; Song Juguang, in the end, was someone practiced in martial skill, and even if she'd moved a bit slower than Bi Yushuang by a few breaths, she still stood before Bi Yushuang in the blink of an eye.
Bi Yushuang glared at her with wide eyes, and asked, "Are you stopping this mourner from leaving?"
"The Emperor still has things she wishes to say; there's no harm in the Concubine Dowager waiting a bit to leave." Song Juguang's expression chilled, and the fan which had originally been folded at her waist was now grasped in her hand; in her daze, that wasn't a folding fan, but a swift and fierce jian.
"This mourner only met the late Emperor once; there's nothing which I can answer." With an indifferent phrase, Bi Yushuang was once more about to leave. It was just that, regardless of which direction she advanced in, she was always blocked by Song Juguang.
"What We wished to ask has nothing to do with the late Emperor; We ask that the Concubine Dowager be at ease." With the effort of these two phrases, Jiang Changbai caught up as well, extending a hand to indicate the pavillion not far away. "Please."
Bi Yushuang turned her head to look at Song Juguang, yet she saw the folding fan in her hand was also pointing towards the pavilion.
"Whatever Bixia wishes to ask, this mourner will most certainly tell everything she knows." In the end, Bi Yushuang still sat down, her hands folded on her legs, yet there was some mockery in her words. Song Juguang, holding her folding fan, leaned against a pillar of the pavilion, not sitting down, only watching the two as if watching a play.
In the end, Bi Yushuang was still a youth; regardless of her face or the clothing on her figure. But, at this moment, she wanted to forcefully act in the appearance of an elder, which actually caused her to look out of sorts. Yet, this scene falling into Jiang Changbai's gaze only caused the sensation of pity to rise. Jiang Changbai sighed, and for a moment, unexpectedly didn't know where to start from. Bi Yushuang scoffed coldly, speaking in ridicule, "You who are emperors, you are all truly the most tyrannical. Didn't you have something you wanted to ask this mourner? How is it that once this mourner sat down, you aren't speaking?"
"Precisely because We are the Emperor," Jiang Changbai shook her head, amending her speech halfway through, "but We are not the same as the late Emperor."
Bi Yushuang raised a brow, not speaking more, only coldly gazing at Jiang Changbai.
"You harbour anger because We concealed Our identity just now; We can understand it." Jiang Changbai sighed, and said, "Nominally, you are my elder, yet in the end our ages are similar; could we perhaps treat each other candidly?"
Bi Yushuang's expression loosened slightly, yet she still was somewhat guarded. "Bixia forcefully obstructing this mourner to sit here was merely to say this?"
"Of course it wasn't," Jiang Changbai spoke honestly, "perhaps We can help you out. The late Emperor's age was more than enough to be your grandfather; We fear that, perhaps, you did not enter the Palace of your own volition."
Bi Yushuang scoffed coldly, tilting her head, not looking at Jiang Changbai. "Willing or not, did I spend two years in the Palace?" Originally, when Bi Yushuang was sixteen, her father had entered the palace to attend a banquet, and had unexpectedly received a few words of commendation from Emperor Tai. Bi Yushuang didn't fully remember what it was that Emperor Tai had said, but she still remembered when Emperor Tai had dropped that gaze on her, which had caused her to be uneasy from head to toe.
At the time she hadn't thought too much of it, only taking it as her anxieties of encountering the Emperor for the first time. But after she'd returned home, when her mother saw her, she would, from time to time, cry a few tears, and after not many days, she'd been carried in a small sedan chair from the side door into the Imperial Palace. Her name had also been changed from Bi Yushuang to Second Class Attendant Bi.
It was just saying it was a satire; after entering the Palace, she'd been assigned to a remote palace, and most days, she didn't have any interactions with other concubines. She'd only taken it as herself having been imprisoned, and had willingly entertained herself within those four walls, day after day. And when she'd heard news about the emperor once more, it was actually the heavens being altered and the earth being changed; even the Empror had become a new person. Now, everyone had become consort dowagers and concubine dowagers, and their positions didn't have any differences. Only at this had Bi Yushuang dared to leave her own palace, and had come to the Imperial Gardens to fly a kite. It was just that she'd only come a second time when she'd run into Jiang Changbai and Song Juguang.
Having finished listening to Bi Yushuang's story, Jiang Changbai's mind only filled with complex feelings, and she slighed lightly, and said, "If you would like, We can allow you to leave the Palace."
Bi Yushuang, hearing this, gazed at Jiang Changbai for a long while; the mockery in her eyes disappeared, replaced by a complex, complicated sensation. But in the end, she still shook her head. "Nevermind, here is fairly good."
Jiang Changbai's complexion chilled, and she furrowed her brows, asking, "You're willing to spend a lifetime here?"
"Regardless of if I leave, what would that be? My father could, at that time, send me into the Palace, and in the future, he could naturally send me somewhere else. Everywhere is an identical fate; here, I don't have to worry about clothes and food, and there are people waiting on me; it's much more comfortable than outside." Bi Yushuang shrugged, a maturity incongruous with her age in her words.
Song Juguang suddenly spoke. "Now, outside, it's not limited to only the path of being married off; the Cangwei army only accepts female soldiers, and the next keju will also accept women; as for commerce and craft, in the future, there won't be the practice of restraints on women; what one wishes to do, one can do."
"You're being truthful?" Hearing this, Bi Yushuang's eyes widened, and hope was writ full in the expression she cast at Jiang Changbai. Jiang Changbai had just nodded, not having yet moved, when she heard Bi Yushuang say once more, "You're playing this mourner for a fool once more." Bi Yushuang's tone cooled further, and she asked sternly, "The dianshi is in just a month or so; even if the restrictions on women are lifted, how many women will have passed the identity of having passed the first grades of the examinations? Even if they aren't restricted based on identity, how many could come to the capital from all parts of the nation in a month? Next time the Lord wants to lie, don't choose the sort which even this child can distinguish as a lie."
Having finished speaking, Bi Yushuang rose, and this time, there wasn't anyone who obstructed her. The palace maid who had followed by her looked at the gradually retreating Bi Yushuang, then looked at Song Juguang and Jiang Changbai, still sitting upright in the pavilion, and for a while, she neither left nor was staying. In the end, it was Jiang Changbai who waved a hand at her, indicating her to follow Bi Yushuang in leaving. That palace maid only at this seemed to have been relieved from a burden, and hurriedly gave obeisance to the two, and with quick steps, chased after in the direction Bi Yushuang had left.
For a while, no one spoke.
Song Juguang's line of sight looked towards the distant direction of Bi Yushuang. "She addressed you wrongly."
Jiang Changbai had originally been deeply ingrossed in what Bi Yushuang had just said; hearing these words of Song Juguang's, she somewhat didn't understand. "What was wrong?"
Song Juguang sighed, an exasperation within her words. "She called you Lord, but it's men who are called 'Lord'."[3]
Jiang Changbai was amused by these words of Song Juguang's, and the corners of her mouth rose in a slight arc. "Yet everyone knows you're the Prince Regent; she could only think of referring to me like this."
Yet Song Juguang seemed to have thought of the next phrase early on, and as soon as Jiang Changbai had finished speaking, she said, "If there isn't a term, then making one up is good; how's calling 'Wangjun'?"[4] Song Juguang's tone was still light, not seeming to be discussing it.
Something seemed to have been rung by Jiang Changbai's ear, and her spine unconsciously straightened a few degrees. She asked, "Which character?"
The folding fan was raised, and it was sketched out in the air. A horizontal line which turned into an angle at the right, a horizontal line…
The "jun" in "Princess".[5]
Jiang Changbai seemingly could hear the sound of the beat of her own heart in her chest; the heart which had only relaxed slightly a few shichen before once more rose. She strove to not let her own hand or voice reveal any abnormalities, and said neutrally, "Alright, in a moment, We will call them to inform them."
Song Juguang laughed. "Then this minister will first thank Bixia."
"But what she said was right, as well," Jiang Changbai said once more. As a result, Song Juguang inclined her body towards her, her head somewhat closer to Jiang Changbai, with the posture of listening with respectful attention. Jiang Changbai sighed once more, and said, "Now, having said I wanted to reform the keju without thinking beforehand, I fear that the citizenry, hearing it, will only take it as a joke."
At this moment, the clouds in the heavens were dispersed by gusts of wind, and the scorching sunlight once more spread across the entire space. The pavilion couldn't obstruct this sunlight, and the threads embroidered on the two's clothes faintly glowed. However, this light seemed to have also lit up the inside of Jiang Changbai's mind, and the lingering fog dispelled in an instant. Song Juguang, still leaning against that vermillion-laquered pillar, looked towards Jiang Changbai with an expression carrying a smile.
Translator's notes:
[1]: Historically speaking, emperors' names were taboo—a taboo strong enough that even important figures like goddesses would have to change their names if they were shared with the emperor, as in the case of the goddess Chang'e, once known as Heng'e, changed to avoid sharing the same pronunciation with the Han dynasty emperor Liu Heng.
[2]: Bi Yushuang uses the term 哀家, literally "grieving one", a self-reference used by widowed empresses.
[3]: Actually, there's a bit of a complication with translation; the term 王爷 (Wangye) translates to a single English word, "Lord", but the first part of the appellation, 王, is technically gender-neutral; only the second portion, 爷, is exclusively masculine. So, Song Juguang is commenting on the second portion being incorrect, not taking umbrage with the first part.
[4]: 王君 (Wangjun); both parts of the appellation are neutral in terms of connotation, and the term isn't one with a direct English equivalence, so I've left it in the pinyin form rather than trying to translate it (which would require a gendering in English, as English is a finicky language which likes to gender its positions).
[5]: 君主 (Junzhu); it shares the same jun as the jun in Wangjun
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