The day I first saw Jiang Muye, before we had even exchanged two words, the muffled toll of bells echoed through the palace.
Jiang Muye turned to leave upon hearing the sound, but paused at the doorway. Half in jest, he turned back and said to me:
"Now you can cry openly."
After that, the head maid gathered all the maids of Zhu Yin Hall and made us kneel on the long street to weep towards the deserted brick path.
That was when I learned the sudden ringing of bells signaled a national mourning period.
For a long time after that, I did not see Jiang Muye again.
One day while on duty, I happened to be helping the head maid clear fallen leaves from a side garden. Curious, I asked her:
"Maid, Zhu Yin Hall is Prince Jiang's bedchamber, but why does he never return?"
The head maid did not pause in her work, instead swinging her broom more vigorously, as if using the swishing of fallen leaves to mask the loss in her voice:
"He will not come back."
Will not come back...
Does that mean he has died?
The ravages of war had blurred the distinctions between nobility and commoners; even emperors and empresses could not escape unscathed.
People died unnatural deaths every day. If even a prince met with misfortune, it would hardly be surprising.
These thoughts crossed my mind, but I knew they were disrespectful, so I dared not ask the maid.
I was young then, so the maid took special care of me, never assigning me the more arduous tasks.
But the other palace maids liked to order me around, secretly giving me their undesirable chores behind the maid's back.
If I recall correctly, it was in early October of that year that Zhu Yin Hall saw its first winter snowfall.
On the day of the first snow, each palace had to send offerings to Candle Dragon Palace, the shrine dedicated to the spirits of past emperors and empresses.
This duty was meant for a palace maid named Yun'er, but she shirked her responsibility and forced the offerings upon me, ordering me to go in her place.
Since entering the palace, I had always served in Zhu Yin Hall, rarely venturing out.
On my first journey through the vast palace grounds, unfamiliar with the routes and hindered by the slippery snow, I struggled greatly. By the time I reached Candle Dragon Palace, night had already fallen.
After neatly arranging the offerings, I prepared to leave when I heard a commotion outside.
The palace had many rules, and as a mere lowly maid with no status, anyone could order me around as they pleased. Fearing I might be given more tasks, I hid behind a pillar to secretly observe.
The partially open palace door was pushed wide, and by the faint moonlight I clearly saw the small figure enter.
It was Jiang Muye!
He brushed the wind-blown snow off his black and gold cloak, then knelt before the ancestral shrines. After bowing thrice, he said in a low voice:
"Mother, your son has decided to go to the Qi Dynasty as a hostage. My elder brother is far wiser than I, more suited to assist our father the king. Let him remain; the troubles of Zhu Yin Hall may yet find a solution one day."
'Bang!'
I had been straining to listen curiously to his words when the sudden slamming shut of the door made me jump, nearly crying out.
The heavy yellow pear wood doors of Candle Dragon Palace closed firmly, the clink of iron chains securing the lock faintly audible from outside.
Jiang Muye rushed over and pushed against the doors, finding them immovable. Clenching his small fists, he pounded and struck the doors, shouting:
"Open the door! The prince is still inside!"
"That's precisely why I've locked you in, you brat," a mature male voice replied from outside. "You always fall short compared to me. You have the gall to compete with me over going as a hostage to the enemy state?"
Jiang Muye paused, then yelled hoarsely:
"Brother? What are you doing? Quick, let me out!"
The man outside chuckled casually:
"No need to rush. The palace staff attending to Candle Dragon Palace will return in the morning and release you. As for me... I've already informed our father the king. Tonight, I depart with the vanguard for the capital of the Qi Dynasty."
"Brother! I won't let you go! Father said the Qi Emperor is not a benevolent man. If you go as a hostage, how will they treat you? I've already lost Mother, I can't lose my brother too!"
Outside, a lengthy silence followed before a low voice drifted in:
"Foolish little brother. Take care."
After that, no matter how Jiang Muye raged and howled, the only response was the deathly stillness of the snowy night.
He began pounding on the doors like a madman, repeatedly charging and ramming them with his shoulder.
But the doors did not give way; instead, he collapsed unconscious onto the floor from exhaustion.
