Princess Snow and the Empress

14: If You Want to Kill Me

Snow paced about the cottage, imagining Third Brother stuck in a twisted tree, and the dwarves lowering themselves down a steep cliff to grab hold of him. I hope he could be rescued; I hope they will all get home in one piece. Oh, what if the tree gave way? The owl's amber eyes flashed in her mind, and she wondered whether there was any truth in Sixth Brother's belief that the owl was a bad omen. No, it's just a bird. They'll be alright.

With a sigh, she plopped herself by the table to nibble at her pastry. It was so hard she might as well have gnawed on a piece of wood. Heavens, it's really inedible! What a waste of good flour, and that was the last of it. She let the pastry drop to the table, and it bounced onto the floor. Like a wheel, it continued rolling until it collided into the cupboard with a clatter.

What do I do now? Ah, Third Brother will need this! She padded over to the cupboard and dragged out a small wooden box from the bottom shelf, its contents clinking faintly as she set it onto the floor. The smell of herbs that wafted out when she lifted the lid was so overpowering that it made her eyes water.

Inside were a few porcelain bottles with dark blue stoppers, ceramic jars and packets of yellowed paper tied together with string. She held up a bottle with rounded edges and turned it over in her hand. Blue calligraphic characters had been fired into the side of the bottle: For blood stagnation and stasis. For blood stagnation and stasis? Whatever that means. A similar bottle but with beveled edges read: For blood poisoning.

I've had these before. She unwrapped a paper packet to find hundreds of tiny black pellets. That was the worst stomach ache of my life. Never again will I eat a whole bowl of lychees by myself. The other bottles and packets contained tinctures and powder for lesser ailments: stuffy nose; insect bites; bruising and swelling. The last packet contained blood clotting powder.

She closed the box and went back to her cut-up jacket. She tried to think of other things to take her mind off Third Brother, and Fourth Brother's words echoed in her head: "I don't want to say it too loudly. You know, they say she can see everything and hear everything that's been said–"

Everything that's been said. It's not the first time she heard of this, but she had always dismissed such talk as baseless gossip. If she was not mistaken, she first learnt of it after the banquet where Imperial Noble Consort Hu outdressed everyone. Usually if one of the concubines stole the Emperor's attention in such a blatant manner, her downfall would come soon after.

Snow recalled being awoken by footfalls in her foster mother's courtyard that very same night. She had peeped out her window to find her foster mother's chambers lit by a single silk lantern.

The door opened to admit a few more ladies with their attendants – a clandestine meeting was being held. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, she had thought with a smirk.

Snow could not hear what was being said, but she imagined the other concubines plotting Hu's fall from grace in hushed whispers. In her eleven years living in the Palace then, she'd seen enough catfights and concubines being stripped of their titles over partly true, partly false accusations.

Sometimes she wondered whether her mother was as petty as these women. In her mind, her mother was a kind, gentle creature – the total opposite of these shrews – but she understood that it was impossible not to get caught up in their games. One had to have cunning, one had to machinate; otherwise, she'd find herself crushed beneath their heels.

Snow stayed by the window and watched with rapt attention. If Chow Chow were still alive, it would have accompanied her and lent her some warmth from its small, furry body. All was silent; an incense stick burnt all the way to the end. The side door finally opened and servants scurried out, presumably to execute their concerted mission. They always did the dirty work for their mistresses. Snow went back to sleep, expecting to hear the news in the next few days.