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Глава 9

The chosen woman from the royal family was the daughter of Prince Xin'an Xijian, Yun Ning.

The emperor appointed Fu Bi, a drafter of imperial edicts, as the envoy to receive the Khitan envoys. Jia Changchao accompanied him to the embassy and they negotiated with the Khitan envoys.

The Khitan envoys originally intended to arrange a marriage alliance, but upon hearing that the current emperor was going to bestow the title of princess upon a member of the imperial family and marry her to the Prince of Liang, Xiao Ying immediately showed displeasure: "Doesn't the Song emperor have a biological daughter? I've heard that Princess Fukang is very beautiful, and our people greatly admire her."

Fu Bi explained that the imperial daughter was still young, and the marriage would have to wait more than ten years. Liu Liufu laughed and said, "The Prince of Liang is only ten years old, about the same age as Princess Fukang. Waiting ten years is nothing. Since it is a marriage alliance, it is only natural that the marriage should be between the children of the emperors of both countries to show good relations. The Prince of Liang is our emperor's eldest son, and your emperor has only agreed to marry a daughter of the imperial clan. Could it be that he thinks our country is too small and weak to be worthy of him?"

Fu Bi and Jia Changchao reported this matter to the court, but the emperor immediately refused, refusing to agree to the marriage of Princess Fukang under any circumstances. He then ordered Fu Bi to go as an envoy to the Khitan to meet with their ruler and promise to increase annual tribute, but insist on rejecting the marriage proposal. Fu Bi agreed, saying, "The ruler's worries are the subject's shame. I will not agree to anything other than the annual tribute."

Before his departure, the Emperor offered Fu Bi the positions of Assistant Minister of Rites and Academician of the Privy Council, but he declined. After the court session, Fu Bi went to the Privy Council to discuss the details of his mission and the content of the peace talks with other officials. After the meeting, everyone else left the palace, but he remained in the Privy Council, racking his brains for a solution.

Suddenly, an imperial eunuch from the inner palace arrived, bringing a batch of writing brushes, inkstones, and precious artifacts, all of which were treasures from the imperial treasury. He said that the emperor had specially bestowed them upon Master Fu.

I happened to be on duty in the courtyard. After Fu Bi thanked me, he ordered me to accept the imperial gift. Then he sat down again, looking sullen and deep in thought.

I had a general understanding of what had happened, from the snippets of conversation I had overheard while serving the Privy Councilors and from the transcribed documents, so I knew what was troubling Lord Fu. At that moment, looking at the precious items in my hands, a thought struck me, so I selected the imperial ink among them, placed it in the most conspicuous spot, and then carried it over to place on the table next to Fu Bi.

In recent years, the ink bestowed upon officials by the palace has been Li ink from Shezhou. The Li family of Shezhou is a family of ink makers, and their ink is as hard as jade, with textures like rhinoceros horn, rich and smooth, and as lustrous as lacquer, thus renowned throughout the land and listed as a tribute item. The Li ink bestowed upon officials is always placed in a sandalwood box, exquisitely carved and bearing the imperial treasury emblem. But the ink bestowed upon Fu Bi today is not Li ink, but rather the ink of Prince Di of Xiluo, placed in a leopard-skin pouch.

The items were placed aside, and there was a slight movement. Fu Bi turned his head to look and also noticed the difference. He then picked up a piece of Wang Di ink and examined it.

"Does Li Mo no longer offer tribute?" he asked me.

Knowing the reason, I explained: "Li ink was still a tribute item, but because sandalwood was out of stock this year, there was no way to make a box. Li requested to change it to a cinnamon box, but the Emperor refused, saying that Li ink, which was usually awarded to ministers, was always stored in sandalwood. If it was changed to a cinnamon box, the ministers might worry that the Emperor's favor would diminish. Therefore, he simply did not accept it. Xiluo Wangdi ink was only made with distant smoke and deer glue, and had the aroma of dragon and musk. It was also a rare and good ink. Moreover, it was stored in a thousand-gold leopard bag, which had a wild charm. So the Emperor ordered that this year's imperial reward be changed to Wangdi ink."

Fu Bi said, "Many people love Li Mo. If we discard it because of the box, wouldn't that be the same as buying the box and returning the pearl?"

I replied, "Huaiji dares to ask, sir, is Li Mo from Shezhou your favorite ink?"

Fu Bi laughed and said, "That's not true! I especially love Chai Xun's Dongyao ink."

“That’s right,” I continued. “While Li’s ink is excellent, it is not irreplaceable. Some people prefer Xiluo Wangdi’s ink, Chai Xun’s Dongyao ink, Xuanzhou Sheng’s ink, or Dongshan Chen’s ink. Preferences for collectibles vary from person to person, but there is the saying of imperial appreciation and imperial bestowal. People like to seek Li’s ink, and the sandalwood box is especially valued. As soon as it is shown, people know that it is an imperial gift. If Li’s ink is given but the sandalwood box is not, people will inevitably make unfounded suspicions. It is better to exchange it for ink from other famous brands.”

“Indeed, indeed. Although my colleagues in the court like to ask for Li Mo ink, many do not actually use it. But everyone loves that sandalwood box.” Fu Bi nodded repeatedly in agreement. “Someone even joked that we should ask His Majesty to just give us the sandalwood box and some silver so we can buy our own famous ink to put inside…”

He smiled broadly, his mood improved, and I smiled faintly in return, saying nothing more.

A moment later, his smile faded, as if he had suddenly thought of something, and he slammed his hand on the table, exclaiming, "That's it, that's it! Why didn't I think of that before?"

He stood up and bowed solemnly to me: "Thank you for the reminder, Your Excellency."

Afterwards, he went on a diplomatic mission to the Khitan and told their ruler that the princes and princesses might not be compatible in temperament, and marriage could easily lead to conflict. The bond between husband and wife is uncertain, and life is unpredictable. The princess's marriage to a foreign ruler is not a firm commitment and could easily lead to unforeseen changes. It would be better to increase the gifts of gold and silk. Moreover, according to the story of the Southern Dynasties marrying off their eldest princess, the gifts were no more than 100,000 strings of cash. Even if the emperor married off his own daughter, the amount would not exceed this, far less than the substantial annual tribute.

The Khitan ruler originally intended to acquire more gold and silk, but upon hearing that the princess's gifts would not exceed 100,000 taels, he agreed to accept the Southern Dynasty's suggestion to increase the annual tribute by 100,000 taels of silver and 100,000 bolts of silk. Consequently, the two countries sent envoys to renew their oaths, no longer mentioning the marriage alliance or the cession of territory.

Years later, Yelü Hongji, the former Prince of Liang, ascended the throne. Suspecting his wife of having an affair with the court musician Zhao Weiyi, he ordered the death of Empress Xiao Guanyin. Had Princess Fukang married into that family back then, it would likely have been an even greater tragedy.

A month after Fu Bi returned from his mission, a woman in her thirties came from the inner palace. She introduced herself as Han, the wet nurse of Princess Fukang, and said to me gently, "Lord Fu did not fail in his mission, and His Majesty was very pleased and praised him highly. However, he mentioned to His Majesty that he was inspired by you. His Majesty also told the Empress and Consort Miao. The Empress also praised you, but said, 'This child is clever. If he stays in the Privy Council for too long, the censors will probably have something to say. It would be better to transfer him to the Ministry of Personnel.' Consort Miao then asked her to let you serve Princess Fukang, saying that you helped the princess out of trouble twice, which was also fate. The Empress then asked me to ask your opinion first. If you are willing, you can be transferred... Good child, are you willing?"

I agreed without much hesitation.

Not long after, I was officially transferred to the Inner Palace Attendants Department, promoted one rank, became a senior eunuch, and entered the position of Consort Miao, serving Princess Fukang.

My residence was moved from the former provincial capital to the inner palace. On the day of the move, Zhang Chengzhao came to see me off, holding my hand and bidding me a reluctant farewell, repeatedly urging me: "If you become rich and powerful, do not forget me."

The Lonely City Closes (The Princess Who Fell in Love with a Eunuch) When we met again, I had already taken notice. 8. Winnowing Coins

Chapter word count: 3188 Update time: 08-09-13 15:34

Princess Fukang lived with Consort Miao in the Yifeng Pavilion. When I first entered, the princess was sitting with three girls of similar age on a mat in the hall, playing a game of tossing coins. The scattered copper coins jingled, and the girls' eyes followed the coins as they rose and fell, laughing and chatting.

Han, who led me in, saw that they were having a great time, so she gestured for me not to disturb them. She gently led me to stand to one side, then pointed to the three elegantly dressed girls next to the princess and whispered, "The older one opposite the princess is Miss Fan, the Empress's adopted daughter. The other two are Consort Zhang's adopted daughters, Miss Zhou on the left and Miss Xu on the right. They are all the princess's playmates."

I took note of it, and then looked at the princess. It was her turn to pick up the coins. She happily gathered the coins in both hands, held them in her palms, and then smiled at her playmates, saying, "Let's raise the stakes to three this round!"

Miao Zhaorong, who was watching from the sidelines, laughed: "You're the one who's lost the most here, and you still dare to raise the stakes."

"We definitely won't lose this time," the princess said confidently, urging her playmates to place their bets.

Miss Fan smiled and said, "Alright, three it is then, but don't cry if the princess loses."

Then, three copper coins were placed on the table. Miss Zhou and Miss Xu placed their chips one after the other, and both laughed and said, "We're going to win so much from the princess again. How can we accept that?"

"Flipping Coins" was a common game played by young girls in the Song Dynasty. Each round, a player held four or five copper coins in their hand, palm up. They would pick up one coin with their thumb and forefinger, while the remaining coins were tossed around in their palm to adjust their position and angle. Then, they would toss the picked-up coin into the air, flip their hand to scatter the remaining coins, catch the falling coins, and toss it high again. This time, they would quickly flip and scatter several coins on the ground between the falling coins. This process of adjusting the coin's orientation could be repeated, during which the coins were gathered into a handful. On the final toss, the hand would immediately flip upwards to cover the tossed coins, ensuring all coins were covered in the palm. A partner would then guess the number of coins that were heads or tails, and the winner was determined by the correct answer. The key was to use nimble fingers and move the coins quickly to confuse the partner and cause them to make incorrect judgments.

Among the four, the princess looked the youngest. Judging from the tone of others' voices, she seemed to be used to losing. But when faced with her mother's and playmates' questioning, she neither got angry nor refuted them. She just smiled and said, "Just you wait and see," then shook the money in her hand and started the game.

Everyone stared intently, but seeing that her movements of tossing and flicking the stones were ordinary and slow, they gradually smiled again: "We thought the princess had some special trick up her sleeve..."

"Alright!" the princess suddenly exclaimed softly. After tossing the coin one last time, she placed both hands on the copper coin. Due to the sudden movement, her upper body leaned forward as if she had pounced, completely ruining her elegant sitting posture.

Everyone couldn't help but laugh, and the hall filled with laughter. The princess, however, remained unperturbed, still pressing her coin firmly, glancing around at her playmates, and earnestly urging, "Guess quickly!"

"Oh dear, I was so busy laughing that I didn't get a good look at the last move," Miss Fan said with a smile. "It looks like two positives and three negatives."

Miss Zhou then guessed, "It must be three positives and two negatives."

Miss Xu had another idea: "There must be four heads, but I didn't see one of the coins clearly."

"Then what exactly is it?" the princess pressed.

After thinking for a moment, Miss Xu said, "Then I'll guess four positives and one negative."

The princess's eyes sparkled, her lips slightly pursed, revealing a restrained, smug smile. She still didn't reveal the result, turning to look at everyone in the hall: "And you? There's a reward for those who guessed correctly."

Everyone laughed and guessed along with the others. Some gave the same answer as the three girls, while others said four negatives and one positive, or all positives and all negatives. They guessed almost every possible result.

I remained silent, but finally her gaze settled on me.