2 A Living, Breathing Wedding Present

Twenty-year-old Zheng Xian sat at her mistress Lady Wang's writing desk, a blank expression dominating her beautiful face. She was supposed to be attending Lady Wang, the fiancé of Prince Huizong, but Zheng Xian could not bear another minute of the hag. She was exhausted and she needed time to think. Lady Wang and Prince Huizong's wedding was to occur in five weeks, and Zheng Xian was caught in a flurry of preparations. She had to help the seamstresses fit Lady Wang's dress, help the chambermaids decide on how to style Lady Wang's hair for the wedding, and work on embroidering a wedding present to give to the prince.

And then there was the looming horror of being a wedding present herself.

According to tradition, when a royal couple married, the bride would present her handmaids to the groom as concubines. Zheng Xian was not looking forward to this at all. There was nothing wrong with the prince; he was studious, handsome, and a very clever artist, some even said a brilliant genius. But just because Zheng Xian loved and admired him did not mean that she wanted to be traded over as his plaything. She was not a toy that could be sold as a gift for a little child, who would later get tired of her and cast her aside.

"You lazy girl, Zheng Xian," came the sharp yet teasing voice of Lady Wang's stewardess. "Why do you refuse your work and sit here like a lazy old dog?"

The stewardess was the kind of person who was insensitive towards you and yet you still had to admire them for their wit.

"Speaking of dogs," the stewardess added, "have you fed Lady Wang's lapdogs like you were supposed to?"

Zheng Xian sighed.

"No, Madam. I have been very tired."

"Tut, tut! If you are to serve the prince, you cannot be tired. He enjoys directing his maids. You will be at his constant beck and call soon—fetching him tea, inking his pen, playing him music... So by the time the wedding comes, Zheng Xian, I expect that you try to resolve these lazy ways of yours. Now get up!"

Zheng Xian gulped and scuttled away. "Someday," she muttered, "no one will dare boss me around!"

The wedding arrived before Zheng Xian knew it. Lady Wang's dress was very beautiful. It was made of silk the color of fire overlaid with crimson brocade, with a gold cinnabar necklace to accompany it. For good luck and fortune, Lady Wang also wore a jade hairpin that kept her hair in place.

Lady Wang was not exactly a beauty, with her looks being tolerable enough, but she looked stunning in her bridal attire. Many of the maids started to cry when they saw her looking so lovely, but not Xian. All that was on her mind was the groom and what the stewardess had said about him. "You'll be at his constant beck and call..."

Zheng Xian and the rest of the maids carried Lady Wang's train as the wedding procession began. The rest of the ceremony went by in a blur. Before she knew it, Zheng Xian was fast asleep in her room, dreading the sunrise, which she knew would mark her first day as the prince's bossed-around concubine.

"Goodbye, freedom," she sighed, and snuffed out her oil lantern.