Page 72 of The Scarlet Alchemist

The prince thought for a moment, stroking the duck’s head with one finger. “About a year,” he said. “Unlike my sisters, I had a ‘political purpose,’ so I needed to age. A crown prince isn’t very useful as a helpless child.”

“So you’re not a sleazy old man in a young man’s body,” I said as the servant pierced my hair with one final pin and began cleaning up her supplies.

“What?Is that what you thought?” the prince said, squeezing the duck so hard that it squeaked and pecked his hand.

I shrugged. “I thought you seemed too naive to be an old man, but I didn’t know if life gold stunted your brain growth as well.”

“I don’t even eat that much of it!” the prince said, his face pink. “Only once or twice a week! I’m still aging, just slowly.”

“That hardly seems worth the expense,” I said, raising an eyebrow.

“Fan Zilan,youtry eating rocks instead of real food for every meal.”

“Okay, fair enough,” I said, turning back to the mirror and regarding my reflection with distrust. The servant had painted the center of my lips bright red, so my mouth looked the size and color of a cherry. Between my eyebrows, she’d drawn a red plum blossom. I looked like someone who’d grown up learning to sing and read poetry and make small talk with important men, not someone who spent her summers elbow-deep in mud and sweating beside a kiln. I knew I was supposed to feel prettier this way, that this was the face of someone of great importance, but it felt just like when I pretended to let Wenshu punish me, or be the Emperor’s foreign tribute bride. Not all lies required words, and this one was painted all over my face.

“We should go,” the prince said, setting the duck back in the box with seemingly great reluctance. “I’ll bring back food for you,” he whispered to it.

Then he offered me his hand. “To keep up appearances,” he said. “We’re supposed to be young and in love.”

I grimaced. “I don’t think ‘love’ is the purpose of a concubine.”

“Well, no. But after turning down the last fifty girls, I think indifference to the one concubine I’ve chosen might make mother suspicious.”

“Are those the only two options?” I asked. “Love or indifference?”

He sighed. “I know I am not as smart as you, Zilanxiaojie, but if there’s one thing I’ve succeeded at so far, it’s delaying my own death in this court. I would like to live at least one more day.” He held his hand out closer to me. It was clean and uncalloused, the hands of someone who only ever held paint brushes and chopsticks and gold coins.

I slipped my hand into his. “At least one more day,” I said quietly, letting him pull me out into the hall.

The members of the court stared and whispered as we passed through the courtyard. I wished I could melt into the dirt and bury myself alive rather than feel so many eyes on me at once. The prince held my hand tighter, drawing me closer as if that would shield me from their words.

“It’s not because of you,” the prince whispered as we crossed over a bridge. “They’re just surprised I have a concubine after the...fuss of last time.”

“Yes, they’re wondering why you turned down the fifty prettiest girls in the kingdom and then chose ahùnxie,” I said, glancing down at my rippling reflection in the lake, stretched long like a morning shadow. Surely the Empress would see right through this charade.

“Those girls...” The prince shook his head. “It’s not as simple as how pretty they were. There were other factors to consider.”

“If you’re truly that picky about your concubines, I don’t know how your mother will believe this,” I said, tearing my gaze from my reflection.

“It’s not about whatIwant,” the prince said. “Most of those girls were either plucked from poor districts with the promise of food or pressured by their fathers to earn them a higher position in court. They weren’t choosing me—they were choosing this life.”

“Can you blame them?” I said, frowning. “Why do you think I’m here? Why do you think anyone wants to be part of this court?”That’s what happens when you hoard all the kingdom’s riches in the capital, I wanted to say, but there were too many people who might be listening.

“I just wanted to be chosen,” the prince said quietly. “But those girls didn’t have a choice, not really. I don’t want to be the cause of someone’s suffering just because my father has purchased me the right. I want to be chosen freely, or not at all.”

“That’s very...” I trailed off, because none of the words I could think of felt right.Foolish? Naive? Oddly endearing?

“I know,” he said, grimacing. “Whatever you’re thinking, my father has said worse. At least he should be happy now, because of you. As for mother...” He squeezed my hand tighter. “Just stay close to me.”

The prince turned toward a hallway on the left, but the guards stationed in the doorway didn’t move.

The prince sighed. “The Empress has requested our presence at—”

“She wants you to use the western entrance,” one of the guards said.

The prince gripped my hand tighter. “That’s not necessary,” he said. “We can just meet her—”

“Empress’s orders,” the guard said.

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