Horse and I sat opposite each other at this long table. The prince sat to my right and the princess was on Horse’s left. The mood was sad and solemn, with Master Yu chanting a prayer in hope that our master would have a good afterlife. It made me wonder if there was an afterlife. He did not exist any longer. For the past two days, he was not there to greet us. Moreover, we had seen his body–it was silent and still. And yet it was still difficult to understand that he was not coming back. Each time this thought entered my mind, I had to shake it away. But now, with so many people mourning, I felt like I could not control myself. I’d started to tear up.
Horse looked at me, concerned. Just as he was about to open his mouth, the prince spoke.
“Would you care for some soup?” he asked. It was made from lotus root and was clear as day. I nodded. It was something for me to get away from my thoughts. Horse’s eyes widened, but it was too late. I pretended to take a sip. It was too sweet. That was all I needed to know. I turned towards the attendant and grabbed him by the wrist. No one was going to poison me today. Not if I could help it.
The prince and Lady Li gasped, while Horse jumped over the table to help me. I stood up, dragging the attendant with me, and had enough strength to grab him by the collar.
“Ox,” Horse spoke. “He’s the attendant from the inn!”
Suddenly, everything clicked. My grip around his collar tightened.
“Who are you, and why did you poison my master?”
“I–I was paid! By him!” the poor man pointed at the prince, who merely shrugged his shoulders.
“Attendants and waitstaff. They love gossiping and telling lies, do they not?” the royal’s silky smooth voice was confident, and yet, betrayed his lie. I shook my head. I didn’t want to believe it, but here it was, as clear as day.
“Horse, search him for–” I said, but Horse did not think twice. He leapt over the table to pat down the prince. Immediately, everyone surrounded him, which made escape impossible. There, in his pocket, was a vial. Horse opened it, and a cloying sweet scent filled the air.
The princess gasped.
“Prince Huang! How could you? I have told you that we are not meant to be!”
The funeral go-ers had started murmuring.
“I said that I don’t take no for an answer,” he growled. “You will marry me and be one of my concubines–”
“Aren’t you cousins?” Horse asked. There were titters and disgusted noises.
“Father is foolish! Our royal blood runs in our family and is pure! You shouldn’t marry a commoner!” the prince cried.
“But how could you do this?” I asked. I had nothing else to say.
“I am the prince,” he said, as though that could solve all the problems he had. “My will is the heaven’s.”
“You are the prince, yes,” Lady Li said, choking up. “But you have never understood that we have a duty to our people and the kingdom. This is beneath us.”
Silence drifted over the crowd, and no one else knew what to say.
“Good work, Horse and Ox,” a gentle voice seemed to float up. It was Nuwa. “Please take them away. I will issue a summons to the prince’s father and let him know what has transpired. In the meantime, we will mourn.”
Our plan had worked. We had lured the culprit out, and succeeded. All that was left was to imprison them in the temple’s innermost chambers and await the outcome.