Porcelain (III): A Pawn, and a Wife...

The gauze unraveled in the water, and the sand once again clouded the clear liquid.

Zhou Yao, who had worked herself to the bone all day, felt as though she'd been struck by lightning. The summer heat hadn't yet faded, and all the progress of half a day's labor was undone.

She stood frozen, so angry she laughed. But as the laugh escaped, she couldn't tell whether tears or sweat fell first. Chen Yuwen sighed and gave her shoulder a comforting pat.

Zhou Yao caught the culprit, noticing the wounds on the dog. Its body was caked in mud, and its gray fur—once clean—was matted with blood.

The border collie, aware it had done wrong, slumped to the ground in defeat.

She had to admit—she always went soft when she saw a small animal with matted fur and injuries.

She found Duyun waiting outside and told him to take the border collie back for proper care. Then she silently cleaned up the mess and separated the sand from the stones once more.

When she looked up, she noticed Chen Yuwen had stayed by her side the entire time. He'd said he needed to return to his residence, but he'd delayed for her sake.

His languid brows furrowed slightly. "You're not thinking of staying up all night, are you?"

Zhou Yao considered. Nothing pressed tonight, so she might as well work through the night to get a better feel for this batch of porcelain.

He nodded. Before leaving, he saw the determined look on her face—she had no intention of stopping—and it moved him.

He set out brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and wrote down the kiln methods step by step, including every detail. When he finished, he placed the notes where she'd see them the moment she turned around, then left.

She shaped the formless clay into various forms, watching it yield to her hands. For the first time in a long while, she felt a sense of control. After aging the clay and pulling it on the wheel, she set it aside to rest. The cicadas chirped that summer night, grating on her ears, as if echoing her inner restlessness.

She placed the semi-dry bisque into the kiln for bisque firing. Gathering firewood from the back mountain, sharp splinters cut her fingers, but the solid weight in her palm steadied her heart. She pushed the wood into the stove, coaxing the fire to life, until her cheeks stung from the heat and sweat streamed down her forehead, cheeks, and body—yet she didn't stop.

When everything was done, she slumped over the table to catch her breath.

"My lord," Duyun's voice came from outside. "The Ninth Prince absolutely refused to let me assist, so..."

Qi Yanhan's eyelashes fluttered slightly, looking utterly disinterested, but he deigned to say, "Go back and accept your punishment."

"Yes."

He knew how difficult it was to craft such ornaments, but if Zhou Yao wanted to try, then let her. At most, she was a pawn the Emperor used to restrain him...

Right, just a pawn.

Qi Yanhan told himself this.

The two were separated by a single wall, but far more than distance lay between them.

Beneath the guise of a gentleman lurked a venomous snake, flicking its tongue, hidden in the shadows, waiting for its moment.

After he left, a thin mulberry-silk garment appeared draped over Zhou Yao's shoulders.

Once the bisque was formed, she trimmed it according to the method Chen Yuwen had left. Mixing agate powder, wood ash, feldspar powder, ball clay, and water, she stirred them together, dipped the fired bisque into the glaze, then briefly baked the glazed piece over the firewood. Finally, she scraped off the excess glaze.

She arranged the glazed pieces neatly in saggars, stacked them one by one inside the kiln, and sealed the kiln mouth.

The final step—firing the porcelain—was crucial; this step determined the quality of the pieces. Zhou Yao relit the fire in the kiln.

She kept adding fuel to raise the temperature inside the kiln. The air grew hotter, ash fell through the ash outlet, and she checked the kiln's temperature through the fire holes on top. She watched the flames shift gradually from red to white.

Zhou Yao stayed by the kiln the whole time, adding wood every three hours, until Chen Yuwen, seeing her utterly exhausted, lifted her from the table to open the kiln.

Of the three batches, one had been overheated and lost its luster; another was underheated and lacked the jade-like quality. Overall, they were disappointing.

She looked dejectedly at the last stack and waved her hand, not intending to open it.

Meeting Chen Yuwen's gaze, Zhou Yao sighed. "Maybe I'm really not suited for making porcelain..."

"One failure doesn't mean anything. Go back and rest." He glanced at the garment that had fallen to the ground, picked it up, and looked at Zhou Yao meaningfully. "In truth, it's already impressive that you, a woman, managed to complete this on your own."

"Go on." Chen Yuwen handed the garment to Zhou Yao and patted her shoulder comfortingly.

Neither of them realized at that moment that these trials were only the beginning.

Day after day, under Chen Yuwen's guidance, Zhou Yao gradually mastered the art of porcelain-making. Her pieces went from the lowest-grade cups and bowls to the occasional fine ornament.

Seeing pile after pile of finished porcelain, Chen Yuwen suggested Zhou Yao set up a stall to sell them.

Zhou Yao thought it a good idea, so she went to the nearby market, scouted a spot, and set up her stall.

Few vendors in the market sold porcelain. Though the pieces were of ordinary style, their prices were exorbitant—not something ordinary folk could afford. Such shops were few and far between in these parts, and business was sluggish; most stalls dealt in pottery.

Since Zhou Yao's porcelain was for practice, and her recent expenses had been modest—only the room and board for Bige at Qi Mansion and the three thousand eighty copper coins Qi Yanhan had repaid on her behalf—she decided to sell her porcelain cheaply.

The next morning, as the early market opened, Zhou Yao set up her stall. Foot traffic was heavy, but half an hour passed without a single person stopping at her stall.

Recalling her previous attempt at selling exotic fruits, Zhou Yao realized that ordinary households used pottery priced at five to ten coppers, while porcelain ranged from two hundred to several thousand coppers—a vast gap that made people balk.

"Porcelain bowls sixty coppers, porcelain cups fifty, porcelain mugs thirty-five. Buy two cups and get one free. Even if you're not buying, come take a look!" Zhou Yao called out to every passerby.

Though some paused, no one asked to buy.

She carefully examined her finished pieces and pricing, then lowered the original prices further, which finally drew a few buyers.

Over the following days, the number of buyers steadily increased.

Someone tapped twice on the table of her stall. "We've received a report that someone in the city is illegally selling porcelain with suspicion of unfair competition. Pack up your things and come with us."

She forced a smile. "Officer, surely there's some misunderstanding? I'm a law-abiding citizen. I'm being wronged!"

"Whether you're wronged or not, you can explain that at the yamen."

The man seized her without mercy, and the surrounding crowd gathered in a circle, pointing and whispering.

"Wait! Wait!" Zhou Yao couldn't finish her sentence. If the magistrate recognized her and reported the matter up the chain, her good days would be over. She didn't want to experience the consequences of shaming the royal family again!

Zhou Yao turned her head in pain and was startled to meet eyes with a woman in the crowd.

The woman averted her gaze, and Zhou Yao immediately sensed something was wrong. She began to struggle desperately. "Wait! This must be a malicious report!"

There were too many men, and Zhou Yao couldn't break free. All she could do was watch helplessly as the woman disappeared into the crowd...

At the yamen, Zhou Yao was forced to kneel. When her hands were untied, her wrists ached. Just as she looked up, she met the gaze of the yamen runner.

"The one below the hall—do you know your crime?" A portly tingwei slowly emerged from behind a screen. When his gaze landed on Zhou Yao, his footsteps faltered.

"Oh!" The tingwei hurriedly grabbed the desk for support.

His eyes darted about, and he quickly waved his hand, ordering his men, "Release her and leave."

Once everyone was gone, he scurried to Zhou Yao's side, quickly untied her bonds, and helped her to her feet.

With an apologetic grin, the tingwei said, "This humble official pays respects to the Ninth Princess. May Your Highness forgive me. My subordinates are clumsy and failed to recognize a distinguished personage. They must have seized the wrong person, ha ha."

"The person we sought was merely a small vendor."

Zhou Yao's gaze was fierce. She stood up, rubbed her wrist—pulled red—and walked directly to the seat of honor, sitting down.

With an unhurried tone, she said, "Zhao Tingwei, correct?"

"Yes, yes, exactly."

"So according to you, small vendors can be arrested at will?"

"Um..." Zhao Tingwei stammered, at a loss for how to respond.

Zhou Yao casually picked up the token on the table and toyed with it. "Your subordinates didn't seize the wrong person. I am that small vendor. What do you intend to do now?"

"As the evidence is unclear... I must temporarily place Your Highness in the cells. This matter is of grave importance; please allow me to report to His Majesty before deciding. I will clear your name then." Zhao Tingwei nervously wiped at nonexistent sweat, speaking in a frightened garble.

"How dare you!" She shot a warning glare at Zhao Tingwei and threatened, "If you tell me who's behind this right now, perhaps I'll spare your life."

"But if you play tricks..." Zhou Yao rested her cheek on one hand, pausing slightly, "the position of tingwei seems a bit too high for you..."

Zhou Yao didn't know who the mastermind was. All she knew was that selling porcelain had stepped on someone's toes.

Thus, threatening this fat man was the quickest way to get an answer.

"Or perhaps, tomorrow, someone in Chang'an will quietly disappear, and we'll say a fugitive killed him. How does that sound?"

Zhao Tingwei could no longer stand. He fell to his knees with a thud, his plump body trembling, fat quivering.

"Zhao Tingwei, you've been skimming quite a bit of the fat, haven't you? Look at yourself—flabby and well-fed. The people outside..."

She threw the wooden token at his feet.

On the token was written the character for "death."

Before Zhou Yao could finish, Zhao Tingwei couldn't bear it any longer. He kowtowed frantically, begging, "Your Highness, spare this humble one! I'll talk, I'll talk! I'll tell you everything! Spare my life!"

"I... someone came to my residence earlier with a gift, saying it was a small favor, just to deal with a small vendor... I was blinded by greed, Your Highness!"

—

When Zhou Yao emerged, Qi Yanhan was seated outside the yamen gate, watching her with a faint, unreadable smile.

"My lady is truly fond of playing games. If you wanted to do business, you had only to tell your husband. You needn't have troubled Zhao Tingwei."

His gaze, soft for a moment, turned icy when it landed on the tingwei's oily face.

"My wife has suffered such grievances here. I must trouble Zhao Tingwei with the matter of arresting and punishing the slanderers..."

"Yes, yes. Whatever Chancellor Qi says, I will hold dear."

"Then I'll take my wife back to the residence. Duyun." Qi Yanhan glanced at Duyun beside him, leaving the rest to him.

Zhou Yao had already walked out, but she turned back to add, "If it was just an ordinary citizen, then let it go. I won't pursue this."

"Yes."

On the carriage, Qi Yanhan shed his false smile, his expression dark and somewhat menacing.

"Why are you here?" Zhou Yao looked at Qi Yanhan with some wariness. "Are you having me followed? Or do you have spies?"

"It doesn't matter." Zhou Yao said lightly. "This time, someone was targeting me anyway. And you've planted more than a few eyes around me, haven't you?"

Qi Yanhan avoided answering, closing his eyes as if to rest for a moment, then changed the subject.

"Does Your Highness remember the new identity I arranged for you earlier?" He pondered. "I've been introducing you as a cousin from the Qi family's maternal side. Your Highness's identity is ultimately not suited to be exposed to others."

After a long silence, Zhou Yao nodded. "Let me off up ahead."

"You're not coming back to the Qi Mansion?"

She ignored him, lifting the curtain to signal the carriage to stop.

Zhou Yao thought: Lately, she had been seeing much more of Qi Yanhan than before. It was... getting troublesome.

A few days later, Zhou Yao was strolling through the streets after closing her stall when someone suddenly called out to her.

"Miss! Miss, wait!" The man rushed up ahead of Zhou Yao, blocking her path, clearly intent on preventing her from passing.

Author's Note:

None.