The Last Concubine

this inopportune moment.
    “Yes, you might as well let us admire you,” Ci’an agreed. “You never say anything worth listening to. Like our simple little Alute here, isn’t that so?” She leaned forward to poke a finger at Alute, who shrank away from her, looking unhappy to be singled out. “Is that a new bracelet I spy?”
    “Don’t, Ci’an,” Alute pleaded, batting at the other woman’s hand.
    Lan’xiu crossed the room to sit next to Alute, hoping to divert Second Wife’s attention from her. “Greetings, Second Wife,” she said, bowing low as a token of respect before she sat down.
    Well satisfied with Alute’s shrinking response, Ci’an turned her attention to Lan’xiu, the triumphant smile fading from her lips as she caught sight of the ruby earrings.
    Ci’an’s body stiffened and she almost shook with rage, but she controlled her reaction, forcing a smirk to her lips. “Ah, my sister wives, I see you have all earned your keep with your master, but judging by appearances, the Princess of Nothing has snared the top prize. Are those diamonds and rubies I spy dangling from your ears?”
    Bravely, Lan’xiu tried to answer without rancor. “You said you didn’t like my turquoise earrings. I didn’t want to bore you.”
    “I never bored Hüi Wei when he came to me. There were times I scratched his back bloody, but he always left my bed well satisfied.” Ci’an gave Lan’xiu a triumphant smile. “Early days for you, stupid girl. A novelty always pleases to begin with, but your insipidity will soon begin to pall. What province traded you for their safety? Who sold you for such a paltry bit of jewelry?” She reached forward to flick at the earrings, but Lan’xiu parried her grab.
    “I did not say where these earrings came from. They are mine and I like them.” Too late Lan’xiu realized Ci’an’s sharp eyes had caught a glimpse of the dagger up her sleeve.
    “What’s this? She is armed! She is a spy, sent to kill our husband!” Ci’an sprang to her feet and tugged at Lan’xiu’s sleeve to expose the scabbard.
    “I am no spy!” Lan cried and jumped up, knocking the other woman’s hand loose. She saw the other women staring at her, shocked, and realized they were unsure and stupefied by Ci’an’s accusation. “If I had been sent to kill the general, then why haven’t I already done so?”
    “To divert suspicion!” Ci’an blared triumphantly.
    “Suspicion of what?” Lan’xiu could not hold in her laughter. “What better opportunity could I have had than the general’s first visit? And yet he lives on to give me these.” Lan touched the earrings shivering in her ears. “And this dagger was a gift from him as well.”
    “Why would you conceal a dagger up your sleeve then?” Ci’an asked, eyes narrowed.
    A sudden inspiration struck Lan’xiu. “First Wife advised me always to go armed to any meeting with you, Second Wife.”
    Ci’an cast about for some insult to maintain her ground. “And yet your belly remains flat even though our husband has been trying hard to get you with child! It has been months, and when he discovers you are barren, he will cease to light your lantern and then that pretty dagger will be cold comfort between your legs.”
    “I’m sure you would know, as your lantern has been cold and dark a very long time.”
    Bai gasped in surprise at Lan’s sharp retort and then laughed out loud. Mei Ju looked astonished but hid her mouth behind her hand, giving a quiet cough that sounded suspiciously like a giggle. Alute drew a little behind Lan’xiu as if to render herself invisible.
    “So, the little mouse has a tongue as sharp as a serpent,” Ci’an said at last.
    Lan’xiu thought she detected a note of reluctant admiration in Ci’an’s voice. “I sting too.” She wished she dared draw the dagger, for she was sure it would give her great pleasure to run Ci’an through, but it would never do to fight with an unarmed woman, particularly in Mei Ju’s tidy sitting room. “I am no spy,” Lan repeated, turning to Mei Ju.
    “I know you are not. You are a very sweet, innocent girl,” Mei Ju said, glaring at Ci’an. “Second Wife, I realize you have some inexplicable partiality to these dramas and histrionics, but you have finally lost your grasp upon reality. Look at the princess. She is slender and small. Hüi Wei could disarm her without any trouble at all if she threatened him. I am sure if he did not wish Lan’xiu to have a dagger,