A Magic Steeped in Poison

Yang explains that she received the tea directly from the royal physicians and prepared the trays herself. This means that one of the servants is working for the marquis. She laments that Ning’s mother escaped the machinations of the palace only for Ning to become entangled in them. Then Yang tells the story of Ning’s mother.

Yang relates that Wu Yiting was a midwife who helped the empress survive Zhen’s birth. To honor her, the emperor arranged a marriage for her. However, Yiting instead fell in love with a low-ranked royal physician. She secretly studied for the shennong-shi trials and won admission to Hanxia Academy. When she returned, having earned her place among the shennong-shi, she begged the emperor to release her from the arranged marriage. When she revealed that she was already pregnant, the empress took pity on her and helped Yiting and her lover to escape the palace. They returned to Yiting’s home village in the wake of the scandal.

Ning now understands why her parents always avoided attention; they feared the prospect of drawing the emperor’s ire. Night also realizes that she never knew her father’s family because they must have cut him off in disgrace.

When Ning returns to the residence, Lian is gone, and Ning is forced to eat dinner with the other competitors. Shao approaches and accuses her of making him lose money; he bet that she would fail in this round. He then offers Ning money to leave the competition and go home. Ning briefly considers the large amount of money but refuses, mocking Shao. He moves to attack her, but another competitor, a monk named Wenyi, stops him.

That night, Zhen’s handmaiden, Ruyi, wakes her and orders Ning to follow her. Ruyi leads Ning through a hidden tunnel, then to a door that leads into a garden.

The garden looks like the one from Kang’s memory of speaking with Zhen. Just as in that memory, Zhen now sits at a table. She explains that the marquis and chancellor have argued about whether Ning should be allowed to continue. The marquis believes that she is seditious. The princess asks Ning bluntly if she intends to cause unrest in the palace, and Ning insists that she is only here to provide a better life for her family.

Zhen claims that she wishes to create a better life for her people, but Ning recalls the starving people and the unjust taxes and does not believe her. She accuses the nobility of being afraid of those who speak the truth. Ruyi grows angry, but Zhen is amused by Ning’s spirit and decides that it will be useful.

She knows that Kang visits Ning at night, so she orders Ning to learn what Kang is plotting and report any useful information to her. If Ning is useful, she will be rewarded. If she is not useful, her family will suffer. Ning has little choice but to agree.

In the morning, Ning is quiet. Lian worries about her, but Ning is afraid to tell her friend the truth. Lian offers a distraction in the form of stories about the palace. When Ning asks what Zhen was like as a child, Lian says that she was quiet and serious, but kind. Her closest companion was Ruyi, who comes from a family that has served the royal line for generations.

The remaining competitors gather with Elder Guo. She is dressed in the gray robes of Hanxia Academy, which is dedicated to Shennong, the Blue Carp. Ning recalls the scholars and monks of other traditions, musing to herself:

Wulin is devoted to the Black Tiger, renowned for its study of martial arts and military techniques. Yeliu Academy is where one would attend for the study of philosophy and history […] Only the Lady of the South has no monastery or academy. She is found in the trees and fields (168).

Elder Guo explains the next challenge, which will be completed in pairs. Ning and Lian agree to be partners. Before Elder Guo can continue, drums sound, and someone announces that the emperor has died.

Palace guards escort the competitors back toward the residences. In the crush, Ning becomes lost. Kang, disguised as a soldier, leads her away. She asks if he knows how to get out of the palace in secret, claiming that she feels suffocated and wants some peace and solitude. In truth, she is thinking about the princess’s order to get close to him and learn his plans.

Kang cannot take them out through the palace gates. Instead, he leads her through a series of tunnels, explaining that the previous emperor built them as escape routes in case of attack. He adds that his memory is vague, as he was nine when he left the palace 10 years ago. Ning cannot imagine what it feels like to be banished, but she understands what it feels like to be an outcast.

They emerge in the inner chamber of a monastery. Kang takes Ning to the gardens on the monastery grounds and tells her about his mother’s people in Luzhou. The place is now known for its bandits and criminals, but it was once known for its artisans and craftspeople. They made beautiful art and jewelry with black pearls that could also be ground into a medicinal powder. When the emperor banished Li Yuan, he made an example of the entire region, banning the sale of pearls and other items. This move forced many into criminal activity just so they could feed their families. Ning understands. She too has seen farmers lose their crops and livelihoods. Taxed beyond what they could bear, they were forced to run away and become bandits to survive. She recalls her father standing up to the governor, begging for mercy in such cases, though the governor was cruel and ignored every plea.

Ning feels drawn to Kang but forces herself to focus on the princess’s orders, knowing that she cannot afford to care for Kang when she must worry about herself and her family. Ning steps into a field of flowers. When Kang hesitates to join her, as if afraid to hurt the plants, she says, “They’re not as fragile as you think […] they bend but they do not yield easily. You can raze plants to the ground, burn them, but some will always return the next year, and the year after that” (184). Suddenly, a monk spots them, and they run.

They run through the gardens and down to a bridge spanning a canal that leads to a lake. The monks chase them. Then Kang leads Ning through a small passage hidden among rocks; it leads into a cavern filled with an underground sacred spring. Supposedly, no fish or insects can live there, but when the First Emperor drank the water, it did not harm him. Later, the monks believed that Shennong, the blue carp, blessed the place.

Kang leads them through the cavern to a boulder on the far side. Once they climb over it, they will reach a lakeside beach. As Ning climbs the boulder, she spots a snake. It snaps at her, and she jerks away, only to slip and fall into the sacred spring.

Ning sinks. The water is sweet in her mouth but burns in her bones. Then Kang pulls her out of the water and apologizes for waiting so long. She admits that she does not know how to swim. He embraces her, and they kiss.

Afterward, Kang confides that when he first went to Luzhou, the people did not immediately accept him, although they respected his father (who fought for them) and his mother (who came from their tribes). Ning knows the story that Kang’s adoptive mother was intended for the emperor. However, when Li Yuan was sent to escort her to the palace, he decided to claim her for himself, hoping to gain political power. Kang says this part of the story is a lie. He insists that they fell in love on the journey, and his mother refused to marry anyone else.

Ning asks if Kang knows how the emperor died. (She had heard rumors that he was poisoned by the Shadow.) She explains that her mother died from one of the tea poisonings and reveals that this is her reason for entering the competition. Kang understands her pain but does not understand what her mother’s death has to do with gaining the princess’s favor, unless Ning is looking for revenge. Ning retorts that she would “ask for the head of the Shadow if [she] could” (195).

Then she asks about the healing stone he once mentioned. He admits that it is only a rumor, and he does not believe it exists. If it were real, Zhen would have used it to heal her father. He asks who Ning is trying to save, and she finally tells him about her sister, crying as he holds her.