A Song to Drown Rivers

Zhengdan is glad she is okay, and Luyi tries to make light of Fanli’s reaction. Zhengdan asks if they can all go into the village, and Fanli says no, changing his mind when Xishi asks. Fanli tells Xishi to go anywhere she wants and he will follow. She hears other women giggling about how attractive he is while she stops to look at matching bracelets. The vendor assumes they are lovers and offers bracelets called strings of fate, binding the two wearer’s souls. She bargains with the vendor, impressing Fanli, who has never bargained in a market before. She tries to act nonchalant as he takes his bracelet. A commotion breaks out down the street as General Ma of the Wu rides through the market, destroying things as he and his soldiers go by. Xishi rescues a young girl from being trampled. When the girl reveals that she herself is Wu, Xishi is confused about how to feel until she pictures her sister’s death and remembers that the Wu need to be punished. Zhengdan is upset that the man who killed her father, General Ma, went by without her being able to challenge him. She swears that one day she will hold a sword to his neck.

King Goujian visits and is pleased with their progress, though he talks over their heads to Fanli, seeming to forget that the women are present. He offers Fanli extra riches if the plan goes well, whether it be land or a noble wife, making Xishi uncomfortable. Fanli says he only wants to serve the kingdom, and Goujian scoffs, calling his self-denial masochistic. He begins to pay attention to Xishi when he shows her a map of Lake Tai, instructing her to convince the king to build a waterway that the Yue armies will use in their attack. They will leave in two days. Xishi thinks of her time with Fanli and imagines that she sees sorrow in his eyes. When the king notices her hesitation, she asserts that she is ready. She is looking out at the view on her last day when Fanli joins her. He tells her about Wu King Fuchai’s defeat of Goujian and the Yue kingdom. Fanli advised Goujian to humble himself before King Fuchai so he could live to fight another day. Fuchai humiliated both of them for entertainment, which explains why Goujian is so intent on revenge. Xishi asks if Fanli desires anything for himself, and as he leaves, she thinks she hears him say that he does.

Beautiful red wedding robes have been laid out for her to try on. She puts them on and goes to Fanli’s chambers, where he is applying ointment to his back. She steels her courage and takes the jar, putting it on the places in the middle of his back where he can’t reach. She asks what she is to him, and he is tormented, saying he is being cut by his own blade. He touches the pin in her hair but then withdraws, telling her to get some rest before the journey.

Zhengdan suspects that something has happened between Fanli and Xishi as they leave the next morning. The long, uncomfortable carriage ride gives Xishi time for both boredom and dread. Suddenly Xishi hears a hissing and thud and realizes they are under attack. Men force open the doors and drag her and Zhengdan out while archers distract Luyi and Fanli. She sees an archer aiming at Fanli’s back and yells, making the archer flinch and misfire into her left shoulder. Fanli kills the man holding her, picks her up, and runs with her. She is worried about his safety but aware how he feels against her. She passes out from loss of blood hearing him say “if you die, my …” but doesn’t know how he finishes the sentence (114). She wakes up on a boat with Luyi and Zhengdan. They are all safe and have been sailing toward the capitol of Wu for over a week. Fanli has been tending to her, refusing to move away from her door. He comes in and thanks her for saving his life, and she replies that he has saved hers in turn. She wonders how he was going to finish his sentence. They speculate about who attacked them and decide it was either someone who doesn’t want peace or a trap set by Fuchai. They decide not to mention her injury to make sure the court is at ease. Fanli seems to want to say more, but instead says he will tell her when they arrive.

The Kingdom of Wu is disappointing to Xishi in that it isn’t the hellscape she imagined. Instead, it is almost like Yue, both beautiful and ordinary. Luyi also comments on the kingdom’s ordinariness. He tells her that Fanli took him in after his father died on the battlefield. He considers himself lucky to accompany Fanli on this mission, but he knows Fanli will be thinking about someone else, implying Xishi. Fanli gets off the boat early unable to watch her go, giving her his sword for protection. When she calls after him to wait, Luyi tells her to make it easier for Fanli. Xishi feels her old pain in her chest beginning again and feels bereft without him.

She arrives at the palace feeling like her life is already over. The palace is magnificent. King Fuchai is young and much more handsome than she imagined. She boldly tells him her name and holds eye contact a split second longer than is appropriate. He welcomes her home and tells her that she is a now Wu and should dine with him. She remembers Fanli’s lesson about being inaccessible and feigns tiredness. This surprises the king, but he allows her and Zhengdan to go to the room Wu Zixu has prepared for them. She can feel everyone’s eyes on her as she leaves.