Jin held the letter in her hands and ghosted a finger over the letters once more. Li Shimin had written from his military expedition: a poem about the pine trees, stalwart in the last snow, and the plum blossoms that had just begun to open. There was no date written on it, but the time of plums blossoming had long passed in the city, so the letter must be weeks old at least. He compared the moon between the plum blossoms to her face and said the scene paled in front of her beauty. To the end, he added a wish to see her soon.
He loved her. If she permitted it, he would take her on as his wife and they would live happily and in harmony beneath the heavens. Their sons and daughters would be princes and princesses, living in the lap of luxury in the lands of the Han.
Yet Li Shimin was not the kind of man who would sit idle by her side. He loved her, and he would gladly marry her, only to leave her while he went on campaign after campaign after campaign. He would not rest until he was dead. He would not stay by her side unless he was the Emperor, constrained to Chang'an by custom.
He was the second son. Li Jiancheng was the presumed heir.
Jin folded up the letter and slid it to her bosom. She pressed a hand to it, feeling the slight crinkling pressure.
Could she do it? Could she forsake her happiness and marry for love of a man she would never see?
The sun was descending towards the horizon, lengthening the shadows in the courtyard. Carps played in the shadows of the reeds, unheeding of the worries of the human world.
The next morning, the emissary from Li Jiancheng came. It had not been arranged in advance, not truly, but she had dropped hints. Only deniable ones, easy to dismiss as misunderstandings, but enough hints to have the matchmaker approach.
Jin sat behind the low table as the matchmaker bowed to her. The old woman was accompanied by maidservants and wore a pleasing yet neutral expression as befitting of her role.
Their discussion began with pleasantries that Jin drifted through with her mind elsewhere. She had heard Li Jiancheng was a good man, a kind one. Moreover, he was the Crown Prince. He had the greatest rank of his brothers and he would grant the greatest status and luxuries to his wife. It would not be a bad life.
The matchmaker gradually circled the conversation toward her true target. She praised Li Jiancheng's skills and qualities and pointed out his status. Wealth. Ease. Everything that came with being the Crown Prince's consort.
And yet, what had drawn him to her? He had not met her. All he knew was that his brother wanted her.
Could she forsake her happiness and marry for love of a man she would never see?
Her new husband entered her chambers. "My brother rode to the point of unconsciousness when he heard of your marriage," he said. "Would you care to see him?"
"There is no need," Jin replied with a serene smile. "My mind and body belong here, in this palace."
Li Jiancheng looked taken aback for a moment, but quickly regained his composure. "Good. Good."
Jin smiled at him. They chatted aimlessly for a while, admiring the flowers in the courtyard, before duty called the Crown Prince away. She watched his retreating back disappear behind the bamboo.
The path of Li Shimin was one that would inevitably lead to the death of brother by brother's hand. Jin could see it; no doubt so could Li Jiancheng. At some point, her husband would make a move against his brother.
And Jin would warn her love. She and Shimin may never meet again, but she could save him, if only from his brother's side.