Xivia's body tensed slightly for an instant, but she neither struggled nor asked where he was taking her.
Xiao Yun carried her through the courtyard gate and into the Hall of Time. Instead of going to the Study Room, he headed directly down the corridor. It was darker inside the hall than outside, and not all the lamps along the corridor had been lit.
Xiao Yun stopped beside the bathing pool, bent down to place her on the low couch by the water, and reached out to untie the fastenings of her fitted outfit.
The water in the bathing pool was pleasantly warm, with a thin mist rising from its surface.
When she stepped into the pool, she lowered her head to watch the shifting reflections on the water. She said nothing, sitting quietly by the edge and letting him wash her.
Her shoulder blades rose and fell faintly beneath the water, and droplets occasionally slid down the side of her neck.
Xiao Yun did not say much. He simply worked the soap into a lather, spread it over her back, then rinsed it clean with fresh water.
She said nothing either. She merely turned around in the water and looked up at him. After a moment, she averted her gaze again.
Once she was clean, Xiao Yun lifted her from the pool, wrapped her in a bath cloth, crossed the corridor, and entered the Inner Chamber.
As the door closed behind them, the sound of the wind outside and the light of the lantern beneath the veranda were shut out together.
Only one candle had been lit in the Inner Chamber, and its light was faint.
Xiao Yun did not let go, and Xivia did not say she wanted to leave. The sound of fabric falling beside the bed