Volume Three, Chapter Thirty-One

Longyang glanced at the seal pushed toward him and raised an eyebrow. "You don't think returning this means you can get out of keeping your promise, do you?"

"Of course not. A gentleman's promise is worth a thousand pieces of gold. Whatever I promised you, Second Master Long, I'll do." Having made that grand declaration, he looked down at his decidedly ungentlemanly outfit—a white shirt, red skirt, and small embroidered shoes—and scratched his head. "It's just that, looking like this, all I can do is sit in a lady's chamber embroidering, playing with birds, and living off myself. I probably won't be much help."

Before Longyang could reply, Long Ang swallowed a mouthful of fragrant tea and cut in with a chuckle. "Don't sell yourself short, Lord Zhu. Just remember the favor our Xiaoyang did you. A gentle whisper over the pillow someday, and our Long Household will reap endless benefits. After all, even with your face injured like that, His Majesty refuses to abandon you and insists on taking responsibility. Half of the month has already passed. Have you discussed with His Majesty which hall in the Inner Palace you'll be moving into?"

Longyang slowly closed the lips he had parted to speak and cast a sidelong glance at Long Ang. He understood that Long Ang was both interrupting and warning him. If His Majesty's earlier indulgence had merely been teasing and flirtation, he had now made his intentions unmistakably clear. To keep pretending not to understand would mean that Longyang, as his subject, did not know his place or how to avoid suspicion.

"...Lord Long, there's still half a month left. I may not be lucky enough to whisper over His Majesty's pillow. Why not ask for something else I can actually do?"

"You still entertain such fanciful