Then he cleaned the house meticulously, inside and out. By the time he finished, the sky had already grown dim.
It was dinnertime, but Yan Feiqing ate no grain; a handful of dates and a dipper of water sufficed for him. Pei Ye therefore went out with Yang Zhenbing to eat the food provided by the Sword Academy. When they returned, night had fallen completely.
After bidding good night to Yan Feiqing, who was reading by candlelight with his head tilted back, and Yang Zhenbing, who was practicing his sword in the courtyard, Pei Ye carried his bedding back into his room. Before long, a soft rain began falling outside the window.
He had often listened to rain over the past two months, but this was the first since he had arrived in the Divine Capital.
Rain pattered against the window, and the candle flame swayed. Pei Ye washed up and nestled comfortably into his soft new bed.
Amid the quiet sound of rain, the boy, who had spent half the day busy, brought out a snowy-white letter with a little thrill of excitement-the very one Duan Yu had handed him.
Pei Ye held it before his eyes, thinking that the little jade sword really had worked hard this time, flying so far with no fewer than three letters.
He unfolded it neatly and solemnly. Familiar handwriting covered the page, and the woman's voice, like a high sky and pale clouds, seemed to sound beside his ear again.
Yet her tone seemed very slow and very gentle.
"Pei Ye, greetings.
Only after receiving your letter did I ask Piao Qing about what happened at the Jade Sword Platform. I was told you had attempted to assassinate the Governor-General, that your fate was unknown, and that you were being escorted to