"Carrying both of us, this horse was still really fast."
"Were you hurt?"
"No." Pei Ye swung down from the horse. They took off their robes and tossed them into the iron basin beside them. Pei Ye handed her the bloodstained sack. Xie Chuantang paused before taking it, then opened it and looked inside in silence for a while.
Pei Ye drew some ice-cold water nearby and washed the blood from his face, then dried it with a towel. It was very quiet here, screened by verdant winter cypresses, with high walls enclosing a spacious courtyard. There was almost a solemn air to it.
For this was the rear courtyard of the Jingzhao Prefectural Office.
Pei Ye took the sack from her hand and flicked a blossom of flame into the iron basin. In just a few breaths, they had tidied everything away. He glanced at her, and Xie Chuantang smiled at him.
He had probably never seen such a silent, quiet smile on this woman's face.
Pale light began climbing the horizon, and everything began to take on color. They passed each other without a word. Pei Ye put his warm cloak back on and went out through the side gate, the sack wrapped inside it. He took a bun from Xie Chuantang and bit into it. Little Cat leaped back onto his shoulder as the first rays of dawn fell upon the street. Dressed in a clean constable's robe, Xie Chuantang rested a hand on her saber and came to the study in the inner offices. She pushed open the door as she did on every early shift. The stove had only just been lit, and even the air in the large room felt cold against the hands.
Lord Di had already washed and dressed and was sitting