Avoidance

Qi Yu retreated to Yuning Hall. He walked faster than usual after leaving the West Warm Pavilion that day. A Ping jogged behind him and only caught up on the palace walkway. He thought His Highness was off to cadge another meal at the Eastern Palace or feed the fish in the Imperial Garden. Qi Yu took no turns. He went straight back to Yuning Hall and shut the door as soon as he entered his bedchamber.

Standing outside, A Ping heard a muffled thump from within-the sound of someone throwing himself onto a bed. He pressed his ear to the door and listened. There was no crying or talking, only the rustle of bedding being tugged back and forth. Chun He came over with water for washing his face, but A Ping stopped her.

"What's wrong with His Highness?"

"I don't know." A Ping lowered his voice. "He's been like this since he came back from Xuanzheng Hall."

Chun He set the copper basin down in the corridor, and the two stood guard on either side of the doorway. After a long while, the door opened a crack from inside. Qi Yu showed half his face. His hair was mussed, and his white jade hairpin sat crookedly to one side. He said only, "Bring hot water." Then he shut the door again.

The hot water arrived. When Chun He carried it inside, she saw Qi Yu sitting on the edge of the bed, the quilt heaped to one side and the pillow lying askew on the floor. He had taken off his outer robe and wore only his inner clothes, with two ties at his collar undone. Chun He placed the copper basin on its stand, wrung out a cloth, and handed it to him. Qi Yu wiped his face and then his neck before giving it back. He looked down at his hands, then at his collar, and suddenly stood and walked over to the bronze mirror to look at himself. The face in the mirror was flushed, the lips a little dry, and tiny droplets of water still clung to the lashes. After looking for a while, he reached out and turned the mirror facedown on the table.

"Your Highness, shall I have breakfast served?"

"No." Qi Yu returned to the bed and sat cross-legged, hugging the cotton pillow to his chest. Its cover had been washed pale, and he picked at the faded embroidery on one corner with his fingernail. As Chun He withdrew, she heard him mutter something behind her. She hadn't caught it, but A Ping said he had. The exact words he had heard were, "How did Father have to be the one to catch me?"

Qi Yu did not leave Yuning Hall that day. He skipped breakfast and drank only half a bowl of congee at lunch. Chun He brought in the braised ribs and carried them out again untouched. Gray Rabbit and the light gray rabbit crunched noisily on carrots in the Side Hall. Qi Yu crouched in front of their cage for a while and poked Gray Rabbit's ear. Annoyed by his poking, Gray Rabbit turned away with the carrot in his mouth and presented his rear to him. Qi Yu stayed crouched before the cage for a good while, then stood, brushed the dust from his knees, and went to sit at his desk. The lesson notes Qin Wei had sent lay spread across it. He opened them, read two lines, and closed them again. Then he pulled that travelogue off the shelf.

That evening, he did not go to Xuanzheng Hall. It was the first evening since his recovery that he had not gone there. A Ping waited outside his door until the hour of the pig, when he heard him turning over inside. He turned over several times. Eventually, all was quiet; he had probably finally fallen asleep. The next day, he still did not go to Xuanzheng Hall.

He did attend his lessons in the Imperial Study as usual. While Grand Tutor Sun lectured on the Book of Documents, he sat by the window taking notes. He was even more diligent than usual, keeping every character within its square. Qin Wei glanced at him several times, finding him far too quiet. Ordinarily, whenever the Grand Tutor reached the passage about the five punishments, he would invariably mutter, "That's too cruel." Today he said nothing, his brush filling the page with small characters. Qin Wei leaned over to see what he had written and discovered that he had copied out "the five punishments" three times. Qi Yu shifted his notebook aside, blocking Qin Wei's view. Qin Wei looked away, picked up his brush, wrote a few words in his own notebook, and pushed it over. Qi Yu looked down and read, "What's wrong with you today?" Beneath it, he replied, "Nothing's wrong." Qin Wei looked at those words, folded the paper, and put it in his book bag.

After class, Qi Ming walked past Qi Yu's desk. He seemed to be in a good mood these past few days. After Father had scolded him for failing to answer a question in the last assessment, he had gone back and learned the Record of Music section of the Book of Rites by heart. Today, for once, he did not mock Qi Yu. He merely glanced at the densely filled notebook in front of him and said, "Your handwriting has improved." Qi Yu looked up at him and said, "Thank you, Second Brother." Qi Ming was taken aback instead, then nodded and left. Qi Zhao followed behind him and gave a soft cough as he passed. Qi Yu looked up, but Qi Zhao had already walked past. His pale gray figure flickered at the doorway and disappeared.

On the third day, Qi Xiao reviewed memorials in the West Warm Pavilion. He had finished three memorials, and the tea had been changed twice. Grinding ink beside him, De'an noticed that the emperor was pressing harder than usual as he wrote his comments today. As the Vermilion Brush touched the paper, ink bled at the ends of some strokes. When he reached the fifth memorial, Qi Xiao set the brush on the Brush Rest. He put it down hard enough that the Brush Rest rocked and nearly toppled.

"Were lessons held in the Imperial Study today?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Grand Tutor Sun lectured on the 'Punishments of Lü' chapter of the Book of Documents."

"And the Fourth Prince?"

"He attended. He took quite a few notes. Young Master Qin said His Highness has been studying very diligently these past few days." De'an kept his voice level.

Qi Xiao fell silent for a moment, then opened the next memorial. After reading two lines, he closed it again. "Diligently. So diligently he no longer even sets foot in Xuanzheng Hall."

De'an did not respond. Inwardly, he counted the days on the Fourth Prince's behalf. Today made three. The last time the Fourth Prince had stayed away from Xuanzheng Hall, it had been seven days. Who knew how many more days they would have to wait this time? He brought the freshly brewed tea to the imperial desk and stole a glance at the emperor's expression. Apart from the sound of memorials being turned, the only sound in Xuanzheng Hall was that patch of bamboo leaves brushing against the window paper. Qi Xiao finished commenting on that memorial and picked up the next. After writing two lines, he suddenly spoke without raising his head.

"Go tell that little brat to come here for dinner tonight. If he doesn't, I'll have all the braised ribs taken away." De'an bowed in assent. As he turned to withdraw, he repeatedly pressed down the corners of his mouth. Out in the corridor, he instructed a young eunuch to deliver the message to Yuning Hall, adding at the end, "Tell him His Majesty said that if the Fourth Prince doesn't come tonight, his braised ribs will be confiscated from now on." The young eunuch understood and dashed off to Yuning Hall.

In Yuning Hall, Qi Yu was crouching in the Side Hall feeding the rabbits. He still held half a carrot when the young eunuch ran in with the message. After hearing it, he nearly dropped the carrot. A Ping stifled a laugh beside him, while Chun He had already turned to the wardrobe to choose his clothes for the evening. Qi Yu stood, tossed the carrot into the cage, brushed the crumbs from his hands, and stood blankly in the Side Hall doorway for a while.

"Your Highness, are you going?" A Ping asked, though he knew the answer.

"Yes." Then he returned to his bedchamber to change. He looked at himself in the bronze mirror, straightened his crooked hairpin, and adjusted the rabbit fur at his collar. Chun He brought over a newly made moon-white outer robe. He shook his head and pulled his old sky-blue everyday robe out of the wardrobe himself.

Qi Yu slowed when he reached the entrance to Xuanzheng Hall. He stood there for the space of two breaths before raising his hand to knock. De'an opened the door from within. At the sight of him, he smiled and stepped aside to let him enter. Qi Xiao sat behind the imperial desk reviewing memorials and did not look up at the sound of footsteps. Qi Yu approached the desk, lifted his robe, and knelt. "Your son pays his respects, Father."

Qi Xiao finished the last character of his comment on the memorial in his hand and set down his brush. Then he leaned back in his chair and looked at him. Qi Yu knelt with his head bowed, not daring to raise his eyes. He felt his father's gaze settle on the top of his head. "So you still know to come." Qi Xiao spoke, each word heavy.

"Father sent an order. Your son did not dare stay away." Qi Yu regretted the words as soon as he said them and lowered his head still further.

Qi Xiao straightened from the back of his chair. "You didn't dare stay away. Then why didn't you come the past two days? Has my Xuanzheng Hall sprouted thorns, or does this face of mine frighten you?" Kneeling on the floor, Qi Yu twisted his fingers inside his sleeves. He bowed his head until his chin nearly touched his chest, the tips of his ears burning red. Seeing him like this, Qi Xiao held back the words on his lips. He was silent for a long while before saying a single word: "Rise."

Qi Yu stood, his hands hanging at his sides beside the imperial desk. Leaning back in his chair, Qi Xiao reached out, took his chin, and lifted his face. It was the same face, only the tiniest bit thinner than a few days ago. The bases of his ears were still red. His gaze darted away, then returned to look at him.

"What have you been avoiding these past few days?"

"I haven't." After struggling for a long while, Qi Yu managed, "...I was just embarrassed."

Qi Xiao looked at him for a good while. Then he released Qi Yu's chin and patted the boy's shoulder. "Time for dinner. The braised ribs are already served."

Qi Yu sat at the table and discovered that, besides braised ribs, there were sweet-and-sour fish and osmanthus cakes. The cakes had been cut into diamonds, with dried osmanthus embedded in their surfaces. He placed a rib in his father's bowl, then another in his own, lowered his head, and began gnawing on it. Once he finished, he reached for a second piece. De'an was ladling soup beside them. Seeing sauce at the corner of the Fourth Prince's mouth, he was about to offer a handkerchief, but the emperor had already handed over his own. Qi Yu accepted it, wiped his mouth, and tucked it into his sleeve. This was already the fourth handkerchief he had confiscated. De'an silently kept count and said nothing.

Qi Yu did not leave that night. After dinner, he read his travelogue on the couch for a while, then slumped against a cushion and fell asleep as he read. When Qi Xiao finished reviewing the memorials, he went over and picked him up. The boy was heavier than he had been a few months ago, but one hand could still support him. He carried him to the imperial bed, took off his boots, and tucked him in. Qi Yu rolled over in his sleep, reached out and found his father's pillow, hugged it to his chest, and sank back into deep sleep. Qi Xiao sat on the edge of the bed and watched him for a while, then brushed the stray hair from his forehead, his fingers lingering at his hairline for a moment. Then he rose and returned to the imperial desk to continue reviewing memorials.

When De'an came in to change the tea, he saw the emperor writing with his head lowered. The Vermilion Brush made a very soft sound against the paper, much softer than in the past few days. He set the teacup on the imperial desk and glanced toward the imperial bed as he withdrew. The Fourth Prince was sleeping soundly with the pillow in his arms, one leg sticking out from under the quilt and resting on the edge of the bed. His toes twitched. De'an went over, gently tucked the foot back beneath the quilt, and tucked in the covers.