The first thing Qi Yu did when he woke the next day was hide the Rattle Drum.
He did not hide it in the drawer where he usually kept things, nor on the highest shelf of the bookcase. Instead, he slipped barefoot back to Yuning Hall and, while Chun He was still overseeing breakfast in the small kitchen, stuffed the drum beneath the mattress on his bed. It was the innermost corner of the entire bed, a spot even A Ping never turned over when changing the sheets.
He laid the mattress flat again and smoothed it several times with his palms. Only after making sure there was no visible bulge did he straighten up and let out a long breath. Gray Rabbit crouched in the cage, watching him with a tilted head and ears standing tall, probably finding it strange that this human was scrabbling around on the bed so early in the morning. Qi Yu crouched down, pointed at Gray Rabbit's nose, and whispered, "What are you looking at? You're not allowed to tell Father, understand?" Gray Rabbit twitched those ears, rested that chin on those front paws, and gave no answer. He took that as tacit agreement.
He walked very slowly on his way back to Xuanzheng Hall. The morning breeze swept in from the far end of the covered walkway, gently stirring the hem of his robe. He looked down at his toes, but his mind was full of scenes from last night. The drumming. His own voice after the drumming stopped. At that thought, he abruptly stopped and pressed the back of his hand to his cheek. It was hot enough to fry an egg.
"Wretched man," he muttered at a vermilion pillar in the walkway. That did not feel satisfying enough, so he added,