Pei Qing felt Lou Yun's scent lingering all around him, ensnaring him in a net from which he could not escape at all.
Thinking of what they would do next, Pei Qing could not help feeling a little bashful. He shifted his heels another inch inward and tugged the clothes covering him closer, hiding half his face beneath the outer robe.
Pei Qing sniffed cautiously, his eyes half-lowered as he watched the candlelight flicker on the ground. Finally, he parted his lips gently and secretly breathed beneath the outer robe, savoring that trace of joy in his heart over and over with his tongue.
Seeing Pei Qing's movements from a distance, Lou Yun thought the young man was cold. Carrying the firewood she had just gathered, she approached him and crouched down, her palm naturally closing around his exposed fingertips.
"Cold?"
The woman's palm was very hot. By comparison, his hand really did seem a little cool, even giving Pei Qing the illusion that he ought to be cold too.
But lying was not a good habit.
He shook his head. "I'm not cold."
Lou Yun did not entirely believe him. She built another fire by his feet and pressed the back of her hand against his neck. Only after feeling its warmth did her expression ease.
Lou Yun's movements flowed like drifting clouds and running water, practiced as those of a habitual offender. Pei Qing, however, was like a burning candle flame, growing hotter and hotter until even his palms began to sweat.
What should I do? I seem cold one moment and hot the next. Will Lou Yun think I'm troublesome?
The next instant, Pei Qing's apprehension was abruptly interrupted. As though afraid he really was cold, Lou Yun sat close beside him and rested one hand on his back, steadily channeling internal energy into him.
For a moment, Pei Qing did not know whether to be surprised that Lou Yun possessed internal energy or delighted that they were so close just then, before he fell completely asleep in the warmth at his back.
A sudden weight settled on her shoulder. Lou Yun helped Pei Qing find a comfortable position in her arms, then began intermittently kneading his legs and feet.
Given how exhausted he was today, if she did nothing, Pei Qing would certainly be too sore and weak to walk tomorrow.
The young man slept peacefully in Lou Yun's arms. Only when she occasionally pressed too hard would his brows draw together slightly and a muffled "It hurts" slip from his mouth.
At those moments, Lou Yun would ease her pressure and move elsewhere, keeping the soreness from waking him.
Rumble, rumble.
The sound of carriage wheels rolling over grass and hooves striking the ground still woke the young man.
He opened his eyes groggily, feeling wonderfully loose and comfortable. He shifted slightly and was about to get up when a voice sounded beside his ear. "Don't move."
Everything that had happened yesterday replayed swiftly in Pei Qing's mind. Only then did he realize that Lou Yun had not only watched over him all night but also let him sleep on her.
Although he already knew their affection was mutual, Lou Yun was, after all, still an unmarried woman. Besides, there were other people outside. What would become of her reputation then?
Pei Qing sprang away like a bird startled by a bowstring, completely forgetting that Lou Yun the princess was already dead. The current Lou Yun was using Lou Ze'an's identity, so what reputation was there to speak of?
"Hiss!" After serving as his pillow all night, Lou Yun's arm had long since ceased to feel like her own. Even Pei Qing's slight movement upon waking had sent soreness and tingling through it, let alone such a sudden rise.
Hearing Lou Yun, Pei Qing also realized he had done something wrong. He knelt pitifully before her, looking as though he wanted to help yet did not.
Ah. Lou Yun sighed inwardly. Once she could move again, she unceremoniously ruffled the young man's hair.
"You little ingrate."
Pei Qing did not argue. He, too, thought his behavior just now had been terribly ungrateful. Yet he had no idea how to make it up to her and could only wait expectantly for Lou Yun to ask.
Lou Yun looked the young man up and down. Very good. He looked as lively as a dragon and vigorous as a tiger.
"You seem better. You can walk on your own now, can't you?"
Pei Qing followed Lou Yun's gaze. The woman indicated the carriage that had been waiting outside for some time, her meaning perfectly clear.
For some reason, Pei Qing suddenly thought
of Lou Yun carrying him the whole way yesterday and felt that the difference in treatment was like heaven and earth.
Lou Yun seemed to see through the young man's thoughts and teased, "Still want me to carry you?"
Pei Qing turned his head. There were people all around. Even if he wanted it, how could he possibly?
He denied it aloud. "No."
The next second, the world spun, and he landed once more in the familiar, warm embrace from yesterday.
"Why did you-?"
"Didn't you say you weren't better, Imperial Preceptor? I'll carry you up." Lou Yun deliberately shifted the young man's answer to her earlier question.
Pei Qing was speechless, but he nestled obediently against the woman and answered softly, "Mm."
The hidden guards, led by Ying Yi, looked at the sky, the ground, and the scenery, pretending not to see the pair's actions.
After carrying Pei Qing into the carriage and settling him in, Lou Yun asked again the question she had not managed to ask last night.
"As payment for carrying you into the carriage today, how about you give me the clues about Li An, Imperial Preceptor?"
"All right." Pei Qing agreed readily. He had intended to tell Lou Yun anyway.
"Then what do you intend to give me for watching over you all last night, Imperial Preceptor? Not only did I serve as your cushion, but I also dutifully massaged your hands and feet without complaint."
Only then did Pei Qing realize that his unexpected comfort this morning had been bought with an entire night of Lou Yun's efforts.
Lou Yun looked at Pei Qing. She was no good person; she demanded payment for everything she did. Of course, last night had been voluntary. She was only bringing it up to gain a few bargaining chips.
Before Pei Qing could speak, she seized the initiative. "Have you decided what our relationship is now, Imperial Preceptor?"
The young man raised his head, feeling as though the hand that had clamped around his neck yesterday was still tightening. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his clear, pale eyes remained fixed on Lou Yun, yet he refused to give a definite answer.
Seeing Pei Qing so conflicted, Lou Yun could not quite describe what she felt. There was disappointment, and there was anger too.
"Forget..." it.
"After Great Yan is stable, all right?"
They spoke at the same time. Hearing the young man speak, Lou Yun fell silent and listened to everything Pei Qing had to say.
But such a vague answer could not satisfy the hungry beast. She needed a definite answer.
"What do you mean?"
Pei Qing lowered his eyes and looked at his hands, then toward the carriage door, as though he could see the parched land and the people living upon it through the wooden door.
The young man's voice flowed into Lou Yun's heart like a gentle stream. "To eat of a ruler's bounty is to serve his affairs faithfully and shoulder his worries."
"As Great Yan's imperial preceptor, I am valued by the sovereign, respected by the officials, and supported by the people. From the moment I took this position, my life was destined to place the realm first."
Pei Qing raised his eyes to meet Lou Yun's, the sincerity in them plain to see. For the first time, Lou Yun felt resentment toward the person who had taught the young man so well.
If only the young man were selfish enough to care for her alone. But she also knew that then, he would not be Pei Qing.
"Then it's settled. Once Great Yan is stable, you'll belong to me alone."
"All right," the young man answered, his eyes curving.
Chapter 19
Lou Yun had only just taken him back to his residence that morning when information concerning Li An arrived on her desk that afternoon.
Lou Yun handed the documents to Ying Yi and ordered, "Investigate."
"Yes." Ying Yi bowed his head in acknowledgment, excitement filling his eyes. He had long felt that, with his master's abilities, she should have made her move already. But his master had remained content in her little corner. A peaceful life was good, of course, but they had emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood. A life with a little excitement clearly suited them better.
Rouniang's personal statement had arrived along with the Li An case documents. After reading it, Lou Yun went alone to the Court of Judicial Review.
Lou Yun's visit today was merely a spur-of-the-moment decision, yet the bailiff stationed outside the Court of Judicial Review came forward the instant he saw her.
"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince. Please take a seat for a moment, Your Highness. I will have someone bring Official Li's family here at once."
Had they been waiting for me?
With a smile that did not reach her eyes, Lou Yun glanced down at the bailiff kneeling on the ground and asked, "Oh? Which official sent you?"
The bailiff knelt on the ground and played dead. Lou Yun snorted coldly and strode past him.
The bright yellow uppers of her shoes flashed before his eyes, but the kneeling bailiff's head was drenched in cold sweat. That glance she had cast upon him had chilled him from head to toe.
"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince. Please sit in the hall for a moment. I will bring them here at once."
"Your Highness!"
Everywhere Lou Yun went, people dropped to their knees in a rustling wave, all intent on stopping her.
Really, it had been a long time since anyone dared obstruct her like this.
She reached out and drew a sword. The blade at the waist of a bailiff still rushing toward her instantly transferred to Lou Yun's hand.
The blade brushed past the bailiff's hair and plunged straight into the ground before the toes of a pair of black leather liuhe boots.
The boots' owner froze on the spot. His fingers abruptly curled around the arm of the servant beside him, his breath caught in his throat, not daring to release it.
The moment he looked up and saw Lou Yun, his shoulders sagged as though in relief, and his fleshy face filled with a fawning smile.
Holding his sleeve, he wiped nonexistent sweat from his forehead and said with cautious flattery, "Why, it's Your Highness the Crown Prince. This humble official pays his respects to Your Highness. I did not know you were coming and failed to welcome you from afar. Forgive me, forgive me."
Lou Yun rested both hands at her waist and pivoted her toes half a foot to either side, surveying everyone on both sides before asking in puzzlement, "From what I can see, this doesn't look like a welcome?"
The minister of the Court of Judicial Review gave two awkward laughs and edged around the alarming blade with an ingratiating expression. He kicked several bailiffs kneeling at his feet in succession, cursing, "You dog servants! Is His Highness the Crown Prince someone you can stop? Get out of here!"
Lou Yun quietly watched the minister of the Court of Judicial Review put on his show. After all the attendants had been kicked out, she abruptly asked, "Finished acting?"
The minister of the Court of Judicial Review said, "Haha... haha. Whatever do you mean? How would I dare put on an act before Your Highness? My subordinates were ignorant and offended you. Your Highness is kind and generous; please do not hold it against them."
"How did I not know I was kind and generous?"
The minister of the Court of Judicial Review kept his head lowered and cautiously lifted his eyes, only to accidentally meet Lou Yun's gaze head-on.