Pei Qing waited quietly in his room for the appointed time, then rose to answer a knock at the door.
The maid who had knocked turned slightly aside. Perhaps it was his imagination, but as Pei Qing passed her, a faint fragrance drifted toward him.
"Lead the way." Pei Qing raised a hand in invitation.
The first thing she saw was a pair of hands as fair as jade, followed by a young man's distinctively clear, cool voice. The maid, who had assumed he was another idle young wastrel their young master had brought home, suddenly looked up. One glance told her that her master's sending her to test him would accomplish nothing.
She was not even as beautiful as this young gentleman himself. How was she supposed to seduce him?
Pei Qing was led into the main hall. Inside were only Lin Bian, seated upright in the seat of honor drinking tea, and Zhang Dequan, bent beside him in attendance. The maid who had brought him quietly withdrew. Pei Qing understood: Lin Shuo probably would not be coming.
He offered a scholar's bow. "I am Ye Yun. My respects, my lord."
The moment Lin Bian saw Pei Qing's face clearly, he understood why Zhang Dequan had insisted that he meet the young man before deciding, even after hearing how Shuo'er had become acquainted with him.
Seeing
that the man had not knelt, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "Since you know I am the prefect, why do you not kneel?"
"I am already a licentiate and am not required to kneel before you, my lord." Pei Qing straightened, neither servile nor arrogant.
"Oh?" Lin Bian's interest stirred. "So you are a licentiate, young friend. Shuo'er truly has made a fine friend this time. Hahaha!"
"Dequan, quickly, serve our young friend tea! Sit, young friend, sit."
"Yes," Zhang Dequan replied.
"Sorry for the trouble," Pei Qing said politely.
"Dequan tells me you came to Jiangling to write a travelogue?"
"Yes."
"As it happens, I am also very fond of travelogues. Which is your favorite, young friend?"
"Master Hedong's 'Account of the First Excursion to West Mountain' is my favorite."
Lin Bian probed with a few more questions. Knowing he was sounding out his background, Pei Qing held back somewhat as he answered them one by one.
"Hahahaha, you truly are learned and talented, young friend. Excellent, excellent. Shuo'er really has made a fine friend!" Pei Qing had put Lin Bian in high spirits, but he was puzzled by how the two had met. "With such learning, how did you come to know my Shuo'er?"
Pei Qing lowered his head in thought at just the right moment, as though what he was about to say was extremely difficult to admit. Only after a long pause did he say, "My wife is a shrew. I only sought company outside because I could no longer bear it."
Lin Bian and Zhang Dequan exchanged a glance, then looked at Pei Qing's face again. Incredulous, Lin Bian asked, "With looks like yours, young friend, any woman could bear to curse at you?"
Uh. Pei Qing had not expected that response. Silently, he added another detail. "It is rather embarrassing to admit, but my wife and I often clash over matters in that regard."
"Clash?"
Pei Qing could not understand why a perfectly respectable prefect of Jiangling was so nosy. He steeled himself and said, "I am somewhat rougher in the act."
The moment those words fell, the hall went silent. A faint sound suddenly came from the roof.
The imperial tutor, who could no longer keep spinning this tale, keenly caught the sound and glanced outside.
"Ahem." Lin Bian cleared his throat. "There is nothing wrong with a man being amorous. Perhaps Shuo'er can help you in that regard. I am ashamed to say that the boy is rather too absorbed in such things and has neglected his studies instead. Since he has had the good fortune to make your acquaintance, might you offer him more guidance in his daily life?"
"Of course," Pei Qing readily agreed.
With that assurance, Lin Bian grew even happier and promised, "In that case, why not stay at the residence for an extended visit? If you need anything, simply ask."
"Thank you, my lord."
After Pei Qing left, Zhang Dequan asked, "Master, do you truly think Young Master Ye can guide the young master in his studies?"
At the mention of his good-for-nothing son, Lin Bian snorted. "An ordinary scholar certainly could not, but this Ye Yun could make Shuo'er behave with that face alone."
The lame old man murmured to himself for a moment, then asked, "You mean, master?"
Lin Bian lifted the lid of his teacup. "Do you think Shuo'er befriended Ye Yun merely because birds of a feather flock together? Hmph! That brat has clearly taken a fancy to him!"
"That... surely not?" Zhang Dequan said hesitantly.
"Surely not?! I know my own son. That brat takes men and women alike, meat and vegetables without distinction. What wouldn't he swallow?" Lin Bian set his teacup heavily on the table.
"Then what do you intend, master?" Zhang Dequan asked cautiously.
"He is only a licentiate. If Shuo'er wants to play with him, let him," Lin Bian said indifferently.
"Yes."
Lou Yun, who had crouched on the roof listening for a long while, sneered inwardly and set off in the young man's direction, hoping to get there before him.
Pei Qing had just shut his door and had not yet lit a lamp when a figure pinned him firmly against the wooden door.
Afraid of using too much force, Lou Yun had slipped her own palm behind him before pressing him against it.
Pei Qing's heart jolted. Before he could speak, a familiar, faint fragrance reached him.
Recognizing the familiar fragrance on the woman, the young man put away the silver needle in his hand and obediently allowed himself to be held in place. He waited a moment, but Lou Yun neither spoke nor moved, so he finally asked, "What is it?"
In the darkness, Lou Yun drew a deep breath before suppressing the violent fury stirred by the conversation she had just overheard between Lin Bian and Zhang Dequan. She stepped a little closer and gently rested her head against the young man's shoulder. Only when he neither dodged nor rejected her did she settle her chin fully upon it.
Though he could not see, Pei Qing sensed her movements and seemed to understand that Lou Yun was angry. He did not know why, but the instinct to comfort her took hold of his thoughts first.
He rested his palm against the back of the woman leaning against him, stroking gently downward, again and again.
He wondered whether the method he used to soothe Tuantuan would work on Lou Yun.
"What happened?" The young man's gentle, concerned voice sounded beside her ear, soothing Lou Yun's irritable fury with a wondrous power. Where Pei Qing could not see, a smile curved her lips. Very lightly, very tenderly, she brushed her lips over his hair, then drew away from the utterly oblivious young man, moved to the table, and reached out to light the lamp for him.
Entirely unaware that he had been "taken liberties with," the imperial tutor sat down beside the culprit in a daze, showing his concern for the "lecher" without understanding a thing. "Did you see something upsetting?"
Chapter 24
"Yes," Lou Yun answered for show, wanting to see how the young man would react.
Pei Qing's expression grew visibly anxious, and he blurted out, "Then let's leave. We'll find another way to investigate!"
"Pfft." Lou Yun chuckled and reached out to ruffle his hair. "What nonsense are you saying? If we really left, wouldn't all our efforts go to waste?"
Dazed by the touch, the imperial tutor blurted out what he truly felt. "But I don't want you to be upset."
Lou Yun suddenly looked up and gave Pei Qing a smile even more radiant and tender than the one he had missed earlier.
She had discovered that Pei Qing could always soften her heart with that earnest sincerity within him, making her like him more, and then a little more.
Even liking him a little more could not dispel this unscrupulous merchant's intention to secure some benefits for herself. A wicked idea formed in Lou Yun's mind.
"If that is the case, Imperial Tutor, could you offer me some comfort?"
"What?" Unable to quite keep pace with the woman's swift change of mood, the imperial tutor answered instinctively.
"Would you let me kiss you, Imperial Tutor?"
Boom! Pei Qing instantly flushed from the crown of his head to his fingertips. His intonation was distinctly different from last time as he stammered, "Wh... what?"
Thinking she had frightened him, Lou Yun reined herself in a little. Never mind. Seeing the imperial tutor turn this red was enough to satisfy her.
But the young man's next words raised howling winds and towering waves in Lou Yun's heart.
"K-kiss where?"
The young man was so embarrassed that even his voice shook, yet he still looked at Lou Yun with eyes full of sincerity, obediently honoring his promise.
But Lou Yun no longer wanted to gamble on even the slightest chance of making him uncomfortable. Once again, she reenacted the other scene Pei Qing had missed in the darkness.
Pei Qing only saw the woman's gaze shift slightly downward, though he did not know where it settled. Then she leaned over him, startling him into holding his breath. As she paused beside his lips, anticipation, fear, nervousness, and all manner of feelings came crowding into his heart.
Then, suddenly, there was emptiness. Lou Yun had stepped back half a pace without his noticing. Before the confusion could show in his eyes, he saw the woman before him holding a strand of his hair and pressing a kiss upon it with the utmost tenderness and care, as though the slightest extra force might snap those few strands. She did not even raise her head, as though the thing in her hand was all she could see between heaven and earth. Her lowered lashes were reflected in his eyes, like a deity bowing her head to kiss her most beloved living creature.
Pei Qing felt as though the tip of his heart had been scalded. The tongue of flame atop the candle on the table had brazenly bitten deep into his heart; otherwise, why would he feel so hot, his whole body steaming? Lou Yun's kiss seemed not to have landed lightly on those few ends of his hair, but on his most sensitive skin, on every inch of his bones. That kiss kindled a towering blaze throughout his body, burning until even his eyes wanted to well with moisture to quench the heat.
Huh?
One teardrop after another fell onto his hand. So being cherished to this extent could make someone cry?
Bewildered, the young man reached up to wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes, only to see the person who had reduced him to this gently wiping them away for him. "Why are you crying?"
Why was he crying? He did not know either. He only felt hot, so very hot, like a fish about to be steamed through in a stove.
It... it's all your fault. All your fault, Lou Yun, Lou Yun...
"Lou Yun," the young man suddenly called aloud.
"Hmm?" the woman answered patiently.
"It's all your fault."
It's all your fault, making me feel something so strange. I can't understand it at all.
"All right, it's my fault." Lou Yun clearly understood Pei Qing a little better than before. She could tell that he was certainly not angry now. He was more like a child who possessed nothing, whose first response upon receiving a gift was bewilderment.