"Thud!"
A Zi clutched his head and grimaced. Finding all three of them staring at him, he hesitantly raised a hand in greeting. "Hello...?"
Lou Yun, Pei Qing: ...
Wan'er, who was closest, was the first to react and helped him up.
Once all four were seated, A Zi cupped his fists toward the two of them. "Young master. Second miss."
Pei Qing asked, "Why are you here?"
"It's a long story. Miss Xie is the woman one of our brothers loves. Back then, just after both sides had settled the arrangements for a marriage proposal, Miss Xie's father was suddenly thrown into prison. That brother was away on a mission at the time, and when he returned, Miss Xie was nowhere to be found. It was only recently that I heard about the Pleasant Breeze Courtyard from a merchant we work with. After sending someone to investigate, I came straight here."
What a coincidence this really was.
Having explained why he was there, A Zi turned the question back on them. "What about you two? Why did you come?"
Lou Yun said, "Our investigation suggested there might be human trafficking involved, so we came."
"Well, isn't that a coincidence?!" A Zi slapped his thigh. "That's exactly why I brought Miss Xie here. Her father was the former commandant of Jiangling. After picking her up today, I meant to send her away, but she refused. She said she wanted to wait until her great grievance had been avenged before going back."
Having introduced the subject, A Zi signaled for Xie Wan to continue.
"Ever since my father became commandant of Jiangling, he served honestly and incorruptibly, yet he was arrested for embezzlement and beheaded that very day. At first, Mother and I thought there had been a wrongful judgment. We ran everywhere, hoping to ask Father's former colleagues to intercede, but every last one refused to see us. After Father was imprisoned, Lin Shuo used the pretext that we had become slaves to forcibly take us to the Pleasant Breeze Courtyard. Mother could not bear such humiliation and took her own life. Only then did I learn that Father had been convicted and killed because Lin Bian had once tried to drag him into the mire. Father refused, so they plotted his death."
"My lady." Xie Wan suddenly knelt before Lou Yun and pleaded, "The first time I saw you, I knew you were no ordinary person. The Lin family is powerful. Please secure justice for my father and the sisters in the Pleasant Breeze Courtyard."
Lou Yun rose and helped Xie Wan up. "The imperial preceptor and I came here precisely to get to the bottom of this. Please rise, Miss Xie."
"The imperial preceptor?" Lou Yun was not at all surprised to see the delight nearly spilling from Xie Wan's eyes.
In Great Yan, the imperial preceptor's name carried more weight than that of any official or prince.
Pei Qing asked, "Have you uncovered anything over the years, Miss Xie?"
Xie Wan stood and nodded. "All these years, I've been collecting accounts of how the sisters here ended up in this courtyard. I discovered that almost all of them had one thing in common: something suddenly happened to their families, forcing them to be sold to someone, and then they were sent to the Pleasant Breeze Courtyard. I suspect that perhaps what happened to their families wasn't necessarily an accident."
Lou Yun exchanged a glance with Pei Qing, then said, "It's too early to say anything yet. We still lack evidence."
Pei Qing asked, "Is there anywhere in the Pleasant Breeze Courtyard that's strictly off-limits, or that only certain people can enter?"
"If you put it that way, Cui Hao has a little box that no one is allowed to touch. Once, someone cleaning her room saw that box and merely picked it up off the floor, only to be dragged away by the guards and given twenty lashes," Xie Wan recalled.
A Zi, who had been serving as part of the scenery, raised his head alertly. He felt his chance to put his skills to use had arrived!
"If there's anything you need me for, just say the word."
Without hesitation, Pei Qing said, "Then you'll investigate that box, A Zi, and verify whether Miss Xie's suspicions are correct."
"Fangyi and I will investigate the Lin residence."
Hearing that special form of address, A Zi narrowed his eyes at the two of them. What was going through his head needed no explanation.
Lou Yun added at just the right moment, "Oh, and investigate that man called A Tu while you're at it. The things he carries look like equipment used on escort jobs. To transport people to so many places, he must have a plausible pretext to support it on the surface."
"All right, I'll take Miss Xie away first, then. You two get some rest." A Zi's last remark clearly carried another meaning.
That remark also made Pei Qing realize that tonight, he and Lou Yun would be sleeping alone together in the same room.
Still, he seemed to recall that whenever circumstances permitted, Lou Yun always washed first.
"Do you want to bathe?" Pei Qing suddenly asked Lou Yun.
Hm? Lou Yun abruptly turned toward Pei Qing. The young man's gaze was clear, and he plainly had no idea how easily his words could invite misunderstanding.
Only when she saw him clutching the outer robe on his knees into creases did Lou Yun understand: Pei Qing was terribly nervous.
"Sorry for the trouble, imperial preceptor. Please have some water brought for me."
As she spoke, Lou Yun slipped under the quilt first. Pei Qing paused for a moment at the sight of the bulging quilt. Once he caught on, he too removed his outer robe, deliberately disheveled his clothes and hair a little, and found a certain powder in his cloth bundle to sprinkle into the candleholder. Before long, the scent of photinia blossoms spread through the room.
Lou Yun, who had not expected Pei Qing to be so thoroughly prepared, asked, "Are you always this well prepared, imperial preceptor?"
Pei Qing heard the teasing in Lou Yun's voice and suddenly felt determined to win a round. He deliberately posed a question. "Does Your Highness find this scent pleasant?"
Realizing that the young man was annoyed enough to revert to calling her Your Highness, Lou Yun laughed inwardly and deliberately hooked his curiosity. "As for this scent-" She deliberately drew out her words, and Pei Qing slowed his breathing, waiting for her to fall into his trap.
Instead, Lou Yun changed tack. "Isn't that question more important for you, imperial preceptor?"
According to popular rumor, anyone who found photinia blossoms fragrant had strong kidneys.
Not only had his prey failed to appear, but the tables had been turned on him. Pei Qing grew even more annoyed and said petulantly, "I don't know."
"You don't know? Do you really not know, or do you just not want to say?" Lou Yun suddenly sat up, leaned out of the bed, and grabbed Pei Qing.
Afraid she would fall, Pei Qing hurriedly caught her in his arms. Looking down, he found the woman's eyes gleaming with cunning and amusement at having hooked her prey, without the slightest panic over a possible fall.
Pei Qing knew he had been tricked, but could not lose his temper with her. He helped her onto the bed and said, "I'll open the door and have them bring in water."
"All right." She gave him time to compose himself. Once the water was ready, Lou Yun went to bathe first.
When Lou Yun had gathered her things and gone to bathe, Pei Qing sat at the edge of the bed as though his acupoints had been sealed, not daring to move as he listened to the rustling sounds.
Pei Qing buried his face shyly in his palms. Lou Yun must be undressing now. Only a screen separates us, and she's changing there. How... could this... feel so strange? I'm unbearably hot.
The young man sat foolishly for a long while before the splashing of water followed. Now he was even more at a loss. He did not even dare shift his gaze, staring straight at the wooden door ahead as though keeping watch against someone suddenly bursting in.
When Lou Yun emerged, she was greeted by just such a picture of a dazed kitten.
Even after Lou Yun reached his side, Pei Qing still did not dare turn his head. Thinking he was lost in thought, Lou Yun moved another
two inches in front of him, only for him to shift two inches along with her.
Oh, so this is deliberate?
Lou Yun tried several more positions in succession. Without exception, the young man shifted along with her. Finally, she could bear it no longer and asked, "What has upset you this time, imperial preceptor? You won't even look me in the eye?"
"Nothing. It's just..." The young man bit his lower lip.
The woman approached with ill intent, like a seductress from a storybook deliberately tempting a holy disciple, and knowingly asked, "It's just?"
"You've only just finished bathing, so you must be wearing nothing but a thin robe. One... one must not look upon what is improper," Pei Qing explained, keeping his head turned away.
Lou Yun smiled helplessly, yet felt a bottomless despair inside. If Pei Qing truly would only allow greater intimacy once their relationship was confirmed, then until Lou Ze'an ascended the throne, there would be no possibility of taking things further with him.
An end nowhere in sight-
"Ah." Lou Yun sighed softly and began searching the room for spare bedding. Then she discovered, quite splendidly, that when the servants brought in the water, they had taken the bedding from the bed away as well.
In other words, there was now only one set of bedding left in the room.
Chapter 29
Lou Yun opened the wooden wardrobe. The sight of nothing but bare boards inside finally made her give up all hope.
Seeing what Lou Yun was doing, Pei Qing thought she meant to beat him to sleeping on the floor. He hurried over to stop her.
At the sight before him, he too fell silent.
The two looked at each other wordlessly: ...
If she asked Pei Qing to ignore her and sleep by himself, the young man would never agree.
Since that was the case, Lou Yun's mind raced, and she decided to "prescribe the right medicine for the ailment."
Closing the wide-open wardrobe doors, Lou Yun turned to Pei Qing and teased him with a smile. "Are you so unwilling to sleep with me, imperial preceptor? So impatient to find a second set of bedding?"
Pei Qing looked up, his eyes somewhat reproachful.
Honestly, this woman. She knows perfectly well I never thought that, yet she says it on purpose. Feeling rather wronged, he said, "You know perfectly well I wasn't thinking that."
His voice curled softly, his tone lingering, until Lou Yun's heart melted.
All right, my little tyrant. One airy remark, and I can't bear to say a single harsh word.
She compromised. "Fine. You have two choices now. One, you willingly sleep with me. Two, I tie you up and make you sleep with me."
Not having expected such startling words from Lou Yun, Pei Qing did not answer for a moment.
Seeing this, Lou Yun administered another strong dose. "I'm already playing the villain anyway. Can't you set aside all those elaborate formalities and agree just this once, imperial preceptor?"
Knowing Pei Qing was thin-skinned, Lou Yun took the wrongdoing upon herself first, wrapped an arm around the young man's waist, and pulled him straight toward the bed.
Pei Qing, despite having the build of an ordinary man, was hauled backward effortlessly by Lou Yun just like that.
The world spun, and Pei Qing felt himself sinking into the soft bed. Before leaving his waist, her hand lifted him slightly to keep him from landing too hard.
The familiar warmth withdrew. As the woman who had sat down with the motion rose again, Pei Qing suddenly caught the hem of her robe as it swept past his eyes.
He said anxiously, "That's not..."