The young man held a pair of silver chopsticks, a hibiscus cake-one of the imperial kitchen's specialty snacks-caught between their tips. Just as the sweet, fragrant cake was about to enter his mouth, an official with no sense of timing approached to make conversation. And that was that: Pei Qing had to lower the snack that had barely touched his lips, looking a little pitiful. When he looked up at the newcomer, his eyes were full of regret and resentment over the cake he had failed to eat.
Lou Yun found it amusing and watched a little longer, taking it as a way to pass the time at the dull banquet. Before she had had her fill, a pair of cool, clear eyes looked straight at her.
Caught in the act, Lou Yun felt no embarrassment. In her previous life, anyone she stared at like this would hardly have dared look back; their legs would probably already have been trembling as they dropped to their knees, kowtowing and begging for mercy.
Their eyes met across the distance. Pei Qing suddenly dismissed the official who had come to flatter him and quietly made his way to her side.
"Your Highness, might I have a word with you in private?"
Amid the banquet's pervasive smell of wine, the crisp medicinal fragrance on Pei Qing stood out all the more. Whether it was her imagination or not, the subtle scent seemed to ease the swollen ache the wine had left in her head considerably.
She nodded, rose, and followed the young man to a place with few people.
The autumn air was cool. The pond reflected a moon missing half its face. A breeze came, bringing down a scattering of bamboo leaves and stirring ripple upon ripple, blurring the two figures' reflections.
"How is His Highness now?"
"What?"
The cool voice was drowned out by the rustling of bamboo leaves striking one another. When she turned to look, moisture had soaked the young man's formerly distant eyes. Their corners were suspiciously flushed, and his thin lips were pressed white.
Wait? What could possibly have brought on this portrait of a weeping beauty just now?
Still, after studying Pei Qing closely for a moment, even Lou Yun, who had seen countless people, had to marvel. If someone with a filthy mind had been standing here today, the sight of his expression would probably already have stirred countless improper thoughts.
Putting aside her stray thoughts, she said seriously, "His whereabouts remain unknown."
Pei Qing nodded. "That agrees with the news I have."
Lou Yun did not immediately answer him. She was searching her mind for a fitting explanation for his expression. After turning it over and over, she still felt that Pei Qing must be so devoted to her imperial brother that he could not restrain himself and had shed tears before her.
No wonder. She wore a face almost identical to her imperial brother's, had nearly the same voice, and was even acting under his identity. Yet his true lover's whereabouts remained unknown. It was perfectly normal that he could not suppress his emotions.
Believing she had grasped the truth, she could not help adding a little consolation when she spoke again. "Mother and Uncle have both sent people to search. Imperial Preceptor, please do not worry too much."
Lou Yun's words were earnest, filled with concern that the young man might take things too hard. She had no idea that their trains of thought were a hundred and eight thousand miles apart.
For his part, when Pei Qing heard that his friend's younger sister had not only kept her composure despite her brother's disappearance, but was even helping to comfort others, he too was filled with emotion.
He had originally had a bellyful of comforting words, but after picking through them, all he said was, "The same goes for you, Your Highness. Please do not grieve too deeply. If you need anything, I will not shirk my duty."
Two foolish birds flew out from somewhere in the bamboo grove. Perhaps the night was too dark: they collided with a thump, then flew off elsewhere together, seeing stars.
Hearing his consolation, Lou Yun raised her eyes. Tears still clung to the corners of his eyes, and specks of starlight fell upon Pei Qing, making him look like a crane amid the clouds, an immortal in the moon, ready at any moment to take wing and ascend to heaven.
Her imperial brother really was fortunate to have won the heart of someone so jade-like and immortal.
Pei Qing blinked. The chill autumn wind had already stung his eyes sore, sending tears rolling out beyond his control. Then a cold gust from who knew where chilled his spine.
Another gust rose. Dressed thinly, Pei Qing swayed and bent forward, coughing softly, his feet staggering a little as well.
But in Lou Yun's eyes, all this took on a different meaning. She had never imagined Pei Qing was so heartbroken that he could not even stand steadily.
Unable to help voicing her concern, she said, "The night wind is cold. Imperial Preceptor, you should head back early."
Pei Qing felt grateful. Brother and sister were both tolerant, kindhearted people.
"Thank you, Your Highness. It is late. You should rest early as well."
Only after Pei Qing had left did she remember that she still had a sword of his.
Never mind. She would return it when she found another opportunity.
Half a month later, at court.
Lou Qing flung a memorial into the hall and cursed, "Li An was in his own home... cough, cough... when he was assassinated. The murderer set a fire in the dead of night to burn his corpse... cough... countless people were killed or injured. A censor-in-chief of the senior third rank, murdered and his corpse burned right under my eyes... cough... just... cough... who had the audacity to commit such an act? Do they have any regard for me at all? Cough, cough, cough..."
Despite the emperor's fury, the courtiers fought one another for charge of the case, because as censor-in-chief, Li An must have held evidence against many of them.
Just as the situation reached a stalemate, a figure in white abruptly stepped forward in the hall, utterly out of place among the dark official robes.
The young man was still dressed in everyday clothes. The pendants at his waist jingled, and the clack of his wooden clogs against the floor seemed to strike the courtiers' hearts. The court, a chaotic jumble only moments before, fell utterly silent.
Yet the young man who had caused this continued forward at his own unhurried pace.
His clear, measured voice sounded just like the jade pieces chiming at his waist. "Your Majesty, I am willing to investigate this matter thoroughly."
Lou Yun's gaze unconsciously settled on Pei Qing.
With the Imperial Preceptor having spoken, no one questioned him. They could only wait for the person on the dragon throne to speak.
After a long while, a wavering voice sounded from behind the jade curtain. "Cough, cough... in that case, this matter shall be entrusted to the Imperial Preceptor and the crown prince."
"I obey Your Majesty's decree."
"Your son accepts the decree!"
Lou Xun and the others were displeased by the crown prince's involvement, but since Pei Qing, who would be working alongside her, had said nothing, they naturally could not object either. The matter was now nailed firmly to the board.
Chapter 3
When court was dismissed, Lou Yun and Pei Qing walked at the very back.
The young man had his head lowered and walked at a leisurely pace, his wooden clogs still clacking against the ground. Lou Yun craned her head to observe him for a moment and discovered that he was simply staring into space.
He reminded her of the cat she had kept in her previous life, which would sometimes curl up beneath her desk and stare blankly without moving. A playful impulse suddenly arose in her. If she spoke now, would the startled young man react like her cat from her previous life, eyes wide and fur standing on end?
"Why did you wear wooden clogs to court today, Imperial Preceptor? I don't believe it rained today."
The girl's voice burst like thunder, startling Pei Qing out of his wandering thoughts. The clacking beneath his feet stopped, and his body visibly stiffened for a moment.
He was like a crane standing proudly in a courtyard, peacefully basking in the sunlight, only to be startled rigid by an enthusiastic greeting from a mortal who had wandered in by mistake. It finally recovered, then turned its head to find that mortal still smiling all over, leaving it unable to get angry.
Lou Yun had not expected to actually frighten Pei Qing. Having gotten her wish and seen him react just like the cat in her memories, she felt a flutter of delight and bent forward to apologize:
"That was presumptuous of me. I startled you, Imperial Preceptor. Please forgive me."
Although the girl's amused expression showed not the slightest trace of apology, with Lou Yun having gone that far, could Pei Qing really hold it against her? He could only shake his head and say, "No, it's all right."
"So why are you wearing wooden clogs, Imperial Preceptor?"
Pei Qing looked down at Lou Yun's question, and she followed his gaze. Two red cords wound across the jade-like, porcelain-like tops of his feet. Perhaps sensing another person's gaze, his rosy toes curled and his insteps tautened, making the two cords rub two red marks into his skin.
The displeasure of seeing a treasure damaged swept through Lou Yun. She frowned and looked back up. At some point, the young man's face had become suffused with embarrassment.
"I got up late this morning."
Lou Yun could have racked her brains to pieces and never come up with that reason.
"Pfft." A soft laugh escaped her. Insisting on meeting his eyes, she teased, "Then, my lord Imperial Preceptor, make sure you're not late tomorrow."
How could Pei Qing fail to see that Lou Yun was amusing herself at his expense? But unskilled at dealing with people, he could only hurriedly avert his gaze and answer obediently, "I won't."
Back at the crown prince's residence, Lou Yun's steps halted. Damn, she had forgotten again to ask how she should return the sword. Never mind. They would be investigating the case together from now on; there would be plenty of opportunities.
The next day, the two met in front of the Li residence.
Lou Yun sat high on horseback, her long black tresses bound high with a gold-and-jade crown. Holding the reins, she looked down with a smile at the person who had arrived on time. "Good morning, my lord Imperial Preceptor~"
The young man had not bound his hair today. Several strands stuck up slightly at his crown and beside his ears, and there were even curls above his forehead. He looked half asleep.
Had he gotten up late again and rushed over?
"Good morning."
Today, Pei Qing was not wearing his eternally unchanging white robes. Instead, he wore green, with a jade belt ring featuring a golden falcon pecking at a goose fastened at his waist, two green tassels hanging from it. A plain cloth bag embroidered with a tiger was also slung diagonally from his right shoulder to his left hip.
Unlike the way he had looked a few days ago, ready at any moment to take wing and ascend to immortality, today's Pei Qing looked like a physician who had just left his master's school to roam the world and undergo trials.
Lou Yun leaned forward slightly, and the horse kicked out at the shift in weight on its back.
Pointing at his sticking-up hair, she asked, amusement in her eyes, "Did you get up late again, Imperial Preceptor?"
The young
man instinctively
reached up to touch his head, shifting back a little at the breath snorting from the horse's nostrils.
"It wasn't that late."
There was a hint of an attempt to argue his way out in the young man's tone.
Lou Yun was merciful and did not keep harping on it. Instead, she pointed at the cloth bag and asked with a smile, "Why are you carrying a cloth bag embroidered with a cat when you go out, Imperial Preceptor?"
The young man looked blank for a moment. A cloth bag? Only when his hand reached to his waist and touched it did he realize what the girl was asking. Pressing his lips together, he answered, "Mo Chi told me to bring it. Said there were things in it that would come in useful."
Mo Chi? Who was that?
Lou Yun lowered her eyes, swung down from her horse, and walked up to Pei Qing. Leaning toward him, she teased, "Then what sorts of things are in the bag?"
With the distance suddenly closed, Pei Qing finally realized that the girl was actually as tall as her elder brother. Looking straight ahead, he could see only the proud tip of her nose.
A sense of pressure that even her elder brother had never given him swept over him. He could not help retreating another few steps, yet his body obediently bent its head to rummage through the bag.