It was all Lou Ze'an's fault! Otherwise, why had he always been so bedraggled whenever he met Lou Yun before? Though it was unkind to say so, the moment Lou Ze'an was absent, his meetings with Lou Yun became perfectly normal! And wonderfully harmonious, too. It had to be Lou Ze'an's fault.
The imperial preceptor, having backed himself into a mental corner, heaped all the blame on a poor fellow who was not even present.
Chapter 37
Lou Yun looked in bewilderment at Pei Qing, who had puffed up his cheeks and turned away, leaving only half his face visible. Was Pei Qing... angry?
She could not help asking, "What's wrong?"
The young man shook his head. He would never tell Lou Yun about that embarrassing episode. "I just suddenly remembered how Lou Ze'an once lost my cat," he said vaguely. "My anger got the better of me for a moment."
After speaking, Pei Qing deliberately studied Lou Yun's expression, hoping to see some particular reaction. Disappointingly, her expression remained unchanged, with no sign that she had remembered anything.
Lou Yun could hardly be blamed for not reacting. She truly had not connected Pei Qing with that boy who had searched for a cat dressed in a eunuch's uniform.
He bit viciously into the pork knuckle, as though he were biting Lou Yun herself.
She had not even realized when they first met. Bad woman! And she had even misunderstood him and Lou Ze'an. That made her worse still.
Pei Qing's grievances were written all over his face. Though Lou Yun did not understand why, she kept putting dishes he might like onto his plate. With his mouth softened by her food, the imperial preceptor immediately brought his deeply buried smile back to the surface.
"How do you plan to spend New Year's Eve this year, Imperial Preceptor?" Lou Yun kept adding food to the plate before Pei Qing, her movements so practiced that no one would have guessed she had always been waited on and had never served anyone herself.
Pei Qing swallowed his last mouthful of rice before freeing his mouth to say, "New Year's Eve? Every imperial preceptor has had to pray for Great Yan's blessings on the Stargazing Tower that night."
A sudden ache struck Lou Yun's heart. At Great Yan's liveliest hour, when everyone else gathered with their families, had Pei Qing always kept his lonely vigil atop that high tower, watching the bustling celebrations below?
Burying the matter in her heart, Lou Yun changed the subject. "This year's palace examination falls very close to New Year's Eve. The celebrations should be especially lively this year."
"Your Highness has reminded me of something. I intend to book an entire inn specifically to house students from poorer families who come to the capital for the examinations."
Time flew. Lou Yun witnessed the year's first snowfall together with Pei Qing after court one day.
Following Li An's case, the second prince's faction had all but drawn a clear line between themselves and Pei Qing. Seeing the new minister of rites take office and firmly support students of humble birth, the great aristocratic clans and others who had been wavering between the two factions temporarily turned toward the chancellor's faction.
Once the weather grew cold, Pei Qing stopped wearing wooden clogs outside and bundled himself up tightly from head to toe every day. Since he did not have to wear an official uniform, he actually became the only person at court dressed in a cloak and fur coat.
"Your Highness, it's snowing."
The young man spoke softly as he gazed at the palace walls blanketed in white snow. His warm breath turned into white mist and gradually vanished into the air.
Lou Yun stood just half a step behind him, silently watching the young man admire the snowy scenery, as though she wanted to fix this scene in her mind in its entirety.
Who knew how much longer these peaceful days could last after New Year's Eve?
The young man quietly broke through Lou Yun's worries as he turned around.
"Let those children go and play this afternoon." Young though the imperial preceptor was, he possessed a maturity and steadiness beyond his years. Both his tone and his expression resembled those of a kindly elder.
"You're only in your early twenties yourself, Imperial Preceptor. Why do your words make you sound several times your age?" Lou Yun teased.
Pei Qing straightened his expression at that and declared solemnly, "I am a teacher, after all."
Lou Yun smiled and shook her head, urging him, "Then hurry and tip off your students, Imperial Preceptor."
Giving his students the afternoon off also left Pei Qing himself free. Since Li An's case ended, the two of them had gone over a month without spending any proper time alone together.
The main reason was that the imperial preceptor was simply too busy. Aside from the obligatory court sessions and teaching at the Imperial Academy, the young man frequently visited medical clinics in the capital to offer free consultations. Occasionally, students also came to his door seeking instruction. As more and more examination candidates arrived in the capital, Pei Qing grew busier and busier.
And so today was the first time the young man had stopped.
Seeing the weariness beneath his eyes, a trace of heartache flickered through Lou Yun's gaze. "Would you like to go back and get some proper rest, Imperial Preceptor?"
Unexpectedly, Pei Qing slowly shook his head at her, his words carrying a disappointment he did not notice himself. "It's been so long since we spent any proper time together."
Lou Yun had thought that, busy as he was, he might not have noticed. She had not expected them both to share the same desire for time alone together.
"How about I stay with you while you rest?" Lou Yun's voice held a coaxing temptation. Pei Qing could never refuse her to begin with, and after several rounds of persuasion, he obediently let her spirit him back to his room, where he fell peacefully asleep.
Lou Yun had never imagined this would be their last time alone together before New Year's Eve. Afterward, both became so busy their feet scarcely touched the ground. Sometimes, even when they passed each other, they could only exchange a hurried glance before parting to attend to their respective affairs.
In the blink of an eye, the whole capital was festooned with lanterns and decorations. Red lanterns hung from every household's rafters, and even the perpetually austere palace walls brimmed with festive joy beneath their wash of red.
On New Year's Eve in Great Yan, the sovereign first performed the ceremony of sacrifice to Heaven. A court banquet was held in the palace at noon, followed by the imperial family banquet in the evening. Finally, everyone returned to their own palaces to keep vigil for the new year.
Lou Qing was unwell, so the ceremony of sacrifice to Heaven naturally fell to Lou Yun, who now held the position of crown prince.
The imperial preceptor conducted most of the sacrificial ritual; the sovereign only needed to offer incense at the final step.
In the past, Lou Yun had always found the ritual troublesome and used poor health as an excuse to decline. As a result, this was her first time watching the young man pray for blessings.
She stood with the court officials on the steps to either side of the altar. Behind them stood two orderly ranks of horn players, whose horns gave low, muffled calls with each beat of the drums.
Amid this solemn, majestic scene, Pei Qing ascended the steps one at a time.
The upper half of the young man's face was concealed beneath a cold, hard bronze mask. At the very top of the bronze mask
was a pair of antlers a full ten inches long. Interwoven blue and red strips of cloth wound around them and hung naturally down.
A long pendant assembled from green agate and jade curved from behind the young man's ears to the front of his neck. Jade pendants in the same colors as his headdress hung from both earlobes, except that the stones set in their centers were red. His dark robes were embroidered with uncanny, gorgeous patterns, primarily in blue silk thread, accented with gold and crimson.
On his feet were wooden clogs considerably taller than usual. Beneath his voluminous robes, the tops of his feet, rubbed bright red by thin cords of alternating red and blue, stood out all the more.
"Clack, clack."
Each of the young man's steps was slow and forceful, as though every footfall carried his sincerest prayers to the gods.
In his right hand, the young man also held an ancient, unadorned staff. Alternating blue and red cloth strips wound haphazardly around it, while a long, slender string of beads hung from its very top, with a multicolored feather tied to its end.
The sound of the staff striking the gray bricks complemented the clacking of his wooden clogs. At this moment, Pei Qing was the emissary connecting Heaven and earth, while they were the faithful following behind him on a pilgrimage.
Only when the young man drew near did Lou Yun notice that his pendants struck one another with every step, ringing out in clear, crisp chimes.
Clad in ceremonial robes, Pei Qing resembled a bound marionette, stripped of all emotion. Even as he passed Lou Yun, he did not spare her an additional glance.
Upon reaching the square cauldron, the young man did not launch into a shamanic dance like some wandering charlatan. Instead, holding his staff, he knelt on one knee in the center of the round platform. His elaborate, voluminous robes spread over his feet. From a distance, he resembled a decadently blooming flower upon the platform, mysterious and possessed of an allure difficult to resist.
Pei Qing murmured obscure, incomprehensible scriptures in a peculiar cadence, somewhere between recitation and humming. Again and again, they echoed over the silent round platform, accompanied by the muffled calls of the horns.
When the scripture ended, the young man rose and walked over to Lou Yun. This was also the first time she had met Pei Qing's eyes that day.
All trace of familiar expression was absent from his eyes, replaced by a gaze as still as an abyssal ancient well, without the slightest ripple.
It was as though a muffled horn had begun sounding in Lou Yun's heart too, and someone was even maliciously beating away at it with a drumstick. Bang! Bang! Bang!
She did not like that look in his eyes, as though they were strangers of no consequence to each other, as though everything they had experienced before had vanished in that instant.
Knowing what kind of occasion this was, Lou Yun was displeased but still intended to follow the rules and finish the ceremony.
As she accepted the incense the young man offered, Lou Yun deliberately averted her gaze to avoid being affected by those eyes again. Unexpectedly, as they made the exchange, he brushed her fingertips, whether deliberately or otherwise.
Wanting to determine whether it had been accidental or intentional, Lou Yun looked up at the young man, only to catch a flicker of mischief in those eyes that had seemed so utterly unfamiliar a moment before, like a star streaking across the night sky.
That instant of starlight set Lou Yun's heart at ease, and with it, the unattainable star fell into the mortal world.
After the sacrificial ritual ended, Lou Yun once again took on Lou Qing's duties, attending the court banquet and then the family banquet.
By the time everything was finished, the surrounding bustle and clamor had faded. Yet not a trace of loneliness or ease arose in Lou Yun's heart. Instead, she grew increasingly exhilarated and excited.
She looked up toward the tallest tower in Great Yan. Against the pitch-black night sky, the light spilling from the Stargazing Tower's highest floor stood in stark contrast to the surrounding starlight. That was where her heart belonged.
Lou Yun avoided everyone. The family banquet had already ended late, and she wanted to spend tonight with Pei Qing before the bells rang in the next day.
Even if it was only for an incense stick's time, or a single breath, she would not let Pei Qing be alone again this New Year's Eve.
Lou Yun's steps grew faster and faster, until, at last, she moved so quickly that almost nothing but an afterimage remained.
Pei Qing sat atop the Stargazing Tower, the ceremonial mask set beside him. Two cups of clear wine stood on the small table. One was only half full, while the other remained filled to the brim. There was no telling who had left it there.