Was this Pei Qing's style?
Lou Yun was taken aback, but her attention gradually shifted downward, drawn to the ghostly footwork beneath A Zi's feet, ever-changing and elusive, like a dream or an illusion. Wasn't this the world's foremost ghostly footwork, the Eerie Pacing Steps?
She probed A Zi's aura again. It was as faint as a gossamer thread, yet showed no sign of weakness; its owner was simply skilled at concealing it.
When Lou Yun surveyed the magnificent Imperial Tutor's residence again, a measure of solemnity entered her eyes.
This residence truly harbored hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Even a mere steward possessed such terrifying strength.
A Zi's guiding steps paused slightly. He turned toward Lou Yun, approval in his eyes. "It seems Your Highness's martial arts have improved considerably."
Lou Yun naturally understood that A Zi meant her martial arts surpassed her elder brother's. She replied, "You are the impressive one, sir. Your footwork is exquisite."
A Zi's gaze sharpened, as though he had not expected Lou Yun, who had long lived deep within the palace, to recognize it. His smile did not reach his eyes. "Your Highness has extraordinary insight. A Zi merely watches over the grounds. What footwork could I possibly have? I was only walking about for fun."
Since he was unwilling to elaborate, Lou Yun tactfully asked no more. But the scenery before her changed abruptly, suddenly becoming a peach grove, leaving her eyes unable to take it all in.
After just one winding, secluded path, the buildings draped in gold and silver became the refined, elegant dwelling of a sage.
Beyond the cobblestone path stood a verdant bamboo grove. Beneath the bamboo stretched a broad lawn, with numerous round stone slabs scattered throughout. A path of alternating wooden planks and stone slabs led straight to a bamboo house, whose floor had been specially extended out front to hold all manner of woodworking tools. Beside the house stood an unusually shaped stone table with its top hewn flat, an unfinished game of chess still laid out upon it.
The lawn was not merely for viewing, either. Wooden boards, piles of straw, and bamboo strips interwove to form all sorts of little contraptions, including a cat tree that reached the bamboo tops. At several corners, cradles thoughtfully woven from straw had been lined with fine brocade to serve as nests.
Farther to one side stood a wooden frame resembling a grape trellis. A green snake hung lazily upon it, its scales smooth, its long body dangling downward. The snake's tail swayed before a rabbit leisurely chewing grass below, provoking a flurry of swipes. The clearly venomous bamboo pit viper showed no annoyance, merely swinging its tail back and forth as though teasing the white rabbit.
Around that snake and rabbit, a tabby cat chased other rabbits in circles. Farther back, a large cat lazily watched a hamster, not even big enough to fill a gap between its teeth, noisily munching sunflower seeds before it. Rather wickedly, it covered the hamster's food hoard with one paw, its intimidating tiger eyes watching with interest as the little hamster, frantic over its vanished stores, circled its feet and occasionally waved its paws at it.
Between the large cat and the three rabbits, one cat, and one snake ahead lay a slender stream winding downward. Its clear, shallow waters circled the bamboo house and led to who knew where. Partway along the stream, a little bamboo device had been installed. Once filled with water, it tipped forward and struck: "Clack."
Some animals that heard the movement glanced indifferently at Lou Yun before resuming their play. The large cat looked over as well, but merely opened its tiger's maw wide and yawned, offering no other response.
A young boy hurried out from behind the bamboo house carrying a bowl. Upon seeing Lou Yun, he did not forget to greet her warmly. "Your Highness the Crown Prince, you've come again today! How strange. Why isn't this big cat baring its teeth at you today?"
The boy shook his head, thought no more of it, and bustled into the bamboo house.
There were no outsiders here anyway, and A Zi knew Lou Yun was not actually the crown prince, so he began explaining. "The young master raised all of these himself. Don't be fooled by how peacefully they coexist now. Back then, he went to tremendous lengths to stop them from eating one another."
Lou Yun came back to herself at his voice, only to sink into thought over A Zi's form of address. Young master? Their master wasn't Pei Qing? Could it be the previous Imperial Tutor?
A Zi led Lou Yun into the wooden house. A white-haired old man sat on a low chair beside the bed, mercilessly scolding its occupant. "Tell me, go on, tell me. How many times has it been now? I told you not to indulge your appetite, not to indulge your appetite! You're a grown man, yet you still can't control your mouth."
A few more steps brought the figure on the bed into view. Cold sweat beaded his forehead as he curled beneath the covers. Beside his pillow, a white cat lay curled up, docilely rubbing its face against its owner's forehead over and over, as though trying to share his pain.
Pei Qing's brows knitted, his face miserable. Even as the old man scolded him, he dared not fail to respond, merely pinching his sleeve and pleading for mercy. "I was wrong, Grandpa Ying."
The young man had a lovely face. Having made a mistake, he neither made a fuss nor argued, merely tugged at the old man and obediently begged for mercy. No matter who saw him like this, even towering fury would have been shaken away.
Watching Pei Qing's movements, Lou Yun reached an understanding. No wonder he had tugged at my sleeve so naturally yesterday. He was used to doing this.
After all, this was the child he had raised himself. What could Ying Yi do? He could only sigh, tuck the young man's hand beneath the covers, and tell him to take his medicine properly.
Turning and seeing Lou Yun and A Zi, he first nodded instinctively,
and greeted her. "Crown..." Then he narrowed his eyes slightly and corrected himself. "Greetings, Your Highness. Our young master is a greedy eater. He must have caused you trouble."
The old man wore a long goatee. His eyes smiled as he looked at Lou Yun, his gaze kindly, his words filled with affection for a grandchild. He reminded Lou Yun of her previous life, when she led troops to war: one soldier's grandfather had seen him off to battle with just such a look of appreciation and reluctance to part.
Her expression grew gentler and more respectful. "I hosted the Imperial Tutor yesterday, yet failed to look after him properly. I must bear some responsibility for his condition today."
Ying Yi stroked his beard and shook his head. Finding Lou Yun a chair, he smiled. "I know the temperament of the child I raised myself. Besides, this was Your Highness's first time dining with the young master. It's only natural that you didn't know."
Beside them, Mo Chi abruptly raised his head from administering the medicine and objected, "Doesn't His Highness the Crown Prince send Master food every few days?"
The three people in the room who knew the truth smiled without speaking. Mo Chi looked from one to another, but no answer came. Suddenly, as though struck by inspiration, he thought of something and exclaimed, "His Highness the Crown Prince seems to have a younger twin sister. Could this be Her Highness the Princess?"
The medicine had finally begun to take a little effect. Leaning on Mo Chi's hand, Pei Qing weakly sat up and rebuked him. "Mo Chi, do not be rude to Her Highness."
Then he apologized to Lou Yun. "I overindulged yesterday and caused Your Highness worry and trouble."
Lou Yun stepped forward and pressed him back onto the bed, then folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. "If you truly feel you've caused me trouble, Imperial Tutor, control your mouth next time. Don't overeat."
Seeing this, A Zi exchanged a look with Mo Chi, then withdrew along with him and Ying Yi.
The room abruptly emptied. Although this was Pei Qing's own territory, deprived of familiar faces, he was the first to grow flustered. He picked up the white cat beside his pillow and leaned against the headboard to make his posture look straighter, lest he neglect propriety. His long black hair spilled over the red bedding, making the little exposed skin of the young man look as white as snow.
Lou Yun came from a world where women ruled. Though boundaries existed between men and women, it was usually the men who cared more. A man directly allowing a woman into his room like this amounted to tacit permission. Nor did she share this world's belief that women should not meet unrelated men, so she was now leaning quite casually against the bedside.
She rose and reached out to help him lie down, soothing him. "All right, Imperial Tutor. Lie down first."
His body seemed to turn against Pei Qing again. The young man suddenly hugged the white cat tightly, drew up his knees, lowered his head, and hunched his shoulders. His long black hair slid over his shoulders and fell beside his face, with a few strands slipping down his neck and into his half-open collar.
Lou Yun's vantage point was high, and as she bent to support him, she was already looking down from above his back. Pei Qing's hair was also simply too beautiful, like the finest silk drifting in a stream, flowing with the ripples.
Now that silk slipped down with its owner's movements, and Lou Yun could not resist a few more looks. That did it: her gaze followed the ends straight into his faintly revealing collar. The barely visible skin made Lou Yun hastily tear her eyes from those shameless strands of hair, only to land on the young man's slender neck.
Yet the person beneath her hands was trembling faintly in pain. Veins stood out with agony against the lustrous white skin of his quivering neck, as though an invisible hand had imprisoned his throat, a little beast gripped by its lifeline and trembling uncontrollably in its attacker's grasp.
Lou Yun shook her head to cast out all the absurd thoughts in her mind. She released him and was about to call for someone, but Pei Qing caught her with quick eyes and hands. "Don't..." The pain had yet to fade, and his words came haltingly. "Don't call them. Some medicine will be enough."
With another barely audible sigh, Lou Yun turned resignedly, picked up the medicine Mo Chi had not finished feeding him, and sat at Pei Qing's bedside. Taking the spoon, she brought it naturally to his lips.
The Imperial Tutor seemed not to have expected Lou Yun to do this. He opened his mouth blankly, forgetting to take the medicine.
As Lou Yun brought the spoon to Pei Qing's lips, she too froze. In over forty years of life across her previous and present lives, she had never fed someone medicine or attended to anyone. She did not know why she did it so naturally for Pei Qing alone.
Even looking after her sister-in-law in her elder brother's stead, this was going too far. She therefore set the spoon back in the porcelain bowl. "You had better drink it yourself, Imperial Tutor."
Meanwhile, outside, A Zi idly waved his battered fan. Looking at the tightly shut door, he said uncertainly, "Isn't it improper to leave an unmarried man and woman alone together?"
Unconcerned, Ying Yi continued playing through the unfinished game on the stone table. With a drawn-out hum, he replied, "Is it the young master you're worried about, or Her Highness the Princess? If it's the young master, I doubt he could do anything in that condition. If it's His Highness the Young Lord, aren't we right outside? If anything really happens, the young master need only call, and we can rush in."
A Zi closed his fan and sat down opposite Ying Yi, explaining, "That's not what I meant..." He just felt that perhaps they had been a little too natural about leaving those two alone together.
He tapped the fan's handle against the stone table without any rhythm. "Forget it. Our young master hasn't awakened to such things yet anyway. It's too early to discuss this now. Speaking of which, old goat, you still haven't solved the young master's game?"
Holding a piece, Ying Yi hesitated over one move and then another. At last, he laughed freely and tossed the black piece back into its basket, saying with acceptance, "So be it. The young master's learning surpassed mine long ago. There's no point in staying here any longer. It's time to leave."
The tapping was about to stop. The fox-eyed young man said something to the man before him, but the rustling wind in the bamboo grove swallowed the sound.
Chapter 6
As for the two inside:
Lou Yun took the medicine bowl Pei Qing had drunk from. Seeing the color gradually return to his face, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief and entirely swallowed the idea of calling for help. Sitting on the low chair beside the bed, she said in a low voice, "This is the first time."