A Letter from the Capital

Su Jingyun held Liu Susu in his arms. Her clothes were half undone, and her dark hair, like a cloud, spilled over her shoulders, making her face look smaller and paler still.

Her cheeks were flushed, her beauty ripe as a flower about to drip with dew. Her skin was ice, her bones jade; holding her soft, fragrant warmth in his arms set his whole being ablaze, his body burning, his heart burning too.

"Susu... Susu..."

He called her name, his voice low and husky. "I... I'm so very fond of you."

She lifted her eyes, her gaze moist. She gave his chest a little push, her voice soft and sweet, tinged with the shyness of one who wanted to yield even as she refused:

"Young Master Su, we mustn't... You're a magistrate's deputy in Wu Commandery, and I'm only a discarded wife with a child in tow. I can't... tarnish your reputation."

"I'm not afraid."

Su Jingyun took her hand and clasped it in his palm. It was so small and cool that his heart tightened with pity.

"Susu, I don't care about any of it. I don't care about your past, and I don't care about your child. All I know is that you have a kind heart. You've saved so many poor people in this city."

"I also know that you're... beautiful, and many men in Wu Commandery have designs on you, but I... I'm different. Susu, believe me. I truly am... so very fond of you."

She looked at him and did not push him away again.

Wild joy filled Su Jingyun's eyes. He lowered his head and kissed her lips.

She gave a little "Mm," as though she wanted to say something, but his kiss stopped the words.

He held her tightly in his arms. She did not struggle, only buried her face in his chest and clutched his lapel, her knuckles turning white.

Their clothes fell to the floor, one by one.

The bed curtains fell, concealing the scene within.

Su Jingyun's eyes flew open. The blue-gray gauze of his bed canopy met his gaze, and his underclothes were soaked with cold sweat.

He gasped for breath, dazed for a moment before slowly turning his head-

The space beside him was empty. He was alone.

He had dreamed again.

He closed his eyes, a breath lodged in his chest, unable to rise or fall.

The warmth and scent of the woman in his dream, the soft "Young Master Su" she had murmured beside his ear, still lingered on his skin, burning until his chest tightened.

Annoyed with himself, he turned over and buried his face in the pillow, refusing to get up for a long while.

In his dealings with Liu Susu before, he had believed he was not the sort of man to be led astray by beauty.

He had helped her because she was alone and pregnant, struggling to make a living far from home.

He had admired her because she was kind, opening a pharmacy to treat the poor. She was a hundred times better than those sheltered young ladies who did nothing but compose verses about the wind and moon.

He had thought himself upright, innocent, and open in all he did.

When had that begun to change?

Was it the first time he had dreamed such a dream?

In the dream, her clothes had been half undone, her cheeks flushed. Holding her had been like holding a ball of fire, burning his very organs until they ached.

When he woke, he had sat stunned for a long time, then gone to douse himself with cold water.

Was it the time they ate at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, when someone accidentally bumped into her and he reached out to steady her? She had fallen into his arms, and in the end he had even forgotten to let go.

Was it when she gave him the set of robes she had made with her own hands?

She had thanked him for looking after her all this time and asked him not to mind her crude needlework.

He had said she was too polite, but changed into them as soon as he returned home. He had looked at himself in the bronze mirror again and again, and even after several busy days, he had refused to take them off.

Was it when someone mentioned Madam Liu at a gathering of his colleagues, saying how many men in Wu Commandery had their eyes on her? His chest had tightened at the words, and his expression had turned cold on the spot, though even he had not known why.

It was every one of those moments.

And yet none of them.

He had simply realized, all at once, that he no longer knew when it had begun, but the way he looked at her was no longer innocent.

But Su Jingyun knew better than anyone-they could never be together.

"Young master, a letter has arrived from the capital."

A maid entered the study and presented a letter with both hands.

Su Jingyun took it, and when his gaze fell on the familiar handwriting, the crease between his brows smoothed.

Yanyan.

Since she had entered the palace, brother and sister had been separated by vast distances, with no knowing when they might meet again. Only through letters could they learn that each was well.

He unfolded the letter and read it word by word.

"Dearest brother, it has been two years in the blink of an eye since I entered the palace, and not a day has passed without my thinking of you. There is something I must tell you: recently, by his majesty's grace, I was promoted to Consort Shu. His majesty treats me very well and favors me greatly; everyone in the palace knows it. I owe all I have achieved to the support you gave me in years past. I feel your kindness deep in my heart and dare not forget it for a moment."

When Su Jingyun reached this point, the corners of his lips rose slightly.

Consort Shu.

Yanyan had risen step by step from a concubine-born daughter to where she stood today. She must have endured much hardship and suffered many indignities.

Now she had finally come through it all, and as her elder brother, he was naturally happy for her.

"Three days from now, his majesty will travel south incognito and visit Wu Commandery in person. This is a heaven-sent opportunity. Brother, you must prepare with the utmost care, welcome his majesty respectfully, and show your abilities before him. I have already spoken of you to his majesty, and he knows that you have served diligently in Wu Commandery for many years. If you can win his favor this time, your transfer back to the capital will be only a matter of days."

"Brother, there is another matter. Over the past two years, his majesty has occasionally suffered from migraines. The Imperial Medical Academy has tried nearly every medicine and treatment, as well as acupuncture, but has been unable to cure him. I hear that Jiangnan has many renowned physicians whose skill in medicine far surpasses any to be found in the capital. You have spent many years in Wu Commandery and have a wide circle of contacts. If you can find an accomplished physician skilled in treating this ailment and relieve his majesty of this burden, it would be an extraordinary service."

"Brother, though I have now been granted the position of Consort Shu, the storms within the palace are treacherous. Without one of our own to look after me at court, I will be like a lone tree struggling to stand. Now that I am in the palace, if you were at court, we could support each other and establish ourselves. I hope you will not fail the hopes in this letter. For my part, I will do everything I can to speak well of you before his majesty. When brother and sister are of one heart, their combined strength can cut through metal. The paper is short, but my feelings are long. Please take care, brother."

He finished the letter.

Su Jingyun folded it and fell silent for a long time.

Yanyan was right. They were brother and sister, born of the same mother, and had depended on each other since childhood.

Now she was Consort Shu, while he remained a magistrate's deputy of middling rank in Wu Commandery.

She needed someone to speak for her at court, and he needed a backer who could secure his transfer to the capital.

When brother and sister were of one heart, their combined strength could cut through metal.

As for Liu Susu...

She was exceptionally gifted in medicine, and over the past two years in Wu Commandery, she had cured many difficult illnesses that had left others helpless.

If he could have her treat his majesty's headaches, he did not know whether she would succeed, but what if she did?

Once the imperial body was restored to health, it would be only reasonable for his majesty, in gratitude for her service, to grant her an official position as a medical officer.

Then he could seize the opportunity to petition his majesty to grant them a marriage, and everything would fall into place like water flowing into a channel.

At that thought, a glimmer suddenly lit Su Jingyun's eyes.

The gulf between him and her had been as vast as that between clouds and mud.

But if he could win his majesty's favor, imperial grace would stand behind her, and an official appointment would set her name right. After that, no one could look down on her for her past, much less dare point fingers at their marriage.