Chapter 6

A haze of smoke drifted in the air. The scent of the hairy gourd had already faded. On the side table by the wall, the foreign self-striking clock chimed three times.

It was already the hour of the Dog.

"Mother," the emperor said. "It is late. Let us speak of this another day."

At his reminder, the empress dowager at last realized that her conduct had been somewhat improper.

What sort of respectable household would summon an unmarried girl in the dead of night to meet a man, especially when that man might one day become her father-in-law?

The emperor had always been strict with himself and exact in ritual. Even setting aside the matter of public reputation, the teachings he had received since childhood from the sages made it impossible for him to do such a thing.

The empress dowager hastily stopped the maid and sighed. "I was careless."

If they were to meet, it should be on an auspicious day, in broad daylight, before everyone’s eyes. Only then would the dignity of the imperial house be preserved, and only then would there be no cause for gossip.

After some thought, the empress dowager said, "Have the Astronomical Bureau choose a date. Preferably before the Longevity Festival."

The emperor agreed.

After leaving the Longevity Palace, the fiery clouds at the horizon had vanished without a trace. A wind had risen. The palace lanterns swayed in it, and the palace roads were damp; beneath the faint halo of light, scattered threads of rain could be seen.

Behind him, in the long procession, a palace attendant carrying an umbrella stepped out from among the eunuchs bearing golden basins, teapots, garments, and the like, and hurried forward to respectfully present the umbrella to Wang Zhi, who opened it and held it over the emperor’s head.

The entire procession remained silent throughout, not even a footstep out of place.

Then, all at once, the emperor raised his hand.

"Stop." Wang Zhi looked up. "Your Majesty?"

The emperor waved once more, and the imperial sedan halted.

All around was desolate and quiet, broken only by the soft patter of rain striking the umbrella.

The emperor sat there, unmoving, saying nothing.

Everyone held their breath, not daring to make a sound.

Wang Zhi was still hesitating over whether to speak when the emperor suddenly did something he had not expected.

The emperor stepped down from the sedan and took the umbrella from his hands.

Wang Zhi stared, wide-eyed, and watched as the emperor walked toward the rockery.

His steps were steady. He lifted his gaze, and before long that familiar figure came into view.

The girl was still sitting there, her position unchanged, her straightened back trembling faintly in the rain.

She had been sitting here for hours.

"Why have you not gone back?" he asked.

He Hui was already so numb from sitting that she had nearly lost all feeling. When the rain above her head suddenly vanished, she did not immediately understand what had happened.

It was not until the other person gave that deep, mellow "Hm?" from his throat that she realized someone was beside her.

She looked up, meeting his face beneath the umbrella, and said nothing.

Still the same—dazed and wooden.

The emperor was not in a hurry. On the contrary, he found it amusing, and looked down at her.

"I..." She finally came to herself and changed her words. "This concubine was waiting for you."

The rain suddenly grew heavier. With a sharp crack, a large drop struck the umbrella, like a brilliant spark exploding in the emperor’s heart.

His hand tightened on the umbrella handle, his eyes dark as ink.

He Hui did not know why, after she said that, the other person gave no response. Unease stirred in her heart.

At home, the widow living next door always spoke to her lover in exactly this fashion. Could it be that she had imitated it badly?

It was the height of summer; the night held no chill, and even the raindrops on one’s face carried a faint warmth.

Perhaps her difficulty seeing in the dark had grown worse. Though he was already so close, she still could not make out his features, only a hazy outline.

Yet in the emperor’s eyes, the girl beneath the umbrella had raised her face to him and gazed at him intently.

It was raining, the moon hidden from view. The dim light fell upon the girl’s pale face, making the cinnabar mark between her brows seem all the more captivating.

The emperor had always been steady and reserved, but his patience was limited and usually reserved for useful people—former ministers of the court, pillars of the state. Clearly, this girl before him was not among them.

She was merely an unremarkable chosen lady, one of the women who would someday fill his harem, an existence that required nothing from him yet would spare no effort in currying favor. She was not worth the time or energy of dealing with.

Had he not just returned to the capital and wished to quietly investigate affairs in the palace, she would not even have had the qualification to speak to him.

And yet perhaps the cinnabar mark between her brows was too vivid, dazzling his eyes. By the time the emperor came to himself, he had already tilted the umbrella slightly, shielding her entire body, and asked, in a voice quite unlike his own, "What are you waiting for me for?"

His voice was so similar.

So it really was Prince Ning.

He Hui’s heart lifted with delight. She had not waited in vain after all.

At the same time, she felt a secret relief. As expected, all men in the world fell for this trick.

Even Prince Ning had grown gentle toward her.

She thought that perhaps he understood that his earlier treatment of her had been somewhat excessive, and that guilt had made him change his attitude.

She blinked, unable to stop herself from smiling. Then she remembered the courtly manners taught in the palace—that ladies should not smile with parted lips. Afraid he might dislike it, she hurriedly closed her mouth again.

Her white teeth bit into her lip, leaving a deep mark.

The emperor’s gaze lingered there. After a moment, he finally looked away.

On such an ordinary night as any other, a strange thought suddenly sprang into his mind.

This girl.

When she smiled, she had a little canine tooth, no bigger than a grain of rice.

Very lovely.

The night swallowed all his movements and thoughts. He Hui could not see them and sensed nothing at all.

She stood up, took the sachet from her sleeve, poured out the silver ingots inside, and held them out in both hands. "Last time, when you helped me, I said I would give the money to little... to you."

She had meant to call him little master, but then thought that perhaps Prince Ning did not want his identity exposed before her, so she held it back.

The emperor did not want her to remember that night’s words. Silent, he said, "I do not need money."

"Oh." He Hui gathered the silver ingots in her palm, torn in spirit.

Of course she knew that Prince Ning, the emperor’s only son, a man born into splendor, would never lack money.

In truth, she was reluctant as well. Palace stipends might seem generous, but expenses were greater still. What remained had to be entrusted to a little eunuch and sent home to help support the family. There was not much left in her hands each month, and now it was all here.

With a pained heart, she said, "But I promised you. I cannot break my word."

He already disliked her. If she secretly kept these silver ingots, he would surely loathe her even more.

Seeing that she was clearly reluctant yet still pretending not to care, wearing a look of utter righteousness, the emperor could not help but smile.

"Very well," he said. "Then give them to me."

As though cutting flesh from her own body, He Hui delivered the silver ingots to him with a wooden expression, while her heart bled.

Why would he not refuse again?

If he had only refused once more, then she would have had a reason to regret it.

Now she could only harden herself and offer the silver ingots over.

Unable to see, her hand touched something firm and solid. It was slightly raised and radiated warmth.

He Hui blinked twice, and only then realized belatedly that it was a man’s chest.

In summer, people wore little to begin with. With only the slightest touch, she could feel the warmth of a man’s skin beneath the thin fabric.

She had offended him so...

Her heart jolted. She quickly withdrew her hand, but perhaps because she moved too hastily, she stumbled and was about to fall.

When she came to herself, she suddenly found a large hand braced firmly around her waist.

It must truly have been that she had seldom been in contact with Prince Ning before; she had not known that this young man, so close to her in age, could possess such strength.

The thought flickered through her mind only to be replaced at once by a belated wave of shame.

Men and women should not touch. If her father saw this, he would beat her to death.

Even if it was only bodily contact made to save her, it still would not do.

He Hui sprang upright and retreated from the man’s arms.

The emperor could not help but raise a brow.

Did this girl even know that such a reaction, when a man’s hand was already around her waist, was terribly unromantic?

If it had been one of his consorts, she would have taken the chance to nestle into his arms, calling him Your Majesty in a soft voice, like a blossom in full bloom, using every stratagem at her disposal to draw him into the tender trap she had woven for him herself.

Though more often than not, watching their performance, his heart remained as still as water, and at times even faintly irritable.

Yet he knew this was the way most men and women in the world flirted. He should not be the exception.

At the very least, he could not let anyone see that he was an exception.

The reigning emperor must not be seen as a monster ignorant of the ways of love and desire. Everything he did had to accord with what the world expected of him, even in the matter of taking a wife.

And yet now, faced with this wooden, shrewd, even somewhat dull girl, the irritation that should have risen in his heart had miraculously vanished.

The emperor found this novel. His gaze rested on the girl’s face as he fell into thought.

She was easy on the eye.

Perhaps he was not as resistant to the empress dowager’s selecting women for him as he had imagined.

If, in the future, there were someone like her by his side, that would not be so bad.

When the day came for the chosen ladies to be presented before him, he would have to give her a tolerable rank.

-

Meanwhile, seeing that He Hui had still not returned to the Hall of Eternal Brightness, Yao Zhu grew anxious and came out with an umbrella to look for her.

After all, if anything happened to He Hui, she would have no explanation to offer.

From afar, beyond the rockery, she caught sight of He Hui’s figure and was just about to call out when, from the corner of her eye, she unexpectedly saw the chin of another person exposed from within the opening of the rockery.

Beside Miss Shen—

Was there a man?