Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Si Yan abruptly came to herself and realized the tips of her ears were burning.
She hastily lowered her head and pretended to adjust her cuffs, trying to shake those intimate images from her mind.
At the same time, within the palace walls,
morning light passed through the carved window lattice of the Directorate of Ceremonial’s duty room, casting diamond-shaped patches on the floor.
Jiang Youze sat behind the desk. Before him lay the list of study companions entering the palace that day.
His gaze rested on the third name: Si Yan, legitimate daughter of the Si family at the minister’s residence.
His fingertip gently brushed those two characters, and a smile came to his lips without his knowing it.
What color would she be wearing today? Would it be one of the fabrics he had sent?
That bolt of rosy Hangzhou satin would suit her, bringing out the fairness of her skin.
Walking the palace paths in the third month, peach blossoms falling over her shoulders, she would be exquisite.
But with her stubborn temper, she might refuse to wear his gifts simply to spite him.
At the thought of her sitting before her dressing table, sulkily choosing her clothes, his lips lifted slightly again.
Very well.
Whatever she wore, whether she wanted to see him or not, she would come today.
Once those gates closed, she would be under his eye.
He could know what she ate each day, whether she slept well, whether anyone had bullied her again.
All those questions he had not dared ask, could not ask, that had been bottled up for three years until they nearly drove him mad.
Now he would know the answers with his eyes closed.
He folded the list and slipped it into his sleeve, rose to straighten his clothes and headdress, then pushed open the door and went out.
His face showed nothing, but his heart beat a full measure faster than usual.
The gates had opened. She should have arrived.
The eunuch led the noble young ladies into a side hall. “Please wait here for now.”
Si Yan took Linghe into a corner and turned her back to the people outside to yawn.
She had risen far too early. She was desperately sleepy.
Before her drowsiness had quite lifted, footsteps sounded outside the hall.
“Greetings, Secretary Jiang.”
Shen Mingzhu’s voice became soft and sweet. Every young lady in the hall turned toward the door.
Over the heads of the women before her, Si Yan saw the face that made her grind her teeth with anger.
Jiang Youze wore a scarlet dragon-patterned robe and a jade belt. Two young eunuchs followed him.
His gaze passed over everyone’s heads to the woman standing in the corner with her head lowered.
Just as he thought.
She wore none of the fabrics he had sent, nor his jeweled flowers or hairpins. She would not even look at him.
“Rise.”
Jiang Youze withdrew his gaze and took the list from his sleeve. His tone was cool and indifferent.
“I will assign your quarters. When your name is called, follow your guide.”
Without looking at anyone, he read down the list. Eunuchs came forward to lead the women away.
The hall gradually emptied until only two figures remained standing where they were.
Si Yan looked down at the crabapple blossoms on her shoes. The hand gripping her handkerchief was growing slightly damp.
She could feel his gaze resting on the top of her head. Light as it seemed, it weighed on her until her neck stiffened.
Heavens, why hadn’t he called her name yet?
Everyone ahead of her had been called. She was the only one left. What was he waiting for?
For her to raise her head?
He could dream on!
She would stare holes in the toes of her shoes before she looked at him first.
“Si Yan.”
At last, he read her name, his tone no different from when he had called the others.
Si Yan silently cursed him eighteen times over.
Pretending!
What an actor!
Where had all this composure been when he pressed her against the stone wall at the Marquis of Yongning’s residence and kissed her?
If this man had not become a Eunuch Secretary in the Directorate of Ceremonial, he could have made a fine actor in a theater troupe.
“Follow me.”
Jiang Youze folded the list and put it back in his sleeve. With those words, he turned and walked out.
His scarlet dragon-patterned robe flashed at the hall entrance. He had already crossed the threshold.
Si Yan froze, then lifted her head to stare at his back.
Wait.
Everyone else had been led away by a guide. Why was he escorting her himself?
Standing behind her with the bundle over her arm, Linghe rose on tiptoe to look toward the door.
Only after making sure that figure had already gone several steps did she lean close to Si Yan’s ear and whisper,
“Miss, Secretary Jiang is…”
“Don’t talk. Come on.” Gritting her teeth, Si Yan lifted her skirts and followed.
She wanted to see exactly where he meant to take her.
Jiang Youze walked at an unhurried pace, always keeping three steps ahead of her.
Through covered walkways, around rockeries, past one palace gate after another.
The farther Si Yan walked, the more uneasy she grew. Why was the route becoming so remote?
There were scarcely even any palace attendants in sight.
Was he going to lock her up somewhere no one knew, where she could call to heaven and earth without an answer?
Judging by his methods in her dream, he was perfectly capable of such a thing.
“Secretary Jiang.” She stopped, her courtesy distant. “Where are we going?”
Jiang Youze stopped too and turned to look at her.
The coldness in his eyes gave way to tenderness. A faint curve lifted his lips.
“Frightened?”
His voice had changed too, rising slightly at the end with a teasing note.
His smile briefly dazed Si Yan. Then she straightened her back.
Lifting her chin a fraction, she spoke with stubborn defiance.
“Who’s frightened? I’m only asking so I don’t end up sold off and helping count the money.”
Watching her force herself to look calm, Jiang Youze smiled a little more deeply.
The smile spread from his mouth to the corners of his eyes, softening his whole presence.
“Don’t worry. I might sell anyone else, but never you.”
How could he bear to?
Of everything in the world, she was what he could least bear to part with.
He turned and continued walking, hiding the emotions surging in his eyes.
Secretly, he wished the path were longer, more secluded. Best of all if it never ended.
Si Yan stood rooted for a long time. Why had she never realized how good he was at flirting?
Where had the Jiang Youze of three years ago gone, the one who dared not even hold her hand?
Oh. Cut away in the castration quarters.
She bit her lower lip and steeled herself to follow.
After they had walked for as long as it took to drink a cup of tea, a separate courtyard appeared ahead.
It was spotless, with two crabapple trees in full bloom inside.
“These are your quarters.”
Jiang Youze stopped at the entrance, his hands behind his back, showing no sign of going in.
From outside the threshold, Si Yan peered inside. It was far better than she had expected.
“What about the others?” She looked away and turned to him. “Where are they staying?”
“Shen Mingzhu is in Lanyue Pavilion, closest to the princess’s bedchamber. Song Qingyi and Liu Xiyue are in Liufang Lodge.”
Si Yan waited a moment. When no more explanation came, she blinked and pointed at her own nose.
“Then why am I here? Aren’t the study companions supposed to stay together?”
“If the princess summons me, I’ll wear my legs out running there from here.”