Chapter 21

Chapter 21: You Hurt Me

Chun Zhi had been listening to the noise outside and had not slept. She kept still until they pushed Huo Zheng inside. The crowd came in loud and left loud.

She reached out to feel Huo Qi’s forehead. The moment her cool fingertips touched his hot skin, he caught her wrist in a tight grip. Chun Zhi frowned and said softly: “Huo Qi, you are hurting me.” His hand was strong, and it made her wrist ache. Huo Zheng opened his eyes, looked at her, and slowly let go.

Chun Zhi asked: “How much did you drink? I told you, you are injured. You cannot drink much.” Huo Zheng sat up and said: “Not much.”

His eyes were clear. He did not look drunk at all. That dazed look from before had been an act. Chun Zhi poured a cup of tea and held it out, saying: “Have some water.” Huo Zheng took the cup and drained it.

She asked: “Want more?” He said: “Mm.” She poured another cup. This time he only drank half. When he stopped, she set the cup on the table.

Red light from the joy candles filled the room. The man leaned against the red gauze canopy. The warm light gilded his face like jade.

Chun Zhi watched him for a moment, then went to open the door to fetch a basin of water to wipe his face. But when she tried the door, she found it barred from the outside. She turned back, a little embarrassed, and said: “The door is bolted from the outside. I am sorry to trouble you to sleep in here tonight.” Huo Zheng said nothing. Chun Zhi added with a tiny cough: “Do not worry. I will sleep on the floor. I will not harm your good name.” Huo Zheng closed his eyes and said: “As you wish.”

Chun Zhi took bedding from a chest and made a pallet on the floor beside the bed. She had already taken off her makeup and jewelry. In her red inner robe and with a clean, bare face, she looked fresh and very pretty.

Huo Zheng leaned on the bed and looked at Chun Zhi lying within arm’s reach. The dragon and phoenix wedding candles were meant to burn until dawn.

Chun Zhi could not fall asleep. Huo Zheng also could not sleep. She turned on her side and whispered: “Huo Qi…” He looked down and answered: “Mm?”

She said: “Thank you for today.” Even though it was an exchange between them, she still felt she should thank him. She let Huo Qi stay to heal. He married her in name only to fool the magistrate’s office. When Lu Jing Yun and Ji Ru Zhen came with servants today, it was good that Huo Qi had been there. Otherwise those two tables of food would have been smashed.

Huo Zheng said quietly: “I do not want a thank you in words.” Chun Zhi sat up hugging her quilt and asked, serious as can be: “Then what do you want?” In the soft candlelight, her red collar had fallen open a little without her noticing as she asked an honest question. Huo Zheng’s throat moved. He closed his eyes and stopped looking at her.

Chun Zhi waited. When he did not answer, she thought he had fallen asleep. She got up, pulled the quilt over him, then lay down and quickly drifted off. She was truly tired today.

Listening to her breathing grow slow and even, Huo Zheng opened his eyes and watched her sleeping face. He could not tell whether it was the bright candles that kept him awake, or because Chun Zhi was near: [Is it the candles, or is it you?]

At dawn, Chun Zhi woke early. The outer bolt had been unlatched by someone, though she did not know which “helpful” person had done it. She tidied the messy yard. People from Fragrance Pavilion came to collect the tables, chairs, and bowls. She lit the stove and cooked congee. When the smell filled the yard, Huo Zheng also got up. He changed out of the red wedding robe and put on his indigo round-collar robe again. Sitting in his wheelchair, he rolled himself out.

Chun Zhi smiled at the stove and said: “You are up. Wash up, then come eat.”

Huo Zheng drew water from the well, washed, and rolled to the Eight Immortals table. Chun Zhi served him a big bowl of congee, set out three small side dishes, and added two salted duck eggs. She smiled and said: “I cured the eggs myself. When you open them, the oil comes right out. They are so fragrant. Try one.”

Huo Zheng noticed that Chun Zhi liked to smile. And when she smiled, she looked very nice.

Chun Zhi tapped a small hole in the egg, then poked it with chopsticks. Golden oil rose at once. She showed him and said: “Look.” Huo Zheng nodded and said: “Looks good.” He took half the egg and mixed it into his congee. The simple scent of rice and the rich aroma of the egg blended together and made him hungrier.

After they ate, Chun Zhi went to the river to wash clothes. Huo Zheng shut the yard gate and changed his bandages inside.

A figure vaulted over the roofline, dropped into the yard, rushed into the room, and knelt: “Your subordinate is late. Please punish me, Your Highness.”

Huo Zheng straightened his robe and said: “Rise and speak.”

The man, Jiang He, bowed his head in shame and said: “It was my failure to protect you that led to such serious wounds.”

Huo Zheng answered: “I came to Nanzhou on a secret imperial order and was ambushed. That means someone at court is already working with officials in Nanzhou. The enemy hides in the dark while we are in the open. Assassination was hard to avoid. Do not blame yourself.”

In Nanzhou, wrongful cases had piled up. Someone in the capital filed an imperial petition, accusing Prince Ning of seizing land and squeezing the people, even of harboring treason. The Emperor sent Prince Chang’an, Huo Zheng, to inspect Nanzhou. Yet on the very first day he arrived, he was attacked. The assassins were death-seeking and scattered his guards. He lost them and ended up in Linshui Town. The guards searched along the way. Jiang He was one of them. They could not find the prince until yesterday, when Huo Zheng sent a signal and asked them to forge a travel permit, and they finally made contact.

Jiang He said firmly: “Nanzhou is Prince Ning’s fief. You were ambushed on his land, and he has shown no response at all. This cannot be unrelated to him.”

Huo Zheng said: “We will know once we test it. You will pretend to be me and continue to lead men to inspect Nanzhou in the open. I will investigate in secret. We will get to the bottom of everything in Nanzhou.”

Jiang He bowed his head and said: “Yes.”

Huo Zheng waved his hand and said: “You may withdraw.”

Jiang He saw that the prince had no plan to leave and could not help asking: “How long will Your Highness stay here?” Yesterday, when the prince ordered them to forge the travel permit, Jiang He had secretly followed. He saw the prince bow to heaven and earth with a merchant’s daughter and almost fell off the roof in shock. Prince Chang’an was twenty-four this year. The Emperor and the Empress cared greatly about his marriage. For years, many noble ladies had wanted to marry him, and he had ignored them all, remaining single. Yet here, in a small place like Linshui Town, he had married a common girl.

Jiang He hesitated, then said: “Yesterday, as I passed by, I happened to see…” Huo Zheng’s gaze grew dark as he asked: “What did you see?”