Chapter Seven

When Feng Xiaoli saw that the man didn’t answer her, she didn’t press further. Waving her hand dismissively, she paid him no more mind and left him standing alone in the courtyard. The man watched her departing figure, the faint smile still lingering on his lips.

Feng Xiaoli was so exhausted she could barely keep her eyes open. Just as she closed them, Jin Ning’s calm voice drifted in from outside the door: “His Highness is on his way to Lifen Courtyard.”

“Did the old man say what it was about?”

“Jin Ning doesn’t know,” Jin Ning replied respectfully.

Feng Xiaoli kept her eyes shut, and before long, her steady breathing announced she was already asleep. Jin Ning was at a loss. She dared not wake Feng Xiaoli, but she also couldn’t risk offending His Highness. Anxious and unsure what to do, she waited.

Before long, Prince Chun appeared at Feng Xiaoli’s doorway. Jin Ning bowed to him, but he waved her off, indicating she needn’t continue. “Where is the young lady?” he asked.

“She just fell asleep, Your Highness. Should I wake her?” Jin Ning offered.

Prince Chun shook his head. “No, let her be. I imagine she resents me. As long as she’s willing to stay, she can do as she pleases. I’ll always protect her—this Prince Chun’s manor will always be her refuge.”

Jin Ning bowed again, her tone growing cold and distant. “Your Highness is indeed good to her.”

But Feng Xiaoli wasn’t truly asleep. She’d caught snatches of their conversation and felt her thoughts tangle. This Prince Chun’s manor seemed to grow more mysterious by the day.

Prince Chun was not, in fact, the emperor’s brother. He was a noble of another surname, a prince granted his title after once saving the emperor and Empress Yuanmin. He enjoyed the privileges of his rank, but his origins were different. More than ten years ago, he’d had a beloved consort, famed for her beauty, who died in childbirth, leaving behind only a baby girl—Feng Xiaoli. Prince Chun had sworn to love only her mother for this lifetime and had never taken another wife or concubine. That explained why there were no other wives, concubines, or illegitimate sons and daughters in the household. Feng Xiaoli had always found it odd. By rights, a prince should have several wives and concubines, and she’d braced herself to face the inevitable rivalries. Yet there were none, and she’d never had a chance to show her mettle.

This was the answer Jin Ning gave her when Feng Xiaoli asked the next day.

But another thing puzzled Feng Xiaoli: her engagement to Yu Wenhao.

She secretly admired the woman who’d dared to fling the imperial edict aside. In this era, that was unheard of. Traditionally, one would kneel and kowtow nine times upon receiving such a decree, thanking the emperor for his grace. Still, she wondered what might have happened if she herself had been handed that decree.

She asked, “Jin Ning, did that man from last night leave?”

“He lingered a while, then strolled out the front gate of Prince Chun’s manor. He brushed right past His Highness,” Jin Ning replied after a moment’s thought.

“What? The old man didn’t even ask anything and just let him leave?” Feng Xiaoli was astonished. A strange man had appeared in her courtyard, and not only had he not been stopped, but had actually been allowed to leave. Prince Chun’s manor really did spoil her.

Jin Ning seemed surprised by Feng Xiaoli’s reaction. She smiled. “His Highness truly didn’t ask anything. He just glanced at the young man, a little suspicious. Last night he told me again that this manor will always be your refuge—whatever happens, he’ll bear it for you.” She repeated her earlier words. “Your Highness is indeed good to you.”

Feng Xiaoli couldn’t quite read Jin Ning’s tone and asked, “Jin Ning, do I really look that much like your young lady?”

Jin Ning studied her face carefully. “Miss, you are yourself. I’ve served you for so many years—I know you are the same young lady I’ve always attended, that much is true. But there is something different about you since your return.”

“What’s different?”

“That, I cannot say.” Her expression changed slightly. “But these years, you have changed, even if I can’t describe how. Perhaps you should ask His Highness—he might have the answer.”

Feng Xiaoli shook her head, discouraged. “Never mind. He must be conflicted, too.” He wants to see her, yet doesn’t wish to see her.

“But that man and the old man don’t look much alike.” If she resembled the original Feng Xiaoli, she herself bore little resemblance to the old man. Feng Xiaoli studied her reflection in the mirror.

“That just means you take after Madam,” Jin Ning said, fixing a white jade hairpin in Feng Xiaoli’s hair, lending her a delicate and distinctive air.

Just as Feng Xiaoli was about to say more, the door was suddenly flung open. Peeking in was Yu Wence, who flashed her a smile that would have made any woman’s heart flutter—though Feng Xiaoli was unmoved.

At the sight of Yu Wence, Jin Ning squealed, “S-second prince, this is the young lady’s private room! If word gets out, it won’t be proper!”

Yu Wence waved off her concern. “Jin Ning, don’t make such a fuss. After all these years, you still haven’t gotten used to me popping up. I don’t think Ali cares a whit for such conventions.” He turned to Feng Xiaoli. “Ali, Jin Ning is as nagging as ever. If only she were half as bold as you!”

Feng Xiaoli agreed, “You’re absolutely right, A’Ce.”

Yu Wence’s eyes widened as if they’d pop out of his head. “Ali, you called me that?”

“What?” Feng Xiaoli raised an eyebrow.

“The sun must be rising in the west!” His eyes were still comically wide. “You’ve never called me that before!”

Feng Xiaoli stood and gave him a playful smack on the forehead. “How many times do I have to tell you I’m not the person you think I am?”

Yu Wence grinned. “I’m starting to believe it!”

“So, what brings you here?” Feng Xiaoli sat back down, letting Jin Ning continue with her hair.

Prompted by her question, Yu Wence slapped his own forehead. “That’s right! Ali, I came to find you because the courtesan of Phoenix Pavilion is giving a performance. I know you love excitement. I knew you wouldn’t want to miss this, so I came to invite you!”

“That does sound interesting!” A spark of delight lit Feng Xiaoli’s eyes. Yu Wence had that right—she did love a lively scene, and she wouldn’t want to miss such an event.

Jin Ning grew anxious at once. “Miss, you can’t! That’s a brothel!”

“Oh, Jin Ning, you’re far too timid!” Feng Xiaoli cut her off.

“Didn’t you say the old man would protect me?”

“Yes—” Jin Ning replied weakly.

“And in any major crisis, isn’t Prince Chun’s manor my shield?”

“That’s true enough.”

“Well then, let’s go!”