Chapter Thirteen

Ling Xin quivered in excitement. She and her mother stood behind the women's screen, listening to the men's conversation. It had been the usual fare before Zhi Hao showed up. Talk of medicine from her brothers, complaints about the eunuchs from her father, and the rising price of everything. Behind Ling Xin, her sisters-in-law spoke of their children, their servants, and the rising price of everything.

Ling Xin barely listened, speaking only when absolutely necessary. Her attention was split between her sisters-in-law and what was happening through the screen among the men. Then Zhi Hao entered, and she abandoned all pretense of caring what the women were doing.

She watched as Zhi Hao entered, bowed, then handed her father a scroll, presumably of the names of the people left to defend the Song family tomb. To her delight, her father then offered him a seat at the table.

That was quite a coup. Normally a simple student would not be allowed at a family feast. Ling Xin was very excited to see him sit down, except when all her male relatives began grilling him, as if they were the judges in the imperial exam.

Fortunately, Zhi Hao was able to answer all their questions. And that made her giddy with excitement. Her father had accepted him! That gave her hope for something she should not be thinking. She was meant for the emperor. All her thoughts should be on him.

Nevertheless, a question danced at the back of her mind, pushing forward whenever she heard the deep rumble of Zhi Hao's voice.

What would it be like to marry him?

She had seen what he did at the tomb. She had been encumbered by the damn shoes and half-blinded by the jade beads, but she'd seen it nonetheless. When the peasant had burst out of the shrubbery, Zhi Hao had stepped directly between her and the attacker.

It was only fortune that it appeared he defended her father, but she knew the truth. Every movement he made put him between her and the peasants. He had been protecting her, and she was flushed with heat at that knowledge.

Even her own brothers had never stood in her defense. They'd teased her as brothers do, and she'd given back as best she could. They had a good relationship, but they had never risked themselves to protect her from an attacker before.

Only Zhi Hao had done that. And now he was turning the tables on her father. He was asking questions she barely understood. Things about how the government was run, how an official could best work inside the structure. Details that only one who worked closely with the emperor would know.

And she could tell that her father was impressed.

But then her father had enough of being questioned. He clapped his hands and called for more wine even as he turned to Zhi Hao.

"Are you engaged, Ko Zhi Hao? Is there a bride already selected for you?"

"No, Earl Song. All is dependent upon my passing the exam. And once I have my appointment—"

"You could be sent to the farthest corners of China, you know. If you do only fair on the exam. Enough to pass, but not enough to impress."

Zhi Hao bowed. "I will be honored to—"

"Yes, yes, of course." Her father's eyes glittered from the wine. "But if you did exceptionally well, if you had a man who might ask for you, then you might stay in Peking. Especially if you impress a man who appreciates loyalty and has much to teach an earnest young man."

Obviously, that meant her father. She knew that her father was desperate for a protégé, and that his greatest disappointment was that her two brothers had not passed the exam. Could he be thinking of Zhi Hao? If yes, then everything might work out well! Everything—

"I have a niece visiting. She has a voice like an angel, and she has been trained since her youngest days in how to support an important man. I will call for her. You must hear her sing."

Ling Xin jolted, at once seeing her father's thoughts. He meant to match Zhi Hao with Li Fei! Well, of course he did. Ling Xin was meant for the emperor.

Beside her, Li Fei gasped, her hand going to her throat. Mama also gasped and quickly turned to squeeze her niece's fingers.

"He is a handsome boy and very intelligent," Mama said to Li Fei. "He will make you an excellent husband."

Li Fei nodded, her eyes going to Zhi Hao even as her hands began fluttering. "But what should I sing?"

No, no, no! Panic clutched at Ling Xin's heart. He couldn't fall in love with Li Fei! It would be too cruel. And yet what could she do to stop it? Nothing. Especially since she had no wish to thwart Li Fei's chances.

"Sing the Fan Dance song," she abruptly said.

"What? But then who will dance?"

"I will." She grasped Li Fei's hands and said as much of the truth as she could. "You sing it so beautifully, but sometimes you get nervous." In truth, Li Fei's stage fright had been a problem a decade ago. She hadn't had a problem in years, but uncertainty ran deep and her next words proved it.

"I can do it, but I would prefer to have someone with me," she confessed.

"Of course, you can do it," Ling Xin reassured her cousin. "But this way I will be there to take some of the attention. If you mess up, you can blame it on me. Say I missed the steps, and you tried to cover."

Li Fei nodded. "I always do better when I sing for a dancer. I can look at them and match the song to their movements."

"I know. That is why I suggested it," she lied.

"But what about your foot? You said you hurt it."

"My foot is fine." For the most part. "And I could use the practice in front of people, just like you." She squeezed her cousin's hands. "Please, please let me dance."

"Yes, of course!" Li Fei said. "It will help me more than you, but uncle has to agree."

Her mother huffed out a breath, then eyed them both. "You leave that up to me. I shall arrange it. Now quick!" She waved her hands at them. "Get dressed for a performance!"

They rushed off to get their costumes. This was not the first time they had performed together. It was customary for an official to entertain minor dignitaries with music. It was her father's good financial sense that made her and Li Fei his entertainment. They were cheaper than professionals and almost as good.

It didn't take long to get ready. They had already dressed and set their hair for the Chingming festival. All it took was a change in wardrobe complete with the large fans Ling Xin would use during her dance.

Still, they barely made it in time. Indeed, she could already see that her father was flushed from wine and impatience. But he grinned when they entered the room, and soon the wife of Ling Xin's eldest brother was playing the opening notes on the zither.

Ling Xin danced as if she were performing for the emperor himself. She twirled, she stepped, and she used her fans to great effect. She tried not to dance specifically for Zhi Hao. She was not supposed to show preference, but every step, every turn had her gaze searching his face.

He looked pleased, she thought, but it was a polite expression, one perfect while sitting in the house of an earl. It was not the kind of look she was used to receiving from him. In fact, several times she caught him looking at Le Fei rather than herself, and the pique she felt at that almost made her misstep.

When the performance was done, everyone applauded. She looked to Zhi Hao, but his gaze was on Li Fei, his expression almost one of awe. And one glance at her father showed that he was well pleased.

Then the earl grinned at her. "The emperor will adore you," her father said fondly. "Now go rest, my beautiful daughter. Let Li Fei entertain our guests tonight."

And so she was dismissed. There was nothing she could do about it. She slunk back into her room, nearly threw her costume into the trash out of pique, but then settled down. She knew why this was happening. Her father was tasked with matching her cousin with a husband. Who better than a promising student who had already worked extra hard to please him? Father had found a protégé and a good husband for Li Fei all in one stroke.

She should be pleased, but she felt sick at the idea of Zhi Hao doing with Li Fei all the things they had done. She scrubbed the cosmetics off her face with a ferocity that nearly drew blood.

He could not have Li Fei! And she was a shrew to think such a thing. Because if she were destined for the Forbidden City, why would she stop her cousin from catching a good man? An excellent man who defended women and saved peasants.

But now what was she to do? She could still hear Li Fei singing. Indeed, their applause when she finished carried through the whole house. And that made Ling Xin seek her bed.

The men would be drinking late into the night. She would not meet Zhi Hao tonight, even if he banged on her door and begged. So she curled into her pillow and cried.