Chapter Fourteen

Zhi Hao did not see Ling Xin that night, not that he expected to. He had seen that as much as she tried to hide it, she had been dancing just for him. That knowledge had him pulsing with desire.

And it told him that she was no fox spirit. She could not hide her passionate nature or her impudent smile as she danced. Not when she flashed him a coy glance or turned to look straight at him.

She was flesh and blood, and she had danced for him. He, who had little claim to title except as the son of the lowest red bannerman. He, who had nothing to recommend him—no wealth, no status, and no job—except for the possibility that he might pass the imperial exam.

Bright, daring, sensual Song Ling Xin had danced just for him, and everyone had seen it.

That, of course, was the problem. Her father had noticed and had dismissed her immediately after the dance. No doubt she would get forcefully reminded that she was meant for the emperor.

Meanwhile, he was given to consider Li Fei. And if he accepted the woman—after passing the exam—then the earl would sponsor him for a profitable position managing China's finances. He had said that exactly and repeatedly.

That was no small offer. Indeed, it was everything he'd ever wanted, wrapped up in a neat Li Fei bow.

He should want it. It was his entire future exactly how he envisioned it. What was one woman compared to all that? Ling Xin was destined for the Forbidden City and there was nothing either of them could do about it.

He would do well to forget her and focus on her cousin. After passing the imperial exam, of course.

Except that night, he dreamed of Ling Xin. And the night after that, he was waiting for her, already in the treetop bower. If she didn't come, then he would know she had accepted the situation. She knew as well as he did what her father had offered him. She knew that he should take it with both hands.

She knew it. And yet, that night, he saw her creep out to the wall and climb up, just as she had done almost every night.

"You are going to marry Li Fei," she said as she settled on the wall facing him. Her words were equal parts accusation and logic. She knew what was best for him, but she didn't like it.

He didn't either.

"You don't deny it?" she challenged.

"Do you deny that you will enter the Feast of Fertility in three weeks' time? That you will attempt to become the next empress?"

She shook her head, and he could see the shimmer of tears in her eyes. "I am not the empress yet."

"And I have not passed the imperial exam yet."

She nodded, and they both fell silent. In the end, she sighed.

"Li Fei is kind and loyal." She sighed. "She will make you an excellent wife."

He didn't mention that what he wanted in a wife was a sense of daring. It excited him, and not just physically. Most girls were trained to be porcelain dolls, and he found them extraordinarily boring.

Instead, he patted her hand. "You are beautiful and smart. You will make an excellent empress."

She smiled then, a little coyly as she looked up at him. "Did you like my dance?"

"It was grace and perfection. I was very impressed."

"So you think it will interest the emperor?"

How he hated his ruler right then.

"Not in the least."

She jolted, clearly shocked. "What? Did I do the steps wrong?"

He gentled his tone. "You know you did not."

"But—"

"Your dance was skillful, graceful, and very proper. I have already told you that proper girls do not interest a man. Not the way you want."

She frowned. "But you liked it, didn't you? You said you were impressed."

He took her hand, gently guiding it with his own. "Ling Xin, I have only to look at you to desire you. The thought of you haunts me so much that I thought you a fox spirit."

"I am not a demon," she said, and thankfully, her voice held humor not annoyance.

"And yet you have bewitched me. We have done nothing improper this night and feel me. My dragon weeps to be inside you."

He set her hand on his organ, and it immediately pulsed into her hand. And true to her daring nature, she did not pull away. Instead, she shaped him with her fingers, toying with his organ through the covering of his pants. And her expression grew wistful as she played.

"If I am selected for the lower harem, I will never bed the emperor. This is as close as I will ever be to a man's dragon."

He winced. "There is always the possibility—"

"No. I have spoken with my father. He came to me this afternoon to discipline me for making eyes at you."

Zhi Hao's body tightened in horror. "Did he hurt you?"

She frowned. "No! He is not a violent man, and he loves me." There was hesitation in her voice.

"What did he tell you?"

"It is what I told him," she said, taking on that empress tone he so adored. "I forced him to tell me everything. I told him that if I am to be locked forever inside the Forbidden City, then I must understand how it functions. I must take any advantage I can, and that starts with understanding what it is like inside."

Smart. But he shuddered to think of what she'd learned. Almost as much as he hated to think of her inside that place.

"What did he tell you?"

"As much as he knows. He admitted, eventually, that the emperor is a man in flesh and blood, subject to the same desires. He says the eunuchs have more control over the harem than he does. And that I must be smart if I want to attract the emperor's attention."

"Did he have any suggestions?"

"No. He will give me a great deal of money to bribe the eunuchs, but beyond that, he cannot help me."

Not surprising.

She sighed. "He still says he has utmost faith in me. He believes I will find a way to catch the emperor's eye. And that I will be empress."

She spoke those words flatly, as if reciting historical facts of no consequence. He ached when he heard it, knowing the cruelty of her position. He could see that she hoped for a different future, but now knew that her father would not budge. She was destined for the Feast of Fertility.

"I am sorry, Ling Xin," he whispered.

"So am I."

They sat in silence for a long moment. He listened to the sounds of the night while he watched her expression shift through anger and frustration to a sad acceptance. In the end, her lips tightened, and she slowly pulled away from him.

"Very well," she said. "I must find a way to catch the emperor's eye. You say my dance will not do it."

"You were very graceful."

"But that is not enough. Teach me, Zhi Hao. Tell me how to dance in such a way that a man will want to bed me immediately."

He winced. That was no small task. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked. Meaning, he wasn't sure he wanted to do this. It was already taking all his willpower to keep back from her. How could he teach her a seductive dance without bedding her then and there?

Damnation, he wanted her!

"I am sure." She lifted her chin in an expression he had come to know well. It told him that she was determined to walk down this very scandalous path. And he could not stop her, even if he wanted to.

"Very well," he finally said. "Master Gao is gone to thank his own ancestors for last night's benefit. Your father praised him for his wisdom in bringing me to him."

She nodded. "That was very smart of him." Then she arched her brows. "But it was your idea, wasn't it?"

He grinned. "Yes. But in any event, his family shrine is a day's travel from here." He gestured back at his master's house. "It is empty tonight, except for us."

Then he arched his brows at her, daring her to risk everything by coming into his home. If they were caught, they could both be killed. And yet, this night, he could not stop himself from jumping down into his garden. He held out his arms to catch her. And then he waited, daring her to commit to this path.

She did. With barely a moment's hesitation, she pulled her legs over and dropped neatly to the ground. She was strong enough that she did not need his help, but he caught her nonetheless, relishing the feel of her body next to his.

She was fit. So many aristocratic women were not. And she was supple in the way she moved. Dancing must have come naturally to her for she glided away from him now, making following her irresistible. If he hadn't felt her body, he would have thought her a spirit sailing through the air.

But she was real. And now she was headed for his bedroom.