Wispy coils of incense smoke swirled around the beams and pillars of the ancestral hall, slowly spreading to fill the solemn air with the scent of sandalwood.
Xie Yun knelt upright on a woven mat, his back straight as a rod. He remained there quietly, his gaze resting on two dark, weathered memorial tablets set high upon the offering table.
For more than ten years since his parents had passed away, whenever he encountered matters he could not understand, he would come to the ancestral hall and speak with them.
Sometimes, by talking things through, he would find his own clarity. At other times, when faced with difficult choices, he would ask them what decision they would have made.
“Father, Mother,” he spoke softly, his voice low and gentle like a whisper, yet surprisingly distinct within the vast, empty hall, “Next month… I shall be married.”
As he finished speaking, a faint curve unconsciously lifted the corners of his mouth, revealing a tender smile.
“It is the youngest daughter of the Empress, Zhenzhen.” He paused, as if weighing his words, or perhaps savoring a memory.
“You… you should remember her. When she was one month old, Mother held her in her arms. She was such a tiny bundle, all pink and soft, with eyes as black and bright as polished jade. Mother said back then that she looked just like a little porcelain doll…”
His eyes fixed on the dancing candle flames before the tablets, and images flickered through his mind’s eye.
He saw Si Huahuan when she was angry, her round, cat-like eyes wide and glaring, hands planted firmly on her hips, arguing with him point for point, sharp-tongued and never willing to yield an inch — just like a provoked little cat baring its claws.
The smile on his lips deepened, tinged with helpless affection, and he shook his head slightly. “I never imagined back then that such a tiny little thing would grow up to have such a fierce temper.”
“Only… lately, she has been acting rather strangely.” His voice dropped lower, revealing a trace of confusion and distress, as he murmured, “I do not understand why, but she always seems to avoid me, intentionally or otherwise.”
As he spoke, an inexplicable sourness rose within his chest, as if something invisible were blocking it, heavy and stifling.
His tone carried a hint of bewilderment, almost like a grievance. “Truth be told… I would much prefer it if she still opposed me and fought with me just as she did before.”
Upon saying this, he fell into a slight daze himself.
For the past twelve years, he had grown accustomed to her presence, accustomed to the noise and clamor of their constant bickering and rivalry. Now, he found himself feeling so unsettled in a life that had suddenly become calm and uneventful.
When her gaze was no longer fixed upon him, he felt as though he were going nearly mad.
Her change in behavior seemed to have begun on the very day Emperor Jiaping started selecting a consort for her. Before that, he could think of nothing else that would have made her angry for so long. Yet what he had said then had been nothing but the truth.
Ever since that day…
“Father, Mother… am I being too greedy?” His voice became even softer. “…I simply could not think of any other way.”
“This is the only way that she will be bound to me for the rest of her life. From now on, our names will be as one entity. Whenever one of us is mentioned, the other’s name will inevitably be spoken of as well.”
Silence filled the ancestral hall, broken only by the faint sputtering sound of the burning candle wicks.
Just then, a draft swept through the hall from nowhere, drifting silently past the white candles burning on the offering table.
The orange-yellow flames were suddenly pressed low by the wind, almost extinguished, only to shoot upward the next instant, leaping high and burning with even greater brilliance and intensity than before.
Xie Yun watched the vigorously dancing flames, a look of calm certainty and relief spreading across his face.
He nodded very slightly toward the tablets. There was a lightness in his deep voice, as if he had received some silent yet unmistakable answer.
“I understand,” he said quietly.
*****
Si Huahuan squatted before several peony bushes in full bloom in the flower garden. Holding a pair of small silver shears, she carefully trimmed away a leaf that had been damaged by insects.
“Should I cut this one?” Si Huahuan asked the palace maid assigned specifically to care for the plants. She turned the shears this way and that. “Should this branch be cut here, or from this spot?”
The maid replied respectfully, “Your Highness should cut the topmost branch.”
*Snip.* The shears in Si Huahuan’s hand made a crisp sound as she neatly cut off a short section of an unnecessary twig.
The maid hesitated, then carefully used her own shears to trim the branch further up where it should have been cut.
Realizing she had cut the wrong part, Si Huahuan fell silent.
She truly had no talent for tending flowers and plants. But then again, she didn’t need to. Her only duty regarding them was simply to enjoy their beauty.
*Woof!*
A thunderous bark sounded from behind her, startling her so much her hand jerked, nearly cutting off a half-opened flower bud.
She knew exactly who it was without even turning around. The sound of that yellow-eared creature’s strange, braying-like barking had echoed in her mind for a long time and refused to fade.
She stood up and handed the small silver shears to the waiting maid.
Xie Yun appeared at the entrance, dressed in a robe of bamboo-green silk. Before he could step fully inside, Jiao Jiao was already there, paws scraping furiously against the ground as it charged in with great enthusiasm and energy.
Xie Yun was tugged off balance by the dog’s excitement, his usual calm and composed demeanor nearly shattered by the creature’s reckless strength.
He gathered the leather leash firmly in his hand and steadied himself, breathing slightly hard but regaining his usual poise. He spoke up clearly, “It is not I who wished to come. Jiao Jiao missed you and insisted on dragging me over here.”
Hearing his excuse about the dog “missing her,” Si Huahuan rolled her eyes in utter exasperation. “You certainly seem to understand the mind of a dog perfectly.”
“See for yourself. One look tells you everything,” Xie Yun replied, tipping his chin toward the dog.
Jiao Jiao recognized her voice and her scent. It circled excitedly around Xie Yun’s legs, its thick tail wagging so fast it blurred. It made soft whimpering sounds deep in its throat, pushing its body constantly toward her, stretching the leash taut.
It lifted its face toward her, its tawny ears flattened back against its head, as if silently pleading: *Pet me! Pet me now!*
Si Huahuan couldn’t help but reach out and scratch the dog on its head. Jiao Jiao immediately nuzzled upward with its wet nose, rubbing against the palm of her hand.
“Disgustingly dirty,” she said, holding her dampened hand up in the air and looking at it with distaste. “This dog is just as annoying as you are.”
“It likes you so much. Why don’t you take it for a walk in the Imperial Garden for a while?” Xie Yun suggested.
“More trouble than it’s worth. You only know how to cause me more headaches every single day,” she grumbled, yet she still took the leash from Xie Yun’s hand.
Jiao Jiao instantly became overjoyed. Wagging its tail, it pulled her along at a trot toward the garden.
“Hey! Slow down, you big fatty!”
Si Huahuan stumbled from the pull, hurrying to catch up with clumsy steps. Xie Yun followed at an unhurried pace, a teasing smile playing about his lips as he watched the scene unfold.
She usually grew breathless after walking even a short distance. Yet now, being dragged around by a large, heavy dog, a healthy pink flush gradually rose on her naturally pale, un-powdered cheeks.
“I offered to give him to you last time, remember? You refused. Jiao Jiao was quite sad about it for days afterward,” Xie Yun said leisurely, his gaze resting on her palm, which had turned slightly red from the tension of the leash.
The mention of that incident felt like a fishbone stuck in her throat. The humiliating scene from that day replayed in her mind, and she was half-minded to drop the leash right then and there.
She shot Xie Yun a look that clearly said, *Do you take me for a fool?*
“Here, let me have him back,” Xie Yun said, holding back a laugh at her expression. He reached out and wound the leash back around his own hand. “Otherwise, you won’t be able to stand up tomorrow.”
It was blatant mockery and pure disdain.
Si Huahuan let out a soft *hmph*. She secretly rubbed her stinging palm beneath her sleeve, then walked briskly past the man and the dog.
Just then, a snow-white kitten suddenly darted out from the nearby flower bushes. It let out a soft *meow* as it scampered past.
Jiao Jiao’s eyes instantly widened to perfect round orbs. A short, excited growl rumbled deep in its throat. Its massive body suddenly lowered, gathering strength. Then, with a powerful push of its hind legs, it launched itself forward — driven entirely by the instinct to chase prey etched deep in its bones.
Si Huahuan turned around at the sound just in time to see a huge white shape hurtling straight toward her.
In its frenzy, the dog completely forgot about the rope fastened around its neck, and that the other end was attached to its master.
“Jiao Jiao!”
The heavy dog pulled with immense force. Even Xie Yun, caught unawares, couldn’t react quickly enough to resist. He stumbled forward somewhat awkwardly, nearly falling flat.
Si Huahuan screamed instinctively. Her body reacted faster than her mind could think, jerking sharply backward to retreat. Her heel came down squarely, precisely upon a smooth, round cobblestone lying on the ground behind her.
“Ah!”
She instantly lost all balance. The world spun wildly before her eyes, and everything around her — along with Xie Yun’s face, suddenly looming large — tilted and blurred in chaotic confusion.
The back of her head was heading straight toward a sharp, angular protrusion on a rockery beside the flower bed. The jagged edge flashed briefly in her peripheral vision.
*This is the end!*
She squeezed her eyes shut by reflex.
Xie Yun had been pulled forward by Jiao Jiao’s lunge, nearly thrown right on top of her. In the split second as she fell backward, his hand, which had been reaching to grab the dog’s collar, arced sharply through the air and shot beneath her head, wedging itself firmly between her skull and the rock.
There was a dull thud.
The searing pain of her head crashing against stone never came. Instead, she felt the solid, steady support of a palm catching the back of her head.
Xie Yun’s hand was broad, warm, and firm. It cushioned the space between her and the cold, hard rock, absorbing the full weight and momentum of her falling head.
Massive momentum carried both of them crashing down onto the ground covered in fine gravel. Pain shot through their bodies, especially their backs and elbows, which scraped against the rough stones.
But what sent Si Huahuan’s mind completely blank was the sudden weight pressing down on top of her, and the strange, burning sensation of his nose touching hers.
Time seemed to stand still.
Sharp little stones dug uncomfortably into her back. Yet every sense she possessed was focused entirely on one single point: Xie Yun’s nose resting gently against her own.
The feeling was unlike anything she had ever known — a strange, unfamiliar warmth belonging to another person, claiming her full attention and dominating every perception.
Xie Yun’s beautiful eyes were inches from her own. Those amber irises, usually calm and unreadable, were now wide with shock and panic. Deep within his pupils, she could clearly see her own reflection, equally stunned and wide-eyed.
For the first time, she noticed his impossibly long eyelashes. Right then, they were trembling rapidly and uncontrollably, like the wings of a startled butterfly.
Neither of them moved, frozen in this awkward and bizarre position.
Si Huahuan could even feel the warm breath from his nostrils, coming in short, hurried puffs that brushed against her lips, sending a tingling sensation through her.
Amidst this heavy silence, where even their breathing seemed suspended, a thin, trembling voice rang out in alarm. “Please forgive me, Your Highness! It is my fault for not watching properly. The Consort Ning’s cat was the one that startled you…”
Something warm and damp rubbed unceremoniously across her cheek, then swiped right over Xie Yun’s chin.
*Hah… hah…*
It was Jiao Jiao.
Hearing Si Huahuan’s scream, it had immediately stopped its wild charge and ran back to see what had happened.
The huge creature squeezed itself between them, its big head pushing and sniffing curiously back and forth. It seemed completely unable to understand why the two humans were lying on top of each other on the ground, unmoving.
Its bushy, powerful tail thumped happily, sweeping repeatedly and obliviously across their faces, which were now almost touching. Meanwhile, its wet nose sniffed and nuzzled all over their cheeks.
The sudden cool wetness on their faces snapped the two frozen figures back to reality.
Xie Yun recoiled as if burned, yanking his hand out from under her head with a jerk.
He pushed himself up with his elbows in a flustered hurry, moving so fast he stirred a small gust of air. A deep flush swept over his face, spreading rapidly from the base of his neck all the way to the tips of his ears.
His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, yet his eyes darted wildly everywhere, refusing to settle on her face.
With the support gone from beneath her, the back of Si Huahuan’s head made a soft *thud* as it bumped against the gravel-strewn ground.
It didn’t hurt much. But that small jolt was enough to shake her completely out of her dazed, blank confusion.
The strange yet vivid sensation of their breaths intertwining lingered like a brand, impossible to shake off.
Her own cheeks instantly burned, turning hotter than the sun high overhead at noon.
Beneath the blazing sunlight, between the two people whose faces were now nearly as red as tomatoes, lay a large white dog, still panting excitedly.
The silence stretched, heavy and thick, broken only by Jiao Jiao’s heavy breathing and the frantic drumbeat of their own hearts.
Xie Yun’s Adam’s apple bobbed with difficulty. Slowly, hesitantly, his gaze traveled down to her delicate nose, drifted two inches lower, paused there for only a heartbeat, and snapped away as quickly as if seared by fire.
He cleared his throat and spoke, forcing a calmness he did not feel. “I… I did not do that on purpose.”