Jiaojiao wore a small scarlet jacket today, trailing two strips of red silk from its talons. It flew over the Prince of Mingxuan’s estate, terrifying the drunk and bleary-eyed Young Marquis of the Meng family, who mistook it for a female ghost in red and ran away screaming for his parents. Now, the hawk had returned to its iron perch, boredly peering into the room.
The two people inside the room stared at each other, sparking a friction that a mere hawk could not comprehend.
“To have followed me all the way to Xuandu,” Zhu Hexing feigned pleasant surprise, “you must miss me dearly, don’t you?”
Shen Quebai’s eyes were hazy and moist, as if veiled by a layer of shyness. “After that fleeting encounter, I fell for you at first sight, Your Highness. I haven’t been able to forget you day or night.”
“Since that is the case, ours is a heaven-sent union. A moment on the wedding night is worth a thousand gold why wait any longer for our intimacy?” Zhu Hexing stepped forward, pressing against the tips of Shen Quebai’s shoes.
Swish!
A flash of silver suddenly darted across Zhu Hexing’s face, cutting off his advance. At the same time, Zhu Hexing felt his waist loosen as his wedding robes were sliced through by the blade. Half the garment fell to the floor, leaving the remaining half hanging loosely over his shoulders.
Then, he felt a weight against his chest.
The tip of the knife pressed lightly against Zhu Hexing’s heart, the lamplight painting the hand Shen Quebai used to grip it with a layer of rouge. He purred softly, “Husband, let us undress first, then we can play properly.”
Zhu Hexing felt neither fear nor annoyance. He used the jade bridal-veil-lifting rod in his hand to flick the red veil onto the bed. The jade rod was exquisitely carved, with a slightly protruding tip like a thorn, which rested lightly against Shen Quebai’s chin.
Shen Quebai obediently raised his chin, his gaze boldly teasing Zhu Hexing as he said, “Husband, you are truly beautiful.”
The jade rod pressed against Shen Quebai’s Adam’s apple, much like Zhu Hexing’s palm once had. The red mark on his neck had long since faded, but Shen Quebai still remembered the feeling of his breath being stifled—a sensation that made his scalp tingle.
“My little young master is the one who is hard to distinguish as man or woman; I pity you more than I pity myself.” The jade rod slid down from his neck, tracing lines across Shen Quebai’s chest and abdomen through the wedding robes. Zhu Hexing’s tone was gentle, almost flirtatious, “In that case, if I die under the body of a beauty, I shall be a dashing ghost even in death.”
He suddenly leaned in close. The jade rod pressed heavily against Shen Quebai’s lower abdomen, while simultaneously piercing the fabric over his heart, the biting chill of the blade pressing against his chest without a gap.
Shen Quebai’s lithe, willow-like waist arched backward. “Don’t, Husband. If you die on our wedding night, people will say I have a ‘curse of husband-killing.’ Furthermore, if you are gone forever, leaving me all alone and helpless, wouldn’t I be at the mercy of others to be bullied? Most importantly…”
He reached out, his fingertips tracing downward along the jade rod, stopping just before Zhu Hexing’s hand to flick it slightly, “I cannot bear for you to die, Husband.”
“And I cannot bear to leave you all alone, young master.” Zhu Hexing rotated his wrist slightly, the tip of the jade rod grazing Shen Quebai’s wrist. Shen Quebai seemed ticklish and pulled his hand back.
A cautious footstep sounded outside the window.
Shen Quebai raised his eyes; the red mole on his face seemed to smudge, sketching out a dangerous line of rouge. He said, “Husband, come, let’s play.”
Jiaojiao let out a sharp cry and swooped out like a hunter. At the same time, Shen Quebai twisted his wrist, his cold blade flicking upward to graze Zhu Hexing’s throat!
Zhu Hexing leaned back and retreated. Shen Quebai seized the moment to escape his confinement like a swimming fish, turning to hack at Zhu Hexing’s shoulder. Zhu Hexing blocked the blade with the jade rod; the rod snapped. He dodged sideways, and Shen Quebai’s knife missed its mark, embedding itself into the rug.
Zhu Hexing raised his foot to pin the blade down and threw a punch toward Shen Quebai’s temple. Shen Quebai released the sheath, blocked with his arms, and retreated three steps.
Zhu Hexing flicked the knife up with his foot, caught the crimson hilt, and said, “This blade suits you.”
Shen Quebai glanced at the white cloth on Zhu Hexing’s right hand, covering the knife wound Zhu Hexing had carried back from the rainy night outside Chaotian City. He smiled, “It is sharp, after all.”
The palm of Zhu Hexing’s right hand began to itch again. He raised an eyebrow, smiled, returned the blade, and walked to the window. Jiaojiao returned to its iron perch; outside, a corpse with its neck pecked to shreds lay in the corridor.
Zhu Hexing didn’t care who had sent this spy. He whistled, and a figure vaulted into the courtyard to drag the body away.
Shen Quebai retrieved the knife sheath from under the bed and openly hung the blade on the bedpost, saying, “I have prepared a small gift for you, Husband. You lack nothing in the way of expensive treasures, so this gift is valuable only for the sentiment behind it.”
Zhu Hexing opened the window to let the breeze in, then turned and said, “Then let me weigh the value of this sentiment.”
Shen Quebai walked around the screen to the outer room, where two chests of “red dowry” lay—his cover for carrying the blade today. He opened one of the chests and pulled out a wooden case, half an arm’s length, and handed it over.
Zhu Hexing pushed the wooden box open. Inside lay a scroll of a painting.
The painting, half a person tall, unfurled: spring lake ripples, lotus flowers rising from the water, four-story pavilions with inverted eaves, shadows of flowers and clusters of lanterns reflecting a giant magpie spreading its wings in the heart of the lake. On the third-floor balcony, Zhu Hexing was captured mid-fall, his purple robes billowing in the wind, long hair fluttering in the rain, with the cold moon suspended in his eyes.
On the left side of the painting were the beautiful characters he had seen when they “encountered” each other on the boat: [“Purple grass grows by the lake, falling accidentally into the lotus.”* In the spring of the nineteenth year, I met you at Zuiyunji.]
Zhu Hexing’s gaze flickered. He closed the scroll and said, “Your painting technique is exquisite, Young Master; I like it very much.”
Shen Quebai asked, “And this sentiment?”
Zhu Hexing replied, “Priceless.”
Shen Quebai smiled lightly, watching as Zhu Hexing meticulously sealed the wooden box. Suddenly, he reached out, placed a hand on Zhu Hexing’s shoulder, and said, “There were hidden circumstances regarding the events in Chaotian City. Husband, please forgive me, won’t you?”
“That night it was a murderous blade, tonight it is a beauty’s trap.” Zhu Hexing lifted a finger to tilt his chin, “What other tricks do you have?”
Shen Quebai looked up at him, whispering, “As long as you like it, Husband, I have all sorts of tricks.”
Zhu Hexing said, “Then tell me, what were the hidden circumstances?”
“I had received secret information that the Eaves of Emptiness was about to strike. The Eaves always succeed once they move, and I didn’t know you were both scholarly and skilled in martial arts, so I feared you were in great danger. I couldn’t bear to watch you die tragically in a foreign land, but there were too many rumors about you in Great Liang they all said you were cold-blooded, harsh, rude, cruel, bloodthirsty, and heartless…” Shen Quebai rattled off the insults in one breath, paused rhythmically, and added, “In short, not a good person!”
Zhu Hexing watched him, a sarcastic smile on his lips.
Shen Quebai said righteously, “But how could I judge your character based on the words of others? I had to verify it for myself! After those few hours together, I deeply realized you are intelligent, generous, and a talented young man nothing like the rumors! But the Eaves of Emptiness cannot be underestimated; the chances of winning in a direct confrontation were low, so I had to choose a circuitous strategy: infiltrate the enemy’s inner circle and wait for the chance to betray them. I won’t lie to you, Husband,”
He raised a pair of sincere, affectionate eyes, “Even if Master Yan hadn’t appeared that night, I would have led you away in the chaos and taken you down a secret path I had prepared to switch horses.”
“I see.” Zhu Hexing clapped in admiration, “I didn’t expect you to be a chivalrous warrior who strikes for justice.”
“I am unworthy of such praise! I just didn’t expect Master Yan; I didn’t have time to implement my plan.” Shen Quebai said with worry, “I didn’t get to explain that night, and I have been distracted and anxious for the past few days, fearing you would misunderstand my sincere heart.”
Zhu Hexing wore a faint, ambiguous smile, thinking that compared to this person, the actors in every theater house would have to take a backseat. He set the box on the table and said, “I have understood your feelings, and I am so moved I hardly know what to say.”
Shen Quebai said with relief, “I am glad you believe me, Husband!”
Zhu Hexing’s gaze was tender, “Very well, let us leave that matter here. You have been tired all day; let us go to sleep early.”
“Husband, about that…” Shen Quebai stole a glance at him, performing his awkwardness and shyness to perfection in a single look, “I am not convenient to serve you tonight.”
Zhu Hexing was startled, “Are you on your period?”
“…” Shen Quebai’s eyebrow twitched; he almost dropped his act.
Zhu Hexing asked with genuine confusion, “Then why is it not convenient?”
Shen Quebai pressed his lips together and whispered, “I am afraid that because I am clumsy, I will not serve you well, Husband.”
Zhu Hexing said, “I think not. That night on the lake, your skill in undoing my sash was quite practiced.”
Heh. Shen Quebai said meekly, “I shall serve you in undressing, Husband.”
He stepped forward to hook the silk sash at Zhu Hexing’s waist. When he raised his eyes, he met those long, deep eyes and immediately lowered his head as if shy.
After undoing the sash and removing the outer robes, the next step was to move to the bed. Shen Quebai stood still, saying sensibly, “Husband, you and I are both men. Even if we exhaust ourselves on this bed every night, we cannot produce a little baby. The continuation of the Prince’s estate is a major matter; someone will surely be assigned to arrange concubines for you soon. I”
“Do not worry.” Zhu Hexing was deeply affectionate, “Besides you, I will not take anyone else.”
Shen Quebai looked up in shock, “What! Uh, I mean: Ah?”
“My little young master is skilled in both pen and sword—you can paint with the pen and end lives with your music, and you are born with a face as beautiful as jade and treasure. Having married you, how could anyone else catch my eye? Besides,” Zhu Hexing reached out to hook the red silk hanging on the window. Jiaojiao poked half its strong body inside, looking at Shen Quebai along with its master, “I do not like idlers in my household. The sight of them irritates me. Therefore, if anyone is blind enough to shove people into my estate, I can only trim them into human sticks, tie them with red silk, and send them back politely.”
“…Don’t scare me, Husband.” Shen Quebai feigned being frightened, his eyes recognizing that the white hawk outside the window was a rare and fierce bird of prey.
Taming an eagle is a difficult craft, requiring both patience and perseverance. The fiercer the eagle, the harder it is to tame. Who tamed this one for Zhu Hexing? Or did he tame it himself?
Outside the window sat the eagle; inside stood the magpie both of them were wild to the core. Zhu Hexing found it interesting. He reached out to close the window and said ambiguously, “Do not fear; it does not eat people.”
“I am not afraid.” Shen Quebai looked at him with reliance, “You will protect me, Husband.”
Zhu Hexing reached out to untie the long, thin red silk from Shen Quebai’s hair. The cloud-like hair cascaded down, tangling in his hands. He leaned in slightly, making his hypocritical doting sound entirely sincere, “As long as you are obedient.”
With that, Zhu Hexing felt his fingers tighten, Shen Quebai had reached out and pulled the red silk down. It fell through his fingers, leaving behind only a painless, itchy sensation.
Shen Quebai lowered his head to tie the red silk around Zhu Hexing’s wrist, winding the other end around his own fingers. Thus hooked, he led Zhu Hexing inside, performing his role as a “fox spirit” to perfection, though his expression remained perfectly innocent.
“I am the most obedient of all,” Shen Quebai said.