The Cicada Knows Neither Spring Nor Autumn - Chapter 7

Warm breath washed over my neck. I tried to push Zhao Yan away and failed.

Frowning, I whispered urgently, “Your Highness, there are so many people nearby. Please observe propriety.”

Zhao Yan leaned his ear closer.

“Li Jiao, what did you say? I cannot hear you.”

“Your Highness—”

My lips brushed something soft. I fell silent at once.

Zhao Yan smiled and pressed his long fingers to my mouth, smearing my rouge.

“Do not be afraid. They are all my people.”

I glanced toward one side of the carriage. A eunuch who served the Emperor stood there. His face looked vaguely familiar.

“He is mine too.” Zhao Yan gently turned my head back and lounged against the seat. “I have something on him.

“Sister, you have been terribly busy. We have not seen each other for five whole days.”

Had it truly been that long?

Consort Li had given me many tasks lately, and letters had also arrived from Prince Jing. Thinking back, several days had indeed passed.

I met Zhao Yan’s gaze. My lashes trembled despite me.

At last I said, “Consort Li wants me to spy on you.”

He showed no surprise. He merely smoothed the loose hair at my temple.

“Consort Li treats you poorly.”

He glanced at the cream pastries and tossed them aside. Producing osmanthus cakes from somewhere, he held one to my lips.

“If I truly rise higher one day, how could I possibly be kind to a spy Consort Li planted beside me?”

I bit into the cake and let him rest his head on my shoulder, rubbing his hair against me.

Like a dog.

“But I would never do that, Sister. Whatever you want, I will give you. All right?”

Even more like a dog.

I patted his back. “All right. I trust our Yan’er.”

Zhao Yan lifted his head. His phoenix eyes curved like crescent moons, one pointed canine showing at his lip.

“Li Jiao, you are blushing.”

…

The moment I stepped from the carriage, the shy pleasure vanished from my face, replaced by indifference.

I spat out the osmanthus cake I had held beneath my tongue.

As we neared the hunting grounds, I returned to report to Consort Li. She did not ask what Zhao Yan had said or done. She saw only the smeared rouge at my lips and was thoroughly satisfied. She ordered me to serve beside his tent throughout the hunt.

At noon, the Emperor ascended the altar, burned incense, and delivered an exhortation to his ministers.

“Whoever takes the most game shall receive an imperial black-iron sword and ten thousand taels of gold!”

The starting drum had barely sounded when an arrow tore ahead through the air.

“A hit! A hit!”

An excited young eunuch ran to drag the quarry into view. A white deer lay unconscious, the arrow lodged squarely in one eye.

The crowd gasped.

Zhao Yan sat astride a pure-black Ferghana horse, magnificent and high-spirited. Even the Emperor applauded.

“Fine archery, my son!”

Zhao Yan slowly lowered his bow, acknowledged the crowd from afar, and rode first into the forest. Everyone scattered after him.

Several maids, eunuchs, and I followed at a careful distance. Zhao Yan almost never missed. Before long, dead hares and foxes littered the ground, and the young eunuchs trailed behind to collect them.

I had drifted into thought when Zhao Yan doubled back. His black horse stopped before me.

“Can you ride?”

I shook my head.

His lips curved. Without warning, he bent, swept me off the ground, and seated me securely before him.

The world shifted so quickly that I gave a startled cry.

“Do not be afraid, Sister,” Zhao Yan murmured by my ear. He closed his hand over mine and guided it to the reins.

“Is this amusing?” I asked helplessly. “With the Crown Prince absent, I thought you meant to win first place before the Emperor.”

His smile did not move, but mockery entered his eyes.

“I have drawn enough attention lately. If I shine any brighter, the Emperor may no longer be able to keep pretending.”

His eyes curved. “It makes no difference to me. I only fear that if the Emperor finds a pretext to punish me, Sister will ache for nothing.”

For once, I had no answer.

Zhao Yan suddenly rubbed his thumb over my palm.

“Li Jiao…can you truly not ride?”

His grip tightened until my hand hurt.

I tore free and glared at him in embarrassed anger.

“When I first entered the palace, I swept courtyards. I also washed clothes in the Laundry Bureau. Of course my hands have calluses. I am not like you noble—”

Remembering Zhao Yan’s childhood, I stopped.

“I am the Little Dog you picked up, not some nobleman.” His breath brushed my earlobe. “Two pitiful creatures like us belong together.”

He was too close.

I straightened, trying to edge away. At that moment, disaster struck.

A tiger’s roar shook the woods, and an enormous black-striped beast burst from the trees.