He gave her an elegant bow that was all the more beautiful because it was done half-naked. How the moonlight made his skin glow!
From the other side of the garden, she heard her cousin’s voice become angry. “Come on, Ling Xin!”
She rolled her eyes and then turned back to her own garden. Now that she was up here, she knew where she needed to go. She was still limping, but she managed to walk along the wall to her favorite hiding spot. It wasn’t on Master Gao’s side, and so not a good place to watch his students, but it afforded a nice view of the street. Indeed, it was where she’d first seen Zhi Hao.
She made her way there before awkwardly sitting down.
“Ling Xin, I’m getting annoyed with you,” her cousin huffed.
“I’m here, horrible girl!” she whispered back, her tone teasing. She was very fond of her cousin. “Can’t a girl look at the moon in peace?”
Li Fei came around a decorative boulder to stare at her in mock despair. “Have you lost your mind? Why aren’t you wearing—”
“Hsss! You’ll wake everyone.”
“And you’ll get sick, sitting there with just that thin covering.” Then she lowered her voice to a low whisper. “Your father is awake. I had to find you in case he came out here.” Then she pulled off her own robe above her evening dress. “Put this on,” she said in a louder voice. “You must be freezing.”
Not at all. She was still flushed from what had just happened. If her toes weren’t still throbbing, her entire body would be on fire with excitement. Most of it still was.
“I bruised my toes climbing up here. Will you help me down?”
Li Fei snorted. “Serves you right for being so scandalous.” Her voice dropped. “Did you find out anything useful?”
That he was as handsome close up as he was from above. “I’ve no practice talking with men other than my family. It’s hard.”
“That’s why you need to keep doing it.”
“I know. We’ve talked almost every night since he arrived.”
“Still about his studies?” Li Fei huffed out her annoyance. “That helps him, not you. You need to get more aggressive. He must know things about the Forbidden City. Find out if he has a contact inside. You need every scrap of information you can get.”
“You’re right. I’ll be more aggressive tomorrow,” she promised.
“Good. Now tell me everything you’ve discussed so far.” Then she raised her voice loud enough to be overheard. “Let’s see if there is any lychee left in the kitchen.”
Unlikely. Father usually took those to eat while finishing his work administering finances. He was an earl, a bo jue, part of the highest level of Manchu aristocracy, and he served the emperor as a banker, distributing the kingdom’s coin with meticulous detail. The keeping of those records often kept him up late at night, and her father was usually hungry when he worked.
Nevertheless, she knew there would be something in their kitchen, though Ling Xin would be scolded for eating when she should be keeping herself slender for the emperor.
With her cousin’s help, she managed to climb down from the wall without further harming her toes. And then, some minutes later, they managed to sneak their way into the kitchen. It was all very innocent, and yet every cell in her body whispered that she was far from innocent anymore.
A man had held her naked foot in his hand. He had seen her bare legs when she fell and pressed his lips to her ear. By most measures, she was no longer a true virgin. She could still pass the emperor’s exam for purity, of course, but in her heart—and most especially in her body—she thrummed with desire.
She was a fallen woman now, and every part of her delighted in that amazing experience. Too bad she could never do it again. The risk was too great, the penalty for being caught too severe. Girls could be killed for unwholesome acts. And Ko Zhi Hao would surely be punished.
And yet, she couldn’t wait to sneak out to the wall again, if only to watch his glorious body move so beautifully in the moonlight.
Chapter Three
Zhi Hao listenedas his beautiful neighbor found her cousin. He smiled at their teasing conversation—what little he could hear—knowing it was a sign of a happy family. The girls, at least, enjoyed each other.
It reminded him of his own home, where his sisters would poke and harass each other. Even when their fights seemed vicious to him, they always ended up as friends. And as usual, he felt a pang of longing.
No brother had teased him growing up. No sister had treated him with affection. Whenever they tried, they were hushed or sent away. He was the smart son. He was the one who would bring the Ko family into prominence. He was the one who would pass the imperial exam, become a magistrate, and bring fame and fortune to them all.
Or so his grandfather had decreed.
Zhi Hao had certainly taken advantage of that in his youth. He had taken the choice meats at the table, teased his sisters cruelly because he knew there would be no repercussions. Until the day he realized the cost of being a smart son.
