5 – Zhi Lan
Zhi Lan had a fitfulsleep, spending half the night wondering if she had gone mad inviting a criminal to her room. It was some time before dawn when she woke, the room shrouded in a soft, intimate sort of dimness. After making sure there was no movement from her guest, she peeked over the side of her bed. He resembled nothing more than a black mass on the floor, his chest rising and falling with even breaths.
Thank heavens he didn’t snore.
The thief had agreed to the sleeping arrangement easily enough. It washerbed after all, and she had rights to it, even if he had soiled it with his dirty criminal clothes. But she swore that he hadsniffedher while they were hiding from the guards. Zhi Lan had expected him to charm and wheedle her into sharing a bed as befitting of an irritating man.
Instead he had laid himself on the floor, tucked his hands behind his head, and went to sleep without a word.
That should have relieved her, but it only made her more suspicious. Whowasthis thief? He was a scoundrel, a gentleman, and a criminal rolled into one. Polite yet impolite. Honorable yet dishonorable. He was wholly unpredictable, and that was dangerous.
Zhi Lan squinted. He slept with his mask still on, the lower half of his face a complete mystery. The upper half was nice enough, she supposed, when he wasn’t staring with those unsettling eyes of his. He had straight, elegant brows and high cheekbones. And the hint of a tall nose bridge.
What if he really was a demon? Had she damned herself and her entire family by associating with him? She shuddered. Even if it were so, he couldn’t be more dangerous than an angry magistrate. And if she were damned, at least it was for the sake of their livelihoods.
Just as the room began to lighten, Zhi Lan slipped out of bed and threw on her outer robe and yesterday’s skirt. She ducked past the silk screen that separated the sleeping area from the sitting area of her chamber, already overrun with nerves.
She wasn’t sure if she was important enough to be served, but a maidservant might enter at any moment and was bound to notice a man in her room, if only by smell alone. Zhi Lan wrinkled her nose as she breathed a little deeper. The thief utterly stank up the place with his odor, when before it had smelled like fresh soap and jasmine.
Hehadpromised to return Master Dan’s painting, but she wasn’t about to let him out of her sight.
Which meant Zhi Lan would have to go with him today.
After rummaging around for paper and ink, she penned a quick note to Master Dan.
Master,
I have gone to the market this morning to purchase paint. I noticed you were running low on the brown pigment you like to use. I will be back much later, as I have personal errands to run.
Your dutiful disciple,
Zhi Lan
It was vague and may rouse suspicion, but Master Dan never pried. She hoped he wouldn’t think she had abandoned him. When she came back with the painting, it would all be made clear to him.
Zhi Lan glanced across the room where the thief was still sleeping. If she were to walk out of this room with him, he would need a disguise, and fast. She considered stealing one of Master Dan’s ensembles, but it would be hard to explain why she was suddenly in the company of an unnamed scholar if she were caught in the manor. She had better find him some servants’ clothes.
The servants’ quarters were located further back in the west wing, and after convincing a maid that she was looking for a spare blanket, Zhi Lan managed to grab one of the servants' uniforms from the shelves. She only hoped it would fit.
She hurried back into her room, making sure to close the door swiftly behind her. She was relieved to see the thief still there, but her relief quickly turned into indignation.
He was sitting at the desk where she had written Master Dan’s note. Except the desk was now covered in the contents of her bag. Her brushes, pigments, scrap pieces of silk, and the practice books Master Dan had given her demonstrating the standard subjects and techniques of a mountain and river painter, were splayed out as if on a market display. The thief didn’t even have the face to look ashamed.
“Just so you know, I have nothing good to steal,” Zhi Lan said, irritated.
