Chương 71: Chapter 69

A sharp noise rips me from sleep and I open my eyes with a start, my heart racing as memories of the assassination attempt from so many years ago suddenly flood my mind, putting me on guard. But just as I'm about to scream for help, what I see is Xia, who has climbed onto my bed and is kneeling beside me with a grin so wide it looks like it's going to split her face in two, her eyes shining. When she sees I've opened my eyes, her smile broadens even further, something that shouldn't be physically possible.

"Wen! Wen! You're awake!" she exclaims, her voice brimming with excitement.

"Guess what happened this morning!" I look at her through half-closed eyes, caught halfway between drowsiness and the lingering fright she's given me, while my brain tries to process the situation. But since I know her so well, I need only look at her for a second to realize.

The small imperfections she used to have, those tiny marks any child her age accumulates, have vanished completely, and her face looks as though it's been polished by an invisible hand that has removed every last irregularity, leaving a smoothness that can only mean one thing. A smile spreads across my lips despite the sleep still weighing on my eyelids.

"Congratulations, Xia", I tell her, my voice a little hoarse from sleep, as I reach out a hand to ruffle her hair.

"You've finished Skin Tempering." At my words, an expression of pure triumph lights up her face and, before I can react, Xia springs to her feet on the bed, plants herself with her legs apart, fists on her hips, and chin raised in a pose that looks like something out of an anime, or a superhero missing only the cape.

"I'm the number one genius!" she proclaims in a voice that has surely been heard at the far end of the Pavilion. I hold back a burst of laughter at her victory pose, but then I watch her expression shift slightly, as the absolute certainty she had a second ago wavers and her eyes drift toward me while she seems to reconsider what she's just said.

"Well…" she says, lowering her tone a bit as she glances at me from the corner of her eye.

"Maybe number two." The laughter I've been holding in finally escapes, sweeping away the last traces of sleep, and Xia watches me with a grin. Though I try to stop, her satisfied expression only makes me laugh harder.

"All right, all right, great genius", I tell her as I wipe a small tear from the corner of my eye.

"Come here and sit down. Stop jumping on the bed before you fall off." Xia obeys and drops down to sit beside me with her legs crossed, though she keeps her smile of satisfaction as she looks at me.

"But tell me", I say as I prop myself better against the cushions and settle in for the conversation.

"It's been a while since we've talked. How's your cook's training going? I barely see you these days." At my question, Xia's expression changes dramatically. Her triumphant smile transforms into a sulky pout as she crosses her arms.

"Lianhua is a tyrant", she declares with solemnity.

"All she does is make me do things that have nothing to do with cooking. Clean this, tidy that, carry those trays, watch the fire. I signed up to cook, not to be a cleaning slave!" I watch her complain, noticing how she uncrosses her arms and gesticulates with her hands in increasingly exaggerated fashion with every word, and I have to make a considerable effort to keep a straight face.

"But", Xia continues, and here her tone shifts again, brightening once more.

"Luckily, the cooks let me help with real dishes every now and then. And when they do, they teach me loads of things. The other day they showed me how to make a sauce with ginger and honey, and it was amazing. Truly amazing! And I'm also learning to chop vegetables the way they do, with those quick knife movements that look impossible. I'm still not as good, but I'm getting much better, and…"

"So you really think I'm a tyrant", a voice is suddenly heard from the doorway with the softness of a breeze preceding a storm. The effect of the voice is immediate and devastating on Xia, who flinches so violently she nearly falls off the bed as she whips around toward the door, her eyes bulging and the color draining from her face at alarming speed. There, in the doorframe, stands Lianhua with her usual impeccable posture and an expression that, to anyone who didn't know her, would seem completely neutral.

But I, who have been at her side for years, can see the glint of amusement hiding in the depths of her eyes, though her face betrays not a shred of it.

"L-Lianhua!" Xia stammers as she leaps off the bed and plants herself in front of her, adopting a completely rigid formal stance.

"It's not what it sounds like! I mean, yes, fine, maybe I said tyrant, but I didn't mean it. It was more of a way of expressing how hard I work in the training you've so wisely designed for me."

"In fact, I was just about to tell Wen how magnificent you are as a teacher and how much I've learned thanks to your extraordinary training methods", Xia barrels on without so much as pausing for breath, as though stopping would invite some form of divine punishment.

"Because the cleaning and tidying, I get it now, it's to build character, right? And watching the fire is to develop patience, which is essential in cooking. And carrying the trays is to strengthen the arms, which need to be strong for kneading, and…" I listen in amazement to the torrent of excuses Xia is reeling off, clearly making them up as she goes, until I can't take it anymore.

The laugh that erupts from my throat is so sudden and intense it steals my breath, because the scene is too wonderful, too absurd, and too perfect not to laugh at, entirely worthy of a Monty Python film. Xia, who was in the middle of her avalanche of excuses and improvised praise, stops dead when she hears me laugh and stares at me, while Lianhua also shifts her attention toward me, and for an instant the two of them stand watching me as I laugh without being able to stop.

"Okay, okay, okay", I manage to say between gasps as I try to regain my composure, wiping my tears with the back of my hand.

"The two of you, stop, before I die from lack of air." I take a couple of deep breaths until I calm down and my laughter subsides into a broad smile, and then I look at them both with a brightness in my eyes I haven't felt in a long time.

"Listen", I tell them in a tone that aims for firmness but still carries the remnants of my laughter.

"Today there's something to celebrate. Xia has completed Skin Tempering, which is a great achievement and deserves to be recognized as such." If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. I pause and notice Xia swelling with pride again at my words, while Lianhua nods with an almost imperceptible gesture of approval.

"So I've decided that today I'm taking the day off", I announce with resolve.

"No classes, no cultivation, and no studying. Today is a day for celebrating." With those words I direct my gaze at Lianhua, who hasn't moved a step from the bedroom doorway.

"Lianhua, send a note to my Acting and Tea Ceremony tutors to inform them I won't be attending class today", I tell her firmly. Lianhua regards me for a moment, but finally says "I'll send someone to notify them at once, Zhāohuán Wen. I'll return as soon as it's done to dress you."

"Thank you, Lianhua", I say with a smile as I watch her turn and vanish through the door in silence. I turn to Xia, who has remained standing where she was as though still unsure the danger has passed. When she sees me looking at her, she blinks and her expression of pride shifts to a shy smile.

"Well, Miss Genius Number Two", I say in a light tone.

"Since today is your day of celebration, tell me. What would you like to do?" At my question, I watch her think for several seconds that stretch on, which for Xia is quite a feat since she normally speaks before she thinks. But this time she seems to take it seriously, as though the decision were of vital importance.

"Wen", she says at last, in a calmer tone than is usual for her.

"Ever since I arrived at the Imperial Palace, I've been cooped up in the Pavilion. I haven't been outside once. The only thing I've seen of the Palace is the little I glimpsed from the carriage when we arrived, and that went by so fast I can barely remember any of it." She pauses and her eyes take on a gleam of resolve as she finally makes her decision.

"I'd like to explore it", she tells me firmly.

"I want to see it. I want to see what the Imperial Palace is really like." Her words strike me with an unexpected force, and not because of her request, which is perfectly reasonable, but because of the realization they trigger in my own mind. Because I suddenly realize something, I haven't seen the Imperial Palace either. I've lived my entire life here, and now I realize my knowledge of the Palace amounts to a pathetically limited collection of places.

The garden in front of the Pavilion where I used to feed the ducks and where I've held my recent birthdays. The Imperial Library, where the hours have never felt long enough, except when I was sitting through the Jinshi Wenxue's tedious lessons. The rooms where I take my Calligraphy, Music, and other classes. The chamber housing my father's Qi gathering formation, and the corridors connecting all those places to one another.

Four or five locations in what is probably one of the most extensive and magnificent complexes in the entire empire, barring whatever a sect perched in the mountains might look like. It's almost like living in the Vatican and knowing only the Sistine Chapel and the nearest bathroom. The comparison that comes to mind draws an inward smile from me and, with it, an enthusiasm I wasn't expecting to feel this morning.

"Then it's decided!" I tell Xia with an energy that surprises her, since it's not usual for me to get excited like this.

"Unless someone objects, today we're going on a tour of the entire Imperial Palace. You haven't seen a thing, and I, to be honest, haven't seen much more than you."

"Really?!" Xia exclaims, utterly thrilled.

"Yes! Yes! Let's go explore!" Her joy is so contagious I can't help but widen my smile as I watch her bounce with excitement, completely incapable of standing still. We've barely finished making that decision when the sound of soft footsteps announces Lianhua's return. She appears in the doorway with the same composure with which she left.

"Everything is arranged, Zhāohuán Wen", she informs me as she enters the room.

"A handmaiden has been sent to notify both tutors."

"Excellent", I say, and before she can begin the routine of dressing me, I raise a hand to stop her.

"But first, Lianhua, I need to tell you what we've decided." Lianhua pauses when she hears me and looks at me with one eyebrow raised almost imperceptibly, which for her amounts to an expression of intense curiosity.

"To celebrate Xia finishing Skin Tempering, we've decided we're going to visit the Imperial Palace today", I begin to explain, glancing at Xia, who nods vigorously as visual backup for my words.

"Xia has been shut in here for months and hasn't seen a thing beyond the Pavilion walls. And I, to be completely honest and as you well know, am not much better off. Beyond the garden, the Imperial Library, and the few areas where I take my classes, I know virtually nothing of the Palace. So today we're going to fix that."

Lianhua listens in silence, processing my words with her characteristic calm, and I watch her mind evaluate the proposal from every possible angle, weighing the risks, the protocols, and the implications of both security and etiquette that such an excursion entails. After a few seconds that seem to stretch, she finally responds.

"In principle there shouldn't be any problem", she says in a measured tone that indicates she's choosing her words carefully.

"We simply need to be careful not to try entering any restricted areas. The Imperial Palace has enough open zones and places that can be visited without special permits to fill an entire day." But then her gaze shifts to Xia and her expression takes on that shade of gentle severity she reserves exclusively for when she's about to give the girl an important instruction.

"The only thing is that Ling Xia must be very careful with her manners", she says, now addressing Xia directly.

"The Imperial Palace is not the Pavilion. Out there you'll find officials, nobles, eunuchs, guards, and all manner of people who know us and who will judge every gesture we make and every word we say. When there are others around, it's best that you stay silent at all times and speak only when someone addresses you directly. Understood?" Xia, who has been listening to Lianhua with an attentiveness unusual for her, nods so hard I can almost hear the air move.

"I'll be like a tomb", she declares with a gravity that contrasts with her usual nature.

"Not a word and not a sound unless someone speaks to me. They won't even know I exist. I'll be invisible, like a shadow, like the wind, like…"

"Keeping quiet will be sufficient, Ling Xia", Lianhua interrupts before her analogies can escalate any further. I watch Xia snap her mouth shut at Lianhua's words and nod again, this time more calmly. Lianhua observes her a moment longer, as if making sure the message has sunk in, then nods, satisfied.

"Good. Then go to the kitchens and prepare some food and drink to take with us", she tells Xia in a tone that brooks no argument.

"We don't know how long we'll be out and it's better not to have to go looking for food. Meanwhile, I'll get Zhāohuán Wen ready."

"Leave it to me!" Xia exclaims with renewed enthusiasm, her face lighting up at the prospect of doing something useful that involves the kitchen.

"I'll be right back!" And before either of us can add anything, Xia shoots out of the room like an arrow, her quick, light footsteps echoing down the hallway and receding at a speed that makes me doubt she really needs Muscle Tempering. I stare at the empty doorway through which she's vanished with a half-smile I can't, and don't want to, erase from my face.

"That girl has more energy than the whole Pavilion put together", I tell Lianhua, shaking my head.

"She doesn't lack for enthusiasm", Lianhua concedes as she approaches me with the clothes she's selected for today already in her hands, which tells me she'd prepared them before coming in the first time.

"And it's far better than the alternative. Although her spirits still drop sharply whenever something reminds her of her past, which is why I try to keep her as busy as possible."

"I agree. It's better to keep her busy while time heals her wounds", I say as she begins dressing me with the expert, delicate movements that are now part of my daily routine.

"That's what the cooking and the cultivation are for. And now that she's finished Skin Tempering, we'll need to plan the next steps, though I suppose tomorrow I'll have to write my father the report on how Xia's cultivation has turned out so I can give it to him when he comes to see me during one of his visits to my mother."

"All in good time, Zhāohuán Wen", Lianhua tells me as she adjusts the folds of my tunic, ignoring, as always, the fact that I refer to the Emperor as my father.

"First, enjoy your day of celebration." I look at her with an arched eyebrow, a little surprised to hear her say something like that.

"Who are you and what have you done with my Lianhua?" I say in a teasing tone. Lianhua doesn't answer, but I could swear I see the corner of her lips rise by a fraction of a millimeter as she finishes dressing me and settles me into my wheelchair. And as she pushes me out of the room and into the hallway, where the morning light streams through the windows and illuminates the polished wood of the floor, I can't help but feel an anticipation I haven't experienced in a very long time.

Today there will be no runes and no lessons, and though it may sound like heresy, I don't even intend to open a book. Today, we are simply going to explore and see what this world has to offer me.