The man rolled his eyes. “Chingming is a holiday for a man to honor his ancestors. Do you think Earl Song has others do his duty for him?”
Zhi Hao didn’t know. He knew very little about his neighbor. That was the whole point of this exercise: to learn more about the entire family.
“You know him best, Master Gao.”
The man puffed more on his pipe before answering. “He will know that we are begging for favor.”
“Everyone wants a favor, but we will earn it.”
His master considered this. Eventually, he nodded. “We will clean most of the tomb, but not all. That will leave him a way to do his duty.”
That was wise and Zhi Hao said so. He was grateful that Master Gao was keen on his plan, even though they both knew Zhi Hao would do all the cleaning.
It didn’t matter. On this holiday, all families honored their ancestors. The entire household, including the women, would be there, showing their devotion. Indeed, if the Song daughter was vying to become empress, then she would likely be on her knees showing complete devotion.
All he needed to do was watch from the side. Then he would be able to tell if she was the woman who haunted his nights or a fox phantom.
That was his plan. But he needed to be clearheaded. So tonight, he would hoard his chi. He would not see her on thewall, though his body craved another rendezvous. He could not risk giving more of his life force to a spirit.
Not until he met the Song daughter for real and knew the truth of her.
Chapter Eleven
Ling Xin wasoverwhelmingly tired. The Chingming festival was tomorrow where she’d offer gifts to her ancestors in hopes of good fortune at the Feast of Fertility. To draw the most favor, she’d spent the day making festival cakes and folding joss paper into intricate offerings. Her hands and legs ached from the work, but it was necessary before she attempted anything so grand as becoming the Empress of China.
Either way, it was done now, and she had to fight sleep as she waited to see Zhi Hao. It was agonizing to wait, but she couldn’t stop dreaming about the sensation of having his hands on her body. About the fire in her belly whenever he was near. And—strangely enough—she kept recalling the quiet way he’d held her when the bliss was over.
For all that the man fought invisible enemies when he exercised, she knew him to be a gentle man at heart. At least with her. And that made her body melt with desire. He made her feel safe. He would never hurt her, never destroy her chances, never take what she was unwilling to give.
Or so she believed… Finally, when it was dark enough, when she finally heard her family’s snores as they slept, she crept out to her garden spot and climbed the wall to watch Zhi Hao exercising.
Except he wasn’t there.
She leaned forward, scanning the shadows to see if he was somewhere else. She even walked the rock wall to see better, but he…
She spotted him. He was leaning against the back door, clearly waiting for her. But what was he doing there?
She leaned forward far enough that he could see her and she, him. She gestured with her hands for him to come closer because she wasn’t going to his bed. Their time together would be on this wall or not at all.
Apparently, that meant not at all. Because after locking eyes with her, he pointedly turned his back to her and walked into the house. He left the garden door open, no doubt thinking she would change her mind.
She did not.
Some things she would not risk, and her virginity was at the top of the list.
Still, it was unbelievably difficult to leave the garden. She had been looking forward to their time together. Besides, she’d become used to spending time with him, even before he’d started to train her.
It didn’t matter, she told herself as she stomped off to bed. She was tired anyway. And if he had no desire to teach her, she had no desire to learn from him. Unfortunately, her dreams were another matter. They filled her mind and body with such imaginings that she woke in a sweat. Such erotic dreams! And all featuring the man who had turned his back on her last night.
“Are you still asleep? Get up!” Li Fei hauled the covers back, and Ling Xin glared at her. “Don’t look at me that way!” her cousin said, her hands dropping onto her hips. “The sun is already up. You haven’t bathed, and we must leave to honor your ancestors before noon.”
Ling Xin groaned as she sat up. Her entire body felt achy from a night spent dreaming of love play. Could muscles ache from such a thing?
“Ling Xin!” her cousin snapped.
“Why before noon?”
“Because your father fears assassins.”