He still wasn’t absolutely sure that she was the woman from his nighttime play, but either way, he could now further his relationship with her family. Perhaps there would be a way, somehow, to keep her away from the Festival of Fertility. If she could wait a year, he would be in a position to offer for her hand.
But first, he had to get the true names of the wretches who now outnumbered him. He hoped they understood what he’d just done for them. Otherwise, he was equally likely to be stripped and beaten for the clothes on his back.
Chapter Thirteen
Ling Xin quiveredin excitement. She and her mother stood behind the women’s screen, listening to the men’s conversation. It had been the usual fare before Zhi Hao showed up. Talk of medicine from her brothers, complaints about the eunuchs from her father, and the rising price of everything. Behind Ling Xin, her sisters-in-law spoke of their children, their servants, and the rising price of everything.
Ling Xin barely listened, speaking only when absolutely necessary. Her attention was split between her sisters-in-law and what was happening through the screen among the men. Then Zhi Hao entered, and she abandoned all pretense of caring what the women were doing.
She watched as Zhi Hao entered, bowed, then handed her father a scroll, presumably of the names of the people left to defend the Song family tomb. To her delight, her father then offered him a seat at the table.
That was quite a coup. Normally a simple student would not be allowed at a family feast. Ling Xin was very excited to see him sit down, except when all her male relatives began grilling him, as if they were the judges in the imperial exam.
Fortunately, Zhi Hao was able to answer all their questions. And that made her giddy with excitement. Her father had accepted him! That gave her hope for something she should notbe thinking. She was meant for the emperor. All her thoughts should be on him.
Nevertheless, a question danced at the back of her mind, pushing forward whenever she heard the deep rumble of Zhi Hao’s voice.
What would it be like to marry him?
She had seen what he did at the tomb. She had been encumbered by the damn shoes and half-blinded by the jade beads, but she’d seen it nonetheless. When the peasant had burst out of the shrubbery, Zhi Hao had stepped directly between her and the attacker.
It was only fortune that it appeared he defended her father, but she knew the truth. Every movement he made put him between her and the peasants. He had been protecting her, and she was flushed with heat at that knowledge.
Even her own brothers had never stood in her defense. They’d teased her as brothers do, and she’d given back as best she could. They had a good relationship, but they had never risked themselves to protect her from an attacker before.
Only Zhi Hao had done that. And now he was turning the tables on her father. He was asking questions she barely understood. Things about how the government was run, how an official could best work inside the structure. Details that only one who worked closely with the emperor would know.
And she could tell that her father was impressed.
But then her father had enough of being questioned. He clapped his hands and called for more wine even as he turned to Zhi Hao.
“Are you engaged, Ko Zhi Hao? Is there a bride already selected for you?”
“No, Earl Song. All is dependent upon my passing the exam. And once I have my appointment—”
“You could be sent to the farthest corners of China, you know. If you do only fair on the exam. Enough to pass, but not enough to impress.”
Zhi Hao bowed. “I will be honored to—”
“Yes, yes, of course.” Her father’s eyes glittered from the wine. “But if you did exceptionally well, if you had a man who might ask for you, then you might stay in Peking. Especially if you impress a man who appreciates loyalty and has much to teach an earnest young man.”
Obviously, that meant her father. She knew that her father was desperate for a protégé, and that his greatest disappointment was that her two brothers had not passed the exam. Could he be thinking of Zhi Hao? If yes, then everything might work out well! Everything—
“I have a niece visiting. She has a voice like an angel, and she has been trained since her youngest days in how to support an important man. I will call for her. You must hear her sing.”
Ling Xin jolted, at once seeing her father’s thoughts. He meant to match Zhi Hao with Li Fei! Well, of course he did. Ling Xin was meant for the emperor.
Beside her, Li Fei gasped, her hand going to her throat. Mama also gasped and quickly turned to squeeze her niece’s fingers.
“He is a handsome boy and very intelligent,” Mama said to Li Fei. “He will make you an excellent husband.”
Li Fei nodded, her eyes going to Zhi Hao even as her hands began fluttering. “But what should I sing?”
No, no, no! Panic clutched at Ling Xin’s heart. He couldn’t fall in love with Li Fei! It would be too cruel. And yet what could she do to stop it? Nothing. Especially since she had no wish to thwart Li Fei’s chances.
“Sing the Fan Dance song,” she abruptly said.
“What? But then who will dance?”