He left herbefore dawn. His body ached, but his mind was clear. He would pass this exam if his life depended upon it. Because it did.
He could not take care of her if he didn’t pass. He could not face her father if he did not pass. He could not face her every day knowing he had ruined her if he did not pass.
And so he sat for his exam—three days and two nights in an empty cell—and he prayed she would be waiting for him when he was done. He’d given all that was left of his money to the innkeeper to pay for her room. And he’d given her all his food—meant to sustain him during the exam—so that she need not leave.
He didn’t want to think about the dangers she would face, a sheltered girl in Peking alone for three days. He left her a note, begging her to stay in the room. And then he could think of her no more.
All his mind, body, and soul set itself to the task of passing the imperial exam.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Zhi Hao emergedfrom his exam cell exhausted, hungry, and thinking only of finding Ling Xin. He was unsteady on his feet and had no money to hire a rickshaw to take him to the inn. Master Gao had returned to his home, unwilling to wait three days for the exam to end.
And so Zhi Hao stumbled forward, pushing himself to run despite his exhaustion. He had to know if she was safe. If she was still there. If all of it had been real or a fever dream the night before an exam.
He made it to the inn, ignoring all the well-wishers gathered to greet the students. He rushed up to his room and…
She was there.
She sat at the desk, reading one of his study scrolls. And when she looked up at him, her face lit up with joy. He fell forward at her feet. Dropping his face into her lap, he breathed her in, and he thanked heaven for her. Nothing more. Just her.
“How did it go?”
He shook his head. He didn’t know. He couldn’t think. All he could do was hold her legs and rest in her lap.
“You must be tired.”
He shook his head.
“Hungry?”
Well, yes, he was that.
She lifted his face up to hers. “I have found a way for us to marry. I have everything ready. If you feel up to it, we can get some food on the way.”
He blinked up at her. “You don’t want to wait? Until we find out—”
“Today, Zhi Hao. I will wait no longer to be your wife.”
And so it was done.
He followed her without question. Later, he would ask for details on how she had arranged it. Had she hoarded all his coins? Had she eaten nothing? Where had she found the most delicious bao in China?
Eventually, she explained that she’d met the innkeeper’s wife when the lady came to clean the room. Together, the two women had planned it out, and Ling Xin’s jade comb paid for everything.
For now, he cared only that the magistrate was kindly, and their vows were traditional. By the time the sun set, they were wed.
That night—back in the same inn—they looked together at the Pillow Book and chose their night activity. Then in the morning, they rose, bathed, and headed out together to face her father.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ling Xin wassmiling when they arrived at the gates of the Song household. She was flush from the success of her plans and the joy of being wed to a man she loved. When the cry went up as they entered, she was thrilled to see her mother run down the walk toward her.
Her mother never ran, but she did now, rushing forward to embrace Ling Xin as if she had thought her dead. And apparently, they had.
“Thanks, she lives. Thanks, she lives. Thanks, she lives.”
“Mama, I am fine. Better than fine. I am happier than I have ever been before.”