“Yes, Baba. Love.”
“Then let me hear you say it. Let me hear the words that married you two souls despite the dictates of a father and the temptation of an empire. Let me hear those words so that I may see that you mean it.”
Startled by what he said, they both stared at him and then abruptly turned to one another. Never before had Ling Xin heard her father’s voice so rough, nor seen his face so rigid with emotion that she could not read him.
But when she looked at Zhi Hao, all of that faded away. She saw only her husband, and he was smiling at her.
“I love you,” he said. “I swear my heart and spirit to your benefit and that of your family. Forever.”
“I love you,” she answered, “I swear my heart and spirit to your benefit and that of your family. Forever.”
They were not words of any ceremony she knew, and yet they flowed easily from her lips. And when the words were done, they inched closer to one another. A kiss was the most natural end to such an exchange, but her father prevented it.
He grunted and set a hand to Zhi Hao’s chest.
“You think to convince me with pretty words?”
Ling Xin smiled. She heard the change in her father’s tone. Like Mama, he would grumble, but they had won.
“He could recite wedding poetry, if you like,” she said. “I could as well.”
“You have the audacity of an empress, but you are not she.”
She knew it. “You gave it to me. I am not one to return a gift from my Baba.”
“Ugh,” he growled. Then he pointed at her. “You will go to your room and figure out the auspicious days for your wedding.”
“But we are already—”
“Tss!” her mother hissed. “You are not wed yet,” she stated flatly. By which, she meant that any Song daughter’s wedding would be full of pomp and circumstance.
“And you,” her father continued as he pointed at Zhi Hao. “If you did not pass the imperial exam, there will be no wedding and no happiness for you.”
Zhi Hao bowed to the earl. “I understand.”
And so did Ling Xin. She understood that her father loved her and would not harm the man she chose. The man she loved. The man who was right now bowing deeply to her father, but shooting her a surreptitious grin as he stayed prostrate.
Epilogue
He passed theexam.
Indeed, with Baba’s sponsorship, Ko Zhi Hao was soon established in the financial section of the government. It was after his first day at work that Baba gave him the highest compliment that she had ever heard him say.
“Your husband understands systems,” he said. “Numbers can be taught, but systems are the mark of a gifted student. He has a gift, and I am well pleased.”
They were married (again) a week after his exam results arrived. That was a long enough delay that his family had time to travel to Peking to attend. The rituals were observed, the banquet a delight, and finally, Ling Xin and Zhi Hao were wedded and bedded in a proper fashion.
There was no period of isolation for a honeymoon. There was only one night in a private suite before they returned to their place in the Song household. Zhi Hao did not have enough salary yet for an establishment of his own, but it wouldn’t take long. He continued to impress her father and advancement was assured as long as he remained loyal to his wife and her family.
“And with such a wife,” he whispered to her, “how could I ever imagine doing anything else?”
It was evening on their third night in the Song household. They were walking through the back garden, meandering openly here for the first time.
“Will you exercise again for me?” she asked as they neared the place where she had first climbed the wall. “I want to spy on you again.”
He shook his head. “Your father has me working so hard, I haven’t the strength.” He pulled her in tight for a kiss. “Though you are the one making me so exhausted every night.”
“You are the one who promised we could explore a new page every night.”