The bastard.


    Prince Han felt guilt wrap around his throat. He and Jiayi were…friends, but she was still an unmarried girl who would be forced to sleep in the same room as him. If word got out about this, it would ruin her prospects for a good marriage.


    pin sent some things for you,”


    Jiayi looked at him, “She did? Isn’t that too much? She already had these clothes made for me so quickly,”


    Prince Han wasn’t surprised that Xiang pin was so accepting of the idea of him spiriting Jiayi away to his villa. She looked like she would burst into tears of joy. It was clear that Xiang pin was unusual in treating her servants like friends and family, rather than the slaves they were.


    “What is it?” Prince Han asked, coming to her side.


    She wasn’t kidding. The chest was bursting with skirts and jackets in fine colors and fabrics. There were furred muffs, cloaks, and two whole boxes of jewelry. No wonder Chang Lingxiu huffed so much if that’s what he was carrying.


    pin confused your care package with a dowry,”


    He saw Jiayi’s shoulders stiffen and dropped the bangle like it burned him. He cleared his throat and looked back at the jewelry boxes. The majority of them were silver, copper, and colored glass, but there in one of the piles was a flash of gold. The silver buyao had a simple silver stem and flared gold leaves cradling a small bud of frosted blue glass. Hanging from the end of the bud were strands of tiny bits of glass carved to look like diamonds.


    “It goes well with your earrings,” said Prince Han.


    Prince Han reached across to tuck the buyao into her hair before stopping, “Uh, do you want me to..”


    Jiayi bent her head. Prince Han stepped close and slid the buyao into her hair. As Jiayi lifted her face, Prince Han realized they were nearly nose to nose. If she blinked, would he feel it brush against his cheek?


    Prince Han coughed and turned around, hoping his face didn’t match.


    Prince Han could already feel a headache brewing from all of Chang Lingxiu’s yapping. He sat back down and asked Sang’er to brew him a fresh pot of tea.


    Chang Lingxiu sighed, “I told Molan that I was passing through the capital on the way to the villa. She nearly beat me to death when I told her I wouldn’t have time to get her something from one of the shops. Let’s go look around,”


    meimei is half your size," Jiayi said with a laugh, "Surely the beating she gave you wasn’t so bad. Prince Han just arrived after being stuffed in a carriage all day. Why don’t you go by yourself?”


    “No, no, no, you have to come! I don’t know what sort of things Molan likes,”


    “Is a fourth-rank prince,” replied Chang Lingxiu, “He’s been to battle for weeks without a servant or a piece of silk! A few hours in a nobleman’s carriage are nothing to such a specimen of man,”


    Jiayi replied before he could even open his mouth, “Chang daren, you shouldn’t speak to Prince Han that way,”


    There. Now, he and Jiayi weren’t the only ones who turned red as an apple today.


    ?


    As they walked back up the stairs to their–


    Prince Han’s room, Jiayi smothered a sigh. The tense air between her and Prince Han had faded out in the streets. But she knew as soon as the door closed behind them, their easy mood would probably return with a vengeance. Things between them changed like whiplash. One moment, they’re master and servant. The next, they’re friends and then back again. It made her head hurt. It made her nervous.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Jiayi pinched herself in the privacy of her cloak at the thought. Prince Han giving her a single kind word was more than she deserved. He had sacrificed himself time and time again just for Xiang pin’s safety. There was no need to be ungrateful just because her head was all messed up. This pretend-wife business certainly didn’t help.


    Gongzi! Wouldn’t your lovely wife like some…’


    Like a knock to the head, Jiayi realized something. She would have to sleep in the same room as Prince Han. No-no, even more awful, she would have to change her clothes with him there!


    “Well,” Prince Han, letting Sang’er remove his cloak and cap, “We need to get an early start tomorrow. I’ll go downstairs and have a drink. You stay here and get ready for bed,”


    Oh.


    Jiayi sat at the vanity and began removing the decorations from her hair. She laid them gently on the table. It wouldn’t do if she damaged them before she could return them to Xiang pin. Her mistress never called anything she gave Jiayi a loan, but it was ridiculous to think that Jiayi could do anything with such luxury. Quiet tinkling made her realize that the silver and gold lotus buyao Prince Han had chosen for her was still in her hair. She stared at herself in the mirror and stroked the warm metal. If she closed her eyes, she could still feel his breath brushing against her face…


    “Jiayi, I''ve brought some water for you to wash up,”


    She pulled out the buyao and dropped it on vanity before opening the door. She hoped she didn''t look like she had imagined being breathed on by Prince Han. How ridiculous! Sang’er placed the basin of water on the nightstand. Instead of returning to Prince Han’s side, he stood in the middle of the room.


    “Just waiting for you to hold out your arms,”


    Sang’er rolled his eyes, “How else am I supposed to help you get ready for bed if I can’t take off your clothes? Hold out your arms,”


    “But Prince Han said to–“


    The cheeky grin fell off Sang’er’s face.


    Sang’er nodded and stepped out.


    gonggong’s clutches. Sang''er was lovely, but the thought of being touched by him in such a way made her want to scream.


    A fool. She was a fool.


    She changed into her sleeping clothes and washed her face. She tidied the vanity and put away her jewelry. When it came to the lotus buyao, she stuffed it in the bottom of the chest Xiang pin sent her. She didn’t want to see it anymore, lest she conjure up silly dreams again.


    The two of them were only separated by a few feet and a flimsy privacy screen, but to Jiayi, it felt like he was sunk into the pit of a valley and on a mountain Jiayi would never reach.


    The gentle roaring of the rain outside dragged Jiayi from her sleep. It was disorienting, as Jiayi didn’t remember falling asleep at all. It was comforting to know that her little episode with Sang’er hadn’t robbed her of the easy sleep she had grown into these last few months. She rolled to her side and shut her eyes for a few moments longer, knowing she’d be curled up in a carriage for who knows how long. She stiffened as a figure slipped past the privacy screen. She watched as Sang’er crept around her and refilled a brazier that Jiayi didn’t remember dragging over before she went to sleep.


    He jumped, turning around to face her.


    “It’s alright,” Jiayi drew the covers tight around her neck, “Is it time to leave?”


    Jiayi nodded, not planning to listen to him at all, but found herself waking up a second time. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and peeked around the privacy screen into the empty room. She quickly dressed and tidied up the room, packing away her things so she would be ready to go the moment Prince Han said. A tray of still-warm food was on the table, so she ate and opened the window, not minding the whipping winds and rain.


    Her meal was long finished when Prince Han, Sang’er, and Chang daren returned, all soaked to the bone. Prince Han looked exhausted.


    Sang’er removed Prince Han’s sopping cape and sighed.


    A pit opened up in Jiayi’s stomach.


    --------


    *Jiayi is wearing a two piece Han Chinese outfit consisting of a jacket (ru) and a skirt (qun). Unlike Han Chinese men, Han Chinese women weren’t forced to adopt Manchu clothing or hair styles. Han Chinese citizens outnumbered Manchu citizens during the Qing dynasty, so outside of the palace, the Han Chinese style of clothing would be more common.