Chapter 25:
Late Spring Chill
THE NEXT DAY, as expected, all their food was sabotaged. Liu Deyi—his pride wounded, and unwilling to show his face—instead had a young eunuch give Shen Jue his meal box. Shen Jue quietly slipped a handful of silver pieces into the hand of that eunuch, who weighed the silver in his palm and smiled.
“Shen-gonggong, you’ve always been clever,” he remarked.
With that, he pulled a smaller boxed meal from under the table and handed it to Shen Jue. Then he returned half of Shen Jue’s silver. “Come back tomorrow, and I’ll have more for you. I don’t need your silver. I can only get you one portion, though.”
Shen Jue carried the meal box back. Consort Gao was perched on an embroidered stool, her hair again adorned with colorful feathers. She resembled a flamboyant rooster. Unfazed, Shen Jue set out her meal. Consort Gao picked up her chopsticks eagerly and took a bite, only to spit it out right away. “You little brat! Are you trying to poison me?!”
“This is all we have. Make do,” Shen Jue said. He picked up the smaller meal box and turned to leave.
Consort Gao fluttered around him. “You heartless wretch!” she squawked. “You’re keeping the good food for yourself! I won’t stand for it!”
Shen Jue shot her a cold glance. “If you dare blabber in front of Sixi, I’ll tear your tongue right out.”
Consort Gao shrunk back, her once-proud feathers now drooping. She didn’t dare provoke him further but still made faces behind his back.
Shen Jue ignored her and strode along the flowered walkway. The wound on Xiahou Lian’s shoulder had reopened during the previous day’s scuffle. When Shen Jue saw the blood seeping from it, his face had darkened, and he’d ordered Xiahou Lian to stay indoors and rest.
As he turned the corner by the moon gate, he saw Xiahou Lian leaning against a pillar. The boy grinned at him, head cocked, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Xiahou Lian’s smile was always rakish, with a hint of playfulness and an inexplicable charm. Even the ugly mask he wore couldn’t hide his knavish, flirtatious charm. A natural troublemaker with a honeyed tongue, he only needed to stand on the street to draw a flock of young ladies to his side.
Shen Jue had seen Xiahou Lian flirt with girls before. His memory of Guixiang, from the Xie household, calling the boy “Lian-gege” in a soft, sweet voice was still vivid. Recalling that, Shen Jue felt a twinge of irritation. He thrust the boxed meal into Xiahou Lian’s hands. “Look at you, standing there like some showy courtesan,” he snapped. “Why not borrow a few of Consort Gao’s feathers? Even a brothel girl would pale in comparison to you.”
Xiahou Lian chuckled. “I wouldn’t dare. My looks can’t compete with yours, Shaoye.”
When Xiahou Lian opened the meal box, he saw only a bowl of plain rice and a dish of braised pork. The portion was much smaller than usual; Liu Deyi was clearly making things difficult for Shen Jue. What Xiahou Lian couldn’t have imagined was that even this meager portion had to be bought with silver.
“Have you eaten?” Xiahou Lian asked.
“Yes, I’ve eaten. You finish this. I’ll come back later for the box.”
Xiahou Lian nodded and returned to his room. Consort Gao was clutching her lotus-and-fish-patterned bowl; she stared pitifully at Shen Jue, drool dripping down her chin.
Shen Jue sighed. “Stop staring. I’m eating the same rotten food as you.”
Consort Gao glared at him. “You little traitor! Serving that pretty boy and feeding me slop! How dare you!” She angrily plucked the feathers from her hair, throwing them at Shen Jue, then stormed out of the courtyard.
Shen Jue didn’t react.