DURING THE RAINY SEASONS, the downpours in the capital were as relentless as the storms in the south. Rain fell day and night on the dark-tiled roofs, sounding like a cascade of shattered dishes. The palace’s night patrols had doubled since the assassination; the guards made their rounds every quarter hour, rain or shine. The lanterns along the palace paths cast an eerie glow as the guards drifted through the storm like wraiths. Their metal armor could be heard clinking through the misty curtains of rain.
Liu Deyi crouched as he crept through the east gate and into the rear garden. Trees cast shadows like inky pools, the locust-tree trunks twisted like withered skeletons. A deathly pall clung to the leaves and flowers as if the rain had washed away their color. Liu Deyi didn’t think that it was this eerie during the day, but at night, it practically felt haunted.
He walked until he reached a lantern. It was covered in gauze, glowing a soft green as it dangled from a stand about half a man’s height. He paused to look around before heading north. After a few steps, a flash of red darted past the trees, nearly startling him into tumbling down. He steadied himself and looked again, but nothing was there.
Creeping forward cautiously, he let out a couple of quiet meows, then called out softly, “Shen Jue?”
No one answered. Liu Deyi chided himself in frustration, certain he was imagining things; his mind was playing tricks on him.
A short distance ahead appeared a series of linked pavilions with dark-tiled roofs and gracefully curved eaves. A decorative bridge spanned the water like a cloud hanging low over the waves. Overcome with anticipation, Liu Deyi quickened his steps and rushed onto the bridge. He scrutinized his surroundings through the rain, back hunched and heart racing, as he waited for the person he so desperately wanted to see.
After a long while, no one had appeared. Liu Deyi’s excitement turned into disappointment, then anger. He had been tricked! Not only had that Shen Jue struck him, the boy was now playing him for a fool!
Liu Deyi had stood there for so long that even the misty drizzle had soaked him through. Just when he’d decided to leave, shivering, he noticed something yellow on the bridge railing. It appeared to be a cloth bundle.
Could it be from Shen Jue? Was he posing a riddle for Liu Deyi?
Liu Deyi’s spirits soared, and he rushed over to the bundle. As he reached for it, his foot slipped on some slick substance, and he lost his balance, crashing into the marble railing. Unbeknownst to him, the railing was already on its last legs, riddled with cracks. It shattered on impact. Liu Deyi tumbled into the lotus pond alongside chunks of broken marble.
Shen Jue watched the scene indifferently from beneath the old locust tree across the pond. Then he turned and walked away.
As the night deepened, the guards increased their patrolling. Shen Jue stood among the shadows cast by the leaves and flowers, silently counting the seconds. Just as a group of guards moved along the covered walkway, he slipped from the bushes and onto the walkway himself, moving swiftly with hurried, careful steps. He pictured the map of the rear garden—after passing one more flower-viewing pavilion, he would reach the Fourth Qianxi Courtyard.
The walkway lanterns swayed in the breeze, their glow flickering. The wind chimes softly tinkled out a series of notes. Shen Jue was moments from rounding the corner when two hands shot out from behind him. They clamped over his mouth and pulled him swiftly into a nearby house.
His heart sank. As he instinctively began to struggle, a voice hissed, “You little brat, sneaking out at night! Are you off to meet a girl?”
It was Consort Gao!
Shen Jue was about to respond when Consort Gao suddenly tightened her grip on his mouth and pointed outside. Together, they moved slowly and silently to the door, where they heard two guards walking by.
“Will anyone notice that we took a piss here?” one asked.
“Who cares?” responded the other. “The rain will wash it all away anyway.”
As their footsteps faded, Shen Jue began to tremble. If those two guards had done their business around the corner earlier, then if Shen Jue had turned when he’d planned to, he’d have run straight into them.
Shen Jue glanced over and noticed Consort Gao still listening intently to the noises beyond the door. In the faint light, he could just make out her red inner robe with its floral embroidery. Her breasts seemed unusually full, nearly twice their normal size. When Consort Gao caught him staring at her bosom, she swiftly slapped him.
“You shameless pervert!” she snapped.
“What was that for?” a baffled Shen Jue demanded.
“You were staring at my chest!”
Shen Jue was speechless. Then again, she had just saved him. He took a deep breath and asked calmly, “What do you have in your robe?”
Consort Gao averted her gaze. “Nothing! I’ve just gained some weight, that’s all!” she stammered.
“You were going to have good food tomorrow,” Shen Jue told her patiently, “but if you don’t show me, you won’t get any of it.”
“Hmph! I don’t believe you! Just because you fool that silly boy in your room, you think you can fool me too?”
Shen Jue’s patience snapped. “What have I fooled him about?”
Consort Gao spat on the ground. “I’m not stupid! I know you make him play with you, work for you—even sleep with you!”
Her words struck a nerve, and Shen Jue’s throat tightened. He hadn’t told Xiahou Lian that the Garuda had come to the palace looking for him, nor had he revealed how he’d exploited Liu Deyi’s harassment to convince Xiahou Lian to stay. At some point, he had grown accustomed to scheming and manipulation—and if it kept Xiahou Lian by his side, he was willing to lie and withhold truths. Would Xiahou Lian ever find out? If he did, would he despise Shen Jue for it?
It doesn’t matter, Shen Jue told himself. As long as he kept his secret, no one would know that he’d seen the Garuda.
But he hadn’t expected Consort Gao, of all people, to see through his carefully woven cover-up. “You’re growing more delusional,” he sneered. “You should visit the imperial physicians’ office tomorrow and have one of them examine you properly.”
Before he could continue, several greasy meat buns rolled from Consort Gao’s robe. They tumbled to the floor as Shen Jue watched in silence.
Tears welling in her eyes, Consort Gao picked up the buns. “My buns! It’s all your fault! You’re such a monster!” she wailed, lips quivering as if she were mourning the loss of a child.
At some point, the rain had stopped. After many overcast days, the sky finally cleared, and the clouds parted to reveal a full moon. The ground glistened with rainwater, reflecting scattered fragments of silver moonlight. Shen Jue and Consort Gao passed through Shunzhen Gate, quietly shutting it behind them. As they walked along the moonlit path, which shimmered like frost, Consort Gao continued to clutch the dirtied meat buns, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.
Shen Jue sighed deeply and went to a secondary kitchen, returning with a small box of pastries. Handing it to Consort Gao, he said, “This is my private stash, and it’s all I have left. Make it last.”
Consort Gao was both surprised and touched. She quickly tucked the pastries into her robe. “I was wrong,” she said tearfully. “You’re a good person!”
Shen Jue ignored her, exasperated, and turned to go back to his room. His clothes were damp, so he stood outside to wring the rainwater out of them before entering. Inside, he decided against bathing; it was late, and he didn’t want to wake Xiahou Lian. He simply lay down on the small daybed. In the darkness, Xiahou Lian turned over in the heated bed.
“Shaoye? Where did you go so late?” he mumbled sleepily.
Shen Jue’s hands were cold. He blew on them before replying, “I went to relieve myself.”
“And it took that long? Wow. Are you constipated, Shaoye?” Xiahou Lian was more awake now and sounded alarmed. “You’ll get hemorrhoids if you’re not careful. You should drink some laxative tea tomorrow.”
Shen Jue glanced at him but didn’t respond.
“Why are you sleeping on the daybed?” Xiahou Lian added.
Shen Jue’s heart skipped a beat as he recalled Consort Gao’s earlier accusation that he made Xiahou Lian sleep with him. That madwoman was always spouting nonsense. Shen Jue closed his eyes, saying, “Sharing a bed’s inconvenient. I’ll sleep here.”
Xiahou Lian was puzzled. Shen Jue’s thinking was always so bizarre, and they had been sleeping together just fine. Had Xiahou Lian done something to upset him? Was he dirty? Did he smell bad? Or was this because he wore Sixi’s ugly face?
Whatever. Leave it at that. Giving up, Xiahou Lian sat upright, placed his bare feet on the ground, and walked to Shen Jue’s daybed. Without a word, he scooped Shen Jue into his arms.
Startled, Shen Jue flailed. “What are you doing?!” he shouted.
Having lived a life of deprivation in the palace, Shen Jue was scarcely more than skin and bones. He was practically light as a feather. Xiahou Lian carried him to the bed easily, saying, “It’s not right for a young master to sleep on a daybed while his servant sleeps in a better bed.” With that, he turned and walked back to the daybed, then slipped under its covers.
Shen Jue was silent for a moment, then pulled up the blankets and went to sleep.
As the sky gradually paled with the next day’s dawn, the palace’s upper crust remained nestled in bed while the servants were already bustling around. Some of them lit lanterns, some swept and cleaned, and others prepared breakfast. At one point, the Fourth Qianxi Courtyard had been a neglected corner of the palace where servants tended to sleep until the sun was high. But since Shen Jue’s arrival—though he didn’t demand that the servants rise as early as those in other courtyards—they at least had to be up in time to fetch his breakfast.
No one complained, since they now had breakfast to eat. Moreover, Shen Jue was amiable and doled out rewards and punishments fairly. Everyone had come to appreciate his goodness.
When Xiahou Lian was injured, he’d ignored the servants’ routines and stayed in his room, sleeping around the clock. Now that he felt better, however, he took it upon himself to help with the chores. Young and strong, he handled all the cleaning, on top of other menial tasks.
The other eunuchs “Sixi” worked with were also young—twelve or thirteen years old and full of energy. They often gossiped while working.