The Lotus Palace. Jeannie Lin

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СКАЧАТЬ Moon!” he called out. The rowers kept up their rhythm, moving him closer to the dock and to her. “Little Moon, over here.”

      By the third time he called, he was certain Yue-ying had heard him, but was making a concerted effort not to turn a single eyelash in his direction. She continued speaking to the drummer of the yellow vessel while her hand rested on the carved dragon’s head. She straightened her fingers momentarily, issuing a silent signal for him to go away. Stubborn girl. It had been over a week since his social misstep of speaking directly to her in Mingyu’s company. Surely he should be forgiven by now?

      “Yue-ying, don’t be angry,” he pleaded, laughter in his tone. The boat glided slowly past her and he had to walk down the length of it toward the tail just to keep her within shouting distance. “Come and let me apologize properly.”

      She turned. The look on her face was pure exasperation, but it didn’t matter. He’d won a small victory.

      The sweep steered the boat toward its assigned spot on the dock and the rowers lifted their oars and let momentum carry them the last stretch. A dozen boats were laid out along the canal, each one carved and painted like a celestial dragon from head to tail. By the next double hour, the officials would assemble to start the race.

      Yue-ying stood on the dock, looking down at him. A vermilion sash circled her slender waist, in contrast to the muted colors in the rest of her dress. Her hair was arranged to fall over one shoulder, leaving one side of her face and neck exposed. The unmarked half, he noted with interest.

      He remained in the boat while the crew disembarked to stretch their legs and rest before the starting gong. Yue-ying stepped aside to let them pass, watching them go before returning her gaze to him.

      “What are you doing out here so early, Little Moon?”

      “Please do not call me that.”

      “It’s just an endearment. Between friends.” The first character of her name was “moon”. He thought it nominally creative of him.

      Her eyes narrowed on him. “If you insist on making trouble for me, I will have to leave. Lord Bai.”

      The honorific was clearly added only as an afterthought. She was getting quite bold for the servant of a servant, he thought with amusement.

      “Miss Yue-ying,” he corrected obligingly. “Please forgive me.”

      She appeared to accept his humble offering. “I’m getting an accounting of the dragonboats for Lady Mingyu. In case anyone wants to discuss which one she thinks will win.”

      “Very clever! Your mistress sent you out here to do that?”

      “I thought it might come up. How is your crew feeling today, might I ask?” She looked the boat over from head to tail as she spoke.

      “Strong as the west wind,” he boasted.

      “Will you be rowing as well?”

      His chest might have puffed out a little. He smirked as she tried to assess his physique, the calculations clicking in place inside her head. Yue-ying had been completely indifferent to his appearance before then. Did she judge him a strength or a handicap in terms of the rowing?

      “Ah, I would be nothing but added weight. I’ll be placing a few of my own wagers and watching from a comfortable place away from the sun,” he admitted.

      “Well.” She angled a sly side-glance to her left. “Definitely bet against the orange dragon, then.”

      “Oh?” he asked, intrigued.

      “And Chancellor Li’s boat, the blue dragon, was just constructed last month. He wanted to have the most magnificent vessel in the water, and he will, but that dragon head looks awfully heavy.”

      “And who will win?”

      “Green,” she said without hesitation. “And perhaps gold.”

      “Why those two?”

      She shrugged. “I like the colors.”

      Her eyes were alight with mischief. Huang had the sudden urge to take hold of the trailing end of that red ribbon around her waist and reel her in close.

      “Have you ever been on a dragonboat?” he asked instead. He held out an inviting hand to her, but she shook her head.

      “Thank you for the kind offer, Lord Bai, but my mistress is waiting.” The momentary playfulness he’d glimpsed in her had been firmly banished to the frontier.

      “Come, for just a moment. To make up for my behavior the other day,” he coaxed.

      “I prefer to stay on land.” She looked nervously over the water. “Someone recently drowned not too far from here.”

      He hadn’t heard any news of that, but there were waterways throughout the city. It couldn’t be too uncommon.

      “You’ll be safe in here. I’ll see to it myself,” he assured her, flashing her a grin.

      Yue-ying sighed, long and loud so he could hear. “Is there a letter or some trinket you wish me to bring to Mingyu?”

      It was true he had asked her to pass along little tokens in the past. Mingyu probably expected something by way of an apology after he’d broken the unspoken rule of paying attention to anyone other than her. As if having to sit through an evening while the beautifully cold courtesan either ignored him or verbally eviscerated him weren’t punishment enough.

      Yue-ying looked back to the street again and he realized sadly she had only been talking to him because she was required to do so out of courtesy. She was humoring him like everyone else in the North Hamlet. This was exactly the reaction he’d deliberately cultivated, but he sometimes regretted it was so.

      “How fortunate that you’ve reminded me.” He pasted on his cheerful, witless expression. “I must bring Lady Mingyu a gift tonight at the banquet. Do you have any suggestions?”

      “Whatever you see fit, Lord Bai.”

      Yue-ying wasn’t interested in prolonging the conversation any longer. She bowed and turned away. The flutter of the red sash allowed him to track her movements long after she’d become another head in the crowd.

      Huang didn’t know what he would have done if she’d stepped onto the dragonboat with him. Nothing too scandalous. She was Mingyu’s attendant, after all, and he couldn’t afford to be shut out of the courtesan’s circle. It was just that he genuinely liked Yue-ying. She was clever, engaging, imperfect and intriguing. It was unfortunate he had to deceive her the way he did.

      * * *

      BY MIDMORNING, the crowds were layered thick along the Grand Canal. Awnings fashioned from canvas and bamboo had been set up. Beneath the shade, the ladies could be seen fanning themselves as they waited for the race to begin.

      “Lord Bai!”

      He turned to see Zhou Dan weaving through the crowd. Huang and the cook’s son had grown up in separate sections of the same household, with a year separating them. Huang was the older of the two. Though СКАЧАТЬ