The Wandering God

32 Bare Fangs and Brandish Claws 2/2

I went to my own small room, that I had been using to dress in while staying with Ermi, and dressed myself humbly, in robes of pale green, so I would blend in with the other servants. Then I did my hair and makeup, again simply, and went to see how Ermi's preparation was going.

Ermi sat in her formal robes, in all different shades of green, looking like a wooded hillside. The silks flowed out around her body like the contours of some mountain. I was reminded of the Midsummer Banquet, when she had looked like a bright red sea flower in her gown.

Hair pins of gold and jade jangled in the princess's hair, and her make up was equally ostentatious, with long lines drawn on the corner of Ermi's eyes to make her eyelashes appear longer.

She looked ridiculous. I wanted my plain-faced little princess back.

"How do I look Ao-jie?" Ermi asked, seeing me enter the room in her mirror.

"Lovely, princess. Do not twist your dress so, or the material will wrinkle."

Ermi's hands let go of the section of her dress she had been wringing, as if to extract water like a washerwoman. "I- I can't help it. I am rather nervous. What if I say the wrong thing, and cause her to become angry?"

If the daughter was anything like the mother, that was a possibility. "Just be yourself, princess. Everything will be fine."

"I thought you told me to wear a mask, like my brother?"

Hmmm. I did say that. "Ignore what I said before. Be yourself. No one could get angry with you."

Ermi smiled and blushed happily. "I will then."

At that moment, servants came to announce that our visitor was waiting in the reception hall.

Ermi swallowed and stood, the hills and valleys of her robes collapsing around her.

Head held high, she turned and followed the servant, Liang'yi and I several steps behind her.

"Why are you still here, Noodles?" Liang'yi asked as I fell into step beside her. "Did the Third Prince finally tire of you?"

"I tired of him," I shot back, keeping my eyes on Ermi's nervous form ahead of us.

Liang'yi snorted. "You couldn't handle a little competition, eh? Even from a nun?"

"Shut up, rabbit."

We entered the reception hall then, and were forced to fall silent.

The reception hall of Rabbit's Run was not really a hall, compared to some of the majestic rooms in other courtyards of the Valley, but it was the largest room of the princess' courtyard, and so received that role by default. Old furniture of a carved and polished dark wood filled the space, to lend a gravitas that the otherwise plain room did not have.

At the end of the hall was a raised platform, built of bricks and ceramic tiles, under which wood could be burned to produce warmth. A kang, the construct was called, and I suddenly had a memory of being curled in blankets atop one, while Lu read in a chair nearby.

"Call the servants for more wood," I demanded of him.

Lu chuckled. "It is already so warm I can smell the blankets singing. You will cook yourself and my fine Dayang blankets as well."

I shivered, teeth chattering. "This is the last winter I spend with you."

Lu turned a page of his book. "You are dramatic. It is not so cold here, really. But if you want, we can winter in Zhanghai next year."