We were all quiet a few moments.
“Tell us what happened,” Yún said at last. “Not with the emperor. With Quan.”
Lian jerked her chin away. I was certain she was about to indulge in a flaming rage, but she only let out a long, unhappy sigh, and all the royal stiffness melted away from her face.
“We met last year in a lecture class, not long after I arrived,” she said slowly. “He invited me to join his study group. After that . . . he showed me around the city. When the emperor summoned me to court, Quan could help me there, too. His father had served the emperor, so Quan’s family had lived in the palace until he was fourteen. That was when the emperor dismissed Quan’s father and sent him to a posting far away. He only allowed Quan to remain behind so he could study at the university. It was easy to talk to him,” she added, half to herself. “About studies. Politics. So many things. I . . . I liked his company.”
Her gaze dropped to her hands, which lay knotted together in her lap. “But then I discovered his friendship was a pretense. He even—” She broke off and slowly unraveled her fingers from each other. “He asked me for money.”
My mouth fell open. “What?”
“He did. He was quite forthright. He asked for money and named the sum.”
That didn’t sound right. Sure, I thought Quan was a tilt-nosed snob. Okay, not tilt-nosed, and not a snob exactly. Just too smooth and smart for me to trust him. Even so, I found it hard to believe he would do or say anything that rude.
Yún appeared just as surprised. “Did he say why?”
“I don’t need to hear his reasons. There are opportunists in my father’s court. I learned about such parasites before I turned four years old. I—” Lian shook her head. “I’m sorry. I am more disappointed than I expected.”
Another serving of silence followed, this one even more uncomfortable than the last one.
I coughed. “And, um, the emperor. What did he say?”
Lian tilted a hand to one side, as though emperors and their decisions were less than important to her at the moment. “He granted me permission to leave whenever I wish. I must obtain the proper travel documents for all of us. That is, if you wish to return with me.”
“Of course we do,” Yún said. “But—”
Lian jumped to her feet. “No more talk, please. If you will excuse me, there is much I must oversee if we are to have everything ready by tomorrow.”
With a swirl of robes, she was gone from the room.
I whistled softly. “I wonder what really happened?”
Yún’s mouth twisted into a pensive smile. “Oh, I can guess. Parts of it, at least.”
She hurried from the room to join Lian.
Something sharp and small poked at my arm. Yao-guài clutched at my sleeve and keened. Grateful for the distraction, I broke a piece of flatbread into small bits and fed him.
At least one of us was easy to please.
13
LIAN HAD NOT EXAGGERATED WHEN SHE SAID A royal princess could not take leave of the emperor’s court without many formalities. Not only did she need special travel permits for herself and her entourage (us?), but court etiquette required her to send out dozens of letters of farewell to the emperor, his chief councilors, and all the high-ranking nobles of the court, as well as her professors and advisors at the university. It would take all day, I thought gloomily, as I sat in Lian’s study, watching Yún wear a circle into the carpet with her pacing. Maybe longer.
A small, round-shouldered man, who reminded me of a mouse with his sleek brown face, presented himself to us with a bow. “The princess extends her apologies. She finds she will be occupied for many hours,” he said. “The senior palace steward has appointed you both suitable chambers. I will show you to them, if you wish. If there is anything else you require, you have only to send a runner to notify me.”
What I wanted was a midnight train to the border. I knew better than to say that.
Yún was better at make-polite than I was. She smiled. “Rooms would be most welcome, thank you. We are weary after our long journey.”
“Of course.” Mr. Sleek bowed and motioned for us to follow him. He didn’t even flinch when Yún whistled and Yao-guài popped into sight on her shoulder. Mentally, I placed a bet that Mr. Sleek would be Mr. Senior Sleek pretty soon.
Our rooms, it turned out, were in the next wing, down a winding open staircase, then through a dark tunnel. The tunnel brought us into another airy space, this one with doors leading off in six different directions. Six. They liked that number, I thought, gazing around, as the steward’s minion explained how to use the palace’s internal talk-phone and calculor system.
He indicated the door to our left. “Yours, young sir. And yours”—he gestured to another opposite—“young lady. The door at the end is a fully-appointed bathing room, and this one for dining. You have only to speak to lock or open the doors.”
Our tour guide excused himself, reminding us again that we had but to ring the summons bell if we required more. Yún and I each disappeared into our separate rooms.