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Qi Xiaxia volunteered to go and collect the mulberry leaves before either of her sisters, trying to look apologetic as their mother stared at the nearly empty basket with a frown. Qi Xiaxia had purposely hidden the basket so no one else could go out and collect the leaves before she was ready. Lingfei barely blinked as Qi Xiaxia hastened to volunteer, examining her cake moulds. She knew exactly why Qi Xiaxia wanted to go out into the woods so badly, but since she was able to stay at home and finish baking her cakes, she didn't say anything. Before she went out, Qi Xiaxia slipped into her mother's room and checked her hair as best she could in the bronze mirror. Her parents seemed to think she was sweet on the carpenter's son and that was why she spent so long on her hair in the mornings now. She added a touch of vermillion gloss to her lips before dashing out of the door, remembering at the last minute to grab the basket.
Qi Xiaxia hurried down the path, careful not to drop the bottom edge of her hanfu in the mud. She had worn pale green this morning especially for this meeting, and didn't want to show up covered in muddy stains. She clutched her basket in her hands and tried not to look too eager as she walked through the bamboo forest. It was not strictly where she should be going to collect mulberry leaves, but she wove in between the bamboo stems all the same, her gaze searching for a glimpse. They had agreed to meet this morning at the beginning of the si hour but only if they could both get away from home.
Jiu Jingyan was already there, her hair falling in a shining waterfall down her back and small flowers glittering in her hair. Qi Xiaxia took a breath and let it out again as she took a moment to look at Jiu Jingyan without her noticing. There was something mesmerising about watching her when she was unaware, her elegant movements, the sweep of her eyelashes –- all done without artifice or guile.
But then Jiu Jingyan turned around and saw her and, if Qi Xiaxia had thought her beautiful when she didn't know she was being watched, it was nothing compared to her face when she saw Qi Xiaxia. Her eyes lit up with warmth and her lips curved into something which was for Qi Xiaxia alone. There was nothing more beautiful than the woman whom she loved, and who loved her in return. The basket in Qi Xiaxia's hands fell to her side as she walked forward, feeling like every moment she wasn't touching Jiu Jingyan was a moment wasted.
"My love." They both reached out their hand at the same time, linking their fingers before anything else. "You look beautiful." Sometimes it felt like all Qi Xiaxia could do was state the obvious but she didn't want Jiu Jingyan to think for a second it wasn't true.
Jiu Jingyan's eyelashes dropped as she ducked her head a little in modesty and looked down at the ground. A faint pink blush came up on her cheeks, and Qi Xiaxia dropped her basket completely in order to sweep a finger underneath Jiu Jingyan's eye, right over the pink colour on her cheeks. The colour darkened with Qi Xiaxia's movement.
"A-Xia is so bold," Jiu Jingyan said, but her quiet voice had a hint of mischief underneath it. Qi Xiaxia's mother always praised Jiu Jingyan for being the perfect demure woman, not like Qi Xiaxia's far too spirited self, but she didn't know Jiu Jingyan like her daughter did. Thank the heavens, otherwise Qi Xiaxia would have to retreat to the mountains and never see anyone ever again if her mother knew Jiu Jingyan like she did.
However, it meant that all of Jiu Jingyan's spirit, her teasing and her love were for Qi Xiaxia alone and she wasn't a fool to waste it.
"It is only for you, YanYan," Qi Xiaxia cooed. She curled a finger around a lock of Jiu Jingyan's hair and ran her hand gently through it. Jiu Jingyan lifted her gaze again, a boldness that was for Qi Xiaxia alone.
"Have you come to talk sweetly to me or have you something to complete?" Jiu Jingyan glanced down at the dropped basket and Qi Xiaxia smiled and shook her head. Jiu Jingyan was always the responsible one, making sure both their errands got done so there was nothing to stop them meeting like this again.
"Only if you help me," Qi Xiaxia said, as if there was any other possibility right now. Jiu Jingyan smiled and Qi Xiaxia's heart skipped a beat. It was this feeling that made her understand what all the songs and poems were about. How could she look at the carpenter's son, handsome though he was, when Jiu Jingyan was right there?
"Come along then." Jiu Jingyan bent down to pick up the basket for Qi Xiaxia and started to lead her by the hand to the correct part of the forest. They didn't see anyone along the way, though it wouldn't matter if they did. Holding hands between two women was perfectly acceptable, especially when they were adult women of marriageable age like them. People would see them and think they were sharing secrets about attracting a husband, when neither of them could care less. Sometimes the assumption annoyed Qi Xiaxia, sometimes the secret nature of their relationship gave her a thrill. Jiu Jingyan was for her and her alone.
They reached the part of the forest with the mulberry trees and Jiu Jingyan stopped and handed the basket to Qi Xiaxia, before pulling out a length of cloth from underneath her hanfu.
"You need a covering," Jiu Jingyan said. "Whatever will your mother say if you go home with mulberry stains on your clothes again?" That was a quick way of finding out how permanent mulberry dye was, but the memory of how the stain got onto her clothes made Qi Xiaxia's heart quicken and breath hitch. Jiu Jingyan knew what she was thinking but she turned Qi Xiaxia around anyway, until her back was to her. Then a familiar warmth was pressing against her back and Qi Xiaxia started to breath harder. Skin brushed against her cheek, and she let her head fall to the side, exposing her neck in an unspoken plea for more. Jiu Jingyan pressed a kiss to Qi Xiaxia's neck, the lips against sensitised skin so pleasing that Qi Xiaxia wondered if her knees would give way on her.
Then Jiu Jingyan pulled back and finished tying the covering onto Qi Xiaxia. She let her hair fall back and turned to face Jiu Jingyan again. The wind caught their hair, blowing dark strands around their faces as Jiu Jingyan smiled and dropped her gaze again.
"YanYan teases me so much," Qi Xiaxia said, her voice quiet enough that she could barely hear it herself. She swallowed and then reached out to encircle Jiu Jingyan's wrist in hers. "Is YanYan going to live up to her teasing?"
"As soon as we collect the mulberry leaves you need," Jiu Jingyan said and Qi Xiaxia knew it was a promise. They both turned to the trees and got to work, though every move they made felt like it was another move in their game. Qi Xiaxia used a hook to bend the branches of the mulberry tree down for both of them to pick the leaves to go in her basket. Their eyes met over the branch, and they took every chance for their hands to brush. It was an inefficient way of collecting the leaves but with Jiu Jingyan, even the most mundane chore could become something of wonder.
Even with the two of them being more involved with each other than picking the best mulberry leaves, they managed to fill the basket fairly quickly. Qi Xiaxia let the last branch of the mulberry tree go, careful not to snap it back. She ignored the calling of frustrated birds as she took a step closer to Jiu Jingyan. Then she tripped and started to fall, the sensation of losing ground making her stomach swoop in an unpleasant way. She gripped tighter to the basket, instinctively not letting go of it, and braced herself to fall onto the leaf-covered forest floor.
She should not have underestimated Jiu Jingyan. A second later, she was gently steadied by a strong arm around her back and the basket was taken out of her hands, none of the leaves so much as falling out of the basket.
"YanYan," Qi Xiaxia breathed as she stared up at her love, the other woman looking just as surprised as she felt. "You caught me."
Jiu Jingyan pulled her up to standing. "It was instinct," she replied and whether she meant to catch someone falling or to catch Qi Xiaxia, it wasn't clear. But then she smiled. "I am glad my love isn't injured."
"How could I be when you are here?" Qi Xiaxia said. Jiu Jingyan handed the basket back to Qi Xiaxia and their fingers brushed.
The world faded, reforming into a dark wood pavilion, surrounded by gardens and a small pond. Qi Xiaxia leaned over Jiu Jingyan's shoulder as she placed her hand over the other woman's.
"No, Lady Jingyan, you have to play firmer. The strings are barely noticing you are there." Qi Xiaxia showed Jiu Jingyan the correct amount of pressure and then stepped back. Her fingers tingled where they had pressed against warm skin and she took a breath in, trying not to let it shake.
The daughter of an official, Jiu Jingyan was a beautiful woman. Dressed in the palest glittering white, with dark hair as black as the windowpane and lips as red as blood, Qi Xiaxia found it hard to tear her eyes away from her. Qi Xiaxia had been reunited with Jiu Jingyan through a chance meeting and had promised to teach her how to play the guqin but found it hard to tear her eyes away from Jiu Jingyan's face in order to teach her properly.
"Am I doing it right now?" Jiu Jingyan looked at Qi Xiaxia with something glittering in her eyes, something knowing. The two of them had known each other since girlhood, but their paths had diverged as their family backgrounds had driven them apart. It was only now, when Qi Xiaxia only had her manners and skills to recommend her, that Jiu Jingyan had managed to give them an excuse to meet up again.
"Yes, Lady Jingyan," Qi Xiaxia said. She was telling the truth, sparing Jiu Jingyan's feelings for the sake of nicety was not something she did easily, and Jiu Jingyan knew her too well to expect it.
"Xiaxia, can you call me YanYan? Like you used to." Jiu Jingyan smiled at her hopefully and Qi Xiaxia was helpless to do anything but smile back. It was like they were girls again and whispering in the garden together.
"Okay, YanYan." Qi Xiaxia watched the other woman's hands as she played the guqin. As expected, Jiu Jingyan could play the qin perfectly, the lessons only an excuse for them to meet up again. Qi Xiaxia was filled with overwhelming fondness as she watched the woman she loved play beautiful music. "Your abilities have not waned in the years."
Jiu Jingyan seemed to realise what she was doing and blushed. Distraction made a mess of her acting, it seemed. "Qi Xiaxia is a good teacher," she said instead, playing along rather than admitting the small deception. Qi Xiaxia smiled, for what else could she do?
"YanYan is so willing to learn and is easy to teach because of it," she teased right back and Jiu Jingyan shook her head, solemnity coming over her face as the atmosphere turned heavier, more serious.
"Qi Xiaxia taught me how to choose the right flowers, how to tease without hurting anyone and how to show someone you care about them. I am only who I am because of knowing her." Jiu Jingyan pulled her hands back from her guqin and looked at Qi Xiaxia with those eyes that had followed Qi Xiaxia as she left their hometown, only to return again years later. When she had gone to the capital, there had been many beautiful women to catch her interest. She had even tried to allow a man to court her, at her family's behest, but he had paled in comparison to the women she had been surrounded with, and they, in turn, had paled compared to the memory of Jiu Jingyan.
"YanYan has always been in my thoughts, even if not by my side," Qi Xiaxia said quietly. She moved over to sit in the chair opposite Jiu Jingyan, the guqin between them. Her heart was racing, and her mind couldn't sit still, all she wanted was to press herself against Jiu Jingyan but the public nature of the space they had chosen for this halted her. Jiu Jingyan reached for her hand and Qi Xiaxia grasped it, glancing around quickly before pressing a light kiss to her delicate fingers. Then she placed her hand back on her guqin.
"Xiaxia, do you want some tea?" Jiu Jingyan asked as she seemed to remember just how open this space was. It was private, being on Jiu Jingyan's father's estate, but now and again servants would cross the garden beside them. The tea was a good excuse to move into the small, covered pavilion and a little more privacy.
"Yes, YanYan, I would." They both got to their feet and Jiu Jingyan took her arm to lead her to the tea pavilion.
"You did not leave my thoughts either," Jiu Jingyan said quietly as they walked. With her free hand, she reached into the fold of her hanfu and pulled out a little dried lavender flower. She turned over Qi Xiaxia's hand and pressed the flower into it, their skin brushing against each other.
The world faded again, only to reform into a beautifully decorated hall with paintings and decorative vases everywhere the eye could see. Qi Xiaxia led the way down the hall and into the small room the two of them had commandeered for breaks between their performances. Jiu Jingyan followed her, as always, her cheeks and lips flushed red and her eyes sparkling with delight. The two of them made their way over to the small table and Jiu Jingyan poured the tea for the both of them.
"You were beautiful tonight, as always," Qi Xiaxia said, and Jiu Jingyan laughed, a whole-hearted kind of laugh she could never do in public. Her mouth was fully open, her head thrown back to expose her elegant, pale throat and Qi Xiaxia watched as she picked up her cup of tea.
"It was only because I had such a partner as you," Jiu Jingyan said, quick to deflect the compliment back at Qi Xiaxia, not because she thought she didn't deserve it, but more because she thought that Qi Xiaxia deserved to be as complimented even more.
"We should be having wine to celebrate!" Qi Xiaxia said as she sipped her tea. She put her cup down and stood up and went around the table, all to brush her sheer silk wrap over Jiu Jingyan's cheek. "My love deserves the very best."
"I have you, my darling. How can I have anything but the best?" Jiu Jingyan said, her eyes shining with sincerity. She gave a mischievous smile as Qi Xiaxia turned her head away a little, flustered and so warm. Her face was not thick enough for Jiu Jingyan's compliments! She suddenly desired a fan in order to blow away the heat on her cheeks. "My love blushes so easily. Surely she should be used to it by now?"
"How can I be used to your shameless behaviour?" Qi Xiaxia moved to turn around, making sure to cast a teasing glance over her shoulder. It wouldn't do any good for Jiu Jingyan to mistake the game for real upset. It had happened to them in the past and Qi Xiaxia took every opportunity to make sure it wasn't repeated. She went over to the small table by the door and poured a small cup of wine, barely a mouthful. They had to dance again after the small break when the party moved rooms. Being part of a private dance troupe meant some freedom, but it also came with its drawbacks. The two of them were the starring attraction, which meant they were in high demand. Hard work but also some degree of allowance.
Some of the drawbacks weren't too much of a drawback though. They weren't allowed to leave the estate while the contract was still ongoing, but with a beautiful house and garden and Jiu Jingyan by her side, what other reason could Qi Xiaxia have for wanting to leave?
She picked up the cup of wine and moved across the room, spinning on light feet and making the bells on her wrist chime with her movements. Jiu Jingyan watched her because neither of them knew how not to do so. Her sleeves floated out around her, similar to the steps of the dance they had performed earlier. Then, catching sight of the stick of incense they had lit as soon as they walked in, Qi Xiaxia decided to speed things up.
She went to pour the wine into Jiu Jingyan's mouth from the cup in her hand, acting like a courtesan to her high-paying client with her coquettish look from underneath her lashes. Jiu Jingyan watched her with those dark, burning eyes, and when the cup was almost at her lips, she grasped Qi Xiaxia's wrist and pulled her onto her lap.
Qi Xiaxia laughed as she leaned back against her love, wriggling a little on her lap so she could feel all of Jiu Jingyan against her back and legs. Jiu Jingyan's hand skimmed up her stomach and underneath the swell of her breast. It would be so easy for her to slip her hand underneath Qi Xiaxia's loose clothing and stir her up until she was burning with desire. But they were both very aware of the time so instead she just took the cup of wine off Qi Xiaxia and gave it to her instead.
"Wait until tonight, my love," Jiu Jingyan said. "We shall celebrate then." She pushed the cup back into Qi Xiaxia's hand and clasped her fingers shut around the ceramic.
This time the room dissolved around them, but they remained touching each other, the world reforming around that brush of skin. The surroundings were different, their clothes were different but the woman who stared back at Qi Xiaxia was the same. She stared at Jiu Jingyan as she paused in the act of taking back the lipstick case. The memory, if that was what it was, was fading fast but it didn't take much to recognise Jiu Jingyan.
"YanYan" she said, and something behind Jiu Jingyan's eyes lit up. It was as if she was saying without words 'ah, there you are'.
"Xiaxia," she said, a response to Qi Xiaxia's call. The memory started to fade again but feelings remained. Qi Xiaxia took the lipstick and smiled. To meet Jiu Jingyan again in this life, what luck she had.