Chapter Text
Ning’er had not expected to see Zhang Zhe outside the palace. She had only agreed to come along on this outing with her sister because the thought of staying at home with her mother hovering over her, especially after the way she had been scolded when she had first arrived back home, had been intolerable.
The incident with the Dowager Empress had been her fault, after all, but that had not stopped her mother from greeting her with harsh words. Eventually the rest of the family had been able to soothe her, but Ning’er was still bitter.
Not even her father had been able to pull her out of her bad mood, despite his best efforts and his willingness to put the Jiang family on the line for the Yan family.
His willingness had surprised her, especially considering that the assassin attempt against Yan Lin’s father. She had heard nothing about it before then, and damn Xie Wei for not mentioning it, but it was obviously a sign that things were getting more dangerous. She should have been grateful her own father was still willing to help the Yan family at all, and she would have been in a much better mood…
Had she not overheard her mother discussing the possibility of future marriage plans with Jiang XueHui. She had been clear that she viewed Ning’er as a burden, as an obstacle in her sister"s way rather than a daughter in her own right.
The whole conversation had left Ning"er conflicted. It was true that she wanted to be an obstacle to Jiang XueHui’s happiness, but somehow knowing her mother perceived her that way still hurt.
Unsure how to feel, Ning"er had been trailing petulantly at the back of the group as they headed towards home, kicking pebbles that hit the ankles of her sister and their overburdened maids, when their productive shopping trip had been interrupted by a sudden downpour.
A store with a wide overhang above the door was the nearest place to take refuge and after a moment spent catching her breath, laughter having come over despite herself, Ning’er had looked up to find Zhang Zhe watching her from the second floor of the building across the street.
Her heart had practically stopped.
His expression was the same as she remembered it from the night he saved her, stern and without humor.
Did he remember her?
Was that why he was watching her with such intensity? Would it be too unseemly for her to wave to him? Perhaps to run the short distance between her side of the street and his to say hello?
Butterflies of anticipation danced in her stomach at the thought, and she might have waved her hand, except that as she began to lift her arm, a sudden sensation drew her attention away. A warmth that bloomed across her skin. A prickling awareness that she had become the object of more than one person’s gaze.
She looked to her left and found Xie Wie standing in the middle of the rain drenched street, umbrella in hand and focused stare locked on the spot where she was standing.
Her eyes narrowed on him, Zhang Zhe forgotten, as she calculated the distance she would need to cross and the available dry places nearby to hide.
It was a risk, but one she was prepared to take.
“Tell Father I suddenly remembered one more thing I need to buy before I return to the palace! I will be home before dark!”
Without waiting for Jiang XueHui to answer or even acknowledge that she had been heard, Ning’er lifted an arm so that her sleeve would keep the worst of the rain off her face and dashed out into the storm.
Xie Wei’s face changed from careful placidity to pure shock when he realized she was coming, and she thought his mouth might have actually dropped open when she passed him by, grabbing his arm as she went to spin him around and start tugging him along behind her.
“What are you doing?” He tried to set his feet and keep her from pulling him, but only slid in the mud, forcing him to follow her or risk falling entirely.
It was one of the few moments during their acquaintance when Ning’er had felt she had the upper hand, a feeling that was only intensified when his men simply moved out of the way with a shrug that indicated they weren"t quite sure what to do with her.
In the end they trailed along behind, keeping an eye out for trouble but remaining at a safe distance so as to not incite her anger themselves.
She kept walking until she had led them into a quieter side street and found them another overhang to stand beneath. A quick look around confirmed the chances were low that anyone would notice them here.
Xie Wei lowered the umbrella and shook it hard enough to spray her with fine drops of water. A display of temper that did not match his stony expression, which had been restored sometime during their brief journey to this more secluded spot.
Well, he was not the only one with reason to be angry and he did owe her an explanation. One she would have by whatever means were required.
Still, he got the first word in, as usual. “I ask again, what are you doing? What could possibly be so important that you risk us being seen together like this?”
Most of her bad mood had nothing to do with him, but she hardly thought he cared about her other struggles, so she focused on the one thing he had done wrong since she saw him last.
“You knew about the Yan family? About Yan Lin’s father?”
He eyed her more cautiously now, perhaps not expecting her father to share such news with her. It was enough to confirm her suspicions.
“You did not tell me.”
“There was no time.” He looked away from her, finding something of interest to stare at over her right shoulder instead. From this angle she could see the freckle on the side of his nose, the one she was always so distracted by whenever she had occasion to notice it. “If there had been, we could have discussed—”
“You had time to lecture me about Zhang Zhe.” She would not let him get away with that lie, not when the content of that lecture still stung her heart and her pride so sharply. “You could find time for that but not time to tell me things that are relevant to…” She dropped her voice because they were seemingly alone but not in a place where they could guarantee no one was listening, “relevant to what we are doing?”
“You wanted to protect Yan Lin and he was not in danger.” The knit between his brows showed how displeased he was with the challenge, but she would not let that discourage her.
“Sir, we are in the same boat now. We share weal and woe. If you keep everything from me, how can I cooperate with you? How will I know when I am in danger? When the Jiang family might be in danger?”
He turned away from her, lips set in a tight line, but he did not argue with her again.
“The Xue family has been provoking the Emperor a lot lately. Before I left the palace this time, he summoned me under the pretense of telling me about the case with the Dowager Empress, but really he just wanted to ask me some questions.”
That got his attention and the anger seemed to drain from him, the look on his face a soft sign with what she might have been tempted to call concern had she not known him better.
“He summoned you?”
She nodded, trying to look a little wounded in the process, lie the incident has been terribly frightening.
“If I had not been smart he might have suspected you already! How can you blame me when I was able to protect you with my quick thinking, even without all the information you should have told me.”
“Perhaps…”
Unable to resist twisting the knife of his discomfort, even when she was already winning, she gave him her brightest smile. “I told him that your interest in me was entirely inappropriate, and that your determination to be so close to me was surely due to misplaced romantic feelings.”
Xie Wei made a noise that reminded her of trapped small animal, and his face rapidly changed from its normal shade to a deep red. “Why would you do that?”
“So he will think that is the reason you seek me out so often, and he will have no reason to be suspicious that I might be spying for you.” She knew she sounded quite proud of herself for own brilliant deception skills, but it did not bother her much.
She was quite proud of it, so there was no reason to pretend otherwise.
He rubbed the back of his neck, head tipped back and eyes closed as he took several deep breaths. “Yes, well, now he is probably planning your wedding.”
“To you?”She did not even try to hold back her horrified giggle. “Surely not.”
That seems to sober him, but she could not imagine why, for a brief moment, he appeared nearly sad.
“It does not matter.” Whatever had bothered him, he seemed to push it from his mind. “There is more that you do not know about Yan Lin. What happened recently…”
She listened, horrified, as he explained to her the news about the Yan family’s house arrest and the likelihood of the Xue family"s involvement. I"n the end, they were both in agreement that the situation was strange.
Surely the only explanation was a sinister plot involving the rebels and the Yan family’s reputation, a plot that would mean the rebels had already infiltrated the barracks.
The situation was indeed becoming more dangerous by the day for all of them. Ning’er felt a bit sick to her stomach, even as Xie Wei promised to take care of it.
“After the holiday, go back to school with peace of mind.”
An easy thing to say and far harder for her to do. She wanted to trust his competence, but in truth she had trouble trusting anyone that was not herself, with the possible exception of Zhang Zhe, though that had yet to be tested.
Xie Wei looked around, seeming to notice at the same time she did that the rain had stopped and more people were starting to return to the streets.
It was time for them to part before they were spotted.
He turned back to her, and she was suddenly aware of how close they were, how intent his gaze was on her face. “If you learn anything more, you will come to find me?” he asked, already lifting the umbrella to protect against the last of the rain as it dropped from the eaves.
She thought she might feel alone once he left her, but she pushed the thought away. Loneliness and ever bothered her. Not since she was a child.
“Of course.” It was neither easy nor comfortable finding ways to sneak off to speak to him, but for Yan Lin, she would do what she must.