‘So now our Emperor wants to send an imposter instead?’ she asked.
‘It’s not uncommon. The alliance brides may be nieces or distant members of the imperial family. Occasionally even daughters of high-ranking court officials might be chosen. It was a great honour to our family when my sister, Pearl, was elevated to the rank of princess.’
Yan Ling stared at him, trying to sort out the strangeness of such whimsical decrees. ‘Wouldn’t that make you a prince?’
‘Not quite—however, the decree does bestow imperial favour and duties upon our family.’ He looked uncomfortable. ‘Duties that cannot be refused.’
She supposed the divine Emperor could do whatever he wished. ‘But what if the barbarians find out they don’t have a real princess?’
‘It doesn’t matter. The political arrangement itself is the important part. The marriage seals the agreement and the title is just a formality showing the Emperor’s commitment.’
She didn’t like the thought of being a peace offering, travelling to this faraway place along with bolts of silk and a fleet of horses. Hadn’t Fei Long practically looked her over as if she were a horse? Checking her teeth, checking her feet to see that they were small enough to belong to a high-born lady.
‘Tang princesses are highly valued in the barbarian lands,’ he insisted. ‘You’ll have every need taken care of.’
A ripple of pleasure ran through her, lazy and warm with promise. She would never need to worry about being cold or hungry again. Her back wouldn’t ache from serving customers from the first light of day to deep in the night.
‘I couldn’t even imagine this if it were a dream. You’re just telling stories,’ she accused.
‘It’s true.’
‘Then why did your precious sister run away? If I were Miss Pearl, I would never give up such an opportunity.’
He tensed. Only the twitch of a muscle along his jaw revealed any emotion. ‘She was young with … romantic notions. Not thinking of reason or duty.’ He met her eyes, his gaze scrutinising. ‘You seem much more practical.’
‘I am very practical,’ she agreed. The teahouse had always been about survival and keeping a roof over her head.
They stopped before the town’s civil office. Without a word, the nobleman handed her the reins and strode through the front gate, completely assured in her compliance. The horse paced a few restless steps while she clutched at the reins with a life-and-death grip.
‘Stop,’ she commanded in a fierce whisper. ‘Hear me? Stay still, you.’
She prayed the horse wouldn’t run off. If it decided to, she’d be dragged along with it. She didn’t know how to tame a horse. In truth, she didn’t know how to do much more than serve customers in a teahouse. So she stood with the reins wrapped twice around her hand and considered her situation.
To be a princess, even a false one, would be like being reborn into the next life. Perhaps the stars of her birth weren’t as dim as she’d always thought. She wanted very much to believe Fei Long, but there were plenty of stories about tricksters travelling the countryside, collecting young women in order to sell them off to brothels. Fei Long could very well be one of those scoundrels, though he struck her as honest. Maybe too much so. If anything, he seemed lost in this fancy scheme of his.
At times, he intimidated her with his proper manners and knowledge. At other times, she considered smacking him across that thick skull of his—which had been the start of all her troubles.
Fei Long emerged from the gates and came towards her, holding a pouch in his hand.
She gave up the reins with relief. ‘What is that?’
‘I have to settle with the teahouse. An honourable man repays all his debts.’
From the heft and size of the pouch, it must have held more coins than a month’s take at the teahouse. She chuckled.
‘What do you find so funny?’
‘They just gave that to you?’
‘Yes,’ Fei Long said, puzzled.
She laughed outright. She couldn’t help herself. For some reason, this was the funniest thing she’d ever seen. She recalled the jade seal that he had shown at the teahouse, which practically had her master kow-towing.
‘They just give you money …’ she caught her breath between gasps ‘… for nothing!’
She shook her head and grabbed at her sides. They ached from laughing so hard. When she looked up, Chang Fei Long was glaring at her.
‘Our family name is good as a guarantee of payment,’ he said stiffly.
She sucked in a breath and tried to compose herself. Of course it wasn’t funny to him that someone like her would never touch money of her own, no matter how hard she laboured. Lord Chang simply had to walk into a municipal office. Yet she was the beggar, he the nobleman.
Money from air. All things were possible—even a peasant posing as a princess in a foreign land.
‘Yes,’ she said, in a long-delayed answer to his proposal. ‘Yes, I’ll go with you, my lord.’
They headed back towards the teahouse then. Her former master would see that she was leaving town with the same gentleman they’d thrown her out over. The thought had her doubling over in laughter once more.
Chapter Two
The journey was a quiet one, with Yan Ling plodding onwards in her slippers while the nobleman rode alongside on his horse. She’d been full of questions at first. How far away was the imperial city and what was his home there like? Fei Long, or Lord Chang, as she was coming to think of him, had a tendency toward short answers. The silence and the ache in her feet slowly drained away her initial sense of adventure.
She stole glances at Chang Fei Long, trying to work out what sort of man she’d tied herself to. It was odd to have such a young master. He was confident in the saddle and the sword at his side seemed like a natural part of him. Everything about him spoke of nobility, from the upward tilt of his chin to the way his shoulders were always pulled back. She tried to imitate his stance when he wasn’t looking and her back grew stiff after a few minutes of it.
He must have been wealthy to live in the capital, though he travelled without any attendants. From what little she’d ascertained, he hadn’t carefully planned this trip to the provinces.
‘Are you tired?’ he asked when they stopped for a rest.
‘No, my lord.’
He’d taken care of watering and feeding the horse, while she stood watching and wondering what her new duties were. The thin slippers she wore were not fit for travel, but she didn’t dare complain even though her feet throbbed with a constant ache. Fei Long was frowning at her so she made sure to remain as quiet as possible.
‘We need to make better time,’ he grumbled.
Maybe she was wrong about him being young. He certainly had the temperament of a grumpy old man at times.
She bit into the steamed bun he’d bought from a street vendor that morning before they’d left town. The pork filling was cold, but she appreciated the savoury sweetness of it. The journey had left her drained. Keeping her mouth full also ensured she couldn’t misspeak.