Page 61 of The Nightblood Prince

We stayed for breakfast, which was a bowl of hearty egg drop soup and a basket of beef-topped scallion pancakes, and fried dough.

We sat in the sort of grand hall I was too familiar with, for I had sat in too many of these for too many feasts.

High ceilings and sleek red beams, two rows of low tables carved from a cherry-scented wood.

Yexue sat at the head of the hall, with Peizhi at his right hand.

I sat at Yexue’s left, and Ping had originally moved toward the table next to Peizhi before I gently touched her hand and asked, “Can you sit next tome? I have more questions to ask.”

Ping had hesitated for a moment before obliging.

I’d hoped that Yexue and Peizhi would walk off and discuss military matters too important for my eager ears, so that Ping and I could get a moment of privacy.

They didn’t. Yexue and Peizhi conversed in quiet, casual tones. Unlike a prince and a general and more like friends.

“How is Uncle Du?” Yexue asked after taking a brief sip of his tea. I noticed that almost everything on Yexue’s table had gone untouched, except the tea that he was drinking.

“My father is the usual. Training the new recruits and getting angry that the soldiers these days are nothing like the soldiers he raised when he was my age. But I think he’s just angry that you won’t let him lead armies anymore.”

“It’s for his own good,” Yexue said.

“And the emperor?” Peizhi asked. My ears perked up at this.

“The usual,” echoed Yexue.

If they weren’t going to go off and catch up in private, I wished they would speak more about the front lines, or better, the vampires I was desperate to know more about.

They didn’t.

Every once in a while, Peizhi’s vigilant eyes found me, full of caution, like a soldier monitoring the movements of a thief.

Ping had a pad of paper and brush with her. She indulged my questions about how her visions worked and answered everything in detail:

Teacher’s visions are more vivid, and mine are mild like strange dreams, she wrote. I find it hard to decipher dreams from visions sometimes. But Teacher said that I will improve with practice and one day take her place—

Her pen stopped there, and there was a quiver to her lips.

“Ping?” Peizhi was quick to step in. “Are you okay?”

Ping just smiled and made a motion with her hand that I didn’t understand before turning back toward me and writing: Stargazing is not entirely of magic and can be taught from teacher to student .

Teacher used to say I was the most talented of all her disciples, and I, too, thought I would one day join her as an imperial stargazer and serve Rong for decades to come.

A teardrop fell on the parchment, then another.

My heart sank. I felt like I should say something, but what was there to say other than that the emperor was a monster for what he had done to her? The stargazer had been smart to leave before the emperor turned his wrath on her. I wished Ping had escaped the palace sooner.

It struck me that I would likely have ended up with the same fate as Ping if Siwang hadn’t begged for my life.

“If I find someone who is willing to teach me, will I be able to control my visions and learn to read them like you and your teacher?” I asked.

Yes, she wrote. I have never taught anyone, but I can relay everything Teacher taught me. However, I’d suggest you try to find my teacher, for she will know so much more than I do.

I looked up and found Peizhi’s concerned eyes again.

Judging by how protective he was of Ping, I doubted he would let her come to Rong to teach me.

I wouldn’t want her anywhere near Rong, either.

Though I grew up in the palace, I could count on one hand the amount of times the emperor had spoken to me directly.

I didn’t know what kind of man he was other than stern warnings from Father to never provoke his wrath.

The emperor was a kind father to Siwang, but that did not a good man make.

And Ping was right. If I wanted real answers, I had to find the stargazer.

A bowl of congee later, Peizhi bowed for Yexue, then the two hugged and parted ways. “I will see you soon, brother,” Yexue said to Peizhi.

“I will see you soon, Your Highness.”

The riders who had accompanied us here were already outside waiting on their horses. But the normal attire they had worn earlier this morning had been replaced by light armor. The horses Yexue and I had ridden had also been replaced by a carriage with six horses.

“The difference between horse and carriage is half a day at best,” he proclaimed, stretching his arms above his head in an exaggerated manner like a cat preparing for a long nap.

“I don’t know about you, but I am exhausted after yesterday.

I am not like my soldiers, I was not trained to ride continuously for days on end. ”

I should have protested, but my back felt like it was on fire after yesterday.

He was right: neither of us was trained to endure this kind of arduous riding.

Even during my yearlong search for the stargazer, I had never ridden a horse nonstop for so many hours.

“Thank you,” I murmured, then stepped forward to climb into the carriage.

Yexue shoved an arm forward to stop me. “Who said you can ride in the carriage with me?”

I stared at him, dumbfounded. “You are the one who keeps calling me a garden rose!” Pride be damned, now that the carriage was a viable travel option, I was not going to let myself be bounced around on horseback for another day.

Yexue broke into a smile, then held out his empty hand. “If you want to ride in the carriage with me, you need to do something forme.”

Peizhi came up and put a heavy scroll into Yexue’s hand, which Yexue then handed to me.

I grimaced. Throughout history, bargains with tyrants never had happy endings. “What is it?”

“Have Siwang sign this,” he said. “You can read it in the carriage.”

I rolled my eyes as I climbed into the carriage with him. I didn’t tell him that I would have Siwang sign the treaty either way. Even if it was unfair. For it was that, or die by Lan Yexue’s sword.

Fate be damned, I would not let anything happen to Siwang.

The carriage’s silk-lined interior was beautiful, but I was most excited about the cushioned seats. It felt good to sit down with something supporting my back instead of being tossed about on a saddle. “Have you ever thought about joining the theater?”

To my surprise, Yexue laughed and made an exaggerated stretch, his long legs taking up half the carriage, and he was making a show of bumping them against mine, giggling as he did. “Are you saying that I am dramatic?”

“I’m saying you are the drama,” I murmured, and Yexue laughed harder. It was nice, hearing him laugh.

The carriage began to roll, and I opened the window to see Ping and Peizhi waving us goodbye.

“I will bring you back another time,” Yexue said.

I almost smiled. I would like to see Ping again, but what were the odds of that happening if Ping was here behind Lan’s border and I was on Rong’s side?

I closed the window and noticed how heavy the sliding panel was. Instead of curtains, there was a strange type of mesh made from interlinked metal chains.

There was something odd about the carriage. When I pressed my hand against the walls, I noticed it did not vibrate the way wood did. The material of this carriage was denser.

Metal.

“Has something happened?” I asked. This could be the only carriage that was available, but if Yexue wanted to get back to his city as soon as possible, why wouldn’t he choose a lighter, wooden carriage?

My question was met with silence. Yexue closed his eyes, so I knew not to press for more. “If you have any other questions for Ping, you can write to her, and I’ll make sure the message is delivered.”

“In other words, the message will be read by Peizhi, who will read it to Ping?”

“Anything Ping knows, Peizhi will also know at some point.”

“You could have sent her a letter of questions and saved us this whole trip.”

“Having someone ride back and forth with letters would take twice as long. It is easier for you to get your answers here, in person, where you don’t have to wait days for responses.

And be honest: Would you have believed me if these letters had arrived from someone claiming to be the stargazer’s disciple? ” he asked.

No, I wouldn’t have.

“I know you think of me a certain way, Fei. I had secretly hoped that by showing you more of my cities, meeting more of my people, that you would see the truth with your own eyes and realize that I am not the monster Siwang paints me to be.”

I bit my lip. “Your people do look happy.”

“What’s that, I didn’t quite hear you, can you say it again?” Yexue teased, and I fought the urge to kick him.

“Thank you,” I grumbled, turning my attention to the city we were passing. I still clutched the scroll Yexue had given me. I wasn’t ready to open it yet.

“What’s that, I didn’t quite— Ouch! ”

I kicked him for real this time.

Though traces of the siege could still be seen in the burn marks and crumbled buildings, Xiangxi was already in the process of being rebuilt. Despite everything, the people here looked genuinely happy as they hopped from market stall to market stall, selecting vegetables and cuts of meat.

“You have absolutely squandered your chance, despite my extremely selfless cooperation,” Yexue grumbled, making an exaggerated act of rubbing his ankle, when all I did was tap him with my toes.

“Next time you want to seduce me, I will expect earth-shattering poetry and a dramatic declaration of love. I am not a man who travels thousands of miles for just anyone, you know.”

“Are you only interested in girls who hold a knife to your throat?”