The Wandering God

22 Give One's Heart Into Somebody Else's Keeping 3/3

推心置腹
tuīxīnzhìfù
Give one's bare heart into somebody else's keeping.
Trust completely, to confide in somebody with entire sincerity.

The next day I was able to stand and walk without my rib hurting too much. The palace physician assigned to me nearly choked when he saw me. He threatened to call the guards to return me to bed. I told him if he did so I was likely to struggle and further injure myself, and he was better off letting me go where I pleased.

I went to see Ermi first. The little princess cried when she saw me, which I thought was ridiculous. You should cry when you say goodbye to people, not when you see them again.

Ermi's room was a mis-match of colors, just as I expected it would be. Paintings of mu'ren frolicking together in uncharacteristic harmony hung on the walls, and a wooden rocking horse far too small for Ermi stood in one corner. Every shelf and flat space was crowded with books or large sewn animals made from silk. It was a child's room.

The largest of the sewn animals was a huge purple rabbit, larger than I was, propped against the wall close to Ermi's bed. I sat myself on the rabbit's lap, causing the rabbit to flop forward on top of me and Ermi to laugh wildly.

After extricating myself from beneath the giant lupine, I came and perched by Ermi's bed, and we talked. The girl seemed her normal, happy self, and I was relieved her experience with the skin-sellers had not changed her.

"Will you come to Linjing with us next week, Ao-jie?" Ermi asked hesitantly, as though fearful of the answer.

Sanli had asked me to come with them, last night, after telling me his true reason for seeking out the Sixth God. I had not yet answered him.

"I don't know," I told Ermi. The girl's face fell. "Are you looking forward to beginning your study at the university?" I asked, to distract the girl. It worked, and Ermi launched into an excited tirade about what classes she would take, and how much she would learn.

As Ermi talked, I read the spines of a large stack of romance novels on her bedside table. When I entered, a servant outside Ermi's door had informed me the princess was bed ridden. It surprised me, as Kageyama had told me her injuries were minor. Now I wondered if the girl hadn't simply seized upon this as an opportunity not to leave her bed and read constantly.

I read one of the spines aloud. "Hmmm, 'The Wild Wolf and his Mistress', what are you reading exactly princess?"

Ermi blushed. "It's not what it sounds. I mean, there are naughty scenes in it, but that's not why I'm reading it. It's a really good story. It's about a mu'ren who falls in love with a human, despite the fact he knows they can never be together. Do you want to borrow it? I'm already on the second book. It's very good. I think you'll like the characters."

I chuckled and politely refused. I promised Ermi I would come see her again soon, and went in search of Zakhar.

A servant directed me to his rooms in the palace. I entered quietly, and found Zakhar sitting on his bed, shirtless, facing away from me. One of his shoulders was swathed in bandages. The straight white lines contrasted with the black that swirled across his skin.

"Zakhar," I said. He turned toward me, surprised.

"Ao, what are you doing out of bed?" he said, pulling on his boots and quickly lacing them.

"I wanted to ask—" I began, but was interrupted by another voice from the corner.

"Good morning Noodles. So good to see you back to your usual skinny self."

I turned to see Liang'yi slouched sideways in an armchair in the corner, feet draped across the arm.

"It's a shame you weren't here a little sooner, you could have joined us," said the Dachuo, standing from the chair and slinking toward me. I noticed her leather bodice was unlaced and several buttons on her shirt were undone.