AN: I was planning on picking this up from Yuwen Yue's perspective where I'm going to begin tomorrow, but so many people wanted for us to peek in on our OTP that I couldn't say no. (I mean, of course I couldn't say no. I'm not a PA writer;).) So now you get a bonus day of this story! Yay! On the downside, I'm sure you'll all be devastated to have to read two snippets in a row from Yuwen Yue's perspective. I know life is hard, guys, but I'm sure you'll soldier on somehow.
Zhong Yu was not sorry that she'd told A'Chu that she needed to stay with Yan Xun. She'd said that A'Chu was the only one who could keep Yan Xun on a righteous path, and as far as she was concerned, the events that followed at the icy lake proved that point. Not that she blamed her friend; after all, she herself had chosen to leave Yanbei, its people, and its problems behind in order to be with the man she loved, so how could she condemn A'Chu for doing the same?
Zhong Yu was not sorry for the things that she'd said and done to A'Chu; she felt they'd been necessary at the time and that she hadn't had any other good choices available to her. Still, she felt that she owed her friend for some of the things that had happened in the past. Sneaking behind A'Chu's back in Chang'an in regards to some of their escape plan, failing to stand up for the Xiulis, going along with Yan Xun's plan to sacrifice Yanbei so that they could sack Chang'an...all of these were debts that had weighed on her before tonight.
In fact, as she loped swiftly through the forest on her way back to Yanbei, she acknowledged that the fact that she was still alive likely had something to do with A'Chu's desperate bid for peace with Wei. Had her friend not lobbied in her favor before the royals of Wei, she knew that she might have been executed for war crimes. Instead, here she was, married to Yanbei's prime strategist and herself an important government official.
I always try to repay my debts, and I just repaid some big ones tonight.
She picked her way carefully through the forest, her ears perked up for any unusual, out-of-place sound. Zhong Yu knew the way back to Yanbei all too well; if she put herself in the right frame of mind, she could almost convince herself that she was five years younger and that Yan Xun and A'Chu would come riding up together on his horse with their enemies not too far behind.
But this wasn't five years ago, and the woods were alive with nothing more menacing than the common sounds of the night. Yan Xun was dead due to A'Chu's powers and his own bad choices. A'Chu was married to the man who had been their enemy for years and had just given birth to his baby. The woman whose life she'd just saved was no longer Yuwen Yue's top assassin fresh from the Afterlife Camp but had become Princess of Yanbei instead.
While Zhong Yu knew that Meng Feng didn't want to get caught skulking around this area, she herself knew that she could not allow herself to be spotted in Wei. Meng Feng, at least, was known as Yuwen Yue's friend and ally, Princess of Yanbei, and faithful guardian of Yuan Song, ruler of Yanbei. She? Well…
Zhong Yu wasn't stupid. Few people still living knew more about how quickly fortunes could turn than she did. Right now, she was respected and reasonably trusted, but if she got caught dressed in black, carrying poison darts, and running around Green Hills Courtyard? A variety of people would likely draw a variety of conclusions, most of them wrong. She was determined not to give anyone the chance to do so.
Even having the Afterlife Camp poison on her would likely lead to bad results. Besides, it's not like she could tell people the truth about where she'd gotten it. While both she and Meng Feng were, more or less, politicians now, they both were, at heart, still what they were inside: Spies. Assassins. Killers. So Meng Feng had given her some of the poison "just in case." Not that either one had ever expected Zhong Yu to have to use it, but when you lived in chaotic times, having a little insurance was never a bad idea.
As she neared the well-hidden area where she'd left her horse and other necessities, she finally allowed herself to smile. She'd not only managed to repay multiple old debts tonight, but she'd also managed to settle an old score with an old enemy. Briefly allying herself with the Liang princess had left a sour taste in her mouth, but she'd allowed herself to do it out of desperation—and the belief that someday, she'd pay Xiao Yu back for all of the problems she'd caused.
Smiling savagely into the night, Zhong Yu rode hard for Yanbei. She could already feel the warmth of home and the welcoming arms of her husband. He hadn't been surprised at her desire to come once she'd received word from one of her connections that her old nemesis had been spotted in this area, but she knew that he couldn't help but worry about her. That was, after all, the nature of love—and she was grateful that A'Chu and the powers that be had given her the chance to live her life in peace with the man she loved.
Mo'er felt his eyelids starting to droop once again, but he mentally woke himself up as he'd been forced to do multiple times this night. He knew that someone bad was coming, but he didn't know who or where or when or how or even why. His crossbow was still loaded and ready, clutched firmly in his hands.
A flapping sound instantly drew his eyes to the trees just as his father's parrot—still wet from the bath he'd apparently just taken—flew into view. All thoughts of sleepiness were forgotten as Mo'er realized what the clean bird's presence might mean.
"Is it done?" he asked the bird as it silently flew near him. "Did you stop them?"
The bird merely nodded its head a couple of times, and Mo'er sagged with relief. He knew that there would be time to get the details later, but he wanted to be sure of one thing, at least.
"Do you think there's any more danger?"
The parrot stared pensively into the night before slowly shaking its head.
"But you don't know for sure."
His father's bird shook his head again.
"Okay, I'll let you in so you can go get some sleep. Besides, we don't want Dad to know what you've been up to. I'll stay here and keep watch just in case."
A flutter of wings served as the parrot's response as he flew towards the same window he'd left from what seemed to Mo'er to have been another lifetime ago.
Mo'er stuck his little finger under the bottom corner of the window just as he'd done before, but withdrew it after a second. He turned around and slowly lifted his hand to gently rub the parrot on the head with his hand.
"Thank you," he whispered.
The bird affectionately nipped a finger and flew near to the window, obviously ready for some hard-earned sleep.
Mo'er opened the window soundlessly and let the bird in before closing the window with the same lack of noise. He settled back into the shadows, mentally readying himself to stand guard for the last few hours of the night before dawn.
Part of him was sad that he'd missed out on the chance to fight the bad guys, but the other part of him knew that sometimes you had to let other people fight the bad guys while you stood watch in the dark. Besides, someone could still be out there, watching and waiting for an opportunity to strike when no one was paying attention. Mo'er straightened his shoulders, determined to not give anyone the chance to harm the people he loved.
Yuwen Yue was proud of the keen sense of observation that he'd honed over the course of his lifetime. The training that he'd endured through the years enabled him to do things like dodge arrows based on sound alone, to identify poisons in food and drink by smell, and to be able to notice even the slightest out-of-place object that could signal that an intruder had been in his rooms.
At the moment, all of his observational senses were being employed in the immensely important occupation of watching his wife nurse their newborn son in their bed without being too obvious about his interest. After all, a good spymaster never missed an opportunity to improve his skills through practice. Besides, the experience of observing Xing'er feeding their son as the early-morning light filtered in through the windows was captivating enough to merit his attention for awhile.
He was seated in the chair facing their bed, so he had an unimpeded view of his wife's activities. Yuwen Yue liked a challenge, though, so he was pretending to read the latest briefing from his Eyes of God operatives. After all, staring at his wife in her current state would doubtlessly lead to Xing'er saying and doing things that would distract him from his training. He tried to pretend that he would regret his wife's actions in that case but was unable to do so.
Not wanting to rely too heavily on sight, Yuwen Yue looked at his report and focused down onto the scents that were now filling his rooms. Xing'er's own distinctive scent had always had a potent effect on him, but the smell of a newborn baby—their son—added to the mix was indescribable. He knew nothing to which he could compare it, which might've troubled him if he'd been seriously training. Another smell reached his nose and a corner of his mouth quirked once he identified it as breast milk.
Too bad all of my other exercises aren't this enjoyable…
Yuwen Yue focused next on the contented sounds that his son was making as he drank his fill of his mother's milk. Not that Yuwen Yue could blame him; after all, were he to find himself in similar circumstances…
Focus, man! You're Yuwen Yue, the owner of Green and Red Hills Courtyards, the inheritor of the Eyes of God, a general of Wei, the wielder of Po Yue Jian, the husband of the most beautiful woman in the world, who's currently nursing your newborn son and surely looking adorably contented while doing so if you'd just look up…
This training exercise was not going according to plan.
Of course it is…
Yuwen Yue gave up and raised his eyes, only to see his wife gazing at him with that combination of innocence and mischief that had never failed to sharpen all of his senses in anticipation. She had let her robes slip almost completely down her back to puddle on the bed itself in what he was certain was a deliberate pose. Her eyes were as full of stars as they'd been the night before, and he was only slightly surprised to find himself standing up from his seat and walking over to the bed.
"What were you reading?" Xing'er asked impishly. "Whatever it was seemed to have less than your full attention."
"I was reading the latest Eyes of God briefing."
"What was included in that report that put that particular look on your face?"
"That's top-secret information. I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you."
"Oh. I see. I have top-secret clearance, though, so I'll just read it later so I can see what you found so interesting about it."
"I don't think you'd find it nearly as interesting as I did."
"Are you sure it was the contents of that briefing you found so interesting? Or was it something else?"
"As a matter of fact," Yuwen Yue said as he sat down on the bed beside his wife, "I've always found the contents of this bed more interesting than anything else—but only when you're in it."
"Hush, you scoundrel! Do you want our son to hear your dirty talk?"
"He should probably get used to it. If he inherits even a little of your aptitude for trouble, he's probably going to be sneaking around and spying on us anyway."
"My ability to get in trouble? My ability to sneak around? You're the spymaster! If he's going to inherit those traits from anyone, it's going to be you."
His eyes darkened as he leaned in closer towards his wife and child.
"Maybe we'll just have to agree that he's likely going to inherit those traits from us."
"Us," Xing'er said breathlessly, turning her head fully towards her husband. "We'll both be to blame."
Yuwen Yue bent his head the last few inches and kissed his wife on her lips, adding multiple sensory inputs to his training session that had gone so delightfully awry. The feel of her lips on his, the taste of her mouth, the warmth he could feel radiating from her body...all of those things overwhelmed him, and he cheerfully allowed them to do so.
Reluctantly he pulled away, knowing that they couldn't go any further. She seemed to be a bit disappointed, too, which brought a smug smile to his lips. Xing'er scowled back at him in response as he stood up and walked towards their back doors.
"Where are you going?" she asked, still a bit breathless.
"I should probably at least pretend like I'm going to attend to my duties today," Yuwen Yue said. "I figured I'd do some archery practice and sword drilling."
"Would you mind an observer later?"
"I'm sure Yue Qi would be delighted to spend time watching me do my drills."
"Ah, but would you enjoy Yue Qi watching you as much as you'd enjoy me watching you?"
"Not if you come out dressed like that."
"Rogue. Scoundrel. Rascal."
"Only around you, Xing'er," he said, getting the last word in as he went through the doors.
Training is so much more enjoyable when Xing'er's involved...