marked out different areas within the park. Clever vendors had set their food stalls within the gardens and their carts were arranged beside small clusters of benches and tables. Fei Long chose one beside a carp pond and Yan Ling waited for him to be seated first before settling in across from him. Grass sprouted up in tufts around the bare spots at their feet and the square table teetered when she rested her arm on it.
A pot of hot tea was set down between them. Fei Long faced her as they dined on parcels of sticky rice and pork steamed in banana leaves along with red-bean pastries and a bowl of boiled peanuts. Yan Ling unwrapped the leaves, careful to keep her fingers from sticking to the rice, and took a bite.
It was a perfect mouthful. The rice was fragrant and slightly sweet against the saltiness of the pork. She chewed happily and washed it down with a sip of tea, already glancing wistfully towards the cart to see if there was the possibility of more. The benches beside them filled with customers. Strangers jostled in beside her, but everyone was focused on their own meal.
‘Is it like this every night?’ she asked.
Immediately after, she remembered she was supposed to speak quietly and confidentially to him, but Fei Long didn’t seem upset by the familiarity. She breathed a little easier.
‘In the spring and summertime,’ he answered. ‘This has always been the best time in the city.’
It was the only time Fei Long had sounded remotely wistful. She imagined he and his sister had grown up in the magnificent capital, discovering it bit by bit as children.
‘Only during festivals would you see it like this out in the provinces.’ She swept her gaze across the park once more before taking a pastry. It was almost as good as the sticky rice.
‘You should eat more,’ Fei Long remarked.
He sat back to watch her with one arm draped over the edge of the table. There was a rare carelessness to his posture.
‘Are you developing a brotherly affection toward me?’ she teased.
Her heart raced at her boldness. To be with Fei Long like this, exchanging idle conversation. The two of them weren’t like master and servant at all. Nor brother and sister.
‘The Khitans would expect a princess to be well fed. Not a waif like you.’
He meant it as a jest. The casual warmth of his tone said so. Yet her bright mood flickered and died. She reached for another sticky rice ball, peeling the banana leaf away slowly.
‘Ah, of course.’ Her throat tightened around the words. ‘The grand scheme, above all else.’
She chewed without any enjoyment. The delicacy had lost its flavour. Chang Fei Long wasn’t prone to dreams. That was her failing, and hers alone.
‘You’re looking thinner yourself.’ She fought to recapture their light banter. ‘Dao says you haven’t been eating well and that you rarely sleep.’
‘Dao seems to talk a lot. Not a favourable disposition for a servant.’
‘She says it’s because there’s so much on your mind. I know I’ve been a burden—’
‘You’re not a burden,’ he cut in roughly.
She fell silent, not knowing what to make of the vehemence of his reply. Her heart was pounding. If she wasn’t another servant under his charge, what was she? The ever-present question.
‘The stage is at the centre of the gardens, beyond those trees there,’ he offered as a kindness after a pause. ‘You can see them lighting the lanterns now.’
‘My lord has been here before, then?’
‘In my younger days.’
‘When you were a student?’
He looked surprised. ‘Did Bai Shen tell you?’
‘He must have mentioned it in passing,’ she said, trying to sound casual.
She couldn’t have him thinking that they discussed such personal details, though she vied for every morsel she could scavenge about Fei Long from Bai Shen and Dao. She’d never dare to ask Fei Long so directly. Detached courtesy was all that he wanted from her.
They finished the meal and she fell back into her role as attendant, remembering to leave the money for the seller and thank him with a courteous bow. She followed Fei Long down the slope of the hill toward the ring of trees at the centre of the park. They were out in the city and she would enjoy this night.
The stage emerged beyond the tree line. The open pavilion was set on a raised wooden platform and a painting of blue sky and mountains in the distance served as the backdrop. Lanterns had been