the servants to brew more of the physician’s tea. The bitter taste of it had become so familiar that he could swallow it down without blinking. At some point, the kitchen had started adding honey to it. He suspected it was by Yan Ling’s instruction.
She was taking on other responsibilities as well, conferring with Old Man Liang and Dao about the tasks that needed to be done. There was no one to take over the household while he was recovering. As Pearl’s retainer, Yan Ling became the figurehead.
It would take perhaps half an hour before the tea took effect. He drank the medicinal brew four times a day to dull the pain and detested how much he depended on it. With only ten days to prepare for the contest, he’d have to continue taking it.
Once dressed, he went to retrieve his bow himself from the storage cabinet. Tucking it close to his body, he retreated to his study—not hiding, but not keen on anyone seeing him. Alone and behind closed doors, he attached the bowstring.
He’d had little use for it since returning to the city, but the wood was oiled and well-tempered. He lifted the bow with his left hand and his fingers naturally found their placement along the grip.
Fei Long took the proper stance and hooked two fingers against the string, pulling back gradually. His body responded with a throbbing ache down his left side, but it subsided. He pulled back further, then a little further.
Pain shot through his torso and the bowstring snapped back as he recoiled. He pressed a hand to his side until the throbbing eased.
Breathing deep, he tried it again, slowly this time, just to test his boundaries. Again, the streak of pain stopped him. He could only pull at a fraction of his strength. This was…not good. He didn’t yet know what sort of contest it would be. The archery trials for the imperial exam had included shooting from standing position as well as in the saddle. He wouldn’t be able to endure the strain of both riding the horse and aiming for his target. He could push through pain, but how many times and for how long?
The herbal brew started taking effect, whittling down the jagged edge of the pain, but it also fogged his mind. It didn’t matter when he was resting in bed all day, but for the contest he would need to focus.
He’d go to the herbalist for another brew. He would also needed to start training so that he could work up to a full range of motion. There wasn’t much time. Not enough time for anything.
Yan Ling would be leaving soon to become a far-married bride on the other side of heaven. He was losing her, but there was no way he could stop it while his own fate was hanging on a thread. He was one breath away from ruin. Who was he to take away her salvation?
But if he could win.
If he could win, there was still the obligation to Minister Cao and the imperial court. There was the family honour and reputation. It was a cage of his own design, but there was no use thinking of those other obstacles until he won.
He raised the bow and took aim at an imaginary target. His mind and hands and eyes knew what to do. He could feel the sense memory flow into them—surer than anything else in the world. There were many things that he couldn’t do, but he could hit a target.
* * *
Yan Ling stirred at the tapping sound on her window. At first she thought it might be a bird, but the sound continued, accompanied by a hushed voice calling her name. It was coming from the window that faced the courtyard. She rose to open it, squinting at the sunlight that streamed in through the crack.
‘What are you doing here?’ she mumbled.
It was Fei Long, crouching outside her window like some illicit village boy instead of the master of the house. She warmed at the amusing picture.
‘Get dressed and come with me,’ he said.
She rubbed a hand over her eyes. From the slant of the sun and the stillness throughout the house, she knew it was early.
‘I’ll get Dao to help me,’ she said through a yawn.
‘Just wear the clothes from the night at the Pear Blossom Gardens.’
He wanted her in disguise? She couldn’t raise one eyebrow the way Bai Shen did, but she attempted it. Her effort most likely looked like