Yixing

Yixing sighed and tilted his face up to the sky, enjoying the brief respite the cool breeze gave him. Thanks to the little incident that had happened with Feiyan the night before, his mind was now completely rattled, and he had been more than a little distracted during morning court with his father. Yixing groaned and rubbed the side of his face. It was embarrassing enough that he had woken up to find Feiyan in his arms; now he had to go and be so affected by it that he had altogether missed his father’s question to him during morning court! Yixing looked down at his hands, and couldn’t help but recall the way it felt to have Feiyan’s long hair tumbling through his fingers, the way her hip fit perfectly into the shape of his hand…Yixing shook his head and cleared the thoughts away before they could get out of control.

“Stop it, stop it.” He muttered.

“You look troubled.” A teasing voice broke into Yixing’s thoughts, and he turned to see Yifan standing behind him.

“It’s not like you to zone out during morning court.” The older prince commented, “Did something happen last night?” Yixing swallowed hard and pressed his lips into a thin smile.

“Nothing at all.” He assured Yifan, “Everything was perfectly fine.”

That is, if you define “fine” as waking up in the morning to find yourself hugging your political marriage wife.

Yifan patted Yixing on the shoulder.

“When you come to like Feiyan, nothing will be able to keep you away from her.” He teased. Yixing glared at his brother.

“I do wish you’d stop saying that.” He grumbled. Yifan laughed and walked away.

“Because I know it’s futile to resist!” He called over his shoulder. Yixing groaned and ran after Yifan.

“Don’t let anyone hear you say that!” He yelled after Yifan. As Yifan and Yixing left the area, Yilong exited the tent where morning court had been held.

“Prince Yilong.” A voice called out to him, and Yilong smiled politely as he saw the other man exiting the tent.

“Prince Tianjun.” He greeted. The Ming prince’s eyes closely scanned the Mongol prince for a moment before he spoke.

“I was impressed by your performance during morning court.” Tianjun said, “It’s no wonder why my sister likes you.” Yilong smiled modestly.

“I just do what I think is necessary.” He replied, “Princess Feiyan is a kind girl. I find her very likable as well.” Tianjun smiled slightly at that.

“Still...I hope you will remember who my sister is married to and what your place in her life should be.” He said coolly, “You understand, don’t you? I hope there will be nothing I need to report to my father about.” Yilong smiled and dipped his head slightly.

“Of course.” He replied, “The princess and I will always be very good friends.”  As Tianjun’s expression relaxed slightly, Yilong spoke again.

“I heard from Princess Feiyan that you have a lot of experience in fighting war.” He said, “I am also one of my father’s lead generals whenever we go to war. If you are interested, I could show you some of the weaponry that only the Mongols have.” Tianjun thought for a moment, the nodded.

“I would love to.”

*************************************************************************************************************

Yixing’s footsteps paused outside his tent as he heard the gentle sounds of a zither being plucked. He turned his head slightly towards the sound, and realized that someone was singing along as well.

“Far, far away, the Cowherd,
Fair, fair, the Weaving Maid;
Nimbly move her slender white fingers,
Click-clack goes her weaving-loom.All day she weaves, yet her web is still not done.
And her tears fall like rain.
Clear and shallow the Milky Way,
They are not far apart!
But the stream brims always between.
And, gazing at each other, they cannot speak.”

Yixing thought for a moment before he realized who the voice belonged to.

Feiyan.

Sure enough, as he stepped inside the tent, he spotted his wife sitting behind a zither, her slender fingers plucking at the strings. Yixing found his feet frozen to the ground, as if Feiyan’s singing had put him into a trance. Her song was melancholy, the song of two lovers separated from each other. But even though the words were sad, they held a hint of hope for the future, and the notes rippled optimistically off Feiyan’s fingers as the song ended. Her eyes rose to meet his, and Yixing felt his heart skip a beat as the spell Feiyan’s singing had placed on him wore off.

“Crown Prince?” Feiyan’s voice broke through the haze that had settled over Yixing’s mind, and he blinked a few times to clear his head.

“Yes?” He said.

“Did you need something?” Feiyan asked. Yixing’s mind raced for something to say. He certainly wasn’t going to admit that he had been absorbed into her music. He straightened his back, crossed his arms, and cleared his throat.

“I came to talk to you about what happened this morning.” He said, “Don’t think too much about it. It was simply a mistake that occurred while we were both sleeping.” Feiyan’s fingers tightened slightly around the zither strings, and for a moment Yixing’s mind wandered to their gentle touch against his arm that morning.

“I realize that.” She replied calmly, “It seems like you are the one thinking too much about it, if you’re bringing it up before I do.” Yixing hissed in annoyance, his hands curling slightly into fists in embarrassment. He turned around and blew out his breath slowly.

“In any case, make sure that no one hears about this.” He ordered, “I don’t want anyone to be getting the wrong idea.”

“I understand.” Feiyan said softly, “But nothing happened, so why are you afraid of letting people hear about it?”

“I’m not afraid!” Yixing protested, and before Feiyan could say anything more, he hurried back out of the tent, her soft giggle trailing into the wind behind him.

*******************************************************************************************************

Feiyan

Feiyan laughed softly as she watched Yixing leave. Truly, there seemed to be more sides to her husband than she had expected. Sometimes, he acted cold and indifferent towards her, almost as if he wanted to drive her away from his side. At other times, his touch and expression was warm and gentle, like it had been that morning. And sometimes, he was like an embarrassed child, like he had been just now. A soft smile turned up the corner of Feiyan’s lips as she returned to playing her zither.

What an interesting man.

Now, if only he showed less of his cold side to her, perhaps he could be more likable. The soft coo of a dove interrupted her music, and Feiyan rose from her seat to collect the little white bird perched just inside the entrance of the tent. She plucked the small scroll tied to the bird’s leg and looked over the short message.

“I have something to tell you. Don’t sleep early tonight. I will come find you.

-Tianjun”

Feiyan tilted her head curiously as she returned to her seat. How strange. If Tianjun wanted to tell her something, he could simply show up at her tent and tell her. Why did he send a messenger dove? After another moment, Feiyan shrugged and returned to playing her zither. It was probably better not to think too much about it.

***********************************************************************************************************

Next day, Feiyan

Feiyan sighed gloomily as she brushed at her horse’s nose, her brow furrowed in worry.

“Are you sulking about going on another ride with me?” Yixing asked as he waited for his horse next to her. Feiyan shook her head. For once, that wasn’t the thing that was on her mind.

“Have you seen my brother?” She asked, “He was supposed to come see me last night, but he never came.” Yixing sighed.

“You’re thinking about your brother again? You’re more attached to him than I thought.” He grumbled. Feiyan shook her head and gripped Yixing’s arm.

“He was supposed to come see me last night to talk about something!” She insisted, “But I waited all night and he never showed up! The maids said he was not in his tent for breakfast either. He isn’t this irresponsible.” Yixing sighed and Feiyan tried her best to give him a pleading expression.

“Alright, I will send someone to look for him.” He said, “But you owe me a favor.” Feiyan’s eyes lit up in delight.

“Of course!” She said eagerly. She wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of owing Yixing anything, but if he could help her check that her brother was safe, it was worth it.

“Um...also…” Feiyan opened , wanting to ask about the name he had mumbled in his sleep, but a voice interrupted her.

“Yixing.” They turned to see Yifan and Yizhong standing by the stable doors, and Feiyan felt unease grow in her stomach as she took in the brothers’ expressions. Yifan’s face looked tight with anxiety, and Yizhong’s usually bright smiling face was unusually subdued.

“Can we speak with you for a moment, Yixing?” Yifan asked. Yixing turned to look at Feiyan briefly before nodding and stepping out of the stable. Feiyan watched him go curiously, but shrugged and turned back to her horse. Perhaps some political matter was concerning them.

*************************************************************************************************************

Yixing

Yixing tried to suppress his growing uneasiness as he followed his brothers out of the stable.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, “You are both acting so serious all of a sudden.” Yifan and Yizhong exchanged glances before Yifan took a deep breath and looked straight into Yixing’s eyes.

“Prince Tianjun...is dead.” He said. Yixing felt like he had been punched in the stomach. The words sunk in slowly, and gradually, he realized the gravity of Yifan’s words. He swallowed hard as he felt his mouth go dry.

“Yifan, that’s not funny.” He warned, “Stop playing around and tell me what the real problem is.” Yizhong shook his head.

“This isn’t a joke.” He said, “Some maids went to fetch water a little while ago and found his body by the river. There can be no mistake, it’s definitely him.” Yixing took a deep breath to calm his racing mind. It would do no good to anyone for him to panic now.

“Did he drown?” He asked. Yifan shook his head.

“It was a clean cut to the neck.” He replied, “Added to a second stab to the chest to ensure that he died.” Yixing’s hands clenched into fists as he turned slightly to look back at Feiyan. She stood occupied with her horse, blissfully unaware of the reality that was going to crash into her very soon.

“Don’t tell Feiyan yet.” He ordered. Yizhong frowned.

“But that’s her brother…” He began to protest. Yixing shook his head.

“Tianjun is Feiyan’s favorite brother. She loves him above almost anyone else. How do you think she would react if she found out about this?” He said. Yizhong dipped his head and said nothing else. Yixing sighed.

“Yizhong, go and keep Feiyan occupied. Put a smile on your face and don’t make it obvious that something is wrong. Yifan, take me to see the body.” He ordered. His brothers nodded, and Yixing took one more look at Feiyan before following Yifan away. No matter how this all ended, it was not going to be pretty.

***********************************************************************************************************

The soft confused murmurs of the gathered crowd on the riverbank filled Yixing’s ears as Yifan led him closer. Soldiers had already been dispatched to hold the crowd back, but Yixing already knew that more than a few mouths would be talking about this incident before he could stop them. The crowd parted to let him pass, and Yixing swallowed hard as he saw the body lying in the mud. If he didn’t know better, he would have almost thought Tianjun was just asleep. His arms were folded neatly over his chest, his eyes closed as if he was merely dreaming of his homeland. Yixing took a deep breath and walked over to look at the cut on Tianjun’s neck.

“Yifan, what do you think about this?” He asked. Yifan bit his lip.

“The cut was deep enough that it hit his jugular vein instantly. It could not have been any normal weapon.” He replied, “I think it was a halberd. The injury on his foot can be proof that he was swept off his feet before he was killed.” Yixing frowned. Halberds were expensive weapons, left only for the nobility to use and own. Before he could think of where to start the search from, a female voice interrupted his thoughts.

“What are you doing?” The voice asked. Yixing felt his heart sink as he turned around slowly.

“Feiyan…”

***************************************************************************************************************************

Author's note: If anyone is wondering, the song Feiyan is singing is called 玉烛宝典, which is a song from the OST for a Chinese drama called Princess Weiyoung. The song talks about the legend of the cowherd and the weaver girl, a married couple who were forbidden to be together because the weaver girl was the daughter of the Jade King (who ruled heaven). They are only permitted to cross the Milky Way once a year to see each other.