15 An Insect

Completely unaware of the fact that a stranger was comparing her to a leaf, Yan Qiu Yue was half-listening to her cousin Feng Ming Xia's ramblings. Without realizing, she had been drifting off and in this only partially conscious state, her gaze had wandered over to the men's side. Wei Hong Sheng attracted her eyes like a flame; she was the hapless moth trying and failing to escape.

Tonight, the heir apparent to Prince Rui was dressed in outer robes of a stormy blue color. They were partially transparent and contrasted nicely with the dark gray inner robes he wore underneath. Yan Qiu Yue was dressed in sea green, her inner robes gray with silver threads. If the two of them had been standing together, they would have made for a pretty picture. There were even those who might venture a guess that the couple had planned their outfits to match. After all, they would soon be married. Such practices were common among noble couples.

Yan Qiu Yue knew this, of course. She didn't put it past Prince Rui's household that they might have a servant inside the Ning Duke estate to report to their young master what she would be wearing. This would give the illusion of their families being closer than they actually were in reality. She couldn't openly call Wei Hong Sheng out for this, nor could she break the illusion. It would only be her loss. Still, Yan Qiu Yue was unhappy about it and couldn't help biting her lip in frustration.

The truth was far simpler than she could have imagined: Yan Qiu Yue often wore green or some shade between green and blue. She disliked warm colors like red or pink, as she felt that they drew others' eyes too much. She had no idea that dressing in cooler colors all the time actually made her stand out even more at these noble gatherings. She also had no idea that many people had already picked up on her habit...people such as Wei Hong Sheng. If he wanted to match his wife-to-be, then it was simply a matter of wearing blue or green himself.

Wei Hong Sheng looked up at some point during his conversation with some duke's son and their eyes met. For a moment, it was as if everyone else in the hall blurred together. Yan Qiu Yue snapped out of her daze, but it was far too late then to look away. He'd seen.

She couldn't stand him. This man was known throughout the capital for participating in horse races, gambling, composing bawdy poems, and spending money like it was water. Her future married to such a man was sure to be bleak. She was already disliked by his mother the princess consort. Would Yan Qiu Yue have to spend the rest of her life in such a man's inner courtyard, fighting for power amongst his favored concubines, wanting his favor just so that she could bear a child--just one thing that could be hers and hers only? Only that child would not be hers, either. One day that child would grow up and be used for political gains, doomed to unhappiness like her mother or a powerful but debauched life like his father. She couldn't stand that she would have to live that life instead of staying in the palm of her parents' hands. If not for the emperor, perhaps she never would have married.

When Yan Qiu Yue looked into Wei Hong Sheng's eyes, which were hazy and devoid of warmth, it was as if she could see this entire future laid out before her--as if she were a tenant farmer looking out across a dry and desolate, locust-eaten field that stretched out as far as the eye could see. How would that farmer live in the future? How would she live in the future?

And despite that horrifying vision, she could not bear to take her eyes away. There was a reason that despite his reputation, Wei Hong Sheng was popular among noblewomen in the capital. He was so roguishly charming. His eyes threatened to drown the observer in honey, a slow death suffocating in delight. Yan Qiu Yue, a young girl of merely 17 years, was not immune to these charms. She had never denied that her future husband was handsome.

Caught in his gaze, a moment passed like ten years. Wei Hong Sheng tilted his head slightly as if he was not a hateful wastrel but an innocent child, and mouthed the words "Staring at me?"

Yan Qiu Yue frowned, but he wasn't wrong. Denying him would only produce an effect opposite to what she wanted. "Hateful." she mouthed, making sure to enunciate by exaggeratedly moving her lips to pronounce every syllable.

Wei Hong Sheng smiled. Yan Qiu Yue's heart leapt and she turned away, furrowing her brow in annoyance and confusion. Her betrothed truly was a hateful man.

"Big sis? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I just saw a nasty insect and it made my mood turn."

"What? An insect? In the palace?" Feng Ming Xia's brows lifted. "We should call for someone to chase it away. What if it gets into the food later?"

"Don't bother, Ming Xia, it's not an insect that either of us can do anything about."

"Whaaa? What do you mean, big sis? What sort of insect is that?"

"Oh, I'm sure my royal uncle would hate to hear that there's an insect flitting about his carefully-planned banquet. Shall I take care of it for you?" A low, syrupy voice sounded close to Yan Qiu Yue's ear. She whirled around and came face to face with the devil Wei Hong Sheng himself. He was nearly two heads taller than her, a fact that she hadn't fully realized before now. At the gathering where he'd handily traipsed off with her painting, he had been standing far enough away that their height difference hadn't been so apparent. And the time before that...well, it was uncomfortable for her to recall that time. Upon this new realization, Yan Qiu Yue hated that she had to look up to meet his eye.

"No need! How could we trouble Prince Rui-shizi?" Yan Qiu Yue's eyes flashed.

"It would be no trouble at all. Kindly point out that insect for me." Wei Hong Sheng replied casually with a smile.

Hateful!!

Sensing her cousin's palpable unease, Feng Ming Xia endeavored to be useful. "S-sir, is it fine for you to be over here? I know that you and my cousin are engaged, but there is the separation of men and women to consider..." He was, in fact, the only man in this immediate vicinity aside from his manservant who trailed behind him.

"I am speaking to my fiancee in the presence of one of her family members about an issue that affects everyone at this banquet. What harm could that possibly pose?"

Feng Ming Xia opened her mouth to reply but could think of nothing. He wasn't wrong. She lowered her head, defeated.

"Apologies, noble sir, I was mistaken. I no longer see the insect, so perhaps I only mistook something else for an insect. How could there be an insect in such hallowed halls as these?"

Wei Hong Sheng raised an eyebrow, affecting genuine concern in his voice. "I did not realize that Fourth Miss had such bad eyes. What other things could you have mistakenly observed up until now?"

Yan Qiu Yue laughed. "Prince Rui-shizi need not worry. What is important and necessary for me to see, I will look at very carefully."

"How do you know what's important to you if you can't see everything clearly?"

"I already have so many loved ones in my heart. It will be difficult for me to consider more people important in the future."

"That doesn't sound like the words of a virtuous wife-to-be."

Yan Qiu Yue bowed her head. "Qiu Yue will only speak what is in her heart. If you desire a more virtuous wife, those are words for the emperor's ears."

Next to her, Feng Ming Xia's face was pale with fright. She was worried for her cousin, who was toeing a rather dangerous line with such words!