Day Ten

Liwei put her chin as high as she could manage. "I do not choose to be your woman, Young Master. I don't even know your name. Girls like me don't get to know the names of the great lords who try to put their knees between our legs, do we? But I am choosing to say no. You are not afraid of the Heavens, and you are not afraid of the Pavilion Mistress. So I cannot appeal to you along those lines. But by my sake, I can protect myself. If you lay a hand on me again, I will hit you hard."

He stared at her.

He sighed, and she hesitated. But she'd made her decision, and she carried it through. She walked away and didn't look back.