Chapter 5

The blind concubine has been very confused recently.

When eating, the bowl he holds in his hands, he suddenly discovers, does not feel crude to the touch but fine and delicate.

"Ah Xiao Bao, have we gotten new bowls?"

Xiao Bao hastily denies, "No, of course not."

The blind concubine furrows his eyebrows doubtfully, fingers skimming along the rim of the bowl and cries out as if he has discovered something interesting, "Ah!"

Xiao Bao jumps out of his skin, "What? What is it?"

"The bowl I use has a crack in it but this one doesn't have one!"

"Maybe master has remembered wrong." Xiao Bao says after a pause, his voice lacking in confidence.

"How could I have remembered wrong," the blind concubine cries, "last year, I cut my lip on it when I was drinking soup and you even scolded me for it."

Xiao Bao's eyes shift away uncomfortably. "Is that true…"

The blind concubine continues to skim his fingers along the rim of the bowl as if touching it more would make the crack magically appear.

In desperation, Xiao Bao says, "The cooks in the imperial kitchen gave me some fruits, allow this humble servant to fetch them for your ladyship (1)."

The blind concubine agrees and sets down his bowl, sitting straight up in wait.

Xiao Bao sets the fruits on the table, peels away the skin, and places them into the blind concubine's hands.

After taking a bite, the blind concubine says, "So sweet!"

Xiao Bao parrots his agreement, "Mmm."

The blind concubine takes another bite, saying, "This is the sweetest fruit I've ever tasted."

In his heart, Xiao Bao thinks, how can it not be sweet if given by the emperor?

Bowing his head, he peels off the skin of a grape and passes it to the blind concubine.

He puts the grape in his mouth and exclaims, "It's very juicy!"

Xiao Bao smiles, "Is there?"

The blind concubine swallows the grape and stares blankly for a few seconds, "Xiao Bao, We've not had grapes for some time, is that right?"

"I received some grapes for us last year in the hottest months of summer," Xiao Bao thinks.

The blind concubine shakes his head, "Those grapes were tiny and sour, and most of them had rotten. You took one bite and spit it right back out and then wouldn't even let me take a bite. Then you cursed the administrator of goods distribution."

Xiao Bao rolls his eyes. Those condescending bastards deserved it.

The blind concubine says, "You try some too. It's very good."

Xiao Bao says, "It's enough that your ladyship likes them. Xiao Bao doesn't like grapes."

Lowering his head, he cuts the skinned mangos into slices, puts them in a small bowl, and pushes them towards the blind concubine.

The blind concubine does not move.

"Then what does Xiao Bao like to eat?"

"This humble servant does not like anything particularly."

"How can that be," the blind concubine says, "there must be something you like, tell me."

"...there really isn't."

Persistent in his questioning, he says, "If it's a secret, you can tell me. I won't tell anyone."

Xiao Bao purses his lips and stops talking.

After a while, he lightly says, "…tangerines."

"Ah, tangerines."

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Xiao Bao's head dips lower, "Mmm."

Near the door a cat meows. The blind concubine happily says, "Yu Li is back."

Yu Li swiftly runs to the table, making a beeline for the blind concubine's feet. His tail swishes. His stomach grumbles.

The blind concubine caresses the cat's smooth body. A smile appears on his face, "Want some grapes?"

Yu Li meows.

"Yu Li wants to eat grapes too," the blind concubine smiles.

Xiao Bao says, "Cats cannot eat fruit on an empty stomach or they get diarrhea. I'll go get some cat food for Yu Li to eat with the fruit."

"You're right, Xiao Bao," says the blind concubine.

He lifts Yu Li up by his armpits and rubs his nose against the cat's soft pink one, "Let's eat the grapes after we eat our cat food."

Yu Li meows again.

Taking Yu Li's meowing for agreement, the blind concubine says, "Yu Li is such a good cat."

As Xiao Bao watches them, he suddenly really wants to laugh.

Especially this blind concubine.

Shaking his head, he leaves to get the cat food.

A cool breeze blows gently on a summer's night. The bright moonlight sprinkles onto the small courtyard.

The blind concubine sits on the soft divan, hugging Yu Li, and feeding him grapes one by one.

"Now I don't have to worry about pricking my hands on the vines from the rattan chair," says the blind concubine, "with this divan."

Xiao Bao tilts his head to look at the night sky, "Yes."

A bright moon hangs in the night sky scattered with stars.

"It's pretty," he can't help but say.

"Is it?" the blind concubine asks.

Xiao Bao's head is still raised as he replies, "Mmm-hmm. The moon is big and round. It's very pretty."

The blind concubine lies down with Yu Li and strokes his soft head. "Yu Li, look. Is it really as pretty as Xiao Bao says?"

Yu Li softly cries out.

The blind concubine feels a little happy.

The night wind has grown stronger.

The stars reflect in Yu Li's round and penetrating pupils as if the wind has blown all the stars off of their perches in the night sky into Yu Li's eyes.

The blind concubine lies under the silver sheen of moonlight, face like fine porcelain, but his eyes are a dull lackluster gray.

"Look for me through your eyes, Yu Li."

The breeze scatters his words into the night so it is not clear if Yu Li heard.

The grass in the cold palace rustles. The flowers and leaves on the ground intertwine and cast a tangled shadow. The blind concubine suddenly says, "If only it could be like this forever."

Xiao Bao says, "Like how?"

The blind concubine says, "You, and me, and Yu Li. If we could be together always, if we could smell the flowers, listen to the birds and insects, bask in the sun in the day, sit under the stars at night, talk about anything, and be like this for a long long time to come, to be together, that would be nice."

Xiao Bao says, "Alright."

"Huh?" the blind concubine says, "You're agreeing?"

Xiao Bao shrugs, "How could I not agree?"

The blind concubine strokes the soft ball in his arms, "How about you, Yu Li?"

Yu Li meows and butts the blind concubine's neck.

The blind concubine smiles cheerfully.When it comes the time to retire to bed, the blind concubine climbs onto the bed and Xiao Bao tucks him in.

The second the blind concubine lays down, he jumps up in surprise, "Ah!"

"What is it, master?" Xiao Bao asks.The blind concubine says, "Did we get new sheets, and pillows, and blankets?"Xiao Bao pats his chest to calm his racing heart.

He shakes his head in denial, "No."

The blind concubine asks doubtfully, "No?"

Xiao Bao's expression doesn't change, "No."

The blind concubine whispers, "No?"

Xiao Bao crosses his arms on his chest and raises his eyebrow, "Is your ladyship going to sleep or not?"

The blind concubine quickly placates, "Yes, I'm sleeping."

He doesn't want to upset Xiao Bao.

Finally, he crawls under the covers and goes to sleep as told.

But the sheets underneath are too comfortable to imagine, the blanket too soft and silky as if woven with the finest silks.

Even when Xiao Bao has left for a while, the blind concubine's pale slender hand continues to stroke the fiber, whispering quietly to himself.

At dawn the next day, the courtyard is deathly quiet.

The blind concubine has already woken and lies on the bed, eyes open wide.

Usually, at this time, Xiao Bao has long woken up and is drawing water from the well, washing the clothes, and feeding Yu Li. If Yu Li decides to be picky, he will chase after him and pull on his tail.

But today, there is nothing at all.

The blind concubine is puzzled.He gropes about for his clothes on the dresser, puts them on, and exits the main house into the small courtyard.

"Xiao Bao, Yu Li." He calls out like he has always done before.

He hears Xiao Bao answer after a long while, "Master."

The blind concubine says, "Oh, you're here, Xiao Bao. I thought you had left."

After a very long while, he still hasn't heard a reply.

The blind concubine says, "What is it?""Your ladyship, we have…a guest."

The blind concubine is startled, "A guest? Who is it?"

"The guard, from last time."

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Your ladyship- This is the title for the imperial concubines in the palace and the title itself is feminine in nature.