Chapter 10

The second day just past noon, the emperor appeared in the blind concubine's courtyard waving his paper fan.

He had something interesting in his hand.

From far away, the blind concubine could hear the sound. He cried out in wonder, "It's the sound of birds. How lovely."

The emperor smiles widely, "I found them for you. They can sing."

He hands the bird cage to the blind concubine.

The singing of the two birds in the cage is sweet and pleasing to the ear as they hop up and down.

The blind concubine smiles, "Thank you for this."

Xiao Bao hangs up the bird cage and peers inside, "There's one with a red beak and the other with a silver head. They're very pretty."

Yu Li also peers into the cage and meows.

The blind concubine picks up the cat and pokes his head lightly with his finger, "Don't start getting any ideas."

Xiao Bao makes a mean face, "Master feeds you fish sticks every day, you glutton."

Yu Li felt bullied and meows a couple of times, his fluffy head curling into the blind concubine's chest.

The blind concubine defends Yu Li like his own flesh and blood, "Yu Li's no glutton, definitely not."

Helplessly Xiao Bao says, "Master, you didn't see his expression. He obviously wants those birds."

The blind concubine hurriedly covers Yu Li's ears and begs, "Alright, alright, stop talking or else Yu Li won't be happy and run away."

The emperor laughs, "Keep them if you like. Feed them eggs and millet or corn flour every day."

Xiao Bao's eyes bulge, "Is that what we have to do?"

The emperor shakes his fan comfortably, "How else?"

Xiao Bao mumbles to himself, "They eat better than me."

The blind concubine giggles, "Oh you."

They sit down in the courtyard. The emperor takes out a small sandalwood box, "I brought tea leaves, steep these in water."

Xiao Bao takes the box.

The blind concubine asks, "You snuck away today to come here, didn't you?"

The emperor raises his brow, "How can one be sure?"

The blind concubine matter of factly says, "Being posted to guard the imperial chambers cannot be that easy a job."

The emperor sighs, "You found me out."

The blind concubine earnestly and sincerely says, "You'll never rise up if you keep this up."

The emperor leisurely shakes his fan, with a sigh, he says, "I don't think it's possible for me to go any higher either."

Xiao Bao brings out sandalwood serving tray, "Master, the tea is ready. Careful, it's hot."

The emperor pours a cup for the blind concubine, brings it to his lips to blow it cool, and gives it to him.

The blind concubine takes a slight sip and surprisedly says, "What good tea!"

The emperor's interest peaks, "O? You can taste that?""Mm," the blind concubine takes another sip, after a pause, says, "…Junshan silver needle."

The emperor claps his hands in delight, "Wonderful!"

The blind concubine dips his head in embarrassment.

Xiao Bao asks in wonderment, "How did master guess the name of the tea?"

The blind concubine brings the cup to his face, "This particular tea is sweet scented, mellow and rich on the tongue, and brightly colored. It is very pretty because when in the process of steeping, the silver needles will shoot up one by one and float in the cup, then slowly sink to the bottom. It's very interesting to see."

Xiao Bao's eyes stare at his cup, "The buds really are standing in the water!"

The blind concubine smiles "Bring the box that held the leaves over here."

Xiao Bao hands over the sandalwood box.

The blind concubine grabs a handful of leaves, fingertips rubbing them carefully, smelling them once more, and says, "These buds are stout and strong and have a sweet fragrant smell to them. If the leaves were golden yellow and brightly colored on the bottoms, then they would be of the best quality."

Xiao Bao claps and exclaims, "Master is a true genius!"

The blind concubine cheerfully smiles, "We don't have a better tea set. What a shame when we are having such good tea."

The emperor smiles, "The value of drinking tea lies in our joy and comfort. Do not let rules restrain you. Drinking tea is only a matter of enjoying a state of mind."

The blind concubine smiles, "You are right."

The afternoon sunlight spills onto the tiny courtyard and onto the blind concubine's pale porcelain face. The corners of his eyes and his brows are smiling. His lips are warmed a delicate red by the steam from the cup, making them unspeakably pretty.

If Yu Li hadn't suddenly scampered up to the blind concubine's knee like a gust of wind, the emperor might have kept on staring bog eyed at him.

The blind concubine's attention has been completely captured by Yu Li and he rubs its soft neck.

Yu Li comfortable tilts his head, flicks its tail, and squeezes its eyes shut.

"See, this is fun," the blind concubine says to his precious cat, "He was so skinny when we first found him; his hair was all dirty. Look how pretty, and clean, and glossy it is now."

The emperor says, "All due to your care."The blind concubine says, "Its Xiao Bao who has been taking care of him. I can't see so I cannot feed or bathe him."

The emperor slightly shakes his fan, and innocuously says, "When did you find this cat?"

"Around five years ago, I guess."

Yu Li cries in response.

"At that time, you already couldn't see?"

"Mm."

Yu Li's two front paws start to stir restlessly."

"That is to say, you couldn't see starting from five years ago?"

The blind concubine tilts his head to think, "I think that was earlier, almost seven years ago."

Yu Li impatiently twists his body and the blind concubine rushes to grab him tighter so he doesn't fall. The tighter he holds Yu Li, the harder he struggles to escape.

The emperor closes his fan, "It is getting late and I should be getting back."

"Ah, yes," the blind concubine stands, "Be careful on the way back."

Taking advantage of this, Yu Li struggles out of his arms and in a flash has run far away.

The blind concubine sighs, "He's being naughty again."

The emperor smiles, "cats are all like that."

"Which just makes me worry all the more," the blind concubine says, "Even though he gets into trouble, I can't bear to yell at him. He's too precious to me for that."

The emperor's fingers rub over the hilt of his fan, his slender eyes narrow, "yes."

The blind concubine escorts the emperor out of the courtyard and warns, "When working in the palace, you must be very careful."

The emperor asks, "Careful of what?"

The blind concubine purses his lips, and lowers his head to say, "Accompanying the ruler is like accompanying a tiger."

The emperor slightly wrinkles his brow, "Is the emperor that terrible?"

The blind concubine grips his sleeves tightly, "mm."

The emperor narrows his eyes; his voice lowers several tones, "Why do you say that. You've never seen the emperor."

"I have."

"...what?"

The blind concubine's head dips even more, the tip of his nose almost touching his shirt, "Just be more careful. Do not speak, do not see, only do your job as you should. I-I'm still waiting for you to visit often."

The emperor has yet to come out of his stupor, but when his senses return, his next question is lost because the blind concubine has already turned around and returned to the courtyard.

Xiao Bao is washing the tea set. Seeing the blind concubine return alone, he nonchalantly asks, "Where's the guard?"

He says, "He left."

Xiao Bao says, "Oh."

The blind concubine's grey pupils stare at Xiao Bao, then he suddenly says, "Have you been keeping something from me recently?"

Xiao Bao's heart stutters, the sandalwood tray nearly slips from his fingers to crash on the ground.

"Why does master say that?"

The blind concubine knowingly smiles, "The guard that's been coming here these past couple of days isn't actually a guard, is he?"

"How…did you find out?"

His last syllable shakes.

The blind concubine cocks his eyebrow, "The rules of the palace are strict. It cannot be that easy to leave and come here to laze about and drink tea. Furthermore, what kind of guard has a fan?"

Xiao Bao mumbles, "Ah…"

The blind concubine folds his hand against his back and begins pacing around the courtyard, "Even though I can't see, my ears are sensitive. I can hear every time he opens, closes, and shakes his fan."

Xiao Bao says guardedly, "I can only see that his clothes are not of a lower grade. It doesn't seem like he is a bad person so I didn't say anything. Perhaps he is only some lord who likes to visit the palace."

The blind concubine pauses, "He isn't one of the regular nobility."

Xiao Bao's heart stutters and he forcibly calms himself, "What kind of person does master think he is?"

The blind concubine purses his lips, "Do you remember the tea you made earlier?"

"Mm."

"That was tribute."

Xiao Bao is shocked, "Tribute?"

"Mm," the blind concubine nods, "This tea was produced in Dong Ting Junshan. They have the shape of needles, thus they are called Junshan silver needle. If they were regular silver needle tea leaves, then there would be nothing to it, but the tea I drank today was Junshan's black tea. It has a very fine texture. No ordinary lord could have gotten ahold of this."

Xiao Bao says in a low voice, "So that's to say…"

The blind concubine smiles, "Maybe he is an influential prince."

Xiao Bao lightly says, "Ah."

"Even if he doesn't tell me the truth, I won't blame him," the blind concubine lowers his eyes, his eyelashes quivering, "In the ruling family, there are always things that cannot be said. If he can come here often and talk to me, I'll be satisfied."

Xiao Bao says, "Yes."

The blind concubine sits in silence for a moment. Only after a long while does he say, "I hope nothing happens to him because he is close to the emperor."

Xiao Bao reassures him, "Don't worry, nothing is going to happen to him."

The blind concubine's eyes stare into nothing, his eyes blank and unseeing like he has fallen deep into his memories.

After a long while, he sighs.

"We can only hope."