Jian decided not to tell.
For now Kiyomi would let them think that they had successfully managed to deceive him. Because he trusted them completely, he deduced that their silence had a purpose.
He would wait for them to take the initiative at a later time to tell him, otherwise he would have to pry their secret out of them by force.
But he knew one thing for sure: whatever the lie, it was clearly intended to spare him cause for concern.
With that in mind he simply stated: "Jian, the magistrate is waiting for his medicine and you are late. He might send his men to check on us. Leave this instant."
"What pretext should I —"
Li Ji and Emika simultaneously whipped their head around united with the same thought: 'Does he want the magistrate to become unnecessary suspicious?' and at the exact same time the prince cut him off with a loud "No!" waving his hands in the air. "Just. Apologise. Do not make up any excuses. He will see through your lie, causing him to needlessly turn suspicious."
Jian nodded and left.
Emika had sashayed toward Kiyomi and sat at his feet, flicking her tail left to right, right to left, faster and faster. [I am starving! ] Which she translated into a string of whines.
Kiyomi reached his hand down to pet her head and tickled the black heart-shaped patch on her cheek.
Li Ji took advantage of the fact that he was distracted and began tiptoeing out of sight. But the prince had other ideas. "Li Ji Tao," stretching out his hand with his palm facing her, he wiggled quickly his fingers, "Come over here..."
Shrinking a little at the lofty tone commanding her, she shuffled uneasily back to him. She slowly lifted her face, her mind trying to figure out what he was up to.
He moved a step closer, and placed his slender hand casually over her shoulder, a serious look on his face.
Li Ji held her breath, her body stiffening.
A long pause.
Then he just said:
"Could you make green rice balls for breakfast?"
At that, her body instantly sagged as the tension left it.
Also, an overjoyed little cat was now affectionately rubbing her fluffy cheek agaisnt Kiyomi's leg. He scooped her up, and planted a kiss on her little nose. "Patience little kitty, breakfast will be ready very soon."
Emika's mouth watered at the thought of the green rice balls—her favourite! Li Ji was a very good cook, her rice balls by far the tastiest in the palace.
On hot days, she and the prince enjoyed fishing and swimming at Chunyan River. Li Ji would prepare a picnic packed up with delicious foods for them to enjoy, mostly green rice balls.
Past happenings and bittersweet memories started flooding back. Emika felt like her heart was bleeding. They accompanied each other for eight years but she tried so cruelly to kill him. [How could I have not trusted you?] she wept in silence.
Even if she died a thousand times, peeled apart her own skin, drowned in a boiling sea of lava; nothing could absolve her from the wickedness of her stupidity.
Four years ago she had betrayed the prince's love, betrayed his plan to rescue her and to battle those who had murdered her family, betrayed her friends; all because of that little corner of her heart that had an appalling naivety and no faith in its judgement.
After realising that she had wrongly harmed him, she was in such utter and complete agony that she finally understood the feelings of her heart—she loved him.
The calico cat meowed. [I love you]
However, he must have hated her so violently that he had erased her from his memories.
She envied the rocks, the trees, the pebbles; hard and lifeless, they could not feel neither sadness, guilt nor torments.
[If he knew who I truly am…] She thought, safe and snug in his arms, her head resting on his chest. [If you knew who I truly am you would surely skew me with your sword...] She fluttered her eyelashes, blinking her large eyes as she looked up at him with the innocence of a newborn baby.
At that moment, a terrible shriek coming from the house jolted Emika out of those painful recollections.
At the second scream, Kiyomi had already put down the cat and rushed back into the house.
Emika leaped behind him right away.
"You all are no good to eat!" Li Ji bellowed, staring at the steamed buns. "Not again! It's the third time!"
"Li Ji?" Kiyomi stood in the doorway of the hearth room. Next to him, Emika. "I did not realise you were arguing with your steam buns," he teased. "Should we leave you to it?"
Emika rolled her eyes. [So dramatic!]
Red blotches appeared on Li Ji's cheeks. If not for the seriousness in her eyes, Kiyomi might have laughed.
"This damn mouse!" she complained with a dash of anger.
She handed him the basket of steamed buns. "Look!" pointing out the bite marks, she said miserably: "Again, they are all ruined! Please, help."
Kiyomi sat in the bamboo chair across the other side of the room. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Well, what about getting a REAL cat?" She glanced down at the calico cat standing in the doorway, then back at him. "One that doesn't flee and hide at the sight of mice and cockroaches! It's a good thing she doesn't know what a disgrace she is for her kind."
Kiyomi blinked as if she had thrown splinters in his eyes. That look brought to his mind his mother, Consort Soyong, who used to pull that same look when she was frustrated he didn't listen to her.
[Real cat... disgrace...] Upon hearing Li Ji's insulting words, her ears turned back and her tail twitching, she threw herself into her legs with a full-throated spitting and hissing sound! Then she gently jumped onto Kiyomi's lap and nestled against him.
Her pupils fully dilated glaring at her. [Yes, I am not a real cat... but I won't let you belittle me in front of my Shufeng!]
Li Ji had had enough of the cat's hostility. She gritted her teeth, she couldn't wait to be rid of that cat as soon as an opportunity would present itself.
Once more Kiyomi had seen in the cat's behaviour an unnatural perceptiveness to understand humans. For a brief moment it left him pondering. Was he imagining it?
Whereas Li Ji was puzzling over the cat's obsession with the prince, accompanying him day and night, even following him to the Pavilion of Enlightment where he was lecturing.
How unusual for a cat to develop such a close bond after a mere few days, she thought. This cat was very similar in behaviour to... a jealous lover!
Li Ji hanged the heating pot of water on the metal hook above the sunken hearth, and kneeled on the tatami mat. Waiting for the water to boil, she was absent-mindedly scribbling hearts and lines into the ashes and sand surrounding the fire.
Coming out of nowhere, Kiyomi said: "For how long you two intend to remain silent about your secret?" His voice was calm, unnervingly so.
The bamboo stick stopped doodling.
His attention was drawn to the trembling hand clenched around it.
"I found out days ago." He grumbled, though his voice carried no anger. "The furtive glances? And Jian is at great pains to conceal this secret from me."
Kiyomi waited, giving her a chance to answer... to tell the truth. But at the same time he was taking pleasure toying with her.
Li Ji said nothing. She forced her face to remain emotionless, however she sensed the struggle growing quickly within her chest. Such a secret she had kept for years! She felt as though she was suffocating!
The water started bubbling away. She rose awkwardly to her feet, and with her back facing him she moved toward the large storage jar to fetch some rice. She reached out, but paused before her hand touched the lid. "What do you mean?"
"It is useless to pretend any longer; or rather, for me to pretend any longer." His voice was steady and very calm, but the impact of his words was unmistakable. The room felt too tight, the walls too close, Li Ji needed to leave and get some fresh air. Her hand fidgeted and she spilled a few grains of rice onto the floor.
She turned partway back around, and glanced up briefly. "What exactly are you alluding to?"
Finally, her voice had wavered. He wondered: What is she hiding from me? But instead he said: "No need to be embarrassed." He would let her squirm for a few days before he would back her into a corner and pressure her to speak.
Then he said:
"Since our arrival into this world, neither of you: Jian and yourself, had ever gotten a chance of a normal life. Doing things like, dating? Tomorrow is the Chrysanthemum Festival, you should spend the day together. It is useless to pretend that the two of you do not need the physical intimacy of companionship. You do not belong to this prince anymore, and you never did." He paused and cleared his throat. "I told Jian that I never owned your body."
As he never used his right of sleeping with her he was indeed revealing to Jian that she had not yet had her first taste of... She tried to speak but started to cough. She was mortified to think that he might have had a heart to heart with Jian about the most intimate details of her life!
A blush rose immediately, developing into a burning flame. She blinked in surprise, mostly anger. Then nodded, mostly because she didn't know how else to respond. She was too taken aback that when she came to open her mouth and declare that she wasn't into a romantic relationship, her throat had frozen.
And when she started to move the words from her throat to her mouth, before she could, he was continuing in a brisker voice. "Since fate has brought you together in this world, it is obvious that you were destined for each other. You are a splendid match. So, please, do not hide your relationship out of concern for my loneliness of heart. I grant you freedom of expressing your love in my presence."
Her shoulders drooped. It was a heartbreaking statement, even if it was not meant to hurt her.
"Jian is dear to me, too," he continued in a very low voice, "and I only want his happiness."
"As do I..." This much was true.
"He is very fond of you. Do not hurt him."
Li Ji had no idea how to interpret that: Was he being a matchmaker? But he is chasing the wind since Jian only has fraternal feelings for me. And what does he mean by, he is very fond of you? Does Jian like me? Or does Jian think I like him? What a complicated and embarrassing situation! She wanted to scream and pull her hair out!
Yet, unfortunately she could not deny any of it. She would not. The terrible anguish that had struck her heart minutes ago as she feared her betrayal was about to be discovered, convinced her that she must make the most of whatever opportunity, even if it were an imaginary romance, in order to avoid losing the prince's trust and friendship.
As for Kiyomi, he thought she concealed but a tiny secret, one that might not alter much of anything. So he would wait to confront her until after he'd had a few more days to amuse himself with them. How wrong was he...
He could easily ensnare Jian in his questioning, but then again, it would not be much of a game. Li Ji was a far more arousing prey to play with and catch!
Unbeknownst to him, there were only darkness and calamity lurking beneath this secret even though it would unravel mysteries and reweave the threads of his mind.
And with a little jerk of his hand Kiyomi motioned Li Ji to quickly add the rice into the boiling water: the little kitty's stomach was rumbling, and so did his!