Six six

In the woods between two campsites.

The carriage Zhang Ping’an purchased arrived. From the outside, it looked like any other escort carriage, but inside it was sealed with oiled paper and leather, lined thickly with tightly packed straw to cushion against shocks.

“There’s dry food and rice inside. If you’re hungry, help yourselves. I can’t check on you all the time, so take good care of yourselves.”

“Thank you, sworn brother,” Yue Zhi said, watching Zhang Ping’an leave before eagerly climbing into the carriage to inspect.

Inside, there was a stove, flint, and a pot. She took the stove down and gathered some scraps of wood nearby to start a fire.

The dry food included sesame cakes and dried meat. Yue Zhi boiled a small pot of porridge, shredded two strips of dried meat into meat floss and stirred it in. After simmering over low heat for a while, the aroma was identical to the meat porridge the guards ate.

Pei Heng squatted by the stove warming himself by the fire. Watching her busy work, he soon saw a fragrant pot of porridge cooked.

The steaming porridge was placed before him. Pei Heng took the bowl with both hands, his gaze toward Yue Zhi gaining a newfound respect.

“You know how to cook?”

“Of course,” she said proudly, ladling the porridge. “When I was five, I worked as a kitchen helper in a tavern, secretly learning from the head chef. Later, when I entered the palace and was assigned to the embroidery room, I stopped doing heavy chores to focus on embroidery skills.”

Pei Heng listened intently, murmuring, “This is the first time I’ve heard about your childhood.”

“I didn’t say before because I feared you’d laugh at me.”

“How could I laugh at you? You’re capable and kind. Now I have nothing, but you don’t despise me.” His eyes dimmed as he spoke of his fallen state.

Usually, Yue Zhi would try various ways to cheer him up and help him forget his worries. Without any distractions, she urged him gently.

“Try the porridge I made. Is it good?”

Unable to resist her hopeful eyes, Pei Heng scooped a spoonful, blew on it, and tasted it.

The rice was fragrant and soft; the meat floss had softened in the broth but retained some chewiness. The saltiness from the dried meat infused the porridge perfectly, with a hint of oil adding richness.

“Delicious!” Pei Heng smiled with satisfaction. No delicacy he had eaten before could compare to this steaming bowl of meat porridge.

“If you like it, eat more,” Yue Zhi smiled brightly.

They hid in the shadow of the carriage, uninterrupted, finishing the entire pot of meat porridge.

Afterward, Yue Zhi began cleaning up the kitchenware, heading toward the creek, but Pei Heng stopped her. He took off his cloak, placed it on the carriage, and took the utensils from her.

“I’ll wash them.”

“Do you know how?” Yue Zhi was worried; Pei Heng had never done manual labor, born into privilege.

“I do.” Though he had never worked, he had been in the imperial kitchen. Though he didn’t understand how others cooked, washing dishes and scrubbing pots was simple enough to learn by watching once.

Seeing his eagerness and knowing the creek was nearby and any disturbance could be easily heard, she agreed.

After Pei Heng left, Yue Zhi put away the stove, stamped out the embers, and returned to the carriage.

When leaving the Eastern Palace, she packed several sets of autumn clothes—some hers, some for Pei Heng—and a sewing kit and two sheets. Since these were ordinary materials of little value, they had not been confiscated.

She placed the dry food and stove on one side, spread out the sheets on the other, put the sewing kit into another bag, rolled a soft bundle as a pillow, then brought the cloak inside.

She had made a comfortable bed.

Pei Heng soon returned with the washed pots and bowls, drained the water, handed them to Yue Zhi, and placed them back on the stove.

Yue Zhi pulled him onto the carriage and noticed something off in his expression. Carefully, she touched his forehead—it was warm.

“Is your typhoid still not healed? Do you want medicine?”

Pei Heng shook his head, tilting his head away from her touch. “After eating your porridge, my illness is completely gone.”

Yue Zhi found it stranger. “If you’re cured, why do you look unhappy?”

She rubbed her palms to warm them and covered his cold, reddened hands, comforting him, “It’s getting colder at night. If you don’t like doing chores, I’ll do them next time. It’s no trouble.”

“No,” Pei Heng lowered his head shyly, wanting to avoid misunderstanding. “I saw something in the woods near the creek…”

Moonlight cast dappled shadows through the trees.

Soldiers pressed a gentle servant girl against the rough tree trunk, one hand gripping her shoulder, the other slipping beneath her skirt.

Pei Heng was drawn by the noise from two people, glancing hurriedly. The sight of them biting each other like beasts seemed absurd and disrespectful. Though repulsed, his heart quickened.

He felt a burning sensation in his chest, much like the shame and anger he felt when Xiu Yu yanked his pants that day.

Hearing what he saw, Yue Zhi was momentarily stunned but then thought carefully and explained patiently.

“They’re probably about to become husband and wife.”

“Husband and wife?” Pei Heng looked confused. “Like the Emperor and Empress?”

Yue Zhi nodded, speaking solemnly: “My godmother told me that a woman cannot be touched or kissed by anyone except her husband.”

Though serious, her mind was blank on matters between men and women, limited to half-remembered warnings from her godmother.

Even so, that was more understanding than Pei Heng had.

“If you ever see such things again, stay far away. Godmother said, if you spy on a couple, you’ll get a long-lasting eye infection.”

Pei Heng nodded, still confused but obedient. “Got it.”

She smiled, rubbing the back of his hand, blowing warm breath on it. “Go to sleep now. We have to travel again at dawn. Once the carriage moves, it’s harder to sleep.”

“Mm.” Pei Heng withdrew his hand and, guided by a sliver of moonlight through the curtain, found the bed covered by the cloak. Exhausted, he slipped under.

Worried the cloak wouldn’t cover both, he shifted toward the carriage edge, leaving space for Yue Zhi.

After a while lying down, nearly asleep, he noticed she hadn’t come in.

“Yue Zhi?” he mumbled.

“Hmm?” Yue Zhi sat by the dry food, just getting sleepy, alert again when he called.

Worried he was cold, she reached to tuck the blanket around him, gently patting his shoulder to soothe him to sleep as usual.

Pei Heng didn’t want to be coaxed. Tilting his shoulder, he dodged her touch. “You lie down and sleep. There’s space here; sitting won’t rest.”

The carriage could fit four lying down, but Yue Zhi was thinking about something else.

She and Pei Heng were different sexes; how could they lie together?

“If you won’t come over, then I won’t sleep here either,” Pei Heng said, struggling to stay awake as he pulled back the cloak to sit beside her.

Yue Zhi hurried to hold him, but the recovering boy still had strength she couldn’t restrain. As night deepened and she grew tired, she relented.

“Once it’s warm, don’t get up. I’ll lie down.”

She yawned, took off her padded jacket and shoes, and slipped under the heavy warm cloak. Her body sank into the straw, utterly comfortable.

She sighed, “So warm.”

“Mm,” Pei Heng murmured, shifting closer, resting his forehead on her shoulder, and fell into a deep sleep.

Used to night watch routines, Yue Zhi waited until Pei Heng was sound asleep before she could doze off. Listening to his steady breath on her chest, the day’s exhaustion faded, warmth spreading through her body.

The autumn night was frosty and dewy, yet Pei Heng’s willingness to share such warmth and comfort meant more to her than any gold or jewels.

Thinking this, Yue Zhi silently marveled at her fortune. Even as a fallen slave, someone truly cared for her.

She carried jewelry and often felt cold in her hands and feet during chilly weather. Lying there, she realized the lightly dressed Pei Heng was like a small furnace, radiating warmth.

Unable to resist, she quietly placed her hand on his back. Her arm touched his waist, and surprisingly, the sleeping Pei Heng was as soft as a kitten. With just a gentle embrace, he curled entirely into her arms—fragrant and warm.

Holding Pei Heng, her heart fluttered with a joy both lighthearted and deeply fulfilling.

She had held him before, when he was scolded by the Emperor, reprimanded by the Empress, or frustrated in the martial arena after hitting only half his arrows. Then, he would seek solace in her embrace, and she would comfort him gently.

But this was different. Though burdened by irredeemable guilt, he neither cried nor suffered, and she need not rack her mind to cheer him up.

They lay quietly, sharing warmth on the tranquil autumn night.

After many years, Yue Zhi had her first beautiful dream.

The vague childhood home had changed; there were no parents, only a boy her age playing with her in the courtyard—catching chickens, teasing dogs, climbing trees to gather eggs, fishing for loaches in the river.

The feeling of holding hands was so vivid, their laughter so sweet.

They played from daylight till dusk, running and shouting until the moon rose high. Then, they lay together in the sultry summer night, leaning on each other until dawn.

Awakening on the moving carriage, Yue Zhi felt light and happy, savoring the joy from the dream.

Only when fully awake did she notice her hand resting on Pei Heng’s pale face, the soft cheek like a glutinous rice cake cradled in her palm. Pei Heng, still asleep, was unaware of her bold gesture.

Yue Zhi gasped softly, reluctant yet gently pinched his cheek before withdrawing her hand and tucking it beside her.

Yesterday, Pei Heng said they were alike, but she hadn’t fully felt it.

Now, she realized how much closer they had become—not just the barriers of status fading, but a deeper trust and precious companionship.

As for the gender difference she suddenly remembered last night, she had already forgotten it entirely.

When Pei Heng awoke, Yue Zhi was dressed and putting on her shoes, combing her hair.

He had slept soundly, unaware of what had happened, but when he looked at Yue Zhi, he saw her stifling a smile, as if thinking of something delightful.

“What’s funny?” he asked.

Embarrassed, Yue Zhi lowered her head. “Last night was the first time I slept in the same bed with someone else.”

Pei Heng was indifferent. “When you were little, didn’t your mother hold you to sleep?”

“I don’t remember. I was too tired working as a child, and before my parents sold me off, I forgot everything.” She spoke seriously. “What about you? When you were little, did the Empress hold you to sleep?”

Pei Heng shook his head. “Before age five, Nurse Zhang held me to sleep. After I started school, Mother forbade the wet nurses from holding me. Mother... never held me.”

“Oh…” Yue Zhi was surprised. The Empress was cold not just to others but even to her own son.

She teased, “Now no one tends to our meals or sleep. If you want, I can hold you to sleep every night.”

Pei Heng snorted proudly but did not refuse.

Yue Zhi knew this meant he liked the idea and pulled him onto the bed, helping him dress and comb his hair.

*

The escort caravan journeyed several hundred miles north as the weather grew colder.

The carriage driver for their wagon was arranged through Zhang Ping’an’s connections. Several times during rest stops, Yue Zhi sent him to buy charcoal, dry food, and cotton clothes, remembering her sworn brother’s advice to break silver ingots into smaller pieces before paying.

Within a few days, a small stove was lit in the carriage, allowing them to boil water and cook meals anytime, using leftover heat to keep warm.

At night, the caravan stopped to rest.

Yue Zhi cooked in the carriage, peeling sweet potatoes and cutting them into chunks, boiling them until soft, then adding leftover frozen rice porridge from the morning to make sweet potato porridge.

She grilled a whole salted fish over charcoal until the fats oozed out, fragrant and tender. Removing the main bone, they split the fish meat evenly, enjoying it with the porridge, faces full of satisfaction.

Since starting their own stove, they ate better than the guards.

Seeing Yue Zhi spend silver like water these days, Pei Heng, who had never cared about wealth, felt uneasy.

“Yue Zhi, you don’t have to eat so well. The silver is what you worked hard to save. Don’t spend it all on me.”

Yue Zhi slurped a big bowl of rice soup and sighed. “If we don’t eat enough or dress warmly, we’ll freeze to death before reaching the northern lands.”

She licked the last bit of soup from the bowl, reassuring him, “It was all your reward anyway. I’m happy to spend it on you.”

In truth, she had plenty of money hidden. The total spent on the road was less than twenty taels, not only on food and supplies but also to bribe the drivers for smoother travel, so her sworn brother wouldn’t worry.

“Don’t worry, I’m aware,” she said. Pei Heng believed her, feeling safe watching her eat contentedly.

Outside, the cold wind blew fiercely, rocking the carriage.

Just after they finished eating, they heard footsteps approaching. Expecting the driver to return with news, Yue Zhi lifted the curtain to look—and saw an old acquaintance.

Cui Wenzhu appeared, clutching her feverish daughter, tears frozen into frost on her face.