Feng Xingzhi sat silently to one side, hands clenched into a tight fist. He said nothing.
Ji Yunxi watched him for a long moment. When her brother turned and she saw the tension in his knuckles, she reached out and wrapped her hand around his fist.
"Ah-Zhi, are you all right?"
Guilt crowded Feng Xingzhi's face like a shadow. He felt like a puppet jerked by unseen strings — one careless pull of his own and everything else had moved in response. If only he had warned them back then, none of this would have happened. Now the misstep had set off a chain that had ensnared others — even Princess Li.
Ji Yunxi read his thoughts and tried to soothe him. "Don't blame yourself. This isn't your fault. And Jiugo is clever — just because she vanished doesn't mean the worst has happened."
Feng Xingzhi only stayed silent.
Ji Yunyi had come west with his sister to find Feng Xingzhi in the first place, and had meant to ask more. But Ji Yunxi interrupted before he could speak.
"Second brother, it's done. Let's not talk about it."
He knew his sister well enough to sense there was more she wasn't saying. It wasn't proper to press the matter further in front of Feng Xingzhi, so he let it drop, though his eyes lingered on Feng Xingzhi with a curious, assessing look.
"It's late. We should rest. Tomorrow could bring more—so be ready."
Ji Yunyi sighed and rose, following the attendants who had come to assemble them.
In his chamber a tray of late-night refreshment had already been set out, but sleep would not come. Neither could Ji Yunxi nor Feng Xingzhi.
Ji Yunxi had a bad feeling about Princess Li. Though mischievous, Li Jiugo had the training of a commandery princess; she knew how to disappear without a trace. That alone made this vanishing suspicious. As for Feng Xingzhi, guilt and worry had him swallowed whole.
Before dawn the next morning Ji Yunxi was already in the main hall, waiting for Lu Shu to return. She stayed until the day brightened and the other disciples of the Dream Pavilion went about their duties — and still there was no sign of him. Feng Xingzhi rose and sat beside her. They drank cup after cup of tea to steady themselves.
When waiting became unbearable, Ji Yunxi summoned the steward. "Where is Lu Shu?"
The steward looked uncomfortable. "He went out last night and hasn't returned."
Ji Yunxi's mind tightened. Had something happened on the road? Had someone intercepted him?
Feng Xingzhi sent a ripple of spirit-sense, searching for Lu Shu's presence. "Yunxi, he's fine. He's on his way back to the Pavilion. Don't worry."
Relief made her exhale soundlessly.
The steward stepped forward then. "Lady, a group returned last night."
He called in Jing Weiwei, who entered with a solemn face and bowed. "Reporting, Lady Pavilion Master. We could not determine the whereabouts of the Princess of Nanyan."
Ji Yunxi looked at Jing Weiwei and, on impulse, asked, "Why are you still here?"
Jing Weiwei blinked. "There was a problem last night. I thought I might help."
Feng Xingzhi's brow tightened at her words. When Jing Weiwei glanced toward him, he immediately turned his face away, refusing to meet her eyes. She saw it all — the cold dismissal — and felt a flush of grievance.
She remembered the humiliation Qing Xuan had dealt her the night before, the suggestion that she was fit only to be a concubine. If Feng Xingzhi truly cared for her, she thought, he would have defended her, even if it meant discarding his public propriety. Yet he had given no sign. He treated her as if she were something to be avoided.
Ji Yunxi noticed Feng Xingzhi's attitude and felt a sting of annoyance. Jing Weiwei was her niece, but her obvious longing for Feng Xingzhi annoyed Ji Yunxi. Still, since Feng Xingzhi showed no affection, she decided to drop the matter for now and waved Jing Weiwei away.
Ji Yunyi woke after a brief, confused nap and came down searching for his sister. He carried himself with an air befitting the Pavilion Master. Ji Yunxi, as the head of the Dream Pavilion, had the poise of command. He felt oddly plain in their shadow but amused himself with the thought.
"Yunxi, any news?" Ji Yunyi asked as she handed him a cup of tea.
"Some people returned last night," Ji Yunxi said. "They found nothing. Lu Shu still hasn't come back."
The color drained from Ji Yunyi's face. He pushed his cup aside and stood. "I'm going out."
"Second brother, don't be rash." Feng Xingzhi stopped him. "We already sent many people out. You don't know the western border — you'll only waste effort."
"Are we just going to sit here and wait?"
Feng Xingzhi didn't answer, but his nod said it all.
Ji Yunyi flung himself back into a seat, anger coiling under his skin. If he learned who had taken Princess Li, he vowed the culprit would pay.
Jing Weiwei left the hall to find Zhao Qingcang waiting under the eaves, dark rings under his eyes.
"We should rest for a while," he said when he saw her.
"No," she snapped.
"You didn't sleep at all last night. Just go back and—"
"I said no!" Jing Weiwei cut him off, voice sharp. "Can't you understand? I stay here and help from inside and he gives his favor to Ji Yunxi. After all my effort, he won't even look my way..."
Tears prickled at the corner of her eyes. "Why waste me like this?"
Zhao Qingcang wanted to say that beyond birth and station, there was nothing in Jing Weiwei that could match Ji Yunxi's bearing — that Feng Xingzhi's indifference was natural — but he did not dare speak it. Instead he tried to soothe her.
Two days later Lu Shu returned at last, exhausted. He handed Ji Yunxi a sealed message.
"Lady Pavilion Master," he said. "We didn't find the Princess. Someone delivered this sealed notice and said it was only for you."
Ji Yunxi took the letter and, with spirit-sense, broke the seal. Her brows knitted as she read.
"What does it say?" Feng Xingzhi asked, voice low.
Ji Yunxi's tone went flat. "It's from whoever took Jiugo. They want me to come to Lingyun Mountain on the Northern Di border. They say they'll trade — my meeting for Jiugo."
"I'll go," Feng Xingzhi said suddenly, standing.
Ji Yunyi had meant to stop him — he knew Feng Xingzhi's spirit power wasn't great — but then remembered that Feng Xingzhi was the Pavilion's deputy master. A deputy would not be spirit-weak. He changed course. "I'll go too."
Lu Shu and Qing Xuan agreed at once.