The Lotus Palace by Jeannie Lin

Author:Jeannie Lin
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, General, Fiction
ISBN: 9781472018274
Publisher: Mills & Boon
Published: 2013-08-27T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

ONCE BAI HUANG was gone, Yue-ying turned to Madame Sun.

“Did Mingyu say anything before she left?”

“Nothing. Not a word.” Her brow creased with concern. Of all of her courtesan-daughters, Mingyu was her favorite.

“She will be back sooner or later,” Yue-ying assured her.

Mingyu was known as one of the most elegant ladies of the Pingkang li, but she could be as willful as any child when she didn’t get her own way. Yesterday was the first time they had ever truly quarreled and Mingyu was probably brooding in dramatic fashion.

She left Madame to go up to Mingyu’s quarters. The rooms appeared the same, but somehow not the same. Every object was in perfect place, but there was a haunting stillness about it. After spending the night with Bai Huang, she felt like a visitor upon returning.

Mingyu was the Earth and Yue-ying was nothing but a lone star that revolved around her, along with everyone else. Maybe Bai Huang was right. Mingyu was jealous, not of her, but of him. Of anyone that drew attention away from her.

As soon as Mingyu came back, Yue-ying would tell her that the affair with Bai Huang was over. It would be as it was before: just the two of them. Sisters. Family.

Yue-ying spent the first hour straightening things that didn’t need to be straightened, but Mingyu still hadn’t returned. After that, she stretched the boundaries of her promise to stay at the Lotus by questioning the porters and carriage drivers in the street. None of them had taken Mingyu anywhere last night. She appeared to have left on foot and alone.

The only time Mingyu ever was away from the Lotus was when she was hosting a banquet or with one of her patrons like General Deng. In any event, it was always with Madame Sun’s full knowledge. Mingyu’s time commanded a high price.

By the afternoon, Yue-ying had taken to pacing. She paused at the sitting-room wall where many a scholar had been inspired to leave verses of poetry. Mingyu’s elegant hand was easily recognizable among the other characters. Yue-ying touched her fingertips to the most recent poem as if she could reach her sister through the brushstrokes.

There was a knock and the door opened before she could go to it.

“Miss Yue-ying.” Bai Huang filled the doorway with a concerned look on his face.

“Lord Bai.”

He came to stand beside her and she could feel the heat rising up the back of her neck. Everything had become serious. It was no longer about careless and stolen kisses in parks and beneath bridges.

“The moon appears so often,” she said absently as she glanced over the collection of verses. “Moon” was one of the few characters she knew.

“All of the poems in the Pingkang li sound the same. The light of the moon, perfumed clouds, jade flutes.”

She bit back a smile. “All the bad poetry you compose, you’ve been mocking everyone all this time!”

He grinned at her and some of the weight lifted from her chest, but it didn’t last long.

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