Yanqing stood with his hands behind his back, his spirit swords floating around him. "Yunli, today is Fu Xuan and Qingque's wedding. I don't want to fight. Let's not disrupt their day."
Yunli glanced around. No sign of Herta. She let out a quiet breath. "Since you're afraid, I'll spare you this time."
Yanqing's eyes blazed. "Afraid?!"
Before he could respond, Yunli bounded away. She wasn't here to fight. She was here for candy. For the spectacle. She didn't want to be the spectacle.
---
Qingque, in her red wedding robe and groom's cap, started toward the Divination Commission.
"You're going the wrong way!"
She adjusted course and walked down the red carpet laid for her. Li Sushang and Guinaifen waved.
"The groom! Smile for my stream! Tell us how you met the Grand Diviner!"
Qingque grinned at the camera. "Hard to remember exactly. When I first arrived, she gave me an important position. Then I kept slacking off, got demoted, and ended up in the library."
"So you were always at odds?"
"I suppose so. Every time I played jade tiles at the parlor, she'd come to drag me back."
Guinaifen wanted to ask more, but Li Sushang held her back. "Let him go. There's time later."
---
By the Ruomu Pavilion, Ruan Mei sat with two violet orchid cakes, freshly made. "These are for you and Fu Xuan."
Qingque accepted them with a bow. As she walked away, Herta watched, a strange note in her voice. "Must be nice."
Ruan Mei's eyes were half-lidded. "What's nice? Qingque's wedding?"
Herta's arms tightened across her chest. "Weddings are normal. Nothing special."
Ruan Mei's lips curved. "Then the cakes? You haven't tasted them."
Herta looked away, refusing to answer.
---
At the Divination Commission, Fu Xuan waited in her wedding veil. Her phoenix crown and rosy cape were not the legendary ones Jingliu and Baiheng had woven, but they were close enough. Twin phoenixes. Her Matrix of Prescience. Jade tiles. All the symbols of their lives together, embroidered into the fabric.
Qingque took her hand. "Grand Diviner, it's time."
Fu Xuan's voice was steady, but her grip was tight. Qingque squeezed back. "I'm here. Don't be nervous."
"I'm not nervous!"
A pause. "Qingque, there's something I want to ask."
"Anything. Unless it's giving up jade tiles."
Fu Xuan raised her hand to strike, and Qingque braced herself. The blow never came.
"Aren't you going to hit me?"
"Not today. I'll spare you the embarrassment."
"How kind."
"Carry me back."
Qingque lifted her carefully, more carefully than she had ever carried anything. She knew that from now on, she would take on more of Fu Xuan's burdens, protect her from the strain of her Matrix, and make her days lighter.
On Qingque's back, Fu Xuan made her own promises. She would not let her work late. Would give her the money for her own tile parlor. Would learn to play herself, so they could spend their free time together.
"Grand Diviner, Madam Ruan Mei gave us cakes. One each."
Fu Xuan took a bite. "It's good."
"The best."
---
They passed the pavilion where Ruan Mei sat. Herta watched Qingque share her cake and watched the two of them smile.
If I hadn't run away that day, that could have been us.
She clenched her fists, then let them fall.
Regret.