[[忘羡 | WangXian 3]] : Our Flesh And Bones

[76.] Mouth.

Note:

Source for the first half of this chapter:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qilin

***

Miao Lu expected to see her Masters at breakfast, but no one seemed to care. Master Wen was out on patrols, or so Sue Lin told her. Hanguang-Jun spent most of the day in the master bedroom, bringing books in and out, and also bringing food to his husband; she suspected it was one of those days when he could not bear anyone to even look at him.

She sighed and placed her hands on her belly. It was raining today, so there was nothing to do.

- Are you not feeling well, Mistress? - Sue Lin asked, genuinely worried.

- Ah, it's fine. I am just not used to having so much free time. – she said sadly. – Some days it feels like a prison, honestly.

- Ah, Mistress! The bad weather is bringing you melancholy, that's all. Maybe we could ask Hanguang-Jun's permission to take a walk into town if it clears up? – she ventured.

- I'd like that, yes. Can you pass the message to Li-jie perhaps? – she smiled faintly. She knew quite well that Wei Qianbei would not let anything happen to his son, and would not risk letting her go anywhere. 

But maybe Master Wen could go with her...? 

She bit her lip. She was being too bold lately.

- Of course, Mistress! Well... once the Masters are gone it will be even more boring, I guess? - Sue Lin grinned. She was a bit too happy to have a "boring" job right now.

- Well, Master Wen will be here, so... - she said distractedly.

- So...? - Sue Lin asked, grinning.

Miao Lu blushed and looked away.

- I don't know. – she mumbled. – I hoped to be able to read a little today, but Master Lan won't have time for me today, it seems... - she sighed.

She sighed again, but then a thought crossed her mind swiftly, and she turned to the maid, asking, curious:

- Sue Lin, do you know any stories or legends about the Qilin?

- The unicorn? Why, Mistress? – she raised her eyebrows, surprised.

- No reason. I thought you could tell me some fairy-tale or other. – Miao Lu said carefully. She instinctively felt that the Masters would want to keep her dream a secret.

- Eh, it is a fairy-tale, Mistress. They say the Qilin  is made of fire, but his body is all covered in precious stones and gold. – she smirked. – He walks the ground without leaving traces, and cannot be hunted down! But if one manages to do it, and cuts his horn off, and burns it – the light of that fire will give him the gift to see the future! The Qilin  only is reborn for judgement... Or to hail the birth of a new great Emperor, or a gifted and wise Teacher... This is what my ma used to tell us as a bedtime story, Mistress! – she laughed. – She used to scare us with the Qilin  –  he knows who was naughty and who was nice! Eh, we kids were scared alright! – she grinned, remembering her childhood.

- His horn? Are you sure?  –  Miao Lu was trying to ask calmly, but her heart was pounding.

- Well, sometimes the Qilin  be represented with... eh, what are they called, Mistress? – she frowned, trying to remember the word. – The deer would have those? – she put her index fingers to her head, imitating the image.

- Antlers... -  Miao Lu whispered.

- That's it, yes, Mistress! - Sue Lin exclaimed. – The Qilin  sometimes guards the entrance to a palace, or a temple, then you can see the statue having antlers! He looks like a dragon, or a deer or a...

- A lion...  –  the young woman grew pale and now knew why her Masters looked so worried last night. After dinner, Master Lan went to the Library so hurriedly that he even dared bring a lit candle inside, which terrified all servants. Fire was absolutely forbidden in the Library Room.

- Yes! Hahah, I see you know the statues, Mistress! - Sue Lin said happily.