Chapter Text
When Shen Ping was born, he did not cry.
His mother told him he was a strangely quiet baby; he cried so little that she would get scared and check him all the time to make sure he was breathing. She carried him close to her chest so she could always feel his warmth and the patter of his little heart beating.
It took him so long to speak, that when he finally said something, she thought it seemed like it had never occurred to him that he could talk. What few words he had, he saved for his mother.
“Mama, don’t cry.”
But though Shen Ping did not speak, it was easy to tell when he was displeased with you. He would step on his servant’s feet, and leave stones in peoples’ shoes. On one memorable occasion, he bit his father, who then smacked him across his face so hard he fell to the floor and got a cut over his brow that scarred.
His mother begged him not to do it again, even if his father hit her.
She cried so much, Shen Ping promised not to.
But he never thought of him as his father again.
The shine of the tanghulu caught his eye, and he let the maid’s hand slip out of his fingers. Mother had given him a silver piece to spend as he liked after he had begged to be allowed out into town. He walked up to the vendor, pointed to the candy and passed him the silver piece. The man helpfully tipped the remaining coins into his sleeve before passing him a stick of tanghulu.
Shen Ping turned around to look for his maid, only to bump into someone. The tanghulu stuck to his face, leaving a sticky imprint on his cheek. He wasn’t very pleased and tried to rub it away with his sleeve.
The boy he had bumped into was taller than him but not by very much, so Shen Ping tried to scare him, frowning at him most impressively. Most people around here knew he was the Lord’s son (even if he was only the concubine’s child) and didn’t want to displease him.
But the boy just smiled at him.
“I’m sorry, let me help with that,” he said, before he licked at his thumb and tried to wipe away the stickiness on Shen Ping’s cheek. Shen Ping was shocked. Not only did this boy bump into him, he was touching his face!
But he found that he didn’t mind as much as he thought he would. Something about the boy’s face seemed familiar, though he was sure he’d never seen him before. His clothes were very plain and threadbare. How did he keep warm like that?
When he was done, he kept his hand on Shen Ping’s shoulder. “I’m Yue Qi,” he said. “What’s your name?”
“...Shen Ping.”
Yue Qi looked a bit confused, like he didn’t expect this answer, before his face smoothed out and he smiled again.
“That’s fine. That’s perfectly fine. Is that Ping for tranquility?” Shen Ping nodded. Yue Qi nodded, a faraway look on his face.
“That’s good. A good name. You can call me Qi-ge if you’d like.”
Shen Ping opened his mouth to ask Yue Qi why he thought Shen Ping would even continue talking to him, when suddenly he was grabbed about the waist and picked up. It was his maid! And she looked very angry.
“Young Master Shen, you’re not to speak to strangers! Especially not riffraff like this! Why did you run away from me, your mother told you not to let go of my hand! And you, stay away from Young Master Shen!” she pointed at Yue Qi, whose face turned dark. It was such a strange look for a child’s face, Shen Ping was sure of it, even if he hadn’t met very many. Even his maid stiffened, but she just huffed and walked away.
From over her shoulder, Shen Ping watched Yue Qi as he grew further and further away and wondered why his heart hurt.
Being alone was very boring.
Shen Ping’s mother was the only concubine in the household, and thus he was the only lower-ranked child. He was forbidden from interacting with the main family’s children, though he still received some tutelage. Perhaps it would be considered a privilege to have the full focus and attention of a tutor, but Shen Ping didn’t think so. He was the only one to give an answer, and he was the only one to get whipped if his tutor didn’t like it. It didn’t help that Shen Ping still didn’t think he was worth his words, so his tutor thought him stupid beyond compare even though he could read and write just fine.
Shen Ping also thought he was displeased that he wasn’t the one tutoring his half-brothers. He’d heard that this man wasn’t very smart, so it stood to reason that he just wasn’t up to snuff.
The maid he used to pester was also gone. She’d had to leave the household, as her father had unfortunately fallen from his ox cart and broken his leg. Mama hadn’t gotten a new one yet. Mama would sometimes take him with her when she went outside, but she didn’t go out very often. She preferred staying in and doing her embroidery, and was quite opposed to running and climbing of trees.
Shen Ping sighed as he kicked a rattan ball listlessly. It was difficult to play ball alone.
“Hello.”
Shen Ping squeaked and turned around. It was that boy from the street! Yue Qi!
What was he doing here in the courtyard?
“How did you get in here? Did you climb over the wall?”
Yue Qi looked perplexed, glancing over to the walls of the courtyard.
“I… Yes. I climbed over the wall. I think.”
He ‘thinks’? This was very suspicious.
“Why are you here? If you’re looking for food I haven’t got any. And I won’t give you food, either!” Shen Ping tries to look more imposing. The maid had complained of beggars coming to their back door and asking for food. Shen Ping didn’t know why it was a bad thing, perhaps if they gave food to the beggars they wouldn’t have any for themselves. Not having food to eat was a bad thing.
Yue Qi looked like he needed food. Shen Ping had the uncomfortable feeling that if he did happen to have food, he could be easily persuaded to share it with Yue Qi, even if it meant he might not have food to eat.
“I just wanted to see you.” Yue Qi smiles at him, and Shen Ping hasn’t ever seen anyone so happy just to see him before. Shen Ping blushes, feeling shy all of a sudden. He wishes Mama was here. He turns away with the full intention of running away, before Yue Qi catches his sleeve.
“Don’t go!” Yue Qi begs. “We can play if you’d like. I saw you alone so I came to play with you.”
Shen Ping’s cheeks are burning, but he doesn’t leave. He keeps his eyes on the ground though, unable to bear looking at Yue Qi’s face. Yue Qi goes to pick up the ball and hands it to Shen Ping.
“Let’s play, you can teach me,” he says. Shen Ping peers up at Yue Qi through his eyelashes, but the boy doesn’t look like he’s lying or trying to appease him. Still, Yue Qi is older than him.
“Don’t you know how to play?” Shen Ping asks. Yue Qi smiles encouragingly as he tries to pull him back to the centre of the courtyard.
“I don’t know how you play. We can play whatever you wa--”
“Xiao Ping?” Shen Ping whirls around at the sound of his mother’s voice. If she found Yue Qi in the courtyard then Shen Ping wouldn’t get to keep his new friend! His mother turns the corner and walks towards him, her delicate sleeves drifting behind her.
“Who were you talking so much to?” she asks, bending over to pick him up with a huff. Shen Ping glances back to find.. Nothing.
Yue Qi is gone.
“Xiao Ping Guo? Have you decided you would talk to someone other than Mama?” she smiles at him, tweaking his nose. Shen Ping scrunches up his face.
“No,” he answers. His mother’s smile turns sad.
“Alright. Maybe tomorrow. Let’s go inside, keep Mama company.” As she turns to leave, Shen Ping can see Yue Qi peering at him from behind a bush.
Maybe tomorrow.