Xishan Sees Me

Li Cangbi and Yuan Yu had been married for four years. He rose at sunrise and rested at sunset, devoting himself to tending his few acres of poor farmland. She cooked meals over the fire, washed and folded clothes, and taught with quiet dedication at the village schoolhouse. Their little village was blessed with beautiful mountains and clear waters. The two lived in harmony, their days simple but warm. Then one day, when the schoolhouse was closed for a holiday, Yuan Yu had dinner ready and the clothes washed. As usual, she waited for Li Cangbi to come home, only to see a group of men and women in official robes walk into their house with respectful bearing. They said they had come to pay their respects to His Highness, the Crown Prince. Li Cangbi returned carrying a hoe. Standing outside, she looked at the newcomers, then at him. There was not a trace of surprise in her eyes. Clothes stirred in the wind, breaking and then rejoining their line of sight. Standing behind the layers of shifting shadows, Yuan Yu smiled at her and said softly, “You’re back. Wash your hands and come eat.” If things were as they usually were, she would have tossed the hoe by the wall, walked over, and kissed him. She would have talked to him about the weather and the harvest, and said they could go into town on market day. Instead, she now simply dusted off her hands and told him she was leaving. [Reading Guide] An egalitarian gender-bender romance, with a mountain of author-created worldbuilding. Theme: The moon of that time still shines, once illuminating the return of rosy clouds.