She…? His Highness…? Tao Hua repeated, the thought heavily monotonous and distorting each time it repeated. Shouldn't she be with His Highness?
The math was simple. "His Highness" meant Shan Si, and "she" meant the woman. Therefore, a woman accompanied Shan Si into his bedchambers during the late hours of the night, when none other should dwell within a noble's personal space.
Let alone a prince.
It was a gut-wrenching, unsolvable equation for someone of Tao Hua's calibre.
Languidly, his tepid and wary eyes followed the older woman as she chased after the rambunctious child across the grounds. One look at his peach eyes, and anyone could tell they'd significantly dulled.
But the woman wasn't paying attention, nor was she aware of those watching her. Every bit of her attention was dedicated to her distressed pleas and cries, aiming straight at the hollering child.
It…it was a rather miserable thing to witness, admittedly, and perhaps Tao Hua was being far more judgmental than he'd ever been in his life; doing onto her what others had done to him.
A very unusual reaction, and one he couldn't understand, and never did he judge someone's appearance as much as he did in that moment.
Hair bundled up in a low bun, flying askew in many random directions, and some of it stuck to her flushed face that dripped terribly with sweat.
And that child!
Well, Tao Hua couldn't quite make him out, and a part of him wasn't overly concerned, either. Besides, there was too much grime, dirt, and mud on him to even describe what this kid looked like, enough that one would have assumed he'd been recently unearthed from the ground.
With a troubled wrinkle on his forehead, Tao Hua's attention immediately returned to the woman. Helplessly, he thought, Is that Fang Jian?
Nothing about her looked as Shan Si or Wan Mie described.
This woman was grey; that was the best way to explain her. She wore a plain robe, similar to Suo Han's, yet designed for a woman, and there was not a speck of rouge nor ornament on her.
However, Tao Hua wasn't a skilled mathematician; therefore, his deductions were fruitless, and he'd be nonethewiser to who this person truly was. All it did was trouble his mind more than he wanted, and the answer could have been so easily procured had he just asked Suo Han.
Thus arose the second most prevalent issue. Even if he wanted to ease his mind and simply ask the question, each attempt ended in futility, causing him to snap his mouth shut and look away.
What if the answer was something he didn't want to hear?
The likelihood that she wasn't romantically acquainted with Shan Si was a mere fifty percent, if not less, given her position as concubine. But even if it was only half, that still left the remainder empty.
It would be better if that glass was chucked at the wall and broke entirely.
Why else would a woman stay with a highly regarded man while he rested…? But he paused, his face writhing and questioning himself. Why does it matter…?
It wasn't like he was the arbitrator of Shan Si's love life; therefore, what say did he have in it?
Shoving the wretched idea to the back of his mind, Tao Hua turned and looked up at Wan Mie. He was equally observing the poor woman run along the martial grounds, carefully watching her steps with squinted eyes.
Then, they slowly shut with a long exhale of frustrated air, and he finally spoke. None of it sounded playful, as was typical for this jester of a man.
"Poor woman," he said with a restrained look of disapproval. "Seems she can't get a break."
"Serves her right for being closely acquainted with His Highness," said Weng Jing. "Nothing good comes from standing at his side, mark my words; that man is trouble incarnate."
The shouting continued, repeating the same "FEIFEI" over and over as she continued to stumble a few times, alerting Wan Mie.
With a frustrated grunt, he pressed his hand to his forehead. "Someone needs to help her. This is pitiful to watch."
"Karmic justice." Weng Jing replied, unsought. He pressed a hand on Tao Hua's back, leading him toward the bathhouse. "Nothing for pure eyes to witness. Come."
"Is this any way to treat a woman who's been nothing but kind to you, Weng Jing?" asked Wan Mie.
That alone made the guilt cause Tao Hua to stiffen up. They were one and the same, except Tao Hua didn't outright announce his thoughts, nor did he know why they existed.
"I have told her many times to drop His Highness, yet she insists on such loyalty. There is nothing more I can offer someone so willingly ready to throw away her pride," Weng Jing said. "Why she is around these parts of the palace, I still fail to understand and I have lost the will to try and understand. Was she not supposed to be with His Higness in the Palace of heavenly Purity?"
Wan Mie merely ignored Weng Jing's question, adjusting his view and falling on Tao Hua. Though from the way he was acting, it wasn't hard to tell the man knew the answer.
However, that shifted. Within Wan Mie there was a moment of clarity, and in doing so, his head tilted and his eyebrows rose.
Moving past the two, he hooked his arm around Tao Hua's and dragged him out of Weng Jing's hold. Toward the bathhouse the two travelled, Wan Mie trotting along with Tao Hua failing to keep up.
"Absurd!" Weng Jing cried, swiftly following behind. "Why must you meddle in every affair?!"
"Bark, bark." Wan Mie held up his hand, pinching it in the shape of a dog, and turning to look at Weng Jing. Impassively smiling, he added, "Guard dogs love to sniff, didn't you know? We're nosy little bastards."
Gritting his teeth, Weng Jing vibrated a bit before crossing his arms and pushing past them. "Fine. I don't care any longer. I'll be inside, Daoist Master Zhuan. Meet me on the women's side and leave these men to their own disgusting habits."
And with that, he was off, his brown hair and white robe flowing along, almost blending in perfectly with the scenery. Shoving Li Zhou out of the way and practically waking him from his slumbering state, he entered the building and slammed the door behind him.
All Li Zhou could do was blink his tired, makeup-smudged eyes and stare at the still shaking door, arms still crossed.
"What a personality," said Wan Mie, releasing all the pent-up stress he seemed to hold within Weng Jing's presence. Somehow, that man was the only one capable of riling Wan Mie up, and it was an astonishing thing to witness. "I hope he dies."
Only for a moment did Tao Hua react by staring wide-eyed at Wan Mie; however, after much contemplation, he really couldn't fault him for his comment. Add in all the hooting and hollering going around the Martial Grounds, and it made it even more difficult for Tao Hua to focus, nor care.
Besides, his mind was flooded with thoughts he'd rather not think, all making him feel rather shitty.
"Don't worry, Suo Han is waiting for you on the men's side." Wan Mie looked down at him and said, "He won't let that grimy man touch you."
"Hm?!" Tao Hua shot his head up to look at Wan Mie. It was that same parental smile he had from time to time, the one that somehow had the ability to ease anyone around.
Yet, Tao Hua was more flustered than before, as if he'd just been caught doing something he shouldn't have. Wan Mie quickly caught on to this, reading Tao Hua better than Tao Hua could read himself.
"Aaaaah. Nothing, Rabbit's Foot. Nothing."
A knowing smirk crossed his lips, just as he slowly turned to face Li Zhou, who—amid waking up—now had his attention locked on the shouting woman.
"Curious?" he asked Li Zhou, watching as the typically nonchalant man's face became more and more confused.
"Yeah," Li Zhou plainly replied. "What's she doing here? Hasn't it only been three days? Lord Shengkai needs a week at least."
"Healing has no timeline. Three days, a week, a year—two hundred. It all depends on the wound." Lifting his hand, Wan Mie motioned Li Zhou away. "Go on and help her before she loses her head. Restrain the child—lock him up if you must."
Tao Hua merely took that as a joke, given that locking a child up was a rather intense action. Still, with how often he screeched…even he was edging toward accepting such an atrocity.
But there was one thing that did grab his attention, and it most certainly didn't sound like a joke.
Healing… Tao Hua thought, thinking back to the forest and the dark circles under Shan Si's eyes. Is he healing because of his exhaustion?
Sudden guilt washed over him, causing his stomach to churn.
Am I at fault here? His mind spiralled into regret, feeling as though he'd selfishly been angry at Shan this entire time for something he'd caused. However, another thought seemed to ease this doubt.
He looked up at Li Zhou, who still had his focus on the woman.
Didn't he say that he typically needed a week? Maybe…
Ugh! Which was right and which was wrong?! Left, right, up, down…all of it started to blend! Tao Hua just wanted to talk to Shan Si rather than remain in limbo.
However, something else seemed to click, wafting away the fog entirely. Blinking a few times, Tao Hua thought, Are they saying he's awake?
"Go on," said Wan Mie. "It's rude to keep a lady waiting."
Li Zhou tilted his head, then shrugged. Before darting in the woman's direction, he said, "Sure thing. Whatever you say, General Wan."
Both Wan Mie and Tao Hua watched as Li Zhou trotted off and approached the woman. But, rather than acknowledge, he ran past her and jumped right into action.
Quick and able, he swooped up that small child using one hand and tossed his dirty frame over his shoulder. No emotion, no reaction, just a stare out into nothing.
A true hero.
In the act, the cat was dropped and happily scampered away, now free of the awful grip it was once in.
The relief on the woman's face was enough to light up an entire country. Her head bobbed with a sigh, and she appreciatively smiled at Li Zhou. As for the child…he thrashed about, but there was no escaping Li Zhou.
Holding the child with one hand, Li Zhou pointed his other toward Wan Mie and Tao Hua, just as the lady turned to look over her shoulders. First, she saw Wan Mie, who just smiled at her, and then Tao Hua.
At the sight of Tao Hua, she immediately whirled her head back to Li Zhou. It was almost as if Tao Hua startled her, as her actions became more frenzied.
"Well! That's our cue to leave!" said Wan Mie. Arm still locked with Tao Hua's, he pried open that sliding door, swung Tao Hua into the darkened hall, and quickly shut the outside world behind them.
Everything was done so instantaneously that Tao Hua didn't have time to register anything. Instead, his senses were enriched with the sharp scent of medicine and a blast of humid air.
Enough to make him dizzy.
His surroundings darkened with the sudden change of scenery, the only source of light being the lone lantern that hung in a corner. It highlighted the smoke drifting from the burning incense, which was nearing the end of its life.
At the end of the hall were two doors. One was left ajar, while the other shut, glowing orange. Beyond it, he could hear the murmured shouts of an argument.
None of it was legible, but it wasn't hard to tell who the voices belonged to. All Tao Hua could do was dip his head back, stare up at the ceiling beams, and let out a loud, long sigh.
When Shan Si mentioned people in the palace…why didn't he warn me? He thought. That mostly applied to Weng Jing rather than Suo Han, as, despite Suo Han's flightiness, he wasn't as pushy.
A sound clicked behind him, dragging Tao Hua out of his thoughts. He twisted his body to find Wan Mie moving down a wooden latch, locking it in place.
"Why?" asked Tao Hua, brows furrowed. "Is there any reason to lock it?"
"That woman refuses to rest," Wan Mie replied, though Tao Hua felt that wasn't the entire truth. Regardless, what did he know? "Some people need to be forced. She's exactly that type."
All Tao Hua could do was aceept Wan Mie's answer as gospel. Though, he couldn't help but think there was more in how the woman react upon seeing Tao Hua.
Why?
With a few quick swipes against his palms, Wan Mie cleaned off his hands and approached Tao Hua. The two of them faced the muffled shouts beyong the paper door—Wan Mie smirking, while Tao Hua looked ready to drop dead.
"Figured," said Wan Mie, wafting his hand in the air with a comical sigh. "You can't tell him what to do or where to be. Seems I'll have to drag him back to the woman's side myself."
Tao Hua side-glanced Wan Mie and faintly smiled. "Thank you."
"No need. You can repay me later when it's time to answer questions," Wan Mie said. "I'm sure you have your own questions to ask. Like…"
"Oh, I don't know…" Wan Mie brought his hand to his mouth and tapped a finger against it, acting as if he was thinking. He ended it with a knowing smirk. "…who that woman outside might be? Hah! I'm right! Your eyes are as round as the moon, Rabbit Foot!"
"Was it that obvious…?!"
"Yards away! You're not very restrained in your emotions." Wan Mie tilted his head toward Tao Hua. "That'll get you into trouble one day. Best to be careful."
Shamefully, Tao Hua looked down, entwining his fingers together. Guilty! What else was there to say?
"Don't worry. That's another question you can save for Little Sisi. I won't ruin your fun." He lifted his hands, palms facing the doors ahead. "Who am I to intervene?"
"…"
That oddly felt targeted, and Tao Hua couldn't help squint at Wan Mie. But nevermind that, the elder of a man happily declared his next move!
"If it worries you so, Rabbit's Foot, then perhaps a soak will ease your weary mind?" he pressed his hands to Tao Hua's shoulders, slowly pushing him toward the door. "You'll be surprised at what you might find in an abandoned bathhouse."
Chapter end.