The day came and went, with the Tao Estate blanketed in the warm colours of lanterns and twinkling bugs. In the main hall, Tao Hua sat ahead a small table, filled with food. He poked at each, unable to find it in himself to smile.
Around there were more of these low tables, with many well-dressed individuals sitting behind them. Next to Tao Hua was Gui Chang. Just like Tao Hua, she was elegantly dressed in red, with the exception of her hair. It was magnificently pinned up, dabbed with pink flowers and thin twigs.
Tao Hua never once noticed it, but he was surprised to find how beautiful she looked dressed up. But this was only her playing a character. Any sign of wear, tear, or exhaustion was hidden behind a thin layer of makeup.
Tilting his head, Tao Hua thought, If she didn't have to marry me, she could look like this daily.
The question still stood: should he tell her? Tao Hua contemplated thoroughly but decided against it. What good would it do but make him look like an ass-kisser? She was clearly still angry with him.
The atmosphere was quiet, as was normal for such events. Normally, all the fun and discussion came later.
Tao Hua absolutely hated it. Nothing about the before or after was fun, and he only ever found it awkward as none spoke to him, regardless.
Shuffling the food back and forth with his chopsticks, he slumped forward as thoughts inappropriate for the setting engulfed his mind.
I wonder what his favourite food is, he pondered, propping his elbow on the table and squishing in his cheek. Stabbing the piece of meat a few times, he puckered his lips childishly. He has money. Maybe he also has to deal with this food, too? Does he like to eat it? I don't—
Immediately, Tao Hua straightened up and his brows furrowed. What am I thinking?!
It was growing into an obsession. One afternoon together and suddenly everything revolved around Lord No-Name? Tao Hua really was a lonely little man, desperate for friends.
Amid his thoughts, he felt a few taps on his shoulder. Looking over, he found a strained and unhappy face, belonging to Gui Chang. The corners of her mouth tightened as her eyes narrowed, as if to say, "Don't" and "Stop playing with your food."
Roger that.
Tao Hua knew exactly what she meant; there was no need to decode it. This was Gui Chang's way of telling him to stop being himself; weird.
Awkwardly smiling with a faint pink to his cheeks, he made himself small and thought, Is being me really all that bad?
Probably, yes.
Midway through the meal, most guests began to converse amongst each other. Gui Chang and Master Tao initiated much of it, while Tao Hua sat alone and awkward at his table.
As his eyes wandered around the room and he found that many faces were unfamiliar to him. There were only a few from Siyue Town, most being the servants hired by Master Tao, while others were fortunate enough to get an invitation.
Usually through a method of cozying up to the village chief and making a name for oneself.
Yuck.
Other than that, most weren't from Siyue Town. Given his father's trips, it was best to assume they were from the Imperial Capital.
If that were the case, then Tao Hua couldn't help but wonder who exactly this banquet was for—neither he nor Gui Chang ever left Siyue Town, and none of these people gave a shit about either of them.
As Tao Hua proceeded to hop along each head, he stopped at one particular person. An individual who stood out against the crowd of extremely well-dressed folk.
He looked bored and unimpressed, lounging as if he were in his own home; elbow propped on his table, and staring at his nails.
Just like Tao Hua, his food remained untouched, but where Tao Hua couldn't quite earn his father's attention, this man had all of it and wanted none. He just hummed "mhm" over and over, flicking the gunk from under his nails every so often.
His outfit, in comparison to the other guests', was of the highest quality. So, it was wasn't hard for Tao Hua to deduce that this was an extremely important guest…one Tao HUa was better off avoiding.
Noted. Don't talk to the richest man in the room. Check.
But, as fate would have it, things never went Tao Hua's way. Just as he lowered his own eyes, the man lifted his own, falling on Tao Hua. At the very last minute, Tao Hua caught this and glanced up.
His aura was akin to Lord No-Name's—commanding, but what stood out as most shocking was the colour of his eyes.
White and ethereal.
Tao Hua's brows furrowed.
But it couldn't be Lord No-Name. The air around this man felt daunting, as if it could choke Tao Hua, whereas Lord No-Name's was different; warm and captivating.
As Tao Hua fell into a daze, his mind trying to come up with multiple theories on who this person was, the man's lids completely shut and he beamed a pleasant smile toward Tao Hua. Shell-shocked, Tao Hua began to fumble his hands into his lap and immediately look down at them.
He had already failed to avoid this man; it seemed. Better not to provoke him any further, not when his father was overly captivated with whoever he was.
The evening passed, and people began to leave bit by bit. All that remained were a few high-ranking nobles and a few of the Siyue Town folk. Tao Hua was counting down in his head, trying to pass the time, waiting for the evening to end.
Not a single soul had spoken to him all evening, so when one did, he found himself utterly stunned.
And it had to be HIM of all people.
"So this is Master Tao's son?" a voice asked. It was low, yet playful. Tao Hua glanced up to find the man standing ahead of him. Frozen in place, he wasn't sure how to react. "How cute. You don't look anything like your father. Funny, this town is filled to the brim with horrendous looking women. Hm."
Tao Hua didn't open his mouth—all he could feel was a cold chill run down his spine, making it difficult to swallow. What an awful statement to say, and so casually.
But the man just laughed, unbothered. "Does this young master speak? Now, I can't imagine someone as esteemed as Tao Ci wouldn't teach his son the basics. That man is a walking dictionary. You should see him with all my reports."
Immediately, both Master Tao and Gui Chang rose to their feet, rushing over to the conversing pair. However, not for Tao Hua's sake—but for the man who stood tall and prosperous.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Pressing his hands together, Master Tao leaned toward the man and said, "This boy is this lowly servant's pride and joy, and our lovely bride-to-be's fiancé."
Majesty…? Tao Hua cocked his head, bewildered. Who would his father address as Majesty? Another noble?
Truth be told, Tao Hua wasn't fully aware of his father's life outside Siyue Town, therefore, he couldn't be any wiser to who "His Majesty" was. The only time his father ever spoke to him was when he needed something or was mad with Tao Hua. Any other time, it was to impress someone else.
Perhaps that's what was happening in that moment.
"Pride and joy, huh?" said that man, formally addressed as "His Majesty," slightly amused. "I take pride and joy in the things I own, yet I don't hide them. So, this is the child you so cautiously whisper about. I sense quite a story behind him. Colour me curious, Tao Ci."
Master Tao awkwardly laughed, just as Gui Chang slowly moved herself around the stranger and toward Tao Hua. The stranger merely side-stepped, aware of this, and faced Master Tao.
"Have you taught him anything? To Speak? Common courtesies? Humans are surprisingly trainable." He lifted up the arm of his robe, a playfully sad expression on his face. "I can't imagine I'm so intimidating that even the son of one of my greatest companions wouldn't want to speak to me? I tried to dress down and everything."
The last of his words was said with a pout.
"Oh, Your Majesty, this lowly servant assures you the boy is extremely well read," Master Tao pleaded. This was the first Tao Hua had ever seen his father in such a state of grovelling. With a smile, he gritted his teeth and tapped his finger on his knuckle, somehow catching Gui Chang's attention. "This boy reads the day away, even into the night. The Tao Estate simply can't get his face out of the books! He's a brilliant little man, my son."
"Then perhaps it is my style that scares this young man. Oh, dear me." The stranger lowered his arm, pitifully puckering his lips. "That's another maidservant sent to the underworld. My, it's so hard to find excellent servants in the modern age!"
Eyes widened, Tao Hua immediately spoke up, all and every word of his stammering and running ahead of his mind.
"S-Sorry! I…it's…sorry, sir. You looked—His Majesty looked—Your Majesty looked…" Tao Hua stumbled. He had little to no experience with addresses or titles, given that he hardly used them in his isolation. What more was a country bumpkin invalid supposed to know?! Quietly, he droned on, his hands pressed between his legs, and head sinking straight into his shoulders. "Aaaaaawwwwwwwfully familiar and this—um, uh…Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm."
It would have been better if he hadn't spoken at all, but he couldn't just let someone die due to his ignorance! Unacceptable!
Gui Chang gently rammed her elbow into Tao Hua's side to shut him up, just as she sat next to him, and the look on his father's face was anything but happy.
But the tall man didn't seem to have any issue with Tao Hua. In fact, he looked as if he were enjoying every last squirm and stutter Tao Hua muttered, almost to a disgusting degree.
As Gui Chang interjected, she gritted her teeth into a smile and leaned into Tao Hua from the side. So close, her breath could have fogged up his trembling eyes.
"Sorry, Your Majesty, the Imperial Emperor is quite the individual to meet up close. This subject humbly requests that Your Majesty pardon such naivety," she began, placing her hand on Tao Hua's back and pushing him to prostrate with her. "It will not happen again."
Tao Hua stared down at his red robe, hands placed on the wooden floor. Every part of him froze over, and all the words he could possible say simply choked.
The Imperial Emperor…? Of the Imperial Capital…? Didn't Lord No-Name mention something about not recommending the capital? Glancing up, past a few strands of hair, Tao Hua looked at the Imperial Emperor. Why is he here?
It was a bad feeling, twisting his stomach into knots, and something told him if he wanted to be friends with Lord No-Name, this man standing ahead of him was bad news.
The room fell silent, every person's breath sounding louder and more obnoxious as time went on. This only made Tao Hua's racing thoughts scream louder, and his fingers trembled against the wooden surface.
However, the man broke into a laugh, "I like this one! He's funny—funny and cute, what a perfect pair. Tao Ci, tell me, how did you birth such a thing? Do you think maybe I could do the same? Oh, how I love innocence. Not knowing who I am…funny."
Thing…? What?
Confused, all Tao Hua could do was stare up at the emperor in complete disbelief. What kind of man was this? Threatening someone's life while finding joy in it?
And was he overjoyed or angry that Tao Hua hadn't known he was the emperor?
But the emperor just went on for what felt like forever, while Tao Hua and Gui Chang remained kowtowing. He didn't once tell them to get up, nor did he care what position they were in.
All he seemed to care about were the words that left his mouth.
Most of the conversation was navigated by his father, trying to steer it away from Tao Hua. This eventually caused the man to feel rather bored, and so he lifted his hands and snapped his fingers a few times.
"Servant number one, come here." Before turning to another woman. He said, "Go on and get the carriage ready; night falls, therefore it's time to leave, and I am no longer entertained. Tao Ci, do better next time, don't mess with my toys."
Master Tao's face immediately dropped.
As he walked away, hands shoved into his sleeves, the man mumbled a bit to his servant, who only nodded in response. The last of his words echoed amid the silence that darkened the Tao Estate Hall.
"What a boy! I want someone like him in my palace," he said to the servant. "Speaking of that. When we return to the Imperial Palace, find that maidservant and bring her to my bedchamber. Don't forget my sword."
Just as this man came, he went, passing through the door without even a goodbye. "I've been bored."
Chapter end.
ILLUSTRATION TO COME (Will be in the comments when I finally finish it)