Tao Hua groaned that he wasn't feeling well, his head practically threatening to split.
Regardless of Qian Jue's skills, she couldn't quite place the causation of the pain, nor was Tao Hua showing any signs of a cold. And she knew that Tao Hua was less likely to fake something most other servants tried, as it would have meant time away from the others.
She decided that it was just a migraine and nothing more, but Shan Si wasn't fully convinced. There was a suspicion in his eyes, squinting at Tao Hua as he held his hand over his mouth, watching Qian Jue administer medicine.
Immediately, he traced back to their time near the Temple of Luoxue, and without a word, left the room. Tao Hua couldn't understand, but he was too exhausted to react, and only laid his cheek against the pillow.
Staring blankly ahead, just as Qian Jue dabbed away some of the sweat, Tao Hua's mind erred.
He was certain he'd messed up, just as was expected of him, and let Shan Si down. Over and over, he tried not to make a big deal of things, but with the loss of sleep Shan Si was experiencing each night, who was he kidding?
The proof was in the bags under his eyes.
Then, finally, Shan Si returned. He had an aggrieved look on his face—one that wrinkled his brows with enough pressure; they twitched. At first, Tao Hua's heart sank, thinking that, for once, his thoughts were regrettably right.
He couldn't be more wrong.
Kind of.
Running in behind and shoving him aside was Fang Jian, the source of Shan Si's annoyance. She rushed up to the bed, fell to her knees, and leaned her body against the edge. Chin against the mat, she started to blubber sentences that made little sense.
Her thoughts were quicker than her words.
Brows furrowed and eyes narrowed, Tao Hua stared at her with complete bewilderment before shifting his eyes back up to Shan Si questioningly.
But Shan Si didn't have an answer; his own eyes only rolled as if about to have a seizure.
Luckily, Fang Jian was elbowed aside, but not by Shan Si. It was another woman, and that woman had a scowl on her face, one that looked accusatory.
"Calm down, Fang Jin," Wu Mi ordered, irritated. Sitting down in the chair next to the bed, she held out two items. A tin and a clothed, sealed clay jar, passing them to Qian Jue.
She stared down at Tao Hua, plainly stating, "Arm."
"Arm?!" Fang Jian shouted in disbelief. Even Shan Si glanced at her with confusion. "Didn't Lord Shan Si say his head hurt?!"
But, to her and Shan Si's shock, Tao Hua reluctantly obliged and offered Wu Mi his arm. From the moment he saw her, he expected this, given all she saw back at the Temple of Luoxue.
Shan Si just stared at Tao Hua, who avoided any form of eye contact. Tao Hua knew he had messed up, not mentioning anything to Shan Si, so to see the look of hurt on his face, ah, he'd prefer anything else.
Rolling up his sleeve and removing the ribbon from his arm and holding it up, she looked at it, something urgent flashing in her eyes. However, after a few seconds more, it dulled entirely, and she set it aside.
Things had to get done, and thus, she held up Tao Hua's arm and examined the reddened marks, soon turning her head toward Shan Si.
"What's with that look on your face? Are you seriously just noticing this now? Isn't this supposed to be your so-called 'wife' everyone keeps talking about, and yet you haven't even seen him without his clothes on? What, no bridal chamber after the wedding?"
It was more of a crude remark against Shan Si if anything, but Tao Hua's head still dramatically dipped, his hair hiding his flushed cheeks. However, it was as if removing the ribbon was removing the bandage to a cut—it burnt with pain.
Compared to Tao Hua's frenzied state, Shan Si was the opposite. He didn't seem bothered in the slightest by the comment. Rather, he just swished it away with the motion of his hand, unable to remove his eyes from Tao Hua.
A look of frustrated horror came over him, keeping his eyes pinpointed on the red.
Running her fingers along it, Tao Hua's head fell further, and he bit his lower lip amid the pain. From the way she was focused on Tao Hua's head and not the arm, it wasn't hard to deduce she was gauging a reaction.
However, it wasn't Tao Hua who stopped her, but Shan Si, who grabbed her arm and asked, "Are you trying to hurt him?"
"Let me do my job." She swatted away Shan Si's hand, situating Tao Hua's arm onto the mat. Bitterly smiling, she jeered, "It seems you have more than just Consort Gu's condition to worry about, Your Highness."
Another jab, but Tao Hua was already in excruciating pain, so he just laid his chin on the mat, looking utterly pitiful and exhausted. Fang Jian jumped into action, reaching her hand over and smoothing out Tao Hua's hair; meanwhile, the other two argued.
Shan Si glared at Wu Mi. "How would I know if you don't tell me?"
"Implications. If I give you the wrong idea, the place turns upside down because of your inability to manage your emotions. What would that make of me, Your Highness?" she retorted, seething with spite. "I'm not looking to be slaughtered."
Just before Shan Si could shoot back, Fang Jian interrupted. She turned her head away from Tao Hua and toward Wu Mi.
"Idea! Can't Mimi just say it as 'allegedly?!'" Anxiously, she shouted her ridiculous idea, reaching for Wu Mi's skirt. "What if Huahua dies?! Who will I have then?!"
Wincing at the volume, Wu Mi moved her head further away from Fang Jian, shoving her head away. "The boy is not going to die. Quit being ridiculous, Fang Jin! Get off!"
Tao Hua felt that with all the arguing happening, his head was going to explode. More than anything, he wanted to reach his hand out and grip Shan Si's sleeve, but one glance up at his betrayed expression, riddled with worry, and Tao Hua decided against the idea.
So, he just pressed his head to the mat, the corners of his eyes reddening from a mixture of too many things, all at once.
"Why are you even here?!" Wu Mi shouted at Fang Jian, rising to her feet and now kicking her away.
"Why not?! I was already on my way—can't I see my best friend?!" Fang Jian cried, hands on the ground, staring up at Wu Mu. "At least he lets me be a part of things! Just because I can't do whimsy wonders with my hands and conjure up stuff doesn't mean my support isn't worth anything—"
"Stop." Shan Si held up his hand to silence the bickering pair, the other against his temple. "Why is his arm like this?"
Fang Jian slumped back down to the floor, leaning against the bed. She pouted, while Wu Mi just stared up at Shan Si.
"For him not to tell you…" she scoffed a laugh. "You must have really done a number on him."
Darting up from the mat, despite the pain, Tao Hua finally spoke. "No! It's not like that!"
"Then why?" Wu Mi asked, staring seriously at Tao Hua.
This time, Shan Si didn't jump in to rescue him; he just looked, well, sad. There was no beautiful way of putting it. Shan Si was trying to hold back a distraught expression, trying to make sense of the situation.
But regardless, Tao Hua just bit his bottom lip, looking down at the mat. With trembling words, he said, "I'm sorry, Shan Si."
Fang Jian shouted, "Don't apologise to him!—"
Slapped upside the head, Wu Mi pointed her finger aggressively at the exit of Shan Si's bedchambers. She'd finally had it with Fang Jian's interruptions.
Chapter end.
Sketch of Wu Mi in the comments!