Horrified, Fang Jian's mouth hung open while Tao Hua just begrudgingly lifted his arm, staring at the outfit she had forced on him.
"WHAT?!" she asserted loudly. "He never mentioned that!"
"Oh." Tao Hua twiddled his fingers, his eyes shifting a bit. So it was Shan Si who spread the story? Did that mean Tao Hua said the wrong thing or acted without his acknowledgement? Although nervousness settled in, there was a curiosity brewing, egging Tao Hua to find out how Shan Si viewed him around others.
"What did he say…?"
"Well…not much! He just said not to let you leave!" The two just stared at each other in a daze, blinking until Fang Jian gasped loudly and shouted, "T-That's…let me go find him!"
She rose to her feet before Tao Hua hastily reached for her sleeve.
"N-No! You're misunderstanding! Jiji!" Tao Hua cried. Looking down at his desperate expression, Fang Jian's brows knitted.
"What's there to misunderstand?! That's kidnapping! It-It's the opposite of saving a damsel in distress…it's the dragon breathing fire on the tower with the princess in it! Not good!"
"Well…that's true…it is! Um!" Tao Hua was defeated, he didn't know how to defend Shan Si at the moment. Coiling the fabric around his hand, he smiled helplessly. "It's fine! He apologized to me about that! Kinda…"
He really didn't.
Shan Si was averse to the word sorry and usually expressed it in other ways. Had it not been for Tao Hua in the position of his actions, then most people wouldn't accept it.
Tao Hua let out a sigh.
"Lord Shan Si never apologizes!" She said, trying to move forward as Tao Hua tugged on her sleeve. Where was she even trying to go?! Shan Si wasn't in the palace!
To Tao Hua's understanding, at least.
"It's been that way since we were younger! Do you know what he said to me once?! After letting me fall into a puddle? Mind you, he accidentally pushed me! He said…" She lowered her voice, mimicking Shan Si. "'Stop being so clumsy and maybe you wouldn't have fallen.' No accountability, Huahua! None! He was fifteen, and I was thirteen! Can you imagine how it felt being looked down upon, covered in mud?!"
"I-I can! But!" Tao Hua impatiently shook his leg. That was absolutely an awful thing for him to do, and Tao Hua couldn't deny it, so it was better to change the topic entirely.
"Where are you trying to go, Jiji?! He's not even in the palace!"
"That's okay, I'll find him!" Trying to tug her own sleeve from Tao Hua, she made an angry sound. "Stop trying to prevent this, Huahua! I'll give him a piece of my mind and defend your honour! That bastard!"
This continued with Fang Jian trudging her way out of the Western Wing, with Tao Hua dragged behind her. He had his feet dug into the ground, drawing two thick lines as he tried ever-so-desperately to hold her back, but this girl was surprisingly strong!
As soon as they made it to the outer court, Tao Hua had given up on trying to hold her back. His shoes were slopping wet with stains of dirt, and black strands flew in many different directions.
All he could do was chase after Fang Jian, who kept marching her way toward the gate of Chuhen Palace. He tried to reason with her, holding out his hands, but nothing would get through that thick skull of hers.
During this debacle, neither patron was observant of their surroundings. So, when someone questionably called out Tao Hua's title of "Young Master", both immediately froze mid-beg and mid-explanation.
Turning their heads, they saw two people. The first was Suo Han, and he held an expression of both concern and disbelief. Next to him stood Wan Mie. Nothing on his complexion revealed anything—he just stared at the two ahead indifferently, while they all stood in silence surrounded by the open space of the outer court.
Tao Hua's shoulders slumped, and when Suo Han finally spoke, he felt his entire dignity crash and burn.
"W-What's going on?" asked Suo Han, glancing from Fang Jian then to Tao Hua, causing his face to twist with a confused smile. "Young Master Gu? Why…um…you…that's new."
The next bit went by quickly and ended with Wan Mie finally snapping. He bent toward a tree and started to laugh uncontrollably, offending Fang Jian.
"Hey!" She held her fists close to her sides, looking like a squirrel hunting for food. "I worked hard on Huahua! Stop it, Uncle Mie, stop!"
Driving his face into his hands, Tao Hua groaned. Of all people to catch them, it had to be Wan Mie—Suo Han was fine, and Tao Hua could trust that he wouldn't spread it around to secure his Young Master's dignity, but Wan Mie?
Not a care in the world. He was still laughing, and even louder at Fang Jian's resistance and hurt.
"You don't act this way with Brother Zhou!" she cried at Wan Mie, who simply cranked up the laughter. "He's more manly than Huahua! So why are you laughing?!"
Tao Hua groaned louder. There was no coming back from this.
"Um…" Suo Han stepped away from Fang Jian, his fear rather obvious the more he shifted his eyes at the furious Fang Jian. Awkwardly smiling, he approached Tao Hua and started to pat his back. "We can wash it off later, Young Master Gu."
Fang Jian whipped her head toward Suo Han. "Who said you could do that?! That's my hard work! Stop touching it!"
She flailed her hands in the air, flapping them at Suo Han, who immediately took a step away and apologetically bowed. Over and over, his eyes nearly spun in circles. Every other word rose higher and higher until the pitch rang sharply. "Th-this lowly servant apologizes to Consort Fang! Should the madam punish him a thousand times!"
Nails practically dug into the skin on his face, as Tao Hua regretted every action taken up until now.
"You should be and I will!" She huffed, crossing her arms. But her brows knit just as she glanced up to think, and once it dawned on her, she unfolded them and shouted, "Where's the child?!"
Folding inward, Suo Han's entire body broke out into a sweat, shocked with anxious vibration. "I-I…T-This servant doesn't know! Master has been assisting in his search!"
"You lost him?! How?! How do you lose a child?!"
But Suo Han couldn't form a proper sentence; he just started muttering inaudible words, trembling amid Fang Jian's fury.
A loud, happy sigh sounded, and then a hand pressed on Suo Han's shoulder. Hyperventilating, the poor servant glanced up to find Wan Mie finally calmed, regardless of the tears that nearly poured from his eyes.
"That's enough, Fang Jian, you'll send the poor boy to the underworld at this rate and he's kind of needed right now." Wan Mie's shoulders deflated with amusement. "Is there any reason Consort Fang is going against Our Lord's orders? Pray tell, I'm sure there must be a good explanation, yes?"
"Does there have to be?!" she demanded.
"Well, no. There doesn't have to be. But you know Shan Si as well as I do; he won't be very happy with this union the two of you formed. Not my problem, but we're all under his command, are we not?"
"So what?! Maybe if he wasn't always trying to control people in this palace, he'd actually be able to keep someone around without forcing them! This is why everyone hates him!"
Tao Hua finally removed his face from his hands and glanced up at the two. Something ignited in him—something he couldn't quite understand.
"So what if I hang out with her?" Said, with a face full of rouge and dressed in a woman's hanfu. "Shan Si's not that difficult…"
But he wasn't entirely sure whether that was true or not. He just felt the innate desire to defend him, regardless of all he'd done in the past.
Wan Mie's eyebrows rose and his lips parted, but he didn't yet say anything as if waiting for Tao Hua. However, there was a clear smile on the horizon, awaiting a response.
"He—Shan Si's the one who left me anyway…she's just helping him," Tao Hua said, before realizing it and immediately shutting his mouth.
Fang Jian, wide-eyed, pouted admiringly while staring at Tao Hua, then turned her head back to Wan Mie with the vigour of a million peacocks.
"Yeah! What Huahua said!" It was clear she didn't fully understand the situation, but was happy to have someone in her court as much as she was in theirs. "This is Lord Shan Si's reckoning to bear! Maybe he should stop dragging all of us into his stupid mess!"
Tao Hua froze. That wasn't exactly what he meant to say. Why was it that when others had issues with him, it stirred him negatively?
"Ah. Interesting, how interesting," Wan Mie hummed, contemplating for a moment. "All right. I'll allow it; you both are free to leave and continue on your merry way. Pay no mind to this old man and his concerns for either of your safety."
"Mmm." Fang Jian squinted at Wan Mie, who didn't seem bothered at all. Tilting her head up, she asked, "Where is he?"
"Who?" asked Wan Mie, still as the afternoon calm.
"Lord Shan Si. Where is he?" she repeated. "Why did he kidnap Huahua? What was he thinking?! It's already bad enough he torments everyone with his problem—"
"Oh, Fang Jian, Fang Jian. Sweet child, do mind your manners and be a smart girl—won't you? I know you are." Wan Mie half-smiled at her, his eyelids fallen. Approaching, he patted her shoulder, sending the corner of her lip into a sneer. "Stay out of things that don't involve you, okay? I'm telling you this out of the kindness of my heart and the years spent keeping you safe—you don't know what beast you're fighting with. His name is Tao Gu, by the way, not Huahua."
Staring up at him, Fang Jian's face twisted, but she didn't quite say anything, while Tao Hua only stared at the two of them—why exactly were they keeping her out of things?
What things exactly?
"Ah, Rabbit's Foot," Wan Mie removed his hand from Fang Jian's shoulder, rubbing it off. In a cheerful manner, and smiled at Tao Hua. "You've grown so daring, this old man can see how Our Lord has imprinted himself precisely on you. Pray to the heavens it stays that way and he doesn't taint that blue gem into black. Suo Zong."
After reconciling with himself, Suo Han straightened himself promptly. "Y-Yes Master?!"
"Come—we need to find the brat before Sister Jue ends up drowning herself." He nudged his head toward the east, holding up his hand. "Enjoy playing dress-up, princesses."
As the pair walked away, Tao Hua just stared down at the ground.
What… His forehead wrinkled. What are they talking about…?
"Hmph! How mean! Uncle Mie can be so strict at times!" Fang Jian grumbled. Her entire demeanour changed the moment she approached Tao Hua, and with a wide smile, she said, "Well! Enough of that! Our friendship finally has a blessing! How lovely is that, Huahua?!"
But Tao Hua just couldn't exactly find it in himself to celebrate; his mind was running left and right, up and down, in zig-zag motions trying to make sense of everything. Deep down, he knew something wasn't right about this palace, and someone was keeping something from him.
Looking up at Fang Jian's obliviousness, Tao Hua found himself evermore confused.
Why don't they want us talking?
Chapter end.