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“Your Highness, lunch is served.” A girl said in a low tone. Her voice was deep, yet feminine. A kind of voice that would tend to someone when they’re sick.
“I told you to stop teasing me with that.” The girl behind the folding screen replied. Busy by the drug she’s concocting, paying no notice of the girl with a mellow voice.
The girl mixing medicinal herbs is Li Yanru, the Lawful Eldest Princess of Wei Kingdom. She’s known to be extremely intelligent and especially talented in the field of medicine. No one could surpass her at this, it's a good thing she’s using this gift to help others. At the moment, she’s trying to find a cure for her beloved’s menstrual cramps. Nagong Sunu, the eldest daughter of the Literary Official, has been struggling with her monthlies. When Li Yanru found out about this, she did not waste any second to find the best reliever for her.
Giggling, Sunu reminded her lover to eat first before continuing work. Yanru couldn’t do anything but obey her. The reason why she’s feeling more energetic these days is because of these meals, and perhaps the lovely lady by her side. They’ve been dating for three months now. Sunu has always had a crush on Yanru but was too intimidated to make a move. A spark only happened when Yanru came back from her travels, she figured it was now or never. Anytime, her father could marry her off to some random man with a rich family. But Yanru will never have this misfortune, at least not as bad as hers.
They ate lunch together with a smile, as usual. Yanru is getting used to having Sunu around her apothecary area despite her preference for working alone. Sometimes Sunu would help her gather ingredients or test the medicines she made. This one is especially for her and she wants it to be perfect.
“When are you getting your monthlies again?”
“Third of the week next month.”
“The medicine should be ready before then.”
They finished eating and Yanru went back to work. This is the only thing she does, every day, every second. Not because she has nothing else to do but because she acknowledges her privilege as a noble and this is the best way to help people as she has no political interest, she tries her best to avoid meddling in the kingdom's affairs. She and her father agreed that she must stay out of bad luck and in return, she can do whatever she wants. Her father is preventing the prophecy of her forever-doomed life through this. Even though he thinks of her dearly, he would rather set her free and ensure her and the kingdom’s safety. Whereas Sunu’s father is keen on finding her a husband to marry. Her days of freedom are counted.
With the limited time they can spend together, Sunu wants to cherish every second of it. She went past the folding screen and saw Yanru sitting on the floor cushion while pounding some sort of leaf with a mortar and pestle. She stood still for a few seconds and watched Yanru do her thing, in awe at how focused her eyes were on crushing the leaf. Her palm cupped the mortar as her delicate fingers wrapped around the pestle, putting pressure gently, but still with vigor. It’s a sight Sunu wants to see forever. Perhaps her lover could remain in the same position even after years, making a medicine for their illnesses when they’ve reached an old age. But the clock is running, and it can’t be stopped. So she rushed to be beside her lover. Even though she didn’t want to bother her, she didn’t want to miss her either.
“Sunu, what are you doing?” she crunched her eyebrows for a bit but immediately regretted it.
“Can’t I sit beside her Highness?” Sunu asked with a scoff and a side-eye.
Yanru burst into laughter, which startled Sunu. She was expecting an irritated response from her. She’s never done this much teasing with Yanru before because she didn’t want to bother her while working and she was scared of how she might react. Yanru’s laughter was so contagious that she couldn’t keep up with her act anymore and joined her.
Yanru wiped her tears away, took a few deep breaths and faced Sunu’s blushing face. “Does my baobei want anything?” she teased back.
“Baobei?!” Sunu blushed from the endearment her lover called her. It was the first time she’d heard that word from her, and although it was said in a joking manner, she couldn’t help but feel the butterflies. Yanru’s usually reserved, but it turns out, she just needed a Nangong Sunu in her life to show her carefree side.
“Why, Baobei? Do you not like it?” she said with a smirk but she was unable to look directly at Sunu, her cheeks forming a pink tinge on them.
“No… I like it. Keep using it please.”
“Only if you stopped teasing me.”
They both went quiet for a second, shy to initiate a conversation after what just happened. But Sunu thought of something to break the silence. She scooted even closer to Yanru, closing the tiny gap between them, and their sleeves overlapped each other. Sunu looked into Yanru’s face, but she was too focused on grinding the leaves. She examined her porcelain skin, it seemed to be softer than any tofu she’d seen before. She wanted to touch it, to feel it with her own skin to convince herself that she was real.
Driven by an unknown force, her hands reached for Yanru’s face. Her right one cupped her jaw while her left hand started to caress her other cheek. She felt her heart drop from the tenderness of her cheeks, she held her face like a priceless piece of porcelain, and her lips couldn’t stop smiling.
Yanru was startled at first, but when she felt Sunu’s fingers gently brush her skin, her eyes welled up a bit. Sunu’s hands were cold but it made her feel warm within. She finally stopped what she was doing and faced Sunu, she was smiling endlessly that it made her smile too.
The world stopped for the two of them, and it had forgotten who they were. Because at that moment, they were purely lovers, existing only for each other.
Sunu craved for more than a touch, she wanted to know what she was thinking, understand what she was feeling, and stay forever like this. After one last brush on her cheek, she finally reached in for a sweet peck.
Yanru giggled as Sunu kissed her cheek. It wasn’t their first kiss but Sunu’s still too shy to give her a direct kiss. So she shifted the angle of her face to a point where their lips would meet. “I think that’ll make you happier.”
“Yes it did, you’re truly an amazing healer.”
But despite the love in the air, Yanru couldn’t help but worry if there was something that’s bothering Sunu. She asked what was wrong, but Sunu refused to say anything before asking a question.
“Say, when my father decides to marry me off to some random man, what do you think will happen to us?” Sunu’s face is now painted with worry. “And I know we haven’t been together for a while, you may not feel the same way, but I’ve liked you for a long time now, and I think a lot about these things.”
Yanru knows, and she’s thought about those things too.
“Well, you don’t have to worry so much. I have a plan for us if ever that were to happen.”
It was a major relief for Sunu. The fact that Yanru thought of the same thing as her is enough to make her happy. But she wanted to know about the plan. “What were you planning?”
Yanru hesitated for a bit, but she decided to share it with Sunu. “This might sound unrealistic to you, but I can make it happen if you agree with it.” She nodded, excited to hear Yanru’s plans for them. “First, I have to let my father know and convince him to agree. The possibility of him agreeing with this is high because he’s been itching to get rid of me.”
“Okay, I hope it’s nothing dangerous,” worried by her remark.
Yanru let out a loud sigh, “It’s not totally… The plan is to run away together.”
“Run away?!” Sunu was not fond of the idea. “How are we supposed to run away together? I have a life here, Yanru. I have my sisters that I’m supposed to take care of! Who’s gonna be there for them when I leave? They need their eldest sister, it’s not fair for them.”
“It’s only an option, Sunu. You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.” She assured her, but the disappointment on her face was visible. She wasn’t expecting Sunu to agree in the first place, but this was the only option for them to live a peaceful and secure life. She might be the princess of the Wei kingdom now, but there’s nothing she can do to change anything that would help with their situation.
Deep down, Sunu agrees with Yanru, though other emotions still prevail in her. She walked out of the room, unsure of what to do or say to Yanru.
Later that day, she didn’t go to her like she usually does. Yanru didn’t have any dinner because ever since Sunu started coming to eat together, her maids stopped serving her food.
This went on for days and weeks until she heard the news that Sunu would be getting married soon from her secret investigator. She tried looking for her, but she never caught her in the places she was supposed to be.
Then the night before Sunu’s wedding came. It was a cold night, the wind was blowing with force more than usual. It’s disrupting Yanru’s candle lamp which is the only source of light in her pitch-black room.
The flame flickered as she was writing a letter so arduously, pinning down the pieces of paper on top of each other with her hand and pen, preventing them from flying all over due to the wind. She was writing a letter for Nagong Sunu, for the last time. She couldn’t see her with somebody else, but she had no choice either, it was all Sunu’s decision. She decided that after she sent her letter to Sunu, she would go back to traveling and healing other people to forget the life she’s had with her.
She wanted to do more things with Sunu. To travel to different places, taste different foods, and experience all things together.
All of her hopes and dreams for each other are now shattered.
Shattered.
There was a shattering sound behind her. When she looked over her shoulders, there was a fire spreading rapidly, near a standing figure.
It was Nangong Sunu. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were puffy and wet from crying. Her lamp had shattered and the oil had spread on the floor but she didn’t seem to mind the fire that was spreading in front of her. It was the first time they’d seen each other after weeks.
“Is it too late for me to change my mind?” Sunu asked in a whisper while holding back tears.
“Change your mind? On what? Aren’t you getting married tomorrow?” Yanru replied as she gathered chunks of fabric to put out the fire.
Sunu stood frozen in her place while Yanru was putting out the fire. Once she successfully killed the fire, she raised her head to see Sunu, still crying.
“I’m sorry, I can’t do it. I can’t marry a man I barely know, especially when I have someone I love with all my life.”
Yanru slowly got up to stand face to face against Sunu. She brushed her hair in the direction of her bun and went in for an embrace. She wrapped her arms around Sunu’s neck tightly and Sunu buried her face on it.
“I know, I’m sorry if that’s the only option I could give you.”
She stopped crying and abruptly raised her head, a sudden realization came to her.
“Let’s do it.” She looked at Yanru dead in the eye.
“What? What about your sisters?”
“I have no clue, but I know I need to escape this marriage for my sake.”
They both agreed to go with Yanru’s plan. However, it was too late to arrange everything and tell her father about it. Sunu is getting married first thing in the morning. So Yanru came up with an idea, to disappear on the surface of the earth. In order to escape the life that they have at the moment, they have to fake their death so no one would look for them or question their disappearance.
Yanru packed everything they needed, gold and pieces of jewelry that they could sell to make a living, her tools and ingredients to make medicine, and some important books. After that, she left traces of evidence that would show she and Sunu were there. She pour out the right amount of oil just enough to burn her room and not cause too much fire. By the time it had spread out, her maids would’ve been awake and the fire would be out shortly.
Once everything was set, she held Sunu’s hand while holding an oil lamp on the other and walked toward the back door where Sunu entered. As they were standing near the door, she threw the lamp on the pool of oil. They ran off as fast as they could after the ground had formed a fire.
They didn’t know where they were headed, but they had each other.
Six months after their escape, they’ve made a home in a small town, far away from their kingdom. Li Yanru is healing people and making medicine for the townsmen as her occupation, while Sunu takes care of their home and her lover.“
“Baobei, I’m home,” Yanru called out as she put down the bags that she was carrying. A few seconds have gone by, but there is still no response. Their house is small so there’s no way Sunu didn’t hear her. She also didn’t mention attending some sort of errand earlier so she couldn't have possibly gone out. She went to look for Sunu in the kitchen, in the restroom, in their bedroom, and every corner of their home, but there was no sight of her. She’s starting to feel the panic consume her, and all the possible mishaps went through her head. She didn’t know where to look next. And just as she was about to head outside, she heard rustling sounds near their door.
It was Nagong Sunu, covered in mud, and she’s carrying something that is also covered in mud. The thing barked at Yanru.
Sunu brought home a dog.
“What is that Baobei?!”
“It’s a dog! I found it wandering on the streets. She was a little feisty at first hence the mud stains, but we’re all good!”
Sunu set the dog free and it attacked Yanru with kisses.
In the end, Yanru accepted her faith to co-parent the dog. They washed her together, and it turns out, her real color is toasted brown, far from the one when she was covered in mud.
“Do you have a name for it?” Yanru asked Sunu while drying their dog’s hair.
“Yes! She’s called Baobao now! Hehe.”
The three of them made a happy family together.