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The room was quiet. No one dared to say a word. Lakan was still lying in bed because of his injury from when they had been going to the Shi clan’s fortress. Fengxian, his dear wife and the mother of his child, was sitting on the edge of the bed, caressing her husband’s hair. Near the window stood Lahan, leaning on the wall and studying the blue roses, which had dried a long time ago, but were still kept in the vase. And then there was Maomao, who was standing in her home clothes, which would be a white shirt with a dark green skirt over it, finishing it with a green blouse. She also had a black overrobe on, which her brother gave to her to “keep her warm”.
Finally, the silence was broken as the head of the clan turned his head and looked at his daughter from head to toe.
«My dear princess, are you hurt anywhere? Do you think you have any injuries that need doctor's attention? If you don't want any doctor, I can try to ask uncle to come and take a look at you.» He wanted to at least get on his elbows to take a better look, but his attempts were quickly shut down by his wife's hands, who were gently pressing on his shoulders, trying to keep him lying. He could only frown at that, but obeyed anyway. His eyes screamed worry as he looked at his precious daughter. She looked fine, but what if there is something that they haven't seen? What if stuff that she had to go through was too bad for her? His poor girl had to go through so much, she didn't even do anything wrong, she always did what was told in the palace, and yet it happened to her. It was all because of that stupid prince, who was pretending to be a eunuch for 5 years. If he just continued with his duties as a prince, instead of pretending to be a eunuch and taking care of the rear palace, perhaps then his little girl would never be kidnapped…
«I am truly fine, father. I checked myself twice and a doctor from the palace also took a look at me. I am completely healthy, without any injuries. Thank you for your concerns.» Maomao bowed with her head, not daring to look directly at her father. She knew very well why she got kidnapped: she knew too much and could figure out too much. If they would let her be in the palace, then she would snitch on them to Master Jinshi, or better say the Moon Prince. She definitely would, that's her job after all. She was there to keep the palace safe as well. But she did also just go along with them, as she was promised to learn how to make a resurrection drug… And she still didn't find it out! Suirei never ended up telling her how to make it! That's so unfair. She could only sigh at her own thoughts.
Her wandering eyes, however, caught something interesting. There wasn't much in her parents room, but something did look extraordinary. The vase with the dried blue roses. Lahan seemed interested in them as well, but she didn't notice him. She slowly walked to the table and carefully took one rose out, taking a good look at it.
«I’m glad the colour stays on even if the rose is dried. I was worried if the colour would fade then. Are those the same roses, as the ones that I brought with me, when father was drunk after the garden party?» The rose looked so nice at the light of the moon. It was pretty late and the sky was so clean. She was just trying to take a better look at it under the moonlight. It looked awesome in the white light, so mesmerising. Yet, her eyes unwillingly went up to meet with the Moon. How could she miss the fact that he was actually a prince? Was that that secret that he wanted to tell her on the hunt? If she knew better, she would actually listen. Maybe then she wouldn't get kidnapped and wouldn't be forced to stand here right now, but could be near Lady Gyokuyou and help her to take care of her children. Perhaps she could, but that opportunity is long gone.
«Yes. I did plant some white roses just like you told me. Mind telling me, how can we get blue roses by planting the white ones?» Fengxian just turned her head to see her child. She could see her face very clearly from where she was sitting, as Lahan's shoulder was in the way of Maomao's face. But she didn't need to see it to know what kind of expression she made. Not a troubled one, but rather tired. Her poor flower went through so much, and it was truly late, she should be lying in a warm bath and preparing to sleep, instead of standing in her parents room like a child, waiting for their punishment after doing something bad. She wanted to know the answer to her question, but she can get it later. «Nevermind. You can tell me later. For now, go to sleep, Kaikai, you need a lot of rest after everything you went through.»
Lakai didn't react at first. She returned the rose to its original place and carefully brushed each rose with the tips of her fingers. They were so fragile, one wrong move and there will be nothing left of it. But her parents seemed to enjoy them, so what could she do? She was too tired to think about it anyway. She should just follow her mother's advice and go to sleep. Finally making up her mind, she turned around on her heels and gave a light bow to both of her parents.
«Have a good night, father, mother. Goodnight to you as well, Lahan.» She bowed to her brother with her head as well. Usually, he would return it, but this time he just stared at her, not saying anything. Maomao could only raise an eyebrow at that and looked over at herself. That's right, she was wearing his overrobe. She should probably return it to him. Perhaps then he would be satisfied.
Just as she started to slowly take the overrobe off, his hands stopped her and fixed the black clothing on her. «Keep it. At least while you are here. I have another warm overrobe and I can't say the same about you. So wear it. Have a good night, dear sister.» He patted her head for a few seconds, giving a slight smile. Did Lahan himself know that he smiled? Most likely not, as his smile didn't leave his face even when his hand got slammed lightly and his sister turned around and walked towards the door. She was so small and fragile, who knows when she would break? It would be good if they could just lock her up in the La household, where she surely won't be mistreated. But to her, being denied freedom is already mistreatment, so there was no way for them to keep her safe at all times.
Maomao didn’t say anything, just nodded and slowly walked towards the door. As she opened it, she was met with a young woman, who was dressed in greenish hanfu that perfectly matches the one that Maomao herself was wearing. Neither of them said anything, just looked at each other: the younger in confusion, while the older in some form of worry and admiration. Just as lady’s mouth was opening and moving, as if trying to say something, but words just didn’t come out, a hand from behind landed on her shoulder. «While you stay at the residence, let me return Sanfan to your service. After all, before you told her to serve me, she was at your service as your lady-in-waiting, wasn’t she?» She turned her head to her left, where now her brother was standing. His voice was sweet, really far from his usual one. Is that her kidnapping that changed everyone to be so much softer to her and as if she will break at any touch? But it’s not as if she didn’t understand why it was like that, she would act pretty much the same if one of them was kidnapped or if Lady Gyokuyou or Master Jinshi were kidnapped.
«I will be at your service for the time being, Lady Lakai. Please, don’t turn me down.» Sanfan bowed to her lady, not daring to look up unless she was spoken to. The news of the kidnapping reached her at the same time as everyone else at the household: when Master Lahan and Master Lakan were leaving for the Shi fortress. The young master had looked pretty bad at home the whole week before their leave, but nevertheless didn’t say anything. He left Sanfan taking care of the household and trying to help the madam of the house feel better. She hadn’t known anything, and when she finally learned of everything, was left to deal with her feelings alone. Of course, she had a lady-in-waiting, but she alone couldn’t comfort her madam, so Sanfan also had to step in and do her best. And she did. She made only one selfish request upon their return “If that’s possible, may I return to be Lady Lakai’s lady-in-waiting during her stay here?” Fortunately for her, her master valued his sister over a lot of stuff, and people were one of those stuff, so he gladly gave her permission. So there she was, waiting for her lady’s approval. But she didn’t hear her ladies voice first, it was her master’s once again. «Sanfan asked me herself to serve you. That’s why she asks not to turn her down. Please, sister, accept her.»
«Very well. If Sanfan herself asked, then how can I deny such a request? I will be in your care from today, Sanfan.» Now the servant finally raised her head to look at her confused mistress. Even if she tried to hide it, she still showed with her eyes how tired and confused she was, Sanfan still could see it. She had spent every day of her life for two years before serving Lady Lakai closely. She might not know or understand everything about her mistress, but what she did was more than enough to be capable. As her lady left the room and walked towards her room, she gave a quick bow to her master and followed the youngest.
«The bath should be hot enough for your preferences, My Lady. The night garments are there as well. Is there anything you need me to do for now?» Sanfan closed the door to the room as they walked in. Nothing ever changed there, unless her mistress wanted to, which was rare. She just continued to stand next to the door, while Lakai walked around, taking a good look at everything. When she finally stopped in front of her table, she turned around to face her servant. But she wasn't saying anything. She carefully sat down and placed her palm on the desk. It was similar to her working place in the apothecary shop in Verdigris House. Before, there was a normal desk, but after starting hanging with her granduncle more, she begged for the same place in her room. And she got it in no time, there was no way she would be denied anything. Young lady was just looking up at her servant, not taking off her shoes to sit properly and not saying anything as well, probably waiting for someone else to disturb the silence. Seems, that is what she wants. «My Lady, do you need anything for me to do? Or do you wish to be alone?»
«I wish to be alone. But while I will be bathing, can you bring me some tea with rice crackers? And writing utensils as well. Just leave them on the table. After that, you can go rest. I'm sure you worked hard for the last few days, you deserve a good sleep.» Finally Maomao stood up from her place and slowly walked towards the door, which separated the bedroom and the bathroom. Sanfan didn't say anything. There was no need for words. She just nodded and with a bow left the room, leaving her mistress to herself.
As soon as the door closed, the girl just walked into the bathroom, quickly taking off her clothes and getting in her warm bath. Her lady-in-waiting was right, the water was still at a perfect temperature for her. Most likely, there was hot water before, but as some time passed, the whole room was hot and the water was slightly colder. Just like Maomao prefered it. If her guess is correct, they had filled the bath the second she left the room to stand in front of her parents and brother. They know her all too well. Maybe Sanfan then would even include some wine in her late night snack. The thought of wine warmed her mind, the taste of a pretty good one appeared on her lips, urging her tongue to lick them. Unfortunately, there was no actual wine there, just some hope it might be there. If she could only taste that divine wine that she had the luck of tasting during the hunt, perhaps then her life would be much better.
Maomao really didn't know what to do. She was lost. Before she didn't really need to know what to do, life sent her where she was needed and then she was just following Master Jinshi's orders. If he tells her to solve the case, she will do that, no questions asked. If he sends her somewhere to take care of something, she does as told and gives a report to her best abilities. Now, she was in her house again. And she can't return to the palace. At least not yet. The palace already accepted her twice, won't it accept her for the third time? But now everyone knew who she was. That was the first thing she heard, when she had met Master Jinshi after being rescued, “You won't be able to hide anymore. That eccentric strategist broke the wall to the rear palace once he learned that you are missing. No matter what name you use, everyone would know who you are, Maomao”. Was that a little too harsh? She thinks so. But was that the truth? Unfortunately, yes. So she won't be able to work as a mere serving girl like before. This was too much thinking, she should just focus on something else.
With her granduncle in the palace, who runs the apothecary shop?... Maybe that should be her next place of work. It's not that far from home, she knows whatever she needs to know anyway, so that would be perfect. Besides, there is a little brat that she will need to take care of. For now, he was allowed to sleep in the guards of the Verdigris House room, but he's too young to actually be there. Grams did tell her that it was her responsibility to take care of him. She can take up her old man's shag and sleep there with a brat. There was no way she would bring him in there. He might get his memories back and that is not something they want. It would be best for him and everyone if he didn't have his memory at all.
That was too much thinking for one day, she should just get out of the water and rest. Maybe write some medicine that she would have to make, there is probably no one in the apothecary shop, so she should prepare a lot of every possible thing she can think of. It is cold, so a lot of people probably stopped by to get medicine from it and that's probably the first thing she should mix. She needs to write a list of ingredients first though. Maybe she can cut her stay in the household to a couple of days, instead of the whole week. Hopefully she manages to do that.
As the young lady walked out of the bathroom, drying her hair with the towel, she was met with her servant putting writing utensils with the paper on her table. She tried to see where her snacks were, but there was nothing, which led to her giving a questioning look to her servant.
«The water for the tea was heating, so I thought I would bring you writing utensils first. Is there anything else you need me to bring you, except for the tea and rice crackers?» Sanfan stood in front of her lady and bowed slightly, with her eyes searching for any clues on the lady’s face. After getting a head shaking instead of a vocal “No”, the servant just walked out of the room, leaving her lady to herself again.
Back in the kitchen Sanfan was met with her master. She knew why he was there. He did come earlier and wanted to go see his sister and bring her everything himself, but as she was in the bathroom, they decided that it would be best if Sanfan goes and checks first, if she's out of the room. As she came back, she bowed to the young man.
«She’s out of the bathroom. If you still wish to go, then I think it's a good time. She doesn't seem to be talkative today, though.»
«Thanks, Sanfan. You shall go rest. You did great. Thanks for taking care of the house as well. Get a good sleep.» Lahan just took a tray with a teapot and two cups, two plates as well : one with some rice crackers and the other with some sweet treats for himself. With that at hand, he slowly walked out and in the direction of his sister's room.
Lakai’s room was dark. There were no other sources of light aside from the candle on her desk. She was sitting at the table, scrawling something on the paper.
«Should I add this to the list? No, there should be some of it, hopefully. Then what about abortion medicine?... I don't think there should be any need for it… Hopefully, there were fewer cases of pregnancy…» Apothecary was mumbling to herself as usual. One of her hands was holding her head, while the other was writing just a few seconds ago, but now she just laid the brush down and let the hand rest. Her index fingers were nervously tapping on her head and the table under them. Perhaps she was thinking and worrying too much. She should just let this be the future her problem and rest, but as she started now, she wanted to finish it. She can't really know what the shop needs without seeing it first, but guessing and preparing herself mentally wasn't a bad idea. It's not like if she accidentally makes more medicine than needed, it will be bad. There is never such a thing as too much medicine. It's just the fact of thinking that was making her life harder.
The door to the room slowly opened. Maomao didn't pay much mind to it, she was too deep in her own thoughts to notice anyone else's presence. She was expecting Sanfan anyway, so what's the point? However, once the tray was placed, the feeling of someone else being in the room stayed. She finally looked up, when a blanket was placed over her shoulders and a hand started slowly tracing her back.
«Calm down, Kai, everything is fine. You are home, safe and sound, no one will dare to do anything to you here.» Lahan carefully sat down next to his sister, while trying to take off his shoes with his feet alone. When he finally managed to do that, he fixed the blanket on his younger back and shoulders, to make sure that she's warm. Hot white tea was poured in both cups and placed in front of both of them. He didn't rush his sister or say anything to her, just watching her with a lot of worry in his eyes.
«Thanks, Han.» The lady took a deep breath and let her palms hug the cup, feel all the warmth from it and finally calm down. She took a few more deep breaths before finally looking at her brother, who was sitting next to her. His hair instead of being in a bun, were let down and were ever so slightly touching his shoulders, the glasses were still on, however, as his sight was worse without them. He, just like her, was wearing his night garments with a black overrobe, the same he had been always wearing. He was probably getting ready for bed before coming, so why did he come? Just to annoy her? No, if he wanted to, he wouldn't give her a blanket and try to calm her down. So why then? Did Sanfan suggested to him to come?
«I decided to come myself. Sanfan tried to talk me out, because you weren't very vocal today. If you want me to leave, just say so, I won't be angry at it.» Lahan's voice was unsure. He did say that he won't be angry and he truly wouldn't be if she told him to leave. He would be… sad.. Yes, he would be sad if she were to tell him to leave her alone. He wanted to stay with her and comfort her, take care of her. He couldn't find himself a place when she went missing. It was even worse, when he learnt that it was most likely a kidnapping. That damned prince didn't spare him the details. It didn't matter to him if he was close with his younger sister and if he was worried himself, so it came to the point that he couldn't keep quiet about his theories. He probably didn't think that his attendant was close with any of her relatives, as she never really spoke of them, but how cruel was it to tell everything in detail to her brother!
He sipped the tea out of his cup, when he felt something wet landing on his shoulder. Seems like she didn't dry her hair fully, probably because she was too tired to do so. He didn't object. He would let his shoulder get wet, if it meant having his sister close to him.
«You know… You were right about something…» Maomao didn't speak too loudly, rather too quiet, especially for her. But it didn't bother her brother, as she was speaking right into his ear. She took a sip from her own cup and placed it back on the table, putting a rice cracker in her mouth instead.
«Really? And what is that? That you would be kidnapped even from the rear palace? Didn't you say, and I quote, “The rear palace has high security, there is no way I will be kidnapped.”. And you did not return in no time! I mean, yes, compared to the first time you were kidnapped and sold in the rear palace, yes, a couple of weeks can truly be called in no time, but still! Do you know how much everyone was worrying? Father even destroyed the wall to the rear palace the second he learned about you being missing!» Lahan wasn't angry or mad, he was rarely mad and even more rarely showed that. But he was mad at the moment. He didn't even use his stupid mockering voice when was quoting her. He gave her a glare, but didn't move his head to not disturb hers. He knew she wasn't wrong, he knew she didn't do anything wrong. She just did what was told and got caught up in something unpleasant. His poor little sister suffered for no reason. Well, they did find out about the Shi clan plans thanks to her kidnapping, and them trying to find an excuse to go rescue her. He shouldn't be screaming at her. The young man just took a deep breath and laid his head on hers. «I shouldn't be screaming at you. Excuse me for that.»
«You are excused. Wait. Did dad really just straight up destroy the wall? He can't even run a couple of kilometres without getting tired, how did he destroy a whole wall?»
«Believe it or not, he did. If you don't believe me, you can always ask the Moon Prince or Onsou. Kai, please, you really should be more careful. How did that even happen?»
«You mean, how I was kidnapped? How do I explain this…»
Maomao rubbed her chin and frowled, trying to remember what exactly happened that day. Should she start from the moment about how Suirei took the resurrection drug? Or from when Shisui appeared? Or is it better to just tell how everything happened that evening? The lady made a sip from her cup first, preparing her throat for a long story. She decided that it would be better to straighten, as she would show with her hands, but her brother's head didn't let her to stand.
«Let me raise my head. It's hard to tell a story like that.» Her voice was full of annoyance and she just slightly pinched his arm's skin, grinning after getting an “Ouch!” out of him. He did, however, let her raise her head and then instead placed his head on her shoulder. And with that she started telling him about everything that happened the day she was kidnapped, where she went, what happened in the hot spring village, how she got in the fortress and what happened there the day she was rescued. Sometimes he would interrupt her to make a comment on one or the other thing and she let him, she tried to answer any of his questions with all the honesty that she can to offer. After her story was finally finished, he raised his head and took her by the shoulders.
«And after all of that happened, you dare to say that you don't need a lady-in-waiting or a guard? Just look at what happened! This wouldn't have happened, if you had had someone by your side at all times.»
«If you forgot, I am just a mere serving girl and a lady-in-waiting in the palace. Have you ever seen a lady-in-waiting having a lady-in-waiting or a guard? You are speaking nonsense!»
«I am speaking from the point where you get kidnapped twice, because you didn't have anyone near you! Remind me, how did you get kidnapped the first time?»
«Uhm… Well…» That was embarrassing to admit, because he was right. The first time she was kidnapped was even stupider. She went to pick up some herbs, her guard following her, of course. But there were flowers that hadn’t fully bloomed yet, so she wasn't sure about picking them. She picked just one and asked the guard to go and check about it with her granduncle. The second he left, she was kidnapped. And she had a guard by her side. That was truly a stupidity.
«You had a guard by your side and still got kidnapped. At this point, I really don't know how we can protect you. You were the prince's attendant, he had only 3 attendants and you were one of them, yet, you still somehow got kidnapped. Sometimes you are such a headache, little sister.» Lahan clicked his tongue and let go of his sister's shoulders, offering her a rice snack instead, which she took in no time. If there were things that never changed, her liking those rice crackers would be one of them. Which is strange, considering that everyone else in the family had a sweet tooth, even her mother. As she was munching on her treat, Lahan himself took one of the sweet snacks he had prepared for himself and put it in his mouth. It tasted really nice, especially with the tea. No wonder his sister prefered this tea over others, it was bitter and tasted amazing with sweets. But for her it tasted best with rice crackers, which was weird to him, but who is he to judge her tastes.
Silence fell between them. They were just drinking tea and munching on their snacks, when the younger of the two stood up, leaving the blanket from her shoulders behind. Her brother didn't say anything, just gave her a questioning look. Seconds later she returned with two more blankets. As she sat back down in her place, she wrapped the young man's shoulder in a smaller one, while the bigger one covered their legs. Then she wrapped herself in the same blanket that her brother gave her earlier and placed her head on his shoulder. «I figured that you are not planning to leave anytime soon, so that's just to keep us warm.»
«Never said anything.» The young man didn't object, quite the opposite – he was more than happy to stay with her. She doesn't have to know that though.
His head leaned on his sister's, while his arm reached for the paper, where there was something written, even if it was hard to understand. He tried to read it, but managed to only understand “abortion” and “cold”. Lahan didn't say anything as his sister reached for the paper and took it from his hand.
«I tried to write a list of what medicine might be missing from the granduncle’s apothecary shop. I can't work in the palace anymore, so I thought of taking over his shop. I don't think they will let him out of the palace anytime soon.»
Lahan didn't say anything. His attention was on the other thing – Lakai's arm. Specifically the size of it. He firmly grabbed her wrist, trying to measure it in his hands. It was smaller. It was way smaller than before. The last time her arm was in his hand, he could clearly tell that the diameter of her wrist was about 4 centimeters, but now it was 3 centimeters. Just how much weight did she lose in the palace? Or was it during the kidnapping? He should ask her everything, but the words just can't come out of his mouth. His lips parted, making different shapes, as if the sound was about to come out, but nothing just could. Lakai snitched her arm away and looked confused at him.
«What is wrong with you? Why did you suddenly grab my arm and stare at it like that?» His sister's annoyed voice woke him up from his trans. Young man blinked a few times and then looked up at the precious princess next to him. She did look smaller than she used to. Just through what hell did she go back there in the fortress? She did tell him everything, but she never mentioned anything about the food. She couldn't eat back there? She wasn't fed? Before he knew it, his arms reached for her, squeezing her in a hug.
«What are you doing? You are acting really weird!»
«Shhh. Did they not feed you there? Why are you so small? I mean, you are thinner than before. Your wrist in its smallest section used to be four centimetres, but now it's only three! What happened?»
«Oh, uhm… I was fed, it's just that… It was only one meal a day and the snakes that I ate in the pit were much better than whatever it was that they served me..» Maomao didn't object. Her hands slowly and unsurely moved on her brother's back, hugging him as well. She didn't say more or somehow pointed out how tightly he held her. Just for today she will accept this and give him back the same. Just for today since he was so worried about her.
«Snakes? Seriously? That's gross. Why would you eat snakes?»
«Actually, they are pretty delicious. If you help me catch some or buy them tomorrow, I can cook them for you. Granduncle taught me a lot of recipes on how to cook snakes, so they would be truly tasty.»
«Ew. Why would you even learn that? You know what, fine. Let's buy some snakes tomorrow, since you are so eager to demonstrate your skills in cooking.»
Unwillingly a laugh escaped Lahan, so he pulled out of the hug immediately, trying to hide his laughing face. Maomao herself could keep a straight face for a long time after that and started laughing as well. They both didn't know what was so funny, but it never truly mattered, because as soon as they would stop laughing, something would provoke that laugh again.
Finally, after five minutes of laughter they sat straight again, trying to catch their breath. Maomao poured both of them tea, and they emptied their cups in one swift move. Her head laid on the man's shoulder again as he was finishing his cup.
«Why have you started laughing? What was so funny?» Her voice was still a bit shaky after such a long laughter, but it felt good. Really good. It was quite some time since the last time she was able to laugh so much. Maybe being home was truly not all that bad. She felt a pat on her head and threw a questioning gaze up to where her brother was supposed to be.
«Let’s go shopping tomorrow together. I have a day off, so if it sits right with you, can we spend it together?»
Maomao didn't say anything. She was too tired to speak. When she opened her mouth to at least say simple “Yes” or “No”, a yawn came out instead. So she just nodded as much as it was possible in her position and closed her eyes, slowly drifting into sleep.
«Good night, Kaikai.» Lahan took off his clothes and placed them on the table, letting the sleep get him as well.
Lahan never took off his glasses in front of other people. Even when he needed to wipe the dirt from them, he would usually walk away somewhere, where there would be little to no people, so he won't be seen without them. His glasses were his eyes, they were the most important and the most precious thing to him. He didn't even take them off at home as he couldn't see anything without them.
At some point he was scared of his sister, because when she was mad at him, she would threaten him that she would break his glasses. Young boy would always try to hide his glasses before sleep, always trying to hold his glasses when she was around. Only few months later did he manage to understand that she wouldn't actually break them.
He found out about it on accident. They weren't even 10 years old when that happened. He and Junjie had an argument, and the younger got dirty. He had no choice but to leave his dirty glasses near Maomao, who was just watching from afar while picking up some flowers. When he returned to the garden with Lady Fengxian, he received his glasses cleaned and wiped from the dirt that had got on them before. What was more surprising is that before he got in a fight with Junjie, he had another fight with his sister over what flowers are better for picking up. She did tell him that she will smash the glasses the second she gets a chance. Yet, she didn't. She returned them all cleaned to him. After that, he started trusting her with his glasses more and could even take them off without a single thought.
Two men carried two big packages into the household. Sanfan, already in the same green hanfu that she wore yesterday, stood and watched them getting carried in. They were huge and looked pretty heavy. The curiosity usually would get better of her and she would at least take a peek. But at the top there was a letter signed to her mistress – Lakai. If that truly belongs to her, then it would be best not to touch it. For now, it's best to let it be.
If that was for her mistress, then she should wake her up and let her know. But first, get some water with a quick snack before breakfast. She has her mistress’s habits written down from the times, when she was just learning how to serve her properly: Lakai doesn't eat breakfast unless at least two hours passed after she woke up, but she prefers to have a little snack in that time; her bath time is hers alone and no one can disturb it, the only reason why someone might help her bathe – she's ill or they are going for the banquet(which happens almost never); she prefers simpler and more practical outfits and things, so the outfits should always be easy to move in and not too flashy, but she mostly does her hair herself. That's just a very small part of how much Sanfan has written about her lady. That's why she is such a good lady-in-waiting.
Now the servant was there, in front of the doors to her mistress's room. It wasn't the first time she was waking her up, but for some reason she felt even more nervous than when she was doing it for the first time. Should she walk in now? Or should she wait till her lady wakes up by herself? Even if she's still asleep, she can just leave a tray with water and a few snacks there. And take the tray that was brought there yesterday by the young master. But she just couldn't move.
«Sanfan, what's wrong? Is Lakai not letting you in?»
Lady-in-waiting turned her head, getting out of her thoughts and doubts in an instant. The Madam of the house was walking towards her, with her lady-in-waiting behind her, both of them having their hands hidden in sleeves. Sanfan bowed slightly, to not drop the tray from her hands. She didn't dare to raise her head unless asked to. She's just a servant, how could she look up at someone with such high status? She did know about her Madam’s past, but who is she to judge? She did raise her head with a confused look, when felt someone's arm on her back. It was the older lady-in-waiting, standing now next to her and helping her raise. With a nod, the Madam turned around and opened the door to the room, slowly walking in.
«My goodness. Just look at them! Oh, how cute they are.» Fengxian walked closer to the table area, where both kids were still sleeping. The blankets on their shoulders and legs were barely covering them, the cups long emptied stood on the table with empty plates from snacks. Lakai's head was still on Lahan's shoulder, while his head was trying to somehow keep in place on hers. That was truly a view worth millions of silver. Moreover, Lahan didn't hide his glasses or put them somewhere far from his sister's reach, quite the opposite, they were lying closer to her than to him. If Fengxian could, she would get a picture of this. Perhaps she can describe this to some talented artist and order it painted, and then she would hang it in the living room for everyone to see how cute and close her kids are. She should definitely do that. Her eyes caught some paper and a brush on the table, so she carefully sat down, trying not to disturb the kids’ sleep, describing the view that she had on them.
Both ladies-in-waiting were now standing next to the door inside, they never shared a glance at each other, both having their eyes fixed on the ones they served. A chuckle left the older of the two, making Sanfan throw her a questioning gaze.
«Sorry. I'm just surprised. Have they always been so close?»
«I believe that's none of your business, Lady Xiu. There is no way for me to know how close they are.»
«How could that be? You serve both of them, don't you? You surely know a thing or two.»
Xiu offered a mischievous smile to her younger colleague. She wasn't going to back down. How annoying… Sanfan was in no position speaking about her master and mistress, she never asked them anything about their relationships, but she did know one thing, or better say remember, when they told her “Sanfan, make sure no one knows that we are actually close. It would be better if people didn't know about this. We don't want them to know.”. So it was her duty to keep their secret. But she was no match to Xiu, no matter how good she thought she was. She took a deep breath and quickly murmured the answer, hoping to not show too much annoyance in her voice. «They don't like others knowing, I will tell you this much.»
With that Sanfan rolled her eyes and slowly walked towards the table, leaving the other lady-in-waiting standing near the door alone. She ignored the chuckle from behind, she couldn't keep with the older anyway. She was less experienced and couldn't bring herself to being rude to someone older anyway. Better try to keep civil, at least for her mistress sake. She didn't want to damage Lakai's relationship with her mother by arguing with her lady-in-waiting, that wouldn't do any good to anyone. The Madam finally finished writing and stood up, so the young servant could easily place a tray on the table and collect the dirty dishes on the other, taking them away. She quickly excused herself with a bow and left the room.
«What do you think of Sanfan, Xiu? Perhaps she's better now.» Fengxian folded the description for the painter and hid it in her robes, so the kids won't see it and destroy it. She knew that the painting they wouldn't destroy – they wouldn't dare. Both of them knew how rare talents are and how respected they should be. That was something that Fengxian had been teaching all three kids since their young ages, so she wasn't worrying about that. What was worrying – if the painter would keep quiet. That is something she should look into before even sending a description of what she wants.
«Sanfan still has a long way to go, My Lady. But I do believe she's much better than when she first started. She has been serving both of them and does it pretty well. She might not be what you imagined a lady-in-waiting for Lady Lakai, but she's good enough, in my opinion.» Xiu respectfully bowed her head as she was speaking. She herself didn't think she was good enough to serve the Madam, but there was no one better for that job. As her lady walked out of the door, she followed her, closing the door behind her. However, her lady turned around and just looked at her, as if trying to find something on her face. That made Xiu nervous. Her lady had never made a face like that before, unless she had something unkind in her mind, so what could it be now? «My Lady?... Is there something wrong?»
«I need you to find me a talented painter, preferably someone, who can keep secrets. If they ask too many questions – leave them with nothing. Check their background as well. No one must know about what is it that I want to do. I will leave that to you. Please, start as soon as possible.»
And just like that, her lady walked away, leaving Xiu to her request. It wasn't the easiest one. Find a talented painter, and one who can keep secrets… Seems like she will have a long day not only today…
Maomao finally opened her eyes, rubbing them with her left hand. She couldn't feel the right one, because it was stuck between two bodies. As she tried to raise her head in order to scratch a bit, she found herself stuck. Her brother's head on her own didn't let her move in any way. She just opened her eyes, so she couldn't think of anything better than to just push her brother in his side, causing him to fall down from the table area. Well, that woke him up fast.
«What?! What happened?! Ouch! Did you push me?!»
«I don't know. Did I?»
Lahan was now sitting on the floor, rubbing his head after a fall. He gave his sister a dirty look, even if he couldn't see her very clearly. He didn't have his glasses on. That made him wake up even faster than the fall. He wanted to stand up, but a hand with glasses in them reached him faster. He carefully took them and put them on, now sighing in relief.
«Thank you, Kai. Now, would you mind telling me why you pushed me?»
She, however, completely ignored her brother and put on her shoes, now standing up and scratching. Her body hurt a little after sleeping in a seated position, but complaining wouldn't help. She threw a look to her brother, and just offered him a hand to help stand up.
«You were in my way. Now leave, I want to change and take a bath.»
«How rude. And here I thought you can actually be nice and sweet.»
«Leave with your toes intact while I still let you.»
«Sure. Have a nice bath, little sister.»
Lahan quickly put on his shoes and left the room in no time. Now she finally could breath and take a look around the room. Three blankets were still lying near the table, while on the table there was one out of the two papers missing, a cup with water and a couple of rice crackers. Someone was in the room and someone saw them sleeping like that. Well, hopefully it was just Sanfan who was inside and that's it, because if it was also someone else that would be too embarrassing. The lady shouldn't think about it for too long, better to just make herself presentable, after eating those rice crackers and emptying the cup.
Almost an hour passed since the La siblings woke up. Now, everyone gathered in the living room, waiting for the packages to be opened. Why weren't they just directly carried to Lakai’s room, since both packages were for her? They were too heavy. The male servants couldn't carry them in the living room properly, let alone in her room. So they decided that she would just open them in the living room and the servants would just carry her things one by one to her room. Seemed as the best option, instead of making the male servants suffer.
«Oh, and look, Kaikai, it even has a letter from… Gaoshun?... Are you familiar with him?» Fengxian handed her a letter that was on top of the smaller package. That made her raise a brow, but she took and opened the letter, only to be met with someone else's handwriting. That wasn't a letter from Gaoshun, but from Master Jinshi, using Gaoshun's name to hide who the letter was actually from. It made her only click her tongue and roll her eyes.
«We are familiar, as we both served Master Jinshi. Oh wait, I can't call him that anymore. We both served the Moon Prince, while he was pretending to be a eunuch.»
With that, she started reading the letter, which was accompanying two big packages.
Dear Maomao,
I hope you are doing well and the La household treats you nicely. That would be great if you could return to your work to the palace, but as now people know that you are the Grand Commander Kan’s daughter, it's best for you not to. You need to get stronger and gain some weight, you are really thin.
As for why you are receiving those packages, that's easy. First, the version is that you were fired, so there shouldn't be any of your things. Second, Lady Gyokuyou, no, Empress Gyokuyou is moving to a different palace, so your room in the Jade Pavillion needs to be cleaned as well. If something is missing from there – let me know and I will try my best to get it back.
«My things my ass, there is too much of it to actually be my things only. Or did he send those books as well?» Maomao couldn't help but comment on that, rolling her eyes at the time. She didn't even have that much with her when was moving to the Jade Pavillion after finding out that Lady Gyokuyou is pregnant. No, he called her Empress… She knew already that the consort gave birth to a son, but she didn't know that she became the Empress. If that's like that, her chances of being able to serve her again were even lower…
«Kan Lakai, watch your language!» Fengxian gave her a light knuckle on the head, which caused the younger to “Ouch!” and rub the place of the hit. She gave her mother an unpleasant look and continued reading.
I know that there are much more things compared to how much you brought into the palace. It has some presents for you as well, from both Empress Gyokuyou and Lady Lihua. I tried to talk them out of it, but they insisted on sending you something. Also, there are two coats: one is fancier, the other is more practical. Both are from me. Suiren and Gaoshun insisted on sending you the fancier one, because, well, you are the princess of the La clan, so you need something fancy. I do know that you prefer more practical things, so that one was my own choice. Please, don't sell them yet and wear them while it's cold.
If you have any questions – write to Gaoshun and he will let me know. If you don't want him to see the letter, write on top that it's for me and he will just simply give it to me. That's all, I think.
With care,
Your Jinshi.
«My? I would give you a piece of my mind.» She quickly folded the letter and hid it in her robes, throwing a couple of looks on the packages. A tired sigh left her and she started unpacking the top package, giving servants things to carry to her room.
There wasn't much interesting in the first package. Some accessories that were given to her by Lady Gyokuyou and the hairstick from Lady Lihua that she got at her first garden party. Some of her clothes and undergarments, some medicine and products that she used. Now was the most interesting part – the second package. The second she opened it, she was met with a good strong smell. It was in a blue pouch with a light blue rope holding it together. Must be a gift from Lady Lihua then. She didn't open it, just peeked inside. It was some fine tea. Lady Lihua didn't know much about Maomao, but she still managed to get something useful for her. How considerate. She did wear the title of the Wise Consort for a reason after all. The thought of that time when Lady Lihua stood up for herself made her lips curve into a slight smile. She hid the tea inside her robes, instead of giving it to one of the servants.
The next thing that she got out did bring her even more memories. There were two outfits that she wore only twice: one from the garden party, and the other from the times when Lady Gyokuyou hosted tea parties. Her mothers hand reached for the latter, giving it a good look.
«That is some fine outfit. And the quality is so good… Who is this from?»
«Lady Gyokuyou… These are the outfits that I had to wear a couple of times while was serving her… Leave them in my room, please.»
Servants carefully took the hanfus out of the both ladies' hands and walked towards Lakai's room. So now she could clearly see the two coats that were mentioned in the letter. One was a light green colour, with white fur on the collar and purple stripes down it. It looked really fancy, just how he said. At least that’s something he didn't lie about or forgot to mention. The second one was a darker shade of green and the fur was a darker shade as well. It looked a little smaller than the fancy one and when she lifted both, the darker one felt lighter as well. So that's why he called it practical – it was easier to move in, but still would look good on her. She couldn't help but let a soft small smile appear on her face, before the fancy coat was snatched from her by her brother.
«Just who gave you such an expensive coat? Is that a man? Do you have a lover?»
«Ew, no. That's a gift from Jin-, I mean, from the Moon Prince’s attendants. They wanted for me to have something fancy. Now, give it back!»
«No. Let me put it on for you. We are going to the market today anyway, right? You agreed.»
«Ugh, fine. Just don't damage it.»
She gave the second coat to the servant, who just returned from carrying the hanfus, now sending him again to her room. The light green coat fell on her shoulders and her hair, which was almost instantly taken out from under it. The purple ribbons near her collarbone were tied in a tiny bow. As her brother stepped back to take a better look, she herself took a good look at it on her. It matched the hanfu she was wearing perfectly. Did Master Jinshi know what she was usually wearing at home? Or was it just pure luck from his side? Whatever it was, it still got her mother to smile.
«Seems like the Moon Prince knows your taste pretty well. Now then, please be careful. Don't leave your guards and lady-in-waiting, especially you, Lakai. Have fun.»
Lahan already got his dark coat on, just fixing it to look perfectly, and walked towards the main entrance, where two guards were already awaiting them. Sanfan was there as well, wearing hanfu that matches the one her lady was wearing and a white coat over it.
There was nothing else left for Maomao to do, other than to bow to her mother and follow her brother outside, managing somehow even as they walked step on his toes, causing him to scream in pain.