"Ah, Leader Wang. What brings you here?" The bookkeeper said without noticing ZhangWei's tone of voice. "Are you here to purchase some books?" The man asked
"You could say it that way," ZhangWei said in an unfriendly voice. The bookkeeper once again didn't seem to notice ZhangWei's unfriendly voice. Xiaomei immediately tugged on ZhangWei's sleeve.
"Here you go. Thank you," Xiaomei said, pushing ZhangWei out of the way and handing the money to the man. She continued without a beat, "Leader Wang, didn't you have an issue to attend to?" She tried to create an opening for them to leave before it started to become a downfall from there.
"Leader Wang?" ZhangWei raised an eyebrow with his voice cold.
Xiaomei forced a smile on her and nodded her head, ignoring his cold voice. ZhangWei instantly narrowed his eyes on her.
"I see. Leader Wang, you must be busy. Please come back when you have time," the man said with a smile. ZhangWei could see that this man was oblivious to his tone of voice, and Xiaomei was plainly ignoring his jealousy.
He voiced out an 'mmm' and stood there, waiting for Xiaomei to make a move. Xiaomei couldn't help but smile brighter to herself to see that he would quietly listen to her. She couldn't help but want to chuckle as she watched ZhangWei sulk to himself, but she held her laugh.
"Thank you again," Xiaomei said her goodbye.
The bookkeeper immediately broke into a smile with his ears blushing, "Of course. P-please, come again." She nodded her head and smiled back at him. Straight away, ZhangWei reached out and tugged Xiaomei's sleeves. A small soft chuckle came out of her mouth as she caught it midway. ZhangWei's eyebrows frowned before pulling her sleeve with him as he walked out the door.
"Z-ZhangWei, wait...slow down," Xiaomei said, trying to catch up with him. "ZhangWei... hold on-," she said, trying to keep up with him as he still held her sleeve and dragged her away.
Once he felt they were far enough from the shop, ZhangWei stopped. "No longer called Leader Wang? Hmm?" he said with his eyebrows frowning and lips pouting.
Finally, she couldn't contain her chuckles anymore and started chuckling with her fist against her lips. She couldn't help but think how cute he was acting.
"So, was that Jianyu?" ZhangWei said seriously.
Xiaomei's eyes widened before looking up at him. "What nonsense are you talking about? Jianyu. Who?" she said.
He too knew that it was nonsense since she probably meant Jianyu from her world, but he couldn't help it. He avoided her gaze and remained pouting.
She started to chuckle again, looking at his pouty face. She could see his lips were slightly pouting out, and his gaze was wandering around but still looked at her in the corner of his eye as if he was expecting something from her.
However, seeing her not taking any action, he felt irritated before saying, "You dare laugh again?" He placed both of his hands against her cheeks and forced her to look him in the eyes. When she looked at him in the eyes, she saw his jealous eyes and his eyebrows tensed together. She couldn't help but use her fist to cover her smile.
His eyes lit up as he watched her face look so bright with happiness. Her smile was gentle and gave out such a soft touch to his heart. "You little brat," he said with a smile. She was surprised to see his gentle smile. It made his face look refreshed and bright.
They both looked deep into their eyes and felt a great sense of affection between each other and a strong connection.
"Young Master, something urgent-" a shadow appeared out of nowhere and interrupted them. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you two," the shadow guard apologized and bowed his head.
They lost their connection, and ZhangWei let go of her face and turned his head with his eyes showing great irritation. Xiaomei saw his eyes and grabbed his hand to settle him down. ZhangWei took a deep breath and asked, "What's so urgent?"
The shadow guard quickly went to his feet and whispered into ZhangWei's ear. Xiaomei stared at them as she started wondering what he was saying. As the shadow guard was reporting into ZhangWei's ear, ZhangWei's eyes slightly widened before he looked directly at Xiaomei with his hand tightly holding onto her. She noticed his grip and his eye turning dim. She slightly tilted her head in concern.
The shadow guard soon finished and apologized again for interrupting them before disappearing into thin air.
"What did he say?" Xiaomei asked, but ZhangWei just stood there in silence. "ZhangWei?" Xiaomei said, looking at him.
ZhangWei didn't say anything but held her hand tightly. She glanced at his grip and felt the heat in their hands. "ZhangWei, what's wrong? What happened?" she said again.
"Let's head back. I have to talk to the others," he said.
"Oh...alright," she said, not knowing what else to say. She could tell it was something serious because of the deep look on his face. So she quietly followed him as he refused to let go of her hand.
Once they arrived, everyone (LiJie, Baozhao, Chuhua, Bojing, and Junfeng) had already gathered around waiting for them.
"Junfeng had told us the news. Is it true?" LiJie said as everyones' face has a dark concern on them. Xiaomei stood there, gazing at the faces around her, eager to learn the news. Zhang Wei's silence confirmed their suspicions, but they still sought verbal confirmation.
"It seems so," he reluctantly said and met his eyes with Xiaomei, who looked at him confused. She didn't understand why he was looking at her or what the news was. She waited until someone said it.
"So, it's really true that they are coming?" Baozhai said with her eyes widened in fear.
"How did they know about this place?" LiJie said with his voice slightly raised higher."
"It must be Zhou Haitao. It has to be. Who else will it be? He must have informed the Emperor in some way that these people here are still alive," Bojing said. Once Xiaomei heard that her eyes jumped in mixed emotion. She was shocked and surprised but also relieved that the story was still going in the right direction. The story was coming to an end.
How could she forget that Zhou Haitou had sent out a secret letter informing the Emperor about the little sect and causing the Emperor to be enraged? However, the Emperor was hesitant to believe it, unsure if it was true or false. Since he didn't want to be fooled again, he ordered one of the leaders to bring a group of men to go and investigate. If it was true, then they must slaughter every living person there. And here they are now.
No one paid attention to Xiaomei except ZhangWei. He instantly noticed the change in her eyes and saw her mixed emotions. His eyes grew completely dark, and he looked at the hand that he was holding. His face immediately became darker, and he kept silent.
"What should we do?" Chuhua asked. Everyone's eyebrows frowned in deep thought except for ZhangWei and Xiaomei, who quietly stood there. "I will immediately go and stop the men from coming here. Since I am a general; they will listen to me," Bojing said.
"Yes, do that, and I will go and inform the Emperor about Zhou Haitou before anything more happens," LiJie said as the two men were ready to go. Both Baozhai and Chuhua said to LiJie and Bojing, "I will go with you."
"But is there another routine I can take to make me get to the capital city faster than the path we came from?" LiJie said as everyone looked at ZhangWei.
ZhangWei quickly snapped out of his thoughts. " There is a different routine, but it's a difficult and bumpy path. It's on the east side of us. If you are willing to proceed that way. Junfeng will give the details." ZhangWei said, absentminded. They didn't seem to notice, but Xiaomei did. She slightly tilted her head as she stared at him in concern, but he ignored her.
Everything was figured out and settled as LiJie and Baozhai were going to inform the Emperor while Bojing and Chuhua were going to stop the group of men from coming. As for ZhangWei, he was the leader of the sect, so he will remain here.
"We will keep in touch with any updates," LiJie said to both ZhangWei and Bojing as everyone was able to depart from the group and head on out.
Once everyone split and started getting ready to depart. Xiaomei watched LiJie, Baozhai, Bojing, and Chuhua hurried to their room to pack up. She stood there, ready to follow after them. ZhangWei immediately noticed her gaze as she was ready to leave. His eyes turned cold, and he watched her eager eyes. Before she followed them, she felt someone's gaze was watching her. She turned her head to see ZhangWei, who swiftly avoided her eyes and released her hand. He turned his back against her before walking away without saying a single word to her. She felt at a loss for a moment. She felt uncomfortable with the cold breeze on her hand and started to dislike it.
She knew she should follow the main characters, but her heart said otherwise. Her heart tugged at her before her feet went after ZhangWei.
"ZhangWei," she called out to him as she knew something was wrong with him. However, he seemed to ignore her as if he hadn't heard her call his name. "ZhangWei, wait...stop," she called out again while she tried to pick up her speed. He continued walking at a fast pace, ignoring her as if her existence was like thin air.
She started to pick up her speed by slightly jogging as she couldn't believe he was walking so fast that her legs couldn't keep up with him. She was starting to get irritated by how he was ignoring her and walking so fast, but she still was worried about him. She reached out her hand and was able to only grab the tip of his clothes. Once she had the tip of his clothes, she latched on and refused to let go before pulling it to stop him from getting away from her.
Her pull did stop him from getting away from her, but it was only because he didn't want to yank his clothes away and cause her to lose balance and fall.
"ZhangWei, what's the matter with you..." she said as her sentence slowly died once she saw his face.
"What? Why aren't you following them, huh? Shouldn't you be eager to leave? The story is processing, and it sounds like the end is coming. You can finally leave this place and go back to where you truly belong! You no longer have to be trapped in this book!" ZhangWei yelled as his eyes could no longer contain his tears from forming. He quickly turned his head to avoid her eyes before he started blinking his eyes to get rid of his tears. His lips quivered, and his eyes showed great despair. Her heart felt a cruciating pain as she saw his heartbreaking expression.
"He..knows...wait...hold...on...h-how...does he...," she stood there stunned, not knowing what to think anymore as if all she could think was the throbbing sensation her heart was feeling as she saw his eyes red, holding his tears from falling. She slightly opened her mouth as if she wanted to call out his name.
However, he immediately said, "Just leave..." Before he could turn his back on her again and walk away, she grabbed his wrist and threw herself into his arms. He was taken back from her warm arms as his tears had fallen from his startled eyes.
She looked up to see his tears were free from his control. She raised her hand up to his face and placed her hand on his cheek before using her thumb to wipe away his tears.
"I'm...sorry," she said with tears in her eyes. He closed his eyes as he leaned his face against her palm. It felt like time had stopped for them, with the wind blowing against their skins and bringing a cold sensation into their hearts.
"Can't...you stay?" He opened his swollen red eyes and looked at her before nuzzling his cheek against her hand. Her heart once again felt heartbroken, looking deep into his eyes.
"I...well, to be honest, I don't know what could happen. I don't even know if the end of the story will take me back home. I'm just assuming," she said, telling the truth. She wasn't sure if the end could bring her back to the real world. She was just assuming since being at the brim of death or dripping her blood on a piece of paper didn't bring her back. She just hoped that the end of the story would take her home, so she really didn't know what could bring her back home. However, his eyes immediately lit up, and his face brightened.
"Then...does that mean-" he tried to say, but Xiaomei interrupted him, "But that doesn't guarantee that I will stay here forever. Maybe one day, I will just go back without even knowing. So I may or may not stay here..." Once again, ZhangWei's face grew grim and remained silent. He avoided her gaze again by looking at the ground. She tightened her lips together as she couldn't bear to see him in pain. She forced the ends of her lips to smile before placing both hands on his face and lifting his head up to make him look at her.
"So treat me like a terminally ill lover," she said, blinking her eyes to stop her tears from forming. "So let's cherish our days with each other from now on," she broke into a genuine smile as she had given up on denying her feelings for him and chose to love him completely without any hesitation.
"No. If you were my terminally ill lover, I would search high and low to find a solution for you to stay with me." He caressed her cheek with his thumb.
1
She was a little baffled as her smile widened, "So does that mean you are going to leave me to be all by myself to find a solution when we could spend our days with each other?"
"No. Of course not. I will never let you be all alone," he instantly answered back and pulled her into his arms again. "So...let's cherish our days," he said, smiling bitterly as they tightly embraced each other against the cold wind with tears in their eyes.
LiJie and Baozhai had made it to the capital and reported to the Emperor. They arrived at the palace on the second night since it was a long and tedious path.
While Bojing and Chuhua had caught up to the group of men before they could reach the sect. Bojing was lucky enough to use his authority to control the men to retreat back to the capital without any questions.
Meanwhile, ZhangWei and Xiaomei spent their time in each other presence. Wherever they went, they were both there together.
The third day arrived since LiJie, Baozhai, Bojing, and Chuhua had left the sect. ZhangWei was in his study, doing his work since he could no longer push it, while Xiaomei was comfortably sitting on the couch in his study with her legs curved into a C position as she leaned on one side against the armrest, reading her novel to accompany him. It felt like they were an old married couple who had been together for so long that they enjoyed each other company.
He would occasionally glance up to see her completely relaxed and enjoying her book. He lightly smiled at her before saying, "Look at you, enjoying your book and having the time of your life." However, she didn't seem to hear him, and he could see how engrossed she was in her book and didn't seem to mind him. He slightly grew jealous of the book. He set his brush down and got up. He walked toward her, and she didn't even notice him coming up to her. He lay on the couch before placing his head on her lap.
"Hmm?" She finally noticed his presence and looked at him before shifting into a better sitting position with both feet on the ground.
"So you are the one who is leaving me to be alone," he teased, grabbing one of her hands and kissing the palm and back of her hand.
Her eyebrows frowned, "What nonsense are you sprouting? I'm right here with you, aren't I?" She shut her book with her other hand and pinched his cheek. "Shouldn't you be doing your work?" she said, looking down at him. He just smiled at her as she finally paid attention to him. "Pfft, you are like a child, wanting attention," she chuckled, seeing his action.
"Of course. We have to cherish our time together," he said with a playful smile. She smiled before leaning down to kiss his forehead. After she finished kissing his forehead, she straightened her back and avoided his gaze with her cheek bright red.
"I think you miss a spot," he said with a smile, using his pointer finger to tap his lips. Immediately, her ears blushed red, and she answered back, "Look at this cunning fox trying to obtain a kiss. Well, too bad for you. I already gave you a kiss." She smiled with her finger, touching the little mole under his eye.
"Oh..," ZhangWei said with a smile before slowly playing with her hair until his hand grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her down to him. Once their lips touched each other, ZhangWei moved his lips against hers and tried to take advantage of opening it up and allowing him to enter. Before he could enter her mouth, someone knocked on the door.
"Leader Wang?" the voice called out. Immediately, Xiaomei used her hand to push herself away from him. She quickly wiped her lips with her cheeks bright red.
"Leader Wang," the person called out again. ZhangWei's eyes darken in irritation before getting off her lap and answering the person. "Come in," he said.
The door opened, and Junfeng entered. "Sorry for the interruption, but we just received a letter from Crown Prince LiJie," Junfeng bowed his head before giving the letter to ZhangWei.
ZhangWei opened the letter. Once he read it, his gaze turned to Xiaomei. "What's wrong?" she said.
"Here," he said, giving it to her to look at it. She grabbed it and read it.
"Huh?" she said in her head. She didn't understand. Why...why did they need her? She and ZhangWei both looked at each other.
In the letter, LiJie wrote that the Emperor didn't believe them about Zhou Haitao until he heard it from Daiyu.
Xiaomei and ZhangWei immediately packed up to head to the capital. ZhangWei didn't want to part ways with Xiaomei since her time remaining was unknown. Therefore, he assigned Junfeng to stay behind and watch the sect while he went with Xiaomei. A couple of his shadow guards followed him, and Haoyu also followed Xiaomei since he was assigned to be Xiaomei's shadow guard.
During their journey back to the capital, ZhangWei and Xiaomei were inside the carriage, relaxing, snacking, and chatting with each other. When ZhangWei couldn't help but ask, "So...once we reach the capital, the end is near, correct? What will happen?"
Xiaomei was slightly taken back from his question and was silent for a minute before answering, "I...I can't tell since it might change the story, but I can only say that the end is coming soon." She slowly avoided his gaze and looked down at her hands. ZhangWei then placed his hand on her hand before saying, "I'm going to miss you, my stubborn, feisty cat." Xiaomei shot him a glare and said, "Shut it. You annoying, cunning fox."
"Don't you mean MY annoying, cunning fox," he teased, rubbing his thumb against her hands.
"My? Hmm? Maybe I don't want this annoying cunning fox?" she said with a smile.
ZhangWei's eyebrows frowned before saying, "Well, too bad. This annoying, cunning fox is not letting you go."
"Is that so," she continued to tease him. His lips slowly pouted a bit before he pulled her hand to his mouth and took a bite out of irritation.
"Ah!" she was startled and tried to pull her hand away from him. "Y-you," she tried to say.
"I marked you, so you are mine now," he said. She looked at his shallow bite mark. She couldn't help but laugh.
"My my. My annoying, cunning fox has turned into a baby fox," she teased.
"This stubborn, feisty cat is learning too much from this cunning fox," he said with a smile as he lightly grabbed her chin to make her look at him.
"Of course. I learn from the best," she softly laughed. He couldn't help but fall for her smile and laugh. He leaned forward and did a light peak on her lips.
She was a little surprised by his action. "You..," she said in a loss of words.
"Pft, you always get so shy when we kiss. It's not like it's our first time," he chuckled.
"I-I know that! But...you keep doing it without a warning," she said, flustered.
"Of course. I have to kiss you as much as I can before it's too late," he teased before leaning forward. However, this time she was able to stop him.
"Too much. You already kissed me," Xiaomei resisted while trying to push him away.
"One more?" he said with his puppy eyes. She tried to resist, but he continued to stare with his puppy eyes, and she soon couldn't help but give in.
"Just one more," she said. He immediately smiled and gave an illusion of having two fox ears on his head before leaning his face to her and taking her lips.
They soon arrived in the capital. Xiaomei wanted to head to her residence and see LiMei and Bao first, but she knew how important it was to enter the palace and meet the Emperor. She got off the carriage with the help of ZhangWei before they both made their way to meet the Emperor.
Upon entering, they noticed that everyone had already arrived. They both bowed and greeted the Emperor.
"Huang Daiyu, please speak," the Emperor spoke.
"Emperor, it is as you have heard from the Crown Prince LiJie. The culprit who did it all was Zhou Haitao. I have witnessed it firsthand and have personally faced significant challenges because of Zhou Haitao," she reported. The Emperor listened quietly with a clenched fist, suppressing his anger towards Zhou Haitao.
"I see. You may raise," the Emperor said. He then looked at ZhangWei, "And who may this be?" he asked.
"Greetings, your majesty. I am Wang ZhangWei, the new leader of the sect descended from Emperor Zhou's people," ZhangWei answered and bowed to the Emperor.
"Ah, I see. You may raise," the Emperor said as he remained quiet for a while before continuing, "I have wronged you people as well. I may not be able to redeem my mistake, but I will leave your sect alone, and I hope you will do the same. If you require any assistance, I will be obliged to help you in any way I can, as I hope to keep the peace between us."
Since everything was discussed and resolved, the Emperor quickly sent a search party to find Zhou Haitao and bring him in. Soon, Zhou Haitao's pictures were posted all over the city, and news spread everywhere.
Xiaomei and ZhangWei had arrived back at her residence, and LiMei and Bao hurried to greet them and were eager to see her again. LiMei held Xiaomei tightly as she began to cry in happiness to see her lady again.
Each day, they were worried and missed her. To Xiaomei's surprise, ZhangWei had sent a letter once a week to keep them updated about her so they wouldn't worry about her as much, along with some money to feed themselves as they waited for Xiaomei's return.
Soon, LiMei cried hard as she started asking if Xiaomei was still in any pain from the injuries she obtained long ago from Zhou Haitao. Xiaomei couldn't bear to see LiMei's heart-wrenching cries and tried her best to comfort her poor little maid from crying her eyes out by saying that she was fine and was no longer in any pain. However, those words didn't stop LiMei from crying out. Soon enough, Boa couldn't watch his LiMei cry her eyes out, so he easily persuaded her to stop crying, or their lady would be heartbroken and cry her eyes out as well and fall ill. Instantly, LiMei stopped crying and hurried Xiaomei to come and rest inside.
Once Xiaomei entered her home, she noticed that everything was left the same as she left it. She then ordered Bao to fix a room for ZhangWei since he would be staying with them for a while. When they finally were able to relax, she noticed the little chipmunk had turned into a little chubby chipmunk. She had guessed that LiMei and Bao constantly fed the little chipmunk to keep them entertained as they waited for her return.
She lightly chuckled and said, "Look at you. You have been eating so well these days, not so little chipmunk anymore." She slowly reached over to pet the little chubby chipmunk, but he immediately backed away as if the little chubby chipmunk no longer recognized her. "I must have gone so long that you no longer recognize me, " she said, a little taken back by its rejection. She then let her hands stay still to let him slowly come to her and see that she wasn't a danger to him. The chipmunk looked at Xiaomei's eyes and immediately stopped its movement. It slowly crawled towards her hand before sniffing her hand. Once it sniffed her hand, it instantly recognized her and crawled on her hands up to her shoulder. It started going to the other hand as if it was looking for food.
"Pft, are you looking for food? I'm sorry, but I don't have any food on me, little chubby chipmunk," she chuckled with a smile. "I'm glad that you recognized me," she added with a brighter smile.
ZhangWei, who was behind Xiaomei the entire time, raised his hand to the little chipmunk, and it immediately jumped to ZhangWei's hand.
"Look at that. He remembered you but not me?" Xiaomei said in disbelief, with her eyes and mouth wide open.
ZhangWei chuckled before saying, "Maybe because I hand-feed him a lot more than you." He lifted his hand closer to his face and looked at the little chipmunk. He then moved his fingers as the little chipmunk moved along with him.
"Is that so," Xiaomei said with a sense of sourness in her voice. ZhangWei noticed her jealousy and couldn't help but chuckle.
She glared at him before seeing him pull out a little snack for the chipmunk. "Where did you get those roasted chestnuts?"
"I always carry some snacks with me. Just in case I want something to snack on," he answered, feeding the chipmunk. The chipmunk quickly shoved a nut in one side of his cheeks before grabbing the other one.
Xiaomei finally broke into a smile again and said, "Maybe that's why he recognized you. He could probably smell the snacks on you." She lightly scratched the little chipmunk's head.
ZhangWei watched her adore the little chipmunk in his hand before remembering something. "Oh, I forgot. Here this for you," he said, putting the little chipmunk on his shoulder and pulling something out from his sleeves. He then threw it to her as she was startled and acted quickly to catch it. She looked down at it to see a waist tassel with a white jade pendant, and the white jade had a carving of a cute cat.
She broke into a smile and quietly chuckled, "It's cute. I like it very much." She rubbed the cat carving with her thumb.
"I'm glad you like it," he said with a smile. She looked up at him and said, "Did you carve it?"
"Mmm," he nodded his head. She then smiled brighter and looked at it again. She could see how skillful he was as the carving had clean cuts and was smooth to the touch. She immediately hung it on her waist and watched it dangle. She looked at him again before smiling at him. She couldn't resist the urge and leaned forward to kiss his lips. The little chipmunk was startled by her action and quickly jumped off his shoulder to the table and down to the ground.
Before she retreated back, he had already grabbed the back of her neck and deepened their kiss. She then clutched onto his clothes and moved her lips with his. The wind blew between them as their waist tassels swung in sync.
Two days passed, and during those two days, Baozhai and them were busy finding the whereabouts of Zhou Haitao. Meanwhile, Xiaomei stayed at her residence and chose not to be part of the search for Zhou Haitao since she wasn't the main character. There was no reason for her to waste her energy. However, to her surprise, she didn't expect ZhangWei to not search for Zhou Haitao but stay by her side.
"ZhangWei, why aren't you helping them search for Zhou Haitao?" Xiaomei asked as both of them were relaxing in her garden. Snacks and tea were on the table while a small stack of novels was beside them.
ZhangWei popped a chestnut into his mouth before directing his attention to her. "Didn't you say I am the supporting character?" he said in a relaxing tone.
She was a little taken aback by his response and slowly said, "Yeah..."
"So, what's the point? They can handle it without me for now," he said, not in a hurry.
She quietly smiled as she was slightly amused with his response. He leaned against his hand and softly watched her quiet smile. "You know, I'm kind of glad that I am the supporting character," he said with a smile. His gaze was so warm and tender as he looked at her.
She felt an instantaneous warmth in her heart but she couldn't help to think that he was trying to extend more time. Would it be wrong for them to try to prolong the story since they are just the supporting characters?
Inside an inn, a dim room far away from the other rooms. A middle-aged man in dark clothes was sitting close to a cracked window. Soon another man in black clothes entered the room quietly. The middle-aged man immediately noticed his presence and didn't utter a word but accepted the letter the other person gave him.
Zhou Haitou opened the letter before setting it down with a smile on his face. The letter was from one of the ministers that Zhou Haitou had kept in contact with. He was Zhou Haitou's accomplice. He and Zhou Haitou were the ones who cooked up the plan to frame General Huang for treason and the downfall of Emperor Zhou.
In the letter, the minister agreed to join him and would notify his men and some ministers that would accompany their plan. The man in black clothes quickly grinked ink and prepared a piece of paper for his master to write on.
Zhou Haitou started writing, "I'm glad you have answered my letters and considered joining me. Wouldn't it be a great deal? You help me while you can overthrow the Emperor and become the new Emperor. Let's meet up to further our plans." Zhou Haitou then folded up the letter and stuffed it in an envelope before sealing it. He handed it to his servant, indicating it to be sent out. Once his servant disappeared, Zhou Haitou started laughing. He couldn't believe how foolish the man was to covet the throne like him, but at least he was not naive and was intelligent. After all, there could only be one King.
"ZhangWei, it's been three days already," Xiaomei said, setting down a plate of plain buns on the table while LiMei set down the stir-fried meat with bok choy and tomato egg dish. "Stop delaying and go help them out," Xiaomei said, sitting down.
"What's the rush? They don't need me. They can handle it on their own," ZhangWei said, picking up a plain bun and taking a bite. "Why are you in such a rush? Don't tell me...you're ready to go..." ZhangWei's voice became tense as he drop-dead stared at her while LiMei and Bao quietly ate their meal as they weren't sure what they were talking about.
Xiaomei's eyes slightly widened and answered back, "Of course not. I was just worried that the more time we give Zhou Haitou, the better he could strike back."
"Don't you want to capture Zhou Haitou? After all he had done to you," Xiaomei asked, looking at him. ZhangWei remained silent and quietly nibbled his food.
"Of course I do. I want him to suffer a hundred times more after what he did," his voice became dead cold, and his eyes became pitch black.
Xiaomei knew that ZhangWei was the only one left in his family, as his entire family was dead. Since his father and brothers were generals, they were on the front line of the battle. Xiaomei watched him become in a daze.
He could clearly remember the incident. His entire family line was all generals. His father, uncles, and brothers were generals; even his mother and sister were as well, but they retired once they got married. ZhangWei was the youngest among his family. It was his first year joining his father, brothers, uncles, and brother-in-law in the battle. Before he was ready to join them, his father and oldest brothers told him it was best to stay and defend as this battle was different. They had never faced a war like this before.
Soon, the battle was becoming fierce, and his mother knew they wouldn't win this battle. In her heart, she felt...her husband and eldest sons had already parted from this world, so she immediately sent word for ZhangWei to hurry back.
Once ZhangWei received word from his mother, he directly rushed home to find his mother and sister in the midst of the chaos. His mother told him to flee to safety with some others who had escaped. ZhangWei immediately refused to leave behind his family. Before he could continue to utter a word, his sister knocked him unconscious and told Junfeng to take him away. Since ZhangWei was the youngest, he was the baby of the family, which defaulted him to be protected no matter what. Even though they were relieved that he was going to be safe, their hearts couldn't bear to leave their husbands as his mother and sister chose to stay behind, and soon enough, his entire family perished.
Before his eyes became hollow, he felt a soft hand on his head. His eyes looked up to see Xiaomei petting his head. She could tell he was recalling bad memories and couldn't help but reach over to caress his head. He could see the concern in her eyes and felt the warmth in her hand.
As she gently stroked his hair, memories flooded his mind of each of his family members patting his head throughout his life. But in that moment, her touch was replacing those memories and pushing them to the back of his mind, and he felt a sense of comfort and safety.
Even though he wanted to kill Zhou Haitou, he felt that she was more worth it. He knew Zhou Haitou would get his karma, but he wasn't sure how much longer he would have with her. So, he was willing to let Zhou Haitou live a little longer to have more time with her.
ZhangWei smiled brightly and grabbed her hand before saying, "I'll only go if you give me a kiss."
Xiaomei immediately turned bright red as Bao and LiMei choked on their food. "ZhangWei, do you have no sense of shame!" Xiaomei said with her cheeks burning red. LiMei and Bao quickly excused themselves before rushing off.
1
ZhangWei smiled wider, "Of course not. Why should I?" Xiaomei tried to break free from his grip as she didn't know how she could face LiMei and Bao now. She glared at him as he continued to smile.
"So, are you going to give me a kiss," he teased, rubbing his finger on the back of her hand.
"You-" she tried to say as she yanked her hand free from his grasp but noticed his eyes were no longer pitch black but had a warm sensation in them. She felt relieved.
He saw how her eyes softened. He felt because of her, he was able to find a new light and happiness in his dark world. He leaned over and pinched one of her cheeks.
"Ah," Xiaomei's voice unconsciously came out, and soon she glared at him. "L-let go," she pouted, trying to break from his grasp once again.
"If only you give me a kiss," he smiled, leaning his face toward her. She wanted to argue with him but found it to be pointless to do. She slowly leaned forward and lightly pressed her lip against his cheek.
"Not the cheek, but the lips," he said, waiting again.
"You didn't specify, so that counts," she said, freeing her cheek.
"Alright," ZhangWei said, giving up, but then, his eyes gleamed. "I still need a goodbye kiss on the lips, or I am not going," Zhangwei said with a smirk on his face.
"ZhangWei, stop fussing," Xiaomei said, trying to reason with him. However, he didn't mind her words and leaned forward before tapping his lips for a kiss as he refused to compromise. Her face reddened again as her heart was pounding in her chest. She slowly looked around to make sure no one was around before leaning forward and touching her lip with his.
"There. Now hurry and go help them," she said with her cheeks turning red. He wanted to deepen their kiss, but he knew she wanted him to go help them, so he should get going.
"Alright," he said, getting up to leave. "See you later tonight. Behave," he said as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. She touched her forehead and said, "Are you treating me like a dog?"
"Pft, of course not. Did you forget? You are my cat," he said with a smile.
"Y-you!" she angrily got up as he quickly vanished out the door. She sat back down and stared at the empty doorway before a frown appeared on her face. The end should be coming soon. Will she be leaving, or will she be staying? If she had a choice, would she stay or leave?
ZhangWei entered the palace as he received some news from his men. He entered a room with everyone present.
"ZhangWei, we haven't seen you around. Where have you been?" Baozhai said.
"With Daiyu," ZhangWei answered casually.
"Oh, where is she?" Baozhai asked as everyone was looking behind him to see no one.
"I told her to stay behind," he said. Before anyone could ask any more questions, he added, "I came here today to report some news I just received. One of Zhou Haitao's men was spotted leaving a minister's residence by my men.
Everyone immediately stood up with their ears perked up. "Which one?" LiJie asked.
"So it was Minster Yu," LiJie said. "Alright, I will have someone keep an eye on him," LiJie added before he signaled one of the guards to send someone to spy on Minster Yu.
"So what should we do?" Chuhua asked.
"We need to draw him out by setting up a trap," Bojing said. As ZhangWei stood at the back, everyone else remained in deep silence and contemplation.
"How about we pretend to have a grand celebration to make him think we're unprepared for his attack?" Baozhai gave an idea.
"That sounds like a great idea," Chuhua said.
"That might work," Bojing also agreed.
"I believe throwing a celebration out of nowhere might be obvious," LiJie said. All except ZhangWei wore an "oh yeah" expression on their faces, then nodded in agreement.
"Also, innocent people will be involved," LiJie added as their facial expressions started to frown. "How about a memorial service? For the deceased Empress and General Huang," LiJie asked. "We can have the people mourn in their homes while the palace holds a memorial service," LiJie added.
Everyone thought for a bit before agreeing. "Alright, I will inform the Emperor about this," LiJie said.
It was a peaceful night, and inside a small residence, everything was quiet and dark, except for one room that still had its lights on. Inside the room, Xiaomei sat on her bed, leaning against the bed frame. She was quietly listening to ZhangWei, who was telling her all the information while he was slowly drinking tea.
"A memorial service," Xiaomei said, looking at ZhangWei.
"Ngh," he answered while lifting the teacup to his lips. Xiaomei quietly sat there, thinking to herself before ZhangWei said, "I don't want you to go to the memorial service." He set the cup down on the table and stared at her.
"What?" she said, startled by his request.
"I don't want you to attend the service. It will be dangerous," he said with great concern.
She smiled before saying, "I know, but it will be odd if I don't attend the memorial service." He frowned and remained silent. "Don't worry too much. I will stay hidden in the background and avoid the fight," she tried to reassure him.
"Alright. Stay behind me or Haoyu at all times," he said firmly. She didn't argue with him and nodded her head as she could tell how anxious he was.
He immediately stood up and walked towards her before slowly taking off his outer robe. "W-what are you doing?" she stuttered.
Once his outer robe was off, he swooped down, laying on her bed and taking her in his arms. She tried stopping him from entering her bed and struggled to free herself from his grasp, but it was pointless as he had already laid comfortably in her bed and held her tightly in his embrace with his chin on top of her head.
"ZhangWei, you have your own room and bed. Why are you hogging my room and bed?" she said, still struggling.
"It's more comfortable with you. Also, I must take as much time with you as I can...," he softly said as he feared that the end was drawing near and he couldn't stop it from coming.