The next day, Xiaomei once again saw an annoying familiar face. "Mister Wei, don't you have things to do?" she said, enduring her anger from showing.
"I had some spare time, so I came to visit," he answered back. Xiaomei was sitting in the small garden. She was planning to paint today since there wasn't anything to do. Bao and LiMei were busy entertaining themselves with chores or with each other. As for the chipmunk, he was minding his own business. So, Xiaomei decided to paint some flowers.
"What are you painting?" ZhangWei asked, leaning on his hand.
"Mister Wei, haven't I told you multiple times that I won't bother Miss Baozhai or cause any harm to her, so there's no need to worry? You can stop coming here like you are monitoring me," Xiaomei said with a tight smile as she lifted her brush off her painting. ZhangWei raised an eyebrow and thought she really thinks he came here to monitor her. He just smiled. She clenched the brush tighter in irritation as she couldn't stand his smile before saying, "Mister Wei, there's something on your face." She reached out her hand that held the brush before using the brush to wipe his face. She made it look like she was going to use her hand but instead, she used the brush that was dipped in ink. She did it so fast that he couldn't stop her in time. "Oh, my apologies, Mister Wei," she said, drawing back her hand away from his face.
ZhangWei continued to smile like it didn't bother him while he was wiping off the ink on his face.
"Miss Daiyu, I think you need practice in how to paint. Let me show you," he said, snatching the brush out of her hands in a quick swoop. She knew immediately what he was planning. Before she could escape, he had already grabbed her arm, stopping her from moving.
"Mister Wei. A man and woman shouldn't touch-" she tried to say, but he had already started painting her face.
"It looks like you are painting flowers?" he said, glancing at her previous painting on the table. He started painting petals on her cheek. She tried to use her other hand to stop him. "Wait, I'm not finished," he said, grabbing both of her hands in one hand. She continued to struggle, but it was no use as he started painting on the other cheek. "Do you feel these strokes? Try to remember them so they can help you paint better," he teased, still painting on her face.
"Y-you," Xiaomei tried to say.
"Alright, all done," he said, getting up and leaving so quickly that it felt like a gust of wind passed her. "Well, then I'll see you again, Huang Daiyu," he said, waving goodbye to her.
Xiaomei clenched her hands and threw the brush he used aside. She was about to wipe her cheeks, but then, LiMei called her and entered the garden. "Miss, lunch is ready-," LiMei said but stopped mid-way. "Miss, what happened to your face?" she asked, shocked.
Xiaomei didn't answer for a minute before saying," Nothing. I will be in there once I finish cleaning my face." She stood up and went inside. "T-then, Miss, I will clean this up," LiMei said, concerned before cleaning up the painting.
Once Xiaomei entered her bathroom, she pulled her handkerchief out from her sleeve and was about to soak it. She saw her reflection in the water. She stopped and stared at it. She leaned closer to the water to see the painting clearly. She was amazed to see how stunning his painting was, but then she remembered it was his painting. She then dipped her handkerchief in the water without hesitation, causing the reflection to disappear. She wiped the ink off her face, leaving no trace of his painting on her face.
At first, Xiaomei told Bao and LiMei to not allow access to ZhangWei anymore. However, it didn't stop him from entering as he jumped over the wall, and Bao was no match for him. So, Xiaomei could only give up since there was nothing she could do to stop him from coming. It's been a month since he's been showing up at Xiaomei's small residence, and there was no progress in the story. She didn't understand. She had Bao check if there was any news from the palace, but there was no news or movement. If she remembered, ZhangWei would have already told Baozhai that some of their people were still alive, including her uncle, who was in charge. They were living in a village as a small sect, close to the borders, next to mountains, not exposing themselves. He had to go back as her uncle sent words for him to come back. When Baozhai heard this, she was so happy to hear the good news and immediately wanted to see all the people and her uncle. Therefore, they all went as it took about 3 to 4 days to get there. Once they got there, Baozhai faced multiple assassination attempts and was able to find out who the killer was and the mastermind of everything, which led to the final battle and the ending of the story.
So, the problem was ZhangWei since it seemed like he hadn't told Baozhai yet since he would constantly show up at her residence. She stared at that man, watching him feed the little chipmunk some roasted chestnuts one at a time as he would crack one for himself and then crack one open for the chipmunk. Xiaomei didn't understand how those two became close as if the little chipmunk was his little companion. LiMei and Bao were doing chores while she was sitting in her garden again, doing flower arrangements.
"Hey, why haven't you told Zhou Baozhai yet," she asked, cutting the tip of one flower before putting it in the vase.
"Hm? Tell her about what?" he lazily said. He leaned on his hand while eating the roasted chestnut.
"That you are going back home," Xiaomei said cautiously.
"Home?" he said, sitting up straight.
"Don't you remember you told me you are leaving soon to go back to your hometown? Wasn't it close to the mountains? If I remember correctly?" Xiaomei said, insisting that he had told her even though he didn't.
"Is that so," he said, narrowing his eyes. He was sure he didn't tell her anything. He silently looked at her to find her not showing any nervousness as if she was very certain he had told her. He then leaned on his hand again before saying, "Oh, thanks for the reminder. I will tell her."
Xiaomei had tried her best to keep calm and not to show any slip-ups for him to see right through her lie. She endured the cold chill going down her spine as he was staring at her. She tried to ignore his gaze and continued to snip the flower's ends before putting them in the vase. "Your welcome," she said composed.
He smiled, seeing how she was trying to ignore his gaze. He was great at obtaining information since he had men in the background. However, he didn't understand how she got her information, like his name and his "supposedly" hometown. He already had his men do a background check on her, but they didn't find anything. He found it interesting and continued to crack open some roasted chestnuts and ate them. He then signaled with his hand to his men, who were hiding in the shadow as they quickly vanished, and he went back to stare at Xiaomei.
Xiaomei was relieved that he seemed to let it go. She needed the story to continue moving. She finished flower arranging before getting up. "Mister Wei, since you have things to go. Let me escort you out," she said, picking up the vase.
"Alright," he said, not being his usual stubborn self. He got up and added, "But there's no you for you to escort me out. I can go by myself." He jumped over the wall.
"Can you at least use the front door," she said. He turned his head back and smiled, "What's the fun in that," leaving without a trace.
She took a deep sigh once she saw that he was gone. She finally relaxed her expression and shoulders. She knew she pushed the story again, but at least it was going. She didn't want to stay here forever and keep on waiting for the story.
The next day arrived, and they all were in the garden. The outside table was filled with snacks and tea. LiMei and Bao were chatting with each other while they were doing chores like watering and tending the garden. Xiaomei was reading a novel. She was interested in seeing how ancient times wrote their novels. She thought she might as well start on something since she still had a while longer before the story ended. However, at least she knew that the story was progressing since ZhangWei probably had told Baozhai by now and should be leaving soon. She started to relax as she leaned on her hand while reading. She thought today was going to be a peaceful day. She grabbed a snack with her eyes still on the book.
It did take long before her peace was disturbed when she heard someone land in her garden again. She looked up to see ZhangWei brushing himself off before coming to the table.
"Mister Wei, what brings you here?" Xiaomei said as she thought he would be busy getting ready to leave or spend time with Baozhai.
"I came to tell you that I'll be leaving this evening," he said, sitting down and picking up a snack.
"Oh," Xiaomei said, containing her happiness.
"Yes, it will take me a couple of days, maybe weeks to come back," he said.
"Well, I hope you have a safe trip," she added, lifting her cup of tea to him as if she was cheering for him.
He chuckled before saying, " It looks like you are happy that I'm leaving."
"Of course, you're going back to your hometown. Your family is probably there. It would be nice to visit home," she said, displaying a friendly smile as she was thinking in her head, "Of course. So you can leave me alone."
ZhangWei looked at her supposedly friendly smile and said, "Is that so? Well, then I thank you for blessing me for my safety."
Xiaomei, "..."
She wasn't trying to bless him for safety; she was just being nice. That was not her intention as she had to leave that friendly smile on her face.
He smiled even more, seeing how her smile tightened. "Well, then let's have a goodbye toast," he said, pouring tea for himself and her.
She wanted to refuse, but she thought since she won't be seeing him anymore. They won't have any relation with each other, because once they leave, the story will continue its course.
So, she picked up the tea he poured for her as they toasted. She drank it in one go. "Well, goodbye, Mister Wei," as she noticed her sight had started to become blurry and turn black. ZhangWei had caught her before she fell as LiMei and Bao hurried towards her. "My lady," they shouted.
By the time she woke up from blacking out, she was leaning against a wooden wall as she was inside a wooden carriage. When she opened her eyes, she was staring straight at three people, whom she hoped never to see again while they were staring at her with great hate, discomfort, and nervousness on their faces. She quickly pushed herself to sit up as she stared at Lui LiJie, Zhou Baozhai, and Han Chuhua.
At first, she thought she must be dreaming or crazy that she would be seeing them again. She thought it was impossible until she pinched herself. She couldn't believe what was happening. She lifted the cloth that blocked the window to see that they had already left the city and were in the forest. She thought about what had happened and remembered having a toast with ZhangWei. She clenched her hand as she endured her anger. "How dare he," she thought.
"Oh, it seems like you are finally up," ZhangWei said in a teasing voice, riding a horse beside the carriage and noticing her head sticking out of the carriage.
"Y-you," she tried to contain her anger. "Why did you bring me here?" she said calmly with a hint of anger.
"Yes, I also want to know why you brought someone like her with us. Don't you know she may harm Baozhai again," Chuhua said with a strong disgust in her voice.
"I would also like to know," LiJie said, glaring at her coldly.
"Why does it matter who I bring with me? I also didn't invite you two," ZhangWei's voice changed immediately, as it sounded deadly. They both went silent.
"Sorry, ZhangWei. It's fine that Huang Daiyu is joining us," Baozhai said, a little nervous as she thought Xiaomei might go crazy again and try to lunge at her like last time.
"You did not answer my question," Xiaomei said, ignoring the rest of the people inside with her.
"Well, I wanted you to see my hometown," he casually said. "Is that all," she said in disbelief. ZhangWei just smiled at her. "If that's the case, I would rather stay home. Please drop me off here. I will go back on my own," Xiaomei said.
ZhangWei looked at her, amused, before saying, "Miss Daiyu, it's best for you to join us since we are far away from the capital. By the time you tried to reach there. It would be dark and wild animals would be out."
"There's no harm in trying," she said, pushing the curtain out of her way to exit the carriage. She was surprised to see the scholar she met at the restaurant with ZhangWei to be here, driving the carriage.
"Hello, Miss. I think it's best for you to stay inside," Junfeng said.
"Would you please stop this carriage for me," Xiaomei said politely.
"Sorry, Miss, but I can't," he answered back and glanced at ZhangWei was looking at them too.
"Alright, I understand. No worries," she said, hesitating for a minute before jumping off the carriage from the opposite side of ZhangWei. She had told herself that she won't be involved with the main couple or storyline. So, if she had to get hurt to get away from them, then so be it.
However, it didn't work as planned. Before she could tuck and roll off the carriage, a pair of hands caught her and pulled her up to sit with him on the horse as the carriage and ZhangWei abruptly stopped. Everyone was shocked to see how crazy Xiaomei was.
"Huang Daiyu, please don't do that again," said the man who was holding her. She looked up to see Bojing, holding onto her as he stopped his horse.
"Ah, General Bojing," she said, surprised to see him. She knew he would come with them, but didn't know where he was. Now, she was aware he was riding a horse like ZhangWei. "Um, you can let me down. I can take it from here," she said, waiting for him to drop her.
"I also agree with Wang ZhangWei. It's dangerous for you to go back home alone," Bojing said.
"It's-," she tried to say before a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her off the horse and into his arms instead.
"See, General Bojing agreed as well," ZhangWei said, positioning her comfortably on the horse with him. She was baffled at what just happened as ZhangWei snatched her so quickly that it shocked both Xiaomei and Bojing.
"Since you are uncomfortable sitting inside, then you can ride with me," ZhangWei said.
"Um, never mind. I would rather sit inside," Xiaomei said quickly.
"Are you sure? It doesn't seem like the people inside like you very much," he mocked.
She turned her head to him and glared at him, thinking. "Of course, they don't like me. I am the evil rival who harmed the main girl, and I think you knew that." He chuckled softly, looking at her angry glare, and said, "So, it's best to ride with me."
She thought, "Because of you. I'm here and can't go back. This wasn't supposed to happen."
She gritted her teeth and said, "No, it's fine. If the people inside don't like me, then I will ride with General Bojing. Is that fine with you, General Bojing?" She looked at Bojing. She would rather ride with him than stick with someone who irritates her. Before Bojing could agree or say a word, ZhangWei already answered, "Of course not, my horse is bigger than his. You should hush now, or would you like to walk instead?" His voice became ice cold.
"I think it's fine with General Bojing if we squeeze together, right?" Xiaomei said, ignoring ZhangWei's cold tone and looking at Bojing.
"Um, I think it's fine with me-" Bojing tried to say, but he was once again interrupted. "Huang Daiyu can sit inside! It's fine. There is plenty of space inside!" Chuhua said, loudly and stuck her head out the window. "Don't worry. I will watch her. If she does anything unusual, then I will tell the Crown Prince (LiJie)," Chuhua added.
"Do something. Like she wanted to do something. All she wanted to do was leave," Xiaomei thought.
Once again, Xiaomei was sitting inside the carriage, awkwardly being stared at by all three of them. Xiaomei had composed herself, ignoring their gaze as she was deciding what to do. Should she continue to act like the evil rival who wants to harm the main girl and is still in love with the main guy or remain indifferent?
"Don't think we are stupid. I know you planned this," LiJie said coldly. Once she heard what he said, she glanced at him coldly. She thought, "Plan this. Does it really look like I planned this? Forget it since we are already divorced. I say that I lost my love for you when you accuse me of poisoning Baozhai."
"Plan? Does it really look like I want to plan this? As if I jumped off the carriage for no reason," Xiaomei said, icy cold. All three of them felt how cold her voice was and how clear and cold her eyes were when she looked at them.
LiJie ignored the coldness of Xiaomei and scoffed, "Didn't you also drink poison to get my attention."
"Oh, you remembered. I assume you would have forgotten. I'm thankful that you considered that something important for you had some memories of that," she mocked. "However, if you can recall, I was unconscious when I got in this carriage. Did you guys not notice," Xiaomei added with a mocking voice.
"Y-you," Chuhua tried to yell at her, but Baozhai stopped her and said, "Let it be. It's not worth it."
Xiaomei smiled and thought, "At least someone has the right mind," and she stared out the window. She saw they were going uphill in the forest. A river was below them as they were walking beside it. They all looked at her astonished at how she was acting like she didn't care and how she mocked them. They didn't believe she changed that quickly as they were still cautious with her. They knew she had an evil plan since she was a vile, heartless person.
Xiaomei knew what they were thinking, she wasn't stupid to see that their guard was still up with her. However, she was thankful for that so they could still keep a distance from each other, and the storyline would still continue and not change as much.
Then at that moment, the carriage immediately stopped, causing everyone in the carriage to move forward as LiJie grabbed Baozhai and pulled her in his arms while Chuhua and Xiaomei held the window to stabilize themselves.
"Why are we stopping again," Chuhua asked. Xiaomei and Chuhua looked out the windows to see them being stopped by a rugged man and two minions behind him. They looked like bandits. Xiaomei's eyes widened. She couldn't believe she had forgotten. In the story, on their way there, they met some bandits. During their fight, LiJie got hit in the head and fell into the river. Then Baozhai immediately went to save him as their love deepened, and so on. It was just a small side event for the main couple.
"Give us your money and valuables!" the leader said, holding a sword at them.
"Why should we? It's just you three vs us," ZhangWei said.
The leader held his sword tighter before shouting, "Attack!" Immediately tons of bandits surrounded them and started to head toward the carriage and attack them. LiJie quickly joined in the fight with Bojing and ZhangWei. Junfeng was trying to protect the entrance of the carriage. Bandits had reached the window by Chuhua. Chuhua knew how to fight since she tagged along with Bojing when she was young to learn how to fight. So, Chuhua quickly turned the man's hand back before knocking him out. Baozhai knew basic moves as she helped Chuhua with the bandits trying to enter. However, Xiaomei had no fighting experience, but Daiyu knew how to fight since her father was a great general, but the real Daiyu was no longer here. It didn't take long before bandits reached Xiaomei's side. The bandit tried to jump in the window, and Xiaomei saw the teapot on the small table in front of her. Her mind went wild. She quickly grabbed it and smashed his head. The bandit fell out, and another came in as she grabbed a teacup. She tried to smash his head, but he dogged and pulled her out of the window. She was thrown on the ground. She coughed in pain as she dropped the teacup. She tried to get up from the ground, but then someone stepped on her back. She groaned in pain. The people who stepped on her back, raised his sword to strike her. She turned her head back to see the bandit, and at that moment blood spat on her face.
The bandit fell forward right next to her as a bloody sword was in front of her. Her eyes widened in shock. She then looked up at the person who was holding the bloody sword. "I thought the Great General Huang's daughter knows how to fight?" a teasing voice said as he pulled her up from the ground.
"I-I drank too much poison and lost some of my memories of how to fight," Xiaomei tried to find an excuse as her mind was absent-minded.
"Is that so," he said, wiping off the blood on her face. She saw the blood on his hands and sleeves. She was shaken up. She never saw anyone being killed in front of her. She thought, "That's the bandit's blood..."
"Stand behind me, so you don't get hurt," he said, seeing her being absent-minded. She didn't reply but stood behind him as he continued to fight. She forced herself to snap out of it. "This is not the time for this. Let's see if the story is progressing," she thought, looking for LiJie. She spotted him behind the carriage and fighting off three bandits. She saw Bojing fighting the leader and two bandits, while Junfeng was fighting two bandits. She still saw Chuhua and Baozhai were still inside the carriage fighting off the bandits from inside.
"Hey, step back a little," ZhangWei told her as he was fighting off four bandits. She listened to him and stepped back. She then noticed that Baozhai was not paying attention to LiJie. Xiaomei glanced at LiJie again to find him kicking one of the bandits, but while he was kicking one, another one struck his head and kicked him toward the river. LiJie fell into the river.
She quickly looked at the carriage to see if Baozhai noticed because, in the story, once LiJie fell into the river. Baozhai immediately noticed and screamed his name and got off the carriage before jumping in the water to save him. However, this time Baozhai didn't seem to notice. Xiaomei waited for a couple of seconds to see if Baozhai would turn her head this way as Xiaomei was still looking at LiJie floating away in the river as he was unconscious.
"The crown prince fell in the river," she said aloud to draw some attention, but it didn't seem that they heard her. She shouted again.
"Hm?" ZhangWei heard Xiaomei shout something but didn't hear what she was clearly saying. He glanced back.
"Liu-," she tried to say, but ZhangWei's attention got drawn back to the fight before she could say anything.
She thought, "You gotta be kidding me." Her hands fidgeted as she was making her decision. She noticed that he was drifting further. "I'm going to regret this, but whatever," she said in her head and quickly jumped in the water.
ZhangWei heard a splash. He turned his head towards the river to see a glimpse of Xiaomei's clothes in the water as he turned his head back to find additional bandits behind him. He immediately thought that the bandits probably kicked her into the water. "Daiyu fell in the water!" ZhangWei yelled as he was still fighting off the bandits.
For some reason, everyone heard that and turned their head toward the river. Bojing finally knocked the leader to the ground. The leader hurried to get up and ran as he shouted retreat to his minions. Soon all the bandits quickly ran off and disappeared into the forest. "Where's LiJie?" Baozhai said, worried. "Don't tell me. He also fell in the water," she added. They all looked at the river to see none of them there.
"Hurry. Let's follow the river. They probably got pushed from the current," ZhangWei said as they hurried along the river to see if they could spot them.
Xiaomei was not expecting a strong current. She quickly tried to swim towards him. "L-Liu LiJie," Xiaomei shouted, trying to stay afloat. "W-wake up," she shouted again, spitting up the water that went in her mouth. He was still unconscious and drifting away. She reached out her hand to grab him. She missed him on the first try before finally grabbing his clothes and pulling him to her. She then did a friendly headlock on him and started to swim toward the edge. She gritted her teeth as she couldn't believe how heavy he was even in water. However, when she was close to the edge, the current got stronger and pushed them down the river. She almost let go of him as she grabbed his clothes tighter. She cussed in her heart and tried to swim closer to the edge again.
She was finally able to reach the shore. She could touch the ground and started walking in the water and pulling him with her towards the shore. Once the water was up to her knees, she repositioned herself before grabbing both of his arms and dragging him as she walked backward. She realized he was even heavier than he was in the water, as half of his body was out of the water. She tripped on rocks, but she still held his clothes tightly so as not to lose him. She was panting and gritting. "You are lucky you are the main guy, or I would have left you to drown," she said, pulling him up to the shore. "You better be okay. I don't want to waste my energy for nothing," she added. She did one last pull and fell on her butt. She groaned in pain and let him go as his body was still half in the water and the other half on the rocks. He started to groan. "Liu LiJie," She said, going up to him to see if he was awake. She patted his face, "Are you up?" she said. He slightly opened his eyes to look at her, but he could barely tell who was in front of him since his sight was blurry.
"Baozhai," he called out and grabbed onto her clothes before closing his eyes again. Once she heard him call for Baozhai, her eyes widened. She looked at him in disbelief as she thought she really did waste her energy for nothing.
"Fine, it's whatever. Think it's Baozhai so the story can progress," she muttered. Before she could start pulling him out of the water again, she heard them calling for them. Her eyebrows raised as an idea appeared in her head.
Xiaomei tried to remove his grip from her clothes, but he wouldn't let go. She struggled with him for a minute. Once she finally removed his hands, she quickly got up and placed some heavy rocks on his clothes so he wouldn't drift off again as she hurried and left. However, what Xiaomei didn't notice was that LiJie had ripped her small tassel off her waist.
Baozhai and the rest spotted LiJie lying on the rocky shore. "LiJie," Baozhai shouted, running to him. She picked him up in her lap and tried to wake him up. "LiJie," she said again. He opened his eyes again to clearly see Baozhai holding him in her arms.
"What happened?" he asked.
"During the fight, you fell in the river," Baozhai said. "So, you save me," he muttered in a satisfied voice as he assumed she saved him.
"What did you say?" Baozhai said, helping him up. "Nothing," he said, holding on to the small tassel in his palm as he smiled, still thinking that Baozhai saved him. Bojing came in to help Baozhai carry LiJie.
"Where's Huang Daiyu?" Chuhua said to the other. ZhangWei and Junfeng appeared behind them after they didn't find anything. ZhangWei saw LiJie with them. "Where's Daiyu," he asked them. They all shook their heads in response.
"What happened to Daiyu?" LiJie asked. "She also fell in the river," Baozhai said.
"Junfeng, keep looking," ZhangWei said to Junfeng as he was also going to look for her.
"Are you guys looking for me?" a voice said behind them as it was enduring her aching body. They all turned their heads to see Xiaomei all wet and dirty. She also looked pretty beaten up. At first, Xiaomei wanted to escape but noticed the sun was coming down. She knew if she left in her exhausted condition and met some wild animals along the way, she would probably face death. So it was better to stick with them until she had another chance to leave.
"Are you alright," ZhangWei asked, concerned.
"What happened to you," Chuhua asked, suspicious.
"What does it look like? I got thrown into the river by the bandits, and the current took me away before I could swim to the shore on my own," Xiaomei said, making up the lies. They all were quiet before ZhangWei said, "Let's head back to the carriage. We have to reach the next town before it's dark." They headed back to the carriage.
She followed them and thought, "This way, the main couple's love can deepen, and no one will suspect it was her, who saved LiJie. So the story technically didn't change since he thought it was Baozhai, who saved him."
Once they reached the carriage, ZhangWei threw his cloak to Xiaomei. "Wear this," he said. She wanted to refuse, but he already grabbed the cloak from her and wrapped it around her. "I can see your lips shivering," he said.
Xiaomei was once again inside the carriage with Baozhai, Chuhua, and LiJie. This time they were all quiet and no longer glaring at her. Xiaomei glanced at LiJie to see if he was alright since she did waste her effort in saving him. He noticed her, glancing at him before he coldly looked at her with disgust and looked away.
She thought, "I really did waste my effort. I should have let you drown longer before saving you. You are lucky that you are the main guy, so I need you to finish this story."
He looked at Chuhua and Baozhai and noticed they were sleeping since they were exhausted from the fight. His eyes show great warmth when looking at Baozhai. He quietly showed a small smile at her as he held the small tassel in his sleeve. Xiaomei saw his smile and remembered how the book described him. He would have a serious and structural look with a beautiful smile and sweet pair of eyes, and the person he loved was the apple of his eyes. Xiaomei felt like she was the third wheel watching this.
She opened the cloth to look out the window. She felt the breeze as it made her wet hair and clothes cold. She saw ZhangWei, riding the horse beside the carriage, but he didn't notice her yet. Xiaomei looked at him and thought it was funny. She felt like he was better looking than LiJie.
"What are you looking at," a voice said, causing her to snap out of her thoughts. "Um, nothing," she replied quickly.
"It looked like you were looking at my face," he teased. "I-I was not. I was looking at the trees," she lied.
"Alright, keep looking at the trees. I think they are pleased that you are looking at them," he said, smirking. "Never mind, they are not good to look at anymore," Xiaomei said, closing the cloth. She then noticed LiJie, looking at her. She ignored him and minded her own business.
For some reason, LiJie felt annoyed by their flirting.
They had reached the closest town and decided to spend the night there before leaving again. It took them an additional two days before reaching the destination. So, it was a total of four days before they made it. During those days, Xiaomei had tried many attempts to find someone to take her back to the capital but failed.
They got off the carriage, and they reached Baozhai's uncle's residence.
"ZhangWei, you are back," a mid-age man greeted ZhangWei.
"Zhou Haitao," ZhangWei greeted him back. "What took you so long? I sent a message a month ago," Zhou Haitao said.
"Sorry, I was occupied," ZhangWei replied. Xiaomei raised her eyebrows and thought, "Occupied? You were just bugging me."
"Zhou Haitao, I found Baozhai," ZhangWei said as Baozhai exited the carriage and ran to her uncle.
"Uncle," Baozhai cried and went to hug her uncle. Her uncle's eyes were shocked, and he stood there frozen in disbelief.
"Um, Baozhai. You are still alive...," her uncle said, astonished. Xiaomei watched Baozhai's uncle's facial expression as he was trying to hide his confusion and turn it into excitement.
"Baozhai, I can't believe it's you! We have to celebrate," her uncle said, trying to be happy. "Who are these people with you," her uncle asked.
"They are my friends," Baozhai answered.
"Oh. Well, let them stay at my residence," he said, ordering servants to bring their stuff to individual rooms. "Baozhai, how are you? How did you survive," her uncle asked?
"Mother took me to the secret passageway," Baozhai answered.
"Is that so," her uncle said with a hidden emotion in his voice. Xiaomei already knew what he was thinking. After all, Xiaomei knew he was the evil mastermind of this story.
It didn't take long before they all unpacked and settled in Baozhai's uncle's residence, except ZhangWei, since he had his own residence. He wanted Xiaomei to stay at his residence, but she bluntly refused and took strong measures to stay at Zhou Haitou's residence.
It was nightfall, and they were celebrating the return of the long-lost Baozhai. Everyone, including them and all the people living there, raised their cups to cheer for Baozhai's return. They were all celebrating in the banquet hall. Xiaomei felt like an outcast as she was sitting at the back. She was drinking tea and snacking. She had a perfect view of everyone.
"It is a blessing that Miss Baozhai has returned," a person said.
"Indeed. Miss Baozhai is all grown up now. She looks exactly like her mother and father," another person.
"Your father and mother would be so proud seeing how you grew up," another said.
"Your father was such a great leader. He was the best emperor," they all praised Baozhai's father. Xiaomei immediately saw Baozhai's uncle clenching his teacup in his hand as he forced a smile on his face.
"Yes, I agree. My brother was the best leader," Baozhai's uncle said with great tension in his voice, but no one seemed to notice, except for Xiaomei.
Xiaomei took a deep sigh and thought, "You guys really don't know how to shut your mouths. The breaking point is coming." She was ready to watch a show.
"It is all because of Emperor Liu! He said he wanted to ally with us but then went back on his word. Killing us and taking over our nation," a person shouted as everyone shouted in agreement.
"What," Baozhai said, shocked. LiJie, Chuhua, and Bojing were also shocked. Baozhai looked at them differently now.
"Zhou Baozhai?" someone asked, seeing how shocked she was.
"Baozhai, you didn't know," ZhangWei said as he assumed she was acting to get closer to the palace to get more information and kill the emperor.
"Yeah, that bastard had ordered his army to attack us and take over our region. That's why we are living here in secrecy to get as far away from the capital. If he found out, we are still alive. He will for sure kill us all," one of the elders said.
"Um... I-I'll be back. I need some air," Baozhai said, overwhelmed, getting up to leave the banquet. LiJie quickly went after her.
"Wait, so we killed Baozhai's country... Doesn't that mean we are enemies...," Chuhua said softly to Bojing. Bojing didn't say anything as he didn't know what to say.
"Since Baozhai is back. Isn't it best to have her become our leader? As she is the descendant of our great emperor. She would probably be great like her father. Daughter like father," someone pitched an idea. It didn't take long before they started to agree.
Baozhai's uncle chuckled, "What a great idea, but let's wait until she gets a little older and agrees," as he was holding his anger and hiding his clenched fist under the table.
Xiaomei watched as the breaking point was here. She already knew the uncle was going to assassinate Baozhai and pinpoint it to the emperor. Xiaomei took another deep sigh. If she remembered correctly, Baozhai's uncle was the mastermind of everything. He was the reason why Huang Daiyu and Baozhai families were killed by the emperor.
He was the one who secretly informed the emperor that Great General Huang had committed treason. He heard that Great General Huang was smart and mighty, but he was the biggest and easiest target to make his plan work without leading any tracks on his end.
Since the Great General Huang was Emperor Liu's best friend, causing a great betrayal between them shouldn't be hard, and then finding out the truth will cause a great opportunity to use his (Emperor's Liu) power to eliminate his (Zhou Haitou) threat. Also, it would be a great opportunity to help get rid of more obstacles in his way in the future; for instance, getting rid of the great general will weaken the Liu nation, so it will be easier to defeat them, and then he could rule it all.
So once Zhou Haitou accomplished getting rid of the Great General, he left evidence that it was the emperor from the neighboring nation, making it look like the neighboring country was trying to weaken them so they could attack them.
When Emperor Liu found out the culprit was the emperor of the neighboring nation who caused it. He went mad. He ordered everyone in the neighboring country to be killed since he lost his long childhood friend and his beloved wife (the empress) they must suffer as well.
Therefore, it didn't exactly go as Zhou Haitou planned as he didn't think Emperor Liu would go crazy and kill everyone, but lucky enough Baozhai's uncle still got what he wanted. He became a leader in this small sect.
Xiaomei thought, "This all happened because he had an infuriating complex against his older brother and wanted to be the leader." Baozhai's uncle watched everyone, enjoying themselves as he thought he must kill Baozhai or she will rightfully take over his spot as the leader.
A few minutes later, Xiaomei saw Baozhai's uncle smiling but drinking his tea with his hand gripping tightly on the teacup.
Xiaomei knew what he was thinking as he thought he had a perfect plan. He was going to kill Baozhai and frame the emperor. He was going to say that the emperor had his men follow them back here and kill Baozhai since she was the daughter of the late emperor. Then LiJie will join forces with him to kill the emperor since LiJie probably had his own army since he was the crown prince, as Zhou Haitou had his men do background checks on Baozhai's little friends. So with ZhangWei and LiJie armies (ZhangWei had his own little army), he could take over the entire region for himself. So he will use everyone as a stepping stone before stabbing them in the back once again.
The next day arrived, and Xiaomei stretched her arms out. She thought that the story was going in the right direction as it was following through the plot so far. She remembered the next plot was the first attempt of killing Baozhai. Baozhai went out to clear her mind as she couldn't face Chuhua, Bojing, and especially LiJie after learning the truth about who was the killer of her family. Then ZhangWei went after her as he made it just in time to save her. It was a simple plot, Xiaomei thought.
Xiaomei entered, where she saw the rest of the group (LiJie, Chuhua, and Bojing). They were quietly eating. She sat down and asked, "Where's Zhou Baozhai?" knowing fully well where Baozhai was.
"What does it matter to you," Chuhua snapped at her. Xiaomei let it slide since she was in distress about her friend.
"Then what about Wang ZhangWei? I thought he would come today," Xiaomei asked, making sure the storyline was going as planned.
Both LiJie and Chuhua refused to talk to her. "I think he went on an errand," Bojing answered.
"What!" Xiaomei said, shocked. "Are you sure that he is not with Zhou Baozhai?" she said, standing up.
"Yes, that's what I heard, "Bojing answered back.
"Why do you care where Wang ZhangWei is," LiJie said coldly. Before she even cared to answer LiJie, she had already left the room.
"No, it can't be. The story is slightly changing again," she muttered to herself. She quickly searched for him. "He has to save her, or what's going to happen to the story? She is the main girl," Xiaomei thought. She spotted Junfeng.
"Junfeng," she shouted in a hurry, forgetting to be polite.
"What's wrong, Miss Daiyu," he answered her.
"Where's Wang ZhangWei?" she asked hastily.
"He went out. He had to do an errand," Junfeng said. "Then... then where's Zhou Baozhai?" she asked.
"Miss Baozhai, I think she went out too by herself," Junfeng answered again. "What direction did she go?" Xiaomei said in a hurry.
"That way. To the market," Junfeng said, getting confused by the many questions.
Before Xiaomei could think properly, she hurried out. Her legs were running on their own. "Dang it. Don't tell me I have to save another main character again. Now, I have to save the main girl. It's all ZhangWei's fault for not being here and bringing me here. If I wasn't here, then maybe he would be here, saving her as the story said. Forget it. Maybe I will do the same thing I did with LiJie, say and make it look like ZhangWei saved her if it was possible," she said to herself. She hurried to where the book described Baozhai would be.
It didn't take long to spot Baozhai since she did have a main girl halo on her, so she was very beautiful compared to the rest of the crowd. Immediately, Xiaomei saw the arrow coming toward Baozhai. Xiaomei ran as hard as she could before pushing Baozhai out of the way. They both fell onto the ground as the arrow missed and struck a stall. "Are you okay," Xiaomei said as they both sat up. Baozhai immediately saw the arrow. Before Baozhai could answer back, Xiaomei turned her head to see another arrow coming their way. She pushed Baozhai out of their way again. Xiaomei saved Baozhai from getting hit by the arrow, but she didn't save herself as it grazed the side of her stomach before striking the dirt. Xiaomei groaned in pain and saw that when she pushed Baozhai out of the way. Baozhai hit her head, making her faint. Immediately the crowd screamed and called for help, causing the shooter to disappear in thin air as his attempt failed.