- Chapter Start –
That's it, Di FeiSheng decides. He's going to kill Fang DuoBing. Which is bad because Li LianHua won't like him anymore, but it can't be helped. Fang DuoBing is supposed to reassure Li LianHua that he's worth their efforts; not point the conversation back to Di FeiSheng and how he feels about Li LianHua!
Unfortunately, his glare fails to incinerate the brat on the spot, and the expectant smiles on Yang YunChun and Zhan YunFei's faces make him feel hot and cold all over. After today's events, yanked from hope to depair again and again, his emotions – normally tightly controlled – are spiralling out of his grasp.
To make matters worse, Li LianHua is giving him that fond, knowing look that no one else has ever dared to aim his way. It makes Di FeiSheng feel awkward and uncertain, like a youth of Fang DuoBing's age. The words at the back of his throat have vanished, but his tongue is now glued to the roof of his mouth.
After a moment, Li LianHua laughs. Soft with a telling catch in it.
"Di-mengzhu thinks of me as his rival, of course. His only wish is to cure me so we can have a rematch."
It's amusing how fast the other three's faces fall. When Fang DuoBing opens his mouth to protest, Li LianHua gives a slight shake of his head.
"The Emperor is waiting. Let's go." Without waiting for an answer, he heads towards the waiting horses.
Di FeiSheng removes the two Styx Flowers from his robes and holds them out to Fang DuoBing.
"Take these. Contact Guan HeMeng and tell him to meet us at Tianji Hall. I will get Wu Yan to bring the Drug Demon. We must find out the best way to prepare the Styx Flower."
"You want to bring the Drug Demon to my home?" Fang DuoBing protests.
"You want to consult other doctors when I'm one?" Li LianHua protests.
"Yang YunChun and I will go see the Emperor and join you all as fast as we can," Di FeiSheng continues, ignoring both of them. Outlining a plan, brief as it is, grounds him and allows him to focus on what's important. Feeling calmer now, he turns to Li LianHua.
"I used to think of you as my only rival in this life. Now, I consider you my best friend and my equal."
He leaves the rest unsaid. Time enough to utter them once Li LianHua is cured.
"Thank you," Li LianHua says with that same little catch in his voice.
"Right. Now that that's settled, let's get going." Yang YunChun turns towards the horses just as a strong hand clamps around his upper arm. With a surge of Qi, he's airborne and lets out a startled yell.
"I will return your horse safely, Yang-daren!" Zhan YunFei calls after them, grinning.
Di FeiSheng doesn't look back as he flies towards the Imperial Palace, bringing Yang YunChun with him.
- o -
Back at the palace gates, Minister Fang and Madam He are waiting beside the Cloud Chasing carriage.
"XiaoBao!" Madam He hurries over. "A-Fei and Yang YunChun have gone back inside the palace. The soldiers took a man inside too. Is he the thief? What happened?"
"It's a long story, niang, but A-Fei has the Styx Flower." Fang DuoBing dismounts and helps Li LianHua down. Minister Fang offers a steadying hand when Li LianHua almost stumbles.
"Fang DuoBing, Li LianHua! You two are back!" Princess ZhaoLing steps forward, closely followed by her maid.
Fang DuoBing's eyes go to the red mark on her cheek at once.
"Gongzhu, Yang-daren told me what happened. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Di FeiSheng gave me an ointment to apply earlier."
"He did?" Fang DuoBing tips her chin up with careful fingers and peers at the welt. "It looks painful. Does it still hurt?"
"A little, but I'm alright." Princess ZhaoLing's smile is radiant.
"Gongzhu was waiting for you to return," her maid says, giggling only to duck her head when she gets a glare.
Someone gives a discreet cough.
"It seems we have failed to raise our son as a gentleman."
"XiaoBao, you can't touch the princess without first asking for her permission, and even then you can't!"
The realisation that they're not alone is like a bucket of icy water dumped on Fang DuoBing's head. Snatching his hand back, he quickly takes two steps back and bows over his sword clasped in both hands.
"Gongzhu, please forgive my rude behaviour!" He can feel his entire face burning.
"Aiya, you ran away so fast only to run right back to her in the end," Madam He teases.
"Niang, please." Fang DuoBing doesn't dare lift his head, mortified to the soles of his feet.
Meanwhile, Li LianHua steps forward and offers the Princess a deep salute.
"Gongzhu, please accept my gratitude for your intervention on Di FeiSheng's behalf. XiaoBao will ask Guan HeMeng for some of his green jade beauty cream. It should heal your face without a scar."
"I will," Fang DuoBing promises and straightens up.
"You said it so you should mean it," Princess ZhaoLing tells him, smiling.
"We should go. Di FeiSheng told us to return to Tianji Hall first." Zhan YunFei starts chivvying them along.
"I want to wait for A-Fei," Li LianHua says at once.
"We might as well wait for him since he has the Styx Flower," Madam He says.
Fang DuoBing and Zhan YunFei exchange glances.
"It's alright. I have them here." Fang DuoBing pats the front of his robes.
"You're holding it?" Madam He looks puzzled. "Earlier, you said A-Fei has it."
"What is going on?" Minister Fang asks. "Why are you holding the flower?"
"Fang-daren, He-tangzhu, I will explain on the way." Zhan YunFei continues ushering them to the Cloud Chasing carriage.
"Gongzhu, we will take our leave for now." Fang DuoBing salutes Princess ZhaoLing again and looks around when someone taps his arm. "Zhan-huwei?"
Looking rather grim, Zhan YunFei tips his head at Li LianHua who is grimacing as Minister Fang helps him inside the carriage.
- o -
A while later…
Li LianHua sits at the front terrace of Tianji Hall, wrapped in his fur cloak and accompanied by Fang DuoBing, Zhan YunFei and Hulijing. The carriage rides, interspersed with the horse rides have given him a headache, but he feels a bit better with solid ground under his feet and a hot cup of tea in his hands. He ignores the beautiful platter of fruit and pastries on the table, his stomach still too unsettled for anything solid.
"Li LianHua, how do you feel?" Fang DuoBing asks, sitting close enough to nudge his shoulder.
"Better," Li LianHua replies with a faint smile, "just a bit too much excitement for one day."
When Princess ZhaoLing brought him the Styx Flower – was it just this afternoon? - he had feared for Fang DuoBing and his family's lives should the Emperor find out. When he learned that Di FeiSheng had gone to Imperial Palace, he had feared for him instead.
Even though the Emperor agreed to return the Styx Flower, even though they have the support of the Empress Dowager and Princess ZhaoLing, and even though they also have two extra flowers, Li LianHua is still worried. He's also exhausted, limbs heavy and aching.
Who's to say the Emperor won't change his mind?
Who's to say he hasn't thrown Di FeiSheng in prison, strung between two chains like at Jiao LiQiao's place?
Or… worse?
Sensing his mood, Hulijing whines and pushes his wet nose against his hand. Li LianHua sighs and pats him with fingers that tremble.
"I swear, A-Fei is going to give me something I never thought I would experience - white hair," he mutters under his breath.
Was this how Madam He felt when Minister Fang was held at the palace after the Emperor found out about the Pagoda of Bliss?
"He's back!" Fang DuoBing exclaims and jumps to his feet, followed by Zhan YunFei.
Li LianHua's head snaps up to see a familiar shape flying towards them, silhouetted by the almost full moon. Ignoring his quickening heartbeat, he gets to his feet.
Di FeiSheng lands before them, crimson robe sleeves and long hair settling back into place.
"I have the third flower," he announces as he sets down a familiar wooden box on the table. He's staring at Li LianHua who stares back at him.
Neither of them see Fang DuoBing pouncing on said box and lifting the lid to check its contents.
"The Emperor allowed you to leave with it?" Li LianHua asks.
Di FeiSheng nods.
"What about Princess ZhaoLing and Yang-xiong, are they in trouble?" Fang DuoBing asks.
"No idea," Di FeiSheng says.
"Fang-gongzi, we should inform your parents that Di-mengzhu is back," Zhan YunFei says.
"You go ahead, Zhan-huwei… hey!" Fang DuoBing protests as his shoulder is grabbed and he's steered back inside the house.
"What took you so long?" The words slip out before Li LianHua can stop them, in a petulant tone that makes him want to cringe.
"Oh? Were you that worried?" A tiny smirk appears on Di FeiSheng's lips.
"Of course I was," Li LianHua says with a sniff. "The Styx Flower is so precious."
His ears burn at the huff of amusement, and he presses his lips together to avoid saying anything else.
"I would've left sooner," Di FeiSheng says after a moment, "but we had to convince the Emperor not to have Jian LingXiao whipped for theft. He's been imprisoned though."
"What about his son?"
"Yang YunChun promised to have someone look after him."
"Ah, that's good."
Silence falls, thick and expectant with words longing to be voiced. Hulijing settles down with his eyes on them and stays quiet.
"You took such a huge risk today," Li LianHua finally says.
"It paid off, didn't it?" Di FeiSheng's lips quirk as he raises a hand, fingertips grazing Li LianHua's bangs. Then his smile disappears, leaving him solemn except for his gleaming eyes.
"Li LianHua, if you still don't know - I don't want a life without you in it. I don't want a life where you don't exist in that ridiculous mobile home of yours, traveling from place to place with your mutt, selling medicinal plasters, growing vegetables and cooking them up in all sorts of terrible ways."
Li LianHua blinks at him, heart racing and thoughts scattering.
"My cooking isn't that-"
"I don't want a life where I can't sit opposite you to share a meal, or sit beside you with a jug of wine. It has to be you, Li LianHua. It will only ever be you. No one else."
Li LianHua's vision blurs and he has to blink a few times to clear it. When he inhales, it's shaky and when he exhales, it's on a sound very close to a sob. His throat is so tight it hurts.
"I know, but what if the Styx Flower can't cure-"
"Di-mengzhu, you're back?" A familiar voice says, accompanied by approaching footsteps.
Cursing, Di FeiSheng's eyes flick to behind Li LianHua before he loops one arm around his shoulders, and the other under his knees.
When Fang DuoBing and his parents emerge onto the terrace, they see the two swooping down towards the tiny grove of plum trees where Lotus Tower is parked.
"Where are they going?" Minister Fang asks.
"Should we have given them a few more minutes?" Madam He asks.
Fang DuoBing shakes his head, grinning.
"I think Li LianHua just wants to give A-Fei a scolding. They'll be back soon."
"I hope so," Zhan YunFei says, walking out with He XiaoFeng, "because Guan HeMeng, Su XiaoYong and Yun BiQiu are on their way here."
- Chapter End –
A/N: Thank you for reading! This little tale, like many of my stories, is turning out to be much longer than expected, much to my beta's chagrin. I hope you're all enjoying the ride and I deeply appreciate all the kudos and the wonderful comments :)
daren = respectful title for superior
gongzi = young master / mister
gongzhu = princess
huwei = guardian
mengzhu = director
tangzhu - hall master
xiong = older brother (formal)