Belated Care

She took care of Jinshi, she bit that bullet. Now it was even harder to bite the next one. Upon entering Lakan's tent she fully expected him to be passed out and babbling his sleep. He was very much awake, grinning like a fool despite his injuries, talking to a worried Fengxian.

This was fine. She took care of Fengxian before, quite well if you asked Maomao. This didn't need to be awkward at all.

"Maomao! Are you here to see your Daddy?! I knew you'd be here for me, my precious daughter!" As he sat up, he had a coughing fit that included quite a bit of blood. Fengxian pushed him down right away.

"I told you not to move. You're in no shape for sudden movements." She reprimanded him but her words held no real harshness behind them. Lakan wasn't about to go against his wife's words.

A tense silence followed as Maomao approached. So much for no awkwardness. As if that was possible. "I'm here to make sure you don't die. This won't taste good, but you need to drink all of it."

"Ah, how could I refuse medicine that my own daughter is bringing me?" The medicine tasted awful but he gladly gulped it down with no protest. "Maomao! Have you finally come to tell me that you're leaving the Palace and are going to move in with us?!"

Maomao cringed and shivered at his words. This man was about to pass out and all he was talking about was making her move into his house. What a freak.

"No." No matter how many times she repeated herself to Lakan it never stopped him from wanting to be her dad. It was beyond annoying.

"You got kidnapped because of him. I won't... forgive that..." He protested, his tone sleepy and groggy.

"That's enough now, love. You've done enough. Sleep this off, it will be good for you." Fengxian ran her hands across his face, his hair. she looked at him so softly, and expression Maomao never thought the woman was capable of.

"You've recovered." It was the first thing she's noticed about Fengxian. She looked a lot healthier than when she lost saw her, not just physically but also mentally. She regained most of the shape she had before her illness started progressing further. If Lakan hadn't found out about her when he did and bought her contract, she would have died a slow and painful death.

Fengxian nodded, her eyes meeting Maomao's, "I've had good doctors, before and after leaving the Verdegris House." It wasn't like any of them to say thank you much. It was a trait that Maomao shared with both of her parents and she was well aware of that.

Even when they did express their thanks, they always said it in a way that one had to read between the lines.

"Okay. Everyone back home is fine by the way." In case she cared.

"I know. We trade letters often, it's nice." She looked over Maomao's form, taking in the small injuries. A subtle frown appeared on her otherwise stoic face. "Are you... being treated well? By the man who bought you?"

Fengxian avoided Maomao a lot as the girl grew up. Seeing her reminded her of Lakan and how he never returned. For all she knew he was dead. And she hated him for it. She always got a grim look on her face when his name came up, as did Maomao, so Granny and the Three Princesses agreed on never telling Lakan that Fengxian was still alive. They were all under the impression that she hated the man.

Except in those rare moments when she hummed the lullaby that Maomao knew by heart. It was rare for Fengxian to show motherly love, but Maomao never asked for it, it was the way things worked in the pleasure district. It was how it always was; no one there knew anything different.

But when Meimei helped Lakan reunite with Fengxian and Fengxian yelled at the man for over an hour she accepted his offer of buying her out. After that Maomao never thought she'd see her again.

"Jinshi is... a fine employer." She was hesitant to say his name.

"Because you would have poisoned him otherwise." Fengxian smiled when she saw the corner of Maomao's mouth curl up for a moment. "Are you happy with him?"

It wasn't that kind of a relationship. They were just master and servant, nothing else, not husband and wife like Lakan and Fengxian. Not that her mother knew that.

Maomao shrugged. "He lets me study medicine." She deadpanned.

"And I always will!" Jinshi declared as he walked into the tent.

Fengxian's eyes widened with surprise when she recognized who this man was and who it was that bought her daughter. When it first happened, she could tell that Jinshi was of some noble status, she also knew the look a man smitten and assumed that he would treat her well. However...

She stood up, replaced the lap Lakan was resting on with a pillow and bowed low to Jinshi. As a courtesan she had a lot of pride, so much that it almost killed her. "Thank you in your assistance in Maomao's rescue, Your Highness. My husband and I are forever grateful. However, as a mother, I also apologize in advance for what I am about to do."

The slap that followed was so loud that it echoed through the tent. Worse yet she slapped Jinshi's cut cheek. Maomao was about to faint, the work on the cut was already poor, now his beautiful face has no chance of healing well!

Lakan on the other hand grinned and laughed. Weirdo. It seemed that Maomao's entire bloodline also shared a death wish. Another trait that she inherited?

"If you want to cut my hand off, I'm prepared for that." Her hand? She should be so lucky.

"That really hurt ma'am. But I do understand this protectiveness you feel. One of the most terrifying things in the world is a woman's wrath. Your daughter showed me that." He smiled at Maomao, who shivered again and looked away, not wanting to be involved with this. It wasn't how she could run away from this either. For starters there was nowhere to go. "And now that I've taken a good look at you, I see where Maomao gets her beautiful looks from."

"Your flattery is hollow, Your Highness." Fengxian was also where Maomao got her bluntness from. These cutting words were familiar to Jinshi who often longed to hear them from Maomao. "You bought my daughter, love her or not from that moment on she was your responsibility. What do you have to say for yourself, now that she was kidnapped and almost killed under your watch?"

That's it. She's dead. And she recently got married too, her recovery was going great, there was a good life ahead of her...

"I apologize for all of that." Jinshi's face saddened quickly. "Despite how things may look please know I care about Maomao. It's not because she's from the La Clan, she's special. I'm sure you know just how much. Right now I can't promise a care-free life for her but please know that I'm doing my best to make it so. So please, trust me with her!"

The silence was heavy, overpowering even.

It sounded an awful lot like a marriage proposal. Now she finally understood why Jinshi was warned about introducing new blood into the royal bloodline. Was he thinking about it even then? She was the one who helped him pass the test, even if she didn't know the consequences of it then. How troublesome.

"Your Highness, I bowed to you before, asked for your help, but I have no intention of giving you my daughter's hand in marriage. She will never be your pawn." Lakan wasn't as scary now that he was dizzy and laying down. But his words still carried a lot of weight. There was a reason that the La Clan was neutral, no one really wanted to tangle with their bloodline, they were scared. And those who did were a bit on the odd side themselves, much like Jinshi.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Grand Commander Kan. I would never look at her in such a shallow way. Hopefully someday, I can prove that to all the people in this tent." His eyes landed on Maomao's, he needed her to understand this too, her more than anyone. "I will take my leave from you now. Have a good rest."

There was nothing in his words or body language to suggest he was lying.

Jinshi's honesty was honestly annoying.

"Lakan, my love, you didn't have to be so rude to him." Fengxian crossed her arms over her chest and looked at her husband who grunted in response.

"Like you're one to talk. You slapped him!" Maomao pointed at her mother in an accusatory way, she looked scandalized! "His face will scar; it's one of his best features and if people find out that I was the one who couldn't heal it then it will be my head."

"Oh, I don't know. I think a man with scars is quite attractive." See, Maomao was used to sexual talks and situations, sometimes she even saw the act itself and it never had any effect on her. But there was something in how her mother looked at her father, who grinned and pointed to his injuries, that made Maomao almost vomit. The good news was that there was an extremely low chance of her getting a sibling. The world couldn't handle it.

Jinshi had the beauty of a celestial nymph, and now with his status as the Moon Prince revealed it wasn't even that odd. Perhaps a scar won't diminish it but Maomao still mourned the loss of his unscarred features.

"I'm tired of this conversation." She wanted to leave as fast as possible before she overheard anything else that made her skin crawl. "I'm- listen to your doctors. I'm sure you'll make a full recovery soon." She shouldn't say anything more, those words were enough.