Tao Hua immediately sat upright upon waking, a dazed look on his face. His hair was an utter mess, tangled in many directions, scarce of any ribbon to hold it back. And his face? Completely flushed, especially given what he'd woken up from—as was typical, at this rate.
Blinking through the blurred vision, he observed his surroundings until his eyes finally landed on his hands, which were gripped tightly to the seams of the red and gold quilt.
"…"
No need!
He threw it off, sending it to the end of the bed; however, there was another sheet! This one was solely black, darker than a cloudy night sky.
Also, not a problem!
And so, without a second thought, Tao Hua did the same with that very sheet, and away it went flying. To his utter dismay, however, he'd find a THIRD quilt leftover.
Three fucking blankets just to sleep? The room wasn't even that cold!
On a normal basis, Tao Hua typically slept with two quilts at most. Three was pushing the limits.
So he also tossed that quilt into the growing pile of unwanted blankets, freeing his legs from the oncoming system of sweat, sweat, and more sweat. He wiggled his toes a bit before lazily slumping forward, overcome with a pressure as heavy as the bottom of a lake.
In other words: Tao Hua felt like trash, and he hadn't yet awoken to feel the true repercussions of the night prior. Rubbing his eyes and blinking a few times, everything—from his vision to reality—all began to sharpen.
The room was dimly lit, supported only by the few rays of sun coming from the secured windows and the cracks in the door frames. Add in the fact that Tao Hua was the only soul in the large, quiet room, and suddenly the bystander would be met with an empty, morning-after feeling.
From the door, to the window, then to the study, Tao Hua groggily tilted his head at the scattered documents, half-eaten bowl of…sweets? And a swarm of papers, all spread across the carpet as if thrown there.
"This isn't my room." And finally, it hit him with another sweep of the area. Tao Hua's eyes widened awake. "I…this is Shan Si's room?!"
He hurriedly scooted towards the edge of the bed and jumped out of it, twirling around to find an outer robe.
Then he paused.
"I don't remember taking off my robe…" he whispered, his eyes shifting in multiple directions as he struggled to make sense of the situation. But he certainly wasn't dressed in an outer robe, just his undergarments.
Impatiently, his voice trembled. "I don't remember anything after dinner…"
But Tao Hua remembered his dream, and perfectly! From every action, detail, warmth, and touch, he remembered most of it as if it were real. At least, when comparing it to his other questionable dreams from the past ten days, this one felt real. It was different and more creative than anything Tao Hua could ever imagine.
And with more detailed actions.
Tao Hua was inexperienced, so how could he dream of such things?! Weren't dreams a concoction of what a person witnessed and learnt in their day to day life?!
Falling into a crouch, he gripped the side of his head as the overthinking began to take over.
"Was it a dream or not?!" Tao Hua whimpered, ruffling his hair up more than it already needed to be. "Those were supposed to stay as dreams…nothing more! Why can't I remember going to bed?! How did I get undressed?! Noooooooo, no, no, no. I don't remember!"
His eyes sharpened, just as his lower lip quivered. The two possibilities both merged into a potential reality Tao Hua couldn't quite grasp, nor could he recall every detail of how it transpired to such affairs.
"Did I maybe do something I wasn't supposed to?" He quietly asked, glancing up at the empty study once more with a pout. But the morning air would wash over him, eventually offering a bit of relief.
"It…it has to be a dream," he laughed hopelessly. "Who'd want to do something like that with me? I'm not that special."
The more thought he put into convincing himself, the more flustered he became. He was embarrassed at himself for thinking Shan Si'd ever want to initiate anything of the sort with him…the man had standards, and even said it himself.
Tao Hua wasn't the standard.
Looking like nothing more than a ball on the ground, Tao Hua tried to make himself look as small as possible.
"A dream," he finally concluded, though reassured, he also felt a pang of sadness. Whatever, it wasn't anything he couldn't manage. "An extremely vivid dream. That's all."
After a breath, he finally got back onto his feet and glanced around the room once more. He came to the conclusion that after his second bowl of wine; he ended up passing out on Shan Si, causing him to begrudgingly drag him off to his bed.
Chances are he was probably cussing; might not even want to re-invite Tao Hua after.
"I-I'll have to apologize to him later," he decided, nodding awkwardly and choosing to look for his clothes instead. "Maybe I can ask him what happened then. Hah…so many things I still need to ask."
Amid his search, Tao Hua didn't end up finding his robe, but rather a pile of books placed on the bedside table. Atop it was a note. He blinked a few times, picking it up.
The calligraphy was immaculate—neat and well-practiced. Tao Hua's wasn't awful by any standards, but it wasn't up to par, either. It was as if average met a whimsical enchanted forest and had a child.
"Qian Jue will be assigned to you for the time being. Find her in the Palace of Heavenly Purity. You can find your extra robes in her care. I'll be back later," Tao Hua whispered aloud. Under the large paragraph were characters thick with ink splattered around them. "Do not leave, or else."
Tao Hua's face fell deadpan. This note was likely the work of Shan Si. Who other than him would go through the work of writing beautifully and not explain the threat?
Letting out a sigh, he placed the note down next on the table, and reaching for the books, picking them up one by one.
At first, he assumed these were for Shan Si's entertainment—maybe to study before bed. He glanced up, pursing his lips at that idea.
It seemed likely for Shan Si; the man did look good with a quill in his hand and focused. What a peculiar thought. Tao Hua just shook his head and turned back to the books in his hand.
"House arrest. Life is just one…" But as he sifted through each, that unimpressed, bored expression contorted. "Big…mirror?"
Tao Hua wasn't sure how to feel when reading each title, but given their conversation back at The Bookstore, these weren't placed for Shan Si's enjoyment at all.
"They're all fairytales?" He repeated the action, looking through each title again and again just to make sure, until finally concluding. "They're all fairytales!"
Each and every one, without a single history, business, or relational book. Sure, they were old, maybe by hundreds of years, but that just meant Tao Hua had never read them before, making these books open season!
Setting them on the bedside table, all for one, Tao Hua hugged it close to his chest like a young girl would their newly attained doll. He rocked back and forth on his heels a bit, trying to make sense of his thoughts.
This had to be done for him; why else would Shan Si have these on his bedside table?
Perhaps being locked up here wasn't as bad as the estate or palace. The more Tao Hua thought about it, the more his lips curved upward. He had books, food, was away from his father, and someone he could speak to every night.
Sucking in his lips, Tao Hua looked down at the book, then at the door, and straight back to the book. Qian Jue could wait for him a little longer, right? Excitedly, he flew back onto the bed, slapped the book onto his thighs, and immediately opened it to read.
And before he knew it, both the morning and afternoon would pass in the blink of an eye, all at the pages of his fingertips.
It wasn't until Qian Jue had popped her head in to ensure Tao Hua was alive and well, much later than anticipated, and not at all in her control. But alas, he was alive, and more than ever during his time at the palace.
Tao Hua was happily rummaging through his book, lost in the world of words with eyes wide with interest and a soft smile on his face. The world around him didn't exist; neither did any of his woes or concerns--dreams or reality.
Therefore, Qian Jue slowly shut the door without a sound, deciding to give the young man another hour before dragging him off to prepare for the day.
Chapter end.