After the generous hour had passed, Qian Jue dragged the reluctant Tao Hua off to the baths, which to Tao Hua was surprisingly a blessing than a curse.
Due to his hyper-fixation, he hadn't noticed his hunger, and now that he was free of the books, it panged aggressively at his stomach.
The longer it took Qian Jue to tidy him up, the worse he felt.
Such was the curse of drinking and not eating—Tao Hua vowed that last night would be his first and last time ever touching alcohol again. Truly, he couldn't comprehend the obsession many in this country had with the substance.
After the bath, the night's events were like a stamp, repeating the next few nights almost identically.
It would go, as followed: He and Qian Jue would quietly wait in the bedchambers, only striking up conversation every so often, and ending as soon as Shan Si would return.
He'd come and go, clean up, and dinner plans would commence shortly thereafter. Midway through dinner, Shan Si would casually strike up conversation, mostly asking about Tao Hua and his day rather than talk about himself or what he did while away.
Even if Tao Hua asked about his in return, Shan Si would simply reply that it was boring palace matters and nothing more. If he asked why he couldn't leave, or the purpose of his captivity he'd receive a half-assed response!
In his words: "Suo Han has to deal with the consequences of his punishment, so there isn't anyone to watch over you. You'll return eventually. This is also your punishment, too, so don't feel bad for him. Wan Mie has it handled."
But Tao Hua couldn't help but feel that their punishments were rather unevenly executed, but there wasn't much he could extract on Suo Han's punishment. He just had to trust the words "He's fine" and simply accept whatever answer he could get.
Besides…there was a small amount of shamelessness in Tao Hua when asking. It wasn't to receive an answer, but to inquire if this setup had an expiration date.
Eventually, the conversation would shamelessly circle back to Tao Hua, just as Shan Si continued asking more useless questions about him.
His home life, how he ended up engaged, if he'd ever left Siyue Town before, es cetera, es cetera, es cetera. There was a hunger in learning more than revealing for this man, and Shan Si was utterly captivated by Tao Hua's boring life.
It almost felt unfair and awkward to constantly talk about himself, and dizzily so. But in the oddest sense, Shan Si genuinely seemed interested, so it made the shame of each pitiful answer less difficult. Even if Shan Si barely responded much to the tragic responses, there was always a look in his eyes that would eerily squint when Tao Hua would explain, and it was a look that he couldn't explain.
This made talking to him all the easier as the days droned on, even enough for him to ask a few of the questions that lingered on his tongue.
Tao Hua first asked about the other night, to his embarrassment, dallying over the topic of his dream and tossing it aside.
Shan Si didn't seem aware of this and explained that Tao Hua pretty much passed out after his second cup, mumbling inaudible words. This offered Tao Hua a bit of relief, and he chalked the dream up as nothing more than creativity.
A lot of creativity.
And yet, even when he'd glance up at Shan Si, he found that ever since his first night staying in Shan Si's room, there was a distinct air about him. Compared to before, he wasn't so keen on teasing, nor did he respond in a negative manner.
It was as if Tao Hua were a delicate, unsteady vase, and any loud noise would crack it.
He was also extremely attentive to Tao Hua, almost to a suffocating degree. Whether it be his eating habits, occasionally assisting him to bed, lingering longer than necessary before finally waving Tao Hua off.
None of it made sense, and only Tao Hua was anxious that his episode of drinking made him look less capable than the forest ever could.
But regardless of his anxiousness, Shan Si treated it with such normalcy that Tao Hua began to second-guess himself and whether this was always the norm between them.
Other than Shan Si's treatment of him, Tao Hua wasn't without his own agency either.
He still had many questions he wanted to ask, and even if he was too nervous for most of them, he still jumped on the first opportunity available. If Shan Si directed the conversation close to one of the topics, Tao Hua would immediately interject and ask.
These opportunities were far and few, but he did earn some answers. The most important was Weng Jing and his condition, which turned out that he wasn't actually blind at all!
As per Shan Si's scornful words, Weng Jing was a special case of "lunatic."
Basically, Weng Jing's eyes were the result of a curse placed to stabilize an array of some sort, but Shan Si also didn't fully understand the extent of the curse, or who placed it on him. Instead, he'd run on an hour-long tangent on the ins and outs of curses, almost as passionate as Tao Hua with stories.
Tao Hua barely understood the explanation, so he just compartmentalized it and would write it down later to research. Other than that, Shan Si wasn't keen on answering anything else, and most were spiced with its own version of "Don't worry about it."
After dinner, both would wander off to their own. Shan Si would sit at his study after Qian Jue placed a load of paperwork on it, while Tao Hua lounged in bed reading the books left out for him.
However, he found it easier to focus on reading in the morning—having typically completed half of the book—than in the evening, where he'd only get through a few chapters.
Every so often, he'd peek past the book and over at Shan Si, questions circling his mind, but a feeling in his chest that seemed to speak louder and louder each time he glanced at him. He wasn't sure what it was, but just watching Shan Si work always had him in a daze, and when he was caught, Tao Hua would merely hide behind his book and act like he was reading.
Nothing would be addressed.
A mere week eventually passed of their domestic routine, and despite Tao Hua never having the chance to leave, and already on his last book, he'd patiently wait for Shan Si to return. Even if he had freedom back in Siyue Town, that freedom was lonely.
Here, he was confined within the walls of a man's palace, but always had someone to talk to who actually seemed interested in him. Enough to ask him about the things he'd read.
It was as if he were a cat awaiting his owner's return, and the moment he'd return, Tao Hua would immediately greet him. This comfort settled in rather quickly, but wasn't without its doubts.
It would all finally come crashing down one night during dinner, after having woken up the night prior only to find Shan Si passed out on his desk for the third time that week.
Each time this happened, Tao Hua would gently cover him with a blanket and frown. He couldn't tell if Shan Si was doing this for his sake, or if the man really was inundated with that much work.
But even when he snuck a peek at his work, he'd noticed him on the same few he'd been working on the other nights Tao Hua found him asleep.
An entire week of offering me his bed… Tao Hua thought. How is he managing his own rest?
The room had only a single bed, a miniature throne, and a study. There was no way someone of his height and size could comfortably sleep elsewhere.
It frustrated Tao Hua to a great extent, and that all finally bubbled up the next day during dinner, in the middle of Shan Si babbling on about swords and such while eating.
"Can we talk?" Tao Hua finally blurted out, poking and prodding the food with his chopsticks. Shan Si glanced up, his brows raised, yet not disturbed in the slightest.
"Took you long enough," he finally replied, leaning back. With indifference, he efficiently asked, "Are you finally wanting to return to your palace? Should I arrange that sooner than later?"
"I..." Tao Hua just froze.
That's not what he wanted to talk about, but now that the question arose, he realized he had never really given it much thought. Everything was starting to feel natural, and the days were flying by quicker than his first three days in Jianlai.
Did he actually want to return to his own palace?
The comparison between the two was stark. Whereas the Palace of Great Benevolence was smaller and toned with cool colours, this one felt warm and familial.
And it wasn't just due to the reds, yellows, and open space that felt engulfed in light.
Rather, it was emotionally welcoming. Not once did Tao Hua feel like a burden, contrary to popular belief. In all honesty, he wouldn't mind staying like this a little longer.
He cast his eyes down toward his food and nudged it around a bit before faintly shaking his head.
"..." Shan Si's expression was unreadable, but eventually he also turned back to his food and said, "I don't intend to be like your father. You'll have freedom. But I can't just let people do whatever they want, Tao Hua…you need to understand that. This was necessary."
How could Tao Hua explain that he didn't want this setup to end? He just looked back up at Shan Si with a small frown, but Shan Si was entirely focused on his food and continued as if assuming he knew what Tao Hua wanted to ask.
"Suo Han will be back at your side in a few days, I just need to ensure the palace is safe," he said, catching a shocked look from Tao Hua, and before he could ask for clarification, Shan Si continued."There will be exceptions, of course."
"S-Sorry…?"
"Don't worry, it's nothing big. Only daily chores. Qian Jue needs all the help she can get, and she's well aware of keeping you away from the Ancestral Hall. I trust her…so you can, too," Shan Si explained, leaving Tao Hua speechless. "Everyone has to pull their weight around here; that includes you. If I give you special treatment, imagine how the others would react? They'll be riding up my ass asking for favours. I'd rather kill myself."
"No, that's not—"
But Shan Si just waved off the topic, seemingly uninterested in continuing it or his food for that matter. He got to his feet, approached his study, and picked up a piece of paper, all while Tao Hua's eyes frantically followed him.
"I'll have the appropriate things ready for you in the coming days." He brought the paper to Tao Hua, bending forward and placing it on his table. "Finish eating—you barely touch your food as it is. I need to catch up on stuff before I'm drowned in complaints; we can continue this conversation later."
When Tao Hua glanced up at him, there was a slight look of disdain before Shan Si left for his study. Frowning, he leaned his head toward his shoulder, shifted his eyes toward the paper, and picked it up with a sigh.
I just wanted to ask about the sleeping situation. He frustratingly scowled. Not get evicted and assigned to cleaning duty—
However, his eyes narrowed when he finally read the paper. Unsure how to react, he asked, "Tao Gu?"
Tao, which meant peach, and Gu, which meant lonely.
Therefore, the paper read: Lonely Peach.
"What is this for?" Tao Hua asked, almost offended, looking up from the paper and at Shan Si's back.
Chapter end.