The next three days passed quickly, and what Shan Si had deemed their "vacation" came to a close.
Vacation, however, was stretching it a bit far. It was mostly Tao Hua lounging all day in Shan Si's bedroom, while Shan Si ran around during the day doing whatever it was he was doing.
Tao Hua wasn't entirely sure.
During those final days, his routine continued—he'd wake up to an empty bed, bundled up in more blankets than was necessary, flailing them off annoyed, and turned to find a new book placed on the bedside table.
A fairytale, as always, and one he hadn't read.
A smile would wipe away his irritation as soon as he picked it up, and wondrously he'd think, The world is a lot more vast than I once thought. There are so many stories!
With a new book in hand, the morning would resume as always. Tao Hua sat on the bed, slouched back, knees upright, and book opened flat against them, flipping through his new book.
Come afternoon, that was when the routine really started to shift.
Since their first night sharing a bed, Shan Si occasionally visited Tao Hua for a little less than an hour, and the two would engage in conversation about whatever topic under the clear blue sky.
Shan Si's gruelling morning, Tao Hua's reading, if Tao Hua ate breakfast, so on and so forth. There was never an end to whatever these two would discuss; a growing comfort allowing Tao Hua outside of his mind.
It was a welcome change, but as soon as Shan Si would leave, Tao Hua suddenly found himself lonelier the longer he sat in that quiet room. Nothing but the occasional tapping of servants' shoes out yonder, or the creaking of wood as the nightly storm would slowly arrive.
The silence was beginning to render him insane.
Sure, Tao Hua had his books, and he loved them all the same, but his mind often wandered toward the stories Shan Si would tell him. He often thought about Shendi, Daoist Master Zhuan, the concubine, and everything that transpired, trying to come up with his own hypothesis on what happened.
Perhaps it was a sign that Tao Hua's tastes were changing, and he was hungry for more than just fairytales. When he thought about reaching for some of the history books on Shan Si's shelf, the moment he opened them to read, he couldn't quite focus.
It wasn't nearly as exciting when not recited to him. He now understood the power of songstresses and why Shan Si valued talent such as Daoist Master Zhuan.
I wonder if we figure out this curse and restore Chuhen Palace, maybe Shan Si could take me to see one of these performances? Tao Hua would think before aggressively shaking his head. He'd awkwardly laugh in uneven rhythms, repeatedly squishing his cheeks with the slap of his palms.
What am I saying? I'm an adult; I don't need someone to take me places.
And despite that realization, the truth was he simply wouldn't enjoy it nearly as much without Shan Si. Something in him was growing awry each time he thought about Shan Si, so in order to drown it out, he'd read the same paragraph in his book over and over without retaining a single line.
Evening would arrive, and the moment Shan Si returned, Tao Hua often found himself straightening up immediately, with a racing heart. This continued until Shan Si returned from the bath, cleaned up and ready for dinner.
Dinner resumed as always, except Shan Si was more keen and sitting next to Tao Hua and engaging in conversation than respecting the importance of a quiet dinner.
Tao Hua didn't mind, and he accepted it nonetheless, even eating more than they discussed the food. It was clearly a ploy on Shan Si's part, and it was obvious that he was using it in order to have Tao Hua eat.
Alas! It worked, and magnificently so!
Then night time loomed over the pair, and this is where the change of those three days had really nestled.
Rather than focus on his work—which aggrieved Qian Jue to no end—he'd sit with Tao Hua and surprisingly started to teach him the founding basics of cultivation.
Tao Hua didn't fully comprehend it, and his hands shook, but each time Shan Si handled them to show him techniques like conjuring up a flame, Tao Hua would follow intently.
Alas, he couldn't do any of them, despite Shan Si thinking he could, and for some reason he was adamant that Tao Hua had hidden talent he wasn't tapping into.
Regardless, Tao Hua wasn't against taking lessons from Shan Si if it meant more time together, and Shan Si made the promise that they'd get to it in due time. Apparently, he was hoping Tao Hua had succeeded at least in the first steps of the process—meditation—but even that was lost on Tao Hua.
The isolation was more than Shan Si had prepared for, but he was nothing if not a stubborn man.
And finally, bedtime.
This part of the routine brought about the most prominent changes.
His sleeping situation.
Since Tao Hua's concern about Shan Si's sleep, Shan Si had come to the decision that this would be the new normal. In his words: "You're always freezing, and I'm tired. I think this is a pretty good compromise."
And thus, the pair had shared the same bed, without an answer on whether or not Tao Hua would be moving back to the Palace of Great Benevolence. But when he lay there staring up at the ceiling with Shan Si passed out next to him, he realized that he didn't want any of this to end.
He wasn't at all equipped to understand what was normal between friends, and he certainly couldn't tell if friends often shared a bed or woke up in each other's space throughout the night. But Tao Hua found himself comfortable and weirdly safe with their definition of friendship.
The idea of returning to a quiet, dark room actually began to scare him in ways the forest couldn't ever, and it wasn't at all due to yao, spirits, or anything of the sort.
But a frown would trace his lips the moment he thought about all of this ending. What if Shan Si found a bride? Or what if, after all is said and done, the curse lifted, and he no longer needed Tao Hua?
It was those awful midnight thoughts that plagued Tao Hua to no end, the same ones that had his father's voice reminding him of how temporary things in life truly were. He hated them, but they'd all measly wash away the moment he turned his head to look at Shan Si's back.
So, he chose to take advantage of the situation, and to ease the dull ache in his chest, he'd gently cuddle in closer. This was a habit formed over the last three days, and given Shan Si hadn't said anything about it, Tao Hua assumed it was fine for now.
As long as it quieted his head and helped him sleep, he was willing to cross the line ever-so-slightly.
The fateful day had finally arrived, bringing an end to their "vacation." It was a bright morning, as were all mornings in Jianlai.
Staring up above, toward the glaring sun, Tao Hua's bags under his eyes were more prominent than before. This was the result of having been woken up earlier than typical, and by Shan Si this time.
He was already dressed and ready, holding up a few things for Tao Hua.
The time of day was barely past six in the morning, where most birds were only just starting their day. All Tao Hua could do was sleepily blink at Shan Si while trying to listen in to whatever mumbling explanation he was reciting.
And thus, this is what lead Tao Hua out of the Palace of Heavenly Purity and The Laundry Bureau of the palace, dressed in the same outfit as his counterpart next to him—a counterpart who apologizing profusely, over and over, as if taking responsibility for Tao Hua's terrible idea of sneaking out of the palace nearly two weeks prior.
All Tao Hua could do was groggily stare ahead, holding a poorly strung-out quilt in his hands, dampening his already rosy fingers. He blinked a few times before pouting as he tried to fold it up again.
"Augh!" Suo Han groaned, whirling up his own damp sheets like a spooling thread. "First he traps us with two of the most sadistic people in the palace, and now he forces us to do laundry! I don't know which is worse!"
Tao Hua side-glanced Suo Han, his voice still rasp from waking up. "What do you mean by sadistic?"
Behind the pair, Qian Jue was handling the basin. She wrung out most of the laundry and began to hang them up, barely minding the two men who could barely keep up with her speed.
Fortunately, she'd left them with the simplest of tasks, but even that felt hopeless.
All she could do was smile sympathetically at them before turning back and focusing on her work.
"Look!" Suo Han cried, tossing the sloppy, crumpled quilt onto the rickety wooden table. He held out his arm and shoved up the sleeve to reveal a few reddened marks. "Master is relentless when it comes to his punishments! See, Young Master?!"
Tao Hua stared down at it. "What is it…?"
It didn't look all that bad, and seemed to be healing. However, given how this palace surprised him, Tao Hua wouldn't be shocked if it was worse than being sliced open by a sword.
"Elixirs! Awful ones!" Suo Han shoved his arms up higher. "Ever since Master lost his core, he'd been heavily invested in alchemy. He sucks at it, Young Master! Sucks, so, so bad! You should see his face when he thinks he's finally succeeded at making something life-changing!"
Horror and defeat illustrated Suo Han with a shiver, enough to rub slightly off onto Tao Hua. However, given how Wan Mie felt about Suo Han, he trusted that it wasn't nearly as bad as Suo Han made it out to be.
At least he now understood what "out there" meant.
"Lost his core…?" Tao Hua asked.
Shan Si had explained during his ramblings back in his bedchambers that a core was necessary when cultivating. Something to do with spiritual energy, but Tao Hua barely understood it himself; he just knew it was as vital to cultivation as a heart was to mortal man.
"You didn't know?" Suo Han asked, lowering his arm. Tao Hua shook his head. "Master lost it long, long, long ago. No one really knows how it happened, and he won't talk about it. Just calls it an 'oopsie daisies' and continues on. Eh, I think it bothers him more than he lets on, though."
Tao Hua turned his head back to the quilt in his hands, thinking. Then what did he mean by he could beat Shan Si back when we first arrived? I'll have to ask Shan Si about this later.
The idea of Shan Si made his lips twitch slightly, and it took every bone in his body to keep his composure.
"Ah—but here I am talking about myself h-how very selfish of this lowly servant. What about Young Master?" Suo Han picked up the sloppy, quilt again and started to wring it. "I heard Lord Shengkai finally named you…"
He paused, before backtracking. "Well, not like that. He finally gave Young Master a courtesy name. I have one too! Suo Han! Master gave it to me—ah, sorry."
Tao Hua weakly smiled at him. "It's fine. He did, Tao Gu, it means Lonely Peach."
It was still a sore spot for Tao Hua, but given their time together, he was working toward accepting it.
"Lonely Peach?" Suo Han frowned. "I figured he'd pick something prettier—ah, because the Young Master is very beautiful, and, um—sorry, I'll get to the point."
Inhaling a bit, next to Tao Hua's slightly amused yet exasperated smile, he said, "Lord Shengkai has been in such a good mood lately, it's uncanny! H-He's even being nice to most of the servants that they've all began to gossip about it! They're even spreading that he's found a wife!"
Tao Hua froze, looking over at Suo Han with an expression that wasn't just concerned, but also confused. How could he have found a wife if he'd spent all of his free time with Tao Hua?
"So, um, I figured Lord Shengkai would do the same for Young Master and gift him something poetic. He really seems fond of you and all."
Suo Han was raising some good points, enough for Tao Hua to lower his arms, placing the sheet back down on the table. He wasn't sure how to respond, but his smile began to fade.
"But to call Young Master lonely? That…" Suo Han hesitated as the rustling from behind quieted, presumably Qian Jue now listening. He lowered his voice and slowly said, "Just…really…cruel. It's mean! I-I'm sorry, Young Master."
But before they could continue, Qian Jue spoke up midst clipping up more sheets.
"Our Lord is a wildly misunderstood man," she said calmly, causing both men to freeze. "Many see him as harsh and uncaring—they have all rights; I'm not arguing it. But of all people, Suo Han should know him best."
Chapter end.