Tao Hua stood there, unsure what to do, peering over the pile of sheets. It was as if in that moment everything slowly disintegrated around him. All the discussion on being seen, his infatuation, it had blown south against the wind that rushed past.
Why?
After having his concerns answered a week and a half ago by Qian Jue, why did it all have to erupt at the first glance of Fang Jian?
What exactly was the issue with him that he couldn't face a Lord standing ahead of a concubine? Nothing in this situation was abnormal to a palace!
"Young Master…" Suo Han muttered, his voice bouncing off the large pile of sheets. "We should leave."
But Tao Hua couldn't quite look away. He was hooked on the sight of this alluring, angry woman.
Qian Jue hastily approached the crowd, her expression apologetic as she continuously bowed to all three adults. Fang Jian, however, just held up the thrashing child by the wrist, flapping it around, her hand shaking amid the weight of the child.
"Why me?! Why?!" she exclaimed before releasing Feifei and dropping him onto his tush, dust puffing around him. Even screeching, her voice was melodic and smooth—as beautiful as her looks.
Fang Jian was comparable to a dove.
"I don't get it! I don't get why I'm the one always stuck with this sticky child! Why not Wu Mi?! If she wants a child so badly, send him to her! Ugh! He smells, Elder Sister Jue!"
Blinking, Feifei was quick-witted and immediately rose to his feet and stomped his feet around, while Qian Jue continuously apologized to Fang Jian. However, before she knew it, Feifei had dashed away, causing Qian Jue to cry his name aloud, apologize to Shan Si once more, and dart after him with only a small nod of acknowledgement.
Rather than look up at Qian Jue, Shan Si's fingers gripped the sides of his head, hovering over his eyes. There was so much pressure applied that it could have cracked his skull, given his frustration.
"Too many issues," he groaned.
Removing his hand, he stared at Li Zhou, who was casually watching the old woman chase her grandson. This seemingly enraged Shan Si more than he originally had been, so he held up his hand and waved it aggressively toward the fleeing family.
"Go help her!"
"Oh." Li Zhou glanced up for a moment before nodding. "Mm, I probably shoulder do that. Sure thing, Bossman Shengkai."
And off he went without another word, leaving just Shan Si and Fang Jian staring at each other, locked in a showdown of who could emit more steam than the other.
Suo Han whispered, slowly approaching Tao Hua, his voice slightly shaking. "Um, I think we should leave before he notices us. Lord Shengkai looks like he's in a bad mood—"
But Tao Hua didn't respond; his eyes were locked on the pair. No matter how much Suo Han repeated his name, it didn't quite register in Tao Hua's mind.
"Did you even hear me?!" Fang Jian shouted, folding her arms over her chest. "Hello?! Lord Shan Si!"
"Unfortunately."
"Then what did I ask?!"
"Wu Mi can't," Shan Si replied sternly, his voice clear. "She has her own job to do and is too busy to deal with the brat. I've told you this how many times already?"
"I'm busy too!" Fang Jian asserted.
"Doing what, exactly?"
"…" She squinted her eyes, glaring up at Shan Si without a response.
"Dressing up Li Zhou doesn't count."
That stare transpired, and what was challenging Shan Si quickly became offended. She held her mouth open to say something but immediately shut it at Shan Si's warning glare.
"Disobeying a lord is cause for treason, Fang Jian. Consider yourself lucky that you're within my care and not Emperor Gaifu. Do this in the Imperial Palace, and you'd be a dead woman."
Tao Hua froze at the mention of Emperor Gaifu. From all he learnt from his experience to Shan Si's explanation, his warning held merit.
However, Fang Jian didn't seem concerned in the slightest, as if the world's dangers meant nothing to her.
"I don't even know him, so why should I care?!" she snuffed him. "It's not like I'll ever get to meet him, either!"
"This girl…" Shan Si groaned. "You speak an octave too loud, Fang Jin."
"Just because you use that name doesn't make me less angry! Stop pitting the stupid child on me already. I'm so sick of this!" Fang Jian gripped her forearms. "Even in the evenings?! I have a life too!"
Tao Hua paused, slightly glancing away. Two things about the situation caught him off guard.
The first was that Shan Si used what he assumed was her birth name, which had many different meanings. The second was that this poor woman was stuck with Feifei during the evenings, when Qian Jue was instructed to watch over Tao Hua.
So, did that mean Shan Si wasn't spending time with her?
WHY did he care?! His arms weirdly itched at the thought, and Tao Hua couldn't help but feel a slight desire to rush forward. But to do what, exactly?
He swallowed it down entirely, however, standing still amid the argument as if he were nothing more than a tree gone unnoticed.
"Come on…" Suo Han begged, jolting forward and enacting his clumsiness. He dropped the sheets and shouted a loud and piercing, "NO!" grabbing the attention of Fang Jian and Shan Si.
However, rather than focus on the now crawling Suo Han—trying to gather up all the now stained sheets, cursing himself out—the two had their eyes locked on Tao Hua.
At first, Shan Si's softened but quickly sharpened before he whipped his head away, every wrinkle creasing unpleasantly. His hand clenched into a tight fist, the other raising at the first move of Fang Jian.
Now, Fang Jian was a different case entirely. Rather than annoyed by Tao Hua, which is what Tao Hua slightly expected, everything about her glowed ten times brighter.
She nudged forward, as if about to approach Tao Hua, only to fling back at the grip of Shan Si's hand against her shoulder. Despite this, she never once removed her white eyes off Tao Hua; they were wide and round, captivated by his sight.
"Fresh meat," she said excitedly under her breath. It was raspy, and paired well with a deep inhale.
The longer this stare remained, the more Tao Hua felt uncomfortable, as if this woman was sizing him completely. But if that were the case, why did her eyes gleam with a wonder that could only be described as sparkling stars?
She tried to shake off Shan Si; however, he was relentless and sneered, "Absolutely not! Get!"
"You suck!" Turning her head to Shan Si, Fang Jian scrunched her nose and proclaimed, "And you OWE ME! This is the seventh time you've pit the damn child on me in the last two weeks, Lord Si! I WANT COMPENSATION! This is not fair!"
"Go!" he barked, dragging her along the courtyard. Gritting her teeth, she turned her hand away from him as she stumbled along, her eyes locked on Tao Hua until they were out of sight.
The stare was sad and longing, as if the woman craved his presence for whatever reason. That twisting feeling his stomach once had experienced sank, and it was replaced with a sadness he couldn't explain.
Finally, with everything picked up, Suo Han jumped to his feet, somewhat covered in grime himself. He frowned, staring at the receding figures.
"I feel bad for Consort Fang."
By watching that alone, Tao Hua wasn't sure how he felt, nor could he describe the relationship between the pair. It was as if watching their interaction prior to Tao Hua's collapse in Buzhi Forest.
"Yeah…" Tao Hua also frowned. "She looks lonely."
"It's…not like that, Young Master Gu," Suo Han replied with a weak smile. His defence was likely due to Qian Jue's lecture from earlier.
"She wouldn't have to be under so much surveillance if she didn't keep causing issues for Lord Shengkai. She wants to be useful—w-which I understand, but she just ends up making messes. Just a month ago, she nearly set fire to the kitchen. If not for Lord Shengkai being home, the fire would have spread throughout the inner court of the palace. Not to mention she nearly cost him a fortune, uh...trying to fix the eunuch's uniforms. Dying them! Dye! Bad dye! Nothing else!"
But Tao Hua couldn't seem to muster the understanding. "Couldn't they just have someone supervise her while she's out?"
What was presumably discomfort became pity for Fang Jian. However, another part of him throbbed with a feeling that could only be described as "I see you."
"They did—Elder Brother Li was supposed to, and he's been the best pick for her given all the other failures," Suo Han explained, yet Tao Hua raised an eyebrow at that decision. "Um…but you saw how that usually turns out. She knows exactly how to distract a person and sneak away. Elder Brother Li a few weeks ago, for example."
Slightly blushing, Suo Han looked down. "Especially the men of the palace."
"Ah…" Tao Hua glanced up at where the two had once stood. Was that why she had her sights on him? Perhaps it was best to heed Suo Han's words rather than argue them.
Still, he found himself curious all the same, and slightly thankful that it wasn't more than his imagination let on.
And that itch in his arms?
It only increased.
Chapter end.