THIRD-PERSON POV
Feng Liqin arrived at Hui Lei's courtyard along with Shun Rong and Zhong Shen. At their arrival, three women kowtowed in front of him. Feng Liqin was surprised by the welcoming that he told them to stand on their feet and not to do it again. The concubines nodded with a smile.
"Ah. I hope you don't mind but I brought the Crown Prince along to have tea together with us. I was supposed to spend the afternoon with him. I didn't want to make him sad, so I brought him along. Is that alright?" Feng Liqin asked, worried marred on his face.
"Of course we don't mind. The Crown Prince is welcomed to have tea with us if he wants. We just hope he doesn't get bored that's all." Hui Lei answered with a smile that would make any man bow down to her every need.
Feng Liqin sighs. He felt relieved that they didn't mind Shun Rong's presence with them. He doesn't mind that Shun Rong would be bored or not. He knows that the child would just ask to be pampered with just his actions and he would gladly do so as he adores the young boy. Feng Liqin and the three concubines went inside the courtyard and sat at the huge gazebo near the lake. As they sat down with Li Mei on Feng Liqin's right and Shun Rong on his left, Zhong Shen stayed outside the gazebo, watching them.
"Umm... You Highness-"
"Please don't call me that while we are having tea together. I would prefer if you call me Feng Liqin. I'm still not used to such high formality yet." Feng Liqin cut Li Mei off with a blush on his face.
"Oh! Of course. Umm... Feng Liqin?" Li Mei tried saying. Seeing the smile on Feng Liqin's face, she continued with her question. "Feng Liqin, how do you like living in the Emperor's Palace? Is it as big as they say? Is there really a garden that looks as beautiful as Heaven's Garden?" Li Mei asked question after question without stop until Yi Xing smacked her head with the fan that she held. "OUCH!" Li Mei yelped.
"Will you stop asking so many questions at a time? One by one, will you?" Yi Xing frowned at Li Mei.
Feng Liqin giggled. "Well, how about I know your name first, please. I'm not sure what to call you."
Li Mei's eyes went wide. "Oh! Umm, yes. My name is Li Mei. Daughter of the Revenue Minister. This is Yi Xing. Daughter of the Public Works Minister." Li Mei introduced with a smile while Yi Xing kept a stoic face while softly flapping her fan.
"Li Mei, Yi Xing, it's lovely to meet with you. Also, about your question Li Mei. The Emperor's Palace is a wonderful place but too big for me. The garden is beautiful just as they say. Unfortunately, it's not taken care of carefully. So, I asked the Emperor's permission to let the garden be under my care since I love gardening. Now, it's almost in perfect condition." Feng Liqin continued to answer Li Mei's earlier questions while all three girls looked in awe. Not many people could keep up with Li Mei's quick questions. After Feng Liqin was done, he smiled genuinely at the girls.
Feeling something tug his hanfu, Feng Liqin looked down at Shun Rong's sad brown eyes. Feng Liqin could not look at such sad eyes from a child and gave most of his attention to the young prince. The three concubines were silently ignored by the Empress and two held in their anger while the other helped the Empress to please the young prince.
Hui Lei gripped her hands under the table so that she could withhold her anger on the Empress. She needs to keep her white lotus act and let the other concubines show their anger. Hui Lei looked sideways at Yi Xing that looked ready to blow.
'Any minute now.' Thought Hui Lei with a hidden smirk.
As Feng Liqin fed the pampered young prince with the slight help of Li Mei, Yi Xing cleared her throat to grab their attention. The three figures looked at Yi Xing who had her eyes closed. 'Yes!' Cheered Hui Lei.
"Yes, Yi Xing?" Feng Liqin asked.
Opening her eyes, Yi Xing looked pointedly at the Empress. "Your Highness, if I may remind you. Children are not supposed to sit with us while we have tea until they are older. Even if they are allowed, they are to sit quietly at the side and not interrupt our tea time."
Hearing Yi Xing's silent warning, Feng Liqin awkwardly smiled with a hint of guilt in his eyes. "Of course, Yi Xing. My apologies-"
"An Empress never apologizes, Your Highness. Please remember that." Yi Xing reprimanded with a clipped tone.
Feng Liqin felt embarrassed and nodded silently with his eyes downwards. Then, everything became silent. Yi Xing and Hui Lei drank their tea, Li Mei tried thinking of a way to stop the tension in the air and Feng Liqin stayed silent with his eyes held down. Shun Rong, on the other hand, was not going to let that concubine go. Looking at General Li, he caught the general's eye and looked back at his Imperial Mother.
"Imperial Mother, can I hear you play the zither again. It's been a while since you played for me." Shun Rong asked in his childish tone.
Smiling down at Shun Rong, Feng Liqin nodded. "General Li, could you please get me my zither. It's placed in a box by the window." General Li nodded and went away without a word. In his mind, he knew that the little prince was up to something. Shun Rong ran off by the garden afterward.
Li Mei asked more questions to Feng Liqin along with Hui Lei from time to time. Yi Xing only listens to their conversation and gave short answers when asked. It was very tense between them for a while. Feng Liqin felt that their relationship with each other hasn't gotten anywhere. It felt worse than before and he didn't like it.
As they spoke with each other within the tense atmosphere, they didn't notice the mischievous boy sneaking up on Yi Xing. After finishing his business, he quietly went back to where they thought he was and ran back to his Imperial Mother. Just when he finally came back, General Li arrived with a big box in hand.
He placed the said box on the ground and lifted the zither to be placed on Feng Liqin's lap. Shun Rong clapped excitedly and showed his happy smile toward his mother. Feng Liqin's spirits lifted slightly after seeing his child's smile.
Without waiting any more, he played the zither with Shun Rong and Huang Longwei in mind. The sound of the zither swept across the Flower Palace and those who heard instantly fell in love with the music. The tune was soft and had warmth in it. However, Shun Rong could almost hear the slight sadness within them, and that displeased him greatly. He knew the reason for it, and he won't let the person go lightly.
As the song played, one concubine was swept away within the sound of the music, one was showing an uninterested face and the other, although smiling softly, had hate brimming within her core. It almost seemed like nothing could go wrong when Feng Liqin played his zither, but in reality, something did happen.
"AAAHH!!"
Someone shrieked.
The music stopped and everyone looked at the source of the shrieking sound. Yi Xing shrieked and pushed the caterpillar on her shoulder roughly away and on the floor. She then went and kicked it with her shoe, injuring the animal in the process.
Seeing the action made by the concubine, Feng Liqin slid his zither on his chair and went to the caterpillar. He plucked a big leaf from one of the plants nearby and wrapped the caterpillar within it safely.
"What do you think your doing!? Put that down and let Imperial General Li kill the thing. Don't you know it's poisonous!" Yi Xing shouted at Feng Liqin in an angry tone.
However, Feng Liqin ignored her and went to the nearby plants within the bushes with the wrapped caterpillar in hand. He asked Shun Rong for a bit of water to be poured on the bushes. Afterward, he laid the caterpillar on one of the leaves once it was wet enough.
Walking back with his hanfu slightly dirtied, he asked General Li to help carry his zither back. He then turned to the concubines and excused himself with Shun Rong. Leaving them without a word made Yi Xing's anger spike up more. Li Mei tried consoling her and calming her down.
"ENOUGH! Shut your mouth and go back to your room, Li Mei! Now!!" Yi Xing screamed at Li Mei. Li Mei nodded and ran to her room with tears in her eyes. She had never been yelled at like that before and she had never been scolded so severely by Yi Xing before.
Ignoring the crying Li Mei, Yi Xing turned to Hui Lei. "Sister Hui, when will your plan on killing that stupid and pathetic Empress start. I'm disgusted with that little white lotus act of his."
Hui Lei looked at her with a smile. "Don't worry, Sister Yi. It's starting soon. Be patient for a little longer."
Yi Xing nodded with a scowl and went back to her room.
Unknown to them, someone was listening and recording everything that was said and what has happened. Soon, secrets would be revealed.