Two days later, a knock came at the door.
In the garden, Li Wei laid asleep on a blanket underneath a willow tree. Her body was surrounded by the long willow leaves that acted almost like a wall of protection.
In her sleep, she stood on a small hill filled with white flowers. The weather was sunny and calm. It seemed like a nice day. Li Wei looked around, but as far as her eyes could see, there was nothing. It felt like the hill was the center of the world. Nothing else could be seen in the distance. Everything was filled with the blue of the sky.
Then, a small voice called out to her.
"Mommy!"
Li Wei turned and there was her son. He looked the same as she remembered, adorable like a bun.
"Mommy, I've missed you," his voice trembled a little as a large tear appeared at the corner of his eye.
"Bohai, mommy missed you too." Li Wei's heart was filled with such warmth that couldn't be described by words. To know that he was crying because he had missed her too much tugged her heartstrings. The way he laughed, cried, and how he scrunched his nose when he was angry--- she remembered all of these about him so clearly. Li Wei herself was also on the verge of tears. She didn't think she could bear to be away from the little bun another second. "Come here."
Her words full of warmth caused him to smile, his dimples dancing on his cheeks. His hands reached out to her, silently beckoning for a hug.
She opened her arms to pull him into her arms, but when she wrapped her arms around his small shoulders, he disappeared and all she had in her arms was air.
Someone gently shook her shoulders. "Miss, miss. Someone's here for you."
Li Wei opened her eyes slowly, not wanting to part from the dream. Parting with the little bun was too hard for her. After a couple minutes, Li Wei took a deep breath and wiped her tears. "San'er, what's going on?"
"Miss, Mo Shufen is here and wants to meet with you," San'er informed calmly.
Li Wei raised her eyebrows, truly confused. "Mo Shufen? Why would she be here?"
San'er looked around to make sure there was no one else around and then leaned in to whisper, "Miss, Mo Shufen stated that she's here to visit an old friend. I don't know what game she's trying to play, but everyone knows you two haven't even met yet. How can strangers be friends?"
"That's indeed interesting." This was all Li Wei said. She didn't want to share that she had met Mo Shufen at the night market and they had a little encounter. Well, a little more excitement wouldn't hurt. Li Wei suddenly smiled, surprising San'er, "Let her come in."
"Miss, are you sure? I can tell her you're resting." San'er was genuinely concerned. It was clear Mo Shufen was not here with good intentions.
"If she wants to see me, let her. Take her to the guest room."
Five minutes later, in the guest room, there was a plate full of freshly steamed buns set on the table in the center of the room. Li Wei grabbed one and took a bite. Mmm, truly delicious. Something sweet like this should help her deal with Mo Shufen.
As Li Wei finished the first bun, Mo Shufen entered with four following maids behind her. Mo Shufen looked around the room and her gaze paused on Li Wei who had started eating. A well mannered host would serve their guest with snacks, not eat all the snacks before the guest arrived.
Li Wei didn't look up, even as Mo Shufen cleared her throat. She continued to eat and even opened her mouth widely to take the last bite of the last bun set on the table. She then drank her cup of tea, taking extra time to blow the steam away. Finally, she acknowledged Mo Shufen's presence in the room. "Ahh, you're here! You were so quiet that I didn't notice your presence. Come over, don't be shy."
"Who's shy here?" Mo Shufen stomped her way over to the table and grumpily sat down. She was visibly irritated. Clearly, she's never been treated this rudely before.
Li Wei had no care about the spoiled missy. It was intentional that she ate all the snacks. This was Li Wei's home and Mo Shufen was the uninvited guest. Her next words were truly shameless, "I'm the shy one. After our little encounter, I've been trying to avoid you but you're quite bold." She paused to ponder sarcastically, "Don't say, you gave it some thoughts and you finally realized that you do fancy me after all?"
"I'm not here because I fancy you!" Mo Shufen spoke loudly before she realized what she had spoken and covered her mouth in surprise.
This young miss was clearly too naive. With a little push, she jumped on her own initiative. Li Wei couldn't help but laughed, very loudly. "Ahh, I understand. Then I assume there's other business you have with me?"
Mo Shufen seemed to pause before leaning towards Li Wei. In a quiet, but excited voice, she said, "I have some news to share with you."
"Oh?" Although Mo Shufen was annoying, Li Wei was interested to hear more.
"Let me ask you first. I've heard that in the last three years, you were in Hai'an, right?"
"En."
"Why were you there?"
"That's confidential information." Li Wei winked at Mo Shufen, whose voice was full of excitement on this topic. It was clear Mo Shufen wanted to bait Li Wei into the conversation. Mo Shufen was Master Mo's daughter, couldn't she asked her own father? Why make all this fuss just to ask this question?
"I've heard that you went on a trip to hide away because you were rejected by the second prince, right?"
"Oh? That sounds quite interesting, keep going. What else did I do?"
Mo Shufen was confused, "Huh? You want to listen to rumors about yourself?"
"Why not? The version of me in other people's mouth is so much more brave." Li Wei's lips smirked as she said this, clearly not affected by the rumors that she was rejected by Hua Xifeng.
Mo Shufen was so surprised by Li Wei's reaction that she almost forgot why she came. "You are a strange woman. Ah, well that's your business. If you tell me why you went to Hai'an three years ago, I'll tell you something."
"Ask your father. Yesterday, you asked if I knew who your father was. If anything, Master Mo should be able to answer your question. After all, it was because of him." This was not the whole truth, but she wouldn't interfere with private family business. Li Wei didn't feel bad at all, dumping the blame onto Master Mo. Technically, it wasn't a lie.
"If father was willing to tell me, I wouldn't be here asking you!" Mo Shufen was tired of being like a ball, bouncing from wall to wall. If her father was willing to answer, would she be here? Not at all!
Li Wei put up her hands and declared, "Well, I'm not going to mess with Master Mo. If he's not telling you, then you probably don't need to know."
"Hmph!" Mo Shufen leaned back onto her chair. Then, an idea came to her. "Li Wei, if you tell me I'll tell you something."
"Save your anger, save your words. I'm not interested." Li Wei stood up, ready to leave this room. Clearly this conversation was going nowhere. "Feel free to leave whenever you're ready. I believe we have nothing else to discuss."
"You're not interested," Mo Shufen started and paused before continuing, "Even if it's about the prince of Hai'an?"
"I'm not interested. San'er will lead you to the gate!" Li Wei wasn't going to fall for Mo Shufen's trap. Hmph, Mo Shufen under estimated her. A person like Li Wei would never show her true feelings to a stranger, especially a person with malicious intentions.
Mo Shufen's hand grabbed Li Wei. She then leaned in and whispered, "I promise you'll be looking for me soon. After all, Khan Bojing is with me."
With that, Mo Shufen walked away, leaving Li Wei in the room alone.
Li Wei stared into space for a while. Without a word, she walked out towards the gate.
"Miss, why are you angry? I don't know what happened, but Mo Shufen came here to cause trouble. What's the use of getting mad?" San'er, who just came through the gate asked as she saw Li Wei about to head out.
Li Wei answered as she walked straight through the gate without stopping in her tracks, a tauntingly cold smile appeared on her face, "To get my blood flowing."