Qin Fuhua was in the study room, darting at the cabinet filled with scrolls and books about the Kingdom's history and battles. His eyes carefully inspected all of the books, making sure that they were irrelevant to what he was looking for until he was able to grab a white book. Qin Fuhua reached out his hands, drawing the book out as he glanced at the cover.
"BATTLE OF ZHENGZHI MOUNTAINS"
It was a war way before Qin Fuhua's time. It was said that it was a battle in the land of the Long territory before that land became theirs. The Qin army narrowly lost the battle, with a loss of almost five thousand soldiers. It hit the Qin Kingdom so hard, they had to give up the Zhengzhi mountains which caused a "great crisis" during Qin Fuhua's grandfather's time.
With loss, will come great victory of the future, and the Qin was able to make it through and assemble a strong, stable military base.
With the mountain's name and the association with the TengZhi, it would be necessary for Qin Fuhua to deduce if there was any relation to the group.
Qin Fuhua set the book inside the dark brown, wooden box. It was a way to allow Weizhe to come in and retrieve whatever crucial document or item was in the box if Qin Fuhua wasn't present.
"N-No!"
It was Suyin's voice.
What did Lu Ruo do this time?
Qin Fuhua quickly got out of the room, sliding the door close as he could see Suyin's head bobbing in the lake by the pavilion from afar. He bolted to the side of the lake, taking notice of Lu Ruo and her maid.
Lu Ruo's hands covered her mouth, and the maid instantly pointed at Suyin in the water.
"I...I!"
Suyin was still trying to get her feet to touch the ground where she landed in the water, but it seemed like she had pushed herself a little bit too hard and forced herself into the deep part of the water instead of the shallow area.
"H-Help me!" Suyin screamed out, splashing water as she was descending into the water, "I don't know how to swim!---"
Qin Fuhua had an enraged gaze on his face, witnessing that Lu Ruo and her maid were the only culprits to be doing this to Suyin.
"Fu GeGe! I didn't push her--" Lu Ruo presently bit her lips. Hearing a couple of times doesn't compare to seeing once*. She knew that she would be in trouble. Lu Ruo instantly seized her maid's wrist, pulling her away.
(*This meant that Lu Ruo knew that seeing was believing. There was no way she would win if she said that she didn't push Suyin).
Lu Ruo knew that Suyin had created the opportunity to accuse them before she could. Her initial plan was to have herself pushed into the lake by Suyin, but she (Suyin) was already a step ahead of her. Lu Ruo quickly got out of the gates before any of the servants and maids could notice her.
Qin Fuhua immediately leaped into the waters as soon as he could see the shadow of Suyin.
Qin Fuhua swam into the waters, grabbing ahold of her waist as he pulled her up to the shore. Suyin was barely conscious, coughing up water before she shifted to him.
"What...what took you so long?" Suyin remarked.
"You fool!" Qin Fuhua shouted to Suyin. He was breathing heavily, his whole aura and body hovering over the small Suyin. "Why did you do that for?! What if I didn't make it?!" His voice echoed through the whole courtyard.
By this time, the servants and maids around his courtyard began to survey the scene of the Prince of Qin towering over Suyin. Qin Fuhua was serious and upset.
Not a lot of the servants and maids of Qin Fuhua have seen this side of him before. After all, they have served the Prince, but the Prince never returned to his courtyard at the Palace ground. So they were still afraid of him (besides Areum, Wu Fei, and Weizhe).
Suyin was dazed, but after coughing and being yelled at by the Prince, she became bitter too.
"What do you mean if you didn't make it?! Even if you weren't there, I would have been able to swim!" Suyin disputed back, her emotions matching the same with Qin Fuhua.
Suyin initially planned on dragging the maid of Lu Ruo into the waters, but if the maid didn't know how to swim, Suyin couldn't afford her to be a wandering ghost in the lake or take care of her if she were sick*.
(*Suyin meant that she didn't want to accidentally kill the maid by drowning or take care of the maid as a Doctor if the maid got sick. Suyin would have been responsible and Lu Ruo would not let go if this happened)
So, she wanted to play the victim role. Since Lu Ruo closed in on Suyin, she had a gut feeling that something was going to happen where she would have gotten framed regardless, so she had to jump in the water and cause a scene before anything else.
Plus, Suyin's reflections about Lu Ruo and Qin Fuhua caught her off guard.
The servants and maids instantly returned to their original work when Weizhe approached them. They wouldn't want the Prince of Qin's right-handed man to inform Qin Fuhua about them.
"What happened?!" Areum called out, steering down the hill to the shore of the lake nearby. Areum knelt next to Suyin, making sure that she was alright.
Suyin pushed herself up to stand up and held Areum's arm. "Let's go!"
Qin Fuhua was furious, stopping her as he held her wrist. "Where are you going?" He requested.
"Back to the room!" Suyin exclaimed, yanking Qin Fuhua's hand. Suyin pulled Areum with her, as she tumbled to the ground.
Qin Fuhua attempted to reach her before she fell, but he didn't make it to her.
"M-My lady!"
Suyin got up again, stepping away from Qin Fuhua without looking back.
Qin Fuhua didn't know what to say. This was the first time that someone had raised their voice at him, and it was the first time that those kinds of words had blurted out of his mouth. Qin Fuhua was in a jumbled mess at the moment and he couldn't comprehend why he had said those words.
"Your Highness."
Weizhe was next to Qin Fuhua, who was observing the back of Suyin's. He was speechless, uncertain of his current sentiments.
Qin Fuhua diverted to Weizhe.
"This is the first time that you've let your emotions get to you. You're usually calm and composed. For a person who never responded to anyone else but himself, you found someone who could go against you."
Weizhe was right. He's always been by Qin Fuhua's side.
It wasn't until Suyin appeared in his life that Qin Fuhua wasn't sure of himself anymore. He always focused on his purpose to live away from the Palace peacefully and not get entangled with his Father again.
Yet, here he is. Assisting the people of Qin again and he admitted that his hardened heart and character were softened by Han Suyin.
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[ 2 days later; Day Time ]
Qin Fuhua and Suyin never talked to each other. Suyin had gone out the last two days to do some shopping and stopped by the scholar's courtyard to visit with her sworn brother, Yuan Fu, and Teacher Zhou Lin.
Suyin had ranted about Qin Fuhua's harsh personality to Teacher Zhou Lin, but all he did was chuckle, teasing her. He explained to Suyin that he's never seen that side of Qin Fuhua before, so it was "refreshing" to hear about the cold-hearted Prince of Qin.
Lu Ruo, on the other hand, had been pondering about going back to the Orange Blossom Courtyard to clarify what had occurred the day of the incident, but she knew that Qin Fuhua may not listen. She had told the guards to let her mother know about Qin Fuhua and "Suyin," and so, her mother emerged two days later in the incident of "Suyin's near-drowning accident".
(*NOTE: Although Suyin wasn't going to intentionally drown like an idiot like that)
There was no rumor about Suyin's near-drowning accident, since either Weizhe had threatened the maidens and servants that if word got out about Suyin, they'd be beheaded like the others they have had in the past.
Lu Ruo's mother arrived at the Qin Palace. She was an aunt of one of the concubines and was the one who suggested Lu Ruo be engaged to Qin Fuhua at a young age to the Empress Dowager.
She was in her mid-forties and the lady was nothing but scheming, aiming for wealth if she had the chance to grab it. Behind her kind responses, were the intent of status and fame. Lu Ruo's mother hurried to the Palace, hearing about Lu Ruo's struggles to get Qin Fuhua's attention and a strange woman that's been lingering in the Orange Blossom Courtyard.
Despite hearing the rumors about another lady (Suyin) in the Orange Blossom Courtyard, no one dared to enter the courtyard without apprehension of the Prince's wrath upon entering. Lu Ruo had always been in love with Qin Fuhua, so she clearly wouldn't be able to tell.
It's like the saying, "In the eyes of a lover, Xi Shi appears."*
(*Love makes you blind).
"Ma! There's another female in the courtyard that's trying to take Fu Gege!" Lu Ruo grumbled, tugging her mother's arm. They were currently residing in the guest room in the favored concubine's home.
In the King's harem, it was directly across from the King's courtyard right next to the royal throne room. The King's harem consisted of many ladies-in-waiting or those that have been married off to the King. Despite this, not many of the concubines settled down with the King due to his infatuation with Concubine Shu. If the concubines were blessed, the King would construct their own personal little mini courtyard within the harem and permit them to have their own space.
One of the favorites was Lu Ruo's cousin.
Those with a guest room were authorized to go in and out of the specific door connected to the courtyard with the King's consent (and with the guard's lookout, in case there was an affair going on). It was like a back door that you can go out to the Palace grounds but heavily patrolled.
Lu Ruo was sitting in the room with her mother, "Ma... What do I do?"
Her mother was pondering hard, endeavoring to find a way to guarantee that Lu Ruo would at least get a high position in the Palace. Despite her mother's refusal to allow Lu Ruo to marry Qin Fuhua (since he isn't the crown Prince anymore), Lu Ruo's mother was eventually convinced by Lu Ruo that she would try to get him back to take back the Crown Prince position.
Hence, this was the reason why Lu Ruo was back once she heard that Qin Fuhua returned to the Palace.
"Ah!" Lu Ruo's mother recalled an old strategy that was used. Although it was something that she didn't want to utilize, she knew that this opportunity would be a definite way for Qin Fuhua to marry Lu Ruo.
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[Night Time]
Lu Ruo carefully snuck into the Orange Blossom courtyard, glancing both ways to see if there was anyone that could have seen her. She was able to slip through, dressing up as a maid.
She was holding a wooden serving tray and in the middle of it was a light-green porcelain pot. It was about the size of the thumb, but it was right in the middle.
Lu Ruo saw that Qin Fuhua's room's light wasn't lit-- and her eyes darted straight to the bathing room.
The light was on, so she was sure that Qin Fuhua should be taking a bath now. Her eyes curved into a smile, carefully trying to keep her emotions together before she strode down the corridors to Qin Fuhua's room. Weizhe was keeping guard in front of the bathing house, so it was the perfect opportunity for Lu Ruo to head into Qin Fuhua's room.
Right as Lu Ruo was able to slide the door open, she was instantly stopped by Qin Fuhua, who had already finished taking a bath and just had come back from his walk.
"What are you doing?" Qin Fuhua uttered behind Lu Ruo, which surprised her.
Lu Ruo halted, incapable to say or do anything. "I...uh." If she turned around now, she knew that he would catch a glimpse of her face, despite it being so dark outside.
Lu Ruo acted as she slipped, breaking the small porcelain vase to the ground. It wasn't loud enough for everyone to hear, but just enough for the sound of the break to alert Weizhe, as he hurried to Qin Fuhua's side.
A ball of white powder plunged on the floor and the dust of the white powder made Qin Fuhua cover his face.
It was too late.
Lu Ruo could only turn around with a small smile on her face. "Fu Gege... I've always liked you since I first saw you as a child."
She wrapped her arms around Qin Fuhua.
Qin Fuhua immediately noticed that something was wrong with him. He felt a severe, burning, flashing sensation. His body was getting hot and he glanced at Lu Ruo's face as she embraced him.
Lu Ruo's face was unexpectedly shifted into Suyin's face as she confessed to him. Before Qin Fuhua could grasp what was going on, he was able to snap back to reality, as Weizhe hollered out his name. Qin Fuhua pushed Lu Ruo to the ground, causing her to wimp in pain.
"Your Highness!"
Qin Fuhua halted him.
"S-Stop! This is aphrodisiac powder. Lock this person up."
He tried pointing at Lu Ruo, but her face kept becoming Suyin's.
"W-What about you--"
Weizhe had lingered for the powder to sink down before he removed the powder, carrying Lu Ruo to an empty room as he sealed her from the outside.
"N-No! L-Let me out!" Lu Ruo had inhaled the aphrodisiac powder.
Her mother had advised her that if it didn't reach the Prince safely, to smash it and "just let it be." Lu Ruo began crying, suffering throughout the whole night alone in the locked room.
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Suyin was getting ready to go to bed, but she wanted to finish the medical book that she borrowed from Teacher Zhou Lin. Suyin offered him some medical advice and helped tend to some people in the Sick Courtyard so that she could read one of his books.
There was only one candlestick that wasn't out yet. Areum and Wu Fei had left their room earlier already, getting weary after they had nothing else to do, so Suyin dismissed them.
Suyin was concentrated on reading about the distinction in medical herbs found in the streams near the lake that she didn't realize that it was getting late.
Suyin had just blown off the last candlelight, covering herself with the bedsheet until she got frightened by the sound of the sliding door opening abruptly.
Suyin looked up, seeing a restless Qin Fuhua who breathed heavily. He was straggling, as if one were intoxicated, towards Suyin.
She was still bitter at Qin Fuhua for shouting at her two days ago so they haven't spoken a word since then.
"What do you want now?" Suyin uttered, in a distasteful tone, trying to shun him. She then noticed that something was wrong. Why was Qin Fuhua trying to get in here in the middle of the night?
"Han Suyin."
Qin Fuhua put his entire body onto hers. His weight was on Suyin and his chest grazed against Suyin's as he tugged her towards his body. He couldn't help it, and Qin Fuhua was trying so hard to resist.
"N-No what are you doing?!" Suyin was now freaking out. Did something happen to him? Was he intoxicated and came into this room by accident?
His breath was hot against her neck as his head crawled up to the side of hers as he lay on top of her. He was breathing heavily the whole time, unable to control his body.
"Han Suyin....." He called out to her again, his hot breath brushing against Suyin's ears and neck. She felt goosebumps around her body, trembling from the immense heat, but this wasn't the right time for anything at the moment.
Suyin's mind was completely blank for a second, and then the light bulb hit: Did he get drugged?! There was no evidence of alcohol on his breath, and due to his action, this would be the only deduction.
Qin Fuhua's arms were curled up into a ball, setting it by Suyin's head. He gave her a look, craving for her embrace.
Suyin attempted to push him off, trying to talk to him so that she can help, but Qin Fuhua didn't allow her to finish her sentence.
He pushed his lips against hers. Suyin's eyes widened by his action, but Qin Fuhua couldn't help himself and delay any longer. He wanted to give himself to her, and Qin Fuhua couldn't restrain his body anymore. Qin Fuhua was hungry for more than a kiss, but he couldn't push more than yearning for her red-cherry lips that tasted sweet and floral. Suyin didn't stop Qin Fuhua from pressing his lips against hers. His soft, delicate lips were pushed against hers, and Suyin slowly closed her eyes.
"Just for a second," Suyin uttered to herself.
"Ooof!"
Suyin felt Qin Fuhua's whole weight on hers, which almost suffocated her if he didn't flop to the side of her bed. Qin Fuhua was knocked unconscious on her bed.
"Yo--"
Weizhe halted his footsteps. This would have been the perfect opportunity to make up, and Weizhe entrusted Suyin would take care of Qin Fuhua.
"I put my whole trust in you, Miss Suyin." He whispered, cupping his hands together as he rushed off to guard the locked door where he put Lu Ruo in. He needed to keep an eye on her, in case she flees the morning.
The culprit must pay for their sins.