Xiao Ying had been initially taken aback when Lan Chang had taken both Ming Cheng and Wang Yuan's hands, muttering out an instruction lowly to come with her, before walking the two of them along with her in towards the palace, using the servant's corridors.
He had to pause to take a moment to try and run through the contents of his novel, trying to remember what had proceeded this turn of events and where they were going now.
He didn't know what was going on, and as he followed Lan Chang and the children, her words did not clear anything up at all.
Nothing was making sense right now.
Nothing was.
And then, everything had only gotten even stranger.
Xiao Ying did not remember giving the Imperial Physician's Assistant a name.
He didn't remember Lan Chang and the Imperial Physician's Assistant ever meeting, and he certainly didn't remember writing in any sort of mutually reciprocated hate boner between the two of them at all.
It was honestly uncomfortable to watch the two of them take jabs at each other, their overly forced politeness for the sake of the children making their interaction even more barbed and painful to watch.
Xiao Ying remembered once being whacked by an old woman's cane on the leg when he asked her for her age, after he got a box of Lego for his birthday from his neighbour, years and years ago. The notice of that the toys were supposed to be for those between the age of three and ninety nine was not lost on him, and he had one of his elderly neighbours, who had passed away since, whether she was allowed to even play with him, directly asking for her age.
He had made a mistake.
He had made a very painful mistake.
And watching the Imperial Physician's Assistant make a jab at Lan Chang for her age immediately put him on edge.
Xiao Ying felt himself sigh.
He didn't have time for this.
He really didn't have time for this.
Xiao Ying clenched his teeth as he rocked forwards and backwards on the balls of feet, unable to keep his hands still, his body all jittery and unstable.
He felt tears begin to spring to his eyes as he found himself in another foreign and unexpected situation that he didn't plan for.
Nothing was going right.
Ming Cheng was supposed to be working in the kitchens with his friends, doing nothing and having fun until the ambassador and the assassin broke into the kitchens.
These complications weren't supposed to be happening, and Xiao Ying had no idea why.
From Concubine Jing's murderous past, the poisonous flowers growing in her palace, and the piles upon piles of skeletons in her basement, and this stupid Medical Office where Ming Cheng had been sent for a reason that he didn't know.
Why was this happening?
What was going on?
Was this his fault?
What did he do?
What could Xiao Ying possibly had done for this to happen?
He clutched at his head and despaired.