"Alright," Xue Er mellowed. She really wanted to see the Imperial Palace. They hadn't been there in a long time, ever since that little ruckus at the crown prince's eleventh birthday. The little ruckus that got young miss short of banned from the Imperial Palace. She had bitten little Jiao Zhu, yelled at the crown prince, splattered all the other innocent children with mud and screamed a lot. All for a pretty little butterfly kite she had laboured on for six days, getting help from no one. It was lucky she had wrote her name on it, or her punishment would have been worse. In the end, Jiao Zhu had kowtowed to her three times, but she girl never gave up the ingots. She and her father were the same!
"Young miss--"
Tang glared at the girl.
"Sorry, Master Tang--"
"Lin Xi, do I look anything like a young miss right now?!" Tang asked in an exasperated tone, "really!"
"No, no. I made a mistake, really."
"How is it possible to make a mistake when I look like this? Am I not a stranger to you? Aren't you supposed to be blushing?"
Xue Er:... Young miss' is slightly sick in the head . ...
The carriage clattered on. Master Tang raised the curtain and poked his head out. The capital was hustle and bustle as usual. No one cared about the hundreds of physicians rushing to the palace in a bid to make some quick cash. Who cared if the crown prince was poisoned? If he was dead...well, that was another matter.... They would all dress in sacks and tie white cloths on their heads and hang white cloths on their shop pillars, but it would be business as usual. Business as usual but a little subdued, yes.
"We've arrived at the South gate," Mister Du informed.
.
.
.
.
Xue Er was nervous. The crown prince was not an ordinary person. He surely would see through young miss' disguise, no?
Tang saw her nervousness.
"If you'll give me away, you can stay outside,"
Xue Er:... young miss is so mean!....
"I'll come with you! I won't say anything,"
They both went through the double doors into the crown prince's chamber. A lot of physicians were conversing outside in hushed tones, looking grave. A sour looking guard came forward.
"You can leave now! Don't hang around!"
"I just arrived," said Tang, rubbing his nose. The sour guard looked at him distastefully.
Tang:.... how can the crown prince even keep such an ugly person by his side?....
"Come in," the guard finally said, catching sight of Zuo Pie Zi's calligraphy on the handfan Tang purposely flicked open.
Guard:... if he's rich enough to buy that, he must be genuine....
Tang and Xue Er followed him into the inner chamber. There, sitting at a table, drinking tea serenely, was the crown prince.
Xue Er:... He doesn't look half as unhappy as I expected.....
"Greetings to the Crown Prince," Tang had the prescence of mind to kowtow in the male way. He was too used to changing identities to make such a trivial mistake.
"Rise,"
Xue Er looked through her veil at him. He was the same as she had remembered, only several years older. His hair was held up in an half bun, by a dragon hairpin. His face was clean and handsome, though not as pretty as Long Ao Tian or Tang.
"I heard His Highness was poisoned--"
"Get to the point. I've heard a lot of preambles today. One physician even lectured me on poisons for half an hour." The crown prince interrupted, "I'm more fed up than you think I am, but I must comply with Royal Father's wishes,"
Tang smiled. He didn't know that the crown prince could be so long-winded. He was usually a man of few words.
So he sat down without being invited and felt his pulse. His lips twitched.
"Your Highness, acupuncture will not resolve this poison,"
"I guessed as much," the crown prince replied.
Tang pulled a small jade bottle from his conscious. Out of thin air!
Xue Er:... I've never seen young miss do that before!!...
The crown prince blinked. He obviously thought it was some kind of trick. Tang didn't bother to explain. He passed him the jade bottle.
"Mix the contents with water and drink it daily before meals. Until it's exhausted."
The crown prince opened the jade bottle and sniffed the contents. It smelled like... something he knew, but couldn't quite place.
Tang rose and bowed.
"I guess I am only worthy of reward when your highness is cured. This servant will take his leave now. Lin Xi!"
"Wait," the crown prince's eyes fell on Xue Er.
Xue Er: .... Stop looking at me, it's making me blush!....
Crown Prince:....why do both of them look familiar??....
"You may leave," the crown prince changed his mind. The two bowed again, and turned to leave.
The crown prince caressed the jade bottle. Without warning, the portrait of the innocent girl his father had shown him that morning swam before his mind. What was her name? Xiao Tao Qi.