While they were eating and people watching, Lei had zoned out and started to remember how she and Prince Zhen met.
It was a stormy day. Lei went outside and started to play in the rain even though she knows that she's going to get scolded for doing so. She was running through the rain, not paying attention. Lei ran into younger Prince Zhen, making them fall.
"Lei!!" Younger Prince Zhen exclaimed as he pushed her off.
"Sorry, Prince Zhen! I wasn't paying attention," Lei said as she got up and held out her hand to him.
"It's fine, just pay attention next time, Lei," he said as he grabbed her hand and got up.
"I will. Why are you outside in the rain? Shouldn't you be training?"
"I should be, but the professor canceled because of the rain," he smiled.
"Ah. Ok. Do you want to play in the rain with me then?"
"Yes!" Prince Zhen exclaimed as he and Lei started to play in the rain.
They would play in the rain until the Empress told them to come in and get dried before they could get sick. They did and from that day on whenever it was raining, Lei and Prince Zhen would go out and play in the rain.
Lei started to laugh at the memory of how she and Prince Zhen met.
Yu Min looked at Lei, a bit worried, "are you ok, darling?"
Lei stopped laughing, embarrassed, "ye-yeah. I was remembering how I met Prince Zhen."
"Oh?" Yu Min questioned as he smiled.
"Yeah. I still remember how we met," she replied.
"You do? I don't think I remember how we met. So, can you remind me?"
"Sure," she said as she smiled and started to tell him how they met.
It was a sunny day. Lei's parents had taken her to the Min's Mansion, because they were getting ready to leave for battle. They had asked Qin and Jiang if they could watch after Lei while they were gone and they said that they could. After her parents had told Qin and Jiang about Lei's routine and gave her a hug and a kiss goodbye, they left.
"Hello, little sweetheart. I'm Jiang Min. I'm your mom's best friend," Jiang said to Lei as she crouched down.
"Hi-Hi. I'm-I'm Lei Feng, but-but you-you probably already knew that" Lei said as she was shy and nervous.
Qin and Jiang smiled. "I'm Qin Min, Jiang's husband," Qin said.
Lei smiled back as she was getting more comfortable around them as she now knew who they were and why her parents had left her with them.
"Let's go and get you settled down and after we get you settled down, you can meet our son who's a year older than you," Jiang said, "also, you can call us Uncle and Auntie, if you'd like to."
Lei nodded.
They headed to Lei's room that Jiang had prepared for Lei. They got to the room and got Lei settled down. They went to find Yu Min. They find Yu Min in the garden attending to the flowers. Lei saw him and smiled, but also got shy.
"Yu Min!' Qin called out.
Yu Min stopped and looked over. He headed over to them.
"There's someone going to be staying with us until her parents come back from battle," Qin stated.
"Ok," Yu Min said as he looked over at Lei and smiled. "Hello, I'm Yu Min."
Lei just looked at him, she was too shy to talk.
"Go ahead and introduce yourself, sweetie. He's friendly," Jiang said as she smiled.
Lei nodded and spoke, "hi-hi, I'm-I'm Lei-Lei. Nice-nice to-to meet-meet you-you."
Yu Min smiled.
A while later, after Lei had finished telling Yu Min how they met. It was getting late. So, Yu Min walked Lei back to her mansion.
As they were walking, and as Yu Min was carrying the box with the hanfu, they were talking and laughing. They would soon arrive at Lei's mansion.
Lei stopped at the gate and held out her hands to Yu Min so he could give her the box with her hanfu.
Yu Min looked at her as if he didn't want to give her the box. "I want a hug and a kiss from you before I give you your hanfu."
Lei looked at him and shook her head. "Really?"
"Yes. Since I got you this, I want something from you which is a hug and a kiss. The kiss could be on the cheek, lips, or forehead," he replied, smirking.
"Fine," she said as she hugged him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, "there. Now, can I have my hanfu?"
Yu Min hugged back, smiling. "I guess, but you have to wear it for me," he said as he smiled. He handed Lei her hanfu.
Lei took it and smiled. "Thanks, Yu Min. Even though you didn't need to buy it for me."
"You're welcome. I wanted to get you something that you loved," he smiled.
"You could've gotten me something else besides a hanfu," Lei stated.
"I know, but I wanted to get something that would bring you justice and something that you look beautiful in," he replied.
Lei got a pink hue to her cheeks. "Why are you so smooth with your flirting?"
He let out a chuckle. "I don't know. Maybe because I've been holding it in?"
"Maybe. But you should head back home, so that Auntie and Uncle don't worry about you," Lei said as she let out a small giggle.
"I should, but I don't want to leave you."
"But you will see me tomorrow."
"I know, but I'm going to miss you," he whined.
"Yu Min, you're acting like a child," Lei chuckled, "go home."
"Fine. I'll go home after I see you go inside," Yu Min stated.
"Ok," she said as she walked to the gate and walked in, "bye, Yu Min." Before she closed the gate, she made a heart with her arms.
Yu Min smiled and did the same thing with his arms and said, "bye. See you tomorrow."
Lei smiled and closed the gates. She walked to her room to put the hanfu up and to get ready for bed. Lei got to her room, went to her closet to put her new hanfu that Yu Min got her away, and to get ready for bed. She started humming as she got ready for bed. Lei got changed and headed to bed.
In the morning, Lei overslept and so she hurried to get dressed for college. And as she was getting ready, someone came barging in.
"LEI!!" he called out.
"What! I'm getting dressed as fast as I can. I overslept. I'm sorry, Yu Min," she called out as she was getting dressed.
"It's fine. I asked Lao Mao to tell your friends that you'd be late to class and to tell Professor Shiqi," Yu Min said.
"Thanks, Yu Min," Lei said as she got dressed and walked out.
"You're welcome. Let's get going before we're even more late," Yu Min stated as he grabbed her hand and started running to the college so that they aren't more late than they already were.
As they were running, they were attacked.
"We don't have time for this, people!" Lei exclaimed as she got ready to fight.
Yu Min also got ready.
"This should be quick, anyways, love," the leader said as he smirked. He motioned to his people to go for Yu Min as that would be the person who would be fighting more.
"Can't we just do this after college?" Lei asked.
"No, we have to fight right now," he said as he went to attack. His men attacked Yu Min before he could finish talking.
Yu Min was fighting with the others.
Lei jumped over him, got out her sword, and went to attack him, trying to make sure she didn't overdo it.
They were fighting. Yu Min had won his fight and was helping Lei with her fight. Lei was winning the fight before Yu Min had joined her. She wanted to get done and over with the fight. They were already late, and Lei didn't want to miss class again.
Yu Min and Lei won the fight and yelled for the guards, knowing that they'd probably have an instant poison tablet in their mouth as the last group who attacked Lei. They waited until the guards arrived. Lei told the guards what happened and then they ran to the college.
They get to college. Lei ran to her class, not realizing that the person had cut her. She got to class, running in. Professor Shiqi, Wenran, Tao, and Shen looked at her.
"Why are you late?" Professor Shiqi asked.
"I overslept, but then when I was rushing to get here, I was attacked by some of the people from the group that I'm after," Lei stated.
Shen got up and went over to Lei as she saw that her arm was bleeding, "Lei, the person cut you on your arm."
Lei looked at her, "uh?" She then looked and saw that the person had cut her.
"Did you really not notice it or felt it?" Shen asked.
Lei shook her head. "No, I was wanting to get the fight over, so I wasn't more late than I was already. He must've gotten me when I attacked him."
"Lei, you should go and get that bandaged up," Shen stated.
"I will after class."
"Lei, go to the physician's building to get bandaged up. I'll end class for the time being, I can't have you fainting during class," Professor Shiqi stated.
"It's just a small cut. I'll be fine until the end of class," Lei said as she let out a small smile. Now that her adrenaline was running off, she was starting to feel the pain from the cut. Lei doesn't show that she's now in pain.
Professor Shiqi could tell that she was in pain, but he didn't want to argue with her. "Ok. Fine, let's get back to class then."
They all nodded but looked at Lei.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. I'll go to the physician's when I feel like I can't deal with the pain anymore," Lei stated as she went and sat down at her table.
"Ok," the three girls said as they went to their tables and sat down.
Lei smiled.
After a while, class ended. Lei had made it through the class with the pain. She was the first one out and headed straight for the physician's office so that she could get her cut bandaged and so that she's not in pain anymore. Lei had arrived at the physician's building.
"Hello?" she called out, holding her arm where she had been cut.
"Yes?" a voice replied from behind a door.
"I need to get bandaged up," Lei said.
"How bad is the cut? I'm only asking because I'm currently helping another student who has been wounded."
"It's not bad. I can wait, until you get finished with helping the other student," Lei stated as she went to sit down.
"Ok. Thanks," the physician said as he was finishing bandaging the other student.
"Yep," Lei replied as she was trying to distract her mind, by remembering how she and Dai met.
It was a few years back, before Lei had started to go to college. Lei was heading to the palace to visit the Empress, king, and prince Zhen. She was riding her horse there when halfway, bandits attacked her. Her horse bucked her off as it got scared and ran off. Lei got up and got her sword out ready to fight.
The bandits saw how cute and beautiful she was. So, they would change their plans and would try to knock her out. They succeed after a few cuts and bruises. The bandits brought her back to their leader.
Once they got back to their base, they had brought her to their leader's house.
"BOSS!!" One of them yelled.
"WE GOT YOU SOMETHING!" Another one yelled.
The leader came out and saw Lei. He instantly falls in love with her. "Go and put her in my spare room for now. And tonight, we have a feast!"
They nodded. The one who was carrying Lei went to put her into the leader's spare room. He put her down on the bed and left.
A while later, Lei started to wake up and was a bit scared and confused. She tried to get up, but her hands were tied to the bed. Lei was trying to remember what happened before she black out. "Right, bandits ambushed me. Why did they knock me out and bring me here instead of killing me?" Lei mumbled.
Just then, the leader walked in and saw that Lei was awake. "Hello cutie," he said.
Lei jumped. "What are you going to do with me?" She yelled.
"Hmmm… I don't know yet. Maybe I'll marry you or sell you," he said.
"Please don't do that. Maybe I can be helpful to you," Lei mentioned.
"What can a cute, beautiful girl, like yourself, do?"
"I can fight, hunt, cook, and entertain," she mentioned, hoping that it could work. She didn't want to marry anyone or be sold. 'I can't let them find out that I'm the general's daughter,' she thought.
"I doubt you can fight and hunt. So, I'll have to see it before I can agree to what you're saying," he replied.
"Ok. What's the fighting rules?" Lei asked.
"There are no rules. How to win the fight is simple. You just have to be the one standing," he answered, smiling. He walked over and untied her. "I'm Dai Hui, by the way."
"Lei," she said as she rubbed her wrists. "There has to be rules for the fight, otherwise how will we know if it's a fair fight?"
"Then what do you think the rules should be?"
"The first rule: only the weapons you are best at. Second rule: no cheating, meaning no switching weapons mid-fight. Third rule: once hit, you're out," she said, "and if I see you fighting once you get hit, then I can leave."
"That sounds like a lot of rules I should follow." He smirked.
"Yeah, or you could break them like you probably already are," Lei stated, knowing what he'll be doing.
"I wasn't. I was going to follow the rules."
"Ok. Then, shall we? Also, if I win, then I leave and I won't tell the guards about what happened here today."
"Sure. Let's get outside then to start the fight," he said as he helped Lei up.
Lei nodded as she got up.
They headed outside. Dai Hui gave Lei her sword back, once they got outside. They got into position and started to fight. Lei was losing, but she would win the fight.
Lei was smiling when the physician came up to her and tapped her shoulder. She comes back to reality when he does. "Sorry, I was deep in thought," she said.
"It's fine, Lei. Anyways, let's get that cut cleaned and bandaged for you," the physician said as he smiled.
Lei nodded as she got up.
"Follow me, Lei," he said as he walked to his office.
She nodded and followed.
They get to his office. He told Lei to sit down on the bed and to lower her sleeve so that he could clean and bandage it properly. She does.
"This might sting," he mentioned.
"Ok, I can deal with it," she stated.
He nodded as he applied plaster and then bandaged the cut.
Lei winced at the pain but dealt with it.
"Done" he said as he put away the rest of it.
"Thanks," she said as she pulled up her sleeve.
"You're welcome, Lei. Just remember to change the bandage, every so often and let the cut get some air," he replied.
"Ok. Will do," she said as she got up and headed to the door. As she was heading to the door, she remembered something. "Hey, doc?"
"Yes?"
"What type of poison could kill you instantly?"
"Aconite. It's an herb. If taken in a large amount, it can kill you right away."
"Ok. Thanks. I'll be leaving now. Bye," she said as she left.
Lei headed to the archives to study what aconite is and how much of it would need to kill someone right away. Once she got to the archives, she would head straight for the books about herbs. Lei got to the section for the herbs and started to look through the poisonous herbs part of the section. She grabbed a few of the pamphlets and books about poisonous herbs and went to sit down.
Lei would look through almost all of the pamphlets and books about poisonous herbs. It was night and she had fallen asleep while reading the last book of the poisonous herbs.
Luckily, Yu Min had noticed that Lei wasn't with her friends, so he went to look for her. He had asked the girls where they last saw Lei and they had told them that she had gone to the physician's building because she was cut on the arm. He nodded and ran to the physician's office and asked him where Lei was. The physician told him that Lei had asked him what type of poison could kill you right away and said that it was aconite. The physician had recommended him to go and look in the archives. He nodded and left.
Yu Min went to the archives, which was still luckily unlocked. He walked in once he got there. Once he walked in, he saw Lei asleep. Yu Min smiled and let out a small chuckle as he walked over and put away the books and pamphlets. After he did that, he carried Lei home.
Once Yu Min brought her back to her mansion and room, he set her on her bed, tucked her, gave her a goodnight kiss on the forehead, and left.
Over the rest of the days, Lei was studying the poisonous herbs. She didn't stop until her parents came back.
As she was in her study building, her parents went and surprised her. "Sweetheart!" Her mother yells.
Lei got startled, jumped, and screamed.
Her parents laughed.
"Sorry, Lei," her mother said as she walked over.
"It's fine, ma," she said as she got up and hugged them, "welcome back, Ma and Pa."
They hugged back. "Thanks."
"I'm guessing you just got home?" Lei asked as she let go.
They also let go.
"Yeah, but unfortunately not for long, we have to go to the palace to report to the king and Empress," her father said.
"But it should be quick, though, so don't miss us for long," her mother chimed in.
"O-Oh. Ok, well, you should go before they scold you two for being late," Lei stated.
"We will after we get another hug," they said at the same time.
"Ok," Lei said as she hugged them once more.
They hugged back.
After they hugged and left, Lei gave her servants orders to set up a party and to tell all of her friends to come and to bring their parents. Lei helps decorate, with the ability to do so without making her injuries worse.
After a while, everyone came and also helped decorate. Lei's friends saw that she wasn't wearing a party hanfu, so they told her to get changed into a hanfu for a party.
Lei went to change, but she didn't know which hanfu to wear. She could wear her new one, the one she wore to the Min's party which is a light pink with flowers on the top half, a blue and peach colored hanfu, or a light purple with some hidden design on it. She would yell for Tao, Shen, and Wenran for help.
The three girls came running in. "What do you need help with?!?!" they all exclaimed at once.
"Picking a hanfu…" Lei responded.
"Do you have some that you're thinking about wearing?" Tao asked.
"Yes," she said as she pointed to them.
The girls looked. "You just wore the light pink one to Min's party. The other two look like everyday hanfus. Wear the green one."
"My new one? I feel like that one is too elegant to be wearing at a welcome back party for my parents," Lei replied.
"No, it's actually perfect for this occasion," Shen stated.
The other two agreed.
"Ok, I'll wear it." She grabs it and goes to put it on.
While she puts it on, the girls put away the other three hanfus.
Lei puts it on and walks out to the girls. When she did, the girls' mouths dropped.
"Lei, you look amazing in that!" they all exclaimed.
"I feel like I don't," Lei replied.
"Lei, you give justice to this hanfu," Wenran stated.
"You look like you're ready to go and confess your love," Tao chimed in.
"You also look like you're ready to win an argument against Yu Min," Shen also chimed in.
"Really?"
"Yes," they all stated.
"Ok. We should go back and help, because I'm sure my parents are on the way back," Lei said.
They nodded and started to walk out.
Lei followed them so that she could close her doors.
They walked to the main hall so that they could finish up.
Once Lei walked in, she could feel all eyes on her. She felt nervous and shy. Lei would go and help around.
Yu Min was helping, but looked up at the perfect time to see Lei wearing the hanfu he got her. He smiled and let out a small chuckle. 'She gives it justice like I said she would,' he thought to himself.
Lei would help and then hear her parent's horses. "Everyone! They're back!" Lei called out. "Hide!"
Everyone hides. Lei went to hide and hid next to Yu Min.
Once they walked in, everyone jumped out and yelled welcome back.
Mu and Yawen were surprised.
Lei ran over to them. "I hope you don't mind that I threw you guys a welcome back surprise party," she said.
They smiled. "We're not, plus, we had an idea that you were going to throw a welcome back surprise party," Yawen mentioned.
"Really? Am I that predictable?" Lei asked.
Mu nodded, "yes, sweetie, you are that predictable."
"Aw. I guess I shouldn't throw surprise parties anymore," Lei pouted.
Yawen and Mu laughed. "Or maybe you shouldn't act suspicious when the people or person is near."
"Rude ma, pa. Anyway, I'll stop bothering you, so you can go and catch up with your friends," Lei mentioned as she smiled.
They nodded and went to talk to their friends.
Lei watched her parents walk over to their friends to talk to them. She was smiling. Lei was genuinely really happy that her parents are home and alive and well. She would let out a small sigh of relief as she walked over to the drink table to grab a glass of wine. As she went to grab a glass, Yu Min grabbed the glass Lei was going for.
"Yu Min! That was the glass of wine I wanted!" Lei complained.
"You, little missy, shouldn't be drinking," Yu Min stated.
"But it's a party and it's not like I will get drunk after one glass of wine," Lei stated, still being pouty.
"I know that it's a party," Yu Min stated, "Lei, we both know that you're lying about not being drunk after one glass of wine."
Lei gave Yu Min a cute, but innocent look so that he would feel guilty about taking away her glass of wine.
Yu Min would fall for it and hands her the glass of wine, "this will be your only glass tonight, ok?"
Lei nodded as she took the glass. "Yes, Dad," she said sarcastically.
Yu Min chuckled. "Oh, by the way, you're absolutely beautiful in that hanfu," he mentioned.
Lei turns a candy apple color. "Thanks-thanks," she mumbles.
"You're welcome, Lei," Yu Min replied.
Lei takes a sip of her wine. "Once my parent's settle down and get back to what they do, I'm going to tell them about us," Lei stated.
Yu Min's eyes widened, "are you sure you want to tell your parents about us after they get settled down?"
Lei nodded, "yes, I mean we'd have to. I don't want them to think that they need the matchmaker to find me a suitable man to marry."
"Right, but what if your parents don't approve of us?"
"I'll give them reasons why they should."
"Lei, I agree with you, but I don't think it is a good idea to tell as they just got back even when they are settled down."
"Then, when should we tell them?" Lei asked.
"Right before the end year test of the college," Yu Min said, "and before you say that's three months away, I know, but it gives your parents time to settle down, and get back in the hang of things."
"I guess that makes sense. I guess, we can wait for that long."
"Good," he said as he gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before he walked away.
Lei's eyes widened as she watched him leave. She goes and walks around. As she walked around, she could feel someone watching her. Lei would look around to see if anyone was watching her, but she didn't very secretively. She wouldn't see anyone looking at her, so she brushed it off, but she was still cautious about the surroundings of the hall. Lei would walk over to the girls to talk to them, which was a terrible mistake.
Right as soon as she got over to the girls, they started to bomb-bard her with questions about her and Yu Min.
"So, you and Yu Min, huh?" Tao asked.
"Yeah, what about us?" Lei asked.
"Are you two dating?" Shen chimed in.
Lei's eyes widened and almost panicked, but she came up with a lie, "no, what makes you guys think that?"
"We saw what happened earlier and the way you two interact now kind of gave us a hint," Wenran mentioned.
"Him and I grew up with each other for the majority of our lives, so it's normal for him to be caring for me. Also, how did his and I's interaction change?" Lei asked, lying somewhat.
"Lei, no need to lie to us. We won't tell anyone about you and Yu Min," Tao stated.
"Ok, fine. Him and I are dating, but please don't tell anyone about us," Lei confessed.
"We won't," all three girls said in unison.
"Good," Lei said as she let out a sigh of relief.