Maids do not usually fall from the sky.
Mo Chao had been coming from the King's chambers. His hands were holding the King's precious tea set.
Ever since the previous King decided to run away, his life just went south.
The new King (Tyrant King, his mind put, not without some disdain) was a cruel man whose only wish was to make everyone bow and beg to him. He was so unlike the previous King that Mo Chao wondered how they were brothers.
Han Bingwen would give Mo Chao the minimal amount of work and when he finished them, the (previous) King would always thank him. He did that with every servant and that was what made him a noble ruler.
Han Bohai on the other hand, would make the manservant work akin to a slave. He was the worst of worst slavedrivers and never deemed to thank the servants after they did the work. And he, Mo Chao had to bear the worst of it.
Everyday he had to wake the Tyrant King up before the sun showed its heavenly light. Then he had to take all insults thrown at him and still keep quiet about it, while following all orders given by him. He would hardly get time to rest and finally at midnight was he able to sleep.
Currently it was around an hour until midnight, and Mo Chao had to bring the tea cups to the sink for cleaning. He grumbled to himself about his fate. It was not as if this was a task for cultivators; servants were meant to do this. But not in the dead of night!
His musings were interrupted, however, by the sound of a window opening. Who in the Han dynasty was awake at this time? (Except for him, he grumbled in his mind.)
Mo Chao looked up just to see a body falling right above him.
His hands fumbled trying to catch the body. Belatedly he realized that on doing so, the Tyrant King's precious tea set dropped from his hands.
The tea cups crashed to the ground and broke into tiny shards. Mo Chao caught the body which turned out to be a young maid who looked very familiar.
It was only when she was safely cradled in his arms and her eyes wide with shock, did he figure out who she was.
"Disobedient maid!"
Silence. The maid gaped, her doe eyes wider than before. It was only after she let out a choked "What?!" did Mo Chao realize what he said.
Quickly he backtracked.
"I mean- I didn't. This one did not mean to- it's just..."
"Don't worry. This one understands."
Mo Chao was flabbergasted.
"You do?" he asked tentatively.
The maid hummed but did not elaborate. Instead she fumbled to get out of his arms. He quickly adjusted, mindful of the broken shards. After mumbling out a thanks, the maid asked him a question.
"Do you know-" she paused, hesitant. Mo Chao tried to look as gentle as possible so that she continued.
"Do you know of the Han fu ren?"
The manservant stared at her. He could not seem to process what she said. Did he hear wrong or was the maid just plain insane? Maybe she was. It was not as if Mo Chao knew that girl. He did not even know her name.
"Who are you speaking of?" he asked. "The King has no wife."
The maid looked stricken.
"Really? Not even the previous King?"
Now Mo Chao was even more confused. "No, not even Han Bingwen." What was this maid on about?
Said maid was so stricken that she was trembling. Her hands shook and then, to the manservant's horror, tears began flowing from her pretty eyes.
Now, Mo Chao was not a gentle person by any means. He could not comfort anybody, particularly cute maids who fell from the sky. And who might be slightly mad. But he still wrapped an arm around her shoulders, trying to stop her from crying.
To his relief she stopped crying immediately. Now she looked at him, her small face filled with sudden determination.
"Can you help me out of this palace?"
***
The sneaking out was easier than expected. But perhaps that was not that surprising since it was the middle of night and the whole world was asleep.
Well, expect for the guards.
But lucky for them, Mo Chao knew a secret passage out.
He had discovered that around a month ago when he was so tired. It was one of those days where the Tyrant King was in a horrible mood. And he obviously took it out on the first person there. His manservant.
So the beaten and bruised manservant just wanted some peace. He walked into the garden, wishing that the guards would disappear so that he could leave.
Ever since Han Bingwen left no one of the lower class could leave the palace grounds. Should any guard let them, they would be severely punished but not as much as the one who leaves. And Mo Chao did not wish to know what he would get.
But still the desire to just leave had not vanished and he distracted himself by searching of a foolproof way to escape.
And that was how he stumbled upon a cave entrance, hidden by a boulder and many ivies.
The cave itself was not pretty; it was full of grime and were those bats? But the freedom it gave him was the most beautiful the manservant had ever felt in his life.
That feeling did not diminish despite this being the 100th time he walked in there.
Mo Chao looked behind at the maid (Xiao Hui, his mind reminded him. The maid had introduced herself on their way.) He watched her face stare in awe at the cave, whilst ooh-ing and aah-ing at the hanging dusts. She too found the freedom beautiful.
And now for the best part.
The manservant pushed the last boulder and there in front of them was the town place.
"Here you go," Mo Chao announced, his hands waving grandly. "You are outside the palace now."
Xiao Hui beamed at him, blinding the manservant. She jumped and gave him a quick hug before running out of the cave, all the while waving at her benefactor. Mo Chao watched her go, his smile turning slightly dopey as he did so.
And then his smile slid off his face. He had forgotten about the King's tea set!
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Question:
Have you ever found a secret place only for yourself? Did you manage to keep it a secret?