"Up we go," he said to Meili, gently picking her up in a princess carry.
She gazed up affectionately into his face as he strode off with her. He looked down into her eyes and looked away again quickly. That was a rabbit hole he couldn't afford to go down while she was in this state.
"What are you wearing Mei Meili?" he asked lightly.
"A man's outfit," she yawned.
"And why is it torn?" he asked dangerously.
"I sliced it with Tan Bowen's sword," she said proudly.
He relaxed, letting out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.
"Why aren't you wearing any socks?"
"I threw them in the canal."
She didn't expand on this statement, so he left it there.
"Your hair?" he asked, scared to hear the answer.
"I pulled off the guan. I have too much hair for such a little one. It was much too bouncy for my sword dance."
"You did a sword dance when you'd been drinking?" he asked. He was officially going to kill Tan Bowen.
"Mmm hmm," she said happily. "Tan Bowen didn't want me to," she whispered to him conspiratorially.
"But you did it anyway?"
"Yes, I told him I'd scream if he tried to touch me."
Okay, that was tough. He might just injure the man badly rather than kill him.
"Is this what you do when you interrogate prisoners Bai Li?" she asked him with interest. "I suppose you're going to ask me about my chest binding next, aren't you?"
Bai Li stumbled on the cobbles, clearing his throat. "Hmm…hmm." He would be lying if he said he hadn't noticed that she seemed to be missing that critical undergarment. "Do you want to tell me about it?" he asked carefully.
He didn't want to take advantage of her in this state. Well, he did want to, but he was trying not to.
"Tan Bowen pulled it off!" she said, affronted. "After that I couldn't dance properly. Some people were pointing at me, and I cried."
Tears welled in her eyes again at the memory, and he gently stopped one with his finger, as it trailed down her pretty cheek.
Now he would definitely kill the man. For fuck's sake Tan Bowen!? There could be no reasonable excuse for pulling her chest binding.
He recalled that he himself had removed her binding in the forest, but that was different. It was life or death… He reddened at the memory.
He sat down in the darkness with her in his arms to wait for Manni and Tan Bowen.
"Commander Bai, you're very handsome," she said directly, looking up at him.
His heart gave a solid thump.
"Is that so?" he asked her casually.
"Yes," she affirmed. "You must have many young ladies swooning over you," she giggled.
"Not the one I want."
"Oh, that's a pity. Perhaps I can talk to her for you. Does she like someone else?" she asked with sympathy.
"I don't know. I would appreciate it if you can ask her for me."
"I will, I will," she enthused. "Actually, I don't know any young ladies," she said sadly. "Just the princess."
"You know this young lady."
"Really? Who is she Bai Li?" she asked curiously.
He looked down at her. This didn't seem like a fair conversation to have with her in this vulnerable state. That would make him no better than Tan Bowen.
Actually, he was one hundred percent better than Tan Bowen, but it was a slippery slope.
The side entrance cracked open and Manni and Tan Bowen's heads appeared, peering into the dark.
"Over here," Bai Li called from their seat in the shadows.
Manni had had the good sense to bring a cart filled with blankets after Tan Bowen told her that her mistress was having trouble walking straight. Bai Li placed Meili gently in the cart and covered her with the soft blankets, pulling some up around her head to hide her.
"She'll be asleep before you get to her room," he said to Manni. "You might have to pull the cart in there and let her sleep in it."
"I can lift her out," she said with unfound confidence.
Bai Li looked doubtfully at the little maid.
"Just don't get caught."
"I won't, Commander."
"Make sure you prepare some hangover soup for the Young Miss."
"Mm," she nodded, fiercely determined to succeed.
"She may not remember much of the evening. Just tell her she had a nice meal out with Tan Bowen."
"Got it, Commander."
What a nice young man he was, thought Manni approvingly. Very thoughtful.
"We'll leave her in your care then."
Bai Li held the side door open for Manni and closed it behind her after she had manoeuvred the cart back inside the compound.
He turned and strode towards Tan Bowen like an angry bull. He grabbed the man in a headlock, dragging him away from the Mansion, while pinching one of his ears.
"Bai Li!" hollered Tan Bowen. "It wasn't my fault!"
"Ha! Then whose fault was it? It was all Mei Meili's idea, was it?"
"It wasn't her idea, but she went off like a firecracker once she had that wine…"
"And who ignited that firecracker?" he pressed his knuckles into the man's ribs, still dragging him along.
"Ow, ow, ow! Okay, okay, it was me that lit it, it was me, alright? Everything was me… I made a terrible mistake. I've paid for it. I've been paying all night. You have no idea what I've been through!"
"That's better. At least you know it. And tell me, in granular detail, what kind of mistake involves removing a young maiden's chest binding?" he growled savagely, adding a twist to the pinch.
"Ow, ow, ow!"
"I'm waiting."
"Well, that… that…"
The two men disappeared into the night accompanied by the sound of Tan Bowen's heels scraping along the road, like Bai Li was dragging a dead body with him, which he really wished he was…