By the stream, while he scrubbed some weird grime off her small hands, he kept thinking they couldn't stay in this forest any longer. It was a silly, persistent feeling — sooner or later Xiyao would set the place on fire, or somehow anger every living thing in it and be run out.
“What is this stuff anyway? How do you get it off?” Xiyao scowled down at her hands, clearly annoyed.
He sighed. “Forget it. I’ll write and ask Father.”
“You mean with the same pigeon I almost killed?” Xiyao looked at him as if he’d grown a second head.
He nodded. “Remember, that bird’s a messenger pigeon. No more fooling around.”
“Oh…” she muttered.
Two months went by. The pigeon that had nearly lost its life returned, fluttering in like it owned the sky — though it kept its distance from Xiyao now, unwilling to come close to her at all. Tied to its leg was yet another tiny bamboo scroll: his father’s latest letter, number who-knew-what by now.
He hauled himself out of bed, groggy, and coaxed the bird onto his hand. “What does he say this time?” Xiyao propped herself up beside him and peered.
He yawned, lazy. “He says he’s coming…”
Xiyao froze, then he suddenly snapped upright. “What?! He’s coming?!”
Xiyao screamed with delight. “Ah! I finally get to meet my father-in-law!”
He waved his hands in a panic. “Oh no, what do I do? The treehouse is a mess — I have to tidy up!”
“You don’t have to,” a voice called from a distance. The sound drifted closer and closer until Xiyao, who had just thrown a banana leaf over her head like a makeshift veil, squealed, “Father-in-law, not so fast — I’m not ready!”
“Don’t misbehave, Father,” he hissed. “I know you’re unmatched in lightness of foot, but please—hands to yourself!”
There was a short, amused snort, then a man in a simple blue robe landed lightly on the platform outside their treehouse. Half a butterfly mask clung to his face, the sharp line of jaw beneath it careless and amused. He was Flower-Butterfly — Hua Die — a man who clearly took good care of himself and of his clothes.
“Why did you bring that thing?” the young man blurted as he straightened his own clothes and stepped out. “Haven’t you stopped using that disguise ages ago?”
Hua Die waved a hand. “That’s for your wife to meet her father-in-law with, isn’t it? If I change my face, what if she doesn’t recognize me the next time? If I don’t, what if someone sees me on the road? I’m a very discreet man. Discreet — you understand?”
The son was sweating.
Xiyao peeked out from under the banana leaf. Standing there, Hua Die looked taller than she expected, like a handsome chef more than a war-hardened general. But it wasn’t his looks that held her attention — it was what she called him next.
“No, no — I should call you Father-in-law, not just father. The emperor’s son-in-law is supposed to be—” She hesitated, then blurted, “And if I say ‘gonggong’ I’ll think of the palace eunuchs…”
Hua Die’s face changed faster than any mask. The son stepped between them and tried to laugh it off. “Haha, Father, don’t take her seriously.”
Hua Die recovered the instant after. Smiling, he strode up to them and peered at Xiyao. “What a sharp-tongued girl — your mother sure raised you to have wit. Daughter-in-law, you’d better come out and let me see what you look like now.”
“All right, Father-in-law. But neither of you is allowed to peek!” Xiyao called, still half-hidden.
“Of course,” Hua Die said, sweeping the son up in an affectionate arm around the shoulders and turning his back to the treehouse. He barked teasingly, “You two aren’t—um—already, are you?”
The son choked and coughed. “Father, what are you saying! We’re perfectly innocent. I only slept beside her because I was worried the beasts would drag her off.”
“Oh!” Hua Die gave a knowing nod and an exaggerated look of admiration. “How noble.”
Heat rose to the son’s face. He knew his actions weren’t exactly those of a gentleman, but wasn’t it his father who’d told him to spirit the girl away in the first place?
Hua Die, seeing Xiyao’s quick retort and bright eyes, decided she was sharper than he’d imagined. If his son hadn’t yet won her heart, he might as well have lost his chance. “If that’s the case — if you two have been sleeping together — I’ll take you straight back to the palace to propose! You can’t sully a girl’s reputation.”
“What? Back so soon? Didn’t we run like mad to escape the palace? Going back would be a death sentence!”
Hua Die snorted. “No. You’ve been gone two months and the Emperor still hasn’t found you. That means his search is as useless as ever. Two months is long enough for lots to happen. Say she’s carrying your child — then even an Emperor who dislikes his son-in-law will have to accept you. Besides, the girl likes you. And with the Empress on her side, do you want to spend your life wandering homeless?”
The son scratched his head. “How do you know the Empress would support her? You even knew about the Empress’s old poison-making hobby — are you in league with her? Were you planning to be exposed and then use me to avenge her?”
Hua Die coughed angrily. “Absolutely not.”
Just then Xiyao appeared, fully dressed, and called out, “Father-in-law, I’m ready!”
Hua Die dropped the son and stepped forward. Before he’d properly studied her, he praised, “What a beauty.”
The son followed, mumbled, “Of course — you chose someone—”
Xiyao blinked. “You’ve met me before?”
Hua Die snapped his fingers in recognition. “Wasn’t it I who gave you that jade pendant?”
Xiyao’s face, blank for a moment, then brightened. “Oh — oh! It was you!”
Hua Die looked her over twice and frowned. “No, something’s off. The age doesn’t match. Little one, tell me honestly—where did you get that pendant?”
The son tensed beside them.
Xiyao cleared her throat. “Er… my sister gave it to me.”
The son almost shouted. “Xihe, the princess?” He hadn’t expected his father’s prospective match to be Princess Xihe.
Xiyao nodded quickly. She had been caught once and didn’t want it to happen again. Truth was, the pendant hadn’t been a gift at all — she’d slipped it out of Xihe’s room when the princess wasn’t looking, intending only to play with it for a day or two before returning it. Xihe never asked for it back, so Xiyao had kept it. She had never imagined any of this would follow.