"Young master! …. Han Bing!" Zheng Li said in a huff as he ran towards Han Bings room. Zheng Li had a scared expression as he was using all his strength to move as fast as possible."What is it Zheng Li?" Han Bing asked with his eyebrows raised..
"T.. th….the…. " Zheng Li tried to say what was so important however he couldn"t catch his breath.
"Slow your breathing Zheng Li, you"re making it look like there is a problem" Han Bing said with a concerned face. While searching around their surroundings to see if any one else was privy to the display that Zheng Li was letting on.
Zheng Li calmed down enough to say what had sent him into a frenzy "The Emperor has summoned you to the imperial palace."
Now Han Bings face fell and turned pale. "Why is he summoning me now at such a time?" He thought to himself, "He couldn"t possibly have discovered Mai could he?"
Han Bings face looked even more ghostly as the thought of her being discovered terrified him.
"Young master, you have to act like everything is normal" Zheng Li said with a similar frightened expression as Han Bing.
"Right… Let"s go" Han Bing said.
Han Bing and Zheng Li arrived outside the palace. Palace description
After entering threw a side door Han Bing says in his most icy voice "Greetings Emperor, your most humble servants is here."
The Emperor was sitting on a cla.s.sic red pillow in his favorite pavilion that lay on top of a large lake. By his side were two young concubines that were serving him wine and taking care of his every need.
"What took you so long. Wasting my precious time" The emperor mumble to himself. "Ladies be gone" the Emperor said to the two concubines. They both gave Han Bing a dirty look for interrupting there precious time with the Emperor as he saw them so little as they walked away.
The Emperor said nothing and just watched Han Bing stand there and fidget as the breeze blew his clothing around. He was normally a just and righteous emperor but if you were in the upper ends of society you would know that his att.i.tude all changed when it came to Han Bing.
"Hang Bing, a few birdies told me that there was a divine smell that was coming from your manor this evening."
Han Bing couldn"t help but caugh as he realized that even if he tried to hid Mai from this mans eyes that her cooking would still give her away.
"Bai Hao was just trying a new recipe that he thought of" Han bing replied maintaining his frosty demaner, he could not give anything away.
"Ahh is that so?" The emperor said with a chuckle "Send him to me when he is free so that I too can try this new recipe of his."
Han Bing was screaming inside his head towards this man but all you could see on his face was slight hostility. "Of course your majesty, is there anything else?"
"No, No, You can take your leave now" the Emperor said with a smile on his face.
Han Bing bowed before returning to his own manor. Along the way he couldn"t help but feel tormented inside about the encounter with the Emperor under his breath he whispered "Does he know?"
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"He is lying to me" the Emperor said. He got so annoyed that the cup in his hand shattered into a million pieces as it hit the ground. "Doesn"t he know not to push his luck around me, I will not tolerate it. "
"Bring me the chefs from the manor tomorrow" the Emperor ordered out.
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"Mistress, wake up" Zhi Ruo said "I brought food for you."
Mai was woken up by the sound. She had a dreamless sleep yet could fell as though she wasn"t alone.
Mai"s mumbled something about setting up the table in the pavilion so that she could eat here but it was inaudible to Zhi Ruo.
Mulan oinked as she realized that it was time to be fed and ran circles around Zhi Ruo.
Zhi Ruo laughed and put a dish down for Mulan. The proceeded to set up the table for Mai with rice and roasted vegetable. The vegetables looked rather grim but at least they were still edible.
Before Mai started to eat she looked at Zhi Ruo and asked "Would you share this meal with me Zhi Ruo?"
"Oh no mistress, I have already eaten when I was waiting for your food. I wouldn"t be opposed to eating some of the food you make … If that isn"t too bold of me" Zhi Ruo replied.
"Of course not, you guys will probably help me in creating the dish anyways and as long as Han Bing doesn"t show up we should be able to enjoy until our bellies are full." Mai said with a chuckle as she had still not completely forgiven Han Bing for eating all of her food yet.
Zhi Ruo eyes sparkled as she reminisced about the meat that had been cooked earlier.
When Mai was done eating Ruo cleared that area and said "It"s getting pretty late mistress, we should probably retire for the night."
Mai not wanting to disappoint Zhi Ruo agreed and followed her to the room.
A soft click could be heard as Zhi Ruo left Mai in the room for the night. Even though Mai had taken a nap earlier it had felt so comfortable in this strange world that she wanted to return to wherever she had been.
Mai laid on top of the bed, with sleepy eyes she could vaguely see her parents. They were embracing each other while standing over her crying. Mai tried to tell them that everything was okay but no words would come out. She wanted to let them know that they shouldn"t worry about her and to not wait, to live their lives out. No matter how much she tried to say the words though her lips would never move, no sounds were ever produced.