The small inn didn’t have much. It was running by an elderly woman who was blind. As soon as Ao Han pushed the door open, a tiny gold bell rang alerting the elderly woman. She cocked her head and grabbed her wooden stick. She approached them slowly and greeted,

            “Welcome. What would you sir and lady like?”

            “Prepare us two rooms that are next to each other,” Ao Han said.

            “Sure.” The elderly woman gestured them to follow her to the other side of the building. Ao Han continued to carry A’Li to her room and made her sit on the bed. He glanced to the blind lady and asked that food were brought up to A’Li’s room and a medicine box. A’Li embraced herself and glared at Ao Han, who’s pouring hot water into the bowl. After, he walked over and set the bowl on the ground. The elderly woman came back with the medicine box and excused herself to prep the food. Ao Han grabbed A’Li’s hand and she naturally yanked her hand away from him.

            “I can tend to my own wounds,” she told him.

            “I wasn’t intending to treat your wounds,” Ao Han sarcastically said, “I wanted you to treat mine.”

            “Oh” A’Li reached over for the towel.

            “I’m just joking. I’ll have the elderly woman help you.” He got up and gathered his items to leave the room.

            A’Li nodded and immediately shouted, “Thank you!”

            “Your welcome!” he responded back.

            The next morning came and A’Li found herself inside a carriage. She jerked, but her body was tied up. She glanced around and heard multiple voices chattering. Listening carefully, she caught a few words they were saying, but the rest were hard to understand because of the dialect they were talking in. Suddenly the carriage stopped and Ao Han pulled the cloth to the side, peeking inside the carriage.

            “Be quiet,” Ao Han whispered.

            “Why did you tied me up? Where are we?” A’Li spoke loudly.

            “Shush.” He stuffed a handkerchief in and turned back to resume moving the carriage with the horse attached to it. A’Li attempted to sit up and threw her whole body to the window to look of where they are. She used her head and stuck it out like a turtle.

            “Shan territory?” she thought as she noted the land markings on the tree barks.

            I swung open my bedroom doors and there was Su Wei and another noble man standing next to him. I tilted my head to the side and pretended I didn’t see them.

            “A’Li! Where are you?” I called for her and Su Wei grabbed my hand. I turned to him and stared at him with confusion. “What do you need?” I spoke informally.

            “Are you available today?” he asked, politely as the usual. I glanced at the guy standing behind him and back to him.

            “Who is him?” I asked out of curiosity. Su Wei lets go of my hand and stepped aside.

            “Nice to meet you, Princess Xiang Yun. I’m Jiang Yi Chen, prince of Cai Kingdom. I just arrived this morning, so I wanted to properly meet you to make it up for not being able to attend yesterday’s dinner banquet,” he spoke firmly and cautious.

            “It’s no big deal,” I smiled at him, “How about you accompany me to the village?”

            “I am honor to be accompanying you.” He smiled at me too. On the side, Su Wei glared at us weirdly feeling left out.

            “Perfect! Let’s go,” I said and walked over to Yi Chen. I grabbed his arm and turned back to Su Wei. “You can also tag along if you would like, Sir Su Wei.” I smirked at him and left.

            Su Wei scoffed and totally understood what I am doing, “Sir Su Wei? What’s with the formality now, huh?”

            We arrived at the white river valley village and a bunch of children ran toward our direction. One of them jumped at me for a hug and held me tight.

            “Sister Yun! I’d missed you!”

            “I had missed you too,” I smiled and put him down. I bent down to his height level and patted his head. “Guess who I brought over?”

            “Did sister Yun bring sister A’Li with her?” another child asked. I turned to her and answered,

            “No,” I frowned and then smiled, “but I brought over two handsome gentlemen to come play with you guys!” I looked up at them. They both looked at me and then to the children.

            “Come, how about we have some fun?” Yi Chen bent down and lifted one of the girls into his arm. “Who’s joining me?”

            “Me!!” all the girls shouted.

            I turned to Su Wei, who’s hesitating to make a move. I glared at him and he noticed me giving him the dirty look. He forced a smile at me and looked at the boys.

            “Who wanna know how to make sling-shots?” he asked the boys.

            “Me!” they all answered, excitedly.

            “Good, scram now” I pushed them to the guys and sighed. I watched them followed Yi Chen or Su Wei and I went to find the elderlies.

            “Mom!” I shouted and enter one of the shambles.

            “Xiang Yun! You’re here!” all the elderlies welcomed me.

            “Morning,” I greeted them, “Is my mom around?”

            “She went to gather water by the river,” one of the women said.

            “Thanks,” I smiled and headed out the back door.

            Taking the back route led to the waterfall where the villagers would collect their water. I followed the pathway and crossed the small bridge. It took a few minutes to get to the river because it required the villagers to cross under the waterfall first.

            “Mom!” I shouted as soon as I heard the rushing water from the river. “Mom, where are you?” I continued heading towards the river and spotted my mom, who’s facing away from me. I gave another shout at her and she turned to my voice.

            “Yun!” my mom shouted back at me with a smile. I ran and gave her a big hug.

            “I missed you.”

            “I missed you too,” my mom said as she pulled back from the hug.

            “I came to pick you up so you can go back home.”

            “Darling, I am not done with the outside work here yet.”

            “I can tell father to order servants to come and finish them, mom. You don’t need to come by yourself and finish them.”

            “It’s okay, I got this.”

            “Then let me help.”

            Ao Han threw A’Li at the stack of hay and slammed the wooden door shut. A’Li tried to get up and move closer to the doors, but she couldn’t.

            “Stay put. It’s pointless to keep moving,” Ao Han said as he tied the chains around the bar and locked it.

            “Why am I here?” A’Li asked and tugged on the chains that locked her wrists together, “What are you planning to do, huh?” She attempted to stand up and succeeded to do so after some struggle.

            “I don’t need to explain myself to you.”

            “Then what makes you think this wooden prison can hold me back?” A’Li sneaked both of her hands between the space of the pillars and grabbed his collar.

            “Believe me, you don’t want others to find out that you are here.”

            “Why? Do they want to kill me like how you want me dead?”

            “I don’t want you dead, I want you alive.”

            “Great. I should kill myself in this prison so that whatever plan you are organizing will be ruined.”

            “You don’t want to do that.”

            “Why not? It’s not like you and I owe each other anything,” A’Li scoffed.

            “Well I did save your life,” Ao Han pointed out.

            “That was your own decision; I didn’t need you to save me.”

            “You’re so frustrating,” Ao Han pushed A’Li’s hands away. “Just behave and you will live.” He left the room.

            After spending the entire morning at the village, everyone gathered for lunch. I helped the elders set the table for the children and had Yi Chen and Su Wei gather the children to one location. I set a bowl down in front one of the children and noticed Yi Chen gazing at me. I looked down at myself if he was staring at me because I had something dirty on me. I cocked my head to the side with confusion. He smiled shyly and looked away. My eyebrows burrowed and I shook my head still confused why he was looking at me with such tender eyes. I continued to the set the bowls down moving towards Yi Chen. He stopped halfway and glanced over at me at the same time I looked up. We both made eye contacts and he gave me a half smile. I smiled back and he moved away to allow me to finish setting the bowls down.

            “Hey,” Yi Chen grabbed my hands when I was done. I turned to face him and glanced down to him holding my hand. Flustered he immediately lets go and scratched the back of his neck trying to say something. “Are you available tonight to join me to a festival?”

            I stared at him for a moment and smiled brightly, “Sure, where should we meet?”

            “Under the willow tree next to the bridge; I’ll wait for you there.” His smile full of delight and anticipation.

            “I’ll see then,” I smiled and left. Su Wei from afar stared at them suspiciously.

            A’Li was sitting on the ground as a female maid escorted by a prison guard entered the room. The maid was carrying a basket and it was covered by a red cloth. The prison guard opened the gates and allowed the maid inside.

            “Who are you?” A’Li asked.

            “I’m Xiao Cai. Young Master asked me to prepare you for the wedding ceremony.”

            “Wedding? Who is getting married?”

            “The wedding is Young Master and Lady Feng Li’s.”

            “Nonsense!” A’Li shouted.

            “If I don’t prepare you, then Young Master would punish me.”

            “Okay,” A’Li said, planning to use this opportunity to escape the prison.

            The small inn didn’t have much. It was running by an elderly woman who was blind. As soon as Ao Han pushed the door open, a tiny gold bell rang alerting the elderly woman. She cocked her head and grabbed her wooden stick. She approached them slowly and greeted,

            “Welcome. What would you sir and lady like?”

            “Prepare us two rooms that are next to each other,” Ao Han said.

            “Sure.” The elderly woman gestured them to follow her to the other side of the building. Ao Han continued to carry A’Li to her room and made her sit on the bed. He glanced to the blind lady and asked that food were brought up to A’Li’s room and a medicine box. A’Li embraced herself and glared at Ao Han, who’s pouring hot water into the bowl. After, he walked over and set the bowl on the ground. The elderly woman came back with the medicine box and excused herself to prep the food. Ao Han grabbed A’Li’s hand and she naturally yanked her hand away from him.

            “I can tend to my own wounds,” she told him.

            “I wasn’t intending to treat your wounds,” Ao Han sarcastically said, “I wanted you to treat mine.”

            “Oh” A’Li reached over for the towel.

            “I’m just joking. I’ll have the elderly woman help you.” He got up and gathered his items to leave the room.

            A’Li nodded and immediately shouted, “Thank you!”

            “Your welcome!” he responded back.

            The next morning came and A’Li found herself inside a carriage. She jerked, but her body was tied up. She glanced around and heard multiple voices chattering. Listening carefully, she caught a few words they were saying, but the rest were hard to understand because of the dialect they were talking in. Suddenly the carriage stopped and Ao Han pulled the cloth to the side, peeking inside the carriage.

            “Be quiet,” Ao Han whispered.

            “Why did you tied me up? Where are we?” A’Li spoke loudly.

            “Shush.” He stuffed a handkerchief in and turned back to resume moving the carriage with the horse attached to it. A’Li attempted to sit up and threw her whole body to the window to look of where they are. She used her head and stuck it out like a turtle.

            “Shan territory?” she thought as she noted the land markings on the tree barks.

            I swung open my bedroom doors and there was Su Wei and another noble man standing next to him. I tilted my head to the side and pretended I didn’t see them.

            “A’Li! Where are you?” I called for her and Su Wei grabbed my hand. I turned to him and stared at him with confusion. “What do you need?” I spoke informally.

            “Are you available today?” he asked, politely as the usual. I glanced at the guy standing behind him and back to him.

            “Who is him?” I asked out of curiosity. Su Wei lets go of my hand and stepped aside.

            “Nice to meet you, Princess Xiang Yun. I’m Jiang Yi Chen, prince of Cai Kingdom. I just arrived this morning, so I wanted to properly meet you to make it up for not being able to attend yesterday’s dinner banquet,” he spoke firmly and cautious.

            “It’s no big deal,” I smiled at him, “How about you accompany me to the village?”

            “I am honor to be accompanying you.” He smiled at me too. On the side, Su Wei glared at us weirdly feeling left out.

            “Perfect! Let’s go,” I said and walked over to Yi Chen. I grabbed his arm and turned back to Su Wei. “You can also tag along if you would like, Sir Su Wei.” I smirked at him and left.

            Su Wei scoffed and totally understood what I am doing, “Sir Su Wei? What’s with the formality now, huh?”

            We arrived at the white river valley village and a bunch of children ran toward our direction. One of them jumped at me for a hug and held me tight.

            “Sister Yun! I’d missed you!”

            “I had missed you too,” I smiled and put him down. I bent down to his height level and patted his head. “Guess who I brought over?”

            “Did sister Yun bring sister A’Li with her?” another child asked. I turned to her and answered,

            “No,” I frowned and then smiled, “but I brought over two handsome gentlemen to come play with you guys!” I looked up at them. They both looked at me and then to the children.

            “Come, how about we have some fun?” Yi Chen bent down and lifted one of the girls into his arm. “Who’s joining me?”

            “Me!!” all the girls shouted.

            I turned to Su Wei, who’s hesitating to make a move. I glared at him and he noticed me giving him the dirty look. He forced a smile at me and looked at the boys.

            “Who wanna know how to make sling-shots?” he asked the boys.

            “Me!” they all answered, excitedly.

            “Good, scram now” I pushed them to the guys and sighed. I watched them followed Yi Chen or Su Wei and I went to find the elderlies.

            “Mom!” I shouted and enter one of the shambles.

            “Xiang Yun! You’re here!” all the elderlies welcomed me.

            “Morning,” I greeted them, “Is my mom around?”

            “She went to gather water by the river,” one of the women said.

            “Thanks,” I smiled and headed out the back door.

            Taking the back route led to the waterfall where the villagers would collect their water. I followed the pathway and crossed the small bridge. It took a few minutes to get to the river because it required the villagers to cross under the waterfall first.

            “Mom!” I shouted as soon as I heard the rushing water from the river. “Mom, where are you?” I continued heading towards the river and spotted my mom, who’s facing away from me. I gave another shout at her and she turned to my voice.

            “Yun!” my mom shouted back at me with a smile. I ran and gave her a big hug.

            “I missed you.”

            “I missed you too,” my mom said as she pulled back from the hug.

            “I came to pick you up so you can go back home.”

            “Darling, I am not done with the outside work here yet.”

            “I can tell father to order servants to come and finish them, mom. You don’t need to come by yourself and finish them.”

            “It’s okay, I got this.”

            “Then let me help.”

            Ao Han threw A’Li at the stack of hay and slammed the wooden door shut. A’Li tried to get up and move closer to the doors, but she couldn’t.

            “Stay put. It’s pointless to keep moving,” Ao Han said as he tied the chains around the bar and locked it.

            “Why am I here?” A’Li asked and tugged on the chains that locked her wrists together, “What are you planning to do, huh?” She attempted to stand up and succeeded to do so after some struggle.

            “I don’t need to explain myself to you.”

            “Then what makes you think this wooden prison can hold me back?” A’Li sneaked both of her hands between the space of the pillars and grabbed his collar.

            “Believe me, you don’t want others to find out that you are here.”

            “Why? Do they want to kill me like how you want me dead?”

            “I don’t want you dead, I want you alive.”

            “Great. I should kill myself in this prison so that whatever plan you are organizing will be ruined.”

            “You don’t want to do that.”

            “Why not? It’s not like you and I owe each other anything,” A’Li scoffed.

            “Well I did save your life,” Ao Han pointed out.

            “That was your own decision; I didn’t need you to save me.”

            “You’re so frustrating,” Ao Han pushed A’Li’s hands away. “Just behave and you will live.” He left the room.

            After spending the entire morning at the village, everyone gathered for lunch. I helped the elders set the table for the children and had Yi Chen and Su Wei gather the children to one location. I set a bowl down in front one of the children and noticed Yi Chen gazing at me. I looked down at myself if he was staring at me because I had something dirty on me. I cocked my head to the side with confusion. He smiled shyly and looked away. My eyebrows burrowed and I shook my head still confused why he was looking at me with such tender eyes. I continued to the set the bowls down moving towards Yi Chen. He stopped halfway and glanced over at me at the same time I looked up. We both made eye contacts and he gave me a half smile. I smiled back and he moved away to allow me to finish setting the bowls down.

            “Hey,” Yi Chen grabbed my hands when I was done. I turned to face him and glanced down to him holding my hand. Flustered he immediately lets go and scratched the back of his neck trying to say something. “Are you available tonight to join me to a festival?”

            I stared at him for a moment and smiled brightly, “Sure, where should we meet?”

            “Under the willow tree next to the bridge; I’ll wait for you there.” His smile full of delight and anticipation.

            “I’ll see then,” I smiled and left. Su Wei from afar stared at them suspiciously.

            A’Li was sitting on the ground as a female maid escorted by a prison guard entered the room. The maid was carrying a basket and it was covered by a red cloth. The prison guard opened the gates and allowed the maid inside.

            “Who are you?” A’Li asked.

            “I’m Xiao Cai. Young Master asked me to prepare you for the wedding ceremony.”

            “Wedding? Who is getting married?”

            “The wedding is Young Master and Lady Feng Li’s.”

            “Nonsense!” A’Li shouted.

            “If I don’t prepare you, then Young Master would punish me.”

            “Okay,” A’Li said, planning to use this opportunity to escape the prison.