A bunch of crazy stuff has happened since I came to Huang Do kingdom, and now I'm standing on a hill, covered in blood that's not mine, waiting for the Emperor to decide whether to have me arrested. He's sure taking his time about it. I'm ready to drop on the ground in exhaustion.

Mo Ran, now fully healed, slowly rises to his feet with the help of Minister Su. He morphs into Mr Superior, lifting his chin holding his sword in one hand and taking my hand with the other. He doesn't look at me, which betrays his worry for me.

"She's...she's..." Bei Tang Yi seems unable to finish the sentence. Tang Tang and Su Xun Xian look equally speechless. Bilian is nowhere to be seen; gone back to the palace perhaps.

"She's my Consort, given to me by the Queen Dowager as of this morning," announces Mo Ran. "And she's the Master of Ophiuchus, sent here to Huang Do kingdom to save her people from the madness."

I'm what? I look at him in shock. This is news to me.

Mo Ran squeezes my hand and I say nothing. Right now he's just trying to save my life, I guess. I can find out how much of this is true later.

Yi steps forwards, as if to grab me by the shirt, and Mo Ran maneuvers his way between us, stepping into Yi's personal space.

"You've made enough mistakes for one day, Nephew" Mo Ran quietly points out. The coldness in his voice sends a shiver down my spine. "It's best you withdraw for now. We can discuss this all later."

Yi gives me one long look and then lowers his hand. He doesn't look like he wants to withdraw at all. He looks like he wants me in prison, or banished, or dead. Or all three.

Minister Su chooses this moment to approach me, and offers me a formal bow. "Regent Consort, please accept my back to the mansion."

Regent Consort? Oh yeah. Mo Ran retains power over the military and therefore the kingdom because the Emperor messed up the challenge. Oh boy. Talk about being caught in the middle of a political mess.

"Sure," I say. "As long as I don't have to walk anywhere. I'm not abusing my new position, it's just that I'm not used to seeing war this close, and it's been a really long day."

Mo Ran's stern mask shakes a bit. He pulls me over to him and lifts me up into his arms...in front of the others. I open my mouth to say 'no' when the stars appear in front of my eyes again. The world fades away.

I wake up with his face hovering over mine. The corner of his mouth dimples slightly as he smiles down at me. Something soft brushes against my arm.

I shift, and feel hot water lapping against me. I'm in a bath tub again. Not Mo Ran's personal bath, a smaller one that has been placed in the middle of his room. I recognise his bed-drapes as I glance around.

"Taking advantage of me while I'm asleep?" I murmur.

He smirks, though his attention remains on washing my arm with a cloth. "Of course I am. One must make the most of opportunities."

"What happened to the other bath tub?"

"Yan Ran is still occupying it. I don't think I want it back. I'm thinking of gifting it to her."

"Good idea." I grow serious. "Soooooo, you made me your Consort without my permission?"

He pauses, puts the wash cloth to one side and tugs at his sleeves. They're pulled back past his elbow, showing the muscles in his arms. "I am sorry, Fei Fei."

I look down at the bath water. It's a murky blood red. "I thought we agreed to date for a while."

He leans his arms on the edge of the tub and looks at me. "Forgive me, Fei Fei. I arranged our marriage with the Queen as a precaution, in case someone discovered the truth about you. I was never going to force you to marry me. I will still court you for as long as you desire. Forever, if you want."

I splash some water at his chest. "Stinker. You're washing my body. Is that normal courting?"

He wipes at his tunic and splashes me back. "It's for appearances. You're now my Consort. The Emperor is known to sneak into my mansion dressed as a thief to spy. And..." He hesitates. "I'm washing you because you scared me today. I wanted to see for myself that your body had not come to any significant harm."

I scoff. I am speechless. I lean towards him and scowl. "I scared you? I scared you! You were dying you...puffed up balloon-head." I splash more water at him. "You were supposed to stay alive! Remember?"

He blows out a shaky breath and reaches out to cradle my head in his large hands. "Forgive me."

"No!" I say.

He looks upset, but he soon recovers. He releases me, retrieves a thin white robe and shakes it out. "Stand up," he orders, turning his head to one side. "I will attend to you."

"I can do it myself," I grumble, wiping at my face, but I stand up anyway, placing one arm around my chest. After what happened today, I don't want him out of my sight, even if it means giving up some of my dignity. He wraps the robe around me and goes to lift me out of the water.

I push one palm against his shoulder. "Are you well enough to do this?"

His jaw tightens in response and he pushes against my hand, still managing to move in and lift me up into his arms. I fall silent and let him carry me to his bed. He leans down to dry my toes with my robe and then looks at me.

"You'll be staying in my room tonight," he announces, lifting his chin, daring me to challenge him.

"That's right, I'm going to stay in your room tonight," I reply, setting my jaw. "For appearances, and because you nearly died. I need to wake up and see you're okay."

With a pressured sigh, he puts his arms around me. As he pulls me close, I relax and lean my head against his chest and smell the bath oils on his skin. My hand touches the wet patch on his tunic from where I splashed him. It's cold now.

"I didn't get to bathe you," I mention. "Do you have any wounds that I need to know about. Don't lie to me."

"Just cuts and bruises, like you," he says. I can feel him resting his chin on my head. "You can check me if you don't believe me."

I hide a smile against his chest. "Is this more normal courting? What happened to putting your arm around me at the movies while we eat popcorn?"

He shifts his head to look at me. "Would you like to eat something?"

I just want to lie down with him and sleep, but the dryness of my mouth says otherwise. "Is there any water?"

He slowly lets go of me, the cold night air seeps in between us as he goes to pour a cup of water. When he returns, I take the cup and try to drink it in small sips, even though I really want to gulp it down and hold him. When I'm done, he puts the empty cup on the floor and bends his long legs to climb into bed.

As he lowers his head onto the pillow, I adjust myself so that I can look at him. My short arm slides over his waist to hold him in place. My hand barely reaches the middle of his back. With a smile, he reaches up and slowly pulls the pins out of my hair.

The tension in the back of my head is gone when he's done, so I decide to do the same thing for him. I reach up and carefully pull the pins out of his messy knot. He pulls me against his body as I untangle his hair with my fingers, and I can feel his legs brushing against mine. It feels nice.

"My heart," he says, caressing the side of my neck. "I know you already have forgiven me."

I cuddle up to him. "If I'm your heart, take better care of it or I am going to make you court me for the rest of your life."

He smiles. "Sleep now. We have much to talk about at daybreak, including your punishment for me."