When we return to his place, Mo Ran orders one of the maids to wash and dress me in a night clothes. After this is done I hobble over to the bed made for me, Mo Ran appears again with a tonic for my headache in his hand. He sits beside me on the edge of the bed and holds it out for me to take.

"Drink," he says. "You'll feel better by tomorrow."

I stare down at the drink, screw up my face and start crying.

"Fei Fei." He puts down the cup and gives me a worried look. He gently takes my hand and feels for my pulse. "Should I get the physician?"

"No. I'm just tired of you being nice to me!" I sob. "I want to find Yan Ran, Bei Tang Yi is a stinker and I miss my parents."

He sighs, and puts his arms around me. My head falls against his chest and I cry a bit more. It feels nice to lean on him and I know it shouldn't.

"And Yan Ran was the one watching you in the bath today," I confess into the soft folds of his shirt. "Not me."

I can't keep quiet about it anymore. He needs to know how Yan Ran feels about him. "She really really likes you but she's afraid to tell you. She saw you kiss me and ran away because she was hurt."

His arms tighten around me like he's afraid I'll run away. "I know."

I gasp and wrestle his arms off me. "You know? What do you mean, 'you know'? 'You know' she was watching you in the bath or 'you know' she has feelings for you?"

"When you told me today that she was missing, I came to understand what had happened," he explains. "I worked out the rest on my own after that."

"Ah." I tuck some of my hair behind my ear. It's still loose and unbound from when I pulled it out in the woods. "So. Do you think you might have feelings for her?"

Might was well get to the point.

He sighs. "I know what you want me to say, but I can't do it. I meant what I said earlier. There is only one woman engraved on my heart."

He glances at my hair and reaches out to touch it. "Fei Fei, I want your forgiveness for hurting Yan Ran, and I want to see you happy."

"I don't even know what makes me happy right now," I grumble. "What makes you think you can do it?"

He straightens up and looks thoughtful. "What has my nephew done to upset you? I can help you with that."

I roll my eyes, and move away from him. "Go away. I'm gonna go to sleep. Wake me up if there's news about Yan Ran."

He doesn't move as I climb under the covers. I roll onto my side and stare at the wall.

"When I find Yan Ran, we will talk again," he says. I hear him get up and go to leave. He closes the doors to the room, separating us for the night.

I shut my eyes, dreaming about the day Mo Ran saved me from being executed by Bei Tang Yi. When I open my eyes, it's daytime, and I'm alone.

Wait. No I'm not alone. Mo Ran is asleep in a chair near the bed. He's changed his clothes since I last saw him and now wears blue and silver robes.

My feet and legs are still a bit sore, but I climb out of bed to get a better look at him. His face is very handsome, almost flawless except for a small birthmark near his lower lip. I bend down to get a closer look at it.

His eyes open, and suddenly we're staring at each other very closely. I start to feel very warm.

I step back without thinking, and end up twisting on my sore ankle. Ow. It gives way and I cry out as I fall down into his lap. His arms go around me, and we're back to staring at each other very closely again.

"Hi." I say. "It's very warm in here, isn't it?" Yep. I'm the girl you want in a tough spot. I always know what to say.

The surprise fades from his face, and he smiles a little. He seems happy that I've fallen into his lap. Too happy.

"Sorry about waking you up," I add.

"It's nothing." He helps me to stand up. I notice he does it slowly. "I came to wake you, but when I saw you were still asleep I decided to wait a little longer."

"But what about Yan Ran? You were supposed to wake me up when you found her!"

"She's safe. She came to the meeting today unaware that we had been looking for her all night. Apparently she went straight home yesterday and told her maid to deny everyone."

"Oh." I hang my head. I'm glad that she's safe, but it makes me sad to think she's not talking to me.

She's going to hate me more when I finally get a chance to tell her that Mo Ran's kiss has made me really confused. I mean extremely confused. How do I tell her that one kiss has made me realise how much Mo Ran has cared for me all this time?

How do I tell Bei Tang Yi that I've been stupid, and that what I felt for him was just a crush? Love is a lot more complicated and powerful than I thought.

"Fei Fei?" says Mo Ran. "What are you thinking about?"

I sigh. "Nothing. I was thinking that it's time for me to go back to the palace and do the washing."

My stomach growls. We both look down at it. It makes an extra loud groan before going silent.

"Or, you could stay longer and eat something," he suggests. "I will inform Yi that your foot hasn't healed yet."

"Will he agree?" I wonder.