Lei Yirui isn’t going to lie - she’s bored out of her damn mind.

 

She only does about ~3 things a day that actually interest her, all of which are relatively short lived. Either breakfast or tea in the morning with her brother, Ren Wenqian seeking her out to have trivial conversations over shallow (but fun) bullshit, and Jia Zhenzhen routinely beating the shit out of her every night. 

 

… Okay, maybe that last one was an exaggeration. After Lei Yirui had utterly failed to pull one over on Jia Zhenzhen again, they both realized that it had just been a moment of dumb luck rather than the sudden development of swift combat skills. Jia Zhenzhen’s strangely embarrassed expression when she kept insisting Lei Yirui do it again was another thing Lei Yirui was voluntarily refusing to think about.

 

She tells all that - er, the part about being bored, that is!! To Jia Zhenzhen when the girl randomly accosts her in the kitchen again. Hu Peng had sighed and moved to make two (Two!! Lei Yirui would call him presumptuous if he wasn’t totally right!!) quick meals. Lei Yirui liked the food she was given normally, but Hu Peng would only humor her requests of ultra seasoned, sugary, or spicy foods if she came to get them herself. Apparently, it was supposed to keep her healthy if she had to walk all the way to the kitchen!! Ridiculous…

 

Jia Zhenzhen had looked alarmed when she had taken a bite of the là chǎo lián'ǒu Hu Peng had prepared, and had sent a deathly glower towards Lei Yirui when she laughed at her attempts to recover from how spicy it was. 

 

Anyways, she’s gotten used to it, taking slower bites and watching in bemusement as Lei Yirui shovels bites into her mouth like a woman starved. Listen, if Dai Rong’s bloody tongue-inducing spicy-ass hot pot nights weren’t an option anymore, she would take what she would get!! And what she could get was fortunately good as fuck, so excuse you!!

 

“There are plenty of young women in the palace that you could acquaint yourself with.” Jia Zhenzhen says. Lei Yirui makes an annoyed sound, pouting like a child. Jia Zhenzhen’s eyes darting to her lips as she does so is novel at this point!

 

“I have nothing in common with any of them! I’m sure they’re lovely, but what will we talk about?? Calligraphy? Men?? Zheng Xiaosi? I’d rather die, actually!” she announces.

 

“Do you not already speak to Ren Wenqian about all of those things?” Jia Zhenzhen asks with a confused frown. Lei Yirui blinks. 

 

“Irrelevant. Ren Wenqian is funny. I can stand her talking about hot men the same way I tolerate Dai Rong talking about her sexy athletic boyfriend.” Lei Yirui adds, and shoves another bite in her mouth. 

 

“Who is Dai Rong?” Jia Zhenzhen asks, before taking her own, much smaller bite. Lei Yirui pauses. She senses that thinking about Dai Rong (or anyone else that she had been close to, for that matter) any longer than the required few seconds for a specific memory might make her upset. She waves a hand dismissively instead. No need to angst!! This is a lighthearted story!!

 

“Don’t worry about it. Anyways, I think I’m going to have to start tearing my hair out if I have to sit through another boring ass lesson. I’m not even going to go anymore.” she says. Jia Zhenzhen frowns in righteous scorn. 

 

“Don’t. Your education is important.” she says, and Lei Yirui grabs a rhizome slice from her bowl and throws it at Jia Zhenzhen. Jia Zhenzhen’s eyes narrow on the flying root like a bird of prey and in a single quick motion of her hand, she catches the slice with her chopsticks mid-fly.  Lei Yirui takes a few seconds to stare at her in shock as Jia Zhenzhen gently moves it to her bowl to mix it into her sauce. 

 

“My education consists of useless classes to add to my ‘prospective wife’ roster. No way!!” she says. Jia Zhenzhen, I know what you think about those classes anyways!! In the episode that you spoke to the OG, you literally remarked that you thought her classes were useless in the world!! 

 

“That’s good. Is… it not? Getting married is important.” Jia Zhenzhen says. She sounds like she’s physically struggling to make the words come out of her mouth earnestly, and Lei Yirui wonders if she really would’ve just stayed so independent if she never had romantic feelings for Zheng Xiaosi and Lei Shunyuan. Ah, well, apparently!! Lei Yirui would like to shove this into the faces of people she’s argued with on fanblogs… 

 

“Not happening!! I won’t get married, I’m serious.” Lei Yirui says. Jia Zhenzhen stares at her for a moment, an interested look in her eyes. 

 

“Your brother is very protective. I bet he’ll secretly be pleased to hear that.” 

 

“He isn’t the only one.” Hu Peng adds, and Jia Zhenzhen immediately turns red and twists her mouth into a scowl. With startling fierceness, she turns and throws a chopstick that whirrs past Hu Peng’s head and burrows into the wall like a dart. 

 

“Shut up.” Jia Zhenzhen hisses to Hu Peng, who looks at her in mild horror.

 

“What? What just happened?’ Lei Yirui asks, looking between them and the chopstick in the wall in confusion.

 

“Nothing. Keep eating.” Jia Zhenzhen says, reaching over to clink her single chopstick against the side of Lei Yirui’s bowl. Lei Yirui continues to frown in bafflement for a few moments before realizing that she really isn’t going to get an answer. With a resigned sigh, she turns back to her meal. 

…

In all honesty, everyone should’ve expected this.

 

Lei Yirui had done nothing but whine about being bored and skip out on all of her classes.

 

Anyone who had been both paying attention to Lei Yirui’s behavior and cared about what she did, which was currently two people plus every damn guard in the palace, probably could’ve picked up on it. She’ll attribute it to stress. Plot relevant conflict is going on with the Shen Tan Kingdom that has left Lei Shunyuan busy and bad tempered, and Jia Zhenzhen, well…

 

Jia Zhenzhen had been absent, not only from their usual meetings, but the palace in general for the past week. Lei Yirui would’ve been worried if she hadn’t already known that this was the part in the story where Tang Xiaodan, who was busy being an authoritarian jackass of a newly appointed emperor across the border for a while, finally got fed up with Jia Zhenzhen’s failure to kill the prince in a timely manner. A brief warning was all she had gotten, so of course she had to return to her hometown and defend it!!

 

Lei Yirui had initially been in awe that a romance focused show would ditch the romance for 5 episodes of straight stealth battles and familial (exclusively!!!) emotional angst. She was less in awe now considering Jia Zhenzhen was boyfriendless, but it was still impactful!! Her friend is literally fighting for the life of her loved ones!! 

 

Lei Yirui knows that she’ll return successful, but still feeling as if she hadn’t done enough. Though she didn’t know them, a few townspeople had been killed in front of her. Her guilt had carried on when she returned to the palace, and was only soothed by her seeking out Zheng Xiaosi, who offered her a peaceful meal as he played a calming tune for her on the guqin in a shockingly kind gesture. 

 

Eh, he probably won’t do that this time around. They seem to dislike each other quite a lot, so he might just end up smacking a ‘kick me while I’m down’ Post-it note on her back. 

 

Well… Lei Yirui is a good friend!! A good friend who can miraculously play an instrument!! 

 

Though… a gift would be nice, too! Lei Yirui always liked gifts when she felt down, though she isn’t quite sure if Jia Zhenzhen is as materialistic as she is. She can’t really imagine her spirits being lifted by a pair of expensive basketball shoes like Lei Yirui’s had been in the past.

 

The problem: Lei Yirui would like to get a gift for Jia Zhenzhen. Since Jia Zhenzhen probably would only appreciate an opulent gift from the palace on a friendly and surface level, Lei Yirui should give her something with meaning. But Lei Yirui has no idea how to find that in a palace full of shallow dumbasses like herself!!

 

The solution: Convince Hu Peng and Ren Wenqian to cover for her while she sneaks out into the city, and absolutely don’t let Lei Shunyuan find out before he stupidly runs into battle again for no reason and loses his other eye. Jia Zhenzhen would probably do the same shit, but she’s null and void since she’s absent. It’s perfect!!

 

Lei Yirui is genuinely shocked that it works. 

 

That’s right - it works!! Legitimately!! No bullshit, no minor obstacle! Lei Yirui had simply camped the day out in the kitchen until it was dark out, and Hu Peng had let her dress as a kitchen aid who had to leave the palace grounds to fetch water. Ren Wenqian was tasked with watching Lei Shunyuan to make sure he remained angrily cooped up in the main hall where he had been called to work, which was easy considering she was a master at stalking men!!

 

The city itself is - well, bustling. Lei Yirui hadn’t really known to anticipate how relieved she would actually be to be in a setting that wasn’t the usual monotony of the palace, but just seeing people rush around the street and yell at each other is enough to remind her how much she missed normal life. Look!! Children!! That man is drunk!! People are selling street food!!

 

Lei Yirui is incapable of stopping herself from buying jianbing. She’s bought it so many times from vendors in the city that the bite makes a tear come to her mind. She misses this!!

Since it’s the capital, the city is nice. Clean streets that she feels comfortable walking around in, a bustling market with high quality goods, and - good God, normal people who aren’t rich!! Jia Zhenzhen is about the only person she knows who didn’t grow up in the lap of luxury. Lei Yirui came from a perfectly average working class family, even if the one in this world didn’t!! It was the inside that counts, and the inside is a total normie!

 

Lei Yirui tries not to get too distracted by the relief of walking around the city. Aside from gaping at the architecture in a true drama fan way (She’d been to museums that had looked like the palace before, okay?? This was the good stuff!!) She has a goal. 

 

There are a multitude of shops set up in the streets that Lei Yirui can peer at curiously. Many of the things that catch her eye are, frankly, very girlish, and she doesn’t know that actively-crossdressing Jia Zhenzhen would appreciate it. Even if she’s looking at the prettiest jade comb she’s ever seen and a simple flowery necklace that has a charming appeal to it, she turns her head. She’ll come back one day and treat herself when she’s not trying to get a gift for a suffering friend!!

 

It’s when Lei Yirui comes across a small shop - not one that’s displayed by cart in the road, but one of many entrances to a busy building. There’s a wooden sign - featuring a simple carving of a brush. 

 

Stars appear in Lei Yirui’s eyes. This seems like the boring shit Jia Zhenzhen would like!! 

 

Lei Yirui slips inside through the doorway, awed by how easily the sounds of the outside are muffled in the small shop. It really is tiny, only about the size of Lei Yirui’s dorm, which isn’t saying much. Especially considering the shelves crowding nearly the whole thing, stacked with ornate wooden boxes. 

 

It smells… like ink. Really strong ink. Lei Yirui’s nose twitches, and she reaches up to cover her face with her sleeve. 

 

“Are you here to shop?” asks a voice, and Lei Yirui turns around with wide eyes, startled. Having emerged from a back room (She totally didn’t notice it!! Why is it so dark here???) is a woman. Absolutely beautiful, with a purple dress that probably reveals a little more skin than is proper, and impeccably styled black hair. She looks…

 

Like Meng Ai. Exactly like Meng Ai, actually, her face is not much different from the actress other than a more oval shaped face and a higher nose bridge. 

 

Meng Ai was a romantic rival that appeared during this exact arc!! She had come to the palace as a merchant, but her true intentions were to attempt to get into the prince’s good graces! She knew how pretty she was and intended to use it to raise her own stature, so that her family’s reputation would be raised as well and her siblings and nieces and nephews could lead a simpler life in the palace. She was a threat only because she wasn’t clingy and irritating like some of the women of the palace!! Her kind and generally scholarly nature were initially attractive to Zheng Xiaosi —

 

Hm. That character description seems to fit a certain relative of Lei Yirui who will not be named at this moment in time for her own sanity. Lei Yirui is wondering if the writers meant to be this obvious or if this is an insane coincidence. Look, she isn’t judging if that really is the case!! But that’s her brother!! She doesn’t want to think about it!! Not her ballpark, thank you!

 

Meng Ai is still staring at Lei Yirui, and when she notices this she turns bright red and fumbles with exactly nothing for a few seconds, before clearing her throat. Meng Ai raises a perfectly thin brow in amusement. 

 

“Sorry. You’re pretty, so I got distracted,” Lei Yirui starts chipperly, and Meng Ai huffs out a quiet and subdued laugh, covering it with a proper hand. 

Ah! Manicured nails!! They were purple!! Lei Yirui wanted to cry - where could she get her nails done?

 

… Not the time, dumbass! Focus!

 

“I have a friend. She’s going through a tough time, and I want to try and cheer her up with a gift. But here’s the thing!! She’s not the type for gifts, so I want it to be more than just a gift, but something to remind her that she has support from me!! I would like a brush set that conveys that… if you have one.” she explains. Meng Ai listens intently, and her focused face really is pretty!! Lei Yirui would consider her girlfriend material if she wasn’t focused on Jia Zhenzhen’s happiness right now!!

 

“I may have a few. If I could have a moment to look…” she says.

 

“Take all of the time you need!” she announces, clapping her hands together. 

 

“Hm. If you want to take a seat at my work desk, you may do so. If you’d like to mess around with the brushes I have out to test their quality, do as you please.” she says with a cordial smile, before dipping into one of the rows of shelves.

 

And mess around Lei Yirui did. Without her annoying calligraphy teacher sitting across from her with a stick up his ass, she could do a little doodling here… and there…

 

By the time Meng Ai comes back, she’s holding 5 boxes to her chest, which she gently sets down at the desk before peering over to see what Lei Yirui is doing. Her mouth parts in surprise, and a pleased little look crosses her face.

 

“How cute,” she says, gesturing to the little  ‘ก₍⸍⸌̣ʷ̣̫⸍̣⸌₎ค’ Lei Yirui had drawn. “Is it a kitten?” she asks, and she sounds so supremely like a kind teacher that Lei Yirui nods rapidly, feeling the approval of a primary school art instructor.

 

Lei Yirui leaves the shop that night with the set she thinks is perfect, feeling much less restless than she had for the past few weeks and with a bit of hope that she’ll be able to help Jia Zhenzhen feel better.

…

Lei Yirui waits in her room two days later when she knows Jia Zhenzhen will return from her hometown. In the original show, Jia Zhenzhen had gone straight to Zheng Xiaosi’s personal rooms. If Lei Yirui is her most important person instead, she can work with that!!

 

So even if she really hates the instrument, she tells her music teacher that she’ll take her erhu to her room to practice. And Lei Yirui does practice, playing a song that 100% isn’t just a sad modern ballad on an erhu!! Mind your business and don’t be nosy! Nobody is here to know, and all the songs she’s formally been taught are lively and cute! This is supposed to be a tender moment…

 

When Jia Zhenzhen does show up, she slips through the window as usual, though she’s not dressed as she usually is. Her hair is down, and instead of wearing the guards uniform she’s wearing a black and blue outfit - she’s still dressed as a man, just like the show, but is more comfortable like this!!

Lei Yirui looks up to watch Jia Zhenzhen enter, though she still works on the song. Jia Zhenzhen settles herself on the floor, pulling her knees to her chest and watching Lei Yirui play. When Lei Yirui gives Jia Zhenzhen a soft smile, the girl manages to return it, even in her slump.

 

Ah…! Cute!!

 

Lei Yirui continues to play softly for a few minutes, before her hand begins to cramp up. She’ll finish gracefully before it spasms, alright!! As she finishes, she sets the instrument down carefully, before turning to pick up the box she purchased from her desk. 

 

Jia Zhenzhen watches carefully, brows furrowed, even as Lei Yirui sinks down to join her on the floor. She extends the box to Jia Zhenzhen, who takes it gently. She runs her hands over the elegant filigree decorations, before opening the box. 

 

Her eyes stare at the brushes, shiny black with inlaid copper in floral and carp fish designs. They’re beautiful, but not flashy. Clearly care went into their crafting, and Jia Zhenzhen’s eyes flicker up to the inside of the box's lid, which is inscribed with a tiny carved note in Meng Ai’s elegant print.

 

For Jia Zhenzhen. With love, from your friend Lei Yirui, who is always with you! ✧/ᐠ-ꞈ-ᐟ\ 

 

Inspired by the dagger Lei Yirui received with her own name on it!! Symbolism!! 

 

… Or something. Lei Yirui is a finance major, remember???

 

Jia Zhenzhen stares at the note for a moment, before carefully settling the lid back on the box. She looks at Lei Yirui with her usual hard expression, before placing the box on the floor and basically lunging at Lei Yirui. 

 

Lei Yirui laughs, patting Jia Zhenzhen on the back and returning the hug. 

 

“Thank you. Thank you, Yirui.” she says, and the use of her given name makes Lei Yirui’s head spin for a few seconds. 

 

“Heheh, yeah. I’m glad you like it, I wasn’t sure when I was shopping for them!” she says. Jia Zhenzhen hugs her for a moment more, before pulling back. She sets her eyes on Lei Yirui’s face and they narrow thoughtfully.

 

Uh oh. 

 

“Where exactly did you shop for them?” she asks. 

 

“... The city.” Lei Yirui says. 

 

“Were you accompanied?” Jia Zhenzhen asks, eye twitching. 

 

“...No.”

 

“Did you at least have your dagger with you?”

“...No.”

 

At that, Jia Zhenzhen just keeps staring at Lei Yirui.

 

“Lei Yirui.” she says dangerously. Lei Yirui covers her eyes with her hands and shakes her head, wailing.

 

“Stop looking at me like that!! Seriously!! Zhenzhen, you really are scary! I’m delicate, so you should cut it out now!”