After excusing himself to return to Da Lang, Chao HuiBo left the room, accompanied by Third Prince Zhang GuoFu. Ji LanBai had also now woken up and tagged along behind him, her hands once again latched onto YuLan's . 

Chao HuiBo initially wanted to look for Chao MeiHua; turned out, he did not have to go far. The trio soon noticed Chao MeiHua and Sun Chen by one of the bamboo groves in front of the small residence. He Shan seemed to have disappeared somewhere.

Chao MeiHua was looking at SunChen with longing in her sparkling eyes that were starting to pool some unshed tears. Sun Chen soundlessly sighed; he stepped backwards lightly as he avoided her reaching hands. Once again, he repeated what he had said earlier, "Young Miss Chao. Whatever you have seen in me is just an illusion."

Chao MeiHua shook her head, her eyes pleading. She took a step forward, he took a step backward. Sun Chen clasped his hands behind his back, not wishing to give the young maiden any chance to touch him,

"Young Miss Chao, you are very young. You are just infatuated with an image you have formed yourself. That is not love."

"No, Sun-laoshi." Chao MeiHua stubbornly walked another step forward, "I have admired you since I was a little girl. You should know."

Sun Chen's brows furrowed as he wanted to curse inside, "Why are all women so... so... ." 

He did not really want to curse Chao MeiHua or say anything bad about her. Although her admiration towards him was becoming a nuisance, she was a straight-forward person, a trait that Sun Chen did not hate at all.

"Young Miss Chao... ." He calmly looked into the young maiden's eyes, his own pupils devoid of any ripple of emotion. He was getting very frustrated. More than that, he was cursing another person altogether, his best friend who had very helpfully left him on his own with this girl as soon as they left the inner room.

At the thought of He Shan, his lips were curled slightly as he said to the young maiden, "It's not you. It's me. I'm not worthy."

Bai YuLan's lips were lifted in a smirk, "What a classic way to reject a girl. Well at least it is much better than leading her on."

Chao MeiHua still shook her head weakly, "No, Sun-laoshi. It can't be anyone else but you."

Sun Chen took a deep breath and was silent for a while. He then slumped his shoulders slightly; for Chao MeiHua, this tiny gesture seemed like an acceptance to her persistent confession. She perked a little, but was immediately stunned at his next words,

"Young Miss Chao. It's impossible." He lifted the corner of his lips in a helpless smile, "I like men."

YuLan thought, "If this were a movie, this would be precisely when cicadas start singing amidst the silence." 

"Actually, I think I can hear the cicadas."

Dumbfounded, Chao MeiHua stared at Sun Chen, before stumbling backwards. As her figure shook, she noticed the spectators to her ordeal: her brother, the two young ladies from Ji estate, and the third Royal Prince.

Her cheeks grew red in shame, then anger. She lifted her fingers and pointed at SunChen,

"Sun Chen! Why did you even have to give me that pathetic lie!! I am a distinguished Di daughter of the Ministry of Finance of the mighty Zhang Empire." She took a deep breath and now glared fiercely at him, " You! Are! Not! Worthy! Of! Me!"

She harrumphed, flung her sleeves, and walked away without looking back,

"Bo-ge! We are leaving!"

Chao HuiBo only smiled wryly in embarrassment towards Prince Zhang GuoFu. After nodding slightly at Ji LanBai and YuLan to take his leave, he followed his sister.

Sun Chen scratched his head in helplessness, murmuring to himself, "But isn't that what I said earlier? I am not worthy of you."

Bai YuLan could not contain her laughter; she held onto her stomach as her laughter rang out, breaking the sudden silence. Ji LanBai followed suit, giggling on Sun Chen's expense. While Prince GuoFu only stared at them both, his expression showed amusement and a tad of conflict.

He Shan then appeared from behind a nearby pillar. Apparently, he had been there all along eavesdropping, "You almost gave me a heart attack, Chen. You like men?"

Sun Chen glared ruefully at his friend, this irresponsible man who turn on him the moment he sniffed trouble. He Shan clearly knew how Sun Chen could not handle crying maidens professing their so-called loves. Between the two, although Sun Chen was better with words on paper, He Shan was always more amiable to people. 

Sun Chen walked robustly in wide steps towards He Shan, and practically plastered his chest onto the latter's own. Almost touching his nose with He Shan's, he drawled while looking into his friend's eyes,

"Yes. I like men." Sun Chen lightly traced his index finger on He Shan's forehead, softly dragging it onto the latter's lower jaw,  "And now I realize you actually don't look too bad, Shan. Why have I been looking elsewhere? Aren't you exactly my type?"

He Shan's audible nervous gulp was satisfying to Sun Chen's ears, especially when He Shan's face soon turned as white as snow.

To the side, Bai YuLan's laughter became louder.

 

*** *** ***

 

When Ji ChanFang and Ji SongLi arrived at Ji estate, Ji LanBai and Bai Yulan were away for yet another performance at Lian house. It had become a weekly occurrence for them and their teachers. They were paid hefty fees for their effort, so none of them had gripe about it, especially when no one else caused trouble since the last incident. The three royal princes and Zhen BuFeng were still staying at Lian house for the moment, so both girls had extra guardians during their time there. Moreover, these guardians were the Imperial Sons themselves, how could anyone be lacking of brain matter to cause trouble?

It was mid-morning and the pair of Ji father and son had not sent prior notice about their arrival to their family home, practically sending the servants stumbling all over the house when they noticed their male masters suddenly appearing at the front door. Some of the servants also almost did not recognize their rogue and dirty appearances. After all, the two had been away for years.

Wu JianRui practically flew from her bedroom soon after Meng-momo breathlessly burst into her room to deliver the news. When she noticed her husband sitting in the living room, his entire being well and healthy, if not a little disheveled from his long journey home, she threw herself into his arms, not caring that Ji ChanFang had not had a proper bath for weeks.

Ji ChanFang grinned and put his wife onto his lap, consoling her, all the while laughing at her crying but smiling face.

Ji SongLi rolled his eyes and excused himself, not bearing to stay any longer to watch his old man and his first mother's antics. 

Walking towards the inner courtyards, he intended to visit his birth mother. But he abruptly stopped on his track to sniff at himself. 

He stank.

Ji SongLi sighed to himself and walked towards his room after asking some servants to prepare a bath which he soon enjoyed wholeheartedly. Although he did not mind the wilderness, he still liked being clean. Afterwards, he changed into a fresh set of robes readily available in his room, the size was clearly larger than his past-self used to wear. In fact, in his wardrobe, there were already a few ready-made different sizes of robes of different colors. Warmth pooled in his eyes as he ran his fingers through the different sized attires. His mother had clearly prepared a few different sizes so they would be ready anytime he came home, regardless how old he would be.

He chose a white robe, favoring the clean color especially after a long period of time eating dust and bathing in mud in the Eastern Desert. After tying his hair with a red thin fabric, he then headed towards his mother's bedroom as he remembered the path towards it.

 

 

Although Meng-momo had notified Wu JianRui about Ji ChanFang's arrival, the old woman did not announce Ji ChanFang's and Ji SongLi's arrival to the Second Madame on Ji SongLi's request.

Hai FenChu was shifting through some cards and invitation letters piling up on her dresser. There were also a few jade tokens that she examined closely to check the unique family emblems engraved on them. Some of the items had been given to her by He Shan and Sun Chen weeks ago, after Ji LanBai and Bai YuLan's first performance at Lian house. Some were sent directly to Ji estate by servants from various household on later days.

Hai FenChu could not help but smile widely, feeling pride of the interests that YuLan had garnered. At this rate, there would be no issue in getting YuLan to marry into a nice household for her future well-being.

Suddenly, a knock was heard on the door. Hai FenChu asked without looking away, "Yes?"

"Mother? It's me."

It was familiar voice; yet, it was not exactly how she remembered. The male voice was a little low now, not sounding juvenile anymore. She snapped her head so quickly towards the door she must have pulled a muscle on her neck. Behind the parchment paper on the door frame, a silhouette of a male figure was seen. The figure was also taller than what she remembered.

She hastily walked towards the door to open it, and was greeted by the sight of a young man in white robe, the very same attire she remembered she had put in Ji SongLi's room merely a few days ago. The young man's facial features were distinct and more prominent, having lost the soft fairness of his childhood countenance. Yet, his expression was as gentle as ever, his dark irises were tracing her own features. Despite the silence, the intensity could not be hidden behind his somewhat soft gaze.

After a few moments of unspoken words, it seemed that he finally had enough of looking at her. The young man smiled lightly as he took a step backwards and bowed towards her,

"Mother. I am home."

As she blinked, tears immediately flowed down Hai FenChu's face. She covered her mouth, then reached out her trembling hands towards the young man. But as if changing her mind, the hand darted upwards. She wanted to touch his head. 

Even as he bowed, he was still taller than her. "Much taller now... .Taller than me now." Hai Fenchu cried without sound as she patted his head softly, wanting to remember the son that used to hug her knees when he was small, years ago. It was peculiar to her, because even when he left the house with Ji ChanFang, he was no longer a child. At the moment, everything about him was familiar yet not.

But boys will become men, and that is the natural course of life.

She slowly lifted his still-bowing head to look at her once again, her fingers began to slowly trace his facial profile. He softly grasped her hands on his face and hold them in his palms.

"Even his hands are bigger now." Hai FenChu smiled.

Ji SongLi's physique had changed considerably since he left the Ji estate almost four years ago. Being over fifteen years old now, although he still had a trace of freshness of his childhood, the long years had molded him sturdy and tall. His face was well-defined, his body straight, his eyes deep and were lined with thick dark eyelashes, his brows sharp, and his thin lips were currently slightly curled up with a teasing smirk at his still crying mother.

Hai FenChu noticed his playful expression and slapped his hand lightly, finally able to laugh.

She pulled Ji SongLi inside her room and poured him a cup of tea. 

Ji SongLi was about to sit when he noticed a pile of papers and insignia on her mother's dresser. He walked towards it and flipped a few cards and examined a few tokens.

Hai FenChu noticed his son's slight curiosity, causing her to laugh behind him, "Those are invitations from some noble sons for YuLan's possible future ties to their households." She handed the cup of tea to him, "That girl and Bai-er are so famous now, I can't even make a pick. There are too many good families to choose." 

She continued to chortle, "Ahh~. Now I don't have to worry about her future. I will surely choose the best ones so she and I can discuss together sometime in the future." She then lifted her chin in slight challenge at her son, "See? I have told you YuLan is so good. It doesn't matter how stubborn you are. If she couldn't be my daughter, I'd still be very happy if she could get married to a good family."

Hai FenChu then slapped her forehead lightly, "Aiya~! I have to go to the kitchen to tell them to cook some of your favorites for tonight!" She then hastily went out of her room to head towards the kitchen.

Ji SongLi hold onto the cup, not bothering to sip the tea inside. The blurry mist of the warm liquid emanating into the air reflected his current gaze as he stared at the pile of cards and tokens.

 

*** *** ***

 

Later that late afternoon, a servant who was in charge with cleaning rooms walked out of Ji SongLi's chamber while scratching his head. He was holding a bucket, the inside emanating burnt smell of paper and metal. Another servant who was cleaning up some leftover snow off the footpath noticed him and asked,

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing... ," he replied, knitting his brows, "It's just that when I cleaned the Young Master's room, the brazier was lit. It is already spring and we hardly need a brazier to heat up the room. But it was full of half burnt papers and what looked like metals... . There're even some broken jades. What has he been burning all day?"

The sweeping servant snorted, "You better not stick your nose into our Masters' business! Discard those papers and useless things properly. They might be important military secrets the Young Master wanted to get rid of."

Almost at the same time, Hai FenChu was turning her room upside down. She had opened any drawer, chest, and examined all nooks and crannies she could search.

"That's so bizarre. I swear I put them on top of my dresser." She sighed, "Some of them came from extremely wealthy families. YuLan will do very well if they're genuinely interested in taking her as their daughter-in-law... ."

She plopped on her bed, exasperated, "Perhaps one of the servants has accidentally discarded them?"