บท 11: The meaning

"The Second Prince is here for the Eldest Young Miss' hand in marriage, Sir…"

"..." Both Fa Sui and Falcon looked at each other with cold sweat. They knew what kind of man the Second Prince was. Then, they looked at Zhi Yu's expression. It was as grim as theirs. Fa Sui called. "Chief…"

"..." Zhi Yu had a severe frown on his gentle and elegant face while he was contemplating. His deep black eyes looked down at the ground. His heart was beating so fast and his emotion was in full swirl.

For sometimes, the aura became heavy and no one dared to talk. Falcon bit his lower lip. He could not take the silence as he charged and grabbed Zhi Yu.

"Chief, I can't take this anymore. You need to go, now! Sui, help me here!"

"Alright!" Fa Sui shouted. He climbed a closely lined up wooden fence. Falcon castes a questioning look at him. Fa Sui saw that look and shouted to Falcon. "I'm on it!"

The wooden fence was the divider between the area of the four lined up trees and the practice field in front of the practice hall. On the other side of the fence were guards doing their morning training. Fa Sui shouted to them.

"Men!" The guards looked up to Fa Sui. "If the Chief were to propose to the Eldest Young Miss… Would you want that? Would you cheer him up for that?"

"..." At first, the more than twenty guards who were training on the fast practice field were in silence before they shouted back. "Of course we will!"

"Then come and help us!" Fa Sui grinned.

The men shouted and ran toward Fa Sui, some of them climbed the fence and cheered for their Chief.

"Go for it Chief!"

"We got your back!"

Fa Sui added to it. "Look Chief, your subordinates support you."

"You guys…" Zhi Yu did not know what to say anymore. He suddenly felt like he was cornered by his own subordinates. He felt helpless and warm at the same time. His subordinates were always there for him.

Just when he least expected it, he heard someone shout.

"The Third Young Miss supports too!" Everyone looked surprised when the purple-eyed girl jumped from the roof and landed in front of Zhi Yu. "Housekeeper Zhi Yu, no… Brother Zhi Yu, you need to go to Eldest Sister."

"Third Young Miss…" Zhi Yu's eyes widened. Just like Zhi Yu the rest of the guys did not foresee Hu Zi saying that. "That, that is…"

"Brother Zhi Yu, you won't let my sister enter the harem… right?"

Zhi Yu's elegant and gentle eyes widened. He was too focused on other things that he totally did not realize that one crucial thing. Setting the Second Prince's temper aside, If Hu Bai was to marry him she would enter the palace. And for someone like Hu Bai who lived in a harmonious family all her life, she would definitely…

"You won't, right?" Hu Zi clenched her fist, just thinking about her Eldest Sister unable to be as free as she is now made her tremble. "Brother Zhi Yu?"

"I…" Zhi Yu looked at the tallest tree once again. "I won't."

Yes! Hu Zi, Fa Sui, and Falcon shouted in their heart.

"Still.." Zhi Yu always thought that his Eldest Young Miss was as beautiful as a goddess. As her caretaker, he was very happy to see the Eldest Young Miss grew up to be a splendid young woman. Too splendid, if he might voice his heart, too splendid for him. "Still, I am just her caretaker, I have nothing on me. Will the Eldest Young Miss wants me?"

Hu ZI smirked. She stepped up and gave Zhi Yu the thing that she got from the three sister's bedroom, it was on her Eldest Sister's table. A simple piece of white cloth, a handkerchief with messy embroidery sewn on it.

When Zhi Yu opened the handkerchief, he was startled. "Third Young Miss, this is..."

"You said you don't have anything…" Hu Zi smiled helplessly. She sensed the messy embroidery that was supposed to look like a white peony. "But, I do think you have her heart."

-----

Flashback…

Zhi Yu finished his daily tasks and returned to his courtyard when he spotted a white ball on the edge of the pavilion. The white ball was desperately reaching for something. When she almost got it, her feet slipped and she screamed. Zhi Yu's eyes widened. "Eldest Young Miss!"

In a split second, Zhi Yu arrived behind the small and chubby Hu Bai and grabbed her body firmly. Zhi Yu was trembling, the thought of him being a little late horrified him.

When she felt his arm surrounding her small body, Hu Bai happily called. "Zhi Yu, Zhi Yu loo-"

"Eldest Young Miss, what are you doing? Why are you always getting into trouble? Do you want this caretaker to lose half of his life because you make him think about you too much?" He sounded angry but his embrace was warm and gentle. Zhi Yu lifted Hu Bai up and tried to calm himself. He took a long and deep breath. "Just like when you picked that ungrateful cat up… sigh…"

Inside his warm embrace, the small and chubby Hu Bai looked up to Zhi Yu with watery eyes. "Zhi, Zhi Yu don't be mad… Bai won't do it again…"

"Ah, no… I am not mad…" Zhi Yu smiled helplessly. He guessed he did sound mad since he was worried sick about this troublesome Young Miss of his. Zhi Yu patted Hu Bai's head tenderly so that she would know that he was not mad at her. "There there…"

Hu Bai smiled sweetly when Zhi Yu patted her head, she lifted the thing that she desperately tried to get earlier. It was a pure white peony. She signaled to Zhi Yu so he would let her down from his firm embrace before giving it to him.

The young and small Hu Bai asked. "What do you think when you see this flower, Zhi Yu?"

Zhi Yu looked at the flower intently. "A peony represents honor, nobility, and compassion." Zhi Yu replied to Hu Bai with a smile.

"Really?" Hu Bai tilted her head and pouted. "I didn't know that…"

Zhi Yu chuckled. He questioned back. "So, all this time, what did you think of the peony flower, Eldest Young Miss?"

Hu Bai simply smiled sweetly and answered. "I think of Zhi Yu."

-----

Zhi Yu gasped and clenched the white peony embroidery inside his right hand. He put that hand on his chest and to solidify his intention. The wall that he built to enclose his heart seemed to crumble at the same time as he moved his feet and disappeared from Hu Zi's sight.

"..." Hu Zi startled, she thought that only Shou could disappear in an instant like that. No… not even Shou. Hu Zi honestly thought that not even Shou could be as fast as Zhi Yu in disappearing. Maybe because Shou was using the wind and Zhi Yu was using his Qi... "Shou can fly a bit though… so Shou is faster in long distances."

Hu Zi knew Zhi Yu since she was born but she was blind. So she did not know that Zhi Yu could disappear like that before she could sense the air around her. After a while, she could finally sense Zhi Yu again. He was jumping from roof to roof to the place where the Great General, Lady Hua, and the Second prince was in, the Rose courtyard.