23 Paoxiao is Rather... Beautiful

After a few more days of travel, they came to a cliff that overlooked the capital city a day before the appointed time. Nastasia was amazed at the sheer size of the ancient-looking buildings and large palace that spread for miles at the back of the city.

While she was enraptured by the breathtaking bird's-eye view, she also begrudged its existence. As, it was just one more truth to slap her in the face, screaming out, that this was not her familiar world.

Dragging herself away from the view, Nastasia sat in the chair that had been taken out for her by the driver. Picking up the flute that had been left leaning against the side of it, she began to play random notes that she felt sounded well together. This was to pass the time while waiting for Paoxiao to emerge from the carriage after Li Yu Rong handed him a package and shoved him inside, telling him to "wear it."

She couldn't begin to guess at what it could possibly be that would take nearly an hour to dress in, but she patiently waited. Although she could wait patiently the devilish beauty, that was draped across his own chair, could not stomach another minute to pass by. He tossed a pointed glare at Hui Se Ying who, in response, knocked on the carriage door a few times and waited.

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After being given the package and shoved into the carriage a woman had soon after been shoved in along with him. The woman was dressed in a robe that was designed to bare her shoulders and the tops of her ample bosom, her hair was tied into two looping knots held in place by several silver pins.

Looking at the woman who was in a daze and then down at the package in his hand, Paoxiao was quite confused as to what Li Yu Rong was wanting of him.

It went on like this for a whole minute before the woman snapped out of it. Though her eyes were dull, as if unconscious, she gave a sultry smile and said. "Go on sweetheart, get dressed and I'll take care of the rest."

Having no other choice but to comply, Paoxiao went behind the screen to change his clothes. Hopefully, after doing so things would begin to make sense.

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After the fourth knock, the door swung open and the provocatively dressed woman stepped down from the carriage. Tossing out a coy smile, she said to Hui Se Ying. "I've finished the work and she looks absolutely stunning. I'm sure you'll be satisfied with the result."

Nodding, Hui Se Ying snapped his fingers and the woman crumbled into a dead faint. Catching her before she hit the ground, he hefted her over his shoulder and began to walk toward the path leading down the cliff side.

"Make sure you put her back where you got her from, don't randomly toss her to some corner." Lu Se Ying called after him, to which he responded with a careless wave over the shoulder. After heaving out a sigh he quickly riveted his gaze back to the carriage door, anticipating a good show.

A good while after Hui Se Ying left a sullen Paoxiao finally emerged from the room.

Seeing the heavily amused looks being thrown his way, he snapped. "If you're going to laugh than do it. Get it all out and stop looking at me like that!"

Nastasia nearly dropped the flute she had -until this moment of heart-stopping shock- been playing. Setting it down she quickly hurried over and stopped right before Paoxiao, reaching out to touch his face. Although his expression was twisted with distaste, as if he had bitten into a lemon, he still painted a stunning picture.

When she had first met him, Nastasia had felt that Paoxiao -with his delicate features- had been a rather handsome youth. Now, with his face painted to perfection, a portion of his hair coiled up on his head with a simple pin; he made for a delicate and tender image. It was the kind of beauty that made one want to fall all over themselves just to obtain it. The muted colors of the blue and gray uniform she had seen on the few maids she had managed to witness at the estate did nothing to dampen the very image of beauty he made.

Though she had seen it more than once in her lifetime, this was her first time seeing a man who transformed in the appearance of a woman so well that it was difficult to tell that he had originally been a man. Even his bosom had been made to look rather realistic in the way it sat over his chest.

Unable to help herself, she reached out to squeeze them to see just how real they were.

Eek!

Paoxiao had squeaked at the contact and slapped her hand away, his reddening face visible even underneath all the make-up that coated it. Her lips twitched upward. Even his reaction to being assaulted was on point. This over the top reaction, it made her want to tease him.

"Beautiful woman, you make." She told him as well as she could, her lips widening into a teasing smirk.

With that comment and her actions, Paoxiao was finding it hard to breathe. "I can't do this anymore!" Turning on a heel, he marched straight back into the carriage, calling out behind him. "For whatever reason you felt the need to do this to me, I'll reluctantly oblige, but I refuse to come out until I absolutely have to!" With that said he really did manage to hide in a dark corner of the room until the moment he was forced to come out.

Nastasia was watching his retreating back until it disappeared, chuckling quietly to herself. Thus, she did not notice Li Yu Rong beside her until he grabbed her hand, wiping it gently with a silk cloth. Once he was done, he patted her head and dragged his fingers through her hair before turning to his subordinate.

Recognizing him as the one who had forced her to swallow down that revolting concoction, Nastasia couldn't help the bit of resentment that stabbed her chest from the remembrance. Holding back a glare -as she knew it had been a necessary evil- she walked back to her chair as she reminded herself to get his name at a later date.

Handing over a letter to Lu Se Ying, Li Yu Rong murmured. "Once you meet up with Commander Jiang, hand these instructions over to him. If he doesn't have a reply to send, immediately head over to watch Minster Li's movements. If he meets with anyone, report it to me along with the details of the meeting."

"Understood, master." With that, Lu Se Ying vanished as if into the very air itself.

Though his mind was running amok with many different thoughts, Li Yu Rong took Asya by the hand and lead her back into the carriage. Though night had only just fallen, he coaxed her into settling in for bed early.

Tomorrow morning they would have to head to the palace. Dealing with the individual plots and schemes and outright savagery that was most likely to ensue within the palace would require a well-rested mind not to fall into any pits. Though he worried over her limited vocabulary getting her into trouble, his heart was not entirely unsettled.

Li Yu Rong had taken great pains to ensure that the day of the banquette would pass by without any major and troubling events. As he thought about these things, however, small concerns began to tumble about. He finally managed to fall asleep only after he jotted them down for Paoxiao to go over in the morning.

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A/N:

Soon the person who I got to edit for me will be able to begin editing. She has exams at the moment, but starting next week you guys won't have to deal with my terrible editing skills. Until then, hopefully, I can prevent anything too pesky from making its way in. OTL

Still, I'm determined to work hard at it, that hopefully, I'll be able to edit on my own without overlooking any pesky little errors. XD