Out Of The Pan Into The Fire?!

When Mei Deng arrived at the Yu residence, he expected to walk into a panicked frenzy but was left dumbfounded at how level headed the servants were. At his arrival, the first thing his eyes laid on, was the red bridal sedan chair sitting idly at the yard, meant to carry the would be bride.

The imperial consort had invested much into this rushed wedding, servants from her quarters scampered around the residence, making all the necessary preparations.

"Why is everyone still making preparations when Daiyu has eloped?" Was the first thing that spewed out of Mei Deng's lips, to him, it was only natural for everyone to have returned back to the consort's chambers.

Chunhua's lips curled into a nervous smile, "young master doesn't seem to understand the gravity of the situation. Let's go inside first and talk." She said, obviously evading the question.

Mei Deng nodded then went in first, a gut wrenching feeling enveloped his stomach, he took a quick glance at chunhua, only to find the woman's fingers shaking uncontrollably.

Once they arrived at his chamber, she swiftly slid the door close then proceeded to pour him a glass of water, barely able to grip the cup.

"Young master, it was my mistake, if I wasn't so gullible, then young miss Yu would not have had the chance to escape..."

"Forget all that, it's in the past, tell me Huahua, what's going to happen to the family if we call off the wedding?" Yu Xiaoguang interjected swiftly, taking the cup from her hands, a serious expression embedded on his face.

Chunhua curled her fingers into a tight fist then got on all fours, prostrating fully before her master. "I'll take the blame for it so young master won't have to take the fall. I shall say that I alone colluded with the young miss to run away behind your back. If luck shines upon us then, only my life shall be slain. For the sake of old master Yu, you and your mother would only have to pay a fine..." As she spoke, Mei Deng noticed her shoulders tremble uncontrollably.

Sweat ran down her forehead down to her nose then fell on the wooden flooring, he could tell that Chunhua was only putting up a font. But her strong sense of loyalty outweighed the primal fear that ate at her, a small smile played on his lips.

"No." He firmly answered, Chunhua raised her head to look at him, unsure if she had heard right. "Young master..." Before she could finish speaking, he lowered himself to her level, then pushed the cup of water to her lips.

With a kind smile and gentle eyes he said, "you've been running around the capital trying to find me and Daiyu, so much so that your shoes are torn and your feet are wounded. Will Huahua embarrass me further by also taking the blame for me? Is that how low you think of me?"

Chunhua felt a tug at her heart, she was used to being whipped by Master Yu's wife for Yu Xiaoguang's truancy. Infact taking the blame for the young master had become second nature for her, she had even started conditioning her mind to one day die for him.

However...

"Young master..." Tears rolled from the woman's eyes down to the corners of her lips, she could taste the dirt from running around, along with the saltiness of her tears.

The simple and plain truth was that, no matter how mentally prepared one could have been, dying for someone as two faced as Daiyu would never come across as a noble death. If anything, Chunhua was sure that her enemies would laugh at her cheap dedication.

Mei Deng used the back of his palm to wipe her tear away, "crying is of no use now, as it stands, we need to evaluate our options and act immediately." He urged her, she nodded firmly, rising from her former position, furiously wiping away the tears.

"Young master is right." She managed to say, though a part of her doubted if there was any possible solution to the impending storm.

Mei Deng pinched his chin in deep thought, the wedding was hours away and there was no bride. The parties involved were the great Wang general and the imperial consort, both influential characters, unwilling to lose face.

"Huahua tell me, has the general or the imperial consort ever laid eyes on Daiyu before?" Yu Xiaoguang mentioned, staring animatedly at the clothes laid out for him.

Chunhua didn't need to think much to answer, "though the difference in status wasn't so great, because of young master's..." She took a pause and looked him head to toe, her eyes wandering about the room.

"I see. The imperial consort has never once invited Daiyu to see her, then what about the Wang general? Surely they must have met once." He replied with folded arms, not caring to hide how offended he felt.

'Tsk! Yu Xiaoguang! Just how low will you drag the family name?' Mei Deng lamented to himself, knitting his brows against each other.

"No, the young general is not sociable and spends most of his time either on the battle grounds or in the military barracks. He and Daiyu would have never once met." She assured him, begining to understand what her master was getting at.

"Surely, young master Yu isn't thinking of possibly trying to..." Her speech was cut off miserably.

"What other choice do we have?"

***********

"Gege be rest assured, she knows how to play the part well." Chen Yao mindlessly said, raising his voice in glee.

Mei Deng pinched his temples, tired. "Why not just go to the barracks and announce that we're trying to fool the general?" Yu Xiaoguang chided, pulling the youngster firmly by the ear.

As a last resort, Mei Deng solicited the help of Chen Yao and Jun Feng to help arrange for someone with good acting skills to replace Daiyu at the wedding tomorrow. While in the meanwhile he would search for his sister and convince her to return.

"What is taking Jun Feng so long?" Yu Xiaoguang thought aloud, voicing his worry as his brown eyes never once left the Yu residence gates.

Chen Yao rested his hands behind his head, getting comfortable under the apple tree that sat at the middle of the garden.

"Gege shouldn't worry, it will naturally take brother Feng some time to retrieve the woman of many faces." Chen Yao assured him for the upteenth time, chewing on some straw.

Mei Deng rested both hands on his hips then cleared his throat, "who exactly is this woman of many faces?" He inquired, trying to kill time with some small talk.

"Si Yu?" The youngster reiterated then flattened his lips into a smile, "she used to be the sheltered young Miss of the Si clan. But after her mother was kicked by her trash father, she took up street performance. Due to how well mannered she was back in the Si clan, she's able to play any role without difficulty." He informed Yu Xiaoguang.

"But, isn't she afraid of getting caught? Won't she suffer the consequences?"

Chen Yao felt something odd about Yu Xiaoguang after he had asked such a question. After all, he himself was the son of a prominent minister, but spent majority of his time in the fighting house.

It sounded hypocritical for Yu Xiaoguang to even ask such. Fortunately, Chen Yao didn't have to respond, because Jun Feng just walked through the open gates.

"Look Gege, brother Jun is here!" The youngster sprung onto his feet, rushing to greet his companion avoiding Yu Xiaoguang's question.

Mei Deng rested his hand on his heart the moment he laid eyes on the taller youngster in red robes, and a ponytail.

However, as the two approached him, he could tell that Jun Feng had a frown on his face, a clear indicator that something had gone wrong.

"Where is Si Yu?" Yu Xiaoguang asked, his nervousness leaked onto his smile, causing the corners of his lips to twitch.

Jun Feng exchanged worrisome glances with Chen Yao, who was also not smiling. Yu Xiaoguang curled his fingers into a fist, keeping a ray of hope alive in his heart.

"Gege if only I had been born a woman, then I might have been of some use to you." Jun Feng dramatically declared, lowering his head to Yu Xiaoguang.

"Me too." Chen Yao chimed, bowing beside his companion.

"What happened?" Though Yu Xiaoguang's tone came off as flat and disinterested, the young doctor was suffering from anxiety.

"By the time I arrived at the small shed where she stays, the neighbours told me that she was taken away by officers who had finally caught her for impersonation. And she's been locked up for days without having any visitors." Jun Feng explained, never once looking Yu Xiaoguang in the eyes.

'What crap?! Why is it when it's my turn she gets caught?!' Mei Deng couldn't help but think, cursing the ground underneath the ones who had captured her in the first place.

"Is bail not possible?" The young doctor asked with hope in his eyes.

"Gege, I went to pay Si Yu a visit personally, with a tempting offer to bail her out if she agrees to the job. I was so close to getting her released, till she heard we would be playing the Wang general. These were her words exactly..." Jun Feng cleared his throat then covered his eyes with his palm.

"Am I cursed to jump out of the pan into the fire?!"