As If She Was Here

Heng was still unhappy with Prince Ping's decision to have Ding Yiu kneel for the entire night as a punishment. She had walked all the way back to Ping Tian Palace with no rest. If she was to kneel the whole night, her legs and feet would be in great pain. However, seeing Ding Yiu's determination to go through with the punishment, Heng remained silent. He backed off, knowing the punishment could've been a lot worse. Wan Xin had now knelt down besides Ding Yiu.

"Once Consort Liu has reflected on her actions, she may return to her residence palace," Prince Ping announced, "no one is to mention this incident again."

"Understood your highness," the three consorts and Madam Xiong said in unison.

"All of you return to your residence palace," Prince Ping ordered. "Sixi, take Jing Ke to get some rest." He turned to face Heng. "I want you to come with me."

"Yes," Heng nodded. He gave Ding Yiu and Wan Xin one last look before following Prince Ping out the room.

When they were far enough away from the others, Prince Ping stopped walking. "What was all that about?" Prince Ping directly questioned. "Why were you defending Consort Liu?"

"No particular reason," Heng muttered.

"You and Consort Liu aren't close. I don't understand why you got so upset back there," Prince Ping pushed on, "is something wrong?"

[Everything is wrong], Heng wanted to say. [The way you treat Consort Liu is wrong. The way you never look at her properly is wrong. How you don't recognize her as Ding Ding is the worst mistake of your life]. Heng drew in a breath. He knew those were words he could never say to Prince Ping right now. [Even so, what can I say to make you at least a bit more aware of the situation? If it was Ding Ding, what would she say to you right now?]

Prince Ping continued to speak, "Heng, I'm just concerned. If something's bothering you, tell me."

"Stop treating Consort Liu like this," Heng directly stated. "Stop ignoring her and don't be harsh to her anymore." [Otherwise, when you find out the truth, you will regret greatly], Heng couldn't say the last part.

"I've told you many times before, I don't want to have anything to do with her," Prince Ping reminded. He eyed Heng inquiringly. "Why are you suddenly so concerned about Consort Liu? I suggest you stay away from her."

Heng shook his head in disapproval. "If Ding Ding was here, I think she would say 'you really haven't changed one bit Xia Qian Ping'. She'll be disappointed in your decisions today."

No voice escaped Prince Ping's parted lips. [Why?] he mentally queried, [it's not Ding Ding who's said those words. So why? Why do I not know how to respond? As if…she was the one who said it to me now].

Seeing Prince Ping remain silent at the mention of Ding Ding, Heng couldn't help but let out a sigh. [You clearly have feelings for Ding Ding], Heng observed. [Yet, you don't know you've messed things up with her already], he wanted to say. [There's a lot of work for me to do to get you two together]. Heng turned to leave, saying as he went, "Qian Ping, just remember I always want the best for you."

"Heng, wait," Prince Ping called out. "I didn't get a proper explanation from you," he uttered, watching Heng leave. [I don't understand why you're upset about Consort Liu], Prince Ping thought slightly annoyed. Letting out a sigh himself, Prince Ping decided to head for the study room to work. He needed to calm down.

Currently in the servant's kitchen, Wan Xin was busy making food. It was late into the night, so no one would come to the servant's kitchen. Wan Xin shouldn't have to worry about Madam Xiong or anyone finding out she was secretly cooking for her Xiaojie. She originally wanted to stay with Ding Yiu and kneel along with her the whole night. However, Ding Yiu convinced Wan Xin to go and make them some food. Wan Xin of course obeyed her Xiaojie's orders.

"How about some tofu pudding?" Heng proposed. He was busy looking over Wan Xin's shoulder to monitor the food she was making. "It'll be easy for Ding Ding to eat with little effort."

"Mister Heng. That is the tenth dish you suggested me to make. I've told you many times, I'm not that capable of a chef," Wan Xin repeated, "I think some dumplings in soup and beef steamed buns would be filling enough."

"But those are extremely basic and boring food," Heng pointed out.

"Mister Heng, if you are able to cook all the dishes you suggested, I will be happy to assist," Wan Xin said with a pout.

"I can't cook," Heng admitted.

Wan Xin rolled her eyes before moving to pour hot water in the pot of tea. All the annoying consorts and Madam Xiong left straight after Prince Ping and Heng departed the sitting room. Jing Ke had told Wan Xin to take care before following Sixi out as well. However, it wasn't long before Heng came running back into the sitting room to check on them. After he was assured that Ding Yiu was fine, Heng had started to rant on about how annoyed he was with the whole situation. Wanting some peace and quiet, Ding Yiu had asked Heng to help Wan Xin make food.

"Wan Xin, I think the soup tastes too plain. Should we add something to it," Heng suggested.

Wan Xin ignored Heng. She knew Heng sincerely wanted to be her Xiaojie's friend, and appreciated him being kind to them. However, he was truly a disturbance right now. [I spent way longer than anticipated making these simple dishes], Wan Xin mentally complained. [All because Mister Heng won't stop getting in my way with his suggestions].

"Wan Xin, I think we should make some-" Heng began. He quickly ran after Wan Xin, who had packed all the food into a container and left the kitchen. "You should have said we were going." Heng sped up his pace to catch up to Wan Xin. "There's no need to walk so fast."

"Xiaojie must be exhausted and really hungry right now," Wan Xin said, "I need to hurry back to her. She's not eaten anything and she had to walk and kneel the whole day."

Without warning Heng snatched the food from Wan Xin's hand and started to run. "You're too slow. Hurry up Wan Xin," Heng shouted, running faster. [I momentarily forgot Ding Ding hasn't eaten all day. I'm going to make sure she eats all of this and regain some energy].

Wan Xin ran after Heng. She couldn't quite catch up to his speed. "Be careful not to spill the food," Wan Xin called out after Heng.

As they reached the sitting room Ding Yiu was in, Heng appeared to slow down. When Wan Xin eventually caught up to him, Heng swiftly pulled her to the side. They were now hiding in a corner.

"Shh," Heng placed a finger over his lips, telling Wan Xin to be quiet.

A confused Wan Xin blinked at Heng who pointed towards outside the sitting room. Looking in that direction, Wan Xin's lips parted to form a perfect O shape. Both she and Heng were surprised to see Prince Ping standing there alone.

Staring at the opened doors that led inside to where Ding Yiu knelt, was a silent Prince Ping. He remained a small distance away, simply standing there not making any moves. After separating from Heng, he had returned to his study room wanting to catch up with work. But no matter how hard he tried to concentrate, he couldn't. The words, "you really haven't changed one bit Xia Qian Ping" kept playing through his mind. Prince Ping knew the one who said those words wasn't actually Ding Ding. That didn't change the feeling he had when he first heard the phrase. [It felt as if she was here, saying it to my face], he uttered. [That is something she would say to me]. He was greatly unnerved by those thoughts. No work could settle his wavering conscience.

In the end Prince Ping had come back to where Consort Liu was. He now looked down at the bottle of medicine in his hand. It was a soothing ointment, effective for tiredness and soreness. [I can't believe I'm here], Prince Ping thought, [am I doing this just to prove something to her?]. He briefly closed his eyes, [she's not even here. Why must I be so bothered by her?]

Prince Ping opened his eyes. For the first time in ages, he settled his gaze upon the kneeling Consort Liu. She was facing away from him so he could only see her back. [Liu Ding Yiu], Prince Ping mentally said, [I know I've not once properly looked at you. I've not truly been fair to you either]. "But for Yourong, I don't have much choice," he whispered, "if only you were a stronger person… If only you were perhaps… Ding Ding…." He stared at Consort Liu's back, confused by an odd sense of familiarity he was starting to feel. The longer he stared at her, the stronger the familiar feeling grew.

Ignoring that strange feeling, Prince Ping slowly made his way into the sitting room towards Consort Liu. His movements were so elegant and his steps so light, no sounds were made as he moved. Without saying a word, Prince Ping reached down to place the medicine onto the floor behind Consort Liu.

At the exact same moment, Ding Yiu had sensed a presence behind her and she turned around. Her eyes immediately interlocked with Prince Ping's. The two now stared into each other's eyes; that same familiar sensation taking over them.

Ding Yiu's genuinely surprised expression was hidden by the veil she wore. She never expected Xia Qian Ping to return. She didn't expect to see him again so soon. She didn't know how to react.

[How? Why is….] an equally stunned Prince Ping kept questioning. The moment his eyes met with Consort Liu's, his heart had started to beat rapidly. He recognized those eyes. They belonged to Ding Ding. Prince Ping was certain he wouldn't be wrong. [Looking into these eyes, it feels as if you are really here. Could you be….] He let go of the medicine. Raising his hand, he reached for Consort Liu's veil. [I know. I know it's impossible for you to be Ding Ding… but what if….]

Seeing Prince Ping reach for her veil Ding Yiu instinctively backed away. She immediately turned to face the front again. With her back towards Prince Ping, Ding Yiu wasn't aware of the saddened expression that now appeared on his face. His hand was still in mid-air, where he would've grabbed her veil if only he was quicker and didn't hesitate.

Prince Ping stared at Consort Liu's back one last time before straightening up. [Consort Liu can't be Ding Ding], he convinced himself. [If it was her, she wouldn't back away from me like this]. Without saying anything, Prince Ping turned to leave.

Hearing Prince Ping had left, Ding Yiu turned back around to stare around the empty room. [Xia Qian Ping, why did you come?] she wondered, puzzled by his actions. Then she noticed the medicine by her side on the floor. Ding Yiu picked it up. [It can't be. Does he feel guilty for punishing me?] she speculated, staring at the medicine in her hand. "If you truly do care, then maybe you're not as bad as I think you are," Ding Yiu murmured.

Outside, Heng motioned for Wan Xin to come out of hiding as soon as Prince Ping was gone. He had been anxiously watching the whole ordeal between Prince Ping and Ding Yiu. His mood had visibly improved as he now skipped into the sitting room. [There's still a long way to go], Heng thought to himself, [but Qian Ping is surely changing for you]. He smiled at Ding Yiu, presenting her the food Wan Xin cooked.

Two days had passed.

Ding Yiu and Wan Xin had spent the time cleaning and patching up the small garden hut; which was also their 'home' in Ping Tian Palace. With both their efforts, the once run-down and haunted looking hut now appeared more presentable.

"I still don't understand how Xiao Yiu managed to live here without complaining," Ding Yiu muttered for the hundredth time in the past two days. This was her first time properly living in Ping Tian Palace and she was certainly not impressed with the conditions. Though in contrast, Ding Yiu found her situation rather favourable. Everyone in Ping Tian Palace practically ignores them. No one would come to find them. No one would ask about them. They lived almost like ghosts. That meant Ding Yiu could freely investigate what she needed to without raising suspicion or causing trouble.

"Xiaojie, should we go and get some food now?" Wan Xin asked as she finished wiping the table. "At this hour, the servants' kitchen should be empty."

To avoid running into Madam Xiong or getting involved with the maids, Wan Xin could only get food from the servants' kitchen at hours when it would be unused. It was either late into the night, or at a certain hour in the afternoon when all servants were scheduled to work. In the first place, if Ding Yiu was treated as a proper consort, food from the main palace kitchen would be regularly served to them. They wouldn't have needed to sneak into the servants' kitchen for food like this.

[If Xiaojie didn't return to Ping Ting Palace to gather information on Lord Lan Ling, I'm sure we'd be living quite nicely now], Wan Xin secretly thought. [At the very least, we wouldn't be treated this way].

"I'm a little hungry. Let's go Wan Xin," Ding Yiu said already heading out their hut.

"Xiaojie, don't forget your veil," Wan Xin shouted, grabbing the veil from the cupboard.

Since Ding Yiu didn't know how to make herself look the same as Xiao Yiu, she had to wear a veil to cover her face. It was bothersome, but better than letting Xiao Yiu take over again. When the two arrived at the servants' kitchen, they were curious to see a male servant inside. He was getting some ginseng soup.

Holding the tray with the soup on, he gave a small bow seeing Ding Yiu. "Consort Liu," he said before hurriedly rushing away.

Ding Yiu raised an eyebrow, "did he just formally greet me?"

"He did," Wan Xin nodded. "It's not right."

"His reaction towards me is indeed strange. Normally servants would ignore me," Ding Yiu commented. "I thought ginseng soup was something only made in the palace's main kitchen."

"That's not what I meant," Wan Xin clarified, "I smelt poison coming from that ginseng soup."

Ding Yiu looked at Wan Xin seriously. "Are you certain?"

"I've got a strong sense when it comes to poison," Wan Xin replied with conviction. "Before getting captured by the underworld merchant, I spent my time learning about herbs and medicine from our village physician. He may not have been the most talented, but I did learn quite a bit." Wan Xin closed her eyes and twitched her nose to sniff in the air. "Besides, Meng Su had been teaching me all she knows about poison in the past year. I'm confident I'm not wrong. I definitely smelt a hint of poison from that soup."

Ding Yiu couldn't resist smiling and giving Wan Xin a quick pat on the head. This girl may not be the best fighter. She probably isn't the cleverest either, but her medicinal knowledge and sense for poison was inevitability beneficial.

"Wan Xin, change clothes with me," Ding Yiu suddenly commanded. "I can't wander around Ping Tian Palace freely dressed as a stupid Consort."

"Xiaojie, what are you planning?"

"I'm going to follow that male servant," Ding Yiu announced, "and depending on who his target is, I may have to interfere."