12 Just the Woods, Not the Jade

"Hey, wait for me!" He yelled as he struggled to catch up to her. That woman was small, but she sure was fast.

Li Wei was now speed walking away as fast as she could from the annoying woodcutter. How could he make the same joke again? And how could she fall into the same trap twice? She really wanted to knock her head against a pile of wood.

Oh no, she was not going to think of the pile of woods again!

When it seemed like the man wouldn't stop following her, she turned back and spoke angrily, "Stop following me. We don't even know each other!"

Her sudden stop almost caused him to trip. He was usually not this shameless, but he couldn't help teasing when it came to her. "That's not a problem, we can always change it. What do you say, do you want to know more about me?"

Li Wei decided then that she should just zip her lips. It seemed he was going to turn all her words to his advantage. She spoke to him no longer. Her eyes only turned into slits, arms crossed, and lips pouted in annoyance.

Alright, perhaps he really went too far. He raised his hands up in surrender, but not before he sent her a grin. "Alright alright, I'll be leaving now. If we meet again, that will be the third time. You know, meeting three times will be a sign that we're tied together by fate."

On the outside, her face was blank, but she happily rejoiced on the inside. She was leaving Hai'an in a month, there was not a chance she'd see him again. They would not meet for a third time and they were definitely not tied by fate. "Off we part then. May we never meet again!" With a wave to signal him away, she ran and dipped towards an alleyway located between two rows of houses.

"Hey, do you still want the woods and the jade?"

Although she disappeared into the dark alleyway, his sudden question caused her head to pop out once more. He couldn't help but smiled. This woman was really so simple minded.

Li Wei came out, but she cautiously circled him. She noticed his taunting eyes and teasing smile, but she didn't say anything. When she spoke, she chose her words carefully, "How much is just the woods? I'm interested in the woods only, not the jade."

He raised his eyebrow in interest. She was learning quite fast. But he was still faster and one advantage he had was his shamelessness. He quickly twisted his words from before, "For you, it's free. For everyone else, one golden tael."

"Now you're finally reasonable," Li Wei flashed him a mocking smile that lasted less than one second. No more playing this game! She snatched the cart handles from him and dipped her hand into the pouch by his waist. After dropping something inside, her hand quickly came back out. Then, she pushed the cart and walked away.

His breath stopped for a couple seconds as he waited to see what she was up to. To his surprise, she simply dropped something inside before distancing herself away again. Stuck in his own surprise, he almost forgot question her action until she was already a couple feet away. "Hey, you didn't give me anything bad, right?"

Li Wei only stuck out her small tongue. "Take a look when you're home!"

When he was sure she had gone far, he secretly opened his money pouch. Surprisingly, what she had given him was a golden tael that worth much much more than the pile of woods he gave to her. When he asked for a golden tael, she questioned his price but when he willingly gave it to her for free, she gave the golden tael without questions. What was going on in her mind? This woman was so interesting to him.

He admitted his heart softened when he thought of how she treated him coldly whenever they were face to face, but she secretly always took care of him. When they last met, she bought his woods and gave him the umbrella. He had wanted to thank her kindness, but she had already left by the next morning. Not just once, but twice, she treated him with such kindness and care. He felt kind of bad for teasing her earlier. Just a little.

. . .

At this point, she was delayed by this unforeseen meeting. She could only ask for help to accomplish her mission tonight. Thus, she waited in the dark, underneath a huge tree in the small forest near the palace. Soon, a tall man walked towards her. His eyes questioned her sanity as he neared where she stood.

Wasting no time for discussion, she ordered, "Hui, thank you for coming here. In a couple minutes, I'm going to need you to distract those soldiers over there for me. Light up these woods and get their attention. Steal a moment so I can sneak into the palace."

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He wasn't surprised she wanted to break into the palace. What surprised him was her method of sneaking in. "Miss, I don't think that's going to work. There are way too many guards. How about I just sneak you in?"

Li Wei was shocked to hear Hui's response. "You can do that? Why didn't you tell me earlier? If only you told me earlier, I wouldn't have to deal with that annoying woodcutter."

Hui gave a long look at the pile of woods laid at the young miss' feet. He really wanted to laugh aloud at the sight, but forced himself to hold it in. He would laugh later when he shared the story with San'er. It was really hilarious. "How was I supposed to know you were going to break in to meet the prince?"

She coughed, signaling him to question her no further. "Ahem I'm sorry. So how are you going to sneak me in?"

After promising that this would be the first and last time Hui would help her out with this issue, they finally got down to business.

In front of Physician Gu's manor, there stood a carriage. Hui knew well of the doctor's schedule and took advantage of this knowledge. The physician's carriage was not like a normal carriage. Underneath, there was a secret compartment build especially for storing medicine. Seeing the scene in front, Li Wei immediately knew of Hui's plan without him telling her. She wasted no time and easily rolled herself into the storage area underneath the carriage.

Sounds of footsteps came towards where they hid and Hui spoke in a rush, "Miss, I'll meet you back here in exactly two hours. No later than that."

She promised with a nod and he dashed into the shadows as two servants led Physician Gu into the carriage. It was uncomfortable and bumpy, but she wasn't complaining. This was a much better idea than hers. It wasn't a long ride and they soon arrived. When the carriage approached the palace gates, Physician Gu only showed his token and the gates immediately opened.

As the carriage moved passed the gates, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. After three years, she had finally gone inside the palace walls. She was really back. Now, all she needed to do was steal a glance of the prince.