Ka Zuigetsu, leader of the Imperial army, ruffled the boy 's hair.

Maomao rolled her eyes.

'What? ' he asked, a touch offended.

'If you did that in the Rear Palace you 'd have to beat every single woman off with a stick. '

'Except you apparently. '

'Oh, I 'd be laughing hysterically while Gaoshun and the eunuchs tried to extract you from the mob of estrogen. '

He shuttered at her realistic assessment.

She wasn 't WRONG.

*****

Maomao had long since returned to her herb gathering, the eves of the house beginning to look overgrown with flowers and branches and leaf bundles of all sorts. The garden was looking sharper too. Less overgrown and more managed. Not that it was in disarray mind you, just more garden and less jungle, delicate pathways and benches were far easier to navigate. Much less likely to trip over..