Let's back up a bit.

From the moment his 'foolproof ' plan met reality, Jinshi found himself living in a constant state of regret.

The Prince, Gaoshun and the apothecary were seated in Ah Duo 's pavilion and she was looking thoroughly entertained, 'I 'm sorry, you want to borrow what now? '

'The illusion secrets of Shaoh, ' Maomao stated again.

Jinshi ran a hand through his hair, 'You do realize if any part of the coverings slip we will have an international crisis on our hands? '

'Says the Prince who wanted me to flirt with a bunch of men in her serving section as a courtesan at a sketchy brothel. '

Ah Duo just barely managed to stifle her spit-take. Swallowing harshly she stared in disbelief at the young man, 'Did you plan on filling the gallows with unsuspecting drunkards? '

See! That 's what

I

said,

it was all

over

Maomao 's face and sharp hand gesture.

The former Emperor 's Consort decided to ignore the idiot and address the apothecary, 'So tell me more about what you 're planning to perform. '

Maomao went over the simple tale and her costume effects. Regaling the White Lady 's performance all those years ago she went over a couple elements that could be replicated and wanted to dial in one or two more to really grab the target's attention.

Ah Duo swirled her drink for a moment, 'I 'm willing to set up a second meeting for you to hash this out, but before you do, I 've got something that could help. '

Even Jinshi tilted his head curiously as she rose and motioned them to follow. They went to the servants quarters, specifically the seamstress and tailor, they rose and respectfully greeted the retinue. The visitors couldn 't help but glance around at the bolts and rolls of colors, fabrics, threads, shears, textures and partially built garments on bodices. The Lady whispered to the tailor and he looked mortified, 'Are you sure? '

Ah Duo gave a relaxed smile, 'it 's not for what you think. '

The tailors' hesitation and instant sweat made Maomao all the more curious as he ducked into a different room. He brought out a massive roll of fabric, setting it on the center work table before backing up with a bow.

'I offer my sincerest apologies to the Moon Prince and his guests, this bolt was once of the finest silk in the land but the traders were caught in one of the locust waves enroute. Lady Ah Duo insisted we keep it for reasons beyond my comprehension. '

He gently pushed the roll down the table revealing a litany of holes of complete irregularity in an otherwise stunningly translucent silk. Delicate didn 't begin to describe its texture, it was feather light and sheer draping rippled under the lightest touch. Maomao 's eyes sparkled, for she saw surgery and bandage equipment which was alway difficult to acquire and required consistent replacements.

'

Absolutely not

, ' Jinshi bellowed, his cheeks a bright red.

'For the dragon effect in the hall? ' Ah Duo asked perplexed.

'Ah '. Oh, ' the fumbling Moon Prince was clearly lost.

Maomao shot him a chiding smirk, 'and what were

you

thinking this was for Master Jinshi? '

Poor Gaoshun rubbed his temple while the ladies exchanged an amused look. The royal was ' flushed.

Maomao stared at the fabric, 'May I have some samples? '

'Take as much as you like, I can 't do a thing with it, ' the tailor groused, disgusted at the ruined treasure. Utilizing the fabric shears from the wall she cut herself several long samples, folding them up and tucking them away for later.

'When I 've utilized what I can, I recommend you give the rest to Dr Liu, the medical office would greatly benefit from such a donation. '

The Consort and tailor exchanged a glance of delighted surprise before nodding.

Experimentation was required, a second date was set for Maomao to return to the villa. Jinshi tilted his head in the carriage, 'What are you sorting out? '

'Remember the multicolored fire incident in the rear palace? '

He pondered, 'that was a long time ago, ' he perked, 'you 're going to play with that aren 't you! '

'I need to be perceived as clever and intelligent, I may not be able to sing or play an instrument, but I know my way around controlled flames. '

What does she mean 'perceived '? Jinshi's

eyes narrowed, 'you 're not going to burn the brothel down are you? '

'Of course not, I have ways of extinguishing it quickly. '

'Show me before we go to the brothel to convince the Madam. '

Fair enough,

she shrugged.

It seemed like every time he tried to steer this project it got worse. Between talking to the metal smith brothers about heat conductivity on hair pieces, to an outfit from Ah Duo 's seamstress that had him slamming his head on every hard surface he could find; he was beyond bedraggled by the time the team strategically began trickling into the brothel. His nightmares had the establishment burning down while his singed and scarred beloved was manhandled in every way his limited understanding could imagine. What 's worse, every time he tried to call it off he was berated that this was

his idea

and they just 'made it work '. He was about ready to hire an assassin and just be done with it.

Suiren even caught him petting Maomao (the cat) at breakfast with a far off look and trembling hands that morning, mumbling incoherently to the distinctively squirming beast. It took a pretty hefty bite to get him to let go, and even then he just kind of reached out toward the courtyard with a warbled, 'no ' don 't go. '

The one thing he was looking forward to was Maomao helping him into his Jinka attire.

'Do you have

any

idea how long it 's gonna take her to set up the brothel?

Let alone

her own attire? Even with Lihaku, En 'en and Yao she 's barely gonna make it, ' Chue chirped with makeup in hand.

Ka Zuigetsu, unwilling second in command of the Kingdom of Li, wanted to cry. His body was exhausted from tying itself in knots, his stomach twisted violently at the scent of food.

'Don 't make Maomao treat you for dehydration, she 's got enough to worry about, ' Suiren scolded as she offered bland congee and crackers for a third time.

Jinshi caught Gaoshun staring at him, 'What!? '

'I, ' he hesitated, 'can 't help but thinking Maomao is right, you really should stay behind. '

'Miss Chue seconds! ' Chue chirped.

He sharply shrugged off a supportive hand from his shoulder, glaring even at Suiren behind him, 'I will not

abandon

her to the danger

I

put her in! '

'Miss Chue thinks there 's a good team in play, and that you should trust us. '

His exhaustion and his patience combined like flour dust and embers, 'You

dare

challenge your Prince on this matter!? '

Instantly regretting his outburst the team shriveled back, bowing their heads in submission. The deepest, longest sigh of resignation from the depths of his soul uttered forth as Gaoshun, Suiren and Chue drastically altered his appearance. Drowning in apathy they dragged his sorry husk to the rendezvous point.

Chue committed to her role, linking arms with him and allowing the serving courtesan to settle them into a booth. The young girl smiled warmly, 'And what can we get started for you two tonight. '

She looked over the menu, 'two waters, and what do you recommend for reawakening intimacy in a loveless marriage? '

His soul snapped back into his body at the shock, he knew this performance was coming, but it just made his gut wrench and his lungs squeeze, he masked it as best as he could. The desire to utterly reject the married mother of, was it two now or three? The server noticed how lovely Jinshi was even in his diminished state and giggled, 'how about a couple drinks to start you off. '

'Perfect! And moneys no issue tonight,

is it Dear? '

It 's only a ruse, don 't kill her, she saved Maomao in the Western Province,

don 't kill her.

He nodded gruffly.

Waters, libations and menus were swiftly delivered to the table, the courtesan lingered and attempted to verbally explore the 'marriage trouble ' before exploring 'techniques '. Chue wove a tale of woe and abandonment and Jinshi found his gruff, short, curt answers with zero diplomacy to be minorly cathartic. It eventually drove off the poor girl, as she offered to consult with the Madam about a more experienced assistant.

The fog billowing on the stage brought the most intense relief. If he had his way this whole mission would be wrapped by this time tomorrow. And with the same black fabric drop she used for the Moon Fairy, his ace-in-the-whole appeared on stage.

All the experiments, the practice, the burned stepping stones in the courtyard, the unnecessary water dousings and subsequent glares. All came together for this moment.

She was a vision. Over the years he had heard whispers when he walked into a room of a celestial nymph but she- she was the absolute ruler of this space. Somehow not caring if anyone looked commanded such confidence that no one dared breathe let alone continue their futless flirtations. For once, everyone else gazed upon Maomao the way he did when he offered his hair pin to her before her first garden party.

He loved it.

And he loathed it.

The desire to block others' view was so much more intense than when she first entered his home as a lady in waiting. Chue jabbed his ribs, and whispered harshly, 'Get it together Dear Husband. '

He couldn 't rip his eyes from the stage no matter how hard he tried, his heart pounding in his ears. Her performance was exemplary, it would enrapture any audience be they king or pauper. It would sell out theaters for the rest of her life if she so chose. Tales would echo for decades of the single night a forest nymph disguised herself as a courtesan and beguiled her audience through mastery of mythical fire and storms of rain and lightning, somehow forgetting that the latter was simply a sound effect. To that end some even said she transformed into an actual tigris as she battled the flames.

Her vanishing from the stage marked a collective breath and spark of desire for this mythical maiden.

As the lights came up she stepped out from behind the curtain, with each sweeping curtsy the list of clients got longer. The Moon Prince 's gut twisted once again and a pain shot up his spine, flaring in his eyes. He blinked harshly against the stabbing, he pressed on his eyelids.

Chue 's attention whipped to him, he immediately waved her off, 'I think the stress is getting to me. '

She blinked and put a hand on his, 'Admitting there 's a problem is the first step Dear. '

He glared, she continued, 'Can you be more specific? '

'I 've hardly eaten, my stomach hurts and I have a headache. '

Her eyes narrowed slightly, 'How many fingers am I holding up? '

Oh crap.

The two fingers, four fingers? No, three, another wave of nausea hit, 'I can tell from your hand position it 's two, but my vision is wavering. '

Chue debated calling it, but Maomao was approaching the target, 'Do we need to get you out of here? '

He took a swig of water and his vision swirled, 'Perhaps we should order some food? '

En 'en was quick on delivery, she 'd never seen the Moon Prince waver like this when she was his lady in waiting. 'What 's the matter with him? '

'I 've been trying to figure that out for years, ' Chue said playfully, but her eyes were sharp and concerned. She popped several pieces of the charcuterie plate in her mouth to make sure it was okay, it seemed like they didn 't have time to wait. For once in her life she didn 't eat more than half the offerings, but did attempt to push it on him after only a couple minutes. Meanwhile she was attempting to alert Lahan or Lihaku, but they both were being hypervigilant of Maomao, rather than the entire room. Sure they were scanning, but it was unfocused and not in her direction. It seemed they had spotted other individuals who were sharing glances.

Jinshi ate a couple rice crackers and seemed to regain a bit of his senses.

She appreciated when En 'en rechecked the table sooner than normally necessary, Chue motioned her closer so she could whisper, 'Could you alert the others and ask the Madam to set aside a private room for the Moon Prince. '

The ex-lady in waiting nodded, heading back into the fray.

While his emotions were still at a high it seemed like the throbbing was evening out. He took a bite of the meat then took a swig of his water and that 's when he knew ' he tapped his emetic satchel in his robe and looked at Chue, 'If I 'm not back in 5 minutes, come find me in the restroom. '

'I should come with you. '

'No. I 'll be right back. '

'1 minute. '

'Three and you can send in a male immediately. '

Chue sighed dramatically, 'Fine. '

The room swirled as he rose, it felt like he had consumed too much liquor even though he hadn 't touched the drink, there had to be something in the water. He blinked at the electric stab behind his eyelids, composing himself and walking as sure and confident as his inner ear could manage. His eyes hurt far less in the dark hallways,

How does she

enjoy

this!?

Ducking into the facilities he saw the dividers and the matong or wooden buckets. His nose scrunched as his stomach turned, the emetic was almost unnecessary. Thoughts foggy and throat burning with bile, his muscles contracted as he went through the proper procedure for poison expulsion.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, 'Well isn 't my 'wife ' quick, ' he said sarcastically.

'Not quick enough it would seem. '

That ' wasn 't Lihaku.

A needle pricked his neck and the room swirled. A second pair of hands secured his other arm and his muscles went to jelly.

Someday I 'll listen to the women who warn me about this sh*t.

Every bit of his mind fought to regain control, and every muscle ignored the commands like Maomao in a fungal grove. He barely heard her voice when the dragging paused. The radiant forest nymph was reaching for something in her sleeves, he slid backwards. The tigris lunged forward and half of his muscles dropped limp from lack of support. With the last of his sentience he called to his counterpart, 'No Maomao,

run! '

His nightmare faded to black with her collapsing to the floor.

**

There were more sets of eyes than the pre-planned bouncers. Chue squirmed internally awaiting the Moon Prince 's return, she sniffed the water and gave it the smallest taste, but he had already downed most of the glass if there was something in it. There was another team here, another woman drew attention on stage with a performance more standard to the facility. While many eyes were on the courtesan Chue 's eyes snapped up as the apothecary stood suddenly, her body language shifted. Watching intently for a signal, she caught the woman's fingers debating an SOS, but not throwing it fully.

Good enough for me.

Chue started making her way across the crowded floor towards the restroom, there was a cry in the hallway and she caught Lihaku and Lahan 's eyes, throwing SOS. They nodded and went to their predetermined exits to attempt to block off any escape. Rounding the corner, her shoe sploshed in a puddle of blood, she glanced around for a maimed figure. The red trail led out a side door. The masked 'effects assistant ' appeared at her side and shook their head, Chue turned and whispered harshly, 'get Lahan home, we 've got this. '

She rushed outside, a cart was pulling away and a brute of a man lay collapsed in the alleyway, one of Maomao 's hairpieces glimmering in the moonlight.

Nice shot

, she admired the femoral artery placement. She attempted to follow but they were urging the horses into a run, pedestrians diving out of the way. Chue put fingers to her lips and let out an ear-piercing whistle while running after it as long as she could.

T-ta-tok, t-ta-tok, t-ta-tok!

Lihaku came barreling around a corner on horseback, offering a hand. She vaulted up behind him, pointing at the carriage, 'That one! '

He urged the mount forward, gaining on the chaos inducing carriage. Screams and crunching of wood and thrashing of stalls made for an easy trail. The cobblestones rang out with more hoofbeats, Chue looked behind her, there were two pursuers brandishing crossbows. Four more were cutting them off ahead, Lihaku saw it too, turning down a small street and trotting between stalls. 'What would you like to do little lady '

She cursed,

not

under her breath. 'They were headed west, if we circle back quickly we can catch some of the stragglers at the brothel. '

'Yes Ma 'am, ' he answered like the good soldier he was, both devastated at their missteps.

***

The carriage hit yet another bump.

Finally

Jinshi stirred, shaking his head slightly and rubbing his neck, frowning at the awful taste in his mouth. It tasted like he licked a campfire. The room wasn 't swimming anymore but his stomach was still upset, or maybe just hungry? He took in his surroundings, they were enclosed in the back of the carriage, one high small window with bars allowing fresh air in. Maomao looked ' disheveled, but safe. Relief hit him like a tidal wave as he groaned his way upright. It seemed she was able to get her bindings off as well as his but she had far fewer hair ornaments than when she was on stage, causing her hair to be less organized. Repurposing her layers her stomach was now covered but she seemed chilled. Considering the temperature he couldn 't blame her. She was tossing another hair stick out the window.

'I 'm all for leaving a trail but did you have to throw mine out? ' He kept his groggy voice low, but it definitely had a bite to it.

She grasped at the place where it once was and sighed, 'He must 've taken it when he knocked me out. '

'You sure you didn 't stab his henchman with it? '

'Yes, I used one of these, ' the narrow stick had a wickedly sharp end, 'and besides, I got the femoral on that one, he 's either dead or left a nasty trail to their doctor. '

Jinshi winced, 'how do you know you got it? '

'I 'm sorry, how many animals have you had to cut open/bleed out? The Doctors wanted us to know what to avoid during surgery. '

Good Lord,

Jinshi reeled

.

'How long was I out? '

'It 's definitely morning. Probably the most sleep you 've gotten in a while, '

I deserved that,

he thought while she continued.

'I could still hear cobblestone streets when I woke. I think we 're heading west judging by the eastern dawn at our back, ' she pointed to the light high along the wooden wall.

Working her way over to him she did a cursory check. He never quite figured out how to be comfortable as she checked his eyes, tongue and pulse. Standards aside it was a welcome touch that made him wish he was injured more often. 'Sorry about the charcoal, I wanted to neutralize whatever you ingested. '

His tongue rubbed on the roof of his mouth to try to get the flavor off, 'The next time I call anything 'fool proof ' just ask if I want my charcoal now or later. '

Her ribs caught the laugh before it escaped, but her shiver made him offer his outer jacket, Jinka 's was not nearly as nice and Jinshi 's but it was better than nothing. Maomao looked exhausted, the prince 's voice was soft, 'Let me take a shift, you rest. '

Nodding she curled up in a corner and attempted to lean on the wall. Between the rattling cart and her hairpins jabbing she was going to skewer her own skull sooner than fall asleep. She came over to lean on him. He didn 't exactly appreciate the jabs either, so they quietly and carefully removed the rest of her adornments tucking several away amidst their robes as hopeful weapons.

'I 'm surprised they let you keep these, ' the Prince commented.

'I think their exit was hastier than intended. '

Jinshi turned one of the sharper pieces over in his hand, 'well yeah, sounds like one courtesan gave 'em hell. '

She smiled, just a little. Hoping beyond hope that Chue and the others had enough to follow. The apothecary wrapped her arms around one of his to steady herself against the carriage jolts and the exhaustion won out.

*****

Maomao woke as the carriage jolted to a halt, she found she was no longer leaning but fully secure in Jinshi 's lap, her head on his shoulder, one arm around her back, the other draped across her hip. She tried to scramble out from the intimate embrace to fein emotional distance but he gripped ' her tighter, whispering intensely, 'I 'm not letting you out of my sight. '

'We may not get a choice- ' before she could finish the doors burst open and they shied away from the blinding light.

The silhouetted figure held the moon and poppy hairpin, 'Ah, well, that explains

that

doesn 't it. Not a very subtle hint, Moon Prince. '

Jinshi gripped her a little tighter, Maomao mourned how badly he was tipping his hand. Huo sneered, 'your little courtesan has been very naughty. '

He held up several other hairpins, to the prince 's surprise Maomao threw her courtesan smirk, 'Oh look at how many you missed. If I knew you were collecting them I would have put more in your men. '

'Hmmm, a different problem for another time.

This

development however, ' motioning to the pair, 'creates some

fascinating

opportunities. I assume the court knows little to nothing of this? '

Jinshi 's mouth became a thin line, much to Huo 's enjoyment. 'Don 't worry young Prince, I won't take her away from you. Though I may borrow her skills from time to time. '

Before he could growl out a warning the drug lord chuckled, 'oh no, not

those

skills. While my men would appreciate a courtesan I don 't wish to tarnish this masterpiece, ' he said looking over the moon and the poppy gently reflecting in the light, 'I meant what I said about my greenhouse. Since you 've graced us with your presence, young lady, would you care to

see it

? '

Her eyes lit up, and her cat ears perked before she could catch herself,

Now who 's tipping their hand? Bad Maomao.

Wiping a bit of drool from her mouth, both she and Jinshi mentally facepalmed.