Three days after the dreaded Great Misunderstanding, the prince stands at a random corner in his house, barefoot. He takes a deep breath, and kicks it as hard as he can, and curses under his breath, hoping on one foot as blood begins to drip from the torn toenail.

Suiren hears the commotion and comes. 'Goodness! I think you should go to the infirmary to have that looked at. '

'Really? That bad? I guess I have to take your advice. '

The old woman, who is in a position where she is mostly retired but still stays with the prince and occasionally manages other attendants, says, 'Well, if you 're asking for my wisdom, I would say that hurting yourself so you have an excuse to talk to Maomao is probably unnecessary. '

'It was an accident. '

'You still have her clothes. You could have used returning them as the excuse for going to see her. '

Well, now he just feels stupid,

and

his toe is bleeding.

When he got home after the Great Misunderstanding, as it was being called, he found Maomao 's regular clothes in his bedroom, including the undergarments she was wearing when she walked to his house. This led him to the theory that his innocent little kitten was either naked under Gaoshun 's robe while she was yelling at everyone, or she was wearing something really naughty.

He definitely didn 't smell any of her undergarments, if anyone is asking.

Did not 'that would be so gross and rude and creepy.

But he didn 't do that.

Anyway, he got cockblocked by his older brother who has nine hundred concubines, and that just doesn 't seem fair.

He has not had direct contact with the emperor since leaving his office and is certain that Basen is tired of carrying his passive aggressive messages to the emperor.

The prince puts on socks and sandals since his toe has an injury, and he carries a basket with Maomao 's clothes over to the infirmary.

When he arrives, Luomen is sitting at the front, as is normal, reviewing a book with one of the medical officers.

'Ah, Your Highness. Welcome. How may we assist you today? '

'I have something to deliver to Maomao and also require medical assistance. '

Luomen thinks right away that this man hurt himself so he would be able to see Maomao, which is such weird behavior since he could have just come by to speak to her at any time.

Maomao isn 't really sure how to feel about everything, because she 's not good at emotions. On one hand, everyone involved in the Great Misunderstanding was trying to help her in some incredibly misguided way. On the other hand, the whole situation was angering and embarrassing. Everyone involved had apologized, but she still felt so awkward.

As she enters the examination room where the prince is waiting with his sock off, revealing a bloodied big toe, she immediately knows he purposefully caused this injury, and says, 'This type of attention-seeking behavior is not desirable. '

'I really wanted to see you. '

'You could have marched right in with ten healthy toes at any time. Injuries like this always seem insignificant, but in rare cases, they can become quite dangerous. If you got an infection and I had to amputate your toe, what then? ' she answers.

The prince replies, 'I have nine others. '

Maomao begins cleaning the wound and says, 'Actually, while losing a pinky toe might not disrupt your life, using your big toe would dramatically weaken your ability to balance properly. Besides, perhaps I only want to entertain the affections of a Ten Toe. '

He points to the basket on the bed. 'I brought your clothes. Don 't worry, I didn 't do anything weird with them. '

'A perfectly normal thing a person says. It 's okay if you sniffed them. I know you 're kind of a dog. '

'Woof woof? ' he nervously answers, his cheeks burning a bit in embarrassment that she knew exactly what he did.

Maomao asks as she works, 'I was wondering awhile ago, what do I smell like to you? I don 't always use the same kind of soap, and I rarely wear any kind of perfume. I think most days, I would have a neutral scent, with maybe a twinge of body odor if it 's been hot out or if I 'm working. '

He 's not totally sure how to articulate the answer to this question, so he says, 'I think 'maybe a scent is different than a smell? '

'That doesn 't make any sense. '

'It 's sweet, but not like a flower or food. If I was blindfolded, I could pick you out of a hundred women just by your scent. '

With a little mischievous grin, she asks, 'So what you 're saying is you sniff a lot of women? '

'No! The only woman I want to sniff is you. '

'Does smelling me make you feel any sort of way? '

This is a scientific inquiry, about a behavior he knows is sexual or at least somewhat sexual in nature.

'It lifts my spirits. '

Maomao asks, 'Does it lift anything else? '

'Yes. '

' 'the Imperial Amphibian enjoys it. '

Jinshi 's brows raise, 'I was wondering how it obtained a more formal title? From Frog to 'Imperial Amphibian ' ' '

'Well, technically, I think its formal title is Grand Imperial Amphibian. '

He asks, 'Grand? '

'Is it not? '

'It is. '

Maomao says, 'It seemed proper to give it a title. I don 't ever call you by your real name either. I wouldn 't want to offend the amphibian by speaking so informally of it. '

It 's just so cute when she 's silly, he can 't take it. Well, he can and he does, but he doesn 't want to. He wants to throw her over his shoulder and carry her off so she can meet the 'Grand Imperial Amphibian. '

Instead, he asks, 'Do you know it? '

'Your real name? '

A nod.

'I do. '

'I would like to hear you say it someday. '

'I will consider it. Obviously, I don 't want to get my head cut off, so it would have to be in private. '

'Of course. '

Maomao says, 'I have a carriage coming in a few minutes, so we 'll have to finish this conversation later. '

'Where are you going? '

'The Ma clan estate in the city. Lishu had a little issue, and I wanted to check on her. The baby is probably doing well still, but I would like to see how he 's growing as well. The baby is a very good eater. '

'To be expected of Basen 's child. Can I go with you? I can ask Basen. I haven 't been able to make it over yet because I 've been so busy. I 'm sure he 'd like to drop in on his family as a surprise as well, ' he asks.

'That 's probably fine. Lishu 's issue is a female issue, so leave us alone and mind your own business. '

'Understood. '

And so, they go, with Basen to visit the Ma clan estate in the capitol.

During the carriage ride, the prince reflects on the happenings of the last few days. His mind drifts back to the document box that was never opened during the Great Misunderstanding. Once it was revealed there was no crisis, whatever was inside of that box became a deal that didn 't need to be made.

The emperor wouldn 't even tell him what exactly that deal was, but he was sure that it included an exit path for him from the imperial family because the emperor knew they probably wouldn 't have a baby in the family. Being denied just because everything was okay annoyed him, and the prince knows he 's not the only one.

Several people are cross with the emperor at the moment, for causing the embarrassing debacle, intruding on Maomao 's privacy, and for refusing the prince 's request to have whatever exit plan was inside of that box so that he and Maomao could be together. The whole disaster was a reminder that their lives were controlled by circumstances they would rather be free from.

Maomao has also been reminded about all of this, and how the emperor is a dragon who holds the prince in his jaws. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wonders if creating a pregnancy crisis would allow everything to work out, but that exact sort of decision is how she entered the world, and that didn 't work out well for anyone involved. She doesn 't want to make that decision for that reason. The idea of letting this wonderful man get her pregnant just because she liked him felt all kinds of good, the idea of doing it for any other reason just makes her feel disgusting.

So how long are they supposed to wait? When will the emperor finally give in? What if he doesn 't let the prince go until his young sons come of age? That seems so unfair. If she tells him she 's been feeling more like a woman than just a person lately, or that she doesn 't want to live apart from anymore, or that she 's plagued by incredible desire, or that she wants to have his baby, he 'll probably just feel like shit, so she decides she won 't say any of that.

Maybe she 'll just cut her bangs, go back to obsessing about poison instead of also thinking about all of this, and put up the wall inside of her that was apparently keeping most of her emotions and desires at bay.

Maomao sits in the carriage considering this with Gaoshun 's robe neatly folded on her lap as they travel in silence.

When they arrive, Basen very proudly walks them to the bedroom where Lishu is currently trying to breastfeed when three people just enter, including a man who should not be seeing her topless.

The prince quickly turns away and leaves, and he hears Lishu fuss at him for not knocking.

Lishu 's baby is inexplicably enormous, seemingly motivated to grow into a giant by some unseen dark force that entered him before he took his first breath. From his first moment, he has been obsessed with eating, far more than a normal, more polite baby.

Maomao considers this to be very Basen-esque behavior.

After the baby finishes feeding, Maomao takes him out into the hallway and delivers him to his father, saying, 'Don 't even think about coming in until we 're done. '

'Fine, fine, fine. '

The door shuts and the lock is lowered into place, and Basen cradles his son. 'So, here he is. '

Jinshi 's first thought about Basen 's son is that even if he is month old already, he really just looks like he 's too big to have come out of Lishu 's body. It 's also a bit surreal, because he has known Basen literally forever, and now he has become a dad to this new person.

They go to a sitting room, and the prince listens to Basen talk non-stop about his experiences as a new father. It really hasn 't been that long since the wedding, and then around a month after that, Lishu started getting sick in the mornings. Basen 's opinion on the pregnancy evolved from terror to excitement over time, and now, it 's hard to imagine that this little person stressed his father out so much.

A chubby little foot wiggles free from the blanket. 'Is it okay if I? '

'Yeah, sure, of course. '

He reaches over and lightly toys with to little foot. 'Soft ' '

'Do you want to hold him? '

'I actually don 't know how. '

'Seriously? You 've never held your niece or nephews? '

It 's not common for men in their country to hold babies at all except their children or grandchildren. And with the situation in the imperial family, very, very few people are ever allowed to have direct physical contact with the little ones when they 're so tiny.

Princess Lingli likes to climb him like a tree or hide and jump on his back from furniture, which he doesn 't mind, and the little princes seem to enjoy his attention, but he certainly didn 't handle any of them when they were babies.

'It 's easy. Just make sure you hold up his gigantic head. Babies are apparently born with such monstrously enormous heads that they can 't hold them up for months. '

'Is that true for all babies, or this one in particular? '

'I dunno, actually? '

The baby is transferred to his arms, and Jinshi decides right away that baby holding is quite a precious activity. The baby is so soft and squishy, and warm, and his fat little face looks a lot like Lishu, but he can see Ma clan characteristics there. There are hints of Lady Taomei, Basen 's mother and boss of the Ma clan, for sure.

Taomei having the most dominant blood in the Ma clan is very much in character for her. 'This baby looks like he was fathered by your mother. '

'I know, I know. I tried, but I was also in some ways, fathered by my mother. '

Basen 's older sister brings tea, but Prince Yue is far too interested in the baby to put him down. He makes a little noise, and it 's cute. His little fingers wrap around one of his much larger ones, and that 's cute too. His little foot curls when he yawns, also cute.

When Maomao finishes up with Lishu, she takes Gaoshun 's robe and since it is his day off 'the first he 's had in a while, since he was sent on the trip and then plunged directly into the Great Misunderstanding 'she doesn 't want to disturb him too much. She thinks the last thing he wants is to see any of them at his home.

Basen 's sister Maamei shows her to a living room where Gaoshun is napping with two of his grandchildren in the middle of the floor, having seemingly fallen asleep while playing.

'Oh? I guess it is naptime. '

Maomao covers them up with the robe, deciding this was too adorable to disturb. She still owes Gaoshun for dragging her across the Outer Court against her will, but vengeance can wait for another day.

She didn 't come from a family like this, so it 's difficult for her to understand their warmth. But these people are Jinshi 's family too in some ways. He 's certain they know more about him and care more about him than anyone in his blood family, and she thinks that he wants to break free from the imperial house so he can have this sort of life someday.

When she joins Jinshi and Basen, she is struck by the image of Jinshi holding the infant against his chest. When the image only existed in her mind, it was bad enough, but he looks quite happy like that, arms full of baby. He 's talking to Basen in a low and very gentle voice 'Maomao doesn 't think she 's ever heard this particular version of Jinshi speak before.

The sight of Jinshi with a baby does something strange and powerful to her body. She is ready to get pregnant, right now, maybe in the storage room across the hall.

'Maomao? '

'Master Jinshi. My turn? '

They are suddenly two people who have been on their journey much longer than Basen and Lishu have even known each other, snuggling a baby that isn 't theirs while their respective imaginations run absolutely wild.

Jinshi thinks this little baby is the real cause of all the drama. It 's just really hard for him to not think about what it would be like to share this sort of experience with Maomao. He can tell from how unusually expressive Maomao is with the baby that she 's quite emotional about this infant.

There are dreamy, playful glances, but no words.

When Gaoshun wakes up from his nap, he finds Basen has snuck off to annoy his wife and left his son in the care of two people whose affections are certainly turning to painful longing for a life the emperor won 't let them have.

The emperor is obstinate about the matter; an exit deal certainly existed. Gaoshun actually knew the contents of it because he was the one that was tasked with burning it.

The prince asked to be freed, and the emperor refused.

Empress Gyokuyou had something one might consider an actual quarrel with him because she felt he was being unfairly cruel to the prince.

Then Ah-Duo after that, who was summoned to the capitol by interesting rumors.

Then the Empress Dowager after that.

Gaoshun was asked his opinion, and he gave his opinion. What most of the characters expressing their disapproval for the emperor 's refusal don 't know is that the emperor and the prince had an agreement that the emperor would let him go if there were other heirs, and the prince went into the rear palace. There were heirs, and yet the emperor has not fulfilled his side of the agreement.

And that 's ignoring the fact that Maomao herself is the only reason any of the younger children were alive.

The emperor was evidently moved by how the prince handled the crisis he had created, and decided he was even more convinced that he should stay in the family a bit longer, which doesn 't seem fair to Gaoshun, although he couldn 't exactly express that sentiment.

Even if everyone thinks the emperor is wrong, his mind remains unchanged.

It 's not like anyone can defy the emperor.

At that very moment, Lakan is making his way back to the office where the Great Misunderstanding happened. He has a matter of professional business to report on, and also a private matter.

Since Gaoshun is not present, he some other person attending him 'it 's not one of the Ma clan members, judging from the robes. Lakan doesn 't want anything too terrible to happen to him, so as long as it 's not one of

them

, it 's fine.

Because Lakan is making a rather sensitive report, the emperor sends the attendant out into the reception area with the secretary.

He delivers his intelligence update, and then says, 'I had another matter to discuss with you. '

'Oh? '

'After conferring with my uncle, I have decided that I would like to allow Maomao and the prince to marry per the prior agreement, ' he says.

It 's absolutely shocking to hear Lakan say such a thing, since he has been vehemently opposed to the prince 's involvement in Maomao 's life. The emperor didn 't really ever think there was any possibility that Lakan would willingly accept their relationship. He 's someone who will be petty just for the sake of it.

Yet, this doesn 't really change anything. He is the emperor, and he is the one who gets to decide..

'There is no crisis, so we can move on. '

Lakan had a very long conversation with Luomen after the Great Misunderstanding. Because Maomao doesn 't want him in her life, and she 's not particularly expressive anyway, it 's always been difficult for him to figure out what goes on in her mind. Her emotions are often puzzling even to those who are closest to her, so Lakan has an even more difficult time..

Luomen has mostly refrained from telling him much about her that he knows she wouldn 't want him to know, but Luomen is coloring outside the boxes he drew for himself out of his concern for Maomao. First, he talked to the emperor, and then after the Great Misunderstanding, he talked to Lakan.

Obviously, Lakan resists the idea of any other man being closer to his daughter than him, because he didn 't ever have the chance to get to know her. Certainly, he understands that chance probably isn 't going to come.

Luomen asked him if he would prefer Maomao to live her life completely alone, and of course he doesn 't. As someone who has been solitary throughout most of his adulthood, he knows that 's not good for the soul. No caring father would want his precious daughter to have a lonely life, and to grow old in torturous solitude, unable to experience the joys of being loved and of loving others.

The second question was if he thought the prince wasn 't good enough for her, and if he believed someone would come along who would treat her better. Lakan knows the prince would never abuse or neglect her; he treats her like his personal cat goddess. He 's faithful to her when no one requires that, willing to sacrifice anything for her, supportive of her eccentric interests, and gentle with her.

Is that enough?

Lakan hates the idea, but the Moon Prince is the one that Maomao chose. He wants to be given an opportunity to know his daughter, and he feels like if she marries and moves on further from him, that 'll just become less likely.

But he also knows what it is like to love someone and not be able to be with them because of some stupid reason. He was prevented from being with Fengxian, and they conceived a child in questionable circumstances.

There are a lot of things he doesn 't understand about Maomao, but he does know that it is very painful to live without a chosen love, and even worse if there is a child involved.

Even a terrible parent like him knows the thing he fears most is that his child will suffer the same curse as him.

Emperor Yang looks up because Lakan is still sitting there, contemplative.

'Is there something else? '

Lakan says, 'My precious daughter wants to raise a family with the man that she chose, in peace and in the way they think is best. So I think she should be able to do that. '

'I already gave my decision on this matter. No one is telling them they can 't get married. He could marry her right now. Take her as a concubine. Whatever. The other matter is separate, ' Yang answers.

The older man says, 'If my Maomao is forced to marry into the imperial family 'maybe I should do like any other clan leader and do whatever it takes to make her empress? '

Emperor Yang 's blood runs cold, as he answers more nervously than he intended, 'Maomao doesn 't want to be empress. '

'Well, if we don 't care what either of them want, does that matter? I 'm sure it is not news to you that you are not a popular emperor among the clans. But I 've heard people say the emperor has a younger brother, someone fair and good, trustworthy and diligent. He doesn 't wish for an extravagant, expensive harem for his ego, and serves as a diligent public servant while his older brother carries on with all of his women.

' 'At least, that 's what people say. Not me. '

The emperor 's mouth becomes quite dry as he sits under this man 's strange, unsettling stare. As he reaches his hand out for his teacup, he notices it shaking, and Lakan 's blue eyes fixate on the trembling motion.

Yang says, 'Of course, you would never say those things. '

'I don 't engage in such foolishness. Your younger brother could never become the emperor of Li. '

'Because he is unwilling, ' the emperor answers.

Lakan answers, 'Because he died as an infant. '

Lakan is someone that the previous emperor feared, and his mother before that. Both tried to stop his meteoric rise through the ranks because he had a curious tendency to weave strange relationships with all sorts of people. Yet he somehow ended up reaching the most dangerous position in the government that might be occupied by a person who wasn 't a member of the imperial family.

And now he 's threatening to burn Li to the ground because the emperor won 't let his daughter be happy.

It 's just incredibly unhinged, and the Grand Commandant seems quite thrilled with himself, like he 's finally happy to have something he can do for his daughter, except that thing is threatening to depose the head of state unless she can live as she pleases. The insanity of it is almost incomprehensible; it doesn 't even feel real and yet it is quite scary.

Lakan says, 'Since your family 's claim to power is that you were ordained by the gods, it might be interesting to see how those who believe that might feel about the fact that your eastern-blooded son was denied his identity and cast aside in favor of that western woman and her western-blooded son. '

Of course Lakan knows that Zuigetsu was not 'cast aside. ' He cast himself aside, but people aren 't going to hear that as easily because the emperor 's most powerful critics hate his choice to elevate the west in order to strengthen Li.

Lakan doesn 't care about the emperor 's western bias even a little; really, he doesn 't have any specific concerns of his own at all. He doesn 't care what the imperial house does and doesn 't have any ambition to become more powerful. What he does have is sharp intelligence about what everyone else is mad about and powerful paternal instincts to ruin the lives of every single person he knows if his previous petunia isn 't happy.

The emperor also knows Lakan doesn 't care what he does with very few exceptions and he 's just threatening to set fires until Maomao gets what she wants.

No matter what, Zuigetsu has resolved to never become emperor, and over the past three days, literally everyone Yang cares about has told him to let him go so he can live his life with his woman. Digging in and fighting Lakan will do grievous damage to him, and he 'll gain nothing for it.

His arm is twisted, and he knows he can 't fight Lakan, who knows exactly how to make him bleed and seems completely willing to do it as long as he remains an obstacle to Maomao 's happiness.

This man is absolutely insane and also unimaginably dangerous.

Still, the emperor isn 't going to admit that he 's going to give in out of fear.

Rubbing his chin, he says, 'Now that I think about it, Maomao has worked in the service of this family, and most of us are alive thanks to her intellect and care. I suppose I could reconsider my decision. '

'Excellent. Let 's do our best to ensure my sweet little Maomao is happy, because anyone who stands in the way of her joy is my mortal enemy. I 'm sure no one wants that. I 'm afraid I don 't have much to show for myself but my daughter. What 's a little minor treason for my daughter 's happiness? '

First of all, threatening to overthrow the emperor of the nation is not a little 'minor treason, ' at least as the emperor sees it. And second, he 's just stunned at how bizarre and crazed this behavior actually is.

Second, Lakan doesn 't seem to be worried at all that he 's going to face any consequence, although Yang is left wondering if he 's like Zuigetsu and he 's just ready to die for Maomao on any random day of the week.

The Great Sun Emperor wonders what exactly Maomao does to people that have them so willing to commit combination treason-suicide for her sake. In terms of looks, she 's certainly looking cuter lately, but she 's not the kind of beautiful he would expect in a story where people start a war over a woman. After improvement, Maomao is still nearly titless. She does not flirt. She intentionally goes out of her way to not be charming. She 's exceedingly weird.

If the courtesans at a brothel are good at making a man empty his pockets, Maomao has seemingly found a far more powerful skill: using her questionable charm to coax powerful men into treason and death.

The emperor likes her personally, but finds her oddly terrifying in a way now, because despite her aversion to politics, even the emperor will bend his knee to her whim.

It 's probably some sort of blessing she wasn 't actually raised by Lakan and that she doesn 't want to be powerful.

After Lakan leaves, the emperor returns to his personal residence, left with a chalky taste in his mouth from being threatened by the most powerful man outside of the imperial house.

The past few days have been really not great for him, because after embarrassing himself and everyone else in his office, his mother told him he wronged the couple and especially Maomao and that he should release them to be free to live their lives.

Then Empress Gyokuyou said basically the same thing, but with more pouting.

Then Ah-Duo.

Then Lihua.

Virtually everyone woman he regularly speaks to thought he was an asshole and a moron over the incident and that the least he can do is open a door for the prince and his love to be together.

But he stubbornly dug in on the basis of being the emperor, and for three days, all of them were mad at him. Yet he still persisted, although he realizes now if he 'd just listening to the women trying to tell him what he should do, and relented sooner, Lakan would not have come to his office and threatened to depose him with that creepy grin on his face.

All in all, this whole debacle has been a reminder of the limits of his judgement, the patience of those around him, and the Grand Commandant 's sanity.

Behold the secret political prowess of the Sun Emperor: humiliating himself and others, making everyone around him mad, and gaining nothing.

He smells food, and expecting a nice meal to be prepared, because he

is

the emperor, he instead finds all the aforementioned women having dinner together. There is no place set for him.

All of them just congregating in the same place by choice is very weird because they just don 't do that. Lihua is here, which means his mother probably brought her from the rear palace just so they could completely fill the smaller dinner table where he normally ate and ensure he knew he was not welcome to join them.

They were all laughing when he walked in, and really, he is the only thing that they all have in common so he thinks that he is the butt of their jokes.

(This is correct.)

This just feels like deliberate intimidation, like they want him to know that they all think he 's wrong.

The emperor has this weird suspicion that Gyokuyou knew all along that Maomao wasn 't pregnant and let the whole misadventure take place for unknown reasons, but he has no proof of this, only vague suspicions and the memory of her adorable giggles while he stumbled through his own idiocy for an entire week.

Lady Ah-Duo says, 'Oh, you made it home. We decided you might have too much work to do since you took so much time off this past week to meddle, so we had the cooks prepare a meal for you to eat in your study. You 're such a diligent worker, and it serves the people of Li so well. '

This is bullying.

He is being bullied.

Emperor Yang says, 'I changed my mind. I have decided after careful deliberation that I will allow Zuigetsu leave the imperial family and marry. I decided this on my own, after careful reflection and prayer. '

Lady Ah-Duo answers, 'Exactly what we expected from our wise emperor. '

Lady Anshi asks, 'Do you want to have dinner with us? '

The emperor considers this and decides this convergence of female energy is probably dangerous to him in some way. Even though he has given in, the rage of a woman cannot be satisfied so easily. He humiliated Maomao, who has a very close personal connection to everyone at the table, especially Gyokuyou and Lihua.

They will not leave the debt unpaid. An apology is not enough; he will atone for making the trouble he has caused the cat.

'It is as you say. I 'm very busy. I 'll eat in my study. And then I will retire to the rear palace for a while. '

Lihua says, 'The father of the nation works so hard. '

Gyokuyou answers, 'And so wise. Never a mistake in judgement or intuition. The insight he has is without equal. '

'As the wise consort, I recognize the wisdom of the emperor is far superior to my own, ' Lihua playfully replies.

Lady Anshi adds, 'Now, now, let 's not be too hard on him. He did his best, ladies.

His best

. '

Emperor Yang shuts the door and sulks. Is he not the emperor?

Then he opens it again and says, 'Would you all like to assist in planning a wedding for the prince and his cat? I am certain they would both be horrified by a big ceremony, but something small would be suitable. It seems like you all need something to do. '

Well

yes

, they would.

Of course they would.

Dressing Maomao up in a red gown with gold embroidery? Ceremonial tea at the shrine? Silly little wedding night traditions?

He considers this distraction a brilliant tactical move that will improve the quality of his life significantly.

But he has learned

nothing

, because elsewhere, Jinshi and Maomao are returning to the Outer Court from their visit to see the baby, and they have no idea they are getting married. They 're quietly disappointed by the uncertainty they think they are still trapped in, unaware that Maomao 's generally incompetent father threatened to overthrow the government if she couldn 't be happy.

Maomao thinks maybe they should have sex anyway, although with her heart as it is, and the fact that she 's full of fertility herbs, she worries they 'll just be talking in a couple of months about how to get rid of something she thinks they 'd both be happy to have.

When they reach the place where they might part ways normally, since it 's after dark, he says, 'I 'll walk you back to your quarters. '

'Master Jinshi. '

'What is it? '

'If I asked, would you grant me an audience with the Imperial Amphibian? '

The prince feels a little nervous as he asks, 'Do you wish to observe it for scientific purposes or '? '

'Entertainment. '

'That just makes you sound like you want to point at it and laugh. '

Maomao answers, 'I can 't promise I won 't. I have no idea what it looks like, but apparently, you 'll show it to anyone. The old fart said it was bumpy, which is concerning. Do you have bumps? '

'I feel like you are asking me if I have the clap. '

'I won 't ask questions, but I will make you some ointment. If you have sores, and they fester, the whole thing might rot off or need to be amputated. '

The prince crosses his arms. 'First of all, it 's bumpy because it 's very veiny, which I 've heard is considered a good thing. And second of all, no, I don 't have venereal disease. And third of all, this conversation really seemed like it was going somewhere nice, but now you 're talking about cutting my extremities off for the second time today. '

Maomao answers, 'So you won 't let me meet the Imperial Amphibian? '

He pretends to be as cool as possible as if all the blood in his body hasn 't dropped to one area. 'What 's in it for me? '

'You get to show me your frog. I will look at it. With my eyes. You will watch me looking at it with my eyes with your eyes. '

Of course this is more than fair. She wants to see it. He

reallllly

wants to show it to her. Wants to see her face when she looks at it, and hear the weird, clinical observations she will make to herself as she examines it like a doctor and uses very medical terms to describe it. He has no problem being the patient for the Cat Doctor as long as no amputations are involved.

'Would you show me yours? ' he teases.

'I don 't have a frog. '

'You know what I mean. '

'I 'm afraid I don 't. '

Jinshi lowers his voice. 'I

will

say it. I 'm not a coward like you, needing to call it some other word. '

'I don 't think you will. '

He tries to hype himself up, but 'nope, that word is not coming out of his mouth, at least not in this context as they walk together in a semi-public place. No one can hear them, but still, his cheeks are red and hers are as well. A third party would have no problem guessing they were flirting.

'Okay fine. I 'm a coward, but please, ' he whines.

Maomao says, 'I would need to bathe first. '

'What, did you think I was fresh as a rose? You know, we could go back to my house and have a bath together if you 're that bothered. '

She answers, 'I don 't believe people who bathe together before sexual activity clean themselves as thoroughly as if they were alone. I could take a bath and return to your home, I suppose. '

'I could just have the servants prepare you a different bath at my home. We could eat, have a bath, and then I 'll show you mine if you show me yours. '

Maomao realizes she 's carrying the basket that contains the clothes she left behind the last time she visited his room. 'Now that I think of it, I already have something to put on in the morning. '

He grabs her hand, and they hurry toward his place.

The cat and the amphibian prepare for their long-awaited first meeting.