Little Purple

In a very dark place unknown to anyone.

A shadowy figure looked up to the moon.

"Leader." Someone with a dark expression came to him. "I found out why the Young Master of the Hu family didn't die despite our succeed attempt."

The one called leader had an eerie aura around him, he didn't look back as he asked with a low tone. "Why?"

"It seems that on the day he woke up, a certain girl was with him. That girl was also by his side when he got the injury. It seems that she was the one who cured him."

"A girl?"

"Yes, Leader. It is also the same girl that repelled our needle attack at the ceremony. We can only use the disappearing power three times to. That girl wasted them all!"

The shadowy figure was not only concerned about the wasted power.

"Someone who can cure our poison, don't tell me she is the gatekeeper?" The shadowy man frowned. "If that is so, we can't let her live."

-----

The day passed one by one until autumn came.

"When will you do it?" Hu Ye was playing Chinese Chess with Qing Bo and asked him this sudden question.

"Do what?"

"Marriage proposal, I mean."

The chess in Qing Bo's hand dropped into the board.

"Checkmate, it seems that I won." Said Hu Ye cheerfully.

Qing Bo's face grew dark, it looks like his in-law is even deeper than himself. "You knew?"

Hu Ye cleaned the chessboard. "She is an adult now, but not once have been proposed to."

"A quick-witted, extraordinary, and beautiful girl like my Second Sister, only you is cunning enough to pull the strings and prevent any man from getting close."

"..." Qing Bo kept silent. He indeed did just that.

"You are already a right prime minister, don't you think it is time to get her?"

"Not yet, I'm not done yet."

Hu Ye helplessly smiled, he firmly patted his brother-in-law's right shoulder, Hu Ye is a man with a wive and a kid, he knew Qing Bo's feeling well.

"Brother, although she is a bit clueless and slow about these things. She is not an idiot. She is not really the unapproachable type either, many want her. You should take the opportunity, or you might lose your chance, like I almost lost mine with your Little Sister."

Hu Ye went out of the study room. Qing Bo just stood there, looking at his departing figure.

Qing Bo took out a piece of cloth from his sleeve. He opened the cloth. It revealed a beautiful, unique, and extremely uncommon golden orange fish shaped hairpin. The hairpin fish model was orange koi, and there were golden lotus flowers that surrounding the fish.

He touched his forehead with his right hand's palm and looked down at the hairpin in his left hand. "Fish Stick, I…"

-----

"The following will be the people that will go to the memorial palace this winter." The eunuch announced. "Hu Quan Li, Hu Ye, Hu Xiang Yi, Hua Tian Mi, Hu Bai, Hu Cheng Se, Hu Zi, and Qing Guang."


Hu Ye frowned, he looked to the side and saw Qing Guang's confused face. Every year, the palace sent some official to the memorial palace far from Jin Ye. There used to be a great war near that palace and that saddens the people of Jin's heart. The officials were sent there as a condolence for the fallen soldier that died at that time.

Usually, the palace only sent people from one bloodline, let's just say from Hu Quan Li's bloodline, that means even if Qing Guang was Hu Ye's wife, she was not obliged to come, Hu Ye wondered why the Emperor used the edict to send her too. Moreover, they also wanted his baby to travel so far away.

"That is the end of the edict."

"Long live the Emperor." They said while kneeling

Winter came and it was on the day before their departure.

Hu Bai was restless because her daughter, suddenly had a very high fever, she wondered if she should ask permission not to go to the palace.

"Don't worry, the doctor said it is a normal fever and will stop after a few days." Zhi Yu caressed his wife's head, soothing her.

"Mother." Shao Yao was having a bad dream, she kept calling her mother.

"Yes, I am here, my daughter."

"Mom, don't go." Shao Yao said in an extremely sad voice. Zhi Yu didn't want to let Hu Bai go in their daughter's condition.

"Mom will come back, daddy will stay here. You do your best, drink your medicines, and be healthy, okay." Hu Bai caressed Shao Yao's chubby cheek, Zhi Yu said that Shao Yao looked so much like her mother when she was little.

"Mother..." Shao Yao eye became teary.

"It is another beautiful night."

Hu Cheng Se was looking at the sky as snow fell onto her body, she was at the Qing Bo's residence. She just finished helping Guang pack her things and wrote down some pages for her writing.

Guang had long fallen asleep with her baby upstairs. But Hu Cheng Se couldn't fall asleep tonight, she looked at the bright full moon, and thought about many things.

She went around and around in the garden until she finally stopped at she pavilion stairs. She stopped, but it was not because she was sleepy after walking around. It was because she could feel a certain presence of someone familiar nearby. There was a shadow of a tall man standing not that far away from her.

She looked at the tall figure who was also looking at her from the courtyard entrance.

He just came home from doing business and heard that his sister came back, he wanted to check on her. But met an unexpected person instead.

Qing Bo waved his hand and the guards behind him immediately withdrew.

He looked at her, she looked at him, just like that in the middle of a cold quiet night.