Little Purple

1.010 The wall cracked

Lately, there were many suitors coming to the house. Hu Bai was fourteen and she was about to graduate this spring. So, many nobles would not miss this chance to ask the beautiful, elegant, and smart young lady's hand in marriage. But, before they could meet her, the general and his wife sent them back, they carefully told them that they are waiting for someone else for their precious daughter.

Those who got turned down were high-rank nobles. Even the Left Prime Minister Qing's people came, but Qing Bo forcefully dragged them back to the house.

Lastly, the Second Prince came. At that time, it was in the middle of spring, Hu Bai was fifteen and she had already graduated from school.

Inside the three sisters' courtyard, Hu Bai sat on a stone bench. She was surrounded by her siblings who looked at her with worry.

"Eldest Sister..." Hu Zi called.

"..." Hu Bai looked rather calm, but her face was pale and she closed her eyes to focus on thinking about something. What should I do? What should I do? Hu Bai told her parents that she already had someone in her heart and would like to wait until he came.

She knew that that person never thought of her as a woman. Yet, she would like to wait. Even if it would take him years to finally realize her feelings. But, there was no way to reject the Second Prince's proposal. She would end up being with him if things go on like this.

Prang!

All of a sudden, a sound of something being thrown and smashed to the ground could be heard in the entire mansion.

When Hu Zi heard the crashing sound she got alarmed. The Second Prince was very handsome and smart. However, he had a very bad temper and was not an easy person to deal with.

Hu Zi saw her sister's slightly frowned eyebrows and she decided on something. "Second Sister, Fourth Brother, take care of Eldest Sister for me!" Hu Zi immediately left the room and borrowing the wind's power, she drifted herself to a place behind the practice hall.

-----

Behind the practice hall before the Second Prince came...

"Come on, Falcon. Don't be so depressed. You knew that this day would come sooner or later." Falcon stood facing the building near the four lined up trees, his head was hanging on the wall while looking down. Fa Sui stood behind him, patting his wide back. "Cheer up, dude... There are countless other beautiful women out there. I am sure you will find someone else."

"But, but... Sui, you like her too, don't you? Don't you also feel this pain I feel?"

"Sigh..." Fa Sui didn't know what to say. He came back from a medical school that was located on the other side of the continent just a week ago and found out Hu Bai was on the verge of being married off. "Just accept it already!"

"I won't accept it, I don't want to accept it! She is everyone's sweetheart, ah! Even though there is no way she will be mine, I don't want her to belong to anybody!"

"Damn, don't be such a baby, Falcon!" The corner of Fa Sui mouth's twitched, he suddenly became irritated. "You are seventeen, man up! Moreover, you should not be the most depressed one here."

Fa Sui glanced to the side where the four lined up trees were planted.

Fifteen years ago, Zhi Yu planted the largest tree when Hu Bai was born. He started to plant other trees as a reminder every time one of the Hu siblings were born after. Because the Hu siblings were born on different seasons, the trees will take a turn to bloom. Hu Cheng Se's tree's leaves would turn yellow-orange in summer, Hu Zi's plum tree would blossom in winter, and Hu Ye's tree would bear fruit in fall.

"Chief?" Fa Sui called in a small voice. "What are thinking about?"

Zhi Yu was gazing at the tallest tree with deep eyes and solemn expression. "The tree... it is already in the middle of spring but it hasn't grown any flowers." He closed his eyes and took something out of his sleeve. A pure white peony flower. "Even the peonies on my courtyard have bloomed. I wonder why this tree hasn't... was it the fertilizer?" Fa Sui felt the sadness behind Zhi Yu's calm tone of voice. "I hope they bloom in soon so the Eldest Young Miss can see it this year."

"Chief Zhi Yu..." Fa Sui knew that Zhi Yu was the one who treasured Hu Bai the most. He must be feeling sad about Hu Bai leaving. "Ah!" Fa Sui's eyes widen, a brilliant idea suddenly came up to him. "That's it!"

"Huh?" Falcon finally raised his head when he heard Fa Sui shouted. "What's it, Sui?"

"Chief!" With a huge smile and gleaming eyes, Fa Sui ran up to Zhi Yu. He gripped both of Zhi Yu's shoulder and made Zhi Yu faced his way. Fa Sui's body was a lot smaller than Zhi Yu but he managed to have a firm grip of him. "Chief, why don't you give it a try?"

Fa Sui's action caught Zhi Yu out of guard. Zhi Yu got cold sweats on his forehead when he saw the stars inside Fa Sui's eyes. He had a bad feeling about this. "A try on what?"

"Try to propose to the Eldest Young Miss!" Fa Sui said eagerly.

"..." In an instant, Zhi Yu's head went blank. "Huh?"

"What?!" Falcon suddenly interrupted them by shouting. Fa Sui knew what would happen next, so he closed his ears. "Sui, did you just suggested the Chief proposes to the Eldest Young Miss? Did I hear that wrong? What are you thinking? Are you out of your m-"

Falcon gasped. "Wait... no, you are right! The Chief and Eldest Young Mistress together mean my two favorite people being together! Sui, you are a genius! I love you!" Falcon said as he tightly hugged Fa Sui. Falcon was strong and Fa Sui felt like he was being squeezed to death.

"Ugh... Falcon, Falcon I... I can't breath..."

"Oops..." Falson let go of Fa Sui who became limp right after. "Sorry... But Sui, your body is so small and fragile. You should work out more." Falcon reprimand.

Zhi Yu felt like the falling leaves stopped moving when Fa Sui told him his idea, he was frozen on the spot. The barrier he made around his heart finally cracked.

"Ugh... cough, cough, anyway, cough, Chief?" Fa Sui said trying to regain his breath.

"..." Zhi Yu frowned. Still with a calm but chilling voice, he slowly replied. "I... I am the Eldest Young Miss's caretaker. That is why I could never think of her as anything but my Eldest Young Miss! Don't ever think of such a brazen idea ever again!"

"But, Chief!" Fa Sui and Falcon protested simultaneously.

"Silence!" Zhi Yu with a commanding voice.

His voice made the two boys shiver. Their faces were dark, and cold sweat was visible on their foreheads. Fa Sui and Falcon could not help but shut their mouth because Zhi Yu's voice could make people heed him although they don't want to. Some people like Jin Ning and Hu Quan Li also had a voice like this. A voice full of power and overbearing, yet with an irresistible charm.

When he saw their terrified expression, Zhi Yu's eyes widened out of shock of what he did in the spur of the moment. Zhi Yu did not mean to be harsh on the two young boys. He sighed as he turned around and walked. "Let's go back to the practice hall. We have a lot of things to catch up to."

Just then, one of the house guards came running to their direction. "Chief Zhi Yu, Doctor Fa, Captain Falcon, the Second Prince is here."

Zhi Yu halted in his step.

"Eh?" Fa Sui as one of the two responsible for welcoming guests replied. "One of the royal family members is here? I did not hear anyone talking about his arrival. Did he give us a heads up?"

"No, I don't think the Second Prince gave us a notice about his incoming." Falcon's had a rare serious tone of voice. He had a bad feeling about this. "What business does the Second Prince has that made him come here so suddenly?"

The guard gulped because he knew how dire it was for the Hu family. "He... he said he wants to propose to the Eldest Young Miss."

Zhi Yu frowned and turned his head. "What did you say?"