Aftermath (A series of ELOD one-shots)

IV. Returning Favors

A/N: Photo above not mine, posted merely for reference.

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The little fox is hiding something.

Xiaobai is not a very good liar in the first place.  Her face is too open, her eyes too expressive, her actions too excitable.  She has yet to master the skill of keeping a straight face while making a fool of someone else, especially when that someone is the master of trickery himself, Donghua Dijun.

But for all her inability to lie, Xiaobai is an expert at keeping things very well hidden when she wanted them to.  Case in point was her location during their two hundred years of separation, and the first 197 years of Gungun's existence.

So despite knowing with absolute certainty that his fiery little wife is hiding something from him, Donghua had no idea what that something was.

But the former emperor of all realms is a very patient and cunning man, not to mention an excellent strategist.  Deciding that his skills need to be practiced every once in a while, anyway, he allowed Xiaobai to proceed with her little scheme and pretended not to suspect anything.

It was fun at first, seeing her panic all over Taichen.  Donghua purposely slowed his strides when approaching to give her enough time to hide what she was doing, and peeked around doors to see her frantically wave her hands to conjure her secrets away.  The flush on Xiaobai's cheeks when she pretended that nothing was amiss was truly entertaining.

But one day, he found her hiding behind the closed doors of Taichen Palace's indoor hot spring, talking in low voices to someone.

"Take a good look, did you see it clearly? Good. Now go, he'll be here any minute now..."

Not bothering with the door, he phased into the hot spring so fast that the leaves on the surrounding Bodhi vines trembled.  He found Xiaobai inside, fully clothed, dipping her bare feet on the water.  She was alone.

"Oh, there you are, lord husband. Bathe with me?"

An invitation like that...needless to say, Dongua forgot about the suspicious conversation in the face of his wife's blatant seduction.

He was, however, reminded of his slip-up a few weeks later, when he went to look for Xiaobai in the imperial kitchen and heard snippets of her exchange with one of the maids.

"...Xiao Yan...outside the gates...be very discreet."

Donghua kept his footsteps silent and strode into the kitchens.  Xiaobai was there, a ladle in hand, stirring a pot of something fragrant.  The maid was already walking out the door with a package in hand.

He was about to call the maid back but his wife was faster.   A bowl of something delicious was pushed under his nose, its enticing aroma stealing his attention away.

"I'm trying a new recipe, would you like to have a taste?"