390: Quack Deals

Quack Deals

"So let me get this straight...a random floating orb told you it wanted to be born so you thought Xing er'?"1

"It's our grandbaby, don't call it "it", it's our grandbaby!" Doctor Lou scolded, "It had been following Xing Xing and Xiao Kai around for quite a while. It always did this really cute thing where it bounced about whenever they were together-"

Bai Huan scoffed, "You're a pervert." 

"I wasn't watching them!" Doctor Lou indignantly said, turning to glare at Bai Huan, "I only witnessed the prelude, if anything. Either way,  I figured it was harmless so I left it alone and just watched for a while until it became too pitiful... So I got to know our little Wei Wei and helped the little cutie along as a favor~" He smugly said with a pout as he turned back to the bed and resumed his task of tucking Lei Xing and the Emperor in, "Used to be cute anyway, just this little time with Xing Xing is already turning this one sour too." Doctor Lou grumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" Bai Huan asked and Doctor Lou jumped and turned to find Bai Huan hovering over his shoulder. 

"Nothing! Too close, don't be weird!" Doctor Lou said, jumping a few feet away and glaring at Bai Huan.

"Yes, I'm definitely the strange one here~" Bai Huan sarcastically said with a smirk, then he looked down at Lei Xing and the Emperor who snuggled closer together before settling back into their peaceful slumber, "I guess they do look good together..." Bai Huan commented.

"Of course, I'm a pristine matchmaker." Doctor Lou smugly responded, stroking his beard.

"A matchmaker no one employs." Bai Huan offhandedly commented, still observing the sleeping couple.

Doctor Lou glared at him again, "We're done here, let's go!" He ordered and disappeared from the room. Bai Huan lightly chuckled as he watched Doctor Lou huff out. Before leaving he glanced at the sleeping couple one more time and happened to catch a moment where the Emperor cuddled Lei Xing closer and subconsciously planted a kiss on her forehead, before settling his forehead to hers with a sleepy smile. 

Bai Huan smiled as well and commented, "They really did look happy together-"

"Hurry up!" Doctor Lou's disgruntled voice boomed in the room and Bai Huan chuckled again before also leaving as well. It was always fun for everyone to get under Doctor Lou's skin - after all, he always does something to deserve it one way or another. 

The duo arrived back in Tung Mei's courtyard and were happy to find that the shield around her bedroom was down.

"Finally!" Doctor Lou happily exclaimed as he scurried over and kicked open the doors in his obnoxious fashion. 

"They're gone! Where'd they go?!" Doctor Lou exclaimed just as Bai Huan sauntered into the room.  Bai Huan scanned the room as Doctor Lou hopped from one end to the other, opening any and everything that can be opened to check for them, "Where's the girl? Where's my Ying Ying?!" Doctor Lou lamented as he turned the room upside down, looking for Feng Lifen and Tung Mei, the two people he had left in here, "I knew she was up to no good, should have never trusted her..."

While Doctor Lou doing his overly thorough search, Bai Huan quietly turned to make his exit. Since his partner was gone, he had no reason to be here anymore. Unfortunately for him, Doctor Lou caught on. Just as he crossed the threshold of the door, the old man jumped on his back and locked his arms and legs locked around Bai Huan "We're going together." The old man informed with a disgruntled pout.

"Going where?" Bai Huan stopped to ask.

"You know where they are, so take me to them obviously. Don't tell me you two planned this the whole time?" Doctor Lou asked, squinting furiously at Bai Huan. 

Bai Huan narrowed his eyes back at the old man and reminded, "You were the one who dragged us here. You were also the one who ran off to check on your little illegal side project -"

"There's nothing illegal about it!" Doctor Lou quickly interjected, "Xiao Long knows about it, as for other people, it's on a need-to-know basis. Besides, if you two cared enough, you would have made yourselves available for consultation!" 

  Bai Huan rolled his eyes, "Either way, it's clear what happened here. Lifen finished, came out, saw we were gone, got annoyed and left. As for Xiao Ying, she's probably roaming about somewhere-"

"What about the girl's body? Why would it be missing?" Doctor Lou chirped up, not at all convinced.

"I don't know, Xiao Ying must have taken her. Either way, this has nothing to do with me. Release me." Bai Haun ordered.

Still convinced, Doctor Lou pulled out the necklace hanging on his neck, squinted at the crystal at the center and then held it out to Bai Huan, "Look! Ying Ying's body is still in there, which means whatever Lifen did FAILED. Therefore, this is not over! I want my Ying Ying!" He said. 

Bai Huan sighed and said, "Look, I was only here as a spectator. This really has nothing to do with me so you can go find Lifen yourself to resolve your issue-"

"It's faster to go with you!" Doctor Lou said, wrapping his arms tightly around Bai Huan's neck, unrelenting.

Bai Haun grabbed Doctor Lou's arms, "Let go right now before I toss you."

"You can try. Just because I look like this doesn't mean I'm weak!"

And this the tussle began.

  "If you continue like this, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

"Hmph! When were you ever kind to me?!"

"Lao Lou seriously this is annoying! Stop it!"

"No! If you leave, how am I supposed to fin-"

"Dad?" A voice suddenly interrupted and two froze on the ground where their tussle had landed them and looked up to find Lei Yong and Tung Mei people standing in the corridor, staring at them. 

"Dad?" Lei Yong repeated with raised eyebrows, staring at Tung Mei. 

Tung Mei blinked a few times and then laughed, "Ah, godfather, I meant godfather, he's my godfather and he-" She pointed at Bai Huan and then frowned as she awkwardly added, "is also my godfather. Yes, I have two godfathers - which is why I call this one dad because he's so old- wise! He's wise... Don't think about it, it makes sense." She quickly finished with a nervous chuckle and a smile that was a bit too wide to be convincing.

"Ying Ying?" Doctor Lou skeptically went, his hold loosening ever so briefly. In the next moment, Bai Huan broke free and Doctor Lou found himself hurtling across the courtyard. 

Only Lei Yong was surprised at this turn of events as he panicked and protectively stepped out in front of Tung Mei, but as he turned back to confront Bai Huan, there was no one there. He glanced about in confusion for a moment before turning to Tung Mei, "You go get help! I'll check on the old-"

"It's okay, he doesn't need help. This happens all the time." Tung Mei quickly said, grabbing his arm before he could run over to Doctor Lou, "You may not want to get close too close to him. He gets testy when he doesn't get his way." She said as she pulled him towards the exit. 

Lei Yong frowned in confusion, "Wha-"

"Don't worry, he's perfectly fine. Trust me, it's all good. Thank you for walking me back, you should hurry back before someone sees you here. Even though we're engaged, it's the middle of the night so it won't be good. Sleep well, I'll see you tomorrow!" She hurriedly concluded as she shoved him outside and closed the courtyard doors on his face before he could ask any more questions. 

Lei Yong stood there staring at the shut doors, not sure what to do. He could not just leave like that after that, what if the attacking godfather returned?! With that resolve, he reached for the door. 

"Young master Lei?" Lei Yong stopped in his tracks and turned to see Tung Mei's two maids staring at him with wide eyes, "What are you doing here...at this hour?" She questioned, giving him a very odd look.

Lei Yong quickly dropped his hand and said, "I- I was out for a walk and...ran into your mistress so...I escorted her back."

"I see..." The maids both echoed, still giving him an odd look which made sense considering when they arrived he looked as if he were about to go in and not out. 

"You should go in, check on your mistress!" Lei Yong eagerly went, even going as far as to open and hold the door for them with a strained smile. The maids glanced at each other, bowed and then went in. Lei Yong quickly peeked in after them and scanned the courtyard, he saw Tung Mei standing, alone in the corner but there was no sign of the old man or the other godfather. 

Tung Mei smiled and waved at him, Lei Yong relaxed, it seemed all was well with her. He smiled awkwardly raised a hand to wave, then he turned red as he noticed the maids had stopped and were looking at him oddly again. He cleared his throat and quickly closed the door.

Lei Yong lingered at the door for a moment longer, before smiling and walking away. It was like a heavy load had finally been lifted off his shoulders. He had been quite anxious recently, this was because Tung Mei had been avoiding him. During the trip, she had kept her distance - they talked every now and then but it was not like before. It was always quite formal, awkward. 

He had not mentioned the marriage thing to her though, because he did honestly did not think the Emperor would actually force him into a marriage. But he was wrong, he underestimated the Emperor and forgot how stubborn he was. If he said it, he meant it. As soon as their party arrived at Tung Mei's home, the captain of Imperial guards that Lei Xing had sent to escort Tung Mei whipped out the Emperor's edict and officially proclaimed their engagement, sealing their fate.

Since that day, his relationship with Tung Mei became even more strained. She always seemed to be running away from him, which was strange but he figured it was his fault. After all, he rejected her several times and he shows up at her parents with an edict like a proposal was beneath him. Still, it was hard to find time with her alone, the few times he did find her alone he was always managed to make a fool of himself,  always falling or getting hit by something.

Moreover, he was not sure if his explaining would help or not, since she might take it that it that he was being forced into it, which could arguably be more offensive than simply not being proposed to. While it was true he might have been forced into this marriage, he had been thinking about it over the last few weeks and he honestly found that he was quite content at the prospect of a life with her, giddy even at some points. 

But his excitement at the prospect had been damped with Tung Mei's cold reception of it, this was until he unexpectedly ran into her on his walk tonight. For the first time in so long, she was herself again, bubbly and excited to see him. She even called him "Yong ge" which almost brought tears to his eyes. 

Just thinking about it now caused him to break out into a laugh, which he quickly masked by clearing his throat when the guards in the corner gave him a curious look. He nodded and quickly entered his courtyard and rushed into the privacy of his room. He laid down and let out a long breath, still could not help smiling as he closed his eyes in relief. 

{...It's great everything is finally back to normal... It seems married life won't be so bad after all~...}

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