scarlet heart | exo

Best Friends?

"XUEFENG!"

One foot into the gardens of the Eighth Prince's Manor, and a plump teenage boy in red robes dashed up to Xuefeng and threw his arms around her.

The shock stripped her of her athlete's reflexes, and she stood rooted and frozen as the squishy boy clung onto her like his life depended on it.

W-What? I thought physical contact between unmarried males and females is not allowed in the Qing dynasty!

The teenager released her and blinked while staring at her expressionless face.

"Xuefeng, is something wrong? This is the first time you haven't already smacked me on the head..."

Qiaoying came up panting, "Greetings to the 10th Prince."

Oh?

So this was the 10th Prince?

Xuefeng looked at the chubby face that was twisted into a rather comical expression of confusion, all raised eyebrows, downturned eyes and pouty lips.

Okay. Kangxi's 10th Prince Xiumin was nicknamed "Straw Bag (草包)" as he was known to be innocent, simple-minded, carefree and a bit of a pushover, unlike his scheming siblings. But...

She really didn't expect him to be that innocent.

"Earth to Xuefeng?" Xiumin waved his hand in front of Xuefeng's eyes.

"10th Prince, Miss Xuefeng fainted yesterday and lost some of her memories. I'm afraid she doesn't recognise you anymore..." Qiaoying explained.

"WHAT?! XUEFENG!! How could you have forgotten me!" Xiumin collapsed into a series of dramatic wails.

"I'm sorry... 10th Prince," said Xuefeng. Truthfully, she had completely no idea how to comfort Xiumin because he was Qing Dynasty Xuefeng's friend, not 21st Century Onyx's. He seemed really nice and she dreaded to hurt his feelings, but it did not change the fact that she did not know a thing about him.

"You've really forgotten me, haven't you? You never call me 10th Prince! You always called me Xiumin..." Xiumin was in tears.

"Xiumin..." Xuefeng mumbled, trying to get used to the feeling of the name on her tongue. She reached a hand out to his shoulder, hesitated, but decided to go through with it, gently patting in what she hoped was a comforting manner.

Xiumin looked up, smiling brightly through his tears. "Yeah! That's how you used to call me! You know what, it's okay if you've lost your memories. You're still Xuefeng! We can talk about our old memories and learn to be best friends again!" Xiumin leapt up and hugged Xuefeng.

This time, she laughed.

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Xuefeng and Xiumin hung out at the garden. Time flew by, filled with Xiumin's jabbering about past memories while Xuefeng listened, trying to get an idea of the relationship between Xuefeng and Xiumin.

Apparently, the two of them had literally grown up together, getting up to all sorts of pranks in the Forbidden City as children. Xiumin was rarely reprimanded due to his princely status, so Xuefeng was targeted by the irate guards who had enough of the childrens' shenanigans. But Xiumin was a loyal partner-in-crime, and refused to see Xuefeng suffer punishment alone, so he accompanied her.

(The stories just proved that Xiumin was really a little simple-minded, because he could have used his prince status to get them both off the hook, yet his best solution was to accompany Xuefeng and have both of them suffer the punishment. She appreciated the gesture, but she was sure that the outcome would have been different had it been left to any of his other brothers.)

Just then, two women emerged from around the corner. The older one was about Xueyin's age, and clad in purple. Her headpiece boasted bright red flowers, signalling her identity as a wife, rather than a concubine.

The younger one was about Xuefeng's age and dressed in shades of blue. She had a pink flower on her small headpiece that resembled the one Xuefeng wore, a sign that she was unmarried.

Xuefeng stared at them. Who were they?

Qiaoying whispered in Xuefeng's ear, "They are Guoluoluo Huiting and Guoluoluo Huixin. Huiting is the 8th Prince's wife, and Huixin is her younger sister."

Ah, so it was them.

Xueyin had warned her to be wary of the Guoluoluo sisters, as they were very malicious and manipulative. They would stop at nothing to advance their interests, and derived joy from putting others down.

Xueyin recounted that she had been on the receiving end of Huiting's jealousy many times, but there was little she could do in retaliation due to the difference in status between concubine and wife. Although Yixing stood up for Xueyin, he was reluctant to reprimand Huiting excessively as he needed the support of her influential family in the imperial court. Thus, Xueyin tried the best she could to bear with it and avoid troubling Yixing, but it only served to embolden Huiting.

According to Xueyin, the tension between the older sisters had spilled onto the younger sisters, and it was further exacerbated as Xuefeng and Huixin were of the same age, both of noble backgrounds, and had both grown up in the capital. They had a huge rivalry, and butted heads often.

The Guoluoluo sisters approached Xuefeng and Xiumin's party.

"Xuefeng, I heard that you fainted yesterday. Are you okay?" asked Huiting.

Xuefeng nodded curtly, but Xiumin blurted, "She lost some of her memories! I don't know if she remembers any of you..."

Huixin gasped and grabbed onto Xuefeng's arm. "Xuefeng, you can't have forgotten me, right?"

"Miss Huixin, she forgot the 10th Prince. I'm afraid that she has forgotten you too," Qiaoying piped up.

"You forgot me? Us? You really forgot it all?" Huixin's hands flew to Xuefeng's cheeks, an expression of worry and surprise crossing her face. "You've forgotten how we used to play together at each other's homes? Hide-and-seek in the Forbidden Palace? Learning embroidery together? We even choreographed and performed a dance at the Emperor's birthday celebrations two years ago..."

"She forgot it all," stated Xiumin, sighing and resting his chin on his hand.

Xuefeng looked at Huixin. Her brow was creased with worry, the urgency in her voice evident. As an athlete, she had seen her fair share of friendly pretences and chummy facades both on and off the competition field, but Huixin had none of that.

She seemed nice. Moreover, Xiumin's memory seemed to affirm the close friendship that Xuefeng and Huixin shared.

Huixin's older sister, the 8th Prince's wife Huiting, did not speak much. But her eyes were shining with genuine concern. Xiumin and Qiaoying seemed to regard her with respect, and it was not at all forced. They did not have any of the guarded mannerisms that one would have in the presence of someone mean and nasty.

Xueyin lied?

But why would she?

Another maid walked up to them. "The 12th Prince has arrived, he is on his way here."

Another prince? Xuefeng was starting to get irritated of having to tell the story of her losing her memories so many times.

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