Gluttonous Consort

7 - Mission Failed

CHAPTER SEVEN

Meilin had only told Li Wei what he wanted to hear - in reality she was not about to pass up the opportunity to get her hands on a real case. She had every right to investigate a threat targeted to her and investigate is exactly what she planned to do.

Currently, with the covers all the way up to her chin, Meilin sneaked a look at the figure beside her. She had to be sure that he was fully asleep before she could leave the room. However the cushions separating the two made it hard to see whether his eyes were closed or not.

I'll just have to take the risk, thought Meilin.

As quietly as she could, she peeled the covers off of her and rolled out of bed. It was only when she landed safely on the wooden floor that she allowed herself to release a breathe that she was holding out of anxiety. Tip toeing further and further away until she reached the doors to their room, Meilin slid them open only to come face to face with Daiyu.

Daiyu's face was etched with fear and worry.

"Miss, we really shouldn't be doing this!" She whispered while watching her miss close the doors shut behind her.

"And since when have I cared about that?" She retorted back mischievously. "Besides, if you don't feel comfortable coming out with me, I won't force you."

Daiyu turned promptly to leave...until Meilin pulled her back.

"I only said that to comfort you! Don't leave me by myself!" Meilin whisper shouted. She had thought her maid had more loyalty than this, especially now when the task was to venture out at night. Who knew what kind of monsters roamed the city streets? It would be foolish to go out there by herself!

"Fine..." Daiyu said dejectedly. If it wasn't for the fact that she too worried about the safety of her miss, she would have already left.

The two stood there in silence for a few seconds. Getting out of the room proved to be much easier and time efficient than Meilin had originally thought. Unfortunately, getting out was the only thing she had thought of. What needed to be done next was a mystery.

What do the novels do? Meilin thought desperately, trying to recall something, anything. And that is when the spark ignited in her mind.

"That's it!" She spoke up with determination, "we must sneak into the sleuth's office for the reports! Once we get a hold of them, we will know the exact details and who reported what. Then, we can identify if there is any pattern."

Meilin was quite proud of of her train of thought. The only problem, however, was getting to the sleuth's office, which happened to be on the opposite side of the city, across the river. All in all, a 40 minute ride in the carriage whilst being pulled by horses. But they did not have a carriage. Nor did they have a horse.

"How do you propose we will get there, Miss?" The maid questioned. Truthfully she found herself swaying a little after being up all day and running errands. Sleep was supposed to be a reward after a whole day's worth of work but it looks like work had yet to finish. Meilin herself who didn't do as half of the work her maid did was also tired.

After thinking long and hard, Meilin let out a deep sigh. "We have no choice but to walk. If we fetch the horses from the stable, it will make too much noise."

"Or..." drawled out a voice somewhere from the darkness, "you can stop this foolishness and come back to bed where it is warm. And most importantly, safe."

Meilin and Daiyu instinctively stepped back when the doors to the master bedroom slid open, revealing an annoyed Li Wei standing with his eyes narrowed at the two.

"You! You're meant to be sleeping!" It was clear that the girl had been taken aback, especially after all that she did to make sure she had successfully sneaked out.

Li Wei rolled his eyes at her. "I can say the same to you," he replied. "I just knew it was weird how you so quickly agreed to drop the case and so I quietly waited and watched to see what you would do. Now look at you, caught in the act."

"I-"

"You what?" He interrupted annoyingly.

Now, instead of shocked, Meilin was more annoyed than ever. "You still cannot stop me from leaving!" She said in a fit of fury. Nevertheless, things were not going according to plan this night, and so why she thought she could escape from right under his nose was a mystery. No more than two steps had been taken in the opposite direction when a pair of sturdy arms enveloped themselves around Meilin's waist.

Daiyu felt her cheeks redden as she saw the close proximity of her miss and master, the sight of it making the girl turn around in shame.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Meilin found it hard to keep her voice down when all she wanted to do was scream.

How dare he! She fumed.

Li Wei had not exactly planned on doing this either but rather it was a spur of the moment action to stop the little girl from getting any further. However, now that he became aware of their close position, he couldn't help but think how perfectly his arms fit around her waist.

"Maybe if you stopped struggling I would unhand you," Li Wei spoke, his voice perfectly calm unlike the lady in his arms.

Meilin thanked the heavens for it being night or else he would have seen how red her cheeks had become. Then again they were so close that she was sure he could see the tinge of colour anyway. This was the first time in her 17 years of life that she was being handled this way and she did not know what to think or how to react only that this happened to be way more intimate than she would have liked.

"Alright," she managed to say, "now can you let me go? Please." And just like that Meilin was once again free but neither of them took any steps back, so the distance between them stayed the same.

Li Wei was the first to speak, breaking the growing tense atmosphere. "Come back to bed," he said softly. He knew that it was no point in raising his voice or else they would continue to fight - he had to coax her back inside.

"I do no want-"

This time it was Meilin herself who interrupted her speech with the yawn that escaped her mouth.

"See? You're tired. And what do you think you're going to accomplish setting out in the middle of the night when your eyes are about to close at any second?"

Oh, she hated how right he was.

Trying to convince her further, Li Wei took hold of her hand with both of his. All the while Meilin kept an eye on what he was doing.

"I won't argue further. Come back to bed."

The command in his voice left no space for arguments and Meilin knew that very well. Therefore she did what she should and gave up, eventually following Li Wei inside their room where none of them spoke.

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