Lin Ning had been playing with her zither for a bit, thinking about what her last piece could be when she had finished it. Now that her parents were home, she had another maid and two guards by her side then she felt more safe. Playing the notes over and over, she had been trying to think about how it would go. Rubbing her head once again, it was getting harder for a finishing piece to be made. “You look like you need a little help.” Hearing a familiar voice, she had a smile on her face and turned to where the voice came from.

“Brot-mmm!”

“Shhh, don’t be so loud.” Using his only hand to cover her mouth, Lin Ning nodded to let him know that she was not going to be too loud,

‘I can see where I get my attitude from.’ Lin Ning laughed inside, seeing how she must have been getting comfortable living with this family. “I didn’t know that you were going to come today.” Lin Ning smiled again, seeing how Cao Peizhi (Wei) came out of nowhere without notice.

“Why would I not come see you? How have you been?” He lightly rubbed her head, seeing how she looked like she had been getting better.

“I’ve been feeling better. Thank you for that time.” Lin Ning did not want to bother him, but it was hard that time to be in the right mindset.

“Did you still need help with this?” Cao Peizhi took a seat down next to Lin Ning as she also took a seat.

“En, I just don’t know what I would put as the finishing part for this song.” Lin Ning did not know what she would put for the finishing part of the war song that she had created on her own.

“I thought that you already finished it?” Cao Peizhi thought that it was already finished when it was first played at the event.

“No, that was only half of the song. I didn’t finish the entire thing. I was just called forth to play, so I just played the song that I was best dedicated to.” Lin Ning still hated how she had to be the one to perform in front of all those people, and now she had a stalker that would not leave her alone. “Hmph! If only that emperor did not call me out then I would have been fine, but now I have a stalker coming for me.” Huffing out a breath of anger, she did not like the emperor in the least.

Cao Peizhi smiled to see that she was pouting like a child in front of him which made him nearly laugh out loud. “Pft…” He had to hold his laugh in as Lin Ning was quite shocked to see that Cao Peizhi was actually able to laugh.

“What’s so funny?!” She whined, seeing how he could laugh at her misery.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that…” Cao Peizhi needed to calm himself down in order to tell Lin Ning. “…you acting this way is like a child pouting for their parents to buy them a toy.” He said truthfully, making Lin Ning turn red.

“Don’t compare me to a child! I am twenty this year!” Getting upset, she did not know why she asked this man for help.

“Alright, you are not a child. Just don’t ever talk bad about the emperor with anyone else. I do not want to see you behind bars.” Cao Peizhi wanted Lin Ning to be sure to think about her words since there were still many people who would gossip and spread lies if they could.

“I got it. Now, will you help me or not?” Going back to the main topic, they both had managed to finish the song by the end of the day. Lin Ning felt happy that she managed to finish the last piece of the song, thinking that if Cao Peizhi were not there then she would still be lost. “Thank you, Wei. You’ve always been there to help me. If you ever need help, then do not hesitate to come and ask me as well.”

“I’ll be keeping that in mind then.” Cao Peizhi had gotten up with Lin Ning who decided to take a little stroll around her home garden with the flowers slowly blooming.

***

“Hey, don’t you think that master is very nice to this woman?” Duan Fa asked his two comrades who were also watching the entire thing right before them.

“Why do you say that?” Xia Ling looked to him, seeing how what he said was a little too soon to say.

“Well, don’t you see that master is very nice to this miss, but he had never been that nice to us. Don’t you think that the woman is someone special to him?” Duan Fa found this interesting to see from their master.

“I would have to agree with you on that. I would have never thought to see our master one day with a woman, but this is just like seeing a once and lifetime thing happen.” Qin Yun agreed with Duan Fa that it was quite the thing to see that they felt would never be seen in a million years.

“Come on! We have to be sure to stick close.” Xia Ling reminded them that they still needed to be on the look-out for the intruder who still lingered into the Lin manor. They would escape to the palace when they had the chance which made it hard for them to keep following after the intruder.

***

“Do you always take a stroll out like this?” Cao Peizhi did not think that Lin Ning would go out into her garden on her own without her maid nearby to assist her.

“En, it is very fun, and I like to be able to manage on my own so that I know the path. Depending on someone too often makes it harder for you later in life.” Lin Ning did not want to be seen like she was helpless all the time. It only made life for her harder if she continued to depend on someone too often. ‘The good thing is that I still have my sixth sense, so I do not need to worry about anything at the current moment.’ Thinking back, Cao Peizhi had been taking care of her ever since they first met at Empress Dowager’s birthday. “Brother Wei, I don’t really know much about you. You seem to know me a little more, but I want to be able to get to know you as well.”