Sharing a Pavilion With You
Chapter 68: Derrière Dust-Up

Chapter 68: Derrière Dust-Up

Mei Meili sat up straight on the prince’s back, like she’d received an electric shock. She held herself at arms’ length from his shoulders so that her chest hovered a few inches off his back.

"I’m sorry," she said stiffly, overcome with embarrassment. "I had no idea that was happening. I won’t do it again, I promise."

"It’s not a problem," he assured her. "Please continue. It’s a sweet agony for me. I just don’t want to see you doing the same on any other man’s back. Ever. Again. Period."

Her weird upright sitting position was now unbalancing him.

"I can’t carry you like that little fox," he said matter-of-factly. "You’re too precarious sitting back there like that. Just lean forward again. I promise I won’t take advantage of you, quite the opposite in fact, it will be you taking advantage of me."

"No. I definitely can’t lean forward now you’ve said those things," she said, her face still burning with embarrassment.

"I have other ways of making you do as I say," he said mischievously. "Just be a good girl. Don’t force my hand."

"Your highness," she said in alarm, "please don’t do anything you’ll regret".

"I’m afraid it’s you who’ll suffer from regret... Last chance, little fox..."

She remained where she was, perched at arms’ length from his back, wondering with concern what on earth he meant to do to her now, but completely unable to bring herself to rest against his back now that she knew what he was thinking.

He hiked her up with his arms, ostensibly to adjust his carrying grip, but she found that when she resettled after the quick boost, he had moved his carrying position from both arms under her legs with his hands clasped in front of his ribs, to both of his hands under her bottom, where they now firmly gripped her soft posterior.

"Ohhh! she squealed loudly.

Bai Li was there in an instant, lifting her from the prince’s back and placing her on the ground, then pulling the man around by his collar to face him.

"You low mongrel Zhu Yicai!" he said furiously, calling the prince by his name for the first time, ever.

Bai Li pushed the shorter man violently, backing him up against a tree, his face pressed into the prince’s, spitting with rage as he cursed at him.

The prince, whose qi was already up for other reasons, punched Bai Li in the jaw. As soon as that punch connected, the two men began to fight in earnest

Bai Li punched the prince in the guts, completely winding him. The prince doubled over in pain, then while he was bent over, he barrelled his head into Bai Li’s chest like an angry bull.

The pair fell to the ground together, the prince on top of Bai Li, punching his ribs. They rolled over and over in the dirt as each struggled to gain the upper position.

Bai Li managed to turn the tables and now lay prone on top of the prince, pinning him to the ground. The prince head butted Bai Li. A horrible groan of pain driving Meili to near desperation.

"Stop! Stop!" she screamed, nearly in tears. "Tan Bowen, stop them!" she shouted down the mountain to him.

Tan Bowen was a few metres ahead of them, having climbed down from the platform they were on to reach the next rocky ledge, as he led the way.

He was already climbing back up, concerned by the sound of shouting. He started to scramble upwards in panic at Meili’s cries, but he was hampered by the steep climb, which was more difficult to scale than descend.

Tricky had arrived on the scene and circled the two men, barking at them. They rolled closer and closer to the dangerous edge as they grappled with one another.

"No!" Meili cried. "Stop it this instant!" she was crying now, and her voice had become high and ineffectual with the tears.

She ran towards the pair, and, with no other option to protect them, she threw herself on top of them both, unwilling to see them hurt each other further, or for them to roll any closer to that awful cliff.

Bai Li was lying on top of the prince, and the young royal threw a punch at his ribs. The punch struck him and then glanced off Meili’s chin on the follow-through.

"Ouch!" she let out a pained cry and clasped her face.

The two men stopped fighting immediately.

Tan Bowen had finally reached them, and he gently picked the girl up from the pile, glaring fiercely at the pair, who were looking horrified.

"What the hell are you two thinking?" he shouted with uncharacteristic anger. "You just hit Mei Meili in the face, your highness," he said with disgust.

"Mei Meili," the prince said wretchedly. "It was an accident. I didn’t know you were there. I’m so sorry..."

She covered her face with her hands, still crying. "It’s fine," she sobbed. "It didn’t hurt that much. It was more the shock than anything. I’m just upset to see you two fighting because of me", she said between hiccupping breaths.

"What on earth were you two fighting about anyway?" asked Tan Bowen hotly. "Nothing is ever best resolved by fisticuffs."

"I was teaching the royal prince," he said the word like he meant ’beast’, "a lesson," said Bai Li, still fuming about what the man had done, as he climbed off the formerly handsome, now entirely dishevelled, prince.

He reached his hand down to help the man back up. The prince looked at the proffered hand and up into Bai Li’s face, before reaching out to grip his forearm, shaking his aching head.

"Only you would have the courage to do that to me Commander Bai," he said with grudging respect for the man.

"You know you deserved it your highness. I couldn’t just let that go."

"Alright, I probably did deserve it. If there is a next time, maybe just bawling me out would be sufficient?"

"If I’d had any self-control, that’s what I would have done, but it flew right off the mountain when I saw..." he couldn’t bring himself to say what he’d seen.

Bai Li knelt down beside Meili. "Show me your face?" he asked her gently, prising her hand off her chin.

It was already reddening and there would definitely be a bruise.

"Oh dear," he said with regret. "Explaining this to your father is going to be... extremely difficult..."

"Never mind, that’s what make-up is for," she said helpfully, wiping her eyes.

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