The moonlit sky was not particularly cool that night, yet Mo Caihuan's adorable little face had taken on a faintly bluish hue. Her eyes glared resentfully at Han Li as she ground her teeth silently against this brazen senior brother who had suddenly appeared.
The two of them had now been standing coldly on the small path in the rear courtyard for over a quarter of an hour without moving a single step forward.
It had come about because Mo Caihuan, seeing that Han Li remained utterly unmoved by her three ultimate techniques—acting cute, pouting, and her tears—had gritted her teeth and stopped leading the way. She intended to use this tactic to coerce Han Li, and she kept gazing at him pitifully, hoping that a two-pronged approach would finally bring him to submission.
Yet when Han Li saw Mo Caihuan's pitiful expression, he could not help but smile.
For her expression bore a striking resemblance to that of his dear friend Li Feiyu. Whenever Li Feiyu had some troublesome matter he wanted Han Li to help with, he would employ a performance remarkably similar to this in order to move Han Li. Over time, Han Li had become thoroughly immune to such expressions.
So when Mo Caihuan looked at him with the eyes of an abandoned puppy, Han Li stood right where he was, savoring the spectacle of her performance with great relish, even shaking his head and reciting the occasional bit of doggerel poetry.
Under Han Li's merciless counterattack, Mo Caihuan quickly crumbled. She retracted her pitiful expression entirely, replaced it with one of furious glaring, and maintained it to this day.
Truth be told, Mo Caihuan was already regretting the situation. If her mother learned of the current circumstances, not only would she fail to receive any benefit, but she would likely taste the sting of family discipline first.
Thinking of this, she glared at Han Li several more times. This country bumpkin as well—could he not simply hand her some random object? Did he not understand that girls needed to be coaxed? What a complete rustic!
At this point, the girl had completely forgotten about the matter of her own outrageous demand.
Though Han Li had no experience in coaxing girls, he knew he still needed to stay at the Mo Residence and could not truly offend her. So once he felt he had sufficiently deflated her arrogance, he leisurely reached into his robes, searching for some suitable item with which to dispatch this little enchantress.
Han Li finally produced a small jade-green porcelain vial containing several fire-red pills that exuded a captivating fragrance.
These pills were called "Fragrance Pills"—he had heard they were an exclusive remedy for imperial concubines. The pills possessed no particular medicinal efficacy, their sole function being to emit a bewitching, lingering fragrance. This peculiar scent was not only pleasant and long-lasting but also repelled mosquitoes and insects, making them the absolute favorite of the ladies of the palace.
Unfortunately, several of the primary herbs required to compound these pills were rare plants of considerable age. Even a place as wealthy as the imperial palace frequently faced shortages and could never fully meet the demands of the harem. As such, these pills were never seen outside the palace walls.
Han Li had originally had no reason to prepare such useless pills for himself. But during his time at the Sect of Seven Mysteries, he had been unable to withstand Li Feiyu's persistent pestering and had made a small batch for him to use in courting Zhang Xiuer.
This small vial contained the few remaining pills, which Han Li had originally intended to use as mosquito repellent during nights spent outdoors. But now, he had no choice but to produce them as a stopgap measure.
Han Li tossed the small vial toward the girl. Mo Caihuan, caught off guard, fumbled somewhat as she caught it.
"What is this?" Mo Caihuan's tears gave way to a smile. She had finally obtained a gift from this most stingy of people, and though she did not yet know what it was, the mere fact was enough to excite her greatly.
"These are Fragrance Pills—truly wondrous things. They can..." Han Li gave the girl a detailed explanation of the pills' properties, fully expecting her to be greatly pleased and delighted.
To his surprise, after the girl opened the vial cap and gave the scent a brief sniff, she immediately snapped it shut and eyed Han Li with the wary look of someone guarding against a predator.
"These pills aren't some kind of sleeping drug or... or love potion, are they? The fragrance smells suspiciously similar to what my two sisters described. You aren't plotting anything untoward, are you?" she asked cautiously.
Han Li stared blankly for a long while, then fell into a stunned silence. He now felt an overwhelming urge to vomit three bowls of blood. This girl's imagination was far too difficult to fathom! To associate Fragrance Pills with love potions!
Now Han Li could not decide whether to admire the girl's excessive caution or to cry out three times in protest over his completely unjust accusation!
"It seems what you say is true. However, I still need to have Second Sister verify it before I can use it. After all, we young ladies must be cautious above all else!" Mo Caihuan said to Han Li with complete seriousness.
"Cough! Cough... suit yourself," Han Li replied, unable to muster any other response. He could only cough a few times to mask the embarrassment on his face, feeling now that the farther he stayed from this little enchantress, the better—at any moment, she might drive him to utter exasperation.
"However, if this medicine truly works as wonderfully as you say, then I shall consider you to have passed! From now on, if Senior Brother encounters any difficulties at the Mo Residence, feel free to seek Caihuan's help. A small fee, and I will guarantee to solve the problem completely for you." Mo Caihuan tossed the small vial in her hand several times and said with a mischievous grin.
"Very well, Junior Sister! Senior Brother will certainly seek your help when needed." By now, Han Li had also recovered his composure, responding with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes, while inwardly thinking darkly: "As if I would ever seek out your money-grubbing self!"
Mo Caihuan naturally could not hear Han Li's inner thoughts. She was delighted that he had become more compliant, and she suddenly found this Senior Brother Han rather interesting and not quite so unpleasing to the eye.
"Let's go, Senior Brother Han! I'll find you a larger room—you won't be inconvenienced at all!" Mo Caihuan beamed and finally set off again, walking ahead of Han Li with her head held high and chest puffed out.
Han Li sighed behind her and followed at a leisurely pace.
Such an eccentric and spirited girl was absolutely beyond his ability to handle. Not only was it impossible for a young lady of her standing to have any interest in a plain-looking fellow like himself, but even if she did, he would reject her without hesitation. Her sheer tenacity alone would be more than he could bear. With this thought, Han Li struck Mo Caihuan from his list of potential romantic interests without the slightest hesitation.