Blossoms of Love

Chapter 8: Bandages and Bruises

"Little Tian! You've come to visit," an elderly woman greeted them with a kind smile, glancing over to the prince for only a moment before noticing that the two of them were in rough shape, "You two better come in."

As per her instruction, the two men followed the woman into her home. She quickly shuffled around the room, gesturing for them to sit down while she collected some things from a nearby cupboard.

Master Yin smiled as the prince sat down next to him and gestured towards the old woman. "This is Madame Tao, she used to look after me when I was young. Madame Tao, this is Song Mengyao, the Third Prince of Shiyanyi."

The old woman shuffled back over with an old box in hand. "Such a young boy, I've heard so much about you."

"You have?" Song Mengyao questioned.

Madame Tao nodded. "Of course I have. The Magnolia Prince of Shiyanyi. I caught a glance of you when you were in Huainyi with your father a few years ago. I see you've only grown into a fine, elegant young man in the years since then."

The prince smiled softly, knowing her flattery to be sincere.

"Now, are either of you boys going to tell me what in all the Nineteen Kingdoms happened to you?"

Master Yin chuckled somewhat and lifted his poorly bandaged hand. "We got into a slight bit of trouble on the road, is all."

Through pursed lips, Madame Tao hummed, "Little Tian, you've always been such a troublemaker," she began to unwrap Yin Jianguo's swollen hand, "Always coming in with scratches and bruises. Even when you were tiny you used to arrive in Huainyi all wrapped in bandages. Imagine your parents' surprise when I had to send you back with even more."

The old woman tutted and picked up some ointment and bandages from her box, soon applying the paste to his hand in order to numb the pain. "Your father would have beaten you himself if you weren't already so black and blue. Even as you got older, you were always getting into trouble."

Master Yin chuckled, reminiscing about his early childhood. It was not so long ago, and he was certainly still capable of getting into just as much mischief as he did back then. He just had to be warier of the consequences when he picked his fights now.

"Oww, oww," Master Yin whined in pain, much like a child, as Madame Tao tightly bandaged his sore hand.

"Stop being such a baby, you're a grown man now." She shook her head, only tying the bandage tighter.

Song Mengyao had to stifle a laugh, knowing that it would have been improper of him to allow it to slip past his lips. Although, the sight of Master Yin being scalded by an elderly woman was certainly amusing. It was obvious that they were close, he'd likely relied on her in his early childhood more than he did his parents. It was almost like watching a grandmother dote over her grandson.

"Now, let's have a look at you."

Without warning, Madame Tao placed her hands on either side of the prince's head, angling it to look at his wound. Her fingers lightly pressed at the skin around the cut. It was red and sore, but no longer bleeding.

"We'll need to clean it up first. Hopefully, it isn't already infected."

The prince sat still, allowing the elderly woman to do as she pleased. He could tell that she knew what she was doing and was grateful that she hadn't hesitated to help them in their time of need.

It was almost unusual how much medicine Madame Tao had lying around in her home. Not to mention the rolls of bandages. An old woman like herself couldn't have been one to find herself in danger so much. Song Mengyao assumed that either much of it was left over from when Master Yin was still a child or, perhaps, that he still frequently visited the woman when he found himself in a scuffle outside of Qingyi.