After we left, the flower, just like last time, was reborn, no longer withered and yellowed, but given new life.
The moonlight cast long shadows, and the person holding the flowers in their hands revealed an eerie smile.
Lying on the tatami mat, feeling the cool breeze blowing in through the window, was both pleasant and comfortable.
It was already past midnight, but I wasn't sleepy at all. Xiangye had come in several times to urge me to sleep.
I feel like a cat in an alley, free but without a home. I miss home.
In this sorrowful moment, the image of Ye Lisheng appeared in my mind.
The way he bandaged me just now was so gentle, unlike his usual cold and aloof self.
I shook my head vigorously, trying to banish his image from my mind, and cursed myself, "I must be possessed!"
Inside the study, candlelight blazed brightly. Ye Lisheng frowned deeply, the floor littered with crumpled scraps of paper. Ling Ran had never seen him like this before, and his jaw nearly dropped in astonishment.
"Damn it!" he cursed under his breath, looking at the painting he had made.
"Why is it that woman's portrait again!"
Tonight, I inexplicably drew countless portraits of this woman.
One after another, images of okra leaped onto the paper. Ye Lisheng rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache.
"Ling Ran!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ling Ran appeared in the study. Looking at the messy floor, Ling Ran had questions but dared not ask.
"What are your orders, Your Highness?"
He paced around the study twice with his hands behind his back, then paused and said, "Eighth Prince keeps saying that someone keeps popping into his mind. What's going on?"
He kept his back to Ling Ran while speaking, but his guilty tone betrayed him.
"Eighth Prince?"
"Um!"
"I heard from the maids in the manor that this is an illness. Is Your Highness lovesick? Is it lovesickness?"
These words struck him like a thunderbolt, hitting him right in the heart, and his face immediately burned with embarrassment.
"Have you heard how to cure this disease?"
"Looking for women! Girls from Xinghua Brothel!"
"Absurd! How could a prince like you go to such a brothel!"
"Celestial Master, how have you been?"
A woman's voice, tinged with malevolence, echoed from the empty room, sending chills down one's spine.
The woman in the black robe removed her veil, revealing half of her mutilated face, which looked terrifying. Her features also bore a resemblance to an okra.
Wang Qiaochuan smiled and said, "Miss Murong, how have you been? His Highness Prince Anyang has been searching for you for a long time!"
"Hmph!" she sneered. "He's just trying to atone for his sins!"
"May I ask what business Miss Murong has with me?"
"A strange phenomenon appeared in the sky: a person suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and a flower bloomed in her hand. Doesn't the Celestial Master find this strange?"
"Oh! What insightful opinion does Miss Murong have?"
He gestured for her to continue.
"I have personally witnessed her blood bringing withered trees back to life, so I would like to make a deal with the Celestial Master!"
"Miss Murong is joking. I don't need any magic to bring withered trees back to life!"
"Isn't the Celestial Master also looking for her?"
He suddenly found this woman terrifying, and stared at her with a sinister look and a wary expression.
"If I tell His Highness Prince Anyang your location, Miss Murong, what do you think will happen?"
Instead of fear, she smiled calmly.
"The Celestial Master can predict a person's next life, bestowing wealth and good fortune, and warding off disasters. I wonder why he has been keeping his doors closed and refusing to see anyone lately, not even the Emperor?"
Wang Qiaochuan's expression changed drastically: "What do you know?"
"Murong knows nothing and won't say anything; he just wants to make a deal with the Celestial Master!"
"What transaction?"
I want her blood!
"What's the use?"
Hearing his question, Murong Kui stroked the side of her face where she had been horribly injured; the lines on it looked terrifying, as if it had been burned.
"You'll find out then!" she said, her eyes gleaming with a bewitching light, alluring yet dangerous.
Without a cell phone or internet, the only ways to pass the time are practicing calligraphy and painting and strolling in the garden.
The garden was bursting with blooming flowers, butterflies and bees flitting about, and a delicate floral fragrance lingered in the air.
"Xiangye, don't move!"
She immediately stood up straight, waiting for my next move. I then placed a pink flower in her hair.
He nodded in satisfaction: "It looks really good!"
"Miss, you'll get scolded if someone sees this!" she said anxiously, carefully covering the flowers with her hand.
"It's nothing, it's just a little flower!"
"Sister, you have such refined tastes! Why don't you invite Yu'er to enjoy the flowers together!"
Surrounded by servants, Su Yu'er stood before me, while I had only a fragrant leaf by my side, making me appear rather shabby.
My interest vanished the moment she arrived.
"Xiangye, let's go back!" She said, turning to leave.
I heard someone behind me say, "Does the older sister find the younger sister an eyesore?" The tone was so soft and sweet, it was as if I were the one bullying her.
"No, I was just afraid of disturbing Madam Yu's enjoyment of the flowers!"
Her sharp-eyed maid, Lian'er, whispered something in her ear, and suddenly her expression changed.
He ordered, "Arrest her!"
I saw three or four maids rushing towards Xiangye, and I stood in front of them.
He questioned, "What is the meaning of this, Madam Yu?"
She smiled and said, "There are rules in the manor that forbid anyone from picking flowers, let alone wearing them. Violation of these rules will result in twenty strokes of the cane!"
Who made that rule?
Lianxin raised her chin arrogantly: "Naturally, it's stipulated by our lady!"
"The rights granted by Ye Lisheng?"
Hearing this, she shyly covered her face with her handkerchief and laughed a few times, her bashful appearance resembling a flower bud about to bloom.
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