He left in a hurry.
Shen Zhiyi heard the sound of the screen being knocked down, followed by the door being pulled open and his cold voice calling out to Shen Bi.
With a smile in her eyes, she slowly exhaled a perilla leaf.
He turned his head and looked at the ground to the side.
Her silk handkerchief had vanished, but a string of Buddhist prayer beads lay quietly beside the basin of water.
She raised half of her body, lowered her arm, picked up the string of prayer beads, and sat back down in the bucket.
Moonlight streamed in through the window.
She saw the Sanskrit characters carved on the beads, touched each one, and then raised her hand to press the string of beads against her cheek...
To whisper very softly.
"Your Highness, how can Buddhist scriptures and doctrines have the power to move people?"
"I will help you see the error of your ways..."
*
Buddhist temple.
Yan Zhuoxu sat on the futon, staring intently at the silk handkerchief in front of him.
The soaked towel had long since dried.
However, it still exudes a sweet, cloying gardenia fragrance.
Perhaps the person who embroidered this gardenia was thoughtful, soaking the silk thread in the fragrance of the flower to preserve its aroma.
Or perhaps, it was from wiping her sweat...
He closed his eyes.
Fingertips slowly touched the silk handkerchief...
That small face, with its wet hair and sweat, and its furrowed brow, is vividly etched in my mind...
In his boundless imagination and memories, he boldly and unrestrainedly focused his gaze upon them.
From her pale pink eyelids, the tip of her nose, to her deep red and moist lips...
It continues downwards, reaching the slender and delicate neck...
Collarbones like butterfly wings...
Then, it plunged underwater...
Knock knock knock—
Yan Zhuoxu suddenly snapped back to reality!
"who?!"
His face turned pale, and he instinctively crumpled up the handkerchief and stuffed it into his pocket.
“Master, it’s me.” Shen Zhiyi’s gentle voice rang out from outside. “Your Buddhist beads were left with me, so I’ve come to return them.”
Yan Zhuoxu's body stiffened.
He got up and opened the door.
Shen Zhiyi held the Buddhist prayer beads in both hands and handed them to him.
"After taking a medicinal bath and resting for a while, I feel much better, so I came here to thank the master."
Her eyebrows curved, and her smile was as gentle as water.
Yan Zhuoxu pursed his lips, reached out, and took the Buddhist prayer beads from her palm.
"It was nothing, no need to thank me."
My fingertips touched her skin.
Yan Zhuoxu's jawline tightened, and he quickly withdrew his hand.
He held the prayer beads, gazing at the boundless moonlight outside the wall and her soft, harmless face, and for some reason, a sense of panic welled up inside him.
He used his large hand to forcefully close the door.
Shen Zhiyi leaned against the doorframe, smiling brightly, "Master, have you seen my handkerchief?"
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