A Lonesome Fragrance Waiting to be Appreciated (COMPLETE)

23

He Xia came in from the arched entrance of the outside garden. He'd seen the sitting Pingting from a distance away, through an open window amongst the fresh flowers.

She was thin, so pathetically thin. Her face was so haggard, no longer like the always laughing maid in the Jing-An Ducal Residence, so gaunt that it was heartbreaking to see.

He Xia pushed the bead curtain away, quietly stepping into the room. In the last few days, he had been waiting for Pingting to wake up, by her side, until he felt shy when the physician said she'd wake up soon, two days ago.

He wasn't sure that he'd be able to bear Pingting's expression when she woke up. After some hesitation, he decided to leave the room when she was most likely to wake up.

Although it was something he didn't want to do, there was no escape.

"Pingting..." He Xia called in a soft voice, approaching cautiously.

His smart and intelligent maid was before him but she was like a jade carving, no soul just body. Where was the delicate gem with the warm fragrance of a beauty? Where was the warmth in this corpse of the one who'd once leaned on him intimately, rode the horse with him, and admired stunning views with him? He Xia couldn't help reaching out, wanting to touch her.

"Don't touch me." Her voice chilled his heart and the words seemed to be spat out through her teeth.

His fingertips stopped at the last moment, hovering in midair, as if they couldn't go any closer. Pingting looked at him in the eyes, but it was like she didn't see anything at the same time.

That gentle, sly, smart, curious girl was gone. He Xia could only see her freezing coldness, as well as a little puzzlement and distress.

He Xia lowered his hands. "Pingting, you've changed," he said, his eyes downcast.

"Pingting is no longer the Pingting from the past." Pingting smiled a little sadly, asking faintly, "Is Master the same Master from the past?"

He Xia faced her, studying Pingting carefully. The past was gone, swept away from the ends of the Earth in a moment's time.

He sighed, full of mixed feelings. In a gentle voice he said, "Do you remember when we were children? I'd calligraph, while you'd grind ink. I'd sword dance, while you played qin. You'd follow me wherever I went, refusing to leave. When we grew up, whenever I went on an expedition, you always followed. At least half of my fame as being the Marquess of Jing-An is all thanks to you and your planning. If we could go back to the past, that'd be awesome."

"The past?" Pingting seemed to have lost in thought for a moment, but then her eyes frosted once more. "That's right, when we made that drug, you were the one who told me that it could poison young children, but it isn't fair to them, so it should only be used as an anaesthetic, not to kill." Her voice was faint.

He Xia shuddered, so angry that even his voice started to quiver, replying coolly, "The Jing-An Ducal Residence still existed then and my parents hadn't been killed by spies yet."

Blood-red lightning seemed to tear her sky apart.

Pingting lost her voice, stood up abruptly, but feel back onto the bed as her knees buckled.

"The House of Jing-An has done so much for Gui Le and had already decided to give up everything to lead a peaceful life in the mountains. Who knew that He Su's spies were ordered to kill us at all costs. It's my fault in a way for splitting the group in two, and leaving my parents to the other group. He Su, if I, He Xia, isn't going to avenge for them, then I'm not human!" He gritted his teeth, his black pupils turned back to Pingting. In a soft voice, he said, "My parents are now gone and as I don't have any siblings, you're the only dearest person left to me."