The Guide to Capturing a Black Lotus

26

Photo above: Princess Duanyang

"Ah!" The delicate and petite figure within the precious muslin canopy suddenly sat up. Her lucious black hair fell down onto her magnolia embroidered silk clothes.

A palace maid ran over with small steps from a corner of the hall and asked through the screen: "Princess, are you ok?"

The young girls' delicate hands moved to her own throat and her fingers started to tremble: "Peiyun, someone wanted to strangle me to death...."

The muslin screen was pushed aside and a clean and gentle face came in. Fortunately, the special quilts used in the summer had been messily crumpled into a big pile. The respectable princess was rigidly hugging her knees as she sat in the middle of the bed. She was constantly grabbing at the area in front of her neck as if her life depended on it; Her eyes were filled with panic.

Peiyun saw that the skin underneath her clothes had some red marks caused by the princess's actions and hastily moved over to pull her hand away: "Princess, don't be afraid... it was just a nightmare."

Princess Duanyang let out an extended sigh and laid down on her back. Her hair fanned out beneath her body and her delicate face was full of exhaustion.

In the three corners of the room there were exquisitely carved cauldrons: There were large pieces of ice placed within them and wisps of white mist slowly drifted up. Even though the sun was shining down fiercely outside, inside the Fengyang Palace was drifty and comfortably cool.

Peiyun held up the muslin: "Princess, do you want to take a bath and get dressed?"

The person on the bed flipped over. She slightly knitted her brows and a look of impatience surfaced on her delicate little face:
"Get dressed? What matters are there today?"

"In the afternoon, Dowager Concubine Zhao is going to go to the Xingshan Temple to pray. She wants Princess to get matched up with someone..."

Before her words had dissipated into the air, Princess Duanyan's eyes shrunk and she flipped over into a sitting position.

Her back was closely pressed against the wall and her whole body was shaking: "This princess won't go to the Xingshan Temple!"
"Princess..." Peiyun was frightened, "Wasn't this someone you talked about with Consort Dowager when you went to pay your respects to her three days ago?"

Duanyang seemed to hear the echo of that strange and bizarre voice, calling in her ear:
"Goddess..."

"Who's speaking!?"

The ancient tree in the temple grounds reached high up into the sky. The paved stone paths were covered with moss.

The wind blew and leaves drifted down, slowly touching upon the ground with very soft rustling noises.

Little bronze bells hung from the eaves and shivered in the wind.

"Goddess, please follow this lowly one. We've been waiting for you for a very long time."

The surrounding scene rapidly changed: The temple's rising eaves quickly became a thick forest, then an endless wasteland. Then appeared mountains like great waves rising and falling. A boundless field of green wheat. Finally, the scene returned to the halls of the temple.

"What is all this?" She looked in all directions, it didn't look much different from what she saw earlier. Only, the sky had turned dark as if someone had used a piece of cloth to cover up the sky. It was completely impenetrable and the surroundings were deathly silent.

"Just now, the place the Goddess was at wasn't right... now it's right."

"Who are you? Why are you calling me Goddess?"