Falling Dreams Of Fang Hua

Chapter 44

The folding screen wasn't very wide, but I didn't realize such a scene existed behind it. A simple and unsophisticated wooden bookshelf displayed a tracing of a landscape painting to accompany the screen, creating a cleverly sheltered space...

There was a pool emanating a fog that smelled like medicine. The scent was comfortable and refreshing here as I sank into the water. I could see the emperor sitting calmly on the bed beyond the screens, whose layers were as thin as cicada's wings. He was holding a rolled-up object of some sort, reading it leisurely before raising his eyes to smile at me.

I nearly ducked my entire face underwater.

Steam rose up from around my body, turning the skin of my neck red. My head felt muddled as I perched by the edge of the pool. I say, it's only been a few days since I've washed. Was I really that dirty?

I gave a bitter look to the court ladies scrubbing me up and down as if they were trying to give me a second skin. It's not as if I was a corpse, this skin was still high quality...

One after the other, docile faces wore innocent, pitiful expressions as they knelt by the edge of the pool. I softened, but then...why did they scrub even harder than before? This level of torment was enough to break my poor waist.

My face turned wooden as I felt extremely tragic, casting a glance beyond the screens. I could see the vague form of the emperor leaning against the bed, leisurely flipping through a book without even lifting his head. "Why don't I heard the sound of water? Use all your strength to scrub for Zhen."

"Yes."

"Dont'don'tdon't..." I hastily protested, pushing myself to the center of the pool. The figure beyond the screens moved slightly, and stopped turning the pages.

Softly, a voice laced with a smile drifted my way. "If their coarse movements are causing you pain, Zhen can take the trouble to replace them."

He actually put aside the book and made his way to get off the bed. He was just waiting to say this line, right? I fell silent, tired from my outburst from before, and lowered my head with gritted teeth to endure the ministrations of the scrubbing court ladies. Their hands felt like a thousand knives, and I kept my silent disapproval obvious.

Suddenly, a disturbance sounded from outside.

"Your excellency, esteemed excellency, you can't go in," Though the young eunuch spoke softly, his voice was unusually clear in the quiet surroundings. I was astonished.

Something soft hit against some wooden boards and a door opened from the outside. The young eunuch kneeled on the ground, face pale as he clutched his stomach in silence. Sunlight framed a tall shadow that carried with him a strange, foreign scent of windswept sand and fresh blood. That man walked in with impatient steps. I could actually hear the sound of his sword scabbard clinking against his armor. Even weapons could be worn in the main hall, so close to the emperor?

There was the sound of someone kneeling on one knee.

"I received news that the emperor was attacked en route by assassins. Your servant is very much troubled at heart."

"My beloved official has just returned from the frontier pass, and should rest for a few more days." The emperor reached out a hand to help him up. "Zhen only met with a minor scare, there was nothing serious that happened."

I couldn't see very clearly through the hazy screen.

The two people went through the usual rites of ruler and vassal. Originally, it should be a pleasing sight, but why...did something feel off?

This general looked to be on in his years, hale and hearty with long experiences in the battlefields. His keen intuition noticed something was different right away as he looked in my direction. His face seemed to flash in surprise before his eyes sharpened, and an imposing manner followed his arched eyebrows.