Falling Dreams Of Fang Hua

Chapter 47.1

I raised my voice and called out, "Who's outside?"

A lamp could be seen shining through the windows as someone coughed outside. Surprised, my eyes rose. I waited expectantly and a person dressed in eunuch's robes walked inside, carrying a lamp. The light flickered against his face and made his expression somewhat unreal.

It was Little Li.

Curling my lips in disappointment, I turned to sit on the bed, ignoring its layer of dust. "What are you doing here?"

"So it turns out Master was here, your servant has been looking for you. Just then, I fainted away at the main hall before realizing an assassin was on the prowl...all the servants have been on the search. Luckily, a few eunuchs said they saw you walk this way. You must be hungry by now. Dinner's ready so please follow me back, Master."

I made a small noise but refused to speak. He stood still, silent as well.

After some time, I spoke again, though my voice was a little hoarse. "This...when did that Lord Hua move out of the palace? Don't lie to me anymore, I'm talking about Fang Hua."

He remained calm, though his hands involuntarily tightened. The fingers looked pale white beneath the lamplight, clearly betraying his anxiety. Surprised, I watched the lamp reflect off his face, which pulled itself into a reluctant smile. "Not long after the previous emperor passed again, or about half a month after Lord Fang was chased to the Cold Palace, he left this place. At that time, the current emperor had yet to take the throne."

"Why didn't I hear anyone mention this? The emperor didn't say bring it up either," I muttered to myself, eyebrows furrowed. He raised his head to look at me with trembling lips, a complicated expression on his face.

What was wrong?

"Are you hiding something from me?" my face stiffened.

He bowed forwards, head lowered as his hands grasped his robes. Finally, he couldn't hold himself back and said in a low, extremely stealthy voice, "This isn't something a servant like me should gossip about behind someone's back. But it's really uncomfortable to keep covering it up. Actually..." He frowned slightly, lifting his eyes to me. "In truth, not long after Master left the Cold Palace, Lord Hua began to pack his things and prepare to leave."

What?! What did this have to do with me?

Wait...hold on...I seemed to have seized on something. My mind searched vainly in a blank space for something I couldn't quite grasp. "You mean to say," I clutched his hand, frowning as I spoke carefully. "I lived in the Cold Palace before?"

He pushed aside my hand in embarrassment, backing away a step. "Exactly so, right here."

Was I a disfavored concubine as well?

He nodded and added another line, "At that time, Master and I both served Lord Hua."

Ah, what balderdash...

It felt like a string had snapped inside my body, sending me all asunder. My mood sank with my drooping shoulders. Why didn't I remember anything of this? I bent my head in a moment of silence. No, this was wrong...if I couldn't remember anything, why would I remember this?

Little Li kept his head bowed but stole a glance at me. I held myself in check, calming my heart as I sat straighter and coughed. "Tell me about the details. If you make up any nonsense, I won't forgive you."

"Yes." Even with his body bent, his words were very clear. "Your servant has always been with Lord Hua. Later on, Master was summoned from the Imperial Physicians' courtyard to serve Lord Hua. Back then, you had a round face with small eyes, and weren't very tall. You didn't look like much either..."