A Lonesome Fragrance Waiting to be Appreciated 4

23

In Yun Chang, the pavilions were still like always.

The sun had already set.

Yaotian sat on the royal chair, quietly looking out over the Royal Residence. She stroke the curtain that trembled companionless in the wind. Only half of the rouge she'd put on remained as she stood in the front of the mirror, lonely.

He Xia passed through the many guards on the main path of the Royal Residence and into the inner corridor. The paths became more and more narrow as he went, finally stopping at the quietest corner. A large, heavy lock tightly shut the wooden door to the small building in front of him.

Princess Yaotian and her personal maid, Luyi, were imprisioned there.

"Prince Consort." Only the guards who He Xia trusted the most were assigned to guard the wooden door. The captain of the guards approached, greeting He Xia. He carefully asked, "Would Prince Consort like us to open the door to go in?"

He Xia's raven black eyes slowly eyed the locked door.

Yaotian was inside.

She was his wife, the mother of his unborn child, the gentle, kind, smiling and persuasive princess. The sole Master of Yun Chang who personally wrote an Order, commanding him to be put to death, accusing him of betrayal.

He stared at the lock on the door, as if it didn't just lock up the door but his heart. He stood there, silent for a long time, before shaking his head. "I'm not going in. Don't tell anyone I came. Hand this inside and tell the Princess that I saw her Order. Zhang Yin had been secretly taking care of. This is my return gift. That Miss Fengyin, the one Princess presented me, helped me make it."

The guards answered, carefully taking the pretty box from He Xia's hands. The guard walked to the front of the door, took out a key, opened the door and entered.

The instant the door was opened, He Xia raised his head to look inside. In that fleeting moment, he could see nothing.

Not long later, the door opened from inside. The captain of the guards got out, carefully locking the door again. He approached He Xia to report, "The gift has been delivered. Every word Prince Consort said was delivered, not one word more..."

"Ah!" A sudden panicked scream was heard inside the room.

The frightened scream was completely off tune. Those familiar with Yaotian's voice knew it was the Princess' scream.

Those who were picked to guard the Princess were no ordinary people, but listening to her scream, almost all of the guards – including the captain himself- couldn't help but shudder.

After the scream, there seemed to be a thud as something heavy fell onto the purple and golden tiles.

Everyone expected Yaotian had opened the box and was shocked by the contents inside. But what on earth had the Prince Consort given cause such desperate fear?

While the guards' expressions were frightened, He Xia's calm expression was even more terrifying.

Only he knew what that box held.

The box contained a treasure. At least, once upon a time, the Princess and Gui Changqing had both treasured.

They thought she could play qin songs as beautiful as Pingting, qualified to touch everything He Xia had attentively prepared for Pingting. She took Pingting's comb, slept on the linen Pingting once slept on, and touched the qin Pingting played.

In He Xia's eyes, there was no way that was a treasure. It was a torture weapon against He Xia.

Every qin sound from the Prince Consort Residence came from those sharp fingernails. Those two hands each clawed through He Xia's heart viciously.