Chapter 113 (1/2)

Chapter 113 Cascades: Disappointment

“This is too much! Even I was rejected at the gates; why are we barred from seeing Luodi, if she is only resting?” In a private room on the third floor of Manchun Tang, Qi Jianqiu voiced her displeasure loudly to the Four Gentlemen of Chang’an. Unfortunately for her, only Xue Yiqi paid her rant any attention; Situ sipped his tea solemnly, Jiang Moyin bent over as a cough wrecked his body and Gan Qingjia seemingly deep in thought about something else.

“Perhaps the Feng household is overwhelmed by the number of guests these few days and the Chamberlain has no choice but to resort to this.” Xue Yiqi comforted her as much as he could.

Qi Jianqiu raised an eyebrow. “No way the Chamberlain has enough energy to even think of his daughter right now. Hmph! I’m going to find out what exactly is going on.”

“Maybe they’ll let you in if you said you were visiting the Chamberlain.”

“I don’t even want to see Fu Bo’s patronising smile right now.” Qi Jianqiu shook her head furiously. “What if…I climb the walls?”

Her words triggered a memory within Situ. It’s been half a year since that day she’d climbed her wall to find me…things seemed so different back then.

“Have you not visited her?” Jiang Moyin turned to Situ.

Situ’s hand tightened around his teacup, his face stoic. “Didn’t even Miss Qi get rejected at the door?”

“You really are patient, aren’t you?” Jiang Moyin stuttered a little. His health has been deteriorating these days but still he attended he gathering, in the hopes of seeing Feng Luodi there as well. “It’s not as if you don’t know what she’s like.” The words came out of his mouth before he could stop them. “A month of not seeing her makes you as good as a stranger; she can be very cruel, sometimes.”

Situ’s eyes darkened.

“Are you guys talking about Luodi?” Qi Jianqiu caught a snippet of their conversation, puzzled by their comment about Feng Luodi. Why will they say that about Luodi?

Jiang Moyin laughed a little. “We were just a little surprised that you hadn’t managed to get her out today; after all, our gatherings have been getting more and more infrequent.”

“Exactly! What a rare chance for all of us to gather again! Argh…I can’t take this anymore. I’m going to the Feng household again.” Qi Jianqiu jumped to her feet.

“Miss Feng is indeed gravely ill; you will be rejected even if you go again.” The uncharacteristically quiet Gan Qingjia spoke up.

“How do you know that?” Qi Jianqiu look at him suspiciously.

“My father had a meeting with Chamberlain Feng a few days back and the Chamberlain mentioned Miss Feng’s illness during their discussion. She has been instructed by the physician to rest and, specifically, to not involve herself in any matters other than resting.”

Qi Jianqiu looked at Gan Qingjia strangely, unaccustomed to this sombre side of him. She sat back down again, nodding as she bought his words. Mumbling to herself under her breath, her fingers played with the teacup in her hands. Situ’s hands tightened around his cup.

“Just go.” Jiang Moyin smiled bitterly, looking at Situ. “I can’t even if I want to.”

Situ took a deep breath and leapt to his feet. “I have some matters to attend to.” Before the rest could react, he’d already disappeared from the dining room.

“What is going on?” Xue Yiqi looked at Jiang Moyin, confusion written plainly on his face. However, Jiang Moyin ignored his question, cupping his hands around the cup of hot tea as if to warm himself.

The room descended into silence, each of its occupants brooding in their own thoughts.

Situ frowned as he stood on the wall in the Feng residence looking into Feng Luodi’s courtyard. Why does the place look so empty? What happened here? Fallen leaves littered the courtyard from obvious neglect, the doors to the few rooms in the courtyard tightly shut. The entire courtyard was an eerie silence.

Situ landed in the middle of the courtyard and took a deep breath. Hesitatingly, he walked towards Feng Luodi’s room and pushed it open. The room was clean, but obviously already uninhabited for a few days. Why does this feel so familiar to me? It’s as if I’d always been afraid of this happening…that she would  leave in silence one day, as cold as the distant look in her eyes when we first met.

His heart ached with a sudden loss, but the sadness soon turned into rage. He stomped out of the room, flinging the door close in his wake. With a kick, he sent the stone table in the courtyard flying to the lone tree in the middle. In the midst of his tantrum, his eyes caught a special marking on the tree, a system of symbols used by his Covert Guards. This must have been left by Duo; I’d almost forgot that he’s now watching over her. His eyes wandered around the courtyard. Striding, he picked up a small square of cloth hidden in the corner. Shaking fingers quickly unfolded the cloth and his eyes scanned through the message quickly.