14 Scheming for the Destruction of Mystic Essence (1/2)
With another brush of his sleeve, the clump of green powder evaporated into a ball of green fog that slowly rose up in the quiet room.
The wind set the beaded window curtain in motion. Behind the man stood a door which led to the eastern pavilion, and it opened up without a sound.
A faint, white shadow could vaguely be seen in the dark.
Catching that white shadow, the man instantly lost his disquieting expression. Turning around with a calm bearing, he spoke with a tone of respect and deliberate cordiality. ”Sorry to alarm you, Sir Zong.”
”No worries, Your Highness,” the man in white responded while walking out from the darkness. He gazed out of the window at the fluttering leaves and added with a meaningful expression, ”I wasn't planning to sleep.”
He turned to the tea set on the table somewhat hesitantly, and Qi Xunyi immediately invited, ”I haven't touched that. Please use it.”
Flashing an apologetic smile, the man in white poured a cup of tea for himself with quick and light movements. His hands were clean and slender, and despite the lack of light within the room, the moonlight was enough to highlight the softness of his profile, the lightness of his eyes and lips, which reminded one of a freshly bloomed, spring cherry blossom.
He wet his lips with a sip of tea and continued gazing at the fallen leaves outside. ”It's not time yet... for these leaves to fall...” he spoke gently.
Throwing a glance out of the window, Qi Xunyi knitted his brows a little and smiled, ”I really do admire you for having a heart so compassionate, Sir Zong... a doctor indeed... even taking pity on leaves.”
”Just call me Zong,” the man in white returned the smile and placed his teacup down. ”I've always had a soft spot for plants and can't help but feel hurt when they wither and fall. Sorry to have embarrassed myself in front of Your Highness.”
”Just call me Xunyi, then.” Qi Xunyi broke into a big laugh. ”Why so formal? Names are meant to be called.”
In response to his candid laughter and flickering gaze, Zong simply smiled in silence.
Staring into Zong's eyes, Qi Xunyi continued, ”You probably have seen it.”
Zong nodded without much change in expression.
”Who do you think is behind it? Those motions...” Qi Xunyi hesitated, his eyes burning.
Zong broke the silence after a long while, saying, ”Your Highness is number 1 when it comes to ability, insight, and being pedantic. Your Highness must already have an idea just from observing the perpetrator's movements. A pity I'm not as wise and discerning, or I'd be able to share your worries.”
Qi Xunyi's eyes sank before he gave a kind wave. ”You're too humble, Sir Zong. Actually, I dare not burden you with trivial matters like this. Please have an early rest, and I'll trouble you to take care of my cousin's injuries.”
”Princess Yuan's injuries are serious, and the osteoclast is deepening her wound. It's easily treatable but almost impossible for it to fully recover.”
”Please, Sir,” Qi Xunyi bowed.
Upon returning his bow, Zong retreated back to his room.
Right after Zong's departure, Qi Xunyi's confident facade fell apart completely. He stared gloomily toward the door where Zong had exited through and cursed at the floor after a short pause, ”Bast*rd!”
”Ah!”
A lady's screech broke the silence of the night, her voice containing anger, despair, fear, and frenzy all at once. It was as if the dark sky had been slashed and shattered by a bloodied knife.
'Crash.'
Inside the grand hall, wrapped in heavy curtains and an agarwood scent, an exquisite copper mirror had fallen onto the ground and broken into pieces.
A pair of neat brows, a sharp nose, and a thick, black hair, could be seen in the mirror, but there were also two bone-baring scars that formed an ”X” on her forehead.
On this beautiful face lay a scar so hideous and staggering that one can't help but let out a helpless sigh.
A group of servants rushed over, only to bow and retreat like ebbing waves the next moment. They were beyond intimidated by those bitter and vengeful eyes of hers.
Pei Yuan tottered forward and slumped down before her makeup table. She grabbed the corners of her table with trembling hands. No amount of jaw clenching could stop the incessant shaking of her body.
'It's over... all over...'
The face that she had been so proud of... the unrivaled face that no lady in the whole of Taiyuan royal family could match up to... all gone with the flash of a light from that night. All gone.
She was going to become an object of ridicule. The ordinary-looking women in the palace, whom she had belittled so much previously, were going to put on the most sympathetic faces and the most affectionate words they could muster to console her.
Just imagining their deceptive behavior sent her straight into a state of hysteria.
”Get the hell out! All of you!”
The heavy curtains moved gently as the servants scuttled out, quickly clearing the room.
The light emitting from the jade-green lamps shone down on the muslin curtain and into the isolated room, where Pei Yuan could be seen lying limp on the floor against the table with her shoulders shaking as she sobbed softly.
Her sobs were discontinuous and muffled, as though she was trapped within a permanent nightmare.
The cool breeze invited itself into the hall through the half-opened window, winding about and diffusing a faint and low murmur into the air.
The murmur was soft yet as sharp as a steel wire or an ice cone in a glacier, and it contained an inextinguishable coldness and rancor.
”Let me find out who you are... I'll take my revenge... until the day I die...”