Chapter 13

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The night is already deep.

Mei Li sat on her bed and stared at the flickering candlelight. She had been already been settled in this side hall before, when she used to lived in the palace. But everything seems strange like it was her first time being here again.

She gently stepped down her bed, not wanting to wake the Hongling, her lady-in-waiting[1], who was sleeping in the small bed near the window.

She was always worried that she might scream in her nightmares again and scare others, and she was too embarrassed to ask Hongling who was two years older than her, to stand vigil by her bed. So she had to resort to the usual method instead— to not sleep.

The night sky in Spring is the clearest and softest, although it is not as high and as deep as the ones in autumn. Basking in the warm wind as she looked up the stars, her heart seemed to open up.

Mei Li sat down against the pillar and stared at the bright starry sky, feeling the sadness in her heart. She felt small, in the quiet palace of the Forbidden City, as if she did not belong in the same sky.

Perhaps, life taught her too much but she learned too slowly. In the long and lonely years that gone by, all the joys and sorrows of the past have all sunk into today’s indifference

At a loss, her tears flowed endlessly. As she did not know how would she feel when she look up into the starry skies in the future.

“Who is there?” A low shout from one guard on the night watch startled her. The guard quickly raised a lantern to shine on her face.

“It’s okay. You can continue to patrol.” Another voice said as he stopped the guard to come too close.

When Mei Li’s eyes adjusted to the brightness, the guards nearby have lined up to exit the small courtyard. The lights became dimmer and she could finally see the person more clearly.

The starlight behind enveloped him like a shining veil, his youthful and handsome face was outlined in a pleasing arc. Under the shadow of his long lashes, the clear and friendly eyes gave off a slight smile.

It is him, Yonghe.

When the night wind blew, she felt cold on her face. It was only then that she realized that the tears are still hanging on her cheeks and hand not been wiped off yet. She hurriedly raised her hand and scrubbed it with her sleeve.

Yonghe… She was embarrassed for a while as she remembered the conversation between Lao Zuzong and Ying Ru Fujin. His mother’s expressions at that time were not so good, so she could not help but muse about what this would person think as well. Would he still… be as kind as before? Will he blame her? Hate her? Because now she has brought him humiliation and worries.

She slowly lowered her head, not daring to look at this beautiful face again.

“You…” He frowned, his voice was low.

Hearing his tone, Mei Li’s heart twisted bitterly. He was no longer smiling at her.

“Aren’t you cold?” He asked worriedly.

Mei Li was a little surprised. She looked at him in a daze and saw him looking at her with a disapproving face. When their eyes met, he seemed to slightly flinch. She also felt a little embarrassed and darted her eyes away.

In Yonghe’s vision, the starlight also illuminated her face softly.

She looked as delicate and as tender as the first time he saw her. Everyone told him that this Suying was a beauty. But when he stepped on Lao Zuzong’s platform, the first person that caught his attention was this woman with eyes like jewels. Her small delicate face was half-lowered and her long black hair was only adorned with a simple flower.

He did not know how, but even with her head down, he clearly saw her curled eyelashes fluttering… How can someone be this beautiful?

When she heard Lao Zuzong and his mother talk about him, her bright eyes quickly glanced towards his direction. And he actually turned away nervously, his heart fluttered turbulently.

When the imperial physician treated her bloody wound, her face was pale and she looked so weak. But she only bit her cherry-red lips tightly, and refused to cry of pain. This deeply affected his heart. He just watched Suying coquettishly cried like a baby and back then, his heart only felt pity. But with Mei Li, it made his heart ache.

There were so many rumors about her being so vicious. Before he met her, he even sneered and played with everyone’s jokes about her. But the moment they met, he suddenly could not laugh anymore. He even started resenting those who were spreading those rumors that made her look so unbearable.

Because in fact, she was just a poor girl with nothing! Perhaps, it was because of her vulnerability and lack of support that everyone dared to hurt her recklessly. How could he not understand the snobbish cruelty among the nobles? If it were the Emperor’s own sister, would anyone dare to say those things to her?

She shook her head with half-lidded eyes, and her long, silky locks, which had come down because she had untied her bun, fluttered gently. His heart softened that he almost wanted to reach out and touch that silky black hair.

“Are you… on night watch again?” The awkward silence in the night was really embarrassing. She had nothing to say.

“And you’re afraid to sleep again?”

She smiled because he straightforwardly uttered what he was thinking… but he said it very kindly.

Seeing her smile, he laughed too.

She looked at his nice smiling face and her chest became little stuffy. Perhaps, he still doesn’t know what the Lao Zuzong wants. Suddenly she was reluctant to be here. When he finds out, she won’t even have this friend anymore.

“You can’t be like this all the time. While I’m on duty, I can rest tomorrow. What about you?” He was distressed for her sake.

“It doesn’t matter.” She brushed her face away, not wanting to talk any more; if in the future he regretted saying so much to her tonight, her lack of involvement would make her feel better, then. “I’m going inside.” She lowered her face and smiled faintly.

“Well…” he stammered, “It’ll be a long time before dawn, what do you have to do to keep from getting sleepy?”

The sincerity in his words made her heart ache, “I… will do some needlework. Maybe read a book for a while.”

He couldn’t just stop her again, so he sighed.

“Don’t worry, when you’re not afraid, you won’t have nightmares anymore.” He had spoken it out loud before he realized that he already said this to her before.

She turned around and smiled gratefully.

“Wait for me for a while!” He suddenly remembered something, and hurriedly turned around and ran.

Looking at his retreating back that disappeared into the night in a flash, she smiled sincerely. He was a very nice person, as eager as a child.

After a while he ran back panting, and stuffed a book into her hand, “This contains a variety of small jokes and anecdotes circulating among the community. Reading boring books at night will get you even more sleepy. Look at this and laugh. You would not want to sleep anymore.”

She silently grasped the book in her hand.

“Look, if you find it interesting, there are many more on the book market, and I will buy them all. However, you have to get better before you finish reading them all!” He ordered, with certainty.

She nodded, “Thank you…”

He hurriedly shook his hand, not wanting to hear her say thank you, “I’m going on my rounds now, so you should hurry inside, too.”

She watched him leave quickly, and couldn’t help but look up at the night sky again. The stars in spring were really beautiful. She let out a long sigh. It would be great if she could always be under such a beautiful starry sky…

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Notes:

宫女 (gong nu) maid in the imperial palace

T/N: Yonghe is very warm. I want to keep him.

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