Hibiscus as a Painting

Chapter 26

"Who?!" The young man in white was about to get up and go back to his room when he heard a noise not far away and slowly walked over.

Zi Jin had a bad feeling. She had been so focused on guarding against west Le that she had forgotten there was another person over there. She tried to get up and run away, but her legs felt like they didn't belong to her and wouldn't obey her commands.

The young man in white walked over slowly, standing with his back to the light: "Were you eavesdropping?"

"Uh?..." Eavesdropping? Zi Jin wanted to listen, but she was so far away that she couldn't hear anything.

“In that case, I cannot let you go,” the boy said after a moment’s thought.

Because of the backlighting, Zi Jin couldn't see the boy's face clearly, but the gentle voice sounded somewhat familiar, though she couldn't remember where she had heard it before.

"Don't be afraid. Once I'm gone, I'll have Le'er come and release you," the young man explained, seemingly sensing Zi Jin's displeasure.

Zi Jin rolled her eyes: Aren't you afraid? It's a dark and windy night for murder... You could kill me and no one would know.

The boy turned around: "Come here."

Zi Jin moved her legs, which were no longer so numb, and slowly stood up. Once she realized her legs weren't so numb anymore, she bent them forcefully. Seeing that the boy hadn't turned around, she quietly turned away and ran.

A white figure flashed by, and a young man blocked Zi Jin's path. Zi Jin glared angrily at the young man, but when she saw who it was, she gasped in surprise: This... isn't this the white-haired boy she had mistakenly drugged that day? How... how is he here?

The white-haired youth's narrow, clear eyes revealed impatience. He frowned slightly and raised his hand to press on Zi Jin's pulse point: "I won't hurt you. You must wait until tomorrow, and then I will leave."

Zi Jin nodded reluctantly, feeling utterly helpless: "As expected, what goes around comes around..."

Once inside, Zi Jin realized that this was the palace where she had drugged the boy that day.

Under the palace lanterns, the boy's exquisite face had lost the allure of that day, gaining instead a cold and noble air. His snow-white hair shone like silk, dazzling the eyes. The boy seemed somewhat troubled as he stared at the only bed in the room.

Zi Jin immediately noticed the boy's troubles, stepped forward, sat on the footstool in front of the bed, and lay down on the edge of the bed in a sleeping position.

The boy's worries vanished, and he glanced at Zi Jin with delight, a slight smile playing on his lips. He walked to the bedside, took off his boots, and lay down, a deep weariness showing in his eyes: "That's fine too."

Zi Jin, who was pretending to be obedient and lying by the bed, pointed to her mouth with difficulty and shook her hand helplessly: "Big brother, I wanted to say something, but if you recognize me, you'd probably want to chop me up."

A faint pity welled up in the boy's eyes: "Good servant... but he's mute..."

Zi Jin could only offer a silly smile, inwardly lamenting: How did I end up in his hands? What am I going to do? What am I going to do...?

The boy seemed utterly exhausted, slowly closing his eyes. His long, curled eyelashes danced like fans in the lamplight, casting a beautiful arc. His nose was pert, and his delicate, rosy lips held a faint smile. His breathing was steady; he slept soundly.

Zi Jin had no interest in appreciating the boy's stunning good looks. Suppressing her restlessness, she waited and waited until the boy was truly fast asleep before she moved slowly and carefully. She climbed down from the footstool and crept away into the distance, not daring to make a sound.

The boy seemed to sense the surrounding air growing colder, his brow furrowing slightly. He unconsciously reached out to touch the spot where Zi Jin was lying. His hand touched something icy cold. He snapped his eyes open, his gaze icy, and without thinking, pulled down the bed curtains, sweeping them towards the still-crawling Zi Jin. The curtains, as if alive, were tied around Zi Jin's waist. The boy forcefully pulled Zi Jin back.

Before Zi Jin could react, she had already fallen into the boy's arms.

The young man reached out and pulled Zi Jin into his arms, only then realizing that his anger was completely inexplicable. Just as he was about to speak, he smelled a familiar fragrance of herbs and suddenly remembered that person from that day. His face instantly turned red: "Palace servant, shall we use a kind of fragrance?" It sounded like a question, or perhaps an inquiry.

Zi Jin, nestled in the boy's arms, was startled and nodded without hesitation: Could it be that this boy remembers her aura? No way?

A deep sense of loss welled up in the boy's eyes, but he didn't let go of Zi Jin's arms. He said in a muffled voice, "Don't move. Just sleep here, or I'll grab you again later."

The boy's embrace was unusually warm, and a faint scent of ambergris lingered around him. Zi Jin tried to struggle but couldn't break free. Seeing the dark purple under the boy's eyes and the deep weariness between his brows, Zi Jin couldn't bear to torment him any longer and decided to wait until the boy fell asleep again before figuring out what to do.

In a short while, the boy's breathing became steady, and the grip on her hands loosened. Zi Jin carefully shifted her body slightly, and the unsuspecting boy, still asleep, seemed to notice and unconsciously nuzzled against Zi Jin's shoulder again.

The boy's white hair was a little messy, but he was sleeping soundly. For some reason, this boy always gave Zi Jin a sense of déjà vu, even his aura was unusually familiar. She was not a soft-hearted and kind person, so why could she not bring herself to be cruel to this boy?

The first rays of morning light streamed in, and Zi Jin rolled over, pulling the covers over her head to try and sleep some more. The scent on the bedding had been changed; it smelled even better than before… Suddenly, she opened her eyes and found herself still in the boy's bed from the previous night, only now she was alone. Zi Jin scrambled out of bed, her attention drawn to a note on the table.

Little servant, I'm leaving the palace. Your incense smelled wonderful. Thank you for last night.

Zi Jin stared at the note in her hand, bewildered, and sighed inwardly. Although she had already realized that the boy's intelligence was indeed questionable, she hadn't expected him to be so incoherent. To think that the white-haired boy, who seemed like an ethereal fairy, was actually mentally challenged was truly a waste of talent.

Zi Jin held the note in her hand with feigned nonchalance, looked up at the sky and sighed. Suddenly, Yu Luo's mournful face flashed through her mind. She turned and ran outside, her heart filled with a sense of despair...

As dusk settled, in the unnamed woods of Taiping Pavilion, Zi Jin held a celadon bowl, looking around to make sure no one was nearby. Then, she quickly poured the tonic from the bowl into a tree pit.

The day before yesterday, Zi Jin didn't return home all night, and Yu Luo and Xi Bao waited anxiously outside the door all night. During this time, Yu Luo even considered sneaking into the inner palace at night, but the inner palace was so vast, where could she possibly look? When Zi Jin finally returned, Yu Luo's face was already ashen and dark. Whether it was punishment or something else, from that day on, the herbal medicine she used to take once a day had to be taken three times a day. Zi Jin couldn't bear such torment, and after thinking for two days, she finally came up with this method.

"Little mute, what are you doing?"

A charming voice suddenly rang out behind her, startling Zi Jin so much that her hand trembled, and the celadon bowl fell into the tree hole. Zi Jin turned around angrily, but when she saw who it was, her furious expression immediately softened.

"Little mute, have you missed me these days?" west Le, dressed in a plum-red women's corset, looked at the extremely dejected Zi Jin with a charming smile.

Zi Jin shook her head, then, feeling it wasn't right, nodded again: "I can miss you, but don't keep thinking about me."

west Le's alluring face beamed with an even more intense smile. She toyed with a strand of hair by her ear, watching Zi Jin's reaction.

Zi Jin had no time to observe the inscrutable smile on Xi Le's face. She frowned, staring at the celadon bowl in the tree hollow, lamenting her bad luck. Now that the medicine bowl had fallen in, Yu Luo would surely find out that she hadn't taken any tonics for days. Who knew what kind of torment she would suffer?

Although Yu Luo has countless good qualities, ever since she came to his side, she's tried every possible way to make him take tonics. He's been taking them daily for almost a year now, drinking double doses when he's slightly ill and single doses when he's healthy. Even shark fin and bird's nest would become tiresome if consumed daily, let alone this agonizingly bitter Chinese medicine! These past few days, he's been taking it three times a day! Who could stand that? Isn't he afraid of killing himself?

Seeing that Zi Jin was frowning and staring at the hole, ignoring him, Xi Le looked over out of curiosity: "Little mute, do you want to take this bowl back?"

Zi Jin turned to look at Xi Le's profile, her eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously.

west Le smiled slightly and gently patted the edge of the tree hole with her slender hand. The bark around the hole was completely peeled off, and the hole, which was originally only the size of a celadon bowl, suddenly expanded to twice its original size.

Zi Jin was overjoyed and reached into the tree hole to take out the celadon bowl, giving west Le a grateful smile.

After Zi Jin took out the celadon bowl, Xi Le calmly reached into the tree hole, dipped her finger in the medicine that Zi Jin had poured out, sniffed it, and a complicated look flashed in her eyes.

After Zi Jin received the celadon bowl, she saw west Le deep in thought and felt a surge of joy. She tiptoed towards Taiping Pavilion.

west Le glanced sideways for a moment, then chuckled softly at Zi Jin's thieving movements: "Little mute, where are you going?"