"Emperor, Emperor..." Outside the Hot Spring Pavilion, Shen Quan raised his voice and called out.
Yan Xiu let out a barely audible sigh, reached out to grab Li Yuyu’s wrist, and when she tried to struggle free again, he snapped in a low voice, "Stand still, watch your footing or you’ll slip."
Li Yuyu had just opened her mouth when her foot really did slip; flustered, she pitched straight into Yan Xiu’s arms.
...
Miscalculated.
Yan Xiu set Li Yuyu upright again, the corners of his lips lifting. "Beloved concubine, don’t be impatient. Once I’ve dealt with the matter outside, I’ll come back and keep you company."
Li Yuyu: ...
Take your time; I won’t see you out!
Yan Xiu stepped out of the hot spring, his whole body dripping wet, and with his back to Li Yuyu, took off the Dragon Robe that had been soaked through.
Ah!
Li Yuyu let out a soft cry and covered her eyes with both hands.
But she couldn’t control her curiosity; she continued openly peeking through her fingers.
Yan Xiu’s back was not smooth and unmarked, but scarred. Though she couldn’t see clearly enough, Li Yuyu could still make out that the most obvious, long and thick scar was from a whipping.
The reason she was so sure was that, all of a sudden, an iron whip tipped with barbs flashed through Li Yuyu’s mind.
The image flickered and was gone.
Li Yuyu’s heart clenched in a sharp pain, as if a silver needle had stabbed straight into it.
She frowned slightly and pressed a hand to her chest; the pain faded just as quickly, as if that iron whip in her mind and the stabbing in her heart had all been an illusion.
Yan Xiu had already walked slowly out of the Hot Spring Pavilion.
Once Yan Xiu emerged, Shen Quan lowered his head and closed the door to the Hot Spring Pavilion, not daring to glance inside, then attended Yan Xiu to the inner room to change.
"What’s going on at Purple Cloud Pavilion now?"
These days, just hearing the words "Purple Cloud Pavilion" gave Yan Xiu a headache.
Shen Quan helped straighten Yan Xiu’s Dragon Robe. "Beauty Zhou has fainted again. Doctor Zhang’s diagnosis is that it’s due to pent-up depression."
"Make it plain." Yan Xiu looked at Shen Quan, half smiling.
"That is... if the Emperor were to go see Beauty Zhou and talk to her, ease her mind a bit, her knot would naturally come undone, and this illness would naturally be cured." Shen Quan said stiffly, bracing himself.
Heh.
Yan Xiu let out a cold laugh.
Shen Quan dared not lift his head.
"Is this Mother’s meaning?" Yan Xiu sat down in the chair and asked in a slow voice.
Shen Quan presented the freshly brewed tea, lowering his voice. "This servant heard that the Empress Dowager looked over quite a few portraits of marriageable young ladies in the Capital today."
Clack.
Yan Xiu set the teacup down on the table and rose with a cold laugh. "In that case, I shall go to Purple Cloud Pavilion and see this Beauty Zhou."
Shen Quan followed, and just before they left, he called over Donglai and gave him a string of instructions before daring to depart.
With Yan Xiu gone from the Hot Spring Pavilion, Li Yuyu gradually relaxed. She pulled off the clothes that had been clinging uncomfortably to her for so long and tossed them by the poolside, then treated the imperial bath as a swimming pool, gliding through the water with ease.
"Prince Xuan, the Emperor really has gone to Purple Cloud Pavilion."
Donglai blocked Yan Zixuan’s way, terrified that Yan Zixuan would barge into the Hot Spring Pavilion.
Lady Li was still inside and hadn’t come out yet. If he let Prince Xuan in, he wouldn’t need the Emperor to order his execution—he’d have to take his own head off.
"I can already hear the water. You servant, who gave you the guts to spin lies to fool this prince?" Yan Zixuan’s face darkened. "Move! I have military affairs to discuss with my Brother!"
Donglai’s knees buckled and he dropped to the ground in front of Yan Zixuan. "Prince Xuan, Beauty Zhou has fainted and not woken. The Emperor is worried about her and has gone to visit."
Inside the Hot Spring Pavilion, hearing the commotion outside, Li Yuyu thought Yan Xiu had returned. Gathering her gauze robe around her, she hurried to the door and laid her hand on the railing...