"Qing'er?" I jumped when Matron Ji's soft voice called out to me from behind. Shaking off the haze that had been clouding my mind as I worked, I turned around and gave her a bright smile.
I was tending to the garden, sweeping the leaves around the tree. The air was cold, but I padded myself with more clothes than I usually needed to. My body had the tendency to shiver for no reason in the midst of doing things.
The tree had began to die, and there were plenty of leaves to sweep away. I chose to stay outside, away from my thoughts whenever I could.
Just like Prince Zheng, the garden became my favourite place in Shen Li Gong.
I didn't remember much from the situation with the Crown Prince, but my body was bruised and ached from the blows that I dimly recalled raining down on me.
I dared not to look into a mirror. Matron Ji had warned me not to, but I needed to look at the damage to truly know what the Crown Prince was capable of. She had to catch me when I went weak at the sight.
