Empress Gu Zongying handed the red colored boxes to the maid girl, while she gave the others to Xie Peizhi.
“Let’s go to their room mother” Xie Peizhi suggested as they walked out. “It isn’t midnight yet, so they wouldn’t start doing the couple stuff right?” she added
Empress Gu Zongying pondered for a while, she knew that Xie Peizhi loved teasing her brother, she was also nervous. Xie Peizhi could go there and speak nothing but trash which would probably annoy Cai Ruolan.
“No Peizhi, you would annoy Cai Ruolan”
“Mother, I won’t. I promise. Instead, we would annoy her by calling her to come and take the present let’s take it to them ourselves” Xie Peizhi reasoned.
“You are right, let’s go”
The servant girl carried not less than ten presents in her hands, Xie Peizhi was more excited as she thought of what to tell her brother and his wife once they arrived there.
Cai Ruolan was seating on a chair reading, she was wearing a beautiful lavender colored hanfu, her long hair were left to fall on her back.
She would have preferred to read at the rainbow garden, but Xie Yuxuan seized the key because she bited him.
Though she felt very bad for biting him when he was only trying to get close to her.
‘To take off a single robe just like you did in the morning wouldn’t cost you anything Cai Ruolan’ she had berated herself.
She had watched how the crown prince rubbed and rubbed his lips till it became less swollen.
But it was also his fault right? Otherwise why would he kiss her in the first place?
Cai Ruolan turned back to see him. His back was turned at her, as he was seating down on his chair reading a long scroll and facing the window.
She wanted to ask him how he was feeling, she thought that the pain from her bite must have caused him to have a throbbing headache. But she only laughed out.
Xie Yuxuan turned to look at her, he couldn’t remember reading anything funny in the book.
So why did she laughed?
He rolled his eyes and minded his own business.
Cai Ruolan asked him amidst laughter. “H… How are you feeling now your majesty? I can see that your lips aren’t swollen any longer”
He found it hard to believe that she was this playful. Hearing her laugh made his heart melt.
“I’m in pains” he replied without turning back to see her, he was still cross with her.
“I’m very sorry about that your majesty” she apologized, her voice laced with a tone of regrets that one wouldn’t believe that she laughed a few seconds ago.
Xie Yuxuan was about to speak when he heard a knock on the door.
“Brother, am I disrupting a special moment?” the voice asked from the door.
“Don’t mind her Yuxuan dear”
Cai Ruolan felt very glad to hear the empress and princess’s voice, she stood up to the door and opened it.
“You should have just told us that the door was opened, instead of getting up from your husband’s lap all the way here” Xie Peizhi laughed.
Cai Ruolan ignored her words and quickly motioned to collect the red present from the empress.
“Thank you my dear”
Xie Peizhi poured the presents on top of Xie Yuxuan’s reading table.
“I and mother brought them for your wife” she told him. “Brother, I would like to take your wife with me to the town tomorrow. I want to show her around Huexiang, what do you think?”
Xie Yuxuan wouldn’t let Xie Peizhi take Cai Ruolan anywhere, he quickly objected. “No, you won’t”
Xie Peizhi was downcast, “But why? We’ll take the guards with us” she persisted.
“Say no more, even if you’ll take the whole world with you, you won’t take my wife anywhere” he concluded.
Xie Peizhi growled in frustration. “Why?”
Xie Yuxuan chuckled. “You’ll forget about her once you see tanghulus and steamed buns” he replied.
Xie Peizhi looked disappointed, perhaps her brother was right, she wanted to go out so that she could show Cai Ruolan around she would also buy some sweets and caramel apples.
Cai Ruolan thanked the empress for the presents she had brought for her.
She couldn’t imagine the fact that all of these were hers.
“You should come down for dinner dears” said the empress while walking out.
Xie Peizhi followed her mother outside, murmuring some words to herself.
After they left, Cai Ruolan’s eyes scanned the present, she couldn’t wait to start tearing them open one by one tomorrow morning.
But first, she was to go downstairs for dinner.
And as she ate, Cai Ruolan felt very sleepy. She didn’t wanted to sleep because of that dream, she was going to have that dream again?
* * * * *
Why are there so many corpses around?
Cai Ruolan looked at the lifeless bodies of beautiful females?
What was she also doing here?
“Beautiful girl, get some shrouds”
She flinched when she heard the old lady’s voice.
The old lady still carried many white clothes with her.
“Do you see those girls? You would be like them soon spirit” she laughed.
Cai Ruolan started running, she ran as fast as her two legs could carry her.
She noticed her surrounding, everywhere was white and filled with corpses of girls.
Cai Ruolan realized that she was running on bodies of people who were once like her, there was no space left for her to step on. Every corner were occupied by corpses.
“Get some shroud before it’s too late” old lady ordered again as laughed.
Cai Ruolan never stopped running, but it felt as though as she was still within one place, every corner she ran to were occupied by corpses that made her screamed.
And as she ran, she noticed that the birthmark on her right shoulder was glowing out a white light, bright enough to blind her eyes.
She began to hear a voice that the old lady might probably never hear.
“Come to the white forest my dear daughter”
White forest?
The old lady stood, she brought out her bow and fixed the sharp arrow on it, she made Cai Ruolan her target
“You will wear one of my beautiful shrouds”
Cai Ruolan looked back for once and saw the lady already shot the arrow, it was coming straight to her direction.
She cried, she could only think of one person and she shouted his name before the arrow penetrated her chest.
“Xie Yuxuan!”
And she fell to the ground with her eyes shut.
* * * * * *
“Ah!” Cai Ruolan horrific scream woke up Xie Yuxuan.
Xie Yuxuan wanted to turn on the lamp when he noticed that a bright white light was shining out of her right shoulder.
He quickly litted the candle lamp on, and kept it in top the bedside table.
He sat beside her and placed an arm around her neck, he cleaned the tears that were falling from her eyes.
“What is the nightmare?” he asked her softly.
The light from her shoulder were already dimming.
Cai Ruolan rested her head on his arm, “S.. Someone wants to kill me. I’m having this dream for the second time now” she sobbed.
Xie Yuxuan was bewildered.
He now knew that Cai Ruolan was no ordinary girl because of that light, though he wasn’t aware of the birthmark on her right shoulder. But he decided to see it the next day.
He wiped away her tears and kissed her head softly.
“I will protect you” he told her.
She looked up at him, her eyes looked restless. Would he be able to protect her from the black snake of a woman?
She tried not to cry again as she remembered how the arrow penetrated her chest.
“No, perhaps you won’t be able to protect me” she sniffed.
But he hugged her tightly and planted more kisses on her head.
“I’ll always be with you my love. Nothing will happen to you, we’ll overcome everything together” he promised.
Cai Ruolan was a little bit relieved.
She hugged him tightly, while on his embrace, she remembered the angelic voice who had told her to come to the white forest.
She raised up her head and asked him.
“Your majesty, can you take me to the white forest?” she asked.
White forest?
Xie Yuxuan wasn’t sure if he heard about that before. However he patted her back and assured her. “Don’t worry, just go back to sleep”
What’s a white forest?
What was the dream?
What’s the white light?
Who is Cai Ruolan?
There were lot’s of questions that he was determined to find out about with his lovely little Cai Ruolan.
A\N
Hello SOTWLer.
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