Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Xiao Qibai did not appear again.

A familiar young host from the tavern came to see me in secret.

“Prince Yu mentioned you while drinking with his aides last night.

“He said he’s spoiled you over the years and that you’ve become too temperamental.

“The aides suggested he give you the cold shoulder for a few days.

“They said, ‘Women only act spoiled because they’re favored. Besides, Miss Hongxiu has been put on a pedestal for so many years. If Your Highness hardens your heart and ignores her for ten days or a fortnight, she’ll surely grow anxious. She’ll learn to behave then.'”

Xiao Qibai must have taken their advice to heart.

In the past, he would often come to pick me up whenever he had a spare moment. Now, he gave all his time to Song Wanrong.

I smiled and slid off a gold bracelet, pressing it into the young host’s hand. “Thank you for bringing me the news.”

He was overjoyed. “Sister Hongxiu, this… this is too valuable. Why are you giving me such a generous reward?”

Because I am leaving.

Rather than returning the wealth I cannot take with me to Xiao Qibai, I would rather distribute it to those in need.

When the moon reached its zenith, I walked into the medical clinic in the east of the city.

“Ah Fei.”

The broker held out a silver tray filled with rows of silver needles.

“Once these needles go in, there is no turning back. From now on, your life and fortune are in the hands of fate.”

I clenched my teeth.

“Okay.”

I won’t look back.

The needles pierced my back, one by one, a dense and sharp pain.

Following the pattern drawn by the artist, a wound in the shape of a lotus was tattooed into my skin.

Then, cinnabar was poured in, sealed within the flesh.

Sweat soon drenched the hair at my temples.

I lost consciousness and fell into a long, long dream.

In the dream, a fourteen-year-old Xiao Qibai, dressed in fine clothes and riding a spirited horse, leaped onto a high ledge in his red robes and tossed a begonia flower to me.

“I like you. From now on, I’ll come to support every one of your performances.”

A fifteen-year-old Xiao Qibai pulled me to a mountain temple to make a wish. Amidst the brilliant peach blossoms, he wrote our names on a blessing bag and tied it to the Lovers’ Bridge.

A sixteen-year-old Xiao Qibai stayed up with me on New Year’s Eve, covered in the debris of firecrackers. I reached out to brush them off, but he caught my hand and said with a laugh, “Look at us, both dressed in red. Don’t we look like we’re about to perform our wedding bows?”

The red clothes blurred and shifted in the dream.

The last scene I saw was after I had taken that blade for him and fallen into the river. After crawling out with my life hanging by a thread, I saw Xiao Qibai on the pleasure boat, cradling the unconscious girl in his arms.

“Rong’er! Wake up!”

His eyes were bloodshot, his voice filled with such desperation.

“Didn’t you say your greatest wish was to marry me? As long as you wake up, I will surely marry you…”

To his calls, the girl finally opened her eyes.

She grabbed his hand, a single tear falling.

“Your Highness, as long as you are alright.”

They embraced tightly.

And I, losing my last bit of strength, fell back into the rolling river.