Under the Bamboo Parasol

When she was certain he had fallen asleep, her hand drew closer to his hair, carefully stroking and putting back in place the strands of silver that never seemed to be in place.

Her hand fell from the gentle stroking down to his right arm that hung down at his side. Such an arm was said to have been crippled long ago. His right arm was heavy, as one of a corpse, the temperature was colder than that of normal body temperature.

As the sleeve of his brocade robe was pushed back gently, a thin scar stretched from near his wrist, extending towards the elbow.

"Just why?" She whispered in his ear. "Why did you do that?" There were many more things that could have been said, but it was to no avail as the only person she could talk to had fallen into a deep slumber.

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Before she could ask any more questions that only she herself would hear, she heard footsteps. Her head whipped around, to see an old man step into the candlelight. The slight orange glow of the candle flickered slightly, casting an array of oddly shaped shadows.

"Madam." He spoke.

"Did you follow me here?" Madam Lin asked. The person standing before her was mister Song, whose love for wine had long ascended the heavens. Even she could not understand why he would leave his yard of fermenting brew to follow her here.

Mister Song did not answer her question, instead, he said: "Have you forgotten the agreement?"

"No." Madam Lin answered in a word she spoke with contempt.

"That is good, as you know, Ruan Wang's death will be the root of all political upheaval in the capital. Do you wish to see the streets washed with the blood of innocents?" It was a rare tone of lecturing that he rarely used, but he could not understand the selfishness that came from her heart. Just like the philosophy of killing one to save a thousand, this was saving one to let a thousand live.

"Why should I care?"

"Do you not remember the Ye clan?" As soon as he spoke, he knew that it was a bad example. To say the least, Madam Lin had never had the slightest consideration for the lives of the Ye clan.

Madam Lin let out a chuckle "And if he must die?"

"Then forgive me." He said as he moved out of sight into the shadows. The candle flickered before plunging the whole room into darkness.

The sounds of cloth ripping the air ensued for a while before they came to a stop. It was uncertain who came as the victor, but two shadows stopped at the same time and faced each other.

Madam Lin, whose veil came off revealed a grin as she looked towards mister Song, whose sleave showed a tear with some blood seeping out. The two people did not seem to be holding any weapons. She took a deep breath of the air which included the burning scents of a blown-out candle and the scents of copper and iron, from the two men who were in the room with her.

"I really don't like drawing blood." She shook her head as looked at the two people in front of her.

Though one person was unable to respond, the other was more awake and showed a face that was as calm as the moon shining over a pond.

"Madam, it is time to leave." Mister Song said harshly, still using his lecturing tone.

"But…" Her voice trailed off, as he was met with an oncoming palm of her hand. In return, he also used his palm to block the oncoming attack.

A silent moment fell as their palms met, but did not touch. The strange energy that rebounded from the two energies was enough to make the entire room shake.

The table was met with a vibration, causing the jar that sat atop the table to be inlaid with spiderweb-like cracks that slowly found a way to wrap itself around the jar. The porcelain cup met with the same fate.

The same could not be said for the objects that laid surrounding the room. The vases and other fragile items that were in the room had shattered, creating a loud noise, as pieces fell to the floor, clattering into each other.

The people who had been ordered to stay put by Ruan Wang also heard the disturbance and rushed into the guest house, disturbing the peacefulness that had been settling about.

"We should leave." Mister Song said as he looked at the grinning Madam Lin who seemed so proud of herself. He understood that the shattering and shaking of the room were things that should not have occurred from their palms meeting, but there was an extra stream of energy that came after, causing the mess of broken shards that they saw now.

The floor below them was vibrating as the heavy steps of over ten men came, looking for the place where the disturbance had occurred.

The room had been long empty by the time Xu Fei and his accompanying guards entered.

The moment they stepped into the room, the jar shattered, all of the wine spilling out and soaking the table cloth.

"My lord!" Xu Fei called upon seeing Ruan Wang passed out on a table. There was a trickle of blood flowing from his lips, but the expression that was on his face was that of joy.

Seeing that the situation was dire, that danger may be lurking around the corner. Xu Fei carried Ruan Wang back to the carriage, and the horses went galloping towards the manor. Where a physician was quickly called for.

Though it was not known to the quiet streets of the capital yet, but once known, a period of turbulent of unrest would soon come.

Xu Fei quietly stood on the porch, watching the flurries of snowfall in the darkness. He let out a deep breath, letting a cloud of smoke escape and blend into the distant darkness. He was never one to pray to the gods in the hope of a wish coming true, but he had so hoped that Ruan Wang would be able to make a full recovery and get away from those sorrowful memories.