The hand gripping hers suddenly tightened.
Su Zhenzhen felt a flash of pain.
"It hurts."
She let out a soft gasp, and the grip suddenly loosened.
Yet, as if feeling unwilling to let go, Lu Hexu looked at the woman with a deeply brooding gaze.
Su Zhenzhen rubbed her aching fingertips, glanced at the desk, and quickly withdrew her gaze to meet the man's eyes.
Her heart trembled, and she tried hard to suppress her emotions.
"Come and drink your medicine." Her eyelashes fluttering, she walked over to the round table where the food box she had brought was placed.
Su Zhenzhen opened the box and took out the porcelain bowl inside.
To prevent the medicine from spilling, she had used a lidded porcelain bowl instead of a regular one.
Upon lifting the lid, the strong scent of herbal medicine instantly filled the air, bringing an extremely bitter taste with every breath.
Su Zhenzhen stood there, her watery gaze falling on Lu Hexu's face.
The man's chest heaved as he let out a breath and sat down at the round table.
Su Zhenzhen also breathed a sigh of relief and handed him the porcelain bowl.
Lu Hexu reached out, took it, and took a sip.
He frowned.
Nothing had been added to sweeten it.
"What's wrong?"
Lu Hexu lowered his eyes, downed the medicine in one gulp, and set the bowl down heavily on the table.
Su Zhenzhen slowly packed away the bowl. "I adjusted the dosage this time. I'll stay here for a while to see if you have any discomfort, so I can adjust it again next time."
Everyone's physical constitution is different, so the dosage naturally varies.
Su Zhenzhen stood for a moment. Seeing that the man didn't object, she lifted her skirt and sat opposite him.
"How do you feel?" Su Zhenzhen asked softly.
"Dizzy."
Dizzy?
Su Zhenzhen looked around. "May I use your desk?"
The man didn't respond. Su Zhenzhen tentatively stood up, and seeing that he didn't voice any objection, she walked over to the desk, took a piece of paper, picked up a writing brush Lu Hexu had used, dipped it in ink, and began to write.
Dizziness.
"Is the dizziness severe?" Su Zhenzhen asked, resting her chin on the end of the brush.
"Yes."
Su Zhenzhen frowned.
Severe dizziness.
It seemed the dosage really needed to be changed.
Lu Hexu sat there with his eyes half-closed, his gaze drifting to the side.
The woman sat there in a soft white summer dress, holding his brush, quietly and earnestly recording his condition.
"Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere else? Do you feel nauseous, like you want to throw up? Or short of breath, or having an allergic reaction..."
"Headache."
Su Zhenzhen continued to write down this symptom on the paper.
If it was just dizziness and a headache, it should be fine.
"I'll try reducing the dosage next time," Su Zhenzhen murmured, her gaze involuntarily falling on the high piles of imperial memorials.
The covers of the memorials usually indicated three things: the official title of the person submitting it, their name, and the subject of the memorial.
Su Zhenzhen glanced over and saw a few memorials from imperial censors, all discussing legal matters.
As Su Zhenzhen peeked at them, a dark shadow suddenly fell before her eyes.
She instinctively looked up and saw Lu Hexu, who had stood opposite her at some unknown point.
The man looked down at her. No matter the angle, Lu Hexu was strikingly handsome.
Even from such an unflattering angle, Su Zhenzhen could see his sharp jawline and rolling Adam's apple.
"Headache," the man repeated.
Su Zhenzhen thought for a moment. "Should I use a mugwort stick to do some moxibustion for you?"
Lu Hexu looked at her and slowly nodded. "Mhm."
Su Zhenzhen got up, stepped out of the main room, and saw Wei Heng standing at the door.
"Godfather, do we have any mugwort sticks?"
Wei Heng nodded and brought over a mugwort stick a moment later.
Su Zhenzhen first rubbed the tight mugwort stick to loosen it, then turned and asked Wei Heng to prepare a cup of honey water.
Using moxibustion accelerates water loss in the body, so it's good to replenish with some honey water or warm salt water.
Ah, she had forgotten.
"Godfather, not honey water, warm salt water."
Wei Heng stood at the door, looked at Su Zhenzhen, and sighed.
"Who is it for?"
"For His Majesty."
Wei Heng continued to look at Su Zhenzhen. "His Majesty does not like to drink warm salt water."
Huh?
"But last time he ate roasted mochi, he asked for salt. He also said he no longer likes sweet things."
"His Majesty said so, and you believed him?"
How could she not believe it?
"Then honey water?"
Wei Heng nodded and turned to leave.
Su Zhenzhen re-entered the room holding the mugwort stick and saw the man resting against the couch. Hearing her come in, he frowned. "What did you go do again?"
Su Zhenzhen thought about it and said, "I asked Godfather to prepare some honey water for you."
The expression on Lu Hexu's originally gloomy face paused.
He pursed his lips and closed his eyes.
Su Zhenzhen walked over to him with the mugwort stick and sat on a round stool.
The mugwort stick was lit.
A slender wisp of blue smoke slowly rose, faint as mist. As the flame danced, the smoke gradually became warm and mellow, leisurely diffusing into the air.
Through this thin layer of smoke, Su Zhenzhen's gaze fell on Lu Hexu's face.
The man leaned there, resting his head on one hand, his eyes slightly closed. His long eyelashes lightly covered his eyes like butterfly wings, the tips tinged with a faint ink color. The bridge of his nose was sharp and smooth, making his entire face look even more sculpted. Further down were his thin, dark red lips, with clear lip lines that added a touch of aloofness.
Compared to his youth, his entire face appeared overly sharp—both striking and coldly detached.
Only the drooping curve of his eyelashes held a hint of softness.
Were these eyelashes the only things that hadn't changed?
The mugwort stick burned quietly, the smoke mixing with the unique, clear, and bitter fragrance of mugwort, slowly permeating the surrounding air.
Su Zhenzhen started to feel a bit sleepy.
She groggily lowered her head, then suddenly jerked awake, meeting Lu Hexu's open eyes.
Su Zhenzhen's wrist trembled, and fine mugwort ash drifted down, falling right into the man's eye.
"Ah, are you alright?"
Lu Hexu kept his eye closed, unable to open it.
Su Zhenzhen instantly became nervous. She hurriedly pulled the man up to go wash it out.
There was a spring in the courtyard.
Su Zhenzhen had the man bend over, and she cupped the clear spring water with both hands, splashing it onto his eyes.
The clear spring water hit his face, quickly wetting the front of Lu Hexu's robes.
"Is it better?"
Su Zhenzhen tilted her head to check.
The man slowly opened his eye a fraction, then closed it again. "No."
Su Zhenzhen leaned in closer, reaching out to gently pry Lu Hexu's eye open.
The man's eye had become very red. With spring water dripping from his face, his pitch-black pupil stared straight at Su Zhenzhen in front of him.
The woman was very nervous. She pressed close, her slender, soft fingertips resting near his eyeball.
Su Zhenzhen searched for a moment but couldn't find any obvious particles of mugwort ash in Lu Hexu's eye.
Could it be too small to see?
The sound of the woman's breathing brushed against his cheek; they were so close their breaths intertwined.
"Al..." Lu Hexu had barely uttered the beginning of a word when he felt a sudden damp heat against his eye.
Su Zhenzhen stuck out her tongue and licked the man's eye.
Lu Hexu's eyelashes trembled, and his hand resting on the edge of the spring pool suddenly tightened into a fist.
The soft tip of her tongue brushed over his pupil, licking away the cold spring water and leaving behind a searing heat.
Su Zhenzhen held the thing in her mouth, spat it out to the side, and then rinsed her mouth with the spring water. Cupping Lu Hexu's face, she continued to lick his other eye.
The man suddenly fell silent.
He sat obediently by the edge of the spring pool, letting Su Zhenzhen do as she pleased.
After licking both of Lu Hexu's eyes, Su Zhenzhen scooped up some spring water to wash them for him.
"Is it better?" she asked.
The man's eyes were very red. He looked toward her, his voice incredibly hoarse. "It is."
Su Zhenzhen breathed a sigh of relief.
Only then did she realize that, because she had been in such a hurry just now, she had accidentally sat right on top of Lu Hexu.
Her knees were pressing against his thighs, and her elbows were resting on his shoulders.
The man's clothes had been completely soaked by the spring water during her extremely rough handling just now.
Summer robes were already thin, and once wet with spring water, the contours of the muscles underneath were fully revealed.
Lu Hexu was wearing black clothes, but she wasn't so lucky; her light summer dress was clinging tightly to her body.
Su Zhenzhen subconsciously shrank back into the shadows.
Lu Hexu watched as Su Zhenzhen turned sideways, standing there bashfully. Her wet clothes clung to her figure, faintly revealing her fair skin.
Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and she bit her lower lip, standing there looking rather awkward. "Could you give me a piece of clothing?"
Lu Hexu stood up, turned around, and went into the house.
A moment later, he brought out a black cloak and tossed it to Su Zhenzhen.
Su Zhenzhen quickly draped it over herself.
The cloak was very large, trailing all the way to the ground; it was obviously Lu Hexu's.
Su Zhenzhen tied a few tight knots at the hem of the cloak so she wouldn't trip over it while walking.
"It's getting late, I should get going." Su Zhenzhen lowered her head to leave, but then remembered something. "I haven't taken my food box."
Su Zhenzhen walked into the house, came out a moment later with her food box, and ran down the corridor as if she were flying.
The man stood where he was and raised a hand to touch his eyes.
The corners of his eyes were a bright crimson. That wet sensation seemed to linger, slowly spreading downward along the gentle curve of his eyes, blooming into a faint pink flush.
Lu Hexu stood quietly for a while before turning to enter the house.
He sat behind the desk and looked at the piece of paper Su Zhenzhen had left behind.
Dizzy, headache.
Suggest reducing the dosage.
Her handwriting was still as ugly as ever.
Lu Hexu's fingertips traced the handwriting, and then his gaze suddenly paused.
He raised his hand, opened a memorial on the side, took one look, let out a deep breath, and put it back.
"Your Majesty," Wei Heng stood at the door of the main room, his voice respectful, "Han Shuo has arrived."
Although a memorial was missing, Lu Hexu was indeed in a good mood today. Pressing his fingertips to the corner of his eye, he slightly lowered his head. "Let him in."
Han Shuo entered the main room dressed in casual attire and knelt on the ground to pay his respects to Lu Hexu. "Your Majesty."
"Is it done?"
"Yes, the gunpowder you ordered your subordinate to prepare a few days ago has been safely transported to the Imperial Ancestral Temple."
Lu Hexu raised his eyes and looked outside.
The moonlight was thin and light, like a layer of crushed gauze, washing over the silk lanterns hanging beneath the eaves.
"It looks like good weather now."
-
After leaving Lu Hexu's place, Su Zhenzhen couldn't wait and went straight to find Jiang Yunshu.
Jiang Yunshu's Yunjin Hall was already closed for the night, but the lights in her courtyard were still on.
Su Zhenzhen stood outside the wall and threw pebbles inside, successfully waking the person up.
Jiang Yunshu draped a coat over her shoulders and came to open the door. Seeing Su Zhenzhen, she yawned. "Do you know what time it is?"
"No, what time is it?"
"It's midnight."
Su Zhenzhen walked straight into Jiang Yunshu's room, then picked up the teapot on the table and poured herself a bowl of cold tea.
After drinking half the bowl of cold tea, she finally took the item out of her food box and handed it to her.
"What is it? You're bringing me food in the middle of the night?" Jiang Yunshu leaned in, only to see Su Zhenzhen take out a... memorial from the food box?
"What is this?" Jiang Yunshu reached out to take it and flipped it open.
"A censor's memorial? Where did you get this?" Jiang Yunshu held the memorial as if holding a hot potato.
She suddenly tossed the memorial back to Su Zhenzhen.
Stealing an imperial memorial? That was a crime punishable by beheading!
Su Zhenzhen frantically caught it. "Don't worry about that, did you read it clearly?"
How could she not worry! Wasn't it a head she was carrying on her shoulders?
Jiang Yunshu went numb, and she said weakly, "...No."
Su Zhenzhen spread the memorial out on the desk.
By the light of the lamp, she and Jiang Yunshu lowered their heads to examine it together.
"As a censor, having heard of the proposal to amend the Great Zhou laws, this subject risks death to admonish and beseech Your Majesty to reject it.
The Great Zhou laws were personally established by the late Emperor, cast in bronze as lasting edicts.
The law is a public instrument of the world, relying on it to pacify the court and stabilize the people's hearts; it must not be altered recklessly. To change it lightly would cause a loss of authority and disrupt order, and furthermore, it violates the late Emperor's dying injunctions.
Individual cases of injustice can be investigated according to the current law, but the current proposal to amend the law regarding 'a wife killing her husband' truly disrupts human relations, and amending the law will inevitably breed chaos.
I humbly beg Your Majesty to strictly forbid the amendment of the laws to protect the foundation of the state; this subject is willing to admonish with his life."
Jiang Yunshu raised her hand and threw the memorial away, but then, remembering what this thing was, she went over and picked it back up.
"It's easy to speak so lightly when it isn't your own daughter who killed her husband." After saying that, Jiang Yunshu handed the memorial to Su Zhenzhen. "You still have to return this memorial, right?"
"I do," Su Zhenzhen nodded, putting the memorial back into the food box, and then said faintly, "I want to blow up the Imperial Ancestral Temple."
Jiang Yunshu had just sat down to take a sip of tea after getting tired of cursing, but she never expected to hear those words from Su Zhenzhen.
She lost her balance and fell straight to the floor.
Ignoring the pain, Jiang Yunshu looked at Su Zhenzhen with a face full of terror.
She looked at that incredibly pure and kind face of hers, her eyes devoid of any worldly calculation, so clean that they were untainted by a single impurity. Even if she were already sent to the gallows, as long as she said she didn't kill the person, even the gods would believe her.
"Don't use that face of yours to say such things." Jiang Yunshu reached out to cover her own eyes.
It was too terrifying.
Jiang Yunshu had taken a hard fall. Supported by Su Zhenzhen, she stood up and sat back down.
"I was just saying." Su Zhenzhen sighed. "I'll think of another way."
If nothing else worked, she wondered if a prison break would be feasible.
-
Su Zhenzhen returned to her own courtyard. Before she even put down the food box in her hand, Sushan came over.
In the summer when the weather was hot, the kitten's fur would thin out, and it would shed more.
Su Zhenzhen had made a homemade brush that looked a lot like a fine-toothed comb used by humans, but it was softer, specifically used for grooming cat hair.
She sat on the stone steps holding Sushan.
As soon as Sushan saw Su Zhenzhen take out this brush, it knew she was going to groom it.
It immediately tilted its head and lay on the ground waiting, exposing its soft belly, rubbing hard against the ground, and letting out soft, clingy meows.
Unable to resist, Su Zhenzhen reached out to rub Sushan's belly before she started brushing its fur.
Sushan happily let out a purring sound.
Looking at Sushan's half-squinted eyes, Su Zhenzhen couldn't help but think of Lu Hexu from earlier.
The tip of her tongue seemed to still retain a lingering warmth, and she could even recall the trembling sensation of the man's pupils.
He probably really disliked her doing that, right?
Su Zhenzhen sighed and continued to lower her head, earnestly brushing Sushan.
She combed it from head to tail, brushing out a lot of cat hair, then pinched it into a small ball and threw it forward.
Sushan immediately ran after it, its tail spreading out like a feather duster, absolutely beautiful.
On the diagonally opposite pavilion, Lu Hexu stood quietly, watching Su Zhenzhen finish grooming Sushan and play with it for a while before returning to her room to rest.
The lights in the room went out. Lu Hexu withdrew his gaze and turned to look at Wei Heng behind him, "What's the matter?"
"The Imperial Ancestral Temple blew up, it's just... I'm afraid Shadow Three is having a hard time holding out over there."
Lu Hexu pondered for a long time, "Prepare a horse, return with Zhen."
-
The next day, before Su Zhenzhen had woken up, she heard a "bang bang bang" knocking coming from the courtyard gate.
Little Persimmon had just finished washing up and went over to open the door.
Jiang Yunshu stood at the door, peering inside, "Where is Su Zhenzhen?"
Little Persimmon raised her hand and pointed to the inner room.
Su Zhenzhen usually locked the door when she slept. Lying on the bed, half-asleep, she heard the knocking sound getting closer and closer to her.
"Su Zhenzhen? Su Zhenzhen!"
Su Zhenzhen was finally woken up.
Who could understand that she only went to sleep at dawn yesterday, and had only slept for four hours so far.
Su Zhenzhen slowly sat up, paused for a moment, and then put on her embroidered shoes to open the door.
The summer sunlight instantly poured in. Su Zhenzhen raised her hand to block it, and then Jiang Yunshu immediately grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside.
Jiang Yunshu was a typical ancient homebody. Her favorite thing to do every day was to lie in her room and read storybooks.
When the two occasionally got together, it was always Su Zhenzhen who went to look for her.
Jiang Yunshu bolted the door and said excitedly, "The Imperial Ancestral Temple was blown up."
Su Zhenzhen: ???
"You didn't do it, did you?" Jiang Yunshu lowered her voice and spoke close to Su Zhenzhen's ear.
Su Zhenzhen: ...
Su Zhenzhen raised her hand and pushed her away, "It wasn't me."
She really didn't have the ability; she studied traditional Chinese medicine, not chemistry!
Hearing Su Zhenzhen's answer, Jiang Yunshu finally calmed down.
Su Zhenzhen made her a cup of honey water to soothe her throat, and then went to wash up and change her clothes.
After washing her face with cold water, Su Zhenzhen felt a bit more awake. She yawned as she walked over to Jiang Yunshu, "Tell me the details, what exactly happened?"
Jiang Yunshu drank half a cup of honey water and her emotions stabilized.
"I received news this morning that there was an explosion at the Imperial Ancestral Temple at dawn. What was destroyed was the stele personally inscribed by the late Emperor. I heard that the stone stele was made of bluestone, with a dense texture, yet it was blown into fine gravel, so much so that it couldn't even be pieced back together."
Bluestone is hard. If one simply used black powder, it would be impossible to blow it up like that. The only way would be to wrap it with black powder and then detonate it.
This was done intentionally.
"Is anyone investigating?"
"No, they're saying it was a natural disaster."
-
Although the morning dew had not completely dissipated, it was no match for the rising summer heat.
The sky was not yet fully bright, with only a very faint touch of fishbelly white in the east, but the bluestone path in front of the Imperial Study had already been baked hot by the summer heat.
Dozens of censors dressed in heavy scarlet official robes knelt there, their backs straight.
Corresponding to them were the tightly closed vermilion doors of the Imperial Study in front of them.
It was dead silent inside, until someone came in from the back.
"Your Majesty."
Shadow Three, who was disguised as Lu Hexu, subconsciously let out a sigh of relief when he saw Lu Hexu return.
He respectfully stood up and yielded the position in the Imperial Study.
Lu Hexu finished changing his clothes, and it was still lively outside.
Those censors had already been kneeling outside for a day, but their voices were still loud and clear.
"The destruction of the stele was a man-made disaster, absolutely not the will of Heaven. We implore Your Majesty to see clearly! The old laws were personally established by the late Emperor and cannot be lightly changed just because a stone stele was destroyed, otherwise it would be a violation of our ancestors and shake the foundation of the state..."
The Imperial Ancestral Temple was where the ancestral spirits resided, and the late Emperor's stele was engraved with the ancestral teachings of the Great Zhou.
When news of the stele's destruction spread, the courtiers were divided into two factions.
One faction followed the will of Heaven and took the opportunity to memorialize, claiming that the destruction of the stele was a warning sign from Heaven, indicating that the late Emperor was dissatisfied with the outdated old laws and wished to order a reform in the court and country. They implored His Majesty to follow the trend and change the laws, complying with the will of Heaven and adapting to the times.
The other faction, with the censors at its core, desperately defended the late Emperor's legacy, bluntly stating that this was a man-made disaster, not the will of Heaven, and that someone must be deliberately creating a mystery in a vain attempt to shake the imperial court's discipline. They remonstrated to the death that the laws could not be changed.
Lu Hexu rested his chin on one hand, tapping the imperial desk, his expression already impatient, "Wei Heng."
"Your Majesty."
"Where is Zhen's bow and arrow?"
Wei Heng turned and left the Imperial Study, and a moment later brought Lu Hexu's bow and arrow over.
Lu Hexu was born with divine strength. This bow, made of Hongsang wood, was full of power and was an extremely rare strong bow that ordinary people could not draw.
The people Wei Heng led brought this longbow out of the storehouse. The bow was large and heavy, requiring three to five eunuchs to carry it together.
Those kneeling on the ground saw the longbow behind Wei Heng, didn't understand why, and looked at each other in dismay.
"Your Majesty, the bow has arrived."
Lu Hexu tilted his head and looked out the window. He had ridden here overnight on a fast horse, and in less than half an hour, it would be dawn.
The doors of the Imperial Study were opened.
Although the sky was still muggy, there was no scorching sun, and Lu Hexu's overall mental state was not bad.
Wei Heng brought over a throne and placed it on the white marble steps.
Lu Hexu lifted his robe and sat down. Behind him, palace lanterns hung high, shedding warm light. Under the lantern shadows, the white marble stone lions on both sides squatted quietly like guards, the carved flowers on their manes clearly distinguishable.
The man lightly supported his lower jaw with one hand, sitting there in a leisurely posture, his long legs casually crossed. The bright yellow casual clothes he wore set off his outstanding appearance, and even the jewel-encrusted throne behind him could not conceal his bright and sharp edge.
"Zhen will count to three."
Lu Hexu raised his hand and took the longbow, his expression faint. His fingertips swept across the taut bowstring, and a very light "buzzing" sound followed, like the clashing of metal and stone, making people's backs tense up.
He slowly stood up from the throne, his movements unhurried, and an invisible pressure instantly enveloped them.
The already quiet Imperial Study was now even more silent.
Those censors knelt on the ground, cold sweat rolling down their foreheads.
Lu Hexu took the arrow handed over by Wei Heng, his fingertips gripping the arrow feathers, and placed it on the bow.
He bent his arm and calmly drew the bow.
That strong bow, which ordinary people could hardly move even with their combined strength, was easily mastered in his hands.
Lu Hexu's expression turned gloomy, his gaze as cold as a deep pool, and his knuckles slowly tightened.
The dragon sinew bowstring was steadily drawn to a full moon, the bow's curve sharp and gleaming with cold light.
He lowered his eyes and pressed down the longbow, the arrowhead pointing straight at those censors.
"One."
The name of a tyrant was well known to everyone. There were always people who didn't believe in evil and wanted to step on the line between life and death before they could realize what a terrifying person the current Emperor was.
A censor stood up, hurriedly bowed, turned and fled.
Lu Hexu's expression was indifferent as he continued counting, "Two."
Three to five censors got up and fled in a sorry state.
A small half had left, leaving a large half.
The summer was muggy, and under the heavy official uniforms, the censors' bodies were soaked with hot sweat. They still maintained their kneeling posture, which was a silent oppression.
Lu Hexu sneered, "Three."
The summer wind stagnated, and the long arrow broke through the air.
A censor was pierced through the face, the arrow shaft penetrating his skull, the tail of the arrow still slightly quivering.
The man was brought down by the momentum, collapsing to the ground with a heavy thud.
Blood pooled over the blue bricks, soaking the hems of the robes of those kneeling nearby.
Lu Hexu continued to draw his arrows, his expression indifferent, as if he had merely pierced through some insignificant object.
He raised his hand, nocked an arrow, and aimed at the next censoring official.
The slight sound was infinitely magnified in the dead silence of the courtyard, terrifying several officials so much that they stiffened, scrambled to their feet, and fled.
Lu Hexu looked at the officials who were still kneeling in the pools of blood, his face devoid of emotion.
He raised his hand, drew the bow, and fired.
When a quiver of arrows was exhausted, during the brief pause as Lu Hexu switched to a new one, a few more officials lifted their robes and ran away.
The summer heat was scorching. The blue bricks in the courtyard remained scalding hot, and the stench of blood mixed with the sweltering air, lingering stubbornly.
Yet, dozens of officials still maintained their kneeling posture, their heavy scarlet official robes long drenched with hot sweat and splattered blood.
"Your Majesty! We offer our lives in remonstrance—the laws of our ancestors cannot be changed!"
The rest of the officials echoed in unison, "Your Majesty! The laws of our ancestors cannot be changed! We offer our lives in remonstrance!"
A very faint curve touched the corners of Lu Hexu's lips. He slowly raised his hand and once again rested a feathered arrow against the bowstring.
Before sunrise, these officials had all been dealt with.
Blood was everywhere, and corpses were piled high. The Imperial Guards stepped forward to clear the bodies, while young eunuchs carried over buckets of water to scrub the ground.
As the bloodstains were cleaned away, the area in front of the Imperial Study grew much more spacious and bright.
Sunlight peeked through the clouds.
The summer sun rose early; it was only the hour of Yin, yet the sky was already showing signs of broad daylight.
Lu Hexu glanced at the sun, frowned in disgust, and turned to head toward his sleeping chambers.
The doors and windows of the sleeping chambers were sealed tight, as always. Seeing Lu Hexu enter, Wei Heng quickly ordered servants to bring in blocks of ice.
There was still plenty of ice stored from the previous year.
Several massive blocks of ice were carried in and placed into bronze basins.
Lu Hexu stood in the chamber as two standing glazed lamps were lit, their hazy light spilling out.
He stepped forward, crossing the sleeping chamber to enter the adjacent warm pavilion.
Lu Hexu raised a hand to part the curtain in front of him. What met his eyes was a row of scent sachets hanging above the drapery.
They had long lost their fragrance, and even the colors on the fabric were no longer vibrant.
Lu Hexu tilted his head back and stared at them for a while. He reached out, his fingertips brushing past them, before his gaze shifted and landed on the portrait ahead.
Five years was enough time for Lu Hexu to complete this painting.
For five years, stroke by stroke, he had outlined the likeness of Su Zhenzhen.
The woman in the portrait had gentle, elegant features and clear eyes, entirely free of any worldly hostility.
A very faint smile played at the corners of her lips, barely there. A gentle and tranquil demeanor was hidden in her expression, as if she might step out of the painting in the very next moment, look at him with smiling eyes, and call out to him, "Mudan."
Lu Hexu leaned against the nearby Luohan bed and sat down.
A gauze lantern was placed on the bed, and directly facing him was a painting of two adorable puppies.
Lu Hexu's fingertips brushed over the image of the puppies.
"You took the cat, but you wouldn't take me."
By sunset, when Wei Heng led the servants in to replace the ice, he did not see Lu Hexu in the sleeping chamber.
With practiced familiarity, Wei Heng lifted the curtain to the warm pavilion.
The doors and windows of the warm pavilion were also sealed. There was no ice placed inside, making the air stuffy and hot. Yet, the man had simply fallen asleep leaning against the Luohan bed just like that.
