The Moon Falls into the Galaxy - Chapter 7

After that incident, Shishi did not leave the house for several days. Except for paying her respects to her stepmother at the start of the ten-day period, she had not seen anyone else. She did not know how Li Yan had explained the matter to her family, only vaguely sensing that he must have used terms of extreme care to brush the matter aside, not even leaving anyone the opportunity to disturb her.

However, she still fell into nightmares in a muddled state. Green Silk (Lüqi) would wake her from her dreams and carefully wash her body once more. Shishi’s long hair draped down, concealing her slightly haggard and beautiful face.

“I want to see the moon,” she said softly.

Green Silk dressed her in an outer robe as if coaxing a child, first propping open the window, then carrying her to the soft couch by the window.

“My Lady is a big girl now.” Green Silk, usually so flamboyant, had a hint of bitterness in her voice.

The fact that Shishi had told her stepmother clearly that she wanted to break off the engagement had spread throughout the mansion in a few days. The young girl’s figure was thin and slight, but her words were extremely firm. No one knew what had actually happened to make her so resolute.

Although the Duchess was stunned, she didn’t say much, only telling her to think about it more and discuss it when the Duke returned. Green Silk had been shocked upon hearing this as well.

Shishi just looked up at the moon quietly; it was becoming rounder, which meant the day was drawing closer. She wanted to change her fate too much, yet she still frequently dreamed of the disaster occurring, as if no matter how hard she tried, it was useless. Various emotions weighed on her heart, almost crushing her tender body.

The Seventh Uncle had already been very good to her, but she couldn’t just rely on him like this. At present, he was not yet the Regent who would hold power over the court in the future, and she still had many worries of her own. She blinked her eyes, and crystals of tears rolled down silently.

Shishi turned her body away, wanting to wipe the tears clean quietly, but Green Silk had already seen it. She took a deep breath, pressed Green Silk’s hand, and whispered: “I’m fine; it’s just that I haven’t slept well these past few days, and my eyes hurt a little.”

She climbed down from the soft couch and forced herself to drink the medicinal tea before returning to bed.

Green Silk sat by the bed and watched Shishi fall into a deep sleep before leaving. Green Radish (Qingluo), who was waiting in the outer room, asked her worriedly: “How is the Lady?”

It was she who had stopped Xue Yun that day; among the maids in Yuezhao Courtyard, she and Green Silk were the ones Shishi loved the most. Although Green Radish was a maid, that arrogant and overbearing spirit seemed to have been brought from her mother’s womb, which was extremely unbearable, but only in this way could their weak Lady not be bullied by others.

Green Silk shook her head: “She had a nightmare again.”

“I don’t know when the Duke will be back.” Green Radish had a quick temper and spoke without restraint: “At the time, I felt Xue Yun wasn’t any kind of gentleman. It’s better to break things off cleanly while it’s not yet officially set in the open.”

As Shishi’s personal maid, she naturally recognized Xue Yun, but she didn’t have much affection for this young man, and she couldn’t be happier knowing her Lady was insistent on breaking the engagement.

The two talked in low voices in the outer room, carefully pondering how to make Shishi happy. Early the next morning, Shishi had just woken up when Green Radish came in. She sat up rubbing her eyes and took the letter she handed her: “Who sent this?”

“My Lady, it is Princess Yun’an,” Green Radish said with a smile. “Weren’t you long looking forward to the Jinming Terrace in the east of the city? She wants to invite you to go (sightsee/tour) together tomorrow.”

Shishi unfolded the letter lightly, her eyebrows slightly curved, her smile soft and beautiful. The Jinming Terrace had been built for about half a year, and she had been looking forward to it for a long time, but because her stepsister was afraid of heights, she hadn’t been able to see it. Because of Xie Qingshu, she had never had any close friends, only being somewhat close to Princess Yun’an.

She was half a year younger than Shishi. Although her mother was a princess, she was not favored, but luckily she was also far from the cruel court struggles because of this. Her father was from a branch of the Zhao family, so Shishi and she could be considered cousins. Both of them had a childish innocence, pure and kind to a fault.

“Okay,” Shishi said with a sweet smile, lifting her dark hair to get up and write a reply letter. Seeing her smile, Green Radish felt much lighter in her heart.

The next morning, Princess Yun’an arrived at the mansion. When she arrived, Shishi was still sitting in front of the bronze mirror combing her hair.

“Why have you come so early?” she tilted her head slightly, her delicate eyebrows relaxed, her smile soft.

Princess Yun’an looked at her in the mirror and said softly: “Naturally, I had to come earlier. If the Second Lady wakes up, she will certainly try every way to keep you at home again.”

Shishi was stunned and pretended to be calm: “Is, is that so?”

She had been raised by her stepmother to be slow-witted and ignorant, unable to distinguish the good and evil of others, not even understanding the shallow means of intrigue. If it were a normal day, she would even subconsciously defend her stepsister.

“Has Shishi forgotten? Last time we were supposed to go spring-treading, the Second Lady insisted that she had a heart pain and wanted you to accompany her,” Princess Yun’an said indignantly. “She has so many close friends and maids; why does she need you to accompany her?”

Shishi vaguely remembered this, but at that time, Xie Qingshu’s acting was extremely realistic, and she didn’t see the path at all. All her heart was on her stepsister, so how could she have the mind to go out and play?

She stroked Princess Yun’an’s hand with some guilt and said firmly: “It won’t happen again.”

Although she had heard many poems and odes about Jinming Terrace, when she truly arrived, Shishi was still somewhat astonished. The two played for a long time, and even wearing thin spring clothes and walking for half a day made them feel a little hot.

Princess Yun’an said happily: “I didn’t lie to you, did I? Ever since this Jinming Terrace was built, who would go to the west of the city? It’s a pity the Second Lady can’t see such beautiful scenery.”

She was straightforward and spoke even more casually than the maids around Shishi, and vaguely revealed a bit of childish malice. Both of them were born innocent, but they were two different kinds of innocence. Shishi suddenly realized that Princess Yun’an might not be ignorant; she just didn’t care. It seemed that children who were loved wholeheartedly by their fathers and mothers were like this, not caring about other people’s thoughts at all.

She was about to open her mouth, but her gaze was carried away by the horizontal bridge in the distance. The horizontal bridge was extremely high, suspended in the air between two high platforms, like a rainbow shimmering with golden light in the sunlight.

Shishi had learned her lesson last time and wore light-colored dark Hu clothing. Standing on the bridge and looking down through the screen veil, she seemed to see a familiar figure in a trance.

Li Yue was wearing a green robe, and the delicate woman accompanying him looked like she was shaking a folding fan slowly like an ordinary young man, walking past under the bridge.

She covered her lips so she wouldn’t scream, but when she looked again, he had already disappeared into the crowd.

“What’s wrong?” Princess Yun’an tilted her head and asked.

Shishi’s fingers on the railing tightened. She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but she always felt that he had looked up at her just now.

Impossible. She was wearing a screen veil, and they hadn’t really met, so it was impossible for him to recognize her. But thinking of his actions in her past life, her heart still became chaotic. There were so many people in Jinming Terrace; if he were to do something, what should she do?

“Nothing,” Shishi pretended to be calm.

Princess Yun’an took her hand and carefully looked at her face: “Are you feeling uncomfortable?”

Separated by the screen veil, she couldn’t see clearly. If she had lifted that layer of white gauze, she would have been able to see that Shishi’s face had no blood color under the glaring sunlight.

Shishi shook her head: “I just saw the wrong person.”

Princess Yun’an didn’t dwell on it, pulling her and jumping toward the teahouse in the distance: “Shishi must have heard of the Chun Geng Lu Yu (water shield soup and perch) of Jinming Tower. I wanted to bring you to taste it a long time ago.”

Shishi’s flustered heart was also carried up by her. She puffed out her cheeks, held the jade chopsticks, and had a very satisfying lunch. Just as the two were walking off their meal by the railing and talking about where to go to play in the afternoon, Princess Yun’an’s attendant suddenly stepped forward and said something to her.

Her expression changed, and she apologized very regretfully to Shishi, explaining that there was a sudden emergency at home and she needed to hurry back.

“Ah…” Shishi’s apricot eyes widened.

At that moment, tension touched her heartstrings before disappointment. That strange feeling of being manipulated by others surged again. In her nightmare, she was muddled and pushed step by step toward the abyss by others. Until that palace door, which had imprisoned her for two years, was opened again, she realized that all the coincidences that caused her tragedy were elaborately planned by others long ago.

After sending Princess Yun’an away, Shishi instinctively wanted to leave. She didn’t dare to trust any of the attendants accompanying her. Xue Yun sending her to the Imperial Grandson’s bed was a complicated plot, and it must have needed an inside person by her side. Even someone by the Seventh Uncle’s side could betray him, let alone these attendants of hers.

But Jinming Terrace was quite a distance from the Wei State Duke’s mansion, the road was long, and for a moment, she didn’t know where was safe. Shishi felt she had foolishly jumped into a trap again, but she didn’t know how she had jumped in.

She walked in the convoluted corridors of Jinming Tower, turning and turning until she realized she had taken the wrong direction. She had been walking too fast just now, and there were many guests in Jinming Tower, so the attendants who were originally following her closely were left behind.

Now that there was finally no one, she looked at the unfamiliar, gorgeous and luxurious empty corridor, but felt inexplicably dizzy. In her nightmare, that dim palace room was also like this. Even the bricks and tiles seemed to be carved from gold and jade, extremely luxurious, permeated with the fragrance of decadent flowers.

Shishi supported the railing with one hand, striving to calm herself down. She still remembered the name of the private room, but it was too quiet here; there wasn’t even a passing attendant, so she didn’t have the opportunity to ask. She gritted her teeth and thought quickly.

Must first find a quiet place, preferably with some cool breeze; if it’s close to the noisy market, it’s best.

Just as Shishi was about to step out of the corridor and turn from the corner, she suddenly saw a green figure.

It really was Li Yue. His lapels were slightly open, as if he were a little drunk, muttering to the porcelain vase and the people beside him: “This porcelain is good porcelain, but whether it is so precious, it may not be seen.”

“Young Master is absolutely right.” Several people echoed.

Her strength was drained in an instant, and she retreated in a panic, but was suddenly grabbed by the wrist. Shishi’s thin back leaned against that person’s chest. If one looked from behind, the posture was extremely ambiguous. Her whole body was encircled in his arms, without the slightest room to struggle.

The young girl’s toes stood slightly on tiptoe, her slender wrist was gripped, and her raised white neck was as soft as a swan’s. She looked pitiful, but she could directly hook the darkest desires in a person’s heart. Shishi trembled violently; if she hadn’t been supported, she would have fallen to the ground immediately.

But she heard that person just whisper: “What are you panicking about?”