Unable to fall asleep that night, Ruyi roamed the palace grounds, following the moonlight and the sweet-smelling plum blossoms.
I like your hair today. Ruyi blushed again, absentmindedly feeling her hair.
Why did he say that in front of Prince Jin? She couldn't understand it.
A twig snapped to her left. In the darkness, Ruyi saw nothing. But she could feel it. Feel his presence.
"Who's there?" She asked quietly, tiptoeing towards the noise. Silence was the response.
"It's you, isn't it? The one always by the Emperor's side." Again, silence.
"It must be lonely, always hiding in the shadows," Ruyi continued.
"You can talk to me you know. If you ever feel like it. Who would I tell? I'm just a medic, a female one at that."
"You might tell General Lang," a voice spoke, from behind the blossom trees. Ruyi's eyes widened in shock. So this lithe assassin really did have eyes on the whole palace. She wondered what else he knew, what else he was privy to.
"He already has enough to worry about," she replied.
Eventually, a dark figure stepped out from behind the branches. Tall, slender, and masked, Ruyi couldn't make out any defining features about him, except for the intricately engraved dagger he had tucked into his belt.
"What do you do for the Emperor?" Ruyi asked, increasingly curious about the hooded figure before her. He wasn't a regular soldier, at least not from what Ruyi could tell. He never trained with Delun, didn't wear the same uniform.
"It's late. You shouldn't be walking around alone at night. It's not safe now, not even in the palace," he said, before disappearing into the night.
YOU ARE READING
The Pearls - RUYI
Historical Fiction~ Ruyi's Book (Book 1) ~ Completed, undergoing editing A young female medic, Ruyi enters the Song palace to protect her brother who has been conscripted for the war against the Qing empire. Set in a fictional world inspired by Ancient China, The...
