Blossoms of Love

Chapter 12: Rhythms of the Heart

It had not quite yet been a full two hours, which was how long Master Yin had agreed to meditate for. He had kept it up rather well, clearing his mind as best as he could while he focused solely on restoring his Qi.

There were still a good few minutes left, about half an hour or so, but he had already had enough. Or, perhaps, he simply could not have withheld himself from the distractions around him any longer.

Whether that distraction was the Song Mengyao sitting before him, or the image of Song Mengyao trapped inside in his mind, it would have always been the prince that disrupted his meditation.

The boy sat there so silently. His hands rested on his legs, his long fingers curling around his knees as he slowly breathed in and out. His chest softly rose and fell as loose strands of hair swung around his face ever so faintly from time to time.

Song Mengyao never had a problem with meditation, even when he was young. He was taught as a toddler alongside his elder brothers and even then, he had been the most gifted when it came to meditation. He had always had a knack for shutting everything else out and focusing on the forces within himself.

He looked so pretty with the sun from outside creeping in through the window just enough to brighten up his delicate face.

Master Yin peeked through his left eye, watching the prince with a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. They were only friends and he was glad to have been even that. His heart, however, had already started yearning for something more.

It would thud just that little bit harder when Song Mengyao was around, especially when the young prince found himself flustered over the tiniest of things. Falling only to be caught in Yin Jianguo's arms. Avoiding his eyes as they played a quiet game of Go. Even simply the way his cheeks had flushed just a little when Yin Jianguo took the radish from his bowl had been a sight to behold.

He was completely and utterly infatuated. It was strange: this feeling he had never felt before. He had always liked pretty things, that was no secret. Had it been a pretty flower covered in morning dew or a beautiful lady with plump, red lips; a butterfly drifting through the sky or the sparkle in the winter snow. Beautiful things were all Master Yin had ever needed.

Song Mengyao was beautiful, painfully so, but there was something else about him. Something that had dangerously drawn the young master in.

It was unlike Yin Jianguo to have been captivated by something beautiful for so long without getting bored of it. The constant rotation of gorgeous people he had around him, maidens and men alike, had never come to a complete halt before.

His mother had noticed it too. She had usually been the one to prepare such things for her son, scouting the lands for a new pretty face. Of course, she only did it to try and help him find a bride but he had never taken to any of the suitors she sent his way. However, ever since returning from Ningyi with Song Mengyao, he had called off her efforts. Not that he would tell her the reason why.

"You are not meditating."

Song Mengyao had not even opened his eyes, so Master Yin wondered how he knew that he was, indeed, no longer in a state of meditation.

He quickly closed his eye again and took a deep breath. "I am."

It was with a sigh, that the prince gave in and lifted his arms behind his head, stretching them after spending so long sitting in one position. They had had enough meditation for the day, as far as Yin Jianguo was concerned. "It is fine. This should be long enough to help increase the restoration of your Qi for the day."

With a lengthy yawn, Master Yin began to stretch as well. "Thank you, I do not know how much longer my limbs would have survived."

Song Mengyao shook his head with a chuckle, not in the least bit surprised that sitting still for so long would be more tiresome to the young master than riding a horse. Or dealing with an evil spirit, for that matter.