The White-Haired Imperial Concubine

Chapter 33: Flowers in the Mirror, Moon in the Water (3)

Man Yao laughed, her laughter full of irony. This man was so arrogant and proud that he thought everyone in this world was within his control. But she will let him know that even though everything else in this world may heed to his wishes, but she Man Yao, whether it was her body or her heart, would never be controlled by him.

She raised her head to stare at Zongzheng Wuyou's peerless face, coldly laughing before speaking, "I know Prince Li has enormous power, but not everything in this world will be within your control. There will always be a person that you...won't be able to obtain even if you beg; there will always be something that even if you Zongzheng Wuyou gathered the clouds and turned them to rain(1)...you would still not change the outcome."

Her voice was so firm, each word, each sentence, extremely resounding. Zongzheng Wuyou was stunned for a moment before he felt the winds fiercely picking up as if it was using all its strength to flip over the world. Man Yao used all her strength to say these words and didn't want to stay any longer in this place, much less face this man who duped her feelings. She turned around and brushed against his shoulder. When her back was towards him, the tears she suppressed for so long fell down, the crystal tears sliding down that pale face, slipping through her lips, the salty taste landing on her tongue and going straight into her heart. She bit her lip, forcing back the sobs that threatened to break out and forced back her desires. She felt like she swallowed a steel blade, stabbing deeply into her heart.

She forced herself to smile and as she continued to walk, her steps were steady and unhesitating, not looking back.

The usually talkative Ninth Prince was abnormally quiet. He never thought that this peerlessly beautiful and intelligent woman who seemed to be indifferent and calm was actually so proud and stubborn. She was clearly hurt very badly but she forced herself to pretend that she was fine and unaffected. His heart ached at the sight of her. He opened his mouth and spoke mournfully, "Li Yue..." but that woman had already disappeared.

Zongzheng Wuyou quietly stood in his original spot, hearing those steps that were growing fainter and fainter, his heart seemed to have stopped beating but he still didn"t turn around. He didn't know why his heart suddenly felt so empty. He believed that no matter where she went, she would never be able to escape him, but he never thought that when he let go, it would bring him a result that he couldn't bear...

The gale grew stronger and the storm descended. The people on the streets rushed to find places to avoid the rain, their stepps hurried. The carriage drivers cracked their whips, and the horses broke out into a run hearing the sounds, mud splattering everywhere.

Man Yao dragged her heavy feet, slowly walking in the lane that was being washed by the storm. She began to hate her own clarity. The giant raindrops of the cold rain landed on her head and face, numbing her pain. Wearing a thin layer of clothing, she walked in the rain, not because she was trying to insult herself in the wake of heartbreak but because she was actually so selfish that whether it was her past life or her current life, she would never do something so stupid as to disgrace herself in order to take revenge on someone. She just...she just didn't have anywhere to go. She couldn't see much in this rainy fog, and to this world, she was just an orphaned soul from a different world. She had no home, no family, no warmth...

In the end, she...had nothing! Even this body wasn't her own, and this heart...she laughed out of despair, the low and heavy laughter mixing in with the sounds of the thunderstorm sounding especially sorrowful and desolate.

She continued to walk aimlessly in this state for who knows how long. When she finally stopped, she found that she already reached Heavenly Lake.

On the lakeshore, the willow tree branches whipped around, smacking against the shores. The papers saying that Moonlight Tea Garden was shut down were no longer there on the big gates. She was stunned and then began to mock herself. He already achieved his purpose, what was the point of keeping her garden shut down? She suddenly lost the desire to draw any closer to the tea garden that was once the culmination of her dream. She couldn't forget that it was in this tea garden that her accidental touch against that man resulted in her fate of being lied to and used.

Turning around, she walked alone on the roads without a destination in mind. Her entire body seemed to be hollow and she felt exhausted. When she really couldn't walk anymore, she found a relatively hidden corner of a wall and leaned against the cold and hard bricks. She slowly squatted down, holding onto her knees, she just wanted to stay like this for a moment, just for...a moment. As she watched the raindrops landing on the ground, she murmured, "This rain is good." The world was quiet.

When the rain stopped, she gathered her emotions and was about to stand up when a pair of black satin-embroidered shoes appeared in her view.

(1) The Chinese idiom is '翻手云覆手雨' which literally translates to gathering clouds with the palm up and turning them to rain with the palm down. It's used to describe someone very powerful or capable.