maidservant

Chapter 151 Bad News Su Bai

The biting north wind whipped up snowflakes that lashed against the glazed tiles, and the news of Lin Xiao's death shattered the tranquility within the palace walls like a thunderclap.

The messenger galloped into the palace under the rising sun, and by the time the message reached Liuhua Palace, the sun had already completely set.

The teacup in Lin Yu's hand fell to the ground with a "crack," and the crisp sound of shattering porcelain startled the winter sparrows perched under the eaves.

She staggered and steadied herself on the dressing case, her pale fingertips digging deeply into the sandalwood grain, as if her soul had been ripped away.

When the imperial physician rushed over, he saw her fall straight backward, the pearl hairpin at her temple shattering on the blue bricks.

The silver needles gleamed coldly in the candlelight. The moment they pierced the acupoints, Lin Yu convulsed and opened her eyes.

Tears streamed down her face, soaking the silk handkerchief beside her pillow. She gripped Yunjin's wrist tightly, her voice hoarse and almost incoherent:

"My brother, he was brave and skilled in battle! He fought on the border! Even the wolves of the North couldn't defeat him. How could he die at the hands of barbarians on the frontier?!"

The piercing question echoed in the empty bedchamber, startling the palace maids guarding the door into tears.

Yun Jin knelt before the bed, her hands tightly pressing down on the struggling Lin Yu. Her palace dress, embroidered with gold thread, was soaked with cold sweat, and the tea-stained hem lay disheveled on the floor.

"Your Highness, please take care of yourself!" she choked out, pressing a handkerchief to Lin Yu's lips.
"You just fainted from crying, and the imperial physician said you mustn't grieve any more! Please take good care of yourself for the sake of the young prince!"

Lin Yu bit her lower lip hard, and beads of blood seeped from between her teeth, staining the corner of her handkerchief red. A suppressed whimper escaped her throat, like a wounded and trapped beast.

After a long while, she finally loosened her convulsing fingers and stared blankly at the tassels hanging from the top of the tent.

The snow outside the window fell heavier and heavier, covering the entire Liuhua Palace in a ghastly white, as if mourning this sudden and tragic news.

The news reached the Li residence in the evening.

Xiaoyue's fingertips turned white as she gripped the secret report, and the four characters "Lin Xiao died for his country" on the Xuan paper seemed to be soaked in blood.

She stumbled and steadied herself against the carved screen. "Quick! Go get Yunshan!" She grabbed the butler's wrist, her voice trembling. "You must stay with her, protect her, and don't let anyone speak to her on the way!"

The wind started to blow.

roared.

The window frame reflected Zhan Qian's hunched silhouette; this guard, who was usually as upright as a pine tree, was now curled up in a ball.

A north wind, carrying a suppressed whistle, swept across the corridor. He bit his hand hard, and beads of blood seeped from the cracks mingled with his tears and fell onto the bluestone slab.

The candlelight in the room suddenly flickered violently. When Yunshan heard those four words, she lost her balance and knocked over the jar on the table.

Amidst the sound of shattering porcelain, she shouted in a low, hoarse voice, "No way!"

She pounded on the carved window frame, her already loose hair askew. "How did you know he was dead? How could it be him?! Where is the body?"

From the tearing of his voice, a metallic, sweet-smelling metallic scent seeped out.

Zhanqian slowly raised his head, the moonlight illuminating the tear tracks on his face.

His Adam's apple bobbed violently three times before he uttered words tinged with blood: "The eagle-eye jade pendant that the general always wore at his waist, dripping with blood, was slipped inside the letter of tribute from the Southern Barbarian prince to Da Li, and presented to His Majesty!"

He coughed violently. "That jade pendant—His Majesty summoned me to examine it. The red in the eagle's eye, the sword mark on the eagle's talons—it definitely belongs to the general!"

Yunshan's back slammed heavily against the dressing case, and the bronze mirror shattered with a crash.

Her face, reflected in the shards, was distorted and deformed. She clutched her chest and clothes tightly, as if she wanted to gouge a hole in it.

The copper bells under the eaves jingled in the night wind, startling crows into fluttering past.

In the middle of the night, the copper bells on the eaves were still jingling, so the servants quickly took them down.

For three days, the door to the side hall of the Li residence has not been opened once. Only the snow under the eaves, blown away and piled up again by the wind, bears witness to the passage of time.

Yunshan kept muttering to herself. The whole world seemed to freeze with the disappearance of that name, even the air became thick and heavy, making it hard to breathe.

She curled up deep inside the bed, the faded thin blanket wrapping her up in a small ball.

The dim light filtering through the window cast dark shadows under her eyes, but couldn't hide the sunken contours of her cheeks.

Outside the door, Xiaoyue's voice, mixed with intermittent sighs, seeped in through the crack in the carved door.

She leaned against the door, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the verdigris on the door knocker. The silk flower at her temple had already withered considerably. "Ah Shan, your elder sister is here and will always be with you. Shall we have a bite to eat first?" Before she finished speaking, a maid brought over a freshly heated bowl of soup. She hurriedly took it, pressing the porcelain bowl against her cheek to test the temperature. In the rising steam, her eyes reddened. She leaned closer to the door, listening to the sounds inside.

"Ah Shan, the third young lady of the Li family has already visited twice. Would you like to meet her?"

Footsteps sounded again from under the eaves. Xiaoyue put down what she was holding, looked at the door with concern, and turned to greet the guest.

In the cold wind, she shook her head slightly at the person who came, the pearl in her hairpin swaying gently with the movement, reflecting the weariness and worry in her eyes.

Inside the side hall, Yun Shan bit her lower lip hard, the taste of rust spreading between her teeth.

She stared at the table and bed in the room, where Lin Xiao had once stayed by her side after she got drunk.

Now things have changed, and this solidified sorrow is etched into every dawn and dusk.

On the third day, the morning sun climbed up the eaves and slanted through the dusty window frames.

With a creak, the door to the side room slowly opened, as if pushing open a frozen world.

Yun Shan staggered half a step while holding onto the door frame. The blinding sunlight pierced her eyes like needles. Her eyelashes trembled violently, and two lines of clear tears rolled down her sunken cheeks.

She walked barefoot on the blue bricks, the morning light outlining her thin, paper-like figure.

Beneath his scarlet, swollen eyelids, his gaze was as empty as a deep pool, and his pale lips moved slightly.

Gazing at the fragmented sunlight reflected on the pond's surface, she closed her eyes, and the last two scalding tears fell onto the blue bricks, splashing up tiny droplets of water.

"Miss is out!" The maid's exclamation broke the silence.

Yun Shan turned her stiff neck, her voice hoarse like a rusty iron wheel: "Excuse me, I'm hungry."

Before she could finish speaking, the maid brought out the hot porridge that had been prepared. But she stared blankly at the pond in the courtyard.

After squinting at the sky for a moment, Yun Shan returned to her room.

The maid asked cautiously, but Yun Shan gently shook her head at the shelves full of gorgeous clothes.

When she pulled out the plain white coat from the bottom of the camphor wood chest, the smell of aged camphor mixed with the odor of mold hit her.

The maid hesitated, then simply whispered, "It's alright."

Although she had drunk some porridge, Yunshan had not eaten for three days, and her hands were weak. Her hands were trembling as she held the soup spoon, so she had to ask a maid from the Li family to help her change her clothes.

On Yunshan's neatly styled black hair, the maidservant was unsure which hairpin to add.

Yunshan shook her head. "No need to add any more."

Sitting blankly in front of the bronze mirror, Yun Shan suddenly tore off a strand of her hair.

The moment the scissors fell, the ends of her hair drew pale arcs in the air.

"There's a mink coat with peacock feathers at the bottom of the box, please get it for me," Yunshan said to her maid.

She ran her fingertips over the fine feathers—a gift from Lin Xiao, who said it was to make her even more beautiful than a peacock.

Now her former glamour has faded, and all that remains is to weave her dark hair into her fur coat.

She carefully wove her hair, strand by strand.

My eyes seem a little blurry.

It took Yunshan almost half a day to finish weaving.

The stitches are messy yet persistent, as if trying to sew all the unspoken words into this brocade.

As the sun began to set, Yunshan carried the wrapped feather robe into the courtyard. Her pale fingers dug into the frozen soil, each stroke causing a dull pain.

As the fur coat was buried in the soil, she suddenly smiled, her eyes dry and devoid of tears.

"Consider it as if I've already married you."

As dusk deepened, only the hem of a plain white dress fluttered gently in the wind, as if mourning this broken bond of life and death.