Lovely Blossoms

Fen Hua watched as the cloaked figure drew closer. Her mind was filled with thoughts of how to respond to him and worries about whether she looked nice. She wasn't paying attention to the fact that he was shorter than normal, or that his shoulders were wider until it was too late. Stepping into the light and close enough for her to smell him was one of the slop maids.

He was in his fifties with yellow teeth. A large mole sat right above his lip under his bulbous nose. She had seen him from time to time, sometimes giving a pleasantry or greeting to be friendly, but inside she always felt uncomfortable around him, and he smelled awful.

"Wha....what are you doing here?" She asked in a shaky voice. Part of her already understood what was going on.

"I'm here for you of course. I was told that a lonely girl was looking for me tonight and sure enough here you are." He moved in closer putting a hand on the tree behind her blocking her in.

"I don't know what you heard, but it's not me that you're looking for. Now if you'll excuse me." She tried to duck under his arm, but he only pushed in closer to her, his body was pressed against hers, the stench of his breath warmed her check and neck as he breathed in her scent. "What are you doing!" She tried to push him back using all the force she could muster. She knew that she was in trouble, this was not going to end well for her. Even if she called out for help, she would still be found guilty of being out with a man at night. What reason was there to give for being out at such a late time? Especially so far away from her room.

"Stay still," he said breathing heavily. "If you move too much, I'll end early. That wouldn't be fun."

Fen Hua stifled a scream. She couldn't scream right now. There were so many things at stake, but stupidly her main concern was that if she was caught out here with this man, it would cause Liang Delun to look down on her. She wrestled with the stupidity of this thought but couldn't shake it.

"Get away from me! I'll scream if you don't! I'll tell them you dragged me from my room and forced me over here!"

He let out a heavy laugh, "If only you knew who sent me here. I doubt anyone would believe you over them."

"Sent you here?" She asked her mind going blank. That's right, someone had set this up. Was it Jengfei? How could she have pulled off something like this alone? And why would she? No it couldn't be her. Someone must have tricked her into this. Liang Delun? No, she didn't want to believe such a thing could be true. It wasn't him, there was no way it could be him. It had to be Liang Suyin or Liang Wenqian, but why would they set her up like this? None of it made sense. She had only been lost in thought for a few short moments, but during that time he was able to grab her hands into this and pin them together against the tree above her head.

"Don't worry, I'll be gentle," there was an almost soothing sound to his voice as if he truly believed that his words would give her ease.

Fen Hua panicked. Everything began to heighten. Her mind. Her feelings. Her sight. Everything felt like it was going in slow motion. She could feel him touching her and she understood what was happening, but it was as if she was no longer in that body. As she watched the scene taking place, fury began to overwhelm the fear. A fury like she had never felt before, or ever had the need to feel before.

The servants suddenly began to step back. He held at his throat as he began to vomit blood. Fen Hua could feel a strange sensation in her hands at that time but had no idea what was happening. The servant looked up at her desperate for any kind of help she would give. The moment his eyes met hers, it appeared as though a liquid fire was melting them away right inside their sockets.

The sight of it was terrifying. She had no idea what was happening. She didn't want to see anymore. She began to run. She wasn't sure where to run to though. She didn't want to head back to her room, what if what ever he had wrong with him was contagious? She couldn't risk getting little Xiulan sick. The thought sent her into another panic, would the same thing that happened to him happen to her?

She found herself heaving against a wall, her heart racing with out any sign of calming. She leaned over with her hands on her knees, doing her best to breath in and out. After several minutes of heavy breathing she was finally able to calm down enough to try and understand what had just happened. But no matter how long she thought about it, there was no answer for her.

She needed to talk to someone about this. She thought of Li Li and knew she was the only one she could trust at this moment. She looked around so she could figure out where exactly she had run too. She knew right away she was in Lady Shu's courtyard. Why of all places would she run here!

She straightened herself up and dusted her clothes before wiping at her face to make sure no tears were there. If she did get caught in this place, she hoped she would look at least somewhat normal. Afterall as of right now she didn't know if anyone knew she had been with that rapist earlier.

She began to walk towards the path that would lead her out of the courtyard and towards the servant's quarters when she heard the sound of laughter coming from Lady Shu's room. It wasn't just anyone's laughter though, it was Liang Delun. Fen Hua felt this might be the last time she would ever hear it. She was pulled to him like a magnet, she needed to see him, even if just for this last time.