Zhi Wei smiles and opens the letter.

“…Zhi Wei, today we pitched the tent by a river. Not far from our tents is an impressive reed field. Ning Cheng said it was very pretty especially when the wind blows making it look like white waves. I stood by the reed field and listened for a while. Incredibly, it felt like I almost heard the sound of waves. A bird flew across above, chirping brightly and dropped a white feather on my sleeve. I ordered Ning Cheng to go pick the biggest and prettiest reed. I have included the bird feather and reed with the letter in hopes that you would be able to hear the sound of the wind as well.” A pure white feather and a slightly yellow reed shined under the light of the oil lantern. Zhi Wei gently traces her finger over the delicate feather and fuzzy reed, imagining the elegant and dazzling man standing by the reed field, imagining the wind picking up the corner of his robe and slowly undressing him.

 Ha ha, just testing to see if you guys are paying attention. Sorry, this is not a fan fiction so back to our pure novel again. 🙂 

Her smile turning even more tender, Zhi Wei shakes again, another letter titled “Seven” drops. 

“….Zhi Wei, today we had to travel by sea. To avoid making too much noise, we decided to travel by night. The sound of the waves could be heard through the whole night, it sounded hollow in the silence, the rocking of the boat makes one feels as if one’s slightly drunk. I am fatigued yet sleep would not come. I keep remembering that day in front of the ancestry chapel, the hollering of the people and you lying unconscious in my arms. All the remembering seems to make the waves more turbulent…so I had an even harder time sleeping. I got up and drank tea for half of the night on the deck. I also kicked a certain sneaky someone into the sea and told him to not come up until he finds an impeccable pearl. The next morning he came up. He didn’t find a pearl but presented a small coral to me instead. He said he found it by accident, the small coral had formed into the shape of a flower naturally. According to him, the quality is not the best but the shape is unique, the work of nature, more precious than a hundred sea pearls…. That guy’s mouth likes to spout nonsense so we can just ignore him. The coral is with the letter, you can just play with it for fun. If it’s not good, then I will kick him back into the sea.”

As promised, there was a small tiny coral in the corner or the letter. Fiery red, smooth with layers like petals, looking stunningly like a peony. It truly is more precious than one hundred sea pearls. Zhi Wei carefully took out the coral and found a small box to put it in. 

Shaking the box, another letter drops. This time it’s labed “Two”

“Zhi Wei, I know you must be holding the letter not knowing where to hide it. With your judicious personality, you would be worry that it might get stolen or that Gu Nan Yi would take it to wrap his walnuts so the most likely result is that you would end up stuffing the letter back into the box which means the order I had set up will end up getting all messed up. But that’s good too. Many things are more lovely when they are unknown. For example, perhaps whenever you shake the box you would wonder which number of the letters would fall this time?” Yes, the loveliness of the unknown. A letter each time, and there is no knowing which record of his day will it be. Even the process of guessing is a joy itself. But then this person sure knows her well. He can even guess down to the very last detail how she will hide the letter.

“Zhi Wei, it was correct to use your method. Our first battle with Cheng clan was a big success. Perhaps it won’t be long before I will be coming back. You said you will wait for me to return to the Capital. You can’t leave first. Whoever leaves first will be punished by not seeing the other one for life…” 

What is this about my method…Zhi Wei rolls her eyes. This guy really is just making things up however he wants. It is obviously HIS “Clamor in the East, Attack in the West” strategy but he insists on blaming it on her. 

“…Zhi Wei, the fall breeze is getting colder and colder. The men here have started to wear winter coats. You must remember to not forget to wear thicker clothing. Last time I took your pulse, your illness could come back due to the cold so you must make sure to keep warm.” 

Even with the state of his eyes, he still has to go inspect the bases? Zhi Wei gently caressed the letter in her hand as she stared at the lantern, lost in thought.  The medicine Yan Huai Shi delivered, did Ning Yi use them yet? Yan Huai Shi had delivered the grain provision and immediately rushed back so there would not be any mention of the medicine’s effectiveness in these letters so she will have to write a letter personally to ask about that. Her thoughts turned to how that person had written one letter after another. Zhi Wei raised an eyebrow as she thought about how his words were earnest but there is no mention at all of her writing him back. Ha, of course she won’t write back but then again as the one who provided the medicine, it is logical for her to ask about the patient’s well being right? 　

Having found herself a good reason, Zhi Wei resolutely puts the letter away. There should be more letters in the box but she is not going to dump them out all at once. It would be a waste of a feeling that is so warm and beautiful. In those late nights, after a long journey and trouble at every turn…those would be moments when she could take out the box, shake it and pull out something that will be full of joy and happiness. It would be a box of sweet hope that she can look forward to in the long days ahead. 　

Spreading out a blank piece of paper on the table, Zhi Wei begins to write. “….Ning Yi, you can’t read these letters anyway so I will have to wait until your eyesight recovers before I give the letter to you. Hmm…I wanted to ask you if your eyes are better after using the medicine? —I know this is pointless drivel, you must have recovered by the time you read these letters so just pretend you didn’t read that question. I have received the coral, it’s beautiful, like a small tiny peony, should I make it into a ring or a hairpiece? Of course it would be difficult for me to find an opportunity to use it but it would be nice to just be able to look at it. The bird feather is very white, the reed is pretty, I think when we return to the Capital we will go past that reed field, at that time I want to personally listen to that reed field with its wave like sound or perhaps a bird feather would fall on me as well. Hmm… are you willing to listen to it one more time?”

The light from the lantern slowly dims, sitting in the yellowish glow Zhi Wei’s eyes sparkled and twinkled like black jade gleaming in water. A trace of a smile lingering on her lips, quite different from her usual slightly aloof self. 

Hearing the creaking sound of the door opening, Zhi Wei jumps up and hurriedly collects the paper on the table. Unable to find a place to put her letter in such a short time, Zhi Wei ends up stuffing it into the box. After holding the box and circling the room in a panic, she finally shoved it into her bed. Gu Nan Yi is the one who came in, she had expected that. Other than him, no one else could’ve just walked into her room like that. 

Stunned, Zhi Wei stares blankly at Gu Nan Yi once he walks in. She wonders how there are so many surprises …or rather shocks today. Gu Nan Yi’s “style” is simply too surprising. An ink monkey stood on either side of Master Gu’s shoulder, scratching their heads and posing all the while, someone might have thought they were watching an acrobatic show. As if this wasn’t shocking enough, Master Gu is holding out his arms stiffly and in it, there is a baby… 

All text copyright @ www.Ninja-Reflection.com

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