Chapter 228 – Watching the Flames, Melting the Metal, Listening to Iron, The Quickening, Communion, and Hearing the Heavens - Part 3
Before nightfall, Li Yuan left the Cui residence.
Back at the manor, Yao Jue teased her mistress merrily, “My lady, that Mister Li is truly gifted. He likened you to the lotus flower and himself to its leaves—lotus and leaves, naturally made for each other. Without one, the other is incomplete. If he can’t wed you, he’ll wither away to death in sorrow.”
Cui Huayin said nothing, merely stood and took a sheet of paper, writing down the verses Li Yuan had just recited. At the top, she added the words A Gift For Huayin.
Once she finished copying it, she looked troubled, her emotions shifting between a strange flicker of excitement and an equally strange sense of aversion.
“Hah...” Yao Jue said dramatically, clutching her chest in mock despair. “Truly enough to break one’s heart.”
Cui Huayin let her maid carry on. She rarely had any liveliness in her life; in a way, this counted as entertainment.
After another moment’s thought, she murmured, “How can he be so talented? The imagery here is profound; someone could practically use it for cultivation visualization.”
Yao Jue giggled. “Must be for some lovestruck skill, like a Boundless Affection Sword or a Tender Devotion Blade?”
Cui Huayin found it amusing. She nearly smiled but held back at the last second.
“All right, my lady,” Yao Jue went on with a mischievous glint in her eyes, “Shouldn’t we wring him dry? Let him write a few more poems for us to enjoy!”
With a small nod, Cui Huayin silently agreed. Then realizing the hidden meaning in wringing him dry, she blushed and got up to lightly smack her maid’s arm. “When did you start saying such things?”
Yao Jue’s eyes grew red. “My lady, you finally look a bit more spirited.”