Chapter 55: Rise of Melancholy

The sunset glow was truly amazing. Apart from the descending sun in the west, the soft orange glow painted a brilliant image with the clouds. Where the moon was about to emerge, there was a gentle hue of purple contesting against the golden glow of the sun.

When Zi Su arrived with dinner, the sunset glows had already scattered, leaving behind a lonely moon. It was suspended in the pitch-black night sky, portraying a desolate picture.

“Young Lady, this servant saw that you were rather uncomfortable in the afternoon, I purposely chose some light dishes for you. Now that you are feeling better, I picked up some extra meat dishes to make up for lunch.” Zi Su explained and laid out the dishes.

Perhaps it was due to the fact that Bai Luochu had eaten a lot during lunch, she wasn’t really hungry. Even after looking at the amazing dishes, her appetite didn’t grow. Hence, she simply ate a little more of those dishes she liked. As for those she didn’t she picked at them for a tiny taste before putting down her chopsticks.

“Are these dishes not to your liking? If they are not, this servant will bring them back and ask the kitchen to prepare other dishes for you.” When Zi Su saw that Bai Luochu, who had always loved to eat, was picking at her dishes and eating very little, she felt really anxious.

“No need to trouble yourself. I ate a lot during lunch and I’m still feeling full right now. Are you really trying to turn me into a pig?” Bai Luochu saw how anxious Zi Su was and quickly explained herself. She didn’t forget to make fun of Zi Su while she was at it.

When Zi Su heard the explanation, she understood that Bai Luochu wasn’t really hungry. She kept the dishes and took out the plate of desserts. “If Young Lady is hungry in the middle of the night, you can eat these desserts to fill your stomach. The kitchen doesn’t have any more food at night and Young Lady mustn’t starve yourself.”

"Alright. You have been very considerate. Now that I’m feeling a little bloated, how about taking a stroll? Would you like to come with me?” When Bai Luochu saw how considerate Zi Su was, a warm feeling blossomed in her heart. She thought about the past and didn’t understand why the appearance of the secret guards who were willing to risk their lives for her appeared in her mind. A surge of emotions welled up in her heart and she decided to go out for a stroll.

Zi Su must have seen the drop in Bai Luochu’s mood as she didn’t say anything before following Bai Luochu out of the room.

The weather tonight was really pleasant. It was a night with a bright moon as stars twinkled in the darkness. As a breeze gently blew through the lands, the fragrance of the flowers scattered around, filling the place with a slight aroma.

"Zi Su, where are your parents?" Bai Luochu just stared at the bright moon motionlessly as she directed a question to Zi Su.

“That is true.” Bai Luochu understood Pei Rumo’s personality. If the servant wasn’t an orphan like Zi Su who had a simple background, how could he possibly allow her to stay beside Bai Luochu and take care of her needs? Bai Luochu didn’t understand what influenced her but she suddenly felt a sense of melancholy. She started gossiping with Zi Su by her side.

“I apologize for reminding you of your sad past.” Bai Luochu smiled apologetically at Zi Su and apologized.

“It doesn’t matter, Zi Su never met them before and there isn’t anything sad about it. Instead… it is Young Lady who seems to be feeling rather down today.” Zi Su had already detected something wrong with Bai Luochu and the reason she asked was because she was afraid that Bai Luochu would form a mental knot. If that were to really happen, Bai Luochu’s cultivation would be affected.

“You are paying quite a bit of attention to me huh? It is actually nothing much. I’m feeling a little lonely because of the bright moon and sparse stars. There is a saying, ‘The bright moon makes one yearn for home’. I’m thinking about the past and I realized that my life has been really miserable.” Bai Luochu seemed to be out of sorts today as she was unprecedentedly honest to Zi Su.

There wasn't anything wrong with Bai Luochu’s words. Even if Bai Luochu was more steadfast than regular young ladies, she was still a woman and there would be times when she became emotional.

In her opinion, she alienated the people who were originally close to her because of Lu Wenshu in her past life. It could even be said that she had a falling out with all of them. However, in the end, she could be said to be the one who brought them all their suffering. The more she thought about it, the more remorseful she felt.

However, these words weren’t as simple as they seemed when the First Prince, Pei Rumo, heard them.

“It seems like her identity isn’t fake. From the looks of it, something must have been planted inside her.” The secret guard analyzed by himself.

“That might be true, but it is still better for us to keep monitoring her. If nothing goes wrong in the next few days, there is no longer a need to monitor her so closely. Go back and keep observing her. There are no other instructions from me.”

When Pei Rumo listened to the report that the secret guard narrated, he learned about all the events that happened when Bai Luochu was with Zi Su. There was an indifferent expression on his face as he gave a short response before ordering the guard to return to his post.

As Bai Luochu had been admiring the full moon with an aching heart, she didn’t stay in the courtyard for long. She went back to her room and started to cultivate again.

After pouring her heart out to Zi Su, Bai Luochu felt as though all the things weighing her down had disappeared. With assistance from the medicinal ingredients, Bai Luochu was truly improving at an incredible pace.

It was deep into the night and Zi Su had calculated the timing accurately to enter Bai Luochu’s room in order to help her clean up and get ready for bed.

Perhaps Zi Su felt that Bai Luochu wasn’t in a good mood today as she had specially laced her words with praise. “Young Lady, you are now famous on the streets. This afternoon, news leaked about how you refused the position in the Imperial Physician Court. No one knew who leaked it but there were even people talking about how you rejected the position in order to ‘treat patients all over the world’. Right now, your reputation is soaring!”

It was easy for Bai Luochu to guess that Pei Qingfeng was the one behind all this. If there was one thing she was annoyed about, it was about how Pei Qingfeng’s information network encompassed even the imperial study. He even polished up the story before spreading it to the public. No matter what, Bai Luochu didn’t feel good about it and she asked, “Zi Su, do you know the meaning of this statement ‘fortune and misfortune are interdependent’?”

“Zi Su understands. Is Young Lady scared that something might go wrong?”

“I am not worried. Originally, the capital city is somewhere where medical services don’t come cheap. Now that I am volunteering to provide treatment, some people will definitely be infuriated. It won’t be long before they start looking for trouble.”

Zi Su was stunned and didn’t know what to do. “Then… what should we do, Young Lady?”

“I will react accordingly. Your Young Lady isn’t someone easy to provoke. If they really come and look for trouble, they can’t blame me for being merciless.”