Sheng Li after dressing up came outside the bathhouse and saw Ying Lili was on the bed, with a blanket over her. Sheng Li went to her and sat beside her. He placed his hand over her shoulder, making her turn towards him, but Ying Lili pushed away his hand.
"Go away. I am sleepy," Ying Lili said as she pulled the blanket up and moved aside from him.
"Why are you lying? A moment ago, you were telling me that you were going to the market and now suddenly you are sleepy. That's why I do not like to share with you anything," Sheng Li stated when he heard the sobs of Ying Lili.
He closed his eyes, thinking about what he should do. "Why are you even crying? You were not the one who was hurt." He gripped the edge of the blanket and pulled it aside. Ying Lili's back was towards him and she had hidden her face by placing her palms at its front.
"You don't understand," Ying Lili in a low voice said. "Even if you are not hurt, just knowing about that and imagining that situation is hurting me," Ying Lili said while sobbing.
Sheng Li was touched by those words of Ying Lili. This is the second time she cried for him. He laid down beside her and wrapped his arms around her. "I sometimes could not understand you. You smile, you enjoy it one second and then the next second you get sad and start crying. Are women like this or are you the only one like this? I have decided that I will not tell you anything related to my childhood," Sheng Li whispered in the Crown Princess's ear.
Ying Lili stopped crying. "Why won't you tell me?" Ying Lili queried him and hit Sheng Li's stomach using her elbow. She then turned towards him.
Sheng Li found that in just a few minutes, the Crown Princess shed so many tears that her eyes got reddened and so was her nose. He brushed his thumb above her cheeks and wiped those tears.
"Can I not even cry when I feel sad?" Ying Lili lowered her eyes and rested her hand on Sheng Li's chest. "Something could have happened to you. Did no one dress your wound?" Ying Lili concernedly asked him.
"No one was allowed to go to my chamber. I treated the wound myself, but the scar was left behind. Ahh, Wang Hao had arranged medicine for me at that time. After that, I got a high fever. Sister Qing sneaked into my room and looked after me. Those times were difficult for me to survive, but I ended up surviving. Father returned from the city next to Luoyang and then I left with him the following year," Sheng Li narrated Ying Lili everything.
Again tears poured down her eyes, which did not feel pleasant to Sheng Li. "Let's not talk about that. You have a soft heart. So, the more we will talk about this, the more you will cry," Sheng Li asserted.
Ying Lili closed her eyes. "Even I stabbed you there. Is it hurting?" Ying Lili's sudden question bewildered Sheng Li.
"You did that in anger. Even I cut the skin near your index finger so that made us equal." Ying Lili opened her eyes and bored her gaze at him.
"I know. You might have despised me because of that." Ying Lili was guilty of her acts.
"I have never despised you," Sheng Li replied. "Are you fine now?" he then asked her.
"Hmm. My heart sank when I learned about that scar," Ying Lili in a low voice replied. Sheng Li was amused by Ying Lili. She should admit to her feelings if she cared for him, he thought. He stroked her hair and did not leave his gaze from her.
'I have to admit my feelings for her. When we reach Luoyang, I will make a confession.' Sheng Li made up his mind, and a smile was carved on his lips.
~~~~~~
Lei Wanxi reached the Buddhist temple that was located inside the Palace. The temple was surrounded by the Gingko trees. He closed his fan and put it in the sash. Putting his both hands behind the back, he walked ahead. The broad central pavilion was dissolved near the staircase.
Lei Wanxi climbed those stairs and removed his shoes outside the entrance and walked in. "Why isn't no one here?" Lei Wanxi wondered and entered the courtyard of the temple.
Lei Wanxi took a round around the courtyard before going inside the temple. Lei Wanxi found that in front of a large Buddha idol, on the incense burner a few incense sticks were still burning. He joined his both hands together and then bent down on his knees. Touching his forehead against the floor, he stood up and repeated that three times. After that, he burned an incense stick and put it inside the incense burner.
Lei Wanxi turned and looked around but there was nothing except a few drums that were used in the prayer. "Did Zhang Yong fool the Crown Princess?" thought Lei Wanxi and went towards the other end of the temple where drums were placed.
"She cannot be fooled. Zhang Yong was going to die so he would not have lied. I think the Empress already sent the Monk away. Since I have gotten permission to come here so I can come here anytime. I shall check this place once in the night," Lei Wanxi told himself. "What if someone is always keeping an eye on me?" Lei Wanxi wondered as he came out of the temple.
He descended the stairs and checked the backyard of the temple. There was a huge wall on the backside. "Is there any kind of secret route here?" Lei Wanxi moved his eyes to the ground. "An undergoing tunnel could be there. Wanxi, now you have to keep an eye on the Empress and visit this temple at the same time as her."
Lei Wanxi turned and then walked back towards the Eastern side of the Palace.