007 Ambiguity

I had a beautiful dream. I dreamt that my father held my little brother in his arms, my mother embraced me, and together we sat in the pavilion of the imperial garden eating pastries, talking about traveling to distant places…

But when I awoke again, reality shattered my dream into pieces. My father was gone, my mother too. Only my younger brother survived, yet he was cut off from me as well. What day is it now? Where am I this evening? In the days to come, will there still be something to pin my longing on?

At this moment, I lay on a bed and saw that I was dressed in clean clothes. I tried to sit up, but pain shot through my back, rendering me unable to move, and I let out a faint hiss.

“Don’t move, miss—your wound is deep.” The maid who had been dozing by my bedside hurried to check on me.

“I…” I tried to speak, only to discover I couldn’t utter a complete sentence. My head sank back onto the pillow. Of course. I had intended to bite my tongue and end my life—better that than to be disgraced by a pack of beasts. I wondered if I would ever speak again.

“Don’t try to talk. Your tongue is injured; you’ll have to wait a few days before you can speak.” I nodded and cast her a grateful glance.

“You’ve slept for three days; you must be starving. I’ll fetch you something to eat.”

She soon returned with a bowl of rice porridge, helped me sit up, and fed me spoonful by spoonful. Other than my mother, who else had cared for me like this? I couldn’t stop my tears from falling…

“Don’t cry—it's all over now. The ones who hurt you have been dealt with by our general.”

General? What general? The one who saved me was a young gentleman in white… I looked at her in confusion.

She laughed. “Look at me—how could a palace maid not know the famous General Yun Heng? You don’t know how fortunate you are. So many people wish they could meet the general. If it were me, I’d say being saved by him is worth a few injuries.”

She chattered on as I ate, half listening.

There was a sound outside the door. The maid stood up with the bowl in her hands. It must be the general she spoke of. A figure dressed in white entered my view—his hair neatly bound, a jade hairpin holding it in place. His features were refined and elegant, a slight smile playing at his lips, the very image of a scholar. How could such a graceful, calm man possibly be a general?

He was astonishingly handsome; I hadn’t looked closely when he saved me. No wonder so many women would risk injury just to be rescued by him. Did he think the same of me…?

“You’re awake.”

His voice was gentle, resonating deep within the soul. I could only nod dumbly, unable to speak.

“The physician said you’ll be able to talk in a few days, so don’t worry.”

I nodded again, trying to convey that I understood and wasn’t anxious, as long as I could speak again someday.

He smiled, seeming to understand my meaning and finding it amusing.

Suddenly, he reached out and gently brushed my cheek. His touch was soft, warming my cold skin. A subtle intimacy lingered in the air; my pale face flushed scarlet. Could it be that General Yun Heng was interested in me? After years of being pampered, I always believed I had a beauty that could topple kingdoms. The next moment, I realized how absurd my thoughts were.

The maid stifled a laugh. “Miss, you were so hungry you ate too quickly—let me fetch some more porridge.”

Yun Heng nodded, and the maid hurried out. So that was it; porridge had stuck to the corner of my mouth. I lowered my head even further, mortified to have lost my composure in front of such a handsome man…