A Flower Without Rain

Chapter 14

Sitting on the outside porch of the Lian Clinic, Lady Yuan Li sorted the freshly picked herbs onto their respective trays. Later, her father-in-law, Clan Leader Lian Gen will put them out to dry in the sun, preserving it. As she did this, the feeling of being watched crept upon her. Without turning her head, eyes looked about the surrounding area so as to be not noticeable. Once she found where that feeling came from, she gulped nervously. Just behind a building beyond the clinic, a man's head could be seen. His face, however, was concealed due to darkness he stood in.

Acting as though she didn't notice his presence, Yuan Li stood from where she sat and went inside looking as though she had forgotten something when really she was going to find her father-in-law. Passing through the open space where the patients rested and to the hallway, she turned and in a room where he read books about herbs he had not yet studied, the Lady spoke.

"Father," she called gaining his attention. For a split second, the physician averted his gaze to her before turning back to the book. "Yes?" he was reading about an herb with properties of numbing pain far greater than the one he's currently using.

A short frown, Lady Yuan Li looked around as though still feeling the eyes of a person on her, and it was unsettling. Just a short moment, and now somewhat at ease, her attention came back to her father-in-law who was now shutting his book. "There's a man," she paused for a moment. "I felt like I was being watched and from the corner of my eye I saw someone hiding behind a building, just looking." her voice sounded afraid.

Something about this individual did not feel right.

Immediately, was he reminded of what the young boy, Lei, had told him. He too, saw a strange man lurking at the walls of the clinic, and the telling of both chilled him. The fear within only grew, never to cease.

"Act natural, do not show any sign of us knowing his presence." he needed to see that person while he was still there.

Shortly, Yuan Li left back to the outside and of course, did as she was told. It must've been important or rather troubling if he needed to see for himself. She just wondered what exactly it was that caused such a frightened expression on her father-in-law's face. All she knew was that whatever it was, meant no good.

Once she set foot back on the porch, the man who had been watching was nowhere to be seen. Yuan Li's head turned left and right, trying to find where exactly it is he could've gone, believing he may have just changed locations. However, not a single trace of him was left.

At this moment, Clan Leader Lian Gen also came outside, and the look on his daughter-in-law's face said it all. Hands forming into a fist, he became frustrated. Time was running out, and soon there won't be enough. Just like that day he lost her, his eldest daughter Lian Song.

"Thank you," Crown Princess Lian Yu said to the servants who had been relocating her belongings all morning.

At every servant upon hearing so, nodded with silence or a smile. It was quite strange to be thanked for such a thing they've been made to do since entering the palace to work. In a way, it made them happy. 

With the last servant sorting out her robes into their drawers, her move into the Peach Palace was finished. Here, only the true Crown Princess was to reside and no other. Not even a royal member.

Curious to see more of the divine palace, Lian Yu left her grand chambers and to the outside where beauty beyond compare awaited her. Along the corridors she walked, everything she laid her sight upon was like an eternal heaven where gods and goddesses dwelled. At her right as she got closer, star jasmines loitered the wooden lattice that rested along the pergola pathway. This gave her an overwhelming rush of excitement like one would have as a child when they saw something unlike any other. Straying from the pavement, she stepped foot onto the dirt path. It almost felt magical, like a fantasy.

Coming to a stop, she came towards the flowers and hands hovering over them, she couldn't express just how breathtaking it was. A faint smile, silence was all she held as this palace was unlike any other. It was then that her attention that once laid upon the star jasmine drifted. From the corner of her eye, she noticed what looked like a sort of pink rain. Slowly, she turned and left to that place that caused the shower. There was no reason, but it felt like something was calling her.

Calling her to see what lied there.

Passing over the bridge where a koi pond sat under, there she saw what it was. Alone in a small green field, stood a magnificent peach tree.

Without a thought, her legs moved like a force was pulling her. Once before it, she couldn't help but lay her hand on the trunk of the tree. Despite its old age, it lingered with a life that no other living thing held. Gaze lowering, she pulled away her hand and decided to sit under the shade of the tree.

Protected from the sun's rays, she couldn't help but admire its beauty more. Another thing she noticed, was how despite nearing autumn there were no fruits and just blossoms of never-ending rain.

Nightfall, Lady Yuan Li was alone in her chambers as her husband Commander Lian Zhong has not yet returned from the palace. Despite being tired from running around the clinic all day, she wanted to make sure a clean pair of clothes were out for her husband when he comes home.

Folding it into a pile, the room was dimly lit as the wind blew. Suddenly, a tapping sound from the outside alerted her. Quickly turning her head towards the direction it came from, it stopped before coming again in a repeating pattern.

"Maybe it's just a tree branch hitting against the window."

That was how she left it be.

Then, the doors to her quarters slammed open and not long after screams echoed throughout the Lian Manor.

Just at the entrance of the residence, was Lian Zhong having just returned. It was also there, that he heard her distant screams. Without another moment to spare, immediately did he rush in dropping everything he held. Every step he took landed heavily as his mind was only filled with getting to her. He had to know that she was alright, that she wasn't in harm's way.

Once the Commander got there, surrounding the building where he and his wife reside, were guards of the Lian Manor. The shouts of his father and mother filled his ears telling the men to widen their area of search and to do whatever they can to find a clue.

Lian Zhong's eyes were wide, cheeks flushed from the rush of adrenaline, lips parted, and out of breath. Gaze shifting to his father, Clan Leader Lian Gen's attention also came to him. His father gave a discerning look and this only caused the young man's expression to become distraught.

His wife, Lady Yuan Li was nowhere to be found.
.
.
.