A Flower Without Rain

Chapter 65

At the Grand Hill Tea House, sat Yuan Shan on the third floor in a private room. As his father, Clan Leader Yuan Qi had told him weeks ago, he was to meet with Prime Minister Tien Qiqiang's daughter, Tien Lihua. And with him having arrived first, he waited for the Young Miss.

He sat there for a while, finger tapping the table and finishing his fourth cup of tea. Then, the doors opened with a worker of the tea shop guiding a woman behind her. "Young Master, the Young Miss you have been waiting for has arrived." she said with a bow and soon after, departed the room.

Looking at the woman, she wore a baby blue attire that held floral embroidery and a white overcoat along with a hat laced in a veil that hid her face. This made him raise a brow seeing that she did this even while meeting with others.

Standing from his seat, he gave a short bow to her, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Tien Lihua."

The woman also returned the same gesture. "It is also a pleasure to meet you as well, Young Master Yuan Shan." her voice was soft.

Coming to her seat, the Young Miss sat down across from the Young Master at the round table. It was awkward in all honesty considering that the two were practically strangers.

".....Errr...How have your days been?" beginning a conversation. Yuan Shan couldn't tell if she tilted her head up to look at him, but he did see the slight change in her position.

"My days have been well. And you?" She returned the question.

He chuckled, "My days are rather busy."

Silence fell upon them quickly after those words.

"......I'm sorry," he suddenly apologized. "I'm not sure what to say really considering that this is my first arrangement." He didn't want to make her uncomfortable in any way.

"It's okay," brushing away his worries with a short laugh. "This is also my first as well."

"And I do apologize in advance for my next words but, why is it that you wear a hat laced with a veil to hide your appearance?.....If anything, I believe there shouldn't be anything to hide."

Tien Lihua's voice held hesitation, "...I'm.....I'm not very confident with the way I look......"

This certainly made Yuan Shan want to scream as he now believed his words were certainly insensitive. As worry filled him, so were the words that were said next. ".......There are many forms to how a flower looks like....... Some are blessed with the most extravagant appearance and some aren't. However, I believe they're all beautiful, even the dandelions that everyone considers a weed."

Once again, did silence come. And with this, Yuan Shan sat there with unease, believing that his words may have hurt her.

"Should I leave???"

Suddenly, the woman began to chuckle as she reached for her hat and took it off, revealing her face. Doing so, prompted Yuan Shan look to her. Flustered, he recognized that face all too well. Although it had been quite a while, he still remembered her, the woman he deemed lovely and spoke of to Ru Mingyu.

Tien Lihua was a rather average looking woman. There wasn't anything particularly special about her face that stood that stood out. However, with a closer look, Yuan Shan noticed that her features were quite soft, giving a youthful appearance.

"You've got quite a way with words, don't you?" Tien Lihua spoke.

Aware that his face is likely red, Yuan Shan responded with a glimmer of shyness. "I really do, don't I?"

At the hall of Lian Manor, entered the Grand Guard of the Crown Prince, Ru Mingyu. Already waiting, stood Clan Leader Lian Zhong and Yuan Shan who gathered at the words of the man who made his entrance.

"What is it that you asked to meet?" questioned the young Clan Leader.

"As much as I may sound crazy, I truly believe that there is something wrong with Yu." Ru Mingyu was firm with his thoughts.

"You must let it go Mingyu!" yelled Lian Zhong. "I know that you confronted her about it, and I can't believe that you would do such a thing. Why would you cause her stress considering that she is pregnant?!"

Yuan Shan who has been listening with silence could only ponder as he finally spoke. "......What about her is wrong?"

This caused the two to go quiet and slowly, Ru Mingyu explained himself. "....The first time I noticed something different, was that whenever I brought up her own well-being, she would either act though as she didn't hear it or simply change the topic. And I know what I'm about to say next may sound absurd, but it's also as though we aren't the only two in the room. As if there's someone else right beside us." he gulped.

Yuan Shan bit the inside of his lip. "I was reading the journal containing notes on the divine tree that the late Clan Leader Lian Gen and my father took, and I'm only making assumptions; but a while after our return from the Sui Kingdom, the divine tree's worsening condition began to reverse. As a matter of fact, the effects of the poison stopped for a short period of time leaving its condition the same before it actually returned to health."

This made the two's eyes widen as to why it's condition came to a halt before having its health returned. Did something happen that it became so?

Grabbing Yuan Shan by the shoulders, Ru Mingyu spoke. "What else is there that we possibly don't know?"

Taking one of her usual strolls among her palace grounds, Crown Princess Lian Yu ended her walk like always at the peach tree. The snow crunching beneath her feet as her steps receded, she exhaled heavily and her breath could be seen. Placing her hands on the tree's trunk, she then looked up to see the branches bare of any leaves or blossoms.

She knew what was coming, and anxiety filled her more with each passing day. One hand on the tree, she placed the other over her belly. Eyes shutting for a moment, they opened with a solemn look. "I wonder if I will have that dream again."

The dream where she descended down the stairs, following the red thread tied that is around her finger.
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