Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms

Prologue

She had been feeling completely drained of energy.

"It's because you are carrying the little emperor," Nai Nai said. "Of course you are tired, Empress. You mustn't worry."

Nai Nai was her serving girl, and the only immortal in Xiwu Palace of the Ninth Sky who smiled at her and called her Empress. The other immortals all looked down on Su Su because Ye Hua had not formally wed her and because she was not like them: she was just a mortal.

Nai Nai opened the window; a breeze blew through the room, and footsteps could be heard outside. "His Majesty has come to pay you a visit, Empress," Nai Nai said joyfully.

With movements like a wooden puppet's, Su Su pushed herself up from under the embroidered quilt and sat against the bed rail. She had no idea how long she had been asleep, but her head still felt foggy. She had only just woken up, but was still sleepy, extremely sleepy.

She sank farther into the quilt as the black-haired prince Ye Hua, dressed in black, sat on the edge of her bed.

Holding the quilt, she eased herself back. There was silence. She thought he must be angry. When had it started, this fear whenever she saw him? It had become almost a reflex. You cannot let him know you are still angry with him. You must not offend him, she thought in confusion.

"Aren't the stars bright this evening?" She said quietly. She had been trying not to tremble, but her voice came out sounding shaky.

"Su Su, it's daytime," he said after a pause.

She moved her hand up to her face instinctively to rub her eyes, but instead her hand brushed against the piece of white silk. She suddenly remembered: she no longer had any eyes. No matter how much she rubbed them, all she would ever see was darkness. As a mortal, she had never fit in at the vast Sky Palace, and this was even more the case now that she was blind.

Ye Hua stroked her face in silence for a long time before saying, "I will wed you up here. From now on, I will be your eyes. Su Su, I will be your eyes."

The hand on her face was icy, and though it was a gentle gesture, it felt like a knife being thrust through her heart. She suddenly had an intense recall of last night's nightmares and became so afraid that she began to tremble and pushed him away. Now she felt even more afraid. "I...I didn't push you away on purpose," she hurried to explain. "You mustn't be angry..."

Ye Hua took her hand. "Su Su, what's the matter?"

The pain spread through her heart like a drop of of ink being sucked into a sheet of thick rice paper. "I've sud-suddenly started feeling very tired," she lied, her teeth chattering. "You get on with your work. I'd like to sleep more. Don't worry about me."

More silence.

She really did not want him to worry about her anymore.

What used to feel like a loving embrace from her beloved had now become unbearable. Sometimes she would wonder why if he liked that other girl so much, he had accepted the absurd proposition she had made him back then. Back then...back then she was filled with regret about not taking a different course of action. After a while, she heard footsteps. Ye Hua left, and Nai Nai bolted the door.

She sat there for a time, hugging her quilt and feeling desolate. Once her trembling stilled a little, she lay back deep in her bed. Suddenly her head filled with chaotic images: she saw Junji Mountain in the Eastern Desert one moment, Ye Hua's face the next, then the blood-soaked dagger and her freshly cutout eyes.

Once I have borne this child, I will return to Junji Mountain, she decided within this state of confusion. That's where I belong. This destructive love will end where it started. Soon it will be over.