Blind Princess

第七章

"I have no idea how this is going to go, so, just brace yourself." Dongmei nodded, kneeling in front of General Rong. Caihong untied Dongmei's blindfold and let it drop into her lap. Rong took a deep breath and placed a finger on Dongmei's forehead. A green huadian glowed at his fingertips, glowing brighter with each passing second.

Dongmei bit the inside of her cheeks, feeling as if her eyes were burning. She clenched her dress in her fingers, taking a deep breath. Rong's eyes dart to her eyes which are now fluttering and closing. Rong's fingertip began to burn, but he forced himself to hold out for a little longer. Suddenly, he pulled his hand away, sucking in a pained breath.

Everyone looked at Dongmei. She blinked and blinked again, gasping and touching her eyelids. "I..." She started crying, "I can see." Her silver grey eyes met Rong's fire-red eyes, smiling. Rong smiled in return, watching her look around in fascination. She touched the floor, her dress, Caihong's face, Rong's face, and anything else she could reach.

She could finally see. For the first time in years, she could see her surroundings. Dongmei stood and spun around, laughing and crying. "I can see!" She giggled, her white hair fanning around her as she spun around. After a while, Dongmei finally calmed down and returned to her spot, holding her blindfold in front of her. Smiling softly, Dongmei tied the blindfold around her forehead, her bangs falling over the blindfold and the free end falling down her back.

Her black blindfold held a striking difference against her hair, making her hair seem whiter and her eyes darker. Dongmei lifted her arms, her flowing white guang sleeves draping down from her arm. "Caihong-jie. I need you to ask the tailor to make new clothing for me. Red, black, and my typical white with blue dress. I don't want guang sleeves or pipa sleeves. Arrow sleeves should do well. Make then easy for me to fight in without too much dragging clothes. A centimeter from the ground would be the best. The tailor already has my measurements." Caihong bowed and hurried away.

"Wait!" Dongmei called for Caihong who was about to close the door, "I want a wider dai and a red yanji from the with my hetian on it." Dongmei grabbed it and gave it to Caihong. Caihong smiled and bowed.

"I'll have it done as fast as possible." Caihong closed the door and left. Dongmei turned to the general. 

"How well can you use your powers?" Dongmei asked, pacing around.

Rong looked surprised by the question, but still answered, "Very well. I was trained by my father and the Lan clan exorcists." Dongmei nodded.

"I was taught by the Lan clan exorcists as well..." she fell silent for some time, "Siwang called on demons and such, right?" Rong nodded. "And some spirits have grown reslets over time." Rong nodded again.

"Recently, demons and spirits have been terrorizing villages and random travelers. We have different exorcist clans working against these apparations, putting defenses and traps up in the mountains. Some villages are protected by a few clans."

Dongmei furrowed her eyebrows. "Tell me, General Rong. If we went out to contain these demons and spirits, how effective would that be against the Siwang?"

"Very. It would slow the Siwang's process of calling up these apparitions." Rong paused, "Gongzhu, don't tell me you're planning on going out to do this."

Dongmei ignored his comment, "What form of exorcism do you use?"

"Frontal attack. But Gongzhu-"

"And the Lan clan heir?" Dongmei interrupterd. 

"Music. He uses the dizi and sometimes the guqin. But Dongmei Gongzhu-"

"And I was taught the most direct chi exorcism. Caihong knows simple exorcism forms... We can do it." Dongmei took out her fan and started fanning herself, the metal ends glinting in the afternoon sun. 

"Dongmei Gongzhu, you cannot go exorcise those spirits. It's too dangerous and you're the only heir to the throne." Rong suddenly stood up, placing a firm hand on Dongmei's shoulder. Dongmei snapped her fan closed, pointing it at Rong.

"My dear General, can you not see that I don't care? If the kingdom doesn't want the Siwang to get their hands on me, the best way is to run while attacking them. As long as I'm traveling constantly, the Siwang will have a harder time. It's not like they don't know that I'm here at the palace. Everyone knows that the princess is here." Dongmei snapped her fan back open, "And if I do die, that's even better. The Siwang will have no way to use me, plus, my cousin can just take the throne."

Rong groaned in annoyance, dragging a hand down his face. "If you die, the Emperor will have my head." Dongmei smiled.

"Great! Then you best die with me. Call for Lan Cheung." Rong muttered something under his breath as he walked out of the princess's quarters. Dongmei smirked at the closed door.