Moonlit Reunion [子夜归]

Chapter 23

Under the full moon's bright gaze, Li Yuanzhen leaned by her window, staring intently at the withered white tea tree outside her palace hall. Sleep eluded her, her mind racing with thoughts of what her aunt might do tomorrow to save the tree.

Tonight, the moon was full, casting a silvery glow over her elevated palace and its open courtyard. The light fell like frost, illuminating the night outside. Resting her chin on her hand, Yuanzhen gazed absently into the moonlit scene—until she suddenly spotted a faint white figure standing beneath the dead tree.

The figure appeared hazy and translucent, its white sleeves flowing softly in the moonlight. From afar, it seemed to be watching her. Li Yuanzhen blinked, then widened her eyes in astonishment. This was the very figure from her dreams over the past decade, the one she had longed day and night to see once more—a desire so deep it had turned into an unspoken obsession.

Without another thought, she dashed out of her chambers, running down the steps in a frenzy. She hadn't fully dressed, her hair unbound, cascading over her shoulders, with a pair of embroidered shoes hastily slipped on. As she ran, her shoes slipped off on the steps, but she paid them no mind. Her entire focus was on that figure, terrified that if she looked away, even for a second, he would disappear.

Her attendants were startled, rushing after her with cloaks and lanterns in hand.

"Princess! Your Highness!"

"Please slow down! Be careful not to fall!"

Without turning, Li Yuanzhen shouted, "Do not follow! Go back—all of you, go back!"

The maids stopped in their tracks, exchanging glances, too afraid to pursue her further. They could only watch as she ran to the white tea tree.

Out of breath, Li Yuanzhen stopped and looked up at the white-clad figure beneath the tree. He stood there quietly, just as he had ten years ago and in her dreams, gazing at her without a word.

For a moment, Li Yuanzhen didn't know what to say. She saw him smile at her, and she instinctively smiled back, though her eyes stung with unshed tears.

"I..." She clutched the hem of her dress, her bare feet pressing into the soft earth, feeling as if she were standing on clouds. Her voice sounded distant, almost as if it weren't her own. "I still don't know your name."

The man smiled again and shook his head.

Through his faint form, Li Yuanzhen could see the withered tea tree behind him, and suddenly, tears spilled from her eyes, just as she had cried during their first meeting as a little girl—helpless and forlorn.

"I still don't know your name," she repeated through her sobs.

The man approached, gently taking her hand, and placed a flower bud in her palm. With a light touch of his finger, the flower blossomed—a tea flower with four white petals around a delicate yellow center.

"This is this year's bloom," she thought, inexplicably certain, though she couldn't hear his voice. She felt a powerful, silent message—a feeling that he was here to say goodbye.

The man released her hand and took a step back. Alarmed, she clutched the flower tightly and reached out to grab his sleeve.

"Don't go!"

But her hand passed through his form as he faded before her eyes. She felt a pang in her chest and was about to cry again when a voice sounded behind her.

"Yuanzhen, give me that flower in your hand."

Startled, Li Yuanzhen held back her sobs, spinning around to see Wu Zhen standing there.