When Liu Shiyao was sixteen, she met a person. That year, the willows were gently swaying. He walked across the stone bridge over the river. With just a fleeting glance, she could never forget him.
At that time, she was not yet the imperial concubine of Yu Ling. She was just the second young lady of the Prime Minister's Mansion, and had not been involved in so many troubles. Her hands...
Had not been stained with so much blood.
She had the shyness of a young girl, and there was someone she liked in her heart.
When Liu Shiyao met Luo Nan, she was in the prime of her youth. He was a doctor, working in the medical clinic in the south of the city. He would diagnose patients there every day without fail.
He liked to wear a blue robe. Perhaps because he was always surrounded by medicinal herbs, there was more or less a smell of medicine on him.
When they first met, it was raining in Yu Ling. Liu Shiyao was sitting in the teahouse, looking out of the window. With just one glance, she saw the young man holding an umbrella in the crowd.
The corner of his robe was dampened by the rain. Just as Liu Shiyao was staring intently, the young man happened to look back. The next second, their eyes met.
Liu Shiyao herself didn't know why. It was just a glance, but her whole face blushed for no reason.
"Miss? What are you looking at? Your face is as red as a peach blossom in spring." The maid saw her young lady's blushing face and joked.
Liu Shiyao quickly averted her gaze and pretended to drink the tea in her hand nonchalantly. "Hmm, it's nothing."
But the tea that accidentally spilled showed her inner uneasiness.
After that glance, Liu Shiyao sent someone to secretly inquire about the young man's information. When the maid handed the rice paper with the information to her, she couldn't even hide her excitement.
His name was Luo Nan. He was a doctor in the medical clinic in the south of the city. His medical skills were highly praised by everyone in Yu Ling.
Liu Shiyao looked at the few lines on the paper and couldn't stop smiling.
Later, she found an excuse to go to his medical clinic. When she pushed open the door, Luo Nan was lowering his head, reading a medical book. Hearing the sound, he looked up and said, "What's wrong with you? Have you had any symptoms recently?"
His gentle voice made Liu Shiyao lower her head, so that he couldn't see her slightly red face. She just gave a signal to the maid beside her, indicating that she should speak.
The maid beside her quickly said, "Recently, our miss has always felt stuffy in her heart. She has no appetite for food and can't sleep well at night."
Luo Nan listened to the symptoms described by the maid, then lowered his head and wrote down the names of some medicinal herbs. He gently asked, "Do you also feel flustered, short of breath and dizzy recently?"
"......It seems so." The maid thought for a while. She wasn't sure. She glanced at her miss and replied hesitantly.
"These are all symptoms of heart disease. You should take the medicine according to this prescription. Remember not to overwork yourself recently. Just take more rest. If you have any problems, you can come to the medical clinic to find me at any time." After writing the prescription, Luo Nan handed it to Liu Shiyao.
But Liu Shiyao gently shook her head. She reached out her hand and pressed down the prescription he handed over. Her face was slightly red as she said, "I don't have heart disease. I just... just..."
She paused for a moment. As if gathering her courage, she closed her eyes and said, "I have no appetite for food because of you. I feel stuffy and sad because of you. You are the one I dream about at night. What I have is lovesickness."
As soon as she said this, it became quiet around them. Luo Nan's hand stayed in mid-air and he forgot to take it back. He looked at the girl sitting in front of him.
She was lowering her eyes. There was a small tear mole at the corner of her eye, making her look extremely pitiful. At this moment, her face was slightly red, and even her eyebrows were frowned because of fear.
This was the first time Liu Shiyao had so directly expressed her feelings to someone. She didn't think it would be like this when she came. But she didn't know why. As soon as she saw Luo Nan, everything got out of control.
Even these words were so abrupt.
The maid didn't expect Liu Shiyao to say such words. She was still in a daze and had no time to react. Liu Shiyao quickly stood up and rushed out.
She didn't dare to hear Luo Nan's answer. She ran away just before he opened his mouth. Because she left in a hurry, she left behind a butterfly hairpin in her hair.
Luo Nan looked at the hairpin left behind by the girl. He didn't react for a while. But looking closely, one could see...
The tips of his ears were quietly red.
After Liu Shiyao returned home, she thought that what she had done today was too abrupt. If others knew about it, she would lose all her face.
After much thought, she was too embarrassed to see Luo Nan again. So after leaving that confession, there was no more follow - up.
She thought their fate would end there, but they met again on the Mid - Autumn Festival.
There was a lantern festival that night. Originally, Liu Shiyao didn't want to go. But the maid, for some reason, insisted on dragging her to join the fun.
Liu Shiyao had no choice. Thinking that it would be good to change her mood, she followed the maid's advice. She put the lotus lantern in her hand beside her feet. Her light - yellow dress fluttered gently in the wind. She squatted down and placed the water lantern on the river. The flickering candlelight reflected on her face.
She closed her eyes slightly and sincerely made a wish to the river lantern.
After making the wish, she picked up the lantern beside her feet. By chance, when she looked up, she saw Luo Nan standing on the bridge.
He was holding a lantern in his hand. Perhaps because of the lantern light, his gaze seemed much gentler.
Liu Shiyao just stood there in a daze. She never thought that when she was making a wish while placing the river lantern, she hoped to see Luo Nan again. Unexpectedly, with just a glance, she saw him.
She didn't know if it was the gods who heard her wish, or... if Luo Nan had fulfilled her wish.
While Liu Shiyao was in a daze, Luo Nan walked down from the bridge. The lantern in his hand swayed with his movements. He walked very fast, afraid that the girl would run away again the next second.
When Liu Shiyao came to her senses, she saw Luo Nan walking quickly through the crowd. He stopped in front of her, keeping a proper distance. It wouldn't make her feel embarrassed, nor would it be too far.
Liu Shiyao didn't expect to meet him here. For a moment, she didn't know what to say. When she didn't know what to do, she subconsciously wanted to run away.
Just as she took a step, Luo Nan's voice came into her ears along with the bustling voices of the crowd.
"You ran away once that day, Miss Liu. Are you going to run away again this time?" Luo Nan's voice came into her ears word by word. Liu Shiyao stopped the foot that was just about to take the next step.
She was standing with her back to Luo Nan, clutching the corner of her dress. After a long silence, she said, "I'm afraid... afraid that you will reject me..."
Liu Shiyao's voice was very soft, with a hint of timidity. She had thought about asking him for an answer, but she didn't expect it to be now.
The people on the roadside looked at the two of them and began to whisper to each other.
If she was rejected in front of so many people, she might have to jump into the river.
At that time, Liu Shiyao was seriously thinking about this, and her hands trembled slightly because of this.
The next second, her slightly trembling hand due to fear was suddenly held by someone. The young man's hand had long and slender fingers. Before she could react, she suddenly fell into an embrace full of the smell of medicine.
Liu Shiyao was completely stunned. She didn't even dare to turn around. A gentle voice came to her ear, a voice that had appeared in her dreams countless times.
"But how do you know that my answer is not what you think?" Luo Nan leaned on her shoulder. His voice was very low, and the words he said were extremely gentle.
Liu Shiyao was completely stunned when she heard this answer. The answer she had been deliberately avoiding these days suddenly rang in her ear. But now she still felt that all this was like a dream.
She was afraid. She was afraid that when she turned around, the dream would end. Even if all this was just a dream, she wanted it to last longer, much longer...
"I have no appetite for food because of you. I feel stuffy and sad because of you. You are the one I dream about at night." Luo Nan's voice sounded again. His words seemed to hit her heart. Liu Shiyao stared blankly and turned back, falling into his gentle eyes like water.
There seemed to be stars in his eyes, and in the cluster of stars was her figure.
"But... when did you start to like me?" Liu Shiyao averted her gaze. She still dared not confirm.
Luo Nan looked at her dazed appearance and couldn't help but raise the corner of his mouth in a helpless smile. "I liked you earlier than you thought."
"Then when was it?"
"It's not the time to tell you yet."
After leaving this sentence, Luo Nan took a few steps forward. Liu Shiyao chased after him and stubbornly wanted to get an answer.
On the river, two lanterns were closely together, being pushed further and further away by the current.
Luo Nan had liked Liu Shiyao a long time ago. When they were still young, Liu Shiyao climbed onto a peach tree in full bloom. Carelessly, she slipped and fell.
Falling with the fluttering peach petals, she happened to fall into Luo Nan's arms.
At that time, she, together with the blooming peach blossoms, brought the first touch of spring in Yu Ling into his arms.
And this glance determined countless lovesickness in the future.
What Liu Shiyao didn't know was that on the bridge where she fell in love at first sight, Luo Nan went there every day, just to let her see him.
The so - called love at first sight was just that she happened to fall into his plan. After that, her whole heart was stolen.
But she didn't need to know these things.
Some stories have their endings determined from the very beginning, and some feelings should never have existed in the first place.
After the lantern festival, Liu Shiyao felt that everything had changed. It turned out that the feeling of mutual love was so wonderful. Only now did she understand what the love described in the storybooks was like.
Sometimes she would go to Luo Nan's medical clinic and accompany him to see patients. While Luo Nan was writing prescriptions, she would grind ink for him on one side.
If a young girl secretly gave a love poem to Luo Nan, Liu Shiyao would act fiercely and scare them away.
And Luo Nan always looked at her with a smile. No matter what Liu Shiyao did, in his eyes, she was always charming and lovely.
Their relationship became well - known in Yu Ling. Everyone thought they were a very well - matched couple and would get married sooner or later.
Even Liu Shiyao thought so.
When she was free, she would hold Luo Nan's hand and sit in the courtyard. Listening to the gentle sound of rain outside, they would sit in each other's arms and talk about the future.
"After we get married, we'll plant peach trees in the courtyard. When spring comes, it will be a scene of beautiful peach blossoms in full bloom."
Liu Shiyao pointed at the empty space in the courtyard. When she was talking about these things, her eyes seemed to be shining.
Luo Nan never took his eyes off her. He responded to everything she said, "Okay, I'll follow your arrangements."
As these days passed, she thought it would always be like this.
But one day, as she was lifting her skirt and walking out, she happened to meet her father. "You seem to be going to the medical clinic too often recently."
Her father's voice sounded. Liu Shiyao lowered her head. Although she didn't know why her father didn't mention this to her until now, perhaps it was best for her that some things were said directly.
Since childhood, she had not been favored at home. Her only close friend had entered the palace a few years ago. Now she had no one to confide her sorrows to.
In order to prevent her marriage from being forcibly arranged, she just said directly, "Father, your daughter has already made a private pledge of marriage with Luo Nan. He will come to propose marriage soon."
"That was before. From now on, you should stay in the mansion obediently and wait to enter the palace peacefully." Her father's voice sounded. There was no trace of emotion in it. It was as calm as stating a fact.
And it was his words that made Liu Shiyao look up in shock. She looked at her father standing in front of her. He had never said many words to her in all these years.
But unexpectedly, the only words between them were these.
Everyone in Yu Ling knew about her and Luo Nan, but now he actually wanted her to enter the palace?
"Your daughter... doesn't understand what you mean, Father." Liu Shiyao clutched the corner of her dress and said this sentence while pretending to be calm.
It shouldn't be her turn to enter the palace. It should be the eldest daughter. How could it be her?
"Shi Qiong is already engaged. There is only you left in our Liu family who can enter the palace. You are also at the right age for marriage. Just treat what happened before as a dream. Now, you just need to enter the palace peacefully." After saying this, her father didn't wait for Liu Shiyao to say anything. He just waved his sleeve and left.
And in the courtyard where she lived, there were more guards. No matter what, she couldn't get out.
Liu Shiyao couldn't understand why things had become like this. She had finally got in touch with the person she loved, but why, just a few months later, things had changed like this?
She sent the maid to inquire about the person her elder sister was engaged to. As expected, the news she got was what she had thought.
The other person was the young master of the Minister's Mansion. He had grown up with her elder sister since childhood. With his elegant white robe, he had captured the hearts of the young girls in Yu Ling. He was also the person her elder sister loved.
Her father had said that her elder sister should marry a person of great talent. She deserved the best. But now, in the end, he had fulfilled her elder sister's wish.
Liu Shiyao shed as many tears as the number of days she was trapped in the courtyard. Because of this, she became ill due to depression. The maid couldn't bear to see this and begged her father to let a doctor come to see her.
She didn't want to see the doctor at first, but unexpectedly, Luo Nan managed to sneak in and see her.
"Luo Nan..." As soon as Liu Shiyao saw him, she didn't know what to say except calling his name. Tears kept falling down. Her originally beautiful eyes were now extremely red.
Luo Nan hugged her into his arms and gently patted her on the shoulder to comfort her.
The girl he loved was now in such a state. At this moment, he only hated that he was just a doctor, powerless, and unable to take her away from this Prime Minister's Mansion that trapped her.
In this huge mansion, in her courtyard, there were only rows of guards and nothing else.
Luo Nan knew that he couldn't take her away, nor could he compete with the Prime Minister. He was able to come to the mansion this time because of the Prime Minister's permission.
The only purpose for him to see Liu Shiyao, and the only thing he could do now, was... to let go.
After entering the palace, Liu Shiyao would become the imperial concubine, second only to the emperor and of noble status. She couldn't struggle in this hopeless love affair.
And the only thing Luo Nan could do was to let her go. She would have a good future.
"You must have a lot to say to me today, right?" Liu Shiyao looked at Luo Nan's face and naturally knew what he was going to say. She had guessed it as soon as he entered the door.
Her father had deliberately arranged such a situation to prevent her from going out to see Luo Nan. How could he allow him to meet her again?
The only possibility was to let Luo Nan make things clear to her and cut off this relationship.
Liu Shiyao didn't expect Luo Nan to resist, because even she herself couldn't resist. How could she ask him to do so?
Now, as long as she could see him one more time, she would be satisfied.
"Just say it. I'm listening." Liu Shiyao forced a smile and said hoarsely.
Luo Nan looked at Liu Shiyao's expression and clenched his fist tightly.
Indeed, she would have a good future, but for the rest of her life, she would be trapped in the deep palace and would never have a chance to get out.
Compared with glory and wealth, he actually hoped that Shiyao would be happy and carefree all her life.
"You once told me that you always said that your elder sister was the treasure in everyone's heart, but you are also the treasure in my heart. I just want you to live as you like, to be happy, and to only have me in your eyes."
Luo Nan's voice was very soft, but every word hit her heart. Liu Shiyao looked at him for a long time.
The moment she saw Luo Nan, she had thought that he would persuade her to enter the palace and say heart - breaking words to hurt her, but she didn't expect that he