Ink Wash on Blossoming Wood

My new story, Night Song, is currently being serialized. You can find it by visiting my author's page. It was late at night. Yan Liang put down his pen, closed the memorials on the desk before him, stood up, opened the door, and walked out. Gao Sheng followed close behind him, carefully asking, "Your Highness, are you returning to your chambers?" Yan Liang turned and glanced at Gao Sheng. Gao Sheng shuddered and dropped to his knees with a thud, begging for mercy. "This servant knows his place. Please spare my life, Your Highness." Yan Liang walked away. Gao Sheng didn't dare follow him. He remained kneeling where he was, head bowed, his body trembling slightly. Ye Sheng lay quietly in bed. Asleep, her face had lost its usual severity and looked as peaceful as it once had. Yan Liang sat beside the bed and watched her in silence. After a long while, he spoke softly. "Ye Sheng, do you know what I fear most? That whenever you look at me, your eyes are filled with love." Yan Ruoxi was crouching on a roof beam. When he heard Yan Liang's words, he suddenly remembered what Ye Sheng had said while drunk: "What I fear most isn't that he despises me. What I fear most is that whenever he looks at me, his eyes are full of tenderness." Crack! The wooden block struck the desk. A trembling old man, past the age of fifty, climbed onto the dais and sat beside the redwood desk. He began, "Good afternoon, everyone. Today, this old man will once again tell you the story of Princess Shen Muhua of Nantai. Last time, we learned that Shen Muhua and Shen Yihan were siblings, yet shared a forbidden love, and she was forced to marry far away in Beiyue. Today, we'll hear the story of Princess Shen Muhua and Beiyue's Sixth Prince, Xing Mo. ... They say the two once faced life and death together. They say they loved each other deeply. But in the end, the princess was cast into the cold palace by Xing Mo, who had by then become the emperor of Beiyue..." Crack! The wooden block struck the desk again. The old man said, "To find out what happens next, come back for the next installment!" He staggered to his feet and turned away, tears streaming down his face... Theme: