Chu Yun eventually fell into an exhausted sleep, but Xiao Zai didn't sleep at all the entire night.
He got up at down, leaving Chu Yun sleeping on the bed. His sword-sharp eyebrows were drawn above his eyes, hinting at the nature of his dreams. Xiao Zai wanted to smooth out the worry from his brow, kiss him into restful sleep.
That was not possible, so he contented himself with brushing his hand through his hair, and pulling the comforter over his shoulders.
He walked out into the deck overlooking the courtyard outside Chu Yun's bedroom. He rested his elbows on the wooden railing and looked out at the mist draped over the lotus flowers on the decorative pond like a shroud.
Everything about Xin was manicured to perfection. The courtyards didn't have a leaf out of place, all the flowers matched each other in colour and symbolism. Nothing was left to chance, it was a land that valued beauty above everything else, the study of it, the creation of it.
