Chapter 608 - A Song Of Heaven
"You are not allowed to go outside tomorrow for a day… not even for the morning walk," Sheng Li pronounced.
"What? Are you punishing me?" Ying Lili asked him with a perplexing expression.
"Of course. You asked for it," Sheng Li replied.
"Isn't it wrong? Punishing your wife? Don't you love me?" She questioned him.
"I love you more than my life," Sheng Li answered.
"Then, why that punishment?" She queried.
"Because you can fall sick if you go out and sit under a tree when the season is autumn," Sheng Li opined. "When you got those cramps, you cannot even imagine how scared I was!" He said with a menacing expression.
"I should not have eaten that. I did not know that grapes might cause that," Ying Lili said in a low voice and put her hand on her womb. "Forgive me for making you anxious." She moved her hand over that.
"Xue did that willingly," Sheng Li muttered and gritted his teeth.
"Sister Xue did not know about that," Ying Lili stood for her.
"Do you think so? I think that she is still the same Xue," Sheng Li affirmed. "She wanted to harm our children. I know her well," he said and clenched his fist.
"Sheng Li, she will never do that. She did not know that such a thing would happen to me," Ying Lili was not ready to believe Sheng Li, not because she did not trust him but because he was taking Xue Yu-Yan's past self while judging her.
Sheng Li did not argue with her over that topic as it could stress out Ying Lili. "I understand," Sheng Li ended the argument with that. He stood up from the mattress and went towards the table, where a bowl filled with jujubes.
He came towards the bed and showed her the bowl. "These are ten jujubes. You need to eat them," he said and started to peel them while handing, one by one to her. Ying Lili was overwhelmed by the love and care of her husband at this time.
"Court Lady Ki could have done that," Ying Lili said. She did not want Sheng Li to work as he was already tired from his day's work.
"No. I want to do this for my wife," he said and pushed another jujube inside her mouth. Ying Lili chewed it while smiling. She took the last jujube from him and put it between her teeth. Sheng Li looked at her and asked why she was not eating when realized that she wanted him to eat half of it.
Sheng Li leaned towards her lips and cut half of it with his teeth. His lips slightly brushed against Ying Lili's lips, who had swallowed the rest of the jujube. They both smiled while chewing. Sheng Li captured her luscious lips for a kiss. The sweetness of jujube was still in their mouths. Withdrawing from the kiss, Sheng Li wiped Ying Lili's lips.
"Do you want to hear some music? The musician from the department of music can play it for you," Sheng Li asked her.
"I want to listen to this musical piece– 'A song of heaven'," Ying Lili expressed her desire.
Sheng Li had no idea about that and called Eunuch Xing-Fu inside, who in seconds came in.
"Call Musician Zong-an. Tell him that the Empress wants to listen to 'A song of heaven'," Sheng Li ordered Xing-Fu, who bowed and walked out.
Ying Lili tilted her head and asked Sheng Li if he knew about that piece, to which he refused.
"There used to be a heavenly jade beauty named Yu Měilì. She once visited the earth but ended up, getting a bite from a venomous snake as she landed in a field. She cried for help when a man named Song Cheng came for her help. He sucked out the poison from her foot and tied the piece of cloth around it so that the poison would not spread in her body. He carried her on his back and took her to the local doctor, who treated her. Because he had sucked the venom, he started to hallucinate and ended up fainting.
Yu Měilì's heart was moved by this unknown man and she fell for him. She confessed to him, and they lived a happy life for a few years. She forgot that her time was limited on the earth and she was called by Heaven in full moonlight. But before leaving, she took away the memories of Song Cheng as she did not want him to live in pain or her memories. When she reached her place, she wrote this musical piece for her lover– 'A Song of Heaven'," Ying Lili narrated the folktale to Sheng Li.
"It is a good love story but it's sad at the same time. Letting go of your love is not easy," Sheng Li asserted.
"You are right. However, she could not do anything against the wish of Heaven," Ying Lili proclaimed.
"She could have requested the Jade Emperor," Sheng Li opined.
"But she was from Heaven. It was against the rules of Heaven to fall in love with a human," Ying Lili stated.
Musician Zong-an entered the chamber and greeted both of them. Two more musicians had also accompanied him.
They took their seats on the mattress. Xing-Fu put the zither on the floor table. Zong-an had a tiny smile on his lips and he rested his fingers over those strings. He started to play the musical piece on the zither and it delighted Ying Lili's heart. She rested her head on Sheng Li's shoulder and closed her eyes to feel every essence of this musical piece.
Sheng Li, who never had an interest in music, suddenly felt the urge to learn it. He also wanted to play and write music for his Lili. He wanted to dedicate many songs to their love, but he had little knowledge of all this. He tilted his head a little and found how she was enjoying this musical piece.. His heart thumped against his chest as he once again fell for her.