97 Death

◎May you live a long life, have a successful career, and have many descendants◎

Rong Qianyu opened the letter and was moved to tears by the words. Fu Tao was a smart girl, but this one incident completely broke her down.

She hadn't recovered well yet, and she and Xue Ji had worked so hard last night that she was already exhausted. When she saw her letter, she got so anxious that she almost fell down.

Xue Ji helped him up.

She finished reading the letter with a frown on her face, and felt as if a huge stone was pressing down on her heart, making it hard for her to breathe.

This letter was written by Fu Tao a few days ago. The news of his death has only just been announced, so I'm afraid it has been a long time.

She didn't say anything to anyone, only explaining a few things to Rong Qianyu. Unexpectedly, this trip out of the palace would become a farewell forever. They had just agreed to go to the outskirts of Beijing to enjoy the flowers together, and Fu Tao had promised her that he would never do such a fool again. They had just shared so many heartfelt words, yet how could it end like this?

Looking at the three-page letter, her hands trembled unconsciously and a tear fell without warning. She could no longer support herself and suddenly closed her eyes and knelt on the ground. She covered her heart, trying her best to ease the sudden pain.

"From the Imperial Sister-in-law, respectfully submitted by Tao'er. I heard that the Imperial Sister-in-law is recuperating in the palace, and I wish her well from afar. I have already left the palace and returned home. My last detailed conversation with the Imperial Sister-in-law was very beneficial, but Tao'er knows that I cannot let it go, and I have failed the Imperial Sister-in-law's instructions. This square courtyard wall has bound my hands and feet, trapped my heart, and neither you nor I are truly able to resist. He spent his wedding night with me, and the next day he escaped to find me. I know he did it for me, but I am truly powerless..."

…

This letter was written after she got married to Huang Song, meaning that she had lost hope and did not want to have another child.

The Huang family seemed to want to silence Youyou about the scandal that their only male son gave up his future for the princess. That day, the Huang family made a grand ceremony, and the convoy to marry the bride was huge, stretching from the beginning to the end of the street.

He married Gai Yini, the second daughter of the Minister of Rites. This lady was also famous in the capital and was a well-known lady from a noble family.

Although this woman came from a good family, was beautiful, well-educated, and well-mannered, there was one thing that worried her father, Lord Gai. Raised by her grandparents, she had a spontaneous nature and, unlike the other ladies in the capital who only knew how to embroider and practice calligraphy, she earned some money from a small business and was particularly reluctant to marry.

In order to persuade his daughter to get close to the Huang family, Lord Gai married his youngest daughter to Huang Song.

The wedding night was the first time the two met.

The whole palace was decorated with red silk and red lanterns, and bright red brocade, and flowers cut from red silk were hung high on the eaves, corners of corridors, and plum branches and osmanthus trees.

It doesn't look like it was organized in a hurry.

The bride waited quietly in the room. Huang Song was dressed in a bright red wedding gown. Time passed, but there was no trace of joy on his handsome face. He was supposed to show this dress to Fu Tao, but he probably wouldn't have the chance to see it again.

The guests toasted him one after another, and he could only force a smile, say words against his will, and nod politely in response to each toast.

"Master Xiao Huang and the bride are such a perfect match!"

"Congratulations, you are truly a well-matched couple!"

"With the support of the Yue family's Minister of Rites, Young Master Huang will have a bright future!"

"Thank you very much." Huang Song felt depressed. He never drank alcohol before, but today he drank a lot of wine unconsciously.

Yes, how could his current status be compared to that of a mere prince consort? His biological father was the head of the civil officials, his biological mother was a member of the royal family, his father-in-law was the Minister of Rites, and his mother-in-law was the daughter of a scholarly family.

Such a status is indeed incomparable to that of a royal consort. The happy times in the past are still vivid in his mind, and such leisure and freedom are now all gone.

He felt dizzy and walked back to the room in a daze. He sat down on the low stool in front of the table, far away from the bride.

Outside the house, the old women and maids were busy making arrangements, but inside the house was unusually quiet. Both of them were extremely reluctant and neither wanted to speak first.

After a long time, Gai Yini couldn't help herself and said softly, "Husband, please come and lift the veil."

Huang Song sat far away, drinking alone, pretending not to hear, and drank all the wine on the table in one gulp.

"The ceremony on the wedding night must not be wrong. My husband, please don't make things difficult for me." Gai Yini said.

He was reluctant and hesitated for a moment, his hands shaking slightly and he felt a little timid, but he finally mustered up the courage to lift the red cloth off the bride's head.

Beneath the veil was a delicate and timid face, heavily rouge-coated, but like his, there was no joy in her eyes.

"Husband, let's have a drink together." Gai Yini stood up and poured the wine.

Huang Song took it helplessly and drank it all in one gulp. It seemed that some words could only be said after drinking too much. "You also know that I have someone in my heart. If you marry me, you will become a widow, and it will hurt you. Why don't you explain it to the Minister?"

Gai Yini sat on the bed gracefully. The lights in the room were dim, with only a pair of phoenix candles burning for a long time. The embroidered silk quilt in the bridal chamber was covered with red dates and peanuts.

"If I don't marry you, I will marry someone else. It doesn't make any difference to me who I marry. Besides, my father and brother have official positions, so they might show me to the emperor. I might as well be a widow here." She picked up the peanuts on the bed and started eating.

"You know it?"

"You did it even though you knew it was impossible?" Gai Yini smiled. "It's the parents' order and the matchmaker's words. Isn't there anything your husband can do to disobey Master Huang?"

"Yes," Huang Song said without trying to defend himself, "We are all birds in a cage."

The first time the two met was on their wedding night. Outside the room, there were servants of all sizes waiting to receive their rewards after the marriage was consummated. However, these two people who shared the same suffering had only endless suffering.

Gai Yini was like a bystander, not at all nostalgic for this marriage. "I heard that the eldest princess has been in poor health recently. Why don't I go to see Your Highness when I go to the palace to thank you someday? It will also help ease your longing for me."

Huang Song was naturally very grateful to hear her say these words, but now he no longer cared about Fu Tao. "I'm just afraid that she will do something stupid. Last time..."

"Your Highness, the Princess is blessed with good fortune, so don't worry too much, my husband."

No matter how she comforted him, Huang Song was still worried. He knew Fu Tao's character very well. He was a stubborn person and would not change his mind once he made up his mind.

She is pure-minded and even more stubborn than Rong Qianyu.

"The Queen has been ill and out of the palace for recuperation recently, so I can't take care of her. I'm just afraid..."

Gai Yini made a gesture to keep quiet, "One word will become a prophecy. You must keep bad thoughts in your heart and never say them out loud!"

The newlyweds expressed their feelings to each other from a distance.

"We're getting married now, and you'll inevitably be pushed around by your parents in the future. Getting married wasn't my original intention, and now I've dragged you into this."

Gai Yini was considerate, steady, and clear-sighted. "You don't have to worry about me. I run a small business and have my own money. I don't want to get married either. Now that we've talked it out, let's each live our own lives in the future. I'll do my best to play the role of a good wife and won't be a burden to you."

What the two said gave Huang Song some comfort. The other party was a sensible and easy-going person, so he didn't feel too sorry for the bride.

"Thank you. I'll sleep in the side room."

"Husband!" Gai Yini called out to him, "We're getting married today, don't embarrass me."

Huang Song just stood up and turned back, "Then you go to sleep, I'll read a book."

Huang Song left the bridal chamber only after Gai Yini fell asleep. Before leaving, he twisted the wick of the phoenix candle. The candle that the newlyweds wanted to burn until dawn was extinguished by his own hands.

The next morning, the bride wanted to pay her respects to her parents-in-law. When Gai Yini woke up, Huang Song was gone.

What I heard was the servants' anxious shouts, "The young master has run away, the young master has run away!"

The maid in the mansion strode to the front hall and said, "Master, something bad has happened! The young master is missing!"

Huang Yun got up early today, expecting her son and daughter-in-law to come and pay their respects, but they were gone. "What do you mean they're gone? They can't even keep an eye on them!"

Madam Huang was at a loss. She had never agreed to this marriage in the first place, and now her son was missing. "Where could this child go? Will he go to the Princess's Mansion?"

"Even if we really went, how could we, as subjects, go to the princess's mansion to ask for someone?"

"Father-in-law," Gai Yini dressed and immediately went to the front hall to pay her respects. She knew Huang Song was definitely going to look for Fu Tao, and out of sympathy for their shared suffering, she wanted to hold him back for a while. "My husband told my daughter-in-law last night that there's a cherry blossom forest outside Beijing. I wonder if he's going there."

Huang Yun panicked and didn't care whether it was true or not. He just ordered people to look for it. "Send someone to look for it, go quickly!"

There was a grand wedding at the Huang family yesterday. The sound of gongs and drums made Fu Tao unable to sleep. Whenever he thought of him spending his wedding night with someone else, he felt a tightness in his chest.

Fu Tao didn't sleep all night and thought a lot. There was no doubt that the two of them were not destined to be together. He was already a husband, and she was the eldest princess. If he continued to cling to her, it would be impolite.

For Huang Song, she had no choice but to let go.

Fan Zhi entered the room and reported, "Your Highness, there's news from the side door that Young Master Huang has arrived."

"Xinwei?" Fu Tao's eyes lit up when he heard the name, then dimmed again in an instant. "Forget it, I'll just disappear. Young Master Huang is already married, so don't cause trouble for me anymore."

Hearing the news, everything around her seemed to be wrapped tightly in a dark fog. She couldn't help but tremble all over, trying hard to suppress her pain and not let the tears fall.

"Yes, then I will go and reply to him."

Fan Zhi turned around to go out, but Fu Tao called her again.

"Tell him that since you're married, you should stop being involved with your old friend. How can you have both in this world? You must live up to both the Tathagata and your lover. As the eldest princess, I've been unfilial to my parents, unfaithful to my country, and incompetent in my love. I'll return this jade pendant he gave me to him, and we'll never see each other again in this life."

She promised Rong Qianyu that she would let it go, but how could she let go of a friendship of more than ten years? She didn't want to have anything to do with a married man anymore, but her heart felt as painful as if flesh was being cut.

"yes."

"Wait!" Fu Tao called Fan Zhi again.

She wanted to end this bad fate with dignity. They had a sincere love for each other and had promised to be together forever, but it was over.

They can't be together anymore, and life is not long. She should have understood from the beginning that this is a person she shouldn't fall in love with, and it will ultimately be a love without a result.

She could no longer hold back and burst into tears. Her once dignified and beautiful face became distorted, and tears meandered down her cheeks. This moment had finally come.

"Please take good care of yourself and remember to eat. Congratulations on your wedding. May you live a hundred years, have a successful career, and have many children and grandchildren."

"yes."

When Fan Zhi went out, she saw that Huang Song had dark circles under his eyes and knew that he must have not slept all night. Now that they had no contact, she didn't want to be as polite to him as before.

"Mr. Huang, congratulations on your wedding. My prince has said that since you are now married, it is inconvenient to continue contacting old acquaintances. Because of your disloyalty to the country and king, and your unfilial behavior towards your parents and brothers, your prince has agreed not to meet from now on. Please keep this."

Fan Zhi handed him the jade pendant along with many old belongings, and added, "His Highness also said, 'Please take care of yourself. I wish you a prosperous career, a long life, and many children and grandchildren!'"

After saying that, he turned around and was about to leave.

"Wait a moment!" He took out a lock of hair, cut it off, and then wrapped it with red thread and gave it to Fan Zhi. "Please bring this to me, young lady."

Fan Zhi glanced at him and said angrily, "Young Master, you got married last night and just had a ceremony with your bride, and now you're here again early this morning. So you think you can just cut your hair and give it away casually?"

【Author’s words】

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