Chapter 279

Song Xuan landed with Shen Qingnian in his arms, once again acting as a cushion. The difference this time was that he was not injured, and at the moment of landing, he skillfully dissipated most of the force of the fall.

Therefore, he only fell to the ground and was not injured.

After the two fell, Shen Qingnian was startled. Fearing that she had hurt Song Xuan, she immediately asked, "Your Majesty, are you injured?"

As she spoke, she got up to check on the other person's body.

Song Xuan also stood up and stopped Shen Qingnian's movements: "I'm fine. I used some internal energy when I fell, so I wasn't injured."

Shen Qingnian breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. The hall was pitch black. She looked at the man and said, "I want to see what this hall looks like."

She had just heard from two eunuchs that Song Xuan had stayed here before, so she wanted to take a look.

A moment later, two palace lanterns were lit up inside the hall.

Shen Qingnian and Song Xuan each carried a lamp in their hands, and walked one after the other to the wooden cabinet.

“Qing Nian,” Song Xuan’s tone was somewhat bitter; he didn’t want Qing Nian to see those blood paintings.

Those were his works of madness, used to vent his emotions. They were not well drawn, but they were also extremely creepy.

Shen Qingnian noticed Song Xuan's complicated expression and said softly, "I want to see."

Since she had already spoken up, even though Song Xuan was unwilling, he took the initiative to step forward and help her open the wooden cabinet.

As the cabinet door opened, Shen Qingnian smelled a faint scent of rust emanating from it. The fact that she could smell this indicated that the blood painting was not very old.

Even if the other party initially drew the blood-stained picture because they couldn't accept my departure, it's been three years, so why is there still a bloody smell...?

She asked, her voice trembling slightly, "When was the last time you painted this blood picture?"

"After discovering the truth, I was filled with rage, so I made another one..." Song Xuan answered honestly.

He painted that picture when he was having an attack, but he didn't mention it. Now that Qing Nian has returned, he won't have an attack anymore, and he doesn't need to let her know so that he won't feel any extra guilt.

Shen Qingnian's heart trembled. She took out all the scrolls from the wooden cabinet and put them all on the table.

The table was piled high with scrolls of all shapes and sizes, and two swaying palace lanterns were placed beside them, illuminating them slightly.

The palace lanterns cast flickering light on Shen Qingnian's face. After taking a deep breath, she picked up a scroll from the table and unfurled it.

As she moved, the portrait painted with blood was revealed.

It was a picture of her sitting on the swing, laughing. It looked so lifelike that it even seemed to shimmer slightly under the swaying palace lanterns.

“This painting was done six months after you left, and I added some gold powder to it,” the man’s voice sounded behind her.

This painting was created with blood mixed with gold powder, and the painting tool was changed from his fingers to a wolf-hair brush. At that time, he seemed to be somewhat insane.

After finishing his daily official duties, he would become engrossed in these paintings, and for a long time his arm was wrapped in gauze.

Looking at the painting, Shen Qingnian felt a mix of emotions. The painting was different from what she had imagined; it was far too exquisite. It was hard to imagine what the man's state of mind was when he created it...

Then she opened another painting, which was much rougher, but it was still painted with a wolf hair brush.