Chapter 299

"You'll find out later." Ling Wu casually inserted the silver hairpin with a bell she had bought into her hair.

He stopped and looked up at the giant python on the horizon.

Under the curtain of rain, even the giant python's enormous form appeared incredibly small.

A bolt of lightning struck the giant python from the sky!

"Boom!"

With just one strike, the giant python's attempt to fly was cleaved back to the ground, followed by a second, a third...

Linlang was immersed in the joy of Lingwu putting a hairpin in her hair; Yuehui was worried about Suisui, so every clap of thunder made her soul tremble.

"If you keep chopping, we won't get to eat roasted snake meat." Lingluo watched longingly, patting her chest every now and then, and sighed, "The three of us must never do anything bad again!"

After a full eighty-one strikes, the heavenly lightning slowly receded, and the dark clouds that had gathered gradually drifted away to other places.

"I wonder if it's really dead or not. I want to eat roasted snake meat," Lingluo muttered to herself.

“Then let’s go take a look,” Ling Wu decided decisively.

When they arrived again, the area within a radius of fifty miles was barren, with only a deep pit about fifteen feet in size, which had been struck by lightning, in the very center of the lightning tribulation.

The mansion, like the Prince of Yong, vanished completely, and the giant python was reduced to ashes, its shape barely discernible from the ashes.

"It really turned to ashes! But even ashes, it wouldn't dare come to Your Highness, otherwise I would have scattered all its ashes!" Lingluo leaned close to Lingwu, lowered her head, and asked for praise.

Lingluo, who had just received a pat on the head from Lingwu, cupped her warm little face and began looking for Suisui.

Following the scent, they found her a hundred meters away, but all that accompanied her was a snow-white robe; there was no sign of the rabbit.

“This…” Yuehui didn’t know what to do.

"The rabbit died saving Sui Sui?" Lingluo guessed. "Is Sui Sui still alive?"

As she spoke, she squatted down.

Lingwu looked over as well and saw the girl open her eyes in a daze under the red glow of the silk robe.

She glanced warily at everyone before slowly coming to her senses, her eyes filled with a bewildered look as if she didn't know what day it was.

Yet, for some reason, the look in her eyes when she looked at Ling Wu was incredibly complicated.

A complex mix of emotions, including shame, guilt, regret, self-blame, and even a hint of rabbit-like devotion.

The next moment, she lowered her head, not daring to meet Ling Wu's gaze, and murmured, "I was wrong..."

"What's wrong?" Lingluo asked.

Sui Sui lowered her head and muttered to herself, "Wrong, all wrong."

Seeing that she couldn't give a coherent answer, Lingluo simply gave up and asked about the rabbit's whereabouts, "Where is the rabbit?"

Sui Sui kept her head down, not saying a word, and her hand rested on the snow-white robe.

At that cry of "rabbit," she clutched her snow-white robe tightly, burst into tears, and then fainted.

Lingluo immediately stood up and stepped back, "Your Highness, this servant did not push her!"

Lingwu stared at Sui Sui for a moment, as if she had figured out some clues.

Yuehui, with a headache, explained to Lingluo, "No one said you pushed her... You, never mind, you take her with you, we can go back to the palace with the Empress."

City gate

The dark clouds on the horizon gradually dispersed, and the torrential rain began to subside.

The eighty-one claps of thunder were a clear indication of the unusual situation today, and some people in the city were already wearing mournful faces.

Throughout history, unusual celestial phenomena have always foreshadowed major events, especially if these events are bad...

Have you all heard that someone in the palace is plotting a rebellion today?

"I heard about it. I also heard that when the rain came, it washed away all the blood in the palace! The ground outside the palace gates was covered in blood, and those who saw it had nightmares for seven days afterward!"

"Really? Could it be that this is what angered the heavens?"

"I'm not sure, I only heard it from others, but it seems pretty accurate now..."

"No matter what, they are still blood relatives, so why did that person have to be so ruthless! Now, the heavens are enraged, and it is we, the common people, who suffer!"

When Shi Sheng, who was at the city gate, heard this rumor, he let out a sneer.

"It seems that I am indeed ruthless. In that case, after I have finished paying my respects to the Empress Dowager, I will not kill him."

The meaning of "Shisheng" is unclear, "We should at least give them a break before mentioning anything else."

Zhang Cheng echoed this.

As they were talking, a carriage slowly approached from a distance, right before everyone's eyes.

Without hesitation, Shi Sheng personally greeted her and took Ling Wu off the carriage.

After looking Ling Wu up and down to see if she was alright, his gaze lingered on the area around her neck where several silk handkerchiefs were tied.

He wanted to ask, but when Ling Wu gently shook her head, he shut up and looked away.

As the two entered the city gate together, Lingwu loosened her grip on the handkerchief, and the fingertips of the group of people behind her twitched slightly in response.

The next instant, the sky was filled with rosy clouds, purple clouds came from the east, and the scene appeared prominently on the horizon!

The city, the emperor standing with his hands behind his back, and the empress dowager stepping behind him.

"This...this..." Someone's voice became hoarse, clearly shocked beyond words by what they saw.

Zhang Cheng, however, reacted quickly: "This is Heaven's blessing upon our dynasty!"

After saying this, he raised his hands high and kowtowed devoutly, his voice booming: "Long live His Majesty! Long live His Majesty! Long live the Empress Dowager!"

The initial anxiety of the crowd dissipated into excitement at this extraordinary sight.

Ignoring the damp ground, they all kowtowed, shouting, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empress Dowager!"

Even though Shi Sheng's face showed some joy, he was in a high position and had been trained by the late emperor for several years to be able to quickly control his emotions.

Thus, amidst the continuous cries of "Long live the Emperor!", he calmly returned to the palace with Lingwu.

He had many questions for Lingwu, but in the end, looking at her tired eyes and her neck that was covered, he chose to give up.

Ling Wu, however, took the initiative to ask, "Don't you want to know what happened?"

Shi Sheng nodded, then shook his head, "Right now, your health should be the priority."

He didn't know what had happened, but even from a hundred miles away, he could feel the wrath of heaven and earth, let alone her near the thunderstorm.

“Then it’s not too late to reminisce after His Majesty has dealt with the palace coup.” Ling Wu said as she stepped into Chonghua Palace.

Shi Sheng watched her retreating figure and suddenly asked, "Do you regret it?"

Ling Wu turned around, puzzled: "Regret what?"

Shi Sheng saw peace, compassion, and gentleness in her eyes, but not the regret he had expected.

What is there to regret?

She naturally regretted choosing him back then, but now he has abandoned her between the two.

Lingwu untied the handkerchief, smiling, "I do regret it."

Shi Sheng lowered his eyes, feeling as if a huge boulder was pressing down on his heart.

Lingwu then continued, "I regret not taking more guards with me when I left the palace. I don't know when this scar will disappear."

She knew that this wasn't what Shi Sheng was asking, but if she said she regretted choosing him, it would only create discord between them.

It would be better to misinterpret its meaning, which would both thaw the frozen relationship and prevent the hurt from being in vain.

The snow that fell on Chonghua Palace condensed into ice crystals under the torrential rain. She stood under the blue eaves, wearing a green dress and cloak, and smiled sweetly.