Chapter 81

Sang Yu held Ling Wu tightly, trying to awaken her only remaining relative in the world.

She lowered her head, tears falling like beads onto Lingwu's cheeks, and she raised her hand to wipe them away...

"Ayu is a good-for-nothing. Ayu has tainted my elder sister..."

"Royal sister, please open your eyes and look at Ayu, okay?"

“Ayu brought a chess set. You can have as many pieces as you want, Your Highness. I will never say anything to you again… Your Highness, I was wrong… I will play chess with you every day from now on…”

"Ayu, Ayu has lost her elder sister... What will become of Ayu now?"

She cried out in anguish, but received no response.

Clearly...

Everything was salvaged!

Nothing happened, and things didn't turn out the way they did in that dream, so why...?

Why did she still die within the predetermined trajectory of fate?

"Thud—" Hearing the sound of the tray falling to the ground, Sang Yu still didn't go to investigate.

The bowl containing the herbal medicine was shattered into pieces!

The bitter taste of the medicine was inhaled by Sang Yu into his nasal cavity.

She finally came to her senses, her hands trembling as she held Ling Wu, her eyes bloodshot as she stared intently at Lu Chengfeng!

"What did you do to my elder sister?!"

Lu Chengfeng looked bewildered and helpless. "Your Majesty... what's wrong?" His Majesty had just instructed him to fetch the medicine, and he had only been gone a short while...

He thought that His Majesty had finally forgiven him.

"Guards!!!" Sang Yu's eyes were bloodshot, filled with hatred and killing intent!

It was him! She should have killed him if she'd known!

By the time the servants arrived, the blood on Lingwu's face had been gently wiped away by Sangyu.

The rain outside had stopped, but the moon still hadn't appeared, and its light hadn't shone down.

Like the scene in that dream, it was exactly gloomy.

In the end, she

He still died on the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival, when there was no moonlight.

Ling Wu's eyes were closed, and the corners of her lips were slightly raised.

As always, she remained indifferent yet gentle.

Qianqing's body went limp. Jingzhe tried to support him, but he pushed her away. Then, he staggered and knelt down beside Lingwu.

He raised his hand and placed his fingers in front of Lingwu's breath.

After a long while, a tear rolled down and soaked Lingwu's clothes.

Qianqing slowly reached out and covered Lingwu's pale, cold cheek, gently stroking her face. He buried his head in her neck and murmured:

"Your Majesty, we haven't even tasted the plum wine yet. Didn't you say you would like it?"

As she spoke, tears slid down to her lips, salty and bitter.

"Your Majesty, Ah Qing loves you so much! Your Majesty, can you hear me? Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and Ah Qing still wants to give Your Majesty a little prince... Your Majesty, what will become of Ah Qing in the future?"

"What should we do, Ah Qing?"

He murmured to himself over and over again, but he could not wake her up.

Yun Ji stumbled forward, knelt down, and saw Ling Wu's chest, which remained flat and still.

"How could this be?" He blinked silently, letting large tears roll down his cheeks.

She is an empress.

Her strategic acumen and talent were unparalleled; she saved so many civilians and soldiers.

They even pulled him out of that quagmire...

She's so capable, why couldn't she save herself?

Yun Ji's lips trembled, and tears welled up in her eyes.

In contrast, Xi Ruoyu was much calmer. He steadied his mind, tried to suppress the tightness in his chest, and tried to control himself from looking at Ling Wu.

"What's the deal with Lu Chengfeng?" His voice was cold, his words waking the person from their reverie.

Sang Yu's temples were faintly turning gray before he slowly shifted his gaze away from Ling Wu's face.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, he couldn't stop coughing. The strong sweet and fishy smell was nothing compared to the heart-wrenching pain in his chest.

"...Just like in that dream, he coughed...he poisoned him."

After saying that, he pointed to the headmaster kneeling to the side and said, "Speak."

Xi Ruoyu and the others followed the gaze, and the head of the hospital couldn't help but choke up, "I found arsenic in the broken bowl of medicine."

Lu Chengfeng was pinned to the ground, unable to move. When the cloth was removed from his mouth, he said in a hoarse voice, "I would never harm His Majesty! She must have gone back!"

Then she murmured softly, "Yes! I'm going back! If I die, I can go back..."

If he dies, he can return to the modern era, or go to another era to meet His Majesty!

Hearing his murmur, Yun Ji instantly remembered Ling Wu's words that day, "from where," and he got up and grabbed Lu Chengfeng by the collar.

Her once clear eyes were now filled with hatred!

"Where are you going back to? Where exactly is the 'place' His Majesty mentioned that day!?"

Yun Ji became increasingly anxious as he asked questions, but Lu Chengfeng suddenly revealed a strange and sinister smile.

Where is he going back to?

That day, he crossed the spatial barrier, came to this world, and came to her side. Heaven gave him a chance to start over, but he messed it up again.

“You can never go there.” He suddenly curled his lips into a smile. “But if I die… perhaps I can see His Majesty.”

He was about to bite his tongue as soon as he finished speaking, but Zi Sangqi, who had been silent all along, grabbed his chin, stuffed a dark pill into his mouth, and then stuffed it with a cloth.

Lu Chengfeng's struggles were futile, and Zi Sang abandoned her composure, sneering:

"Dying is easy, but preventing you from dying is even easier."

From now on, even the slightest touch will cause him the agony of being devoured by a thousand ants and torn to pieces.

After he finished speaking, he tossed the bottle in his hand to Sang Yu, saying, "One per month."

The Quanrong royal family's Bone-Shattering Pill, once ingested, must not be touched, precisely to prevent those with grave sins from seeking death.

After all, even a slight touch would be worse than death, let alone suicide? Besides, these people wouldn't let him die.

He will suffer all kinds of physical pain in his life!

Want to follow His Majesty? Ha, no one here will allow it!

Zi Sangqi walked towards Ling Wu. The cold fragrance remained, but Qingqing was gone.

He held Ling Wu's icy hand, looked at her familiar face, and could no longer maintain his composure; his eyes welled up with tears.

He took out the crudely made, carelessly stitched purse in his hand. "Your Majesty, you promised not to dislike Aqi. This is Aqi's first time embroidering a purse. As you know, Aqi has never been good at these kinds of delicate things, Aqi..."

He could no longer maintain his composure and choked out a sob.

“Aqi…”

"Will Aqi be able to drink the herbal soup you prepare every day again next time? Aqi... what should we do if Aqi gets carsick again? Aqi..."

Ke Lingwu had already stopped breathing; her body gradually grew cold, and there was no more breath.

She could kill even that mad horse in an instant, as if she were a god. No matter when, she was always the center of attention. Even the splendor of the entire palace could not compare to the tenderness in her eyes!

But why was his death so silent and still?

He didn't even have a partner by his side.

"Your Majesty, are you cold? Shall I warm you up?"

"Aqi has arrived, Aqi... I'll take you back to Quanrong!"

Looking at the black and white chess pieces scattered on the ground, Sang Yu's eyes stung with tears, filled with sorrow.

What should she do?

Even her only elder sister didn't want her anymore...

Xi Ruoyu calmly instructed the palace servants to clean up the mess on the floor, and then coldly stopped Zi Sangqi when he went mad and tried to take Ling Wu away:

"Leaves fall back to their roots, do you intend to prevent your wife from finding peace after death?"

As the death knell tolled, Qianqing cried and protested, "His Majesty hasn't left! You're cursing His Majesty! He's been so good to you! I think you're just eager to have your daughter ascend the throne!"

But Xi Ruoyu coldly raised her hand and said, "Take the Imperial Noble Consort away."

"Xi Ruoyu! Your heart is so cold!!"

A moment later, the death knell tolled.

On the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival, a time for family reunions, everyone's eyes were filled with sorrow.

After turning around, Xi Ruoyu's ever-straight back bent slightly for a moment. He leaned against the wall, finally forcing back the tears in his eyes, and then returned to the Phoenix Palace step by step.

He stayed up all night by candlelight and finally finished embroidering the long skirt covered with bamboo leaf patterns.

But the verdant bamboo leaves were stained black by the tears.

He wanted to raise the child, he wanted to travel all over the Qi Dynasty, and he wanted to tell his wife about every mountain, river, tree, and blade of grass.

Those scalding tears could no longer be controlled and rolled down their cheeks.

"My lady, could you help Ruoyu wipe herself? Ruoyu really wants to come and keep you company..."

June

Qianqing dug out plum wine and, imitating Lingwu's manner of drinking peach blossom wine that day, brought one cup to her lips.

I didn't sleep a wink all night.

The cicadas chirped incessantly outside the window, but he seemed oblivious to it.

"Aqing, please pour me some wine."

"Your Majesty, the plum wine is delicious."

"Your Majesty, what kind of wine should A-Qing bury this year? What kind of wine would Your Majesty like to drink?"

"Your Majesty, A-Qing is drunk. A-Qing... seems to have seen you."

Qianqing raised her eyes and stared at the bright moon that cast its clear light across the ground.

"Your Majesty, you are so kind, so kind that you have stolen A-Qing's heart."

"The Empress doesn't love you; only A-Qing loves you the most. In the next life, Your Majesty, may you meet A-Qing first?"

“Aqing can also learn from Xi Ruoyu…Aqing, you can learn.”

He could give up everything to learn the words and actions of the person he hated most.

He wanted nothing more; he would never be jealous again if His Majesty liked someone...

Qianqing lay face down on the table, sobbing softly.

The plum wine in the other cup remained untouched.