Chapter 46 Chapter 46 Attending the Banquet at Shura Field

Lingchuan stayed where he was, looking at Gu Shi's back from afar.

Indeed, he didn't trust her, and she wasn't worthy of his trust.

She walked to the dressing mirror and ran a finger over the bottle of fake death medicine.

The white porcelain bottle shook gently, making a tinkling sound.

She knew that Gu Shi's intuition was always accurate, but she also knew that he would still do the same as before... nothing.

He just kept running away.

Lingchuan woodenly took out a bunch of incense from the drawer, gently pinched out three sticks, lit them in the flickering candlelight, and inserted them into the incense burner.

She clasped her hands together and closed her eyes, like a vicious woman praying to Buddha to eliminate her karma.

If Gu Shi was willing to come back before the incense burned out, she would quietly throw the fake death drug into the water and never have any second thoughts.

If he doesn't reply...

Lingchuan opened his eyes and saw the light spots above the three incense sticks flickering faintly, like three eyes peeping in the dark.

Outside the window, sparrows were chirping under the glazed tiles, and a cat's cry scared all the birds away.

A stick of incense had not yet burned out, it broke halfway and stuck in the incense burner like a crooked tree.

The remaining two incense sticks were half burned, with a heavy pile of ash above their heads, continuing to burn quietly.

The fragrance was very annoying, sometimes making Lingchuan sober and sometimes making him dazed.

She dozed off while standing in front of the incense burner. After an unknown amount of time, she opened her eyes, pulled out a golden hairpin from her head and fiddled with the incense ash at the bottom of the burner.

In the incense burner were three incense sticks, and the bodies were in a mess, mixed together by the golden hairpin, you in me and me in you.

She looked back and saw that the hall was empty, like a mouth with all its teeth and tongue pulled out.

A gust of wind made Lingchuan shiver, and the coldness almost penetrated into her bones.

Until midnight, Lingchuan still hadn't seen any sign of Gu Shi.

She fell asleep alone on the bed, the coldness in her body rising up little by little, and she couldn't help but twitch.

The next day, she ordered Qingye to boil a pot of water that was hotter than usual, intending to take a good hot bath.

Soaking in the hot water, all the coldness disappeared.

Qingye walked in slowly, carrying an incense burner shaped like a lucky beast, with wisps of smoke coming out of the beast's mouth.

When Lingchuan smelled the fragrance, he felt dizzy and vaguely saw sparks of fire in the beast's eyes.

The chill crept up her spine again.

"Take out the incense burner!"

Lingchuan cursed.

"This aroma makes me want to vomit."

Qingye quickly took the incense burner out.

"My Lady, if you don't like this fragrance, I will change it."

"I don't want to see the incense burner! Bring me the blanket!"

Lingchuan came out of the bathtub, and Qingye quickly covered her with a heavy blanket.

"Bring me a thicker blanket."

Her lower lip was purple and she was shivering.

Lingchuan crawled into the quilt and lay on the bed. He felt cold on the outside of his skin and hot on the inside. His ribs were painful and he felt drowsy.

Qingye placed a thick blanket under her head to absorb the moisture from her hair, and then carefully dried her hair bit by bit with fine cloth.

After drying her hair, she soaked her hair in thick essential oil to nourish it.

"Your Majesty, your hair is so beautiful...it's really as black as clouds."

Qingye's voice turned into tiny, blurry fragments when it reached Lingchuan's ears, pricking her ears.

"Be quiet."

She fell asleep in a daze.

For three consecutive days, Lingchuan didn't see Gu Shi, and she didn't think of him.

Only the faint light of the three incense sticks remained, often appearing before her eyes.

Lingchuan was lying on the bed, only hearing the occasional light and heavy footsteps.

Four or five maids came in carrying heavy silk. Suddenly they shook the silk in their hands, and Lingchuan realized that it was ready-made clothes.

"Madam, please take a look. Which one would you like to wear to the banquet?"

The patterns on it were too complicated and the colors were too bright. The sunlight shone in at an angle and fell on the ready-made clothes, emitting several colors. Even though she was tired of silk and satin, it was the first time she had seen such fabric.

But she felt dizzy and nauseous after looking at it.

"Why don't you let me choose the fabric before you cut the clothes?"

"Anyway, you're the only one who needs this kind of fabric, so the rest is all yours. I'll just cut them into different patterns and you can wear them as you please."

Lingchuan sighed. No matter how beautiful the clothes were, they were for others to see, and she herself couldn't see them.

She pointed casually and said:

"I'll just wear the blue one."

"Why don't you try them all and pick for a while longer?"

The palace maid was a little surprised. She thought that any girl would not be able to help but try on such beautiful clothes one by one.

"No, I'm too tired."

The feeling of alternating cold and heat still lingered in Lingchuan's skin. Her skin was burning hot, but her teeth were chattering.

"Please try this one on. If it doesn't fit, we tailors can alter it."

The tailor was quite confident in his craftsmanship and was also very arrogant. He did not call himself a servant. Lingchuan did not care. He just stretched out his hand and let the girls put the clothes on her.

Qingye diligently brought a floor-length mirror. Lingchuan took a look at it, felt it was a bit dazzled, and looked away.

"It is a blessing for this dress to be worn by a beauty like you."

The tailor couldn't help but admire it, and her eyes lit up.

"Um... please help me take off my clothes and put them away. I want to rest for a while."

Qingye helped her lie down on the bed, and Lingchuan felt confused.

The maid brought a few more headgear for her to choose from. She was just dazed, covered her face with a handkerchief and said:

"Whatever, it's all the same, we'll talk about it later."

After saying that, Lingchuan fell asleep, but not very comfortably.

She felt herself awake and tried to open her eyes, but she couldn't move at all, not even open her eyes.

She struggled hard, but to no avail, as if her soul was trapped in this body.

After an unknown amount of time, she finally woke up, sat up suddenly, and gasped for breath while holding her chest.

She was finally able to regain control of her body, it was like surviving a catastrophe.

"My Lady, it's time to get ready for the banquet."

Several palace maids fetched water and helped her wash and comb her hair, draw her eyebrows and eyes, and then put on the blue dress for her.

Lingchuan felt that the nightmare had come back to her again. Her eyes, hands, and feet were all out of control and were being moved around like toys.

She just passively allowed others to apply black powder, a kind of plant tribute from the Western Regions, on her eyelids.

"Your eyes are so beautiful, and they complement the black lines so well. I can't pull off this look with my puffy eyes."

A palace maid looked into her eyes and sighed.

She began to play with her hair again. Thanks to Qingye's meticulous care, her hair was not tangled at all and was so smooth that it seemed to melt in her palms.

Even though her technique was very gentle, the complete set of headdress still felt heavy and uncomfortable when worn on her head.

"It's so dazzling."

"Is it appropriate to dress like this for a party?"

Lingchuan frowned.

"This was all your Majesty's idea. Your love and affection are truly extraordinary and enviable... This is a blessing that not many people possess..."

The palace maid smiled sweetly, as if she saw a pair of fairy lovers in love.

Lingchuan could only sigh helplessly and swallow all her complaints back into her stomach. It was impossible for her to enjoy all the glory and wealth while complaining to the palace maids who followed her around.

She smiled bitterly, thinking that she was always complaining and hating herself because of love affairs between men and women, and she even despised herself for being so pretentious.

Sitting in the eight-man sedan chair, Lingchuan could only straighten her back silently and look forward. She was being lifted high by the crowd. She was afraid of falling accidentally, and she felt uncomfortable because of the excessive value of these gorgeous and dazzling items on her body.

Lingchuan was almost holding her breath. She sat like a statue being worshipped, like a valuable property, not like a living woman.

After getting off the sedan chair carried by eight people and getting on the carriage, Lingchuan felt like an object that had been carefully packed and carried up and down for fear of being bumped or scratched.

The carriage was filled with expensive incense, which made her feel dizzy and nauseous. In order to avoid being disrespectful, she had to swallow an antiemetic pill.

She hadn't had time to drink water for a long time, and her throat was dry. She stretched her neck several times before she could barely swallow the pill.

The heavy jewelry on her head made her scalp swell, and the roots of her hair had to be combed against the direction of hair flow, causing dull pain inside her head.

On both sides of the river, there was no one to be found except the guards holding golden axes, bronze spears and silver lances.

There was a huge cruise ship parked on the river, and only bursts of sounds of sheng, pipes, xiao and flutes could be heard.

Brand new lanterns are placed on the water, pink, orange and golden colors are dotted on the river, rising and falling with the ripples, like flowers gently blown by the wind.

A real gust of wind came and simply overturned several lamps, soaking the petals in the river and drowning them silently.

Lingchuan got off the carriage and saw that Gu Shi looked pale and thinner.

He stretched out a bony hand to her. Lingchuan was stunned for a moment and had to put her hand on his, with a soft fake smile on her face, pretending to be virtuous and harmonious.

He took her hand and slowly walked onto the boat.

When the ministers saw them, they either knelt or bowed, not daring to look directly at her face. Even those who were too old to do so tremblingly saluted her.

Lingchuan only heard the voices of "Greetings to Her Majesty the Queen" over and over again. She forced a smile and accepted the old lady's gift.

She couldn't describe what she felt in her heart, she just felt the powder on her face melt away and cold sweat seeped out of her back.

Until he saw a person, Lingchuan's smile froze on his face and he felt cold all over and shivering.

It was Qin Sizhao. He knelt down in front of her happily and bowed deeply.

"Greetings to Her Majesty the Queen."

Lingchuan only heard this sentence.

"Lingchuan, what are you standing there for? Tell my beloved minister to stop being polite."

Gu Shi pinched her chin and spoke in her ear in a pretentiously affectionate tone.

To others, this may seem like an intimate act between a husband and wife, but Lingchuan knows that this is a complete threat and warning.