Chapter 78 Yunxi, I was wrong

"Now tell me, why did Yunxi die?" Hongxiu asked, her expression filled with anguish, as she leaned against the coffin. "Why did she choose to burn herself alive rather than live?"

Tears welled up in her eyes again. "What did you do to her, to drive her to this point again?"

Xiao Shenjing's thick eyelashes trembled, and he suddenly turned his head away.

With tears in her eyes, Hongxiu couldn't help but step forward. "She was living a good life in Dali. You insisted on taking her back. And why didn't you treat her well? If you had treated her even a little bit well, she would have repaid you tenfold. But you insisted on driving her to the brink of despair. What did Yunxi owe you? What did she do to offend you that you treated her like this?"

"You are the emperor, the ruler of the world, with immense power. What kind of woman can't you have? If you truly dislike her and despise her, wouldn't it be better to let her go?"

Hongxiu clutched her chest. "Give her back to me. What you discard like trash is someone else's precious treasure, do you know that?"

Do you know?

Faced with the tearful questioning, Xiao Shenjing bent his back, slowly raised his hand, and waved to Fu Shun, "Take him away."

It sounded like a hoarse voice forced out from the throat.

As Hongxiu was led away, she cried and struggled, shouting, "Give Yunxi back to me! Give her back to me!"

The courtyard returned to silence.

"Your Majesty?" Fu Shun looked at his pale profile with concern.

Xiao Shenjing lowered his head, his shoulder blades taut to the limit, and after a few breaths he slowly uttered three words, "Get out."

Fu Shun was worried and wanted to say something, but in the end he dared not say anything and summoned all the palace maids and eunuchs in the courtyard to leave without daring to breathe.

No one would provoke an emperor who holds the power of life and death at such a time.

When he was left alone in the huge courtyard, he could no longer control his emotions. His eyes were bloodshot as he got off the chair, staggered, and finally stood up by holding onto the armrest.

He pressed his chest, his eyes bloodshot, and walked toward the brown coffin.

"Yunxi," he trembled as he reached out to touch her, but just before he could, he abruptly curled his fingers. "I didn't know you would be in so much pain back then. I thought..."

Why?

I thought she was heartless, that being abandoned wouldn't hurt her, and that she could endure any injustice.

So when he met her again, he was so furious and angry at her for concealing and deceiving him, but he never thought about how she had survived those days.

Without Hongxiuzhao, she would have truly died.

He would never have the chance to see her again.

But she never mentioned these things to him.

At this thought, Xiao Shenjing felt as if his internal organs were being squeezed and twisted together.

"Yunxi, why are you so stubborn? If you had told me back then, I definitely would have..."

Certainly what?

Will you definitely believe her?

No, he wouldn't believe it; he would even think she was just lying to him, fooling him.

So she refused to tell him about these past events.

If the scars are exposed, it's just raw, unprotected flesh; any harm can leave her completely battered.

Therefore, she would rather die than reveal it to him.

It's not that I'm too stubborn to show weakness, nor that I'm too foolish to know how to show weakness.

Rather, it's because they don't believe him.

She would rather be punished than reveal her weaknesses or her embarrassing moments to him.

Only now did Xiao Shenjing realize that she really didn't like him anymore.

She wasn't angry or venting; she had truly excluded him from her world.

So I ran away again and again, wanting to get as far away from him as possible.

He, however, thought that sparing her life was already a great honor and a favor, and that she should be grateful to him.

A life of dependence, carefully currying favor, and scheming to win someone's affections.

Ruler and subject, husband and concubine.

What she wanted was never this kind of unequal relationship.

If he had realized his mistake sooner, if he had been more humble and treated her better, they wouldn't have ended up like this.

He pushed her away step by step until she was driven to a dead end.

"Yunxi," Xiao Shenjing cried out in anguish, clutching the edge of the golden nanmu coffin, his head bowed against the coffin as if he could no longer hold on. "Yunxi, I'm sorry."

"sorry"

"sorry"

A sharp, cutting pain choked my throat.

It felt as if surging magma had broken through the fragile ice, scorching his internal organs. He pressed his chest tightly, unable to speak from the pain.

Fu Shun was really worried about Xiao Shenjing and waited outside for an hour but still didn't hear any movement.

He paced back and forth outside, thinking about the Emperor's pale expression just now, a look that Fu Shun had never seen before.

He made up his mind, deciding to ignore everything and go see her even if he was punished.

He was extremely worried about Xiao Shenjing's condition at this moment.

It was a sight he had never seen before, as if it could no longer withstand any disturbance.

Seeing that he was about to push the door open and go in, Dao Yi stopped him, saying, "His Majesty does not allow anyone to enter."

Fu Shun sighed and said anxiously, "Didn't you see how His Majesty looked just now? I'm really worried."

Dao Yi was also speechless.

Fu Shun said, "Would you like to come in with me to see His Majesty?"

Dao Yi agreed to the proposal without any hesitation.

He was really worried about Xiao Shenjing, so he hadn't gone to rest even though it was already past 3 AM.

The two walked together to the entrance of the sleeping quarters.

"Your Majesty," Fu Shun gently knocked on the door of the bedchamber and called out.

There was no movement from inside the door.

The two exchanged a glance, Dao Yi took a deep breath, and gently pushed open the door.

Even though such behavior was outrageous and would be punished, he accepted it.

As long as His Majesty is alright, that's all that matters.

The pale moonlight streamed in through the open door, casting long shadows of the two figures.

Inside the room, most of the candles had already burned out, with only a few remaining, struggling to stay afloat beside the dark coffin, no longer able to illuminate the room at all.

The two people standing by the door realized that Xiao Shenjing was not in the dimly lit room.

The bed was also perfectly flat, with no trace of anyone having slept on it.

Both of them felt a jolt in their hearts, exchanged a glance, and asked, "Where has His Majesty gone?"

Dao Yi disregarded all rules and strode into the bedchamber.

Just as Fu Shun was about to go to another room to look for someone, he saw Dao standing still by the coffin, looking dazed.

The young emperor lay asleep in the dark coffin.

He lay on his side, his body slightly curled up, cradling sections of charred bones in his arms.

After Fu Shun pulled out the knife, he quietly closed the door, and neither of them spoke for a moment.

“His Majesty will overcome this hurdle,” Fu Shun said confidently.

"Yes, His Majesty is so powerful." Dao Yi nodded emphatically.

Xiao Shenjing was the most formidable person he had ever met.

It seemed as if there was nothing he couldn't do. Even when he was framed and plotted against time and time again, he could overcome it all. Even while bleeding, he could still reach the highest peak and receive the world's respect and worship.

“You will definitely get through this. The world needs Your Majesty,” Fu Shun said again.

Dao looked up and glanced at the sky. "It's only half an hour before court begins."

Both of them thought that the court would be suspended today, but before Chenshi (7-9 AM), Xiao Shenjing, who had only slept for an hour, woke up.

He acted as if nothing had happened, calmly changing his clothes and going to court.

But Fu Shun's heart didn't relax at all; instead, it sank even deeper.

He always felt that something was going to happen.

After the court session, Xiao Shenjing finished reviewing the memorials in Yongle Palace, only to find that they had already been reviewed when his hand fell to the ground.

He slowly put down his imperial brush, his gaze falling once more on the golden nanmu coffin not far away.

These days, Xiao Shenjing has hardly had a good night's sleep.

Fu Shun, concerned for his health, suggested, "Your Majesty, why don't you go and rest?"

Before Xiao Shenjing could speak, he suddenly heard a faint commotion outside.

"Let's go see what happened?" Xiao Shenjing said.

Soon, Fu Shun returned.

He glanced at Xiao Shenjing first, then kept his mouth shut and didn't say anything.

Xiao Shenjing was sitting beside the coffin, holding a large pearl with a peach-colored hue in his hand.

"Yunxi," he glanced at the coffin, a faint smile playing on his lips, and said, "What do you think of this pearl?"

As he spoke, he picked up the pearl and held it up to his eye.

"The peach tree is in full bloom, its blossoms are dazzling. I think you would like this pearl." He paused, then suddenly became interested, glanced at the coffin again, and said, "How about I have someone find another one to adorn your embroidered shoes?"

The house was as silent as a grave, so naturally no one paid him any attention.

Xiao Shenjing, however, did not care at all. He turned around and said, "Fushun, go and find me another bead like this."

Fu Shun breathed a sigh of relief and quickly turned to leave.

Just as he reached the door, the emperor's voice rang out behind him again: "What just happened?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Fu Shun's shoulders slumped.

Even though he was unwilling, he dared not deceive the emperor, so he could only turn around and reply, "Your Majesty, the woman named Hongxiu who trespassed into Chang Le Palace has been asked to leave."

A mere commoner, I don't know where he got the audacity to cause trouble in the palace. If it weren't for Consort Yun's sake, he would have been punished long ago.

Xiao Shenjing remained silent for a few moments, then said, "Go and invite her in."

please.

Instead of bringing it in.

This wording startled Fu Shun, but he quickly lowered his head, bowed, and withdrew.

When Hongxiu entered, Xiao Shenjing was sitting at the Eight Immortals Table.

"Sit down." He pointed to the stool opposite him.

Hongxiu stared at the golden nanmu coffin, but didn't move.

Xiao Shenjing didn't mind. He tucked his sleeves in, poured a cup of tea, pushed it to the opposite side, and then lowered his eyelashes to pick up the cup himself.

The fingers holding the cup reflected the light filtering through the window, making even the fingernails appear as translucent as celadon after rain.

He appeared to have regained his composure, his expression calm and his demeanor dignified, clearly having recovered from the pain of the previous night.

The most ruthless are those in the imperial family.

Cold-hearted and indifferent, never swayed by personal feelings for one's children.

Hongxiu smiled sneer, her face full of mockery.

Then, she knelt down and kowtowed deeply, saying, "Your Majesty."

The emperor held his teacup, neither moving nor speaking.

"Please allow me to take Yunxi away."

Xiao Shenjing seemed not to hear him, his expression indifferent and unmoved.

Hongxiu gritted her teeth and kowtowed heavily again.

He pressed his head against his arm, bowed, and said through tears, "Yunxi is dead."

Xiao Shenjing suddenly gripped the teacup in his hand tightly.

"The dead cannot be brought back to life; only burial can bring peace, not this humiliation of exposing the corpse. I beg Your Majesty to grant my request."

After a long silence, the emperor's voice descended from above.

"Get up."

Hongxiu stood up and couldn't help but lower her head and rub her eyes.

Xiao Shenjing said calmly, "Tell me about Yunxi's past."

Hongxiu suddenly looked up, as if she hadn't heard what she meant.

So Xiao Shenjing repeated, "Tell me about Yunxi's past."

After he finished speaking, he even smiled at Hongxiu with a slight upturn of his lips.

He was clearly smiling.

He was described as having a face as handsome as jade and a unique and exceptional appearance.

But Hongxiu found the expression rather creepy.

But she didn't have time to think about those things; she couldn't afford to anger the emperor.

Only he could spare Hongxiuzhao and let her take Yunxi away.

So that Yunxi might not be trapped in this world after her death and not have a good end.

Hongxiu stood by the octagonal table, reminiscing about the past, her expression momentarily dazed.

After a long while, she finally spoke slowly: "Back then, when I was passing by Wugong Mountain with Kan Hua, who later became Yunxi's adoptive mother, we happened to encounter Yunxi, who had rolled down the mountain. At the time, she was being chased by a group of masked men."

“Wugong Mountain?” Xiao Shenjing suddenly interrupted her.

He stared at Hongxiu with a strange look in his eyes.

Hongxiu nodded. "Back then, Kan Hua was already married, but she had no children. I heard that the Taoist temple on Wugong Mountain is very efficacious."

"What year did you go?" Xiao Shenjing interrupted her again, his voice even carrying a hint of barely suppressed urgency.

Hongxiu didn't notice Xiao Shenjing's expression. She lowered her eyes and thought carefully for a moment, "It should be the summer of the twenty-seventh year of Jingquan."

Xiao Shenjing then asked, "Does she have a piece of jade?"

No one noticed that the emperor's fingers, which were holding the jade cup, were trembling almost imperceptibly.

Hongxiu paused, then asked curiously, "How did Your Majesty know?"

With a "crack," the porcelain shattered.

When Hongxiu looked up, she saw the young emperor suddenly arch his back in spasm and dry heave.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he was gagging while pounding his chest as if he were in so much pain he couldn't breathe.

"Your Majesty, quickly summon the imperial physician!" Fu Shun was terrified and rushed to Xiao Shenjing's side.