Chapter 111 It made no difference to Xie Ju whether he lived or died.

Songheju has been uninhabited for many years since Song Xieqing went to Yingdu to take up an official post. Most of the servants in the house have left, leaving only a small number of elderly people who have served for a long time and have settled down there.

Inside Hanlangxuan, the room was silent and quiet.

The itinerant doctor withdrew his three fingers from taking Song Xieqing's pulse and removed the several silver needles stuck in his forehead. Seeing this, Zhu Hao hurried forward and asked softly, "What's wrong?"

This doctor had traveled around the Zhou Kingdom for many years, and with his miraculous hands that could rejuvenate people, he had visited monarchs of various countries to diagnose illnesses. This time, when he passed through Huaicheng, Zhu Hao spared no expense and visited him three times before finally inviting him into his residence.

"Madam, the City Lord looks haggard, with a dark complexion on his forehead. I, an old man of limited talent and incompetence, dare not rashly conclude that the City Lord is healthy, but..." The traveling doctor stroked his goatee, pondered for a moment, and met Zhu Hao's worried eyes. "Based on my limited medical skills, at least I have not detected any signs of poisoning in the City Lord, nor any signs of a terminal illness. Madam, please seek further advice."

I wish you could take a deep breath, but the other half is still stuck in your heart.

Yes, since Song Xieqing had resigned and returned to Huai, Song You was impatient to hand over the position of city lord to him. Song Xieqing naturally did not refuse in order to pass through Qing Army. Now everything seemed to be settled, but Song Xieqing was getting thinner and thinner, and his face was haggard. Last night... she even caught him vomiting blood that soaked his handkerchief. Even now, Song Xieqing still wanted to hide it from her!

Zhu Hao has consulted dozens of doctors, but for some reason... none of them have given a conclusive answer.

The traveling doctor gave some advice on how to regulate breathing and maintain health, then left with his medicine box.

Song Xieqing leaned against the pillow, his fingertips gently hooked around Zhu Hao's dangling pinky. "Have you seen it? I told you it was fine, Pianpian, why are you making such a fuss? If there really was something wrong, why wouldn't a single doctor be able to diagnose it? Even if I can collude with one or two, can I possibly collude with all thirty-six doctors you found?"

Zhu Hao glared at him fiercely and used all his strength to pinch his wrist. "Song Xieqing, do you know what you look like now?"

After saying that, Zhu Hao took a bronze mirror from the table and handed it to Song Xieqing - his face was as pale as paper, he was skinny, his eye sockets were sunken, and there was no trace of blood on his lips.

“…Maybe…”

"Shut up!" Zhu Hao's eyelashes trembled slightly, and he interrupted with a sneer: "Too busy with court affairs? No time to recuperate? Song Xieqing! You've resigned from office for a month! You and I have been back in Huaicheng for more than ten days! I have almost recovered after being buried underground, and how about you? You are getting more haggard every day... Now you look like a ghost who died of starvation..."

Song Xieqing smiled softly, "Why, Madam, do you dislike me now? Do you dislike my frail body, my haggard appearance, or that I'm... no longer capable?"

Zhu Hao covered his sharp mouth with her hand. This man was always frivolous when he talked about important matters. Suddenly, something soft and wet brushed against her palm and then pressed against it. Her face immediately flushed. She angrily dropped her hands and lowered her head, saying in a muffled voice: "How could I dislike you and abandon you? Since the wedding ceremony has been prepared, how can I escape..."

Her voice gradually deepened, and her brows darkened suddenly. "It's just..."

Song Xieqing understood her worries and interlocked his fingers with her hand, which drooped on the mattress. "Mother has always been like this. She's never confined to a large family compound. Even after divorcing my father and remarrying, she never changed her ways. Whether it's Min Yu or me, the days we've spent together with her are few and far between. Mother doesn't like to be confined to one place, and has traveled extensively for years. It's not surprising that she's not in Huaicheng now."

"Because I know my mother's temperament, there's no need to find her to officiate the wedding ceremony. If she wishes to return, she will do so of her own accord. No one can hold her back..." He paused, then smiled slightly. "If she finds a new world outside and doesn't return... that's a good thing, too."

Zhu Hao lay quietly on his chest, how could she not understand?

She just couldn't understand why. According to her original destiny, her mother should have died in the Huai River. If so, shouldn't her be in Huaicheng? Could it be that even her fate and whereabouts had changed unconsciously?

A thin thread suddenly fell from the spiritual platform, and Zhu Hao took the opportunity to grab it. When Song Xieqing was a god, he once mentioned to her that his mother was also not an ordinary person. Zhu Hao couldn't help but think of Awu. Now the military advisor of Qing Kingdom is really... What's the mystery behind it?

She racked her brains but was unable to untangle the tail thread from the tangled ball of threads. As she pondered over it, she felt a slight pain in her forehead. However, she changed her mind and realized that at least she had prevented a few disasters. Now the five small countries were being defeated by the cavalry of the Qing and Ying armies, and even Dara had to retreat to the deeper wilderness to recuperate. Therefore, there would never be another massacre in Huaicheng, he and his brothers would not become enemies, his mother would not jump into the water for no apparent reason, and Song Xieqing... would not have to commit suicide, right?

That’s good enough.

The two of them stared at each other in silence, letting the dusk filtering through the window linger on their gazes, until a soft voice came from outside the small pavilion, "Madam, Princess Suiping requests an audience."

Zhu Hao raised his eyes and met Song Xieqing's gentle gaze. "The Daqing army will set out tomorrow. Since the princess has decided to follow the Qing army to Yingdu, she wanted to say goodbye to you in person."

Jiang Lin often drank tea and chatted with Cheng Zi, and strolled through the streets of Huaicheng. Although the princess could not speak, the two of them had a tacit understanding.

Zhu Hao straightened her skirt and was welcomed into the flower hall. She saw Jiang Lin throwing fish food into the water jade jar. In the small space, red carp danced. It was said that the carp was a little favorite given to Shuanzi by the late emperor, but he asked Shuanzi to pull off most of the fish scales and throw them into the winter pond. When the princess saw it, she tried to save the carp from drowning. As a result, the palace maid followed Jiang Lin and struggled in the winter pond for a long time, but only fished out a few green algae. The princess had a fever for nearly a month. Fortunately, Song Xieqing passed by the winter pond and fished out the koi.

Jiang Lin nodded as a greeting when Zhu Hao entered the hall. After the two sat down, Jiang Lin used sign language, and the accompanying maid relayed the message: "The princess has come here to bid farewell to the madam, and secondly, to take care of the koi in the tank. They've been traveling by car for days, and the fish have become quite thin, with their bellies constantly turning over. The princess would like to ask the madam to take care of them. Once they're settled in the new capital...if their situation is okay, she'll take the fish back."

I naturally accepted the wish, but my mood was like the ripples in a jade jar.

Now that Daying has surrendered, no matter where the new capital is located, it will no longer be the Daying Palace. As the princess of a fallen country, Alin will probably face many constraints.

The two of them played a few rounds of mahjong together in front of the hall. Seeing that it was getting late, Jiang Lin stood up to say goodbye. Before leaving, she took out a piece of flowery paper and had it ground by a maid. Jiang Lin, holding a brush, swished across the paper. In the blink of an eye, a plump and festive little fish appeared on the paper. In the lower right corner, neatly written in small, flowery calligraphy, was the words: "I will entrust you with my graceful care while washing by the water."

Zhu Hao suddenly looked up and stared at the koi fish swimming and spitting bubbles in the water jade tank. She vaguely remembered the pretty woman who had turned into a human form a hundred years later, and laughed out loud.

…

The moon is on the jade branches, and its silver light spreads all over the yard.

Huanzhen and Song Xieqing sat across the table from each other, and he wanted to pour wine into his cup.

Song Xieqing held the wine pot against his chest, "Pianpian won't let me drink."

“…”

Silence is better than words, he has understood the mockery in Huanzhen's eyes.

"You really won't come back to Yingdu with me?" Huanzhen poured himself a cup and drank it all. "The new dynasty has just been established and there are many things to be done. I need someone like Xie Qingjun."

"Really, you know..." Song Xieqing said this but didn't say much.

Zhenzhen raised an eyebrow, "Yes, I know, you know, but she doesn't know... Are you really not going to tell her?"

Seeing the person sitting opposite him fall silent, he chuckled. "Although there's no antidote to Bitu, if you follow me, we might be able to find a way to delay the disease without having to drink more Bitu. After all... this poison was created by me. The fact that you're able to drink it is inextricably linked to me."

It is said that this Bithu is the poison that Shuanzi drank on the eve of his return to China. He needs to drink this poison every three months to temporarily relieve the pain of being tortured to death. However, drinking poison to quench thirst is not sustainable. His body is becoming more and more dry day by day like straw, and has been corroded by the poison for a long time. Every three months, the emperor would send his death waiter to deliver Bithu to Shuanzi. Who would have thought that Shuanzi would be willing to be gnawed and give up half a cup of Bithu to borrow Huaicheng to take Song Xieqing with him to drink the poison.

Isn't it his intention to make life difficult for himself and others as well?

"No need." Song Xieqing's fingertips stroked the rim of the cup, a gentle look between his brows, "In this life, I have no regrets."

"No regrets? You haven't married her yet, so how can you say you have no regrets? Even if you were married, with your current health, you wouldn't survive the winter. Who in this world doesn't wish to grow old together?" He sneered, "Song Xieqing, you're not saying you're so noble that you don't need such a cheesy dream of growing old together, are you?"

When Song Xieqing heard this, he suddenly laughed.

How could that be?

He is such a vulgar person...

However, he knew clearly that Pian Pian did not belong to this dynasty and would have to leave one day. Therefore, there was no promise between the two of them to grow old together here. In this case, life and death made no difference to him.

Thinking of this, Song Xieqing recalled the young lady's nonsense, saying that he died after turning into an old man...

He'd been poisoned by the Bi Tu for years, how could he possibly live to be an old man? If he hadn't met Pian Pian, once this matter was over and the poison had taken hold, he would have planned to end his life. And... what about the Huai people making a jade statue of him, enshrined in the Zhai Temple, and worshipping him for a hundred years until he became a deity...

Song Xieqing was at a loss for words. He didn't even think before he lied. Now, though he had inherited the city lordship, he had no intention of leaving the city isolated on the border. Even though Dara had retreated to the wilderness, who knew when he would return? Huaicheng was small and weak, surrounded by threats. If it didn't accede to a powerful nation soon, it would eventually become prey on other nations' prey. However, the Huai people, accustomed to complacency, didn't seem to mind the situation for now.

Since the Qing army entered the city, he has not been idle, but has helped the elders and villagers in the city to chop firewood and plant crops. Although the people of Huai have less hostility and resentment towards the Qing Kingdom, when they heard that Huaicheng was going to be taken back by the country, their deep-rooted feelings for their homeland prompted them to protest. Since the day Song Xieqing entered the city, the secret abuse has never stopped. How could anyone build a statue to worship him?

Although Pianpian is clever, he is not good at lying. Even if the people of Huai really made a jade statue for him, it was certainly not out of respect... Maybe it was a temporary measure forced by the situation?

Song Xieqing leaned back as the night wind blew past, making his figure increasingly thinner, as if there were only a skeleton beneath his robe. He sighed deeply and said, "Really, you..."

"Stop it." He was really fed up. "I've heard this so many times that my ears are almost callused. If Huaicheng surrenders, you should treat the people of Huaicheng well, reduce taxes, and govern your own city first..."

Speaking of this, he suddenly felt lost. This city should have nothing to do with him, but now it seemed to be taken over by Song Xiqing, and he could not bear to see the city fall into ruin... Just like when he helped Ling Wang, Jiang Zhi and Yu Shu escape from trouble, he simply felt that these three people were beneficial to the people's livelihood, and Huaicheng was included in the world.

Although he was from Qing, his decisions were never limited to the interests of Qing, but he always looked at the interests of the world... Therefore, he wanted to merge the two countries, and even bring all the countries and tribes in the world under one family and unify them into one country. Only in this way could the world be free from war forever.

He was clearly not a good person. His methods were cruel and decisive, and he had no idea how much blood and mud he had stained. However, deep in his mind, he could never get rid of a mumbling obsession - he was born to take responsibility for the world.

I really don't understand why.

…

Zhu Hao has been going out early and coming back late these days, intending to seek out famous doctors.

That day, she heard the sound of light and empty footsteps behind her for the umpteenth time. She turned around and found no one there.

She paused for a moment, turned into a narrow alley, and hid in the darkness. Sure enough, after a moment, footsteps were heard again, and Zhu Hao suddenly appeared. She looked around but saw no one. She glanced down - a little child who was not even as tall as her waist.

Zhu Hao brought the person to him and asked, "Why are you following me?"

"I, I... Madam... You are the mayor's wife, right?" The child stammered, his face flushed. He took out a still-warm scone from his arms, "I... I wanted to give this to the mayor to try."

The child looked at the woman with a look of “You didn’t put poison in the cake, did you? Tell me! Who sent you?” and hurriedly explained, “I! This cake was baked at home! My mother made it herself! A few years ago, I ran into the city lord’s carriage. Seeing that I was hungry, the city lord shared his birthday cake with me…”

"Master taught us that even a drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring... I, my family doesn't have a spring, only these humble scones..." He held the scones in both hands and handed them forward, "But I'm just a little kid, I can't enter Songheju... I have no choice but to follow Madam..."

Zhu Hao stared at his slowly falling hand. She took the warm oil-paper package and blurted out, "What's your name?"

The little boy blinked, "Xie Ju."

The little boy didn't know that he had said the wrong thing. He only saw the sister in front of him standing there in a daze, her bright eyes fixed on him, staring at him until his face was burning. Madam, do you think the cakes are too shabby?

He was about to take the pancake back dejectedly, but his sister had already squatted in front of him and gently put the oil paper bag back into his palm.

Little Xie Ju hung his head, with a slightly sour taste in his nose.

A warm hand touched the top of his head and said softly, "Aju, you should hand it over to him personally."

...Doesn't he want to? But he can't get in.

"Sister will take you to Songheju."

Little Xie Ju suddenly raised his starry eyes, and listened to her soft voice: "Aju will live to be a hundred years old. A hundred years later... maybe I won't remember him, and he won't remember me either... But Aju will remember him and me, right? If... Aju still remembers then, please, Aju, please tell him every little detail about me and him. If I forget, it's fine, but if he forgets, where will he go to find me?"

Little Xie Ju at that time didn't understand, he only knew that he was entrusted with an important task.