Chapter 24 Sacrificing Your Life Is Paramount

Fangru's heart sank because of his controlling threat, and a cold disgust spread through her heart.

She tried her best to maintain a calm demeanor, her gaze lowered to avoid his eyes, her voice devoid of any emotion, only mechanical obedience: "Your Majesty's decree, this subject obeys."

...

After that, going to the Imperial Study every day to "report her whereabouts" became a torment for Yu Fangru.

She always appeared outside the palace on time, as if completing a necessary chore; her bows and her words were all imbued with a sense of detachment and rigidity.

She stood quietly to the lower end, her gaze never actively turning to the person behind the desk, but fixed on a point in the distant void, as if drawing strength from it to endure.

When Zhou Ling was reviewing memorials, the only sounds in the hall were often the soft scratching of her red brush across the paper and her labored breathing.

Once, Zhou Ling was rubbing his temples with a furrowed brow for a long time when his gaze inadvertently swept over her, only to find that the cup of tea beside her had long since gone cold.

His brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, but he remained silent, only gesturing to the eunuch. A moment later, a freshly brewed cup of Junshan Silver Needle tea, at the perfect temperature, was gently placed in her seat.

Fangru stared at the suddenly appearing cup of hot tea, slightly taken aback, then a deeper hint of mockery flashed in her eyes.

She didn't touch the cup of tea, as if she hadn't seen it, letting the steam dissipate.

One day, a sudden gust of wind rose outside the window, causing her skirt to flutter slightly and scattering some insignificant official documents on the table.

Zhou Ling lifted his gaze from the memorial, first sweeping over her thin clothes, then landing on the scattered papers. He said nothing, only casting a glance at the eunuch beside him. The eunuch immediately understood, silently stepping forward to not only tidy up the official documents but also quietly moving a rosewood screen to the drafty spot to shield her from the cold.

Fangru felt the wind lessen, but her body tensed up even more.

This pervasive "care" was nothing more than another form of surveillance and control to her, making her feel like she had a thorn in her side.

He would sometimes ask about the progress of the Ministry of Justice's investigations, his tone as calm as a routine inquiry.

She always answered with the simplest and most objective language, unwilling to give an extra word. However, one day when her voice was slightly hoarse due to exhaustion, the next day, a bowl of rock sugar pear soup that had been kept warm was "coincidentally" prepared in the imperial study and silently served to her by a eunuch.

"His Majesty, mindful of the young lady's hard work, bestowed this upon her," the eunuch whispered.

Looking at the bowl of glistening soup, Fangru felt an even greater tightness in her throat. In the end, she didn't touch it, but lowered her eyes and said, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty. I am not hungry."

When she took her leave, she bowed and turned around, her back resolute, never looking back.

Zhou Ling lifted his gaze from the memorial, lingering on the palace gate where she had disappeared, and finally on her untouched soup and iced tea. A fleeting, elusive bitterness crossed his deep eyes.

...

That day, Fangru was reviewing case files at the Ministry of Justice when a young man who looked like a errand boy from a restaurant timidly came to report that "the new dishes at Yipinju Restaurant are ready, please come and try them when you have time."

Zheng Yu and the others, who were standing nearby, were puzzled and even joked, "Could it be that some restaurant is trying to curry favor with Miss Fangru, being so attentive?"

Fangru's heart tightened suddenly, but she remained calm on the surface, replied "I know," and sent the person away.

Only she understood that this seemingly ordinary message was actually a secret code she and Gu Zhou had agreed upon years ago. "New dish" meant news, and the place to "try something new" was the West Market, where they used to stroll around most often.

She found an excuse to leave and hurriedly headed to the bustling West Market.

Amidst the bustling crowd, an inconspicuous green-canopied carriage slowly approached. A corner of the curtain was lifted, revealing Gu Zhou's anxious profile.

“Come up!” he whispered.

Fangru quickly boarded the carriage, and the wheels immediately began to turn.

Without exchanging pleasantries, Gu Zhou hurriedly explained, "I wasn't rescued by the Baiyang Society! It was Zhou Ling! He ordered his men to drug me and dump me near one of the Baiyang Society's strongholds! When they found me, I was almost..." His tone was heavy with sorrow, "I've been trapped in the society these past few days, unable to move an inch, let alone send messages. Today, because the leader ordered me to purchase supplies needed for the branch, I was able to take this opportunity to contact you!"

As Fangru listened, her disgust for Zhou Ling's scheming and cold-bloodedness deepened even further.

However, as her gaze swept across the carriage, she suddenly noticed a small, non-wooden, non-metallic object stuck in the gap of the carriage floor. Its color and shape vaguely matched the characteristics of the explosives from the Western Regions that she had overheard the officials describing outside the palace the day before!

Her heart trembled violently. Without showing any emotion, she bent down, pretending to adjust her skirt, and quickly parted the gap with her fingertips to examine it closely. What she saw made her gasp! The strange patterns and dark color of the object hidden under the carriage were exactly the same as those of the terrifying object that the official had reported to Zhou Ling yesterday, the object that was enough to detonate the capital at noon on the fifteenth!

Fangru suppressed her surging emotions, straightened up calmly, looked sharply at Gu Zhou, and lowered her voice: "What is hidden under this car? Where did you get it?"

Gu Zhou followed her gaze, his face also filled with confusion and astonishment: "I...I don't know! This is just an ordinary carriage that the leader instructed me to use when purchasing supplies. I didn't check it carefully!"

"You don't know?" Fangru's voice carried a hint of urgency. "Yesterday I heard with my own ears that this thing was made by evil magic from the Western Regions and will explode on its own at noon today! Its power is enough to destroy half of the market! Is this true?!"

Gu Zhou's face turned deathly pale instantly, his eyes darting around in panic: "I...I've never heard of this before...but if it's really true..." He suddenly grabbed Fang Ru's arm, his tone urgent and selfish, "Then we must run! Get out of here immediately!"

Fangru looked at him in disbelief and forcefully shook off his hand: "Escape? If it really explodes, what will happen to the tens of thousands of innocent people in this market? Are we just going to let them perish in the fire?"

Gu Zhou grew increasingly anxious, almost blurting out, "I can't worry about anything else! Fangru, our lives are more important! Come with me now!"

These words were like ice water poured over Fangru's head, leaving her completely stunned.

She looked at the person in front of her, the person she had once longed for and was willing to do anything to save, and felt that he was a complete stranger.

A tremendous sense of disappointment and chill instantly gripped her.

She shoved him away abruptly, her tone cold and resolute: "If you want to escape, you can escape yourself. I will drive this thing to a deserted wilderness outside the city. It must not be allowed to explode here."

She stared intently at Gu Zhou, hoping he would say even a single word of dissuasion or to accompany her, hoping he would show a trace of the responsibility he once possessed.

However, Gu Zhou just stood there, his lips moved a few times, but in the end he didn't say anything, his eyes only filled with fear and cowardice to protect himself.

The last glimmer of hope was completely extinguished.

Fangru stopped looking at him, resolutely leaped onto the carriage shaft, shook the reins sharply, and drove the carriage, which carried a deadly threat, out of the bustling market and sped towards the desolate western part of the city.

...

Meanwhile, inside the palace.

An official rushed into the hall and hurriedly reported, "Your Majesty! We have just received a secret report that the explosives that Baiyang Society ordered Gu Zhou to transport were destined for the West Market at noon today!"

Zhou Ling suddenly stood up, his face terribly grim: "Immediately order the Prefect of the Capital and the Patrol Battalion to evacuate the people of the West Market with all their might! There must be no mistakes!" After the order was quickly issued, his heart tightened for some reason, and he immediately asked, "Where is Miss Fangru right now?"

"Your Majesty, the previous report stated that it was still in the Ministry of Justice."

"Go and confirm again!" Zhou Ling said sharply, a strong sense of foreboding gripping him.

A moment later, a report confirmed his concerns: "Your Majesty... Miss Fangru is not in the Ministry of Justice! Your subordinate does not know her whereabouts!"

"Gu Zhou..." Zhou Ling practically spat out the name through gritted teeth, instantly conjuring up the worst possible scenario: Gu Zhou wanted to drag Fang to her death, or he wanted to take her hostage!

"Prepare the horses! I will go to the West Market myself!"

...

On the other side, Fangru had driven the carriage to a relatively open woodland at the foot of the western mountain of the city.

She jumped off the carriage, glanced back at the deathly silent carriage, and felt a chill in her heart.

The shadow of death seemed to be within reach, yet in this extreme silence and danger, a figure that should not have appeared suddenly crashed into her mind: Zhou Ling, the emperor she so desperately resisted and loathed for his domineering and scheming nature.

If he were in this situation, what would he do? Would he coldly watch her face death alone, resolving the crisis in the most "efficient" way?

At first, she was almost certain he would.

In his unfathomable eyes, he was always calculating the most advantageous move; she was perhaps just a disposable pawn.

But then, his deep, seductive words echoed in her ears once more, haunting her like a ghost: "You have to learn first, to be a thoroughly bad person..."

This thought disturbed her peace of mind, and even gave rise to a strange illusion, as if he were standing behind her, scrutinizing her choice with his usual aggressive gaze, and enjoying her final struggle.

She could almost feel that tangible gaze imprinted on her back, sending a shiver down her spine.

She turned abruptly, trying to shake off the illusion, and strode quickly out of the woods.

However, the explosion came too fast and too violently, leaving her no chance to escape!

A deafening roar suddenly tore through the sky, and the earth trembled violently!

A terrifying shockwave, carrying destructive flames, pounced on her like a roaring prehistoric beast! She felt a heavy blow to her back, and her lithe body was thrown up like a kite with a broken string.

Just as her consciousness was about to be swallowed up by the excruciating pain and the roar, a heart-wrenching scream pierced through all the noise and precisely stabbed into her ears!

"Fangru!!"

She looked up with difficulty and disbelief.

Amidst the dazzling flames and billowing smoke, the man she had just been cursing suddenly seemed to have gone mad. He recklessly pushed aside the guards who tried to stop him. His eyes, which always held deep calculations, were now bloodshot, filled with nothing but fear and madness, and he stared intently at her!

His dark dragon robe was torn by the shockwave and almost burst into flames, yet he still charged madly toward the direction she was falling with a resolute attitude.

As Fangru's consciousness faded, a sharp and painful thought surfaced uncontrollably: all this trouble started because of you... You framed Gu Zhou, you used schemes and traps to imprison me, but why... why did you chase after me so recklessly when I was determined to die?

Zhou Ling... what exactly do you mean by this...?

Before I could sort out these thoughts, which were a mixture of resentment, bitterness and an indescribable tremor, an even more violent second explosion came crashing down!

The intense light consumed her crimson eyes and swallowed her last shred of consciousness; endless darkness completely enveloped her in this life.