Chapter 53 Vow: I vow to be with Your Highness, to share life and death.

They originally intended to go directly to the mortuary to find him, but on their way there, a servant from the villa came to report that Chen Jingsheng had returned from the imperial mausoleum.

She was there to pick up her brother.

Since he was back, and her brother might also be there, the group temporarily abandoned their trip to the mortuary and returned to the Yan family villa instead.

Sure enough, upon entering, he saw his elder brother sitting in the courtyard, dressed in plain clothes.

As he drew closer, he appeared withered and emaciated, with a vacant stare, sunken cheeks, and dark, lifeless eyes. His clothes hung loosely on him, and he was a far cry from the gentle and refined demeanor of the former crown prince. He seemed to be alive but dead.

Chen Jingsheng told them that the news had already reached the imperial mausoleum. When he arrived, His Highness the Crown Prince was overwhelmed by the shock and attempted suicide by hanging himself with a jade belt. Fortunately, a maid in charge of sweeping the courtyard found him and saved his life. However, he remained unconscious, which delayed the process.

Hearing this, Li Yunru rushed over and hit him, angrily scolding, "Are you stupid? How come you're still the same? You haven't improved at all over the years. You're always crying and whining about dying. It would be great if you died, fulfilling your love with Sister Liu. Have you ever thought about what my elder sister and I would think? What would Father and Mother think? They risked their lives to ensure our safety. And now you want to die over this? You might as well have gone with Father and the others back then, and you would have earned a reputation for loyalty, righteousness, and filial piety!"

She had guessed that people might have extreme thoughts and actions, but guessing and seeing are always different. Seeing him like this, Li Yunru felt both hatred and anxiety. If no one had discovered it, would she have been able to return and not even see him like this again?

The more she thought about it, the less she could control herself. Even though she wasn't usually a crybaby, tears and snot streamed down her face, and her hands didn't stop moving.

Li Xun was like a living dead man, neither answering his sister's words nor stopping her actions. He just sat there and let her hit and scold him. In the end, Yan Ning felt sorry for her and couldn't bear to see her crying like this, so she hugged her and finally brought the situation under control.

He held Li Yunru tightly between his legs, pressed her down to sit, and wiped her tears with his sleeve. As he wiped, he said to Li Xun, "I know that Brother Li and Miss Liu have a deep affection for each other, but Li Yang is right. Our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents. The deceased are gone, but the living can still come. We shouldn't give up on ourselves so easily, but it only makes our loved ones grieve and our enemies rejoice."

Li Xun looked up at him slowly, his unfocused eyes revealing no emotion. He stared at Yan Ning for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before asking, "Where is Aheng now?"

“I sent her to the mortuary.”

Li Xun was taken aback upon hearing this, then suddenly let out a cold laugh, "Ha, they really can't tolerate her?"

The final resting place of the mortuary... is a mass grave.

"I want to see her!"

"Um."

...

After a short rest, the group set off again for the mortuary.

The journey there is about twenty or thirty li.

It is located in the exact opposite direction from the mass graves in the western suburbs, and the two places are far apart.

The charitable estate has a short history. It was established by the four great families of Wang, Xie, Cui and Yan, mainly to support their various needs in the capital. The land rent, as well as other expenses such as the charitable school, were all paid by the four families.

If a member of the family passes away in Beijing and is unable to return to their hometown, their body will be laid to rest here.

There will be people specifically assigned to look after the body and help send it back to its hometown.

But if we ignore everything, things will turn out like Liu Yanheng is now...

Tonight, the mortuary is being looked after by an elderly couple in their fifties, from the Xie and Yan families. Going back in kinship, Yan Ning and Yan Sheng would have to address them as uncle and aunt, even though they are from collateral branches. However, they are old and have not been involved in the core circles of aristocratic families for many years. They have become more open-minded and no longer care about status and fame.

...

The two elderly people showed no impatience despite the late-night visit.

The people opened the door for them and led them to a wooden house.

The place was large, but extremely dark. Many white lanterns hung in front of the door, and the lights inside were on, but it still gave people a sense of unease.

"It's inside, let's go in."

The old woman pushed open the door, and the instant it opened, a gust of cold wind suddenly swept in, scattering the lanterns and the lights inside the house.

Li Yunru didn't know what she would see when she went inside. She just subconsciously grabbed Li Xun's hand, trying to persuade him to take it easy. However, Li Xun seemed particularly calm at this moment. He gave people a reassuring look and was the first to take a step out.

She and Yan Ning followed closely behind, with Yan Sheng in between.

Under Yan Ning's instructions, the group found Liu Yanheng's coffin among a pile of coffins.

It was just an ordinary wooden coffin, with only some scattered paper money and incense sticks for worship, and not a single extra decoration.

Whether she was a daughter of the Liu family or the former Crown Princess, this level of status was clearly unworthy of her.

How pitiful!

Such a living, breathing person, of such noble status, yet in the end, his fate was nothing more than this.

Everyone fell silent.

After a long, long silence, he finally turned his thoughts back to the present.

Song Ji offered to help push the coffin, but Li Xun stopped her, saying, "I'll do it myself."

Song Ji, unsure, glanced over at Li Yunru, who nodded, giving him an affirmative look.

People made way, and Li Xun walked to the head of the coffin. His thin, bony hands gripped the coffin lid and began to push.

He had just escaped death and had been on the move without a moment's rest, so he was extremely weak and unable to move.

But the person didn't give up and continued to refuse help from others.

In the dim candlelight, the frail figure trembled like a leaf. He moved little by little, his legs shaking and his hands bleeding. Finally, he pushed open a corner, then slowly opened more and more, until finally the entire coffin lid was lifted. The person who had once been as radiant as the morning sun and as beautiful as a peach blossom appeared before his eyes.

Her face remained unchanged, but she was deathly pale. Her white wedding dress had turned crimson, and there seemed to be a large hole in her neck, dark and bloody, with no bottom visible. Her lips were also dark purple, making her look extremely ugly. Her eyes were closed, but her expression was not peaceful or serene.

In fact, the initial condition was even more horrific than it is now. He was bleeding from all seven orifices, his eyes were wide open in terror like copper bells, and there were countless marks on his body, some from fingernails, and others that are hard to say. In short, he had suffered immense torment before he died.

Yan Sheng cursed and complained that the two families had gone too far, but he couldn't help feeling sad and thinking about himself.

Before she left Jiankang, her mother was arranging marriages for her, choosing Cui Shu, the eldest son of the Cui family, Xie Yao, the second son of the Xie family, and Huan Silang, the brother of her second sister-in-law...

They are all legitimate sons of prominent families. Marrying into their families means learning practical affairs and managing the household. Like her, they will become respected ladies of noble families.

But Cui's brother was so much older than her, he had already married one wife, his child was almost as old as her, and he had countless concubines. She really couldn't bear to think about such a scene.

Xie Erlang was not much older than her. She had once caught a glimpse of him from afar during a gathering. He was a handsome young man, just like her brother, but he was also dissolute and flirtatious. Before he even came of age, he already had many women in his household. With the example of Princess Ding'an from the previous dynasty in the Xie family, how could she dare to gamble and risk her entire life for a pretty face?

She had never met Huan's fourth son. Her second sister-in-law was a reserved and refined person who never easily expressed her thoughts. Her evaluation of this brother was only eight words: "A face like Yama, a mind full of wisdom."

Um?

She doesn't like ugly people!

Of course, they wouldn't agree.

The next choice is someone like Wang Wulang. Wang Wulang is handsome and dashing, and he is just as good-looking as his brother. But he is very cunning and you can never see through him. You never know when he will be smiling at you and pouring out his heart to you, only to stab you in the back the next second.

She doesn't like people who are so calculating.

The matter of Liu Yanheng further confirmed that her idea was correct!

If people are unwilling, this is the consequence. She suddenly didn't dare to think about what would happen if she kept refusing.

Will it repeat Liu Yanheng's mistakes?

She was certain that her mother loved her, but her love for herself was not as strong as the glory of her noble family, something that had weighed on her for a lifetime.

She would give anything for it.

People could lock her up for this, if she insists...

A chill suddenly ran through Yan Sheng's heart.

If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold too!

She seemed to see her future.

Li Yunru didn't feel the same depth of emotion as her; she only felt a chilling indifference, that the Liu family could be so heartless towards their own daughter...

"elder brother."

"You all go out. I want to be alone with Ah Heng for a while."

Li Yunru was a little worried and did not respond. Guessing what she was thinking, Li Xun said, "Don't worry, I won't do anything foolish again."

"All right."

She led the person out and thoughtfully closed the door, giving them enough space to be alone.

...

After the person left, Li Xun leaned closer, gently stroking his lover's face with tender eyes. He slowly climbed onto the coffin, jumped inside, and lay down next to the person.

The space inside the coffin was extremely small, and the two of them were pressed together without any effort. He reached out and put his arm around her waist, while his other hand traced her eyebrows and eyes inch by inch, finally landing on the wound that seemed to have a hole.

That was caused by a hairpin. The hairpin was thick, and the tip was not sharp but flat. How much strength did she need to pierce it?

She is most afraid of pain.

She was very delicate; in the past, she would come to him and cry if she was even pricked by a needle while doing needlework, let alone such a serious injury.

How much pain and despair she must have felt at that time!

Perhaps she shouted, shouted until she was hoarse, but no one paid any attention...

He kissed the dried-up wound and whispered an apology: "I'm sorry, Ah Heng, I was wrong."

He shouldn't have been so self-righteous, thinking that he was doing it for her own good and disregarding her wishes by letting the Liu family take her back.

She clearly said, "I wish to be with Your Highness, to share life and death."

"Aheng, I was wrong, I was really wrong!"

Tears fell drop by drop onto the young woman, but she could no longer get up to wipe them away for him. Gently stroking his face, she told him firmly, "Your Highness is not wrong. Your Highness is just a little too kind-hearted. It is this world that does not accept you."

Yes.

He was timid and cried easily, just like her. He was not as resilient as his elder sister, and even less so than his two younger sisters. He was prone to acting on his emotions. However, as the crown prince, he should have a broad perspective and not be swayed by his emotions. He could not do that and often caused trouble, which led to his being impeached by court officials and scolded by his father, the emperor. He was scolded to the point that he doubted himself and wondered if he was really wrong and should not be in this position.

His wife would repeatedly assure him that he was not wrong, and that the world needed someone as pure and kind as him.

If everyone is driven by selfish desires and entrusts their affairs to treacherous individuals, how can this world continue?

She was the one who understood him best, yet he... was the one who understood her best.

He truly regrets it!

...

The faint cries echoed through the night on the chilly wind until the first rays of dawn shone into the courtyard, at which point the door opened and people emerged from inside.

He walked up to Yan Ning, bowed deeply to him, and said, "Thank you."

Without him, Liu Yanheng's body could not have been preserved so well over such a long period of time, especially in early summer when the weather is getting hot and it's impossible to preserve it for long. It must have taken a lot of effort to do so.

"Of course," Yan Ning said, dismissing it as nothing.

He was polite, and Li Xun wouldn't make a fool of himself by saying anything useless. In any case, he kept this favor in his heart.

The man straightened his back and told them, "I will take her back to the imperial mausoleum for burial. Aheng is my wife, a member of the Li family, whether she lives or dies."