Lovers cannot stay together forever (Part 2)

"Everything is here." Jiang Qin pointed to the small basket on the ground, which contained some incense, candles, and paper offerings.

Zhiwei picked them up, lit a fire, and knelt down.

Today is the anniversary of Shao Zhao and Sun Wei's death. Zhi Wei burned paper money as is customary, and Jiang Tan stood beside her, also with a solemn expression. Over the years, Zhi Wei has been restricted in many ways and has not been able to burn paper money according to the rules, so Jiang Tan has always done it for her.

After several stacks of yellow paper burned, black smoke rose and gradually disappeared into the night, carrying the smell of burning. Zhiwei got up, took the handkerchief Jiang Qin handed her, and patted the dirt off her knees.

Zhiwei thanked him, but Jiang Tan said it was no need.

The two walked along the empty street, chatting idly.

As Zhiwei walked, she glanced at the people around her. Jiang Qin stood ramrod straight, his gait always dignified. Over the years, Jiang Qin had risked his life to visit her in the Xin Zhe Ku (a place for servants), bringing her food and clothes. Even after her wrist was broken, it was Jiang Qin who brought her medicine.

And then there was that melodious flute music… Zhiwei’s face flushed slightly. Jiang Qin hadn’t mentioned it, but it could only be the comfort he had given her.

Zhiwei tightened her grip and took out a handmade tassel from her sleeve: "I made this for you. Consider it a thank you gift after all these years."

Zhiwei was meticulous and afraid of causing trouble, so he only made a small net without any inlays.

Jiang Qin's gaze was fixed on Zhiwei's face. After a moment, he took the net.

"No need to be so polite." Jiang Qin withdrew his hand. "If you need anything, just tell me. You're my savior, so it's no big deal."

Jiang Tan still felt somewhat guilty about Zhiwei's suffering. He didn't believe that Zhiwei would collude with the enemy, but since the Emperor's word was law, he couldn't risk offending him by pleading for Zhiwei's life.

He thought he had some connections, not many, but enough to keep Zhiwei from being bullied. He hadn't expected the new head of the Xin Zhe Ku; by the time he heard the news, Zhiwei's hands were already clenched high.

Zhiwei didn't blame him, but he blamed himself somewhat, so he did a lot later, partly to make amends and partly to find peace of mind.

Jiang Qin stamped his foot, pinched the net, and smiled: "Very good craftsmanship."

Zhiwei nodded and returned a smile. It was a good thing that Jiang Qin liked it. In fact, she knew that her skills were just so-so: she really had no other choice. After her hand became disabled, she even had difficulty holding a plate. But she had to do rehabilitation. She had nothing else by her side except a few thin needles and colored threads, which she used to ensure that her hand could get enough exercise.

At first, she didn't really intend to learn anything. Later, when she arrived at Kunning Palace, the Empress, knowing that she didn't want to see her old friends, assigned her to be an outer attendant, supervising the young palace maids' cleaning and tidying. She didn't have to do anything, and she couldn't bear to be idle, so she followed Granny Jiang to learn some needlework, and thus improved her skills.

"It's all just for fun," Zhiwei shook her head.

The two walked side by side, bathed in the warm yellow moonlight, which felt cold against the light.

——

After the favor was bestowed, Wan Zhen'er stood barefoot, raising her eyebrows as she looked at the cold moon.

At first, she simply wiped her bitten lip with a handkerchief, but later she used her hands, wanting to completely remove the sweet scent of the person beside her. Raising her arm, she saw red, ambiguous hickeys, like burn marks. Wan Zhen'er felt a burning sensation in her eyes, and her body felt unbearably hot.

Just a few steps away, Zhu Liji was sleeping soundly on the dragon bed behind him, breathing evenly, without even a frown.

Even from a distance, Wan Zhen'er could still smell the ambergris mixed with the scent of ink on him. Wan Zhen'er sneered. Such a beautiful moonlight, some people can drift off to sleep, while others can only be trapped in memories, guarding their sorrow and suffering from insomnia.

Whenever Wan Zhen'er closes her eyes, images of Sun Wei's final moments flood back, refusing to leave her.

After the dagger pierced through, Sun was dragged away, his body already a bloody mess. The dark stain on his lower abdomen spread rapidly, leaving a glaring trail on the ground.

With the emperor present, Wan Zhen'er didn't dare to give him even a concerned look. Sun Wei was placed in a secluded courtyard in the palace by Zhiwei, so she couldn't visit him openly and could only ask someone to send him some soup and food.

One last time, she sent Siyu to deliver a bowl of thick, nourishing porridge. Siyu relayed Sun Wei's condition to her, saying that he ate it with relish, and even had a smile on his face, indicating that he seemed to be recovering.

Zhiwei said the same thing, and she believed it. She mistook his last moments of lucidity for Hua Tuo's magic, thinking that the porridge could at least prolong his life.

Several days later, the old eunuch who had been secretly gathering information for her quietly delivered a message, his cloudy eyes filled with pity: "Your Highness... the filth swept out of that courtyard... was full of undigested porridge... mixed with blood, she vomited more than she ate..."

Thinking of this, Wan Zhen'er clenched her fist tightly, her nails digging into her flesh.

Her grandson, Wei, died from pain and starvation!

As he breathed his last, she couldn't even get close to the room filled with blood and despair. She could only imagine, through the heavy palace walls, the scene of him being hastily swept away by a tattered mat in the cold Chuxiu Palace.

Disgusting, so disgusting!

Hatred, like vines, tightened around Wan Zhen'er's heart.

These past few years, talking to Zhu Liji has been disgusting, the lingering intimacy is disgusting, and just thinking about him makes me sick.

But she had no choice. She wanted to gain power, to take away everything that Cheng Yuzhi cared about most.

Cheng Yuzhi is a fake saint, putting on a gentle facade while being a venomous and cowardly woman in reality. It's true she and Sun Wei have an affair, but they've never crossed any lines, and even the emperor hasn't questioned them. Yet Cheng Yuzhi—a woman from a humble background—dares to defy the emperor's will. What gives her the right?

Wan Zhen'er subconsciously ground her teeth. She had made up her mind to avenge Sun Wei, so that their love would not have been in vain.

"Sun Wei..." Wan Zhen'er murmured in her heart, tears silently streaming down her face. On the couch beside her, Zhu Liji's expression was no longer at ease. He frowned, turned over, and the cold sweat on his forehead glistened in the moonlight.

.

Another nightmare—

Zhu Liji was engulfed in an endless sea of ​​fire, the scorching heat licking his skin and the thick smoke choking his lungs. Deep within the flames, a figure in a bright yellow dragon robe stood tall, its hem already ablaze—it was the late Emperor!

Those eyes that once held hope for him were now filled with raging fury, fixed on him, their withered fingers stabbing straight at him.

"You unfilial son! Why...why can't you tolerate him?! He's your own brother!"

In the distorted shadows of the flames, a weeping white mask silently emerged, two lines of viscous bloody tears winding down from its empty eye sockets.

Blood droplets fell onto the scorched ground, gradually coalescing into two grotesque characters—"hands and feet"!

"...No!" Zhu Liji let out a short roar, his body jerked violently, and he suddenly opened his eyes.

Cold sweat soaked through my nightgown, the clothes sticking to my back, sticky and icy.

"Your Majesty?" Wan Zhen'er's voice was husky as she snuggled closer, her hand resting on his sweaty chest.

"Are you having a nightmare?" Wan Zhen'er asked with concern.

The touch felt like a red-hot needle. Zhu Liji's pupils contracted, and almost instinctively, he swung his arm violently.

"Ugh!" Wan Zhen'er cried out softly as he suddenly shoved her away with tremendous force, her back slamming heavily against the hard golden nanmu bedpost.

A sharp pain swept over her instantly. She curled up and bit her lower lip, swallowing her cries of pain and deep hatred.

In the dim light, she raised her face, her eyes glistening with panic and tears. To make the performance convincing, she looked at him timidly: "Your Majesty..."

Zhu Liji, still panting, didn't even glance at her. His gaze swept across the hazy light outside the window, and he hissed, "Pinghai!"

"Your servant is here." Almost instantly, Pinghai's hunched figure appeared silently beside the screen.

Zhu Liji held his forehead, his face turning pale: "After court, summon Wang Miaoxiao to see me."

——

The incense in the Hall of Mental Cultivation was very strong, with a faint medicinal smell.

Zhu Liji closed his eyes and leaned against the soft couch. Two eunuchs were massaging his temples. The hall was extremely quiet, with only the faint sound of fingers rubbing against skin.

It had been four or five years since then. The Hall of Mental Cultivation was like a cold palace. Since the number of people had decreased, the palace servants who served it had become even more deaf and dumb, and there was no fun in it. At first, Zhu Liji did not feel anything, but as time went on, he also became inexplicably lonely.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," Wang Miaoxiao said, kneeling on one knee.

"Get up." Zhu Liji waved his hand, signaling the servants to leave. "Have you cleaned up all the mess from back then?" he asked in a deep voice, his tone tinged with weariness.

Although it was a riddle, Wang Miaoxiao immediately understood the emperor's meaning.

Wang Miaoxiao bowed respectfully, his expression resolute: "Your Majesty, rest assured. The entire delegation perished at the hands of the Siamese and Ying rebels; the evidence is irrefutable. As for the surviving family members, I have taken care of all the necessary compensation and silenced them properly, ensuring there will be no future troubles."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Liji's expression softened slightly, but he immediately frowned again.

"But lately I've been having nightmares, dreams of the late emperor and...people from the past." Zhu Liji recalled the bizarre and fantastical scenes in his dreams, the blood-stained mask, and the face beneath it...

Zhu Liji's gaze fell into the void, as if piercing through the heavy palace and seeing his younger brother, who was forever burning with passion.

If Zhu Mingyu were just a pleasure-seeking, unambitious, and idle prince... Zhu Liji's fingertips sank deep into the gaps in the armrest.

If Zhu Mingyu behaves himself, I, as his elder brother, might be able to allow him to live a life of wealth and glory.

Yet he was so dazzling, so dazzling that he received the emperor's favor, so dazzling that he could shake people's hearts, so dazzling that he became the most glaring thorn under the dragon throne.

So he had no other choice but to rely on him.

In the imperial family, no mistakes are tolerated.

“With the nationwide inspection imminent, I fear this is an ominous sign,” Zhu Liji said, rolling his eyes.

Wang Miaoxiao understood immediately, and a deep voice came from behind the mask: "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, and a few evil spirits are nothing to worry about. I know several highly effective immortal masters who are best at exorcising evil spirits and calming the mind. Perhaps they can help Your Majesty."

"Accepted." Zhu Liji uttered a single word, then closed his eyes again, as if trying to force the image of blood and fire into his mind.

"Go and do it," the emperor waved his hand.

"Yes." Wang Miaoxiao bowed in agreement, but did not immediately leave.

He stepped forward, took out a memorial with gold flecks and a red background from his sleeve, and respectfully presented it to the emperor's desk with both hands.

"Your Majesty, this is a joint petition from me and Her Highness the Princess. I humbly request Your Majesty's permission."

Zhu Liji opened his eyes; it was a marriage proposal.