4. Regret

◎Xiuyuan, save me!◎

"Second brother, spare my life! I have never offended you before, please let me go!" The tenth prince thought that begging for mercy and submitting would give him a chance to live.

Unfortunately, Chu Xiaocheng had no intention of letting these half-brothers go, regardless of whether they had offended him!

"Guards, drag him away and behead him!" He didn't even blink, uttering a cold sentence: "A coward doesn't deserve to be the Emperor's son!"

Two soldiers dragged him away, and soon a scream rang out. The other princes and princesses fell silent, no longer daring to beg for mercy.

The Ninth Princess spat, "Chu Xiaocheng, you will die a horrible death for harming your own brothers..."

"Pfft!" Chu Xiaocheng pierced the Ninth Princess's chest with his sword. The Ninth Princess opened her big eyes and fell to the ground.

"Too much talk will get you killed!" Chu Xiaocheng had gone mad!

Inside the hall, a chilling wind and rain raged. Qi Gu sat quietly, her eyes numb. It seemed that Chu Xiaocheng had no intention of letting anyone go.

She sat to the side, watching the usually talkative Ninth Sister fall silent forever.

She began to tremble uncontrollably. Could she still wait for her mother and Xiuyuan to come and save her?

"Your Highness, no! Something terrible has happened!" Cao Lang, dressed in red armor, rushed into the hall in a panic and whispered a few words in Chu Xiaocheng's ear. Qi Gu saw his face turn pale instantly.

At this moment, his uncle Guo Rong, holding an arm that had been struck by an arrow, was helped in by two soldiers.

"Your Highness, we've been ambushed! The outside is swarming with Sima Hong's men; we're surrounded!" Guo Rong's initial smugness upon storming the palace was gone, replaced by fear.

Both of them knew that they had been set up by the Empress and Sima Hong!

As one of the masterminds behind this battle for the throne, Guo Rong quickly ordered, "Your Highness, we must retreat immediately. As long as we survive, we can always fight again." As long as they can escape, with Lady Guo pleading with the Emperor, Your Highness will have a chance to live!

Looking at the dark mass outside, who would have thought that Sima Hong had set up an ambush outside the palace? In the blink of an eye, they were trapped like turtles in a jar.

"It's too late." Chu Xiaocheng stood coldly in the center of the hall. If he couldn't ascend the throne today, he would rather die!

Inside the hall, soldiers in red armor raised their shields in a defensive stance.

Outside the palace, Sima Hong, dressed in pure white, slowly walked out from the black humanoid city wall.

The Sima family, renowned for their wisdom and resourcefulness during the pre-Qin period, assisted the Qin dynasty in achieving unification. Even after the Qin dynasty collapsed, the Sima family remained standing amidst the chaos of war.

Looking at Sima Hong before the vast army, Chu Xiaocheng understood that his father's illness, Sima Hong's inaction, and Zhang's forbearance were all for this moment.

Sima Hong's calculations were flawless and his strategies unparalleled; he was indeed not to be underestimated.

A murderous glint flashed in his eyes. He grabbed Qi Gu and pulled her in front of him, saying, "Sima Hong, look who this is! Your new bride! Where is our eldest princess? Where is my dear mother? Why doesn't she come to see her only daughter?"

Qi Gu's hands were tied behind her back, her hair was disheveled, and there was blood at the corner of her mouth. She was in a terrible state. When she saw a beautiful white spot in the black iron, it was like seeing a god descending, or like a blind person seeing the light.

Her eyes, which had been filled with dejection, lit up with hope. "Xiuyuan, are you alright? I..."

Before she could finish speaking, she felt a chill on her neck; Chu Xiaocheng had placed his sword against her neck.

Qi Gu looked at Sima Hong. Although she felt a little uneasy, she believed that Xiu Yuan would definitely save her!

Sima Hong didn't say anything, he just looked at Chu Xiaocheng calmly, as if he were looking at a loser.

With just that one look, Chu Xiaocheng broke down. How dare Sima Hong look down on him? How dare he!

Chu Xiaocheng threw his head back and laughed loudly: "Hahaha, you're really infatuated. At a time like this, you're still worried about him. You should worry about yourself instead!"

The sword pierced her flesh, causing a sharp pain. Qi Gu was terrified and cried out, "Xiu Yuan, save me!" The image of Jiu Mei with her eyes wide open lingered in her mind; she didn't want to end up like Jiu Mei.

Qi Gu struggled desperately, and the knife at her neck tore a deep wound. Chu Xiaocheng held her arm tightly to keep her in front of him!

But the person opposite him didn't change his gaze at all, and his face remained calm. Qi Gu felt a tightness in her heart.

"Save me." An overwhelming fear spread through her heart, and the terror of death clung to her like vines, making it hard for her to breathe.

Qi Gu gazed at her husband outside the palace and murmured, "Xiuyuan, save me, save me..."

Chu Xiaocheng, holding onto Qi Gu, was dissatisfied with Sima Hong's calmness and said, "Sima Hong, why don't you let me leave, and I'll return her to you?"

He clenched his teeth and gripped Qi Gu's hand tightly. "She is the Empress's own daughter. Aren't you worried that the Empress will blame you in the future?"

Sima Hong remained silent, still wearing that disdainful expression.

This enraged Chu Xiaocheng. As if deliberately trying to humiliate Sima Hong, he said, "Oh, right, you look down on this village girl at all. You only submitted to Zhang's tyranny. Doesn't your Sima family pride itself on being upright and noble? Don't you pride yourselves on being high-ranking officials for generations? Isn't it all to curry favor with Zhang and marry this lowly daughter of yours? Hahaha!"

Qi Gu stared at the unmoved Sima Hong, her eyes blurred with tears. They were not too far apart, just enough for her to see the unfathomable depths of his eyes, like an ancient well, calm and still for thousands of years.

What kind of woman do you have to meet to stir a ripple in your heart?

A sudden gust of wind arose, billowing the man's dazzling cloak. Behind him, thunder roared, awaiting his command.

Qi Gu thought she saw his thin lips move slightly. Did he just say something? No, no! She must have seen or heard wrong!

Suddenly, the puncture wound pierced her heart. Qi Gu looked down and saw a large hole in the fragile wall of her heart.

Her crimson hem billowed upwards, like a butterfly flapping its tattered wings, before finally falling into the mud.

The arrow in her chest made it impossible for her to deceive herself any longer.

She finally understood a cruel truth: how could she compare to the country and its people, how could she be more important than their grand ambitions?

It turns out that Sima Hong never loved her, and the Empress Dowager never thought much of her as her daughter.

In her final moments, Qi Gu thought of her adoptive father, the only person in the world who cared for and loved her, but she would never see him again.

Thinking back to my days in Lijia Village, I remember the hard work but the peace, the simplicity and the happiness.

If there is an afterlife, she will never deceive herself like this again.

Filled with remorse, she slowly closed her eyes.

[Author's Note]

The story before rebirth is over, and now it's time for the story to begin after rebirth. Don't cry, Qi Gu, your good fortune is yet to come, hahaha [laughing and crying emoji]. I hope everyone will add this to their favorites and comment; it will motivate me to write more! Finally, my recently completed novel, "Stop, That's My Child," is in my author page; you can check it out there!