Chapter 346: Bone Removal and Marrow Extraction

When the dull but heart-wrenching cry sounded, July burst into tears at the door of the room.

Yuan Yue and his group knelt down at the same time, and the servants in the courtyard knelt down and kowtowed... Chengying and others appeared from the dark and knelt down respectfully towards the bedroom. Inside and outside the palace, servants and guards knelt down and kowtowed one after another... There was a cry of grief.

Shen Qingbai, who was preparing to make osmanthus dumplings for his sister in the kitchen of the palace, suddenly froze, the bowl in his hand fell to the ground with a bang, and he turned and rushed out.

"elder sister……"

Xiao Bi, who was dressed as an ordinary woman and was helping him, also cried anxiously and chased after him.

In the main hall, Xie Yuncheng heard the noise from the back house and sighed silently.

A fast horse was galloping in the city of Beihai Prefecture. Shuchi Yan frowned and rode towards the palace.

Last night he had a dream. He dreamed that Shen Ning was wearing a white dress, riding a horse and galloping across the grassland with a smile on her face, waving at him from afar... He woke up in shock and rushed to Beihai Mansion without even having breakfast.

No matter what, I can only feel at ease after seeing her.

But at this moment, a dull bell rang.

Shuchi Yan suddenly froze, looked up, and saw that all the guards on the city wall had knelt down.

The boy's face lost all color, and his eyes suddenly turned red: "Sister!"

He rode like crazy, rushing towards the palace...

On the city wall, Zhang Duo, the commander of Beihai Prefecture, knelt on the ground, his eyes red as he looked towards the palace. He took a deep breath and spoke in a hoarse voice, "The Empress has passed away... The whole city is in mourning."

In less than half an hour, the news of the queen's death spread throughout the Beihai Prefecture. The city was filled with mourning and the cries of grief reached the sky.

Outside the city, the wasteland stretches as far as the eye can see. Only the northern geese fly south, slowly disappearing into the azure sky...

Soon, the news of the queen's death spread.

In the imperial palace of the capital, the empress dowager wept silently. Nanny Gui stood behind her, gently comforting the empress dowager while she couldn't help crying with her. She couldn't utter a word of comfort.

The Queen is only eighteen years old, in the prime of her life, as beautiful as a flower. How can beauty be envied by heaven...

Concubine Xie Yunyan accompanied Xie Yunqing, and the two sisters hugged each other and cried bitterly. On the side, Shen Chengxi kept wiping tears with red eyes.

Li Yushi dropped the pestle in her hand and almost hit her foot. With red eyes, she turned back to look for Ye Heng, and saw Ye Heng striding over and hugging her, bursting into tears: "Master is gone..."

Huayingxue closed the store for a month, and Su Lianyi cried so hard that she couldn't get up.

Even those who were not very familiar with Shen Ning felt sympathetic. After all, this young queen was truly extraordinary. Not to mention that she had shared the joys and sorrows with the current emperor all the way to the present day, just the fact that she had thunder bombs and other gunpowder, as well as corn and potatoes, which had helped the Xuan Dynasty escape from the panic of famine, was enough to make her name in history.

At a harbor, huge ships were anchored there.

A handsome, almost bewitching young man stood by the side of the boat, looking down at the shaking water...a tear fell into the water.

Xu Zhiyi closed his eyes and sighed softly. After a while, he spoke in a hoarse voice, "Go tell the young master that we are setting sail."

A moment later, he was called into the cabin. Opposite him was a person sitting in a wheelchair, missing a leg, and with a thin body. It was Xiao Nanyong, who everyone thought had died in the Huguo Temple.

Xiao Nanrong's expression was calm but indescribably lonely: "Can't you go see her before you leave?"

He whispered, "We probably won't be coming back."

"No need to go."

Xu Zhiyi lowered his eyes: "She's gone..."

Xiao Nanyong suddenly looked up, and waves surged in his silent eyes... He barely suppressed them for a long while and turned his head away, not wanting others to see his red eyes.

"Did I harm her?"

Xiao Nanyong's voice was hoarse: "If I hadn't taken the Great Wizard away, would there still be a chance..."

Xu Zhiyi shook his head: "I met her once later. Her internal organs were weakened and even gods couldn't save her."

Xiao Nanrong fell silent for a moment, then said self-deprecatingly, "Tell me, is this because good people don't live long, while evil always lingers for thousands of years?"

Xu Zhiyi smiled bitterly and shook his head, then he sighed deeply: "Is there anything else you can't let go of?"

Xiao Nanrong lowered his eyes and shook his head: "No more."

"Then let's leave this continent and look somewhere else."

Xu Zhiyi smiled: "I invited her to leave with me before, but she refused... Now, I will go and see the world beyond this continent for her."

The ship slowly sailed out of the harbor, and the voices of the two people were blown away by the sea breeze.

"You are shameless indeed. She is your niece in name only..."

"Ms. Xie is my stepmother and has no blood relationship with me."

"Didn't you fight for it back in Pingning?"

Xu Zhiyi lowered his eyes.

Haven’t you tried to fight for it?

I should have tried harder, but... it's meaningless to say anything now.

His identity, status and the things he has to do destined him to not be able to fall in love passionately... Life is not always perfect.

It's more of a regret.

After a long sigh, Xu Zhiyi did not let go of the person who poked his lungs.

"I'm not as shameless as you, but I never thought of forcing myself on her."

Xiao Nanrong's face was immediately filled with embarrassment. He turned his head and said stiffly, "If it weren't for you and that damned Mu Yao, we might have already fallen in love..."

Xu Zhiyi sighed, "Don't let your mother and my good brother lead you astray..."

"Just shut up."

"You shut up too!"

"If you die outside, I won't collect your body!"

"Then just rot wherever you want, returning to the world..."

In the capital city, at the imperial mausoleum, a group of young men and women stood outside the mausoleum waiting. Not long after, a figure walked out from inside. He was pale and silent. It was Yuan Yue.

July felt uncomfortable when he saw Yuanyue's expression.

Others only know that Yuanyue chose to guard the Queen's tomb out of loyalty, but perhaps only she knows that it is more than just loyalty.

Thinking of this, July wanted to cry.

When the young lady was around, although Brother Yuan Yue didn't dare to show it, he could at least follow her around and see her. But now... he can only guard the cold tomb.

But this is already very good. After all, on the day the young lady left, Brother Yuanyue was ready to commit suicide to follow the young lady. It was the second young master who stopped him and asked him to guard the tomb for the young lady.

This is good, at least people can survive.

They come to check on him every once in a while, and Brother Yuanyue only comes out at this time.

Qiyue finally couldn't help herself and persuaded Yuanyue to go back with them behind the others' back: "The young lady told you to stay with the lady. If you do this... the young lady will be worried if she knows."

Yuanyue shook her head, realizing that the tried and tested method was no longer effective.

The young man looked at Qiyue with a gentle expression, without any trace of pain or gloom. "Xiaoqi, don't worry about me. I'm fine here... As long as I think that the young lady is just across the wall, and I can be here with her and continue to protect her, I feel very happy, really."

The calmness and gentleness on his face did not seem fake, and July could no longer say anything to persuade him.

Yuan Yue asked her, "How is Your Majesty now?"

Qiyue pursed her lips, "It's still the same... I'm busy with government affairs every day, dealing with government affairs day and night. Oh, and two days ago, the Minister of Rites submitted a memorial mentioning the selection of concubines, which made His Majesty very angry. He almost killed the Minister of Rites, and no one dared to bring it up again."

Yuan Yue said in a cold voice: "It wasn't long since the young lady left. Your Majesty wanted to follow her at that time. He finally managed to hold on, but those people insisted on seeking death."

He was just seeking benefits for himself under the guise of caring about His Majesty, but he didn't realize that even if His Majesty agreed, the Empress Dowager might not agree, Liaodong might not agree, and Mongolia might not agree... not to mention that His Majesty would never agree.

He asked again: "Where is the second young master?"

"The Second Young Master also studies hard every day... I accidentally bumped into him crying once, but I didn't dare go in... Xiao Bi stayed by his side to take care of him, and was very attentive and considerate. Brother Yuanyue, don't worry about the Second Young Master."

Just then, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from outside.

February ran in: "Your Majesty is here."

Yuan Yue nodded: "You guys go back, he wants to be alone with the young lady."

July nodded, and then the group of eleven walked out. When they met the current emperor, they all knelt down to salute.

"No need to be polite."

Seeing these little guys around Chen Ning, Xiao Nanchen's expression finally eased a little, but at the same time he was relieved, he couldn't help but feel tears welling up when he thought that they came here to pay tribute to the same person.

"Go ahead... If you encounter anything you can't handle, come find me. Now that Ningning is gone, I'll be your support."

July sniffed, and everyone responded in unison.

Xiao Nanchen asked his close followers to stay outside and walked inside.

Yuan Yue bowed respectfully and walked out silently, allowing Xiao Nanchen to stay there alone and talk to his wife.

After taking a few steps, the young man looked back and saw that the tall and upright emperor, regardless of his status, sat down in front of the tomb.

This was the Emperor, who was only in his twenties, yet Yuan Yue saw a deadness in him...

Her departure made many people heartbroken, and it was like a heartbreak for the emperor.

Life is so hard to be perfect...