Chapter 22

Qi Nian'an grabbed the rough cliff face of the city wall with one hand, gripping the rock core tightly, and climbed upwards, drawing in the suction.

The moment she opened her eyes, she saw the masked man in black looking down at her intently, a murderous aura filling the air, and a dark shadow looming over her.

The man lifted his foot and looked up.

The whole world seemed to consist only of the whistling wind in her ears as she watched the hard object slowly fall.

whereabouts--

She gritted her teeth and endured the excruciating pain, just about to use her toes to push against the groove and climb upwards with all her might, when she suddenly heard an anxious shout from behind the person!

"Leave now, or I will exterminate your entire family!"

She saw Shao Sizhi's anxious eyes, his veins bulging, and his wrists unconsciously clenching and digging into his flesh.

He charged at him recklessly, but the assassin, as if possessed and oblivious, suddenly increased his strength and pressed down harder with his feet.

The dark figure rushed over without regard for anything else. Qi Nian'an looked at that familiar yet bewildered face, and a few ripples stirred in her heart, subtly affecting her love and hope.

He grabbed her tightly and threw her backward.

Shao Sizhi kicked the assassin in the waist with his back foot, the force of which was not diminished. Instantly, a swarm of people surrounded him and trapped him tightly.

Slowly, hot tears slid down Qi Nian'an's cheeks.

His wide robe sleeves brushed against her scraped wound, and his well-defined knuckles reached down, his warm palm grasping her, trying to pull her up, despite that he was standing sideways on the edge of the city wall.

Seeing this, Eunuch Liu turned pale and shouted for people to come forward to protect the emperor.

Shao Sizhi's heart and eyes were filled with worry for her. He didn't know when it started, but his usually indifferent and ruthless black eyes began to reflect her image. Every smile, every gesture of hers was captured in his appreciation. His doting and all his favors were related to her.

"Get down!"

A familiar voice was shouting at her from below. She was hanging halfway up the city wall and could only glance down. It was towering and dangerous, but among the noisy crowd below, there were familiar figures standing tall.

She took a long breath.

"Your Majesty, let go."

She gently stroked his thumb soothingly, slowly pulling it away from his palm.

A moment of blankness flashed in Shao Sizhi's eyes, grief, reluctance... all surging onto his peerless gentlemanly profile.

He futilely reached down to grasp, only to find a void of helpless air enveloping him, suffocating him, and the empty, futile gripping him and dragging him into the ground.

Only now do I realize how shattered my heart would be if that bright light were to disappear.

If you show her too much affection, if you take good care of her...

Shao Sizhi closed his dull eyes, his hands clenched his collar, and an uncontrollable look of illness suddenly appeared on his face. Leaning against the brick wall, he coughed up a few drops of blood in his anger.

"His Majesty!"

Eunuch Liu was shocked and rushed forward to check on him.

Instantly, the crowd stirred, surrounding him tightly and running around. The Imperial Medical Academy sent people, instantly stirring up the restless atmosphere and making it difficult to calm down.

"Consort An...it's all my fault."

A crimson glint flashed in Shao Sizhi's eyes. He gripped the bricks tightly with both hands, as if trying to break the solid city wall off. A few strands of his hair fell messily beside his ears.

"She was posthumously granted the title of Imperial Concubine, and her official rank..."

At the foot of the city wall, Qi Nian'an, his face covered in ash, raised his hand to shield his eyes from the glaring sunlight, looking up in confusion.

"What's wrong with you, buddy? Why aren't you coming down to check on me?"

She brushed the straw and cotton off her body and stretched her slightly sore elbow.

"Heh, you're the one I need in this crucial moment, my best friend."

Li Xiaoran, still shaken, leaned against the tree. A palace maid quickly came up beside her and whispered something in her ear.

Several assassins who were trying to shoot arrows at her in the chaos were firmly held by her side.

Qi Nian'an squinted at the man, instantly understanding something. He straightened his appearance and stepped forward to stop the jailer, saying, "Give these people to me."

The two escorts looked at each other hesitantly. Li Xiaoran stepped forward and stood behind her, saying in a deep voice, "Do as Consort An says."

After the two men left, Li Xiaoran stepped forward and asked in confusion, "Why did you need this man? He was an assassin who wanted to kill you. It would be more compliant, legal, and efficient to hand him over to the Dali Temple for interrogation."

“I don’t believe that these people have nothing to do with Consort Su. Before the palace was reshuffled, Shao Sizhi was assassinated once, the one I reloaded many times. At that time, I suspected that there must still be spies in the palace that had not been removed.”

"As expected, this arrow just grazed my face and passed by. Judging from its shape, it was exactly the same length as the one that pierced my chest last time."

"If I want those behind the scenes to pay the price, I must first make sure we have a firm grip on this."

Qi Nian'an explained in a deep voice, turned around and squeezed her hand, forcing a comforting smile.

"Speaking of which, what's all this commotion on the city wall... Doesn't anyone care about me?"

She shielded her eyes from the sunlight and looked up.

Shao Sizhi was immersed in boundless regret and heart-wrenching pain, his voice still choked with sobs.

Suddenly, he heard a commotion coming from below the city wall, which he found most noisy yet impossible to ignore.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Consort An... Consort An, she..." A young eunuch scrambled through the crowd, his face contorted with a mixture of utter horror and unbelievable elation. "The Consort is alright! She's down there!"

Shao Sizhi's eyes, which had been dark and desperate, almost dripping with tears of blood, suddenly narrowed, and all the grief froze on his face.

Instead, there was a sense of utter bewilderment, almost a blank.

He abruptly pushed away Liu, who was supporting him, stumbled to the wall, and looked down desperately—

The figure he thought had already perished, the one that had caused him such heartache, was standing perfectly at the foot of the city wall. Although her hair was slightly disheveled, her clothes were covered in dust, and she was even raising her hand to brush off the bits of grass from her body.

But its vibrant appearance clearly had nothing to do with the words "fell to its death".

She was even... still tilting her head back, squinting as she looked up, her expression somewhat confused, as if wondering why it was so noisy up there.

"..." Shao Sizhi's words were stuck in his throat.

The immense, overwhelming joy of regaining what was lost was like a tsunami that instantly shattered the dam of pain he had just built, leaving him momentarily at a loss for how to react.

The posthumous conferment of the title of Imperial Concubine, the unfinished grief and regret—all seemed so absurd at this moment.

Yes, that's absurd.

He turned around almost on his hands and feet and rushed downhill like a madman, throwing all imperial majesty and composure to the winds.

Eunuch Liu and his guards were terrified and hurriedly followed after him.

Qi Nian'an had just finished explaining the assassin's situation to Li Xiaoran and was about to say goodbye to Shao Sizhi before returning to the palace to check on the guys who had been taken away when he heard a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps approaching from afar.

Turning around, I saw Shao Sizhi almost running towards me, the wide sleeves of his dragon robe fluttering in the wind, his hair ornament tilted slightly, and a few strands of hair sticking to his sweaty forehead.

Those eyes, which had been filled with grief and despair not long ago, now burned with a scorching flame of something lost and found.

He strode up to Qi Nian'an, then abruptly stopped, his chest heaving violently. His gaze was fixed on her, as if he wanted to suck her in.

His fair, dusty hands, with their distinct knuckles, gently cradled her, as if wanting to touch her and confirm her reality.

But then he paused in mid-air, his fingertips trembling slightly.

Qi Nian'an was startled by his unprecedentedly intense appearance. She blinked and was about to say that she was not dead, or tease him as usual, but before she could speak, she was suddenly pulled into a firm and warm embrace by a huge force.

Shao Sizhi held her tightly, his arms wrapped around her so tightly she could barely breathe.

The force was so great it felt like he wanted to crush her and embed her into his own bones. He

His face was buried in the crook of her neck, his hot breath spraying onto her sensitive skin, carrying a slight tremor of relief.

"..."

Qi Nian'an could clearly feel his heart pounding wildly in his chest, pounding against her eardrums.

Never mind, the child looks frightened. No, when did he become so affectionate?

She hesitated for a moment, but finally raised her hand and gently hugged his tense back.

The palace servants and guards around them had already tactfully retreated.

Only Li Xiaoran stood aside with her arms crossed, watching the two star-crossed lovers embrace. She curled her lips slightly and said coolly, "Oh, in broad daylight, under the clear sky, what kind of show are His Majesty and Consort An putting on? A resurrection from the dead, a broken mirror mended?"

Shao Sizhi stiffened, but did not let go of Qi Nian'an. He simply adjusted his posture slightly, holding her more tightly in his arms, without turning his head, as if he had not heard Li Xiaoran's sarcastic remarks.

His mind was now completely focused on the treasure he had regained, and he couldn't care less about anything else.

Li Xiaoran shook her head helplessly at Shao Sizhi's retreating figure and mouthed the words to Qi Nian'an.

He's not as useful as me!!

Qi Nian'an nodded in agreement, and then helplessly gestured for her to shut up.

Shao Sizhi lowered his head and, in a voice only the two of them could hear, whispered hoarsely in her ear, with a barely perceptible sob and lingering fear, "It's alright...it's alright...it's my fault, it's my fault for not protecting you..."

He repeated it over and over, as if only in this way could he calm the panic that was almost driving him to the brink of collapse.

Qi Nian'an leaned against him, feeling his unprecedented outpouring of emotion. The resentment that had been building up in her heart because of his usual coldness seemed to dissipate considerably at this moment.

She gave a soft "hmm" and whispered, "Your Majesty, I am fortunate to be alive. I have caused you worry."

Shao Sizhi then loosened his grip on her slightly, cupped her face in his hands, and examined her carefully to confirm that apart from some scratches and a disheveled appearance, she was indeed unharmed.

His eyes were brimming with intense emotions: the joy of regaining what was lost, the belated fear, and something even more resolute that was hard to define.

"Return to the palace," Shao Sizhi commanded in a deep voice, his gaze never leaving Qi Nian'an. "Summon the imperial physician! Examine Consort An carefully!"

He paused, then added, "From this day forward, Consort Jin'an will be promoted to Imperial Concubine An."

This imperial edict granting him the title of Grand Master of the Palace came suddenly, yet it was also perfectly reasonable.

Li Xiaoran rolled her eyes and silently mouthed "femme fatale," but ultimately said nothing more.

Shao Sizhi held Qi Nian'an's hand tightly, as if afraid that she would disappear if he let go.

He led her, surrounded by palace servants and guards, ignoring Li Xiaoran's piercing gaze that seemed to penetrate his very back, and headed straight for the imperial bedchamber.

The sunlight stretched their shadows long, intertwining them, as if foreshadowing something that was quietly changing.