Chapter 111: Liang Ye, Like a Ghost

"Shanhe!" Liang Ye reacted, took a long-sleeved shirt and followed, draping it over Shanhe's shoulders, "It's late and the dew is heavy, be careful not to catch a cold."

Shanhe ignored him and continued walking forward, her shirt gently falling to the ground.

Liang Ye grabbed her arm: "Shanhe!"

"I want to bury it!"

Liang Ye knew he was in the wrong, and he hadn't expected Liu Liu to die like this. He softened his voice: "Shan He, I know it was my fault. Put your clothes and shoes on, and I'll bury her with you." He then raised his voice and ordered Cheng An to quickly dig a pit and bury Liu Liu.

"I want to bury it myself!" Shanhe said, her voice breaking as she held back her tears.

“I know, I didn’t mean to stop you from burying her!” He stepped forward and draped his shirt over Shanhe’s shoulders again. “Put your clothes back on, I’ll stay with you.”

Shanhe stood unsteadily in the garden, Liu Liu sleeping soundly in her arms with her eyes closed. Cheng'an found an iron shovel, and Liang Ye then dismissed all the servants.

The thin moonlight, bathed in moonlight, fell equally upon them. Shanhe lowered her head, her fingers gently stroking Liu Liu's small body. She placed Liu Liu on the soil and finally rubbed its fluffy head.

Liu Liu was Liang Shao, and Liang Shao was also Liu Liu. They're both gone, everything is gone. From this night on, she has completely lost Liu Liu, and she has completely lost Liang Shao. Xue Shanhe will never see Liu Liu again in this lifetime, and she will never be with Liang Shao again.

Tears streaming down her face, she planted the shovel into the ground, but suddenly stopped. She turned her face to Liang Ye beside her, her voice gentle: "A-Ye..."

When Liang Ye heard her call him that, his heart skipped a beat, and he quickly answered her.

"The ground is so cold, can you hold Liu Liu for me?"

Seeing her bare feet on the muddy ground, Liang Ye frowned slightly, but finally agreed: "After burying Liu Liu, hurry back to the house. Tomorrow I'll ask Cheng An to make some paper dogs and paper figures to burn for Liu Liu."

Shanhe remained silent.

He sighed, bent down, and picked up Liu Liu.

In that instant, Shanhe raised the shovel high and smashed it heavily onto Liang Ye's head: "Why wasn't it you who died!"

The blow was so powerful that Liang Ye immediately felt dizzy and his vision blurred. Liu Liu appeared double before his eyes, and Shan He's voice echoed in his ears like ripples. He braced himself on the ground with one hand and held his forehead with the other, feeling a warm current flowing from his palm. He didn't have time to think, because Shan He raised the shovel again and swung it down once more.

Two heavy blows sent Liang Ye sprawling to the ground, panting heavily. He noticed his eyelashes were stained with blood, sticky and wet. He saw Shanhe weeping as she knelt down, clutching her back, and picked up Liu Liu's dog carcass.

"You forced me to do this!" Shanhe shouted. "It was all your fault!"

Shanhe hurriedly got up, picked up Liu Liu, and ran wildly outside.

“Shanshan…Shanshan…” He reached out his hand, the words escaping his throat as he murmured.

Cheng An and the others had all been dismissed by Liang Ye, and now there was no one guarding the garden. Liang Ye lay on the muddy ground, breathing heavily. Shan He easily ran out and reached the second gate, only to find that all the gates beyond were locked. Unable to get out, she could only run along the alleyway.

The wall was too high to climb over. She was pregnant and carrying Liu Liu, and gradually her strength gave out. She could no longer run and could only walk slowly.

She wandered aimlessly, surrounded by empty rooms. This was the hot spring estate, a place she was unfamiliar with. By the time she reached a dead end, it was too late. A commotion gradually rose behind her, and lamps were lit in each room and courtyard. Cheng An, holding a torch, led a group of servants to search each courtyard.

The alley was piled high with firewood, and with nowhere to go, Shanhe could only hide behind the firewood.

Footsteps and shouts echoed everywhere, fading into the air. Shanhe quietly lifted the straw, dug a hole in the ground for himself, and then covered it up.

She must be gone. Shanhe breathed a sigh of relief.

She didn't know why she ran, nor why she hit Liang Ye. According to her plan, it wasn't tonight. But seeing Liu Liu's corpse, she couldn't hold back any longer. She didn't want to see him; she wanted to kill him! She was going all in. She knew her power was limited; trying to shake Liang Ye, this great tree, might exhaust all her strength, even her life. There was no other way; she was too lowly. As a government slave, anyone could trample on her. Forget revenge, she might not even be able to live peacefully. Yet, she was delusional, gambling everything, wanting Liang Ye to pay the price, wanting him to know that even the lowest of people are still human, not livestock, and cannot be fooled. She didn't want Liang Shao anymore. She didn't want the child either. She would die with Liang Ye in this life, at least not having lived in vain. She had considered so many people before; this time, she couldn't leave herself out.

Shanhe buried her head in Liuliu's body and silently shed tears.

The footsteps drew closer. A clattering sound, probably three or four people. She heard Cheng An's voice, only four or five steps away: "Alright, alright! They're not here, go out and look for them!"

"The door is locked, how can my wife get out?"

"Hurry up and search! We've searched every room. Let Caixiang and the others stay and search in the inner courtyard."

The sound faded, and silence returned. Shanhe remained hidden inside, too afraid to move. She needed to find a secluded place to bury Liu Liu herself. Then she would abort the child and return for revenge. Yes, she couldn't let the child become a weakness, nor could she let Liang Shao stop her. She also needed to sharpen a razor-sharp knife, one whose blade would draw blood the moment it touched Liang Ye's skin. She would stab him in the neck, and once he was lifeless, she would die herself, then personally kowtow to her grandfather in the afterlife to atone for her sins.

Only a few bird calls could be heard outside; there was no other sound.

They've all finally left.

Shanhe shifted her body and realized that her legs and feet were numb. She waited quietly for a while before parting the firewood and carefully crawling out.

Suddenly, everything was bright. Liang Ye leaned against the wall, his burning eyes fixed on her. Blood dripped from his chin, and his face was grim. "I saw you a long time ago."

Shanhe was shocked and fell down onto the firewood.

He tightened his lips, struggled to his feet, and walked to Shanhe: "Why are you running? You think you can get out?"

He smiled and took out a pair of clean embroidered shoes from his pocket. Liang Ye picked up Shanhe's feet and slowly picked away the weeds and pebbles that were stuck to them before putting the shoes on her. He said in a stern voice, "She was just an animal. She's dead, so be it. If you like her, I'll just make you another pair just like her. There's really no need to be so angry."

Shanhe trembled, because Liang Ye's face was still bleeding, but his voice was extremely calm.

"The doctor just told you to control your temper, have you forgotten? You don't want the baby either?" He looked up at her and stroked Shanhe's slightly protruding belly. "He's so big now, if he's just gone like this, can you bear to lose him? I can't bear to. This is our first child, and it's also Shao's first child. He shouldn't bear to lose him either."

"You've fought, you've run away, are you calm now?" His hand slowly moved upwards, gently wiping Shanhe's tears with his fingers. "Don't cry anymore, it's rare to see you smile. Tomorrow I'll have Cheng'an get a coffin made, and we'll put Liu Liu's everyday things in it too, to keep it company, okay?"

He grew increasingly weary as he spoke, his voice weakening. Shanhe had hidden in the haystack for half an hour, and he had sat there waiting for her for the same half hour. His wound remained untreated, blood slowly trickling down his cheek, soaking his collar. Cheng'an urged him to bandage it first, but he refused. He feared that if he left and returned, Shanhe wouldn't be hiding there, and he would have to search for her again. Cheng'an offered to watch over her, but Liang Ye didn't believe him. He couldn't trust anyone else; he could only trust himself. Even if he bled to death, dying beside her would be worthwhile. Perhaps he would have died that night at Wuyou Garden. It was Shanhe who saved him, dragging him back from the brink of death; now, returning his life to her seemed only natural. Liang Ye felt a chill run through him, and his hands, as he put shoes on her, began to tremble.

He finally managed to put her shoes on, then raised his face, gave a weak smile, his lips white. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out; everything went black, and he fell to the side, unconscious in the pile of firewood.

"Liang Ye!" Shan He nudged him.

He didn't move, his breathing was light, and blood was still flowing.

Shanhe withdrew her hand from checking his breath, her body trembling. If she hadn't called for help, would he have died here? Shanhe glanced furtively at the alley; it was deserted and eerily quiet, save for the sound of the wind. By tomorrow morning, he should be lifeless, shouldn't he?

She felt like she was being torn apart. Should she call for help? Shanhe wiped away her tears and tore off the blood from Liang Ye's face with the hem of her skirt. Her beautiful features were revealed again.

"I'm sorry," she choked out. "In the next life, I'll definitely stay far away from you, and you must never meet me again." Shanhe tore off a piece of her skirt and covered Liang Ye's mouth and nose, then tore off another piece and covered her own. She lay down beside him and slowly closed her eyes.

My breath is getting shorter...

He's probably going to die, isn't he?

Which of the three of us should go see Grandpa first? It can't be Bao Bao, can it?

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself sleeping in a canopy bed. The curtains hung loosely, and I could vaguely see a figure behind me.

Liang Shao sat in the armchair, the book resting on his lap, lost in thought. Hearing the commotion from Shan He's side, he slowly turned his face, his lips bluish-purple and even a little swollen.

"Shanshan..." he said in a hoarse voice, but also calmly, "When I came back last night, I met General Liu Yigu who was guarding the city gate. He asked me if I had a wife surnamed Xue. He said that when I was fighting in Beichuan, my wife had an affair with Liang Ye?"

Shanhe immediately felt a lump in her throat and her eyes well up with tears. She turned her face to the inside of the bed.

He looked down at his scraped hands and frowned. "It's been a long time since I've been in a fight. Back in Michigan, I used to get into fights all the time, and my brother always cleaned up after me and made amends. Now, I have to go by myself."

“Shanshan, you probably don’t know, before you came to Mizhou, I beat someone up. His father is now the Minister of War, and he had quite a bit of influence in Mizhou back then. That person was really outrageous, repeatedly provoking and humiliating me, so I disfigured his face. My grandfather told me to apologize, but I refused. I’d rather be punished by the family than bow down to such a person. It was my brother who went to his door personally and kowtowed to him to apologize. My brother had a very good reputation back then, and he was also very good at studying; everyone praised him.” Liang Shao clutched his face, tears streaming through his fingers, “But he kowtowed to a lowly wretch for my sake!”

By this time, Shanhe had cried all her tears. No matter what Liang Shao said or did, it only added to her guilt and couldn't change her mind in the slightest.

“I can’t hate my brother, and I can’t hate you! I know you’ve suffered a lot. I’m sorry, brother, but I’m even more sorry! From the very beginning, I was the one who made the mistake. Then I made one mistake after another. I finally managed to get you to forgive me, and then I went to Beichuan to seize that so-called crown prince position! I’m the one who forced you to this point, I’m the one who caused you to suffer so much. As soon as you’re feeling better, I’ll take you away. We can go anywhere.” He pulled out an imperial edict from his robes. “I’ve already obtained your grace. Your father is no longer a traitor; he’s a great hero! There will be a place in history books to write about him, along with your grandfather. Shanshan, you’re no longer a slave, you’re no longer one. No one will mistreat you. I just wrote to Chengbao; all my property will be transferred to you. Shanshan, forget Liang Ye. Go travel and enjoy yourself; do whatever you want. Just don’t kill your brother…” He was crying so hard he could barely speak. “Please…”

He wiped away his tears: "Qingyue, Miao'er, Wu Tianqi... are there any others? I'll help Liang Ye make it up to them. I'll do a good job, Shanshan. Consort Xian is dead, and the Meng family is finished too. His Highness has been investigating corruption these days, and Uncle Shi is on His Highness's list. Once the Shi family falls, Liang Ye's official position will be completely lost. He can no longer bully you. I still have my title; I can protect you. Is that alright?"

Shanhe closed her eyes. Liang Shao didn't mind, so how could she just let it go like that? She had to be true to herself first, even if it meant being sorry and being fair. Liang Shao was willing to swallow all the bitterness, but how would he live the rest of his life? Was he going to fight every time he met Liu Yigu? That wouldn't do! He was currently enjoying the Emperor's favor, talented and capable; how could he waste his time on someone like her?

What she fears most is being a burden to others.

Liang Shao stuffed the imperial edict into her arms: "Shanshan, we'll return to the capital the day after tomorrow. I'll accompany my brother to apologize, and I'll try to get His Majesty to send him to a remote place as a minor official. You should rest well and not think about anything else, okay?"

He gave her a deep look, then quietly walked out and closed the door behind him.

Shanhe turned his face, unfolded the jade scroll of the imperial edict, and his pupils trembled.

She was no longer a government slave. But—

"It's too late..." she sighed.

-----------------------

Author's note: Liang Ye will be leaving the story soon, and the ending is fast approaching.

Shanshan is depressed... [resting chin on hand]