Chapter 98 [VIP]
Chapter Summary: Extra Chapter
Xie Ying sat blankly in the hall. Ever since learning of Xie Jin's death, Xie Ying's mind had been in a daze. Recent events, one after another, had happened too many and too quickly. It took her a long time to come to her senses and understand what had happened.
She didn't shed a tear. She even thought that the whole thing was fake. Dan'er must have received the wrong information, or it must be just rumors circulating outside.
"My lady, please allow me to go in and take a look?" Dan'er was extremely worried outside the door, and tears were almost streaming down her face.
"My beauty!" Dan'er knocked for a long time outside, but Xie Ying didn't answer. Dan'er was anxious, but she didn't dare to go to Qi Jin. Qi Jin was the instigator of the Xie family's troubles. If she brought Qi Jin here, Xie Ying would probably be even more heartbroken.
Dan'er waited at the gate all day, but heard no sound from inside, and began to panic. Fearing that Xie Ying might do something, she disregarded everything else and headed towards the palace gate. Just as she reached the gate, she saw Qi Jin standing at the foot of the steps, about to enter.
The snow was falling heavily, and one could only vaguely see the black dragon-patterned court robe worn under the sable cloak. The pure white snow made the young master's deep and handsome features stand out even more.
Dan'er hadn't expected to run into Qi Jin at the palace gate. She was stunned for a moment before bowing and greeting him, saying, "This servant greets Your Majesty."
"Get up," Qi Jin said calmly, then asked, "How is Sui Sui?"
"This servant was just about to report to His Majesty, but since the beauty learned of Xie Jiang's... Xie Jin's matter, she has locked herself in her room and hasn't come out for a whole day," Dan'er said in a panic.
Upon hearing this, Qi Jin's expression darkened with anger: "Why didn't you say so earlier!"
Seeing Qi Jin's anger, Dan'er felt a little intimidated and dared not say anything, watching Qi Jin walk quickly into the palace. Qi Jin had long legs and big strides, and walked fast, making it difficult for Xu Xinshu and Dan'er to keep up.
With a loud "bang!", the door was kicked open. Qi Jin stormed in, seething with anger. The moment he saw Xie Ying, his expression relaxed, but then he frowned.
The charcoal fire inside the hall seemed to have burned out quite some time ago, making it feel like an ice cellar, unlike the outside, except there was no cold wind. Xie Ying, dressed in a thin undergarment, sat on the couch, his expression indifferent. Upon seeing Qi Jin, he forced a bitter smile and said, "Your Majesty."
His breath was barely a whisper, as if he were about to die.
Qi Jin took a breath, walked up to Xie Ying, took off his mink cloak, and draped it over Xie Ying's shoulders. The cloak still carried the lingering warmth of Qi Jin and the scent of ambergris.
Xie Ying turned her head and glanced at Qi Jin. When Qi Jin saw her eyes, he was stunned. Her eyes were clear and bright, but her rims were terribly red. For a moment, Qi Jin felt a little guilty.
Qi Jin walked to the table, stared at the teapot for a long time, and finally spoke after a while: "Sui Sui".
He paused for a moment.
"Child, we will have more in the future."
As he spoke, he turned to Xie Ying and said, "The past is the past. Sui Sui, we can start over."
"Your Majesty, as you know, we can't get through this."
She was indeed heartbroken by the loss of her child, but what saddened her even more was Qi Jin's attitude towards the Xie family. She knew better than anyone whether her father and Xie Xuan harbored rebellious intentions, and she also knew very well who had instigated it.
"Xie Ying, I've already humbled myself so much, what more do you want from me?" Qi Jin's voice was a little heavier, but his tone was still that of someone begging.
"Your Majesty, I am still facing the wall in meditation. Please return." Xie Ying said, looking at Qi Jin, she felt inexplicably about to cry.
"Sui Sui, I..." Qi Jin said, then looked up at Xie Ying, swallowed the rest of his words, and turned to leave.
The hall fell silent again. Xie Ying glanced at Qi Jin's cloak and ripped it off forcefully. She didn't need it now. What she needed, Qi Jin couldn't give her right now.
The news of Xie Xuantong and Yu Jing's deaths reached Qi Jin's ears after nightfall.
"Your Majesty," Xu Xinshu called out tentatively.
"News has come from the imperial prison: Xie Xuan is dead. Just now, news also came from Cining Palace: the Empress Dowager has also committed suicide."
Qi Jin was writing when he heard Xu Xinshu's words. He paused for a moment, but without looking up, he replied, "These things need not be known to Wan Ying Pavilion."
He wasn't surprised by Xie Xuan's death, but Yu Jing's was unexpected. However, he already hated her to the core, so her suicide was exactly what he wanted.
"Yes." Xu Xinshu had just finished responding when Qu An's voice rang out from outside, "Your Majesty, the people from Wanying Pavilion request an audience."
Qi Jin's brow twitched, and he forced himself to calm down before saying, "Go in."
Before he could finish speaking, Dan'er rushed in. Qi Jin immediately noticed the blood on her sleeve.
Before Dan'er could speak, Qi Jin stood up first: "What's wrong with her?"
Dan'er was startled. She was already terrified when she saw Xie Ying's appearance, and now that Qi Jin was like this, tears streamed down her face. She sobbed as she replied to Qi Jin, "Your Majesty, our beauty... she committed suicide."
Before Dan'er could finish speaking, she felt a cool breeze pass by her, and Qi Jin had already walked past her.
"Your Majesty!" Xu Xinshu saw Qi Jin rushing out without wearing a cloak, so he quickly grabbed a cloak and followed behind Qi Jin.
The wind and snow outside were heavy, with goose-feather snowflakes falling in abundance. Qi Jin braved the wind and snow, walking along the passageway. He walked for quite a while, and eventually even started running.
Xu Xinshu followed behind, the wind and snow cutting into his face like knives. He wanted to tell Qi Jin that they could take a carriage or a sedan chair. But seeing Qi Jin's expression, he dared not say it.
Qi Jin ran, the passageway deserted, the cold wind whistling past his ears. Yet he felt no cold, his mind filled only with Xie Ying.
When he arrived at Wanying Pavilion, the surroundings were extremely noisy. People passing by bowed and greeted Qi Jin upon seeing him. Qi Jin seemed not to see them and walked straight towards the main hall. When he reached the front of the hall, he was suddenly filled with fear, an inexplicable and extreme terror gripping his heart. He slowed his pace and stepped into the hall, where he smelled a cold, metallic scent of blood.
It was a smell he was used to every day, but now, the smell made him feel nauseous. Qi Jin walked inside and heard a lot of noise. He lifted the curtain and went inside, where a group of imperial physicians were helplessly holding their medicine boxes. Qi Jin looked up and saw Xie Ying, still wearing only a thin undergarment, lying in a pool of blood. The snow-white undergarment was soaked in dark red blood, absorbing the blood, which looked somewhat eerie. Xie Ying lay there quietly, except for her pale face, as if she were asleep.
"Your humble servants greet Your Majesty." The imperial physicians hurriedly knelt down and bowed to Qi Jin as he entered.
"go out."
Before Qi Jin could finish speaking, they had already scrambled out with their medicine chests on their backs. Qi Jin's appearance was truly terrifying; his court robes were disheveled, a thin layer of snow covered his body, and his expression was solemn and frightening. He no longer resembled a noble young master; instead, he looked like a vengeful ghost seeking to claim a life.
They quickly left, and the hall fell silent once more, so quiet that not a sound could be heard. Qi Jin walked stiffly to Xie Ying's side.
"For a concubine to commit suicide is a grave crime, punishable by the extermination of nine generations of her family. Even if you have lost your father and brothers, do you still not care about the collateral branches of the Xie family?"
"Xie Ying?" Qi Jin said to himself, his voice growing louder.
"Xu Xinshu!"
"This servant...this servant is here," Xu Xinshu replied nervously.
"Go, kill all the collateral branches of the Xie family."
Upon hearing this, Xu Xinshu was taken aback, then immediately replied, "Yes, this servant will go right away."
Xu Xinshu turned and ran out, but a moment later, Qu An ran out and stopped him.
"Master."
"His Majesty just said that the decree will not be issued."
Xu Xinshu breathed a sigh of relief and immediately asked, "Where is His Majesty?"
"They're still inside the palace," Qu An said in a low voice. "Now that Consort Xie is gone, I'm afraid she won't have any good days ahead."
"Yes," Xu Xinshu replied, staring at the vast expanse of white snow. Qu An's words made sense. Qi Jin wasn't an impulsive person, but now, for Xie Ying, he seemed to have gone mad.
Xu Xinshu returned to the entrance of Wanying Pavilion and could only faintly hear the sound of vomiting coming from inside. The sound continued until late into the night before gradually subsiding. Xu Xinshu had never known that winter nights in Beihuai could be so long and unbearable.
Qi Jin stayed by Xie Ying's body all night, and no one knew what he did inside. Xu Xinshu only knew that when he opened the door early the next morning, his legs below the knees were covered in blood, his eyes were very blue, and his face looked terrible.
"Your Majesty," Xu Xinshu bowed and greeted.
"Have someone clean the hall and change Sui Sui into clean clothes. Don't touch anything else. You will be in charge of overseeing this yourself."
"Yes." Xu Xinshu replied with lowered eyes, watching Qi Jin walk outside.
He went to court and ate meals as usual, but apart from those matters, he stayed in Wanying Pavilion and didn't go anywhere else. Now that it's freezing cold, Xie Ying's body can still be preserved, but once spring comes, it's hard to say whether it will survive.
No one in the court or among the common people knew about this, because the Lady Xie they knew had already been buried in the imperial mausoleum.
To preserve the body, no charcoal was burned inside the hall; only incense was burned.
Qi Jin lay beside Xie Ying, not feeling cold at all. Only when he was beside her could he sleep peacefully.
He fell asleep and had a bizarre dream.
In his dream, he still saw his mother being forced into the lake and drowned by Sheng Hua. He could do nothing but watch from behind a tree. He was young then, but he knew that if he went out, no one would be able to avenge his mother.
He could only endure it, watching, his heart filled with a mixture of grief, indignation, and helplessness.
He had this dream for many years, and every time he dreamed of it, it was as if time had turned back, and the memory was vivid.
Suddenly everything went black, and my eyes were covered by an icy hand.
"Your Majesty, do not look."
Upon hearing the familiar voice, Qi Jin couldn't help but shed tears.
"Year after year".
He called her name, and she suddenly opened her eyes to find herself in an inner chamber as cold as an ice cellar, with dimly lit red candles that seemed to be burning out.
Despite the cold, he broke out in a sweat. Turning his head to look at her, she remained the same—cold, pale, like a piece of ice that would shatter at the slightest touch.
Everyone in the dream was dead. Qi Jin suddenly laughed, but tears still streamed down his face.
The heavy snow silently covered the entire imperial city.
[Author's Note]
This concludes the entire series. Thank you!
I highly recommend my upcoming novel, "Raising a Sickly Prince," please add it to your favorites!
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