Chapter 309: Protecting with Life
Xiao Heng's eyes were indifferent: "At this point, what qualifications do you have to ask me these questions?"
He turned his face to the side, and the candlelight in the glass lamp reflected the coldness in his eyes, without a trace of warmth.
"You should understand that the place in my heart is born to accommodate only one person. Even if she is not here, it will not be your turn."
Before Liu Yuetang appeared, he liked Shen Qingtang and doted on Shen Qingtang, but the place in his heart was empty.
Over the years, Liu Yuetang was the only one who filled it up.
Only later did he realize that his feelings for Shen Qingtang were a youthful fantasy, a commitment and responsibility, and even more so, guilt.
What he gave to Shen Qingtang was consideration; what he gave to Liu Yuetang was his whole heart.
"It's not my turn either?" Shen Qingtang murmured, feeling a pain in his heart as if it were being cut by a knife.
"Then what does the relationship between us that has lasted for more than ten years mean?"
"In your heart, are all the things of the past worthless?"
Tears blurred her vision as she stared at Xiao Heng's cold profile, but she waited for no response from the man sitting in the upper seat.
The only sound was the melting snow outside the window, which came drifting in drop by drop, making one feel cold all over.
Shen Qingtang couldn't stop trembling all over, "Xiao Heng, have you really never been sincere to me all these years?"
Xiao Heng paused as he was stroking the ring.
He was sincere. He had treated her well in the past and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
But in the end, the two of them drifted further and further apart.
Until he hurt Liu Yuetang, all their affection was gone.
"Yes." He pondered for a moment, his eyes slightly tilted, and his shadow lightly passed by Liu Yuetang's side.
"However...from now on, my true heart will only be given to one person."
He seemed to be answering Shen Qingtang's words, but it also seemed like he was telling others through her.
That's right, he wanted to tell Liu Yuetang, tell her that even if he had been a little moved by Shen Qingtang in the past, that was just a thing of the past. From now on, year after year, his whole being, his whole heart, would be firmly tied to her alone.
He wanted to give her enough sense of security, so that she could carry this clear preference without any confusion.
As soon as he said this, he happened to see Liu Yuetang's palms suddenly clenched.
A trace of sadness appeared between the queen's brows, and then she looked at the three people in front of her as if she were an outsider.
I thought Shen Qingtang would cry bitterly because of this, but she just smiled foolishly.
That’s enough…
It is enough that Xiao Heng has been sincere to me.
At least, he once had his own in his heart.
Then, she wanted Xiao Heng to remember her completely.
Remember for a lifetime...
Remember, there was a woman named Shen Qingtang who loved him more than her own life.
She slowly stood up and walked towards Xiao Heng step by step.
"Your Majesty, do you still remember this?"
As she spoke, she took out the dagger from her sleeve and held it in her hand.
At this moment, Liu Yuetang and the Queen were startled, looked at each other, and stood up.
Xiao Heng walked down the stairs and looked at the dagger in her hand with a dazed look.
Shen Qingtang stroked the twig-shaped pattern carved on the dagger with his fingertips and whispered, "Back then, during the struggle for the throne, there was bloodshed inside and outside the palace. I came to the palace to find you, regardless of my own safety. Before leaving, you gave me this dagger and said, 'The situation is dangerous. If anything goes wrong, use this to protect yourself.'"
"Do you still remember, Your Majesty?" Shen Qingtang looked at him deeply, with obsession and nostalgia.
Xiao Heng nodded slightly.
Shen Qingtang slowly pulled out the dagger, which shone coldly under the candlelight. She looked at the cold light and suddenly smiled.
"But now, the dagger that protected me is still there, but the person who protected me has already given his heart to someone else."
"Xiao Heng! In this life, you have betrayed me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the dagger was unsheathed with a "swish". A cold light suddenly appeared, and Shen Qingtang had already raised the sharp blade above his head.
The only one close by was Xiao Heng.
"Your Majesty—" Liu Yuetang widened her eyes and before she finished her words, she rushed forward, trying to push Xiao Heng away.
The woman's gaze suddenly came into view, and Xiao Heng's pupils shrank suddenly, and he exclaimed: "Miaomiao——"
Seeing the cold blade falling straight down and easily hurting her, Xiao Heng instinctively turned around and stood in front of her, holding her tightly in his arms, while he himself faced the sharp blade head-on.
Shen Qingtang was determined to die, so he didn't hesitate at all when he brought down the sharp blade, and even closed his eyes.
When she heard the scream and opened her eyes, she saw a broad shoulder suddenly appear in the empty space. She was startled and wanted to withdraw her hand, but it was too late.
With a light "swish" sound, the sharp blade cut through the brocade robe and dug deep into Xiao Heng's arm.
She froze in place, her hand holding the dagger trembling, her eyes full of surprise, and she even forgot to pull it back.
"Hmm..." Xiao Heng frowned and a suppressed groan escaped from his throat.
Liu Yuetang's face turned pale, she was shocked and anxious, her voice trembling: "Your Majesty!"
Glancing at the worry surging in her eyes, Xiao Heng moved his arm back half an inch, allowing the sharp blade to penetrate deeper.
He endured the pain, his bloodshot eyes fixed on her.
Seeing her anxious tears welling up in her eyes, Xiao Heng smiled. The pain in his arm seemed to disappear. He smoothed his throat and whispered comfortingly, "Don't be afraid."
Shen Qingtang's hand holding the dagger was still shaking. The blood on the silver blade flowed down the edge, winding through the cold metal and sliding all the way to her fingertips.
When she felt the warmth, her hand loosened and she slid to the ground along with the dagger.
The scene before her eyes happened too suddenly. The queen was horrified and hurried forward to support Xiao Heng, shouting for the imperial physician.
Shen Qingtang's eyes were dull as he looked at the overlapping figures swaying in the candlelight in front of him. He suddenly laughed and then cried.
She loved the man in front of her with her life.
But the man in front of him could use his own flesh and blood to protect another woman without hesitation.
Did he even think... thought he would kill him?
Tears rolled down Shen Qingtang's eyes.
It turns out that love and not love are so clear that there is no room for self-deception.
He really doesn't love himself anymore...
I was still foolishly thinking that ending my life with the dagger he gave me might make him soften his heart a little, and make him think of me occasionally for the rest of his life. Even if... even if I died in his arms, it would not be in vain.
Thinking about it now, it’s such a huge joke!
On the day Liu Yuetang died, he even wanted to kill himself.
He doesn't even care about his own life, so how could he be moved by his own death?
Watching Xiao Heng's back as he was surrounded by people and stepped into the inner hall, Shen Qingtang slowly bent down, picked up the blood-stained dagger on the ground, and slowly spoke: "Xiao Heng, what really killed me was not this cold blade, but your heart."
Her voice was very soft, and by the time she finished speaking, Xiao Heng's figure had disappeared from her pupils.
She raised the dagger high and thrust it fiercely into her heart.
With a dull "puff" sound, the sharp blade penetrated the clothes and sank deep into the flesh.
Shen Qingtang's body trembled violently, severe pain swept through his body like a tide, and his vision went dark.
She stared at the door with a sad smile on her lips.
Her heart finally died, completely died...
As her body fell limply, she seemed to see the boundless night sky outside the palace wall, as bright as a jade plate, with clear light shining for thousands of miles.
"The mountain is high, the moon is small. The moon is small, so bright..."
Before her consciousness faded, she whispered in her heart.
Jiaojiao, this is the nickname her mother gave her.
I originally hoped that she would be like the moon in the mountains, which, though not dazzling, has its own bright nature and can find a sense of freedom and clarity between heaven and earth.
But she chose to plunge into this red wall, blinded by love, bound by obsession, letting her parents down and even herself down.
May my next life...
Never meet Xiao Heng again.
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