Chapter 302
Inside Chonghua Palace, Lingwu gazed at the indistinct rain in front of the door, and after a moment, she uttered hoarsely, "Jade Shattered."
"Your Highness, this servant is here," Yu Sui replied. She looked up and saw that Ling Wu's lips were bright red, and she seemed to be in good spirits. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"Your Majesty," she said again, her eyes lowered.
"Go and summon Linlang, Yuehui, and Lingluo to me. I have something to say to the three of them."
"Yes!" Yu Sui had no doubts.
She was very open-minded. The Empress bestowed many rewards upon her, but she did not attempt to occupy the position of the only palace maid in the Empress's heart.
The Empress also gave her an imperial decree, stating that if the Empress passed away, she could choose to leave the palace.
This was also why she was worried about the Empress's health, but fortunately the Empress is fine.
Yu Sui turned to leave, but as she spun around, Ling Wu asked again, "Yu Sui, are you homesick?"
Home?
Indeed, she hadn't seen her family for a long time, but her family hadn't treated her well, so she simply shook her head and said, "Your Majesty, this servant doesn't miss her family."
"If they treat you badly, don't go home to report after you leave the palace, lest you get entangled and can't get rid of them," Ling Wu instructed.
In an era where filial piety was considered paramount, Yu Sui felt a lump in her throat upon receiving such understanding from her master, and nodded repeatedly: "This servant thanks Your Majesty for your guidance."
Lingwu smiled gently, "Go ahead." Then she stood there, watching her leave.
When the three of them returned, they all looked somewhat apprehensive.
After the day she laid everything out, the Empress treated them the same as before. However, they still felt guilty, so they did not take away her cultivation for a long time.
The fact that the Empress suddenly summoned them today still made their hearts tremble.
Could it be that Her Majesty regrets keeping them?
The scenery inside Chonghua Palace is beautiful. The green plants, soaked in the spring rain, slowly stretched their waists, and pink and white flowers peeked out, looking tender and adorable.
"Your Majesty." Linlang arrived the fastest. After bowing, she waited for Lingwu's question. Seeing Lingwu's gaze, she took the initiative to speak: "Today is the Awakening of Insects. Does Your Majesty have anything you wish to do?"
Ling Wu met her gaze, and after a brief moment, she nodded. "Indeed, there is, but we still need the help of the three of you."
Linlang's heart softened when she met those eyes, but then she panicked for a moment when she saw her rosy lips. "Your Majesty, please tell me, and I will do my best."
"No rush, let's wait for them to arrive before we talk about it."
Lingwu gazed at the spring rain, seemingly reminiscing about the past, which made Linlang extremely anxious.
The Empress's complexion was rosy, but the cultivation within her body seemed eager to return to its source.
This is not usually the case, so why is it happening today?
She stood behind and looked up at the beautiful figure in front of the door. An answer was already in her mind, but she held it back firmly!
How could that be? This time, Sui Sui and the rabbit failed, and they did not leave. How could the Empress possibly have the same ending as before?
Thinking it over, she asked in a hoarse voice, her voice trembling with fear, "Your Majesty, you...you were like that the previous two times..."
Ling Wu didn't turn around, but her voice came from a distance, "You want to ask when I died?"
“…Yes.” Linlang clenched her fists.
Ling Wu then turned around and smiled faintly at her, "The day of the Awakening of Insects is today."
Linlang couldn't help but take two steps back, and the color drained from her usually cool and aloof face, leaving it completely pale.
"I have a premonition that I cannot escape this death no matter what," Ling Wu said. As she finished speaking, the tender little flower closest to her was suddenly knocked off the branch by the light drizzle.
Lingwu stretched out her fingertip, her slender fingertip drawing a blur as she pointed at the small flower.
"My fate may seem as good as it, but even if I avoid all the storms, I will eventually be unable to escape my destiny on that predetermined day."
"Linlang, do you think that if I open my eyes again next time, I will see you again, the same person who used to stand by and watch coldly?"
Ling Wu's eyelashes trembled slightly, and her raised fingertips slowly slid down. "Do you think I'll live to see the Awakening of Insects again?"
"What if one day you grow tired of this inevitable cycle of death and vanish completely, never to exist again?"
She leaned against the door, the light in her eyes that could bring salvation gradually fading, and finally extinguishing little by little under Linlang's gaze.
She was powerless to stop it.
Yuehui and Lingluo also stopped in their tracks, unable to give the person in front of them a definite answer.
"No, if you go back to the past, you will see us again, as we are now." They couldn't give that answer.
Their cultivation was too shallow; they too were bound by fate, unable to escape it, let alone a mere mortal like a queen.
"Your Majesty..." Linlang could not give a response, so she could only call out softly in a hoarse voice.
A smile appeared on Ling Wu's lips again, but this smile no longer brought her joy as it had before; instead, it was filled with panic and helplessness.
“So rather than being toyed with by fate, it’s better to make a choice actively, at least then one can retain a shred of dignity.” Ling Wu murmured, her gaze sweeping over the three of them: “Would you help me free myself?”
Ling Wu was wearing a dark purple dress today. The drizzle was blown sideways by the spring breeze, wetting the hem of her dress and slightly messing up her hair.
Linlang still remembers the coolness of Lingwu's hands when she first tidied her sideburns.
Her lips trembled, tears veiling her figure with a misty haze. A stinging sensation rose in her nose, but it was no match for the clenched pain in her heart.
Her throat tightened, and she refused to respond.
"Your Majesty, I entrust all my cultivation to you; perhaps that will help you overcome this. Your Majesty is a good person, kind-hearted since childhood; you will surely be able to overcome this difficulty." Linlang's voice was hoarse as she forced a smile.
Despite her thoughtful consideration, Yuehui could not hide her loneliness and helplessness. She spoke up and advised, "Your Majesty, perhaps the life-saving grace should be repaid in the present moment."
Upon hearing this, Lingluo quickly wiped away the tears on her face, nodded, and a ball of red light appeared in her hand. "Your Majesty, how will we know if the result will be different if we don't try?"
Ling Wu smiled knowingly, seemingly tempted, "Then let's give it a try."
Unfortunately, no matter how much cultivation entered her body, it was like entering a leaky bag, flowing outwards without being able to stay.
As darkness fell, anxiety and fear mingled on the faces of the three.
Nothing is more disheartening than having hope, barely risen, broken and crushed.
Amidst soft sobs, Lingwu watched the drizzle, left the shelter of the eaves, and walked to the small flower to pick it up.
The little flower in my palm has withered, but its color is still tender and vibrant.
"I have long since resigned myself to my fate," she murmured, before turning around. In the drizzle, glistening raindrops clung to her eyelashes.
Upon hearing this, Linlang suddenly spoke up and resignedly lowered her head, "...Alright, this servant will help you."
Immediately realizing what was happening, Yuehui quickly stopped her: "Linlang, are you crazy! There might still be a chance!"
Linlang ignored her, stepped into the rain, and stood with her in the drizzle.
"Your Majesty, may I accompany you?" she asked, her eyes glistening with tears that were indistinguishable from raindrops standing in the rain.
It's unclear whether this sentence means accompanying her in the rain or accompanying her to her death.
Lingwu removed the silver bell hairpin from her hair and put it back on for her, understanding another layer of meaning in her words: "A thousand years of cultivation is not easy."
Ke Linlang's eyes showed even greater determination, but she didn't ask any more questions. Instead, she stayed by Lingwu's side.
Until Lingwu's cultivation was completely depleted and returned to her own body, Lingwu also returned to sit under the corridor.
Linlang knelt before Lingwu, "Your Majesty, is there anything else you wish for?"
"I can't remember many things anymore. My father had many concubines, and they always put my interests above all else. I didn't have many friends either inside or outside the palace. Thinking about it, it's all quite laughable." She smiled faintly, but the laugh was indifferent.
Finally, she softly uttered, "It seems that no one has ever truly cared about me, whether in my life or in this one."
“But Your Highness now has me.” Linlang wanted to hold Lingwu’s hand, but she didn’t dare, and could only whisper and coax her.
Ling Wu said no more, her gaze shifting to the three kneeling before her. "You once said that if you didn't repay the debt of saving your lives, you would perish. Since that's the case..."
She paused as if pondering, then said, "Then you shall stay here and ensure the long-lasting prosperity of my dynasty."
Lingluo replied quickly, "This servant agrees to Your Highness!" The moment she finished speaking, the rules of heaven and earth descended upon her, making it impossible for her to disobey.
Yuehui lowered her eyes and replied, "Yuehui obeys."
She could never understand why the Empress wouldn't let them die and perish with her.
At this moment, she was unaware of the profound impact of her thoughts, which made it impossible for her to die, and she could only desperately cling to the hope that the Empress was still alive.
Linlang remained silent for a long time, and Lingwu did not press her.
As the rain intensified, Lingwu sat on the veranda, with Yuehui Lingluo standing behind her and Linlang brewing tea in front of her.
As the music flowed smoothly, Lingwu watched in a daze, but every time Linlang looked up, her heart sank even lower.
She knew that the Empress was not lost in thought, but rather that her consciousness was beginning to fade.
Is it really impossible to escape fate?
But as the Empress said, fate is inescapable, but she can choose her own ending.
She poured the tea, knelt respectfully, and presented it with both hands. But before Lingwu could take it, she felt a cool touch on her temple.
The familiar gestures and scents, from that moment on, became her unspeakable secret, haunting her dreams.
She never got to see her master take the hot tea from her hands.
"Your Majesty..." This servant has come to keep you company.
Qianqing Palace
Shi Sheng picked up his brush, muttering "Chonghua Palace," and just as he finished the last stroke.
"Your Majesty! Chonghua Palace..." Zhang Cheng's face was ashen, but he could not bring himself to say the words.
Shi Sheng looked at the plaque and asked, "What? Has the plaque for Chonghua Palace fallen off?"
Zhang Cheng immediately knelt down, his voice filled with grief: "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager... has passed away."
The young emperor's brush fell onto the plaque, smearing the written characters everywhere with dirt.
Shi Sheng didn't bother getting into the sedan chair and ran towards Chonghua Palace. The fine rain pattered on his face as he thought of many things.
But of all those figures, in the end, only she transformed into him today, smiling brightly, saying, "The dynasty will prosper forever."
But he didn't want a dynasty that would last forever.
All he wanted was for her, the one who had personally lifted him from the ashes to a high position, to be part of a dynasty that would last forever.
On the night of the Awakening of Insects, the Empress Dowager, who had regained the Emperor's favor, passed away. That night, spring rain fell heavily, and people said that the Empress Dowager's kind heart had moved even Heaven to tears.
The rabbit, having gone through countless hardships to return to Chonghua Palace, possessed the dagger. Unable to speak, it could only hear the sounds of maids moving around and a few words being spoken.
In the end, despite my reluctance to believe it, I learned of my benefactor's passing.
In that instant, he inadvertently revealed a trace of his presence.
Dressed in mourning clothes, Sui Sui knelt down and prayed to Heaven to bless the Empress with happiness in her next life before taking a step toward the location of the dagger.
When the dressing case was opened, Sui Sui's eyes immediately fell upon the blood-stained dagger. The moment she reached out and grabbed it, many past memories came flooding back.
She fed her snacks, she helped her put on jewelry, she had her only special affection for her, but in the end, it all turned into the tragic sight of her lying on the cold bluestone slab with her chest cut open.
She took the dagger with her, and under the rabbit's cold gaze, she found a secluded spot, then plunged it into her own heart. The pain only made her smile more radiant.
She twirled the dagger, suppressing the sweet taste in her throat, and with her other hand, she ripped out her heart.
She stared at her pounding heart, laughing and crying at the same time, and said, "Just like, cough cough, just like her."
Finally, he staggered into the heavy rain.
A bolt of lightning struck her squarely, annihilating the last wisp of rabbit consciousness within the dagger.
"My benefactor." The man's low, gentle voice rang out, but it vanished under the thunder.
A small black cat watched coldly from under the eaves, its dark green eyes shimmering with emotion.
After landing, it circled the girl's body for a moment, and only after confirming that she had no chance of survival did it turn into black mist and leave indifferently.
This was the last order the Empress gave him.
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