Chapter 65 Su Su's Dream of Her Past Life After Death
Chapter Sixty-Five: Su Su's Dream of Her Past Life After Death
Lately, Li Qian has been keeping a very close watch on Su Su, to the point of being extremely paranoid.
The reason was simple: when the imperial physician took her pulse again, he solemnly reiterated that the Imperial Concubine's constitution was weak and cold, and she needed long-term, careful nurturing in order to have any hope of conceiving an heir.
Li Qianche knew perfectly well the root cause of this deficiency and coldness. Su Su had been fond of cool things since childhood. In the summer, she never missed a bowl of iced soup or chilled plum juice, and she dared to drink cold wine even in the cold winter. This habit did not change much after she entered the palace.
The imperial physician had previously hinted that she was only preoccupied with vying for favor and causing a ruckus, and had never truly taken it to heart. Later, he wanted to punish her severely, so he banished her to Changxin Palace, where the winters were like ice caves and there was a shortage of charcoal. She was frozen for two months, and coupled with her overthinking and irregular eating habits, her health deteriorated significantly.
Looking back now, Li Qianche feels a mix of regret and remorse. He hates himself for his drastic methods and hates even more those lackeys who fawned on the government and cut back on expenses.
Therefore, he now lives like a worried old mother, watching over Su Su every day to make sure she drinks the bitter herbal medicine that makes her frown, and strictly forbidding anything spicy or cold from the table.
Su Su would occasionally throw a tantrum, smashing a teacup or turning her back on him. Whenever this happened, Li Qianche would set aside his imperial demeanor and patiently coax her with gentle words. Sometimes he would promise to take her out of the palace to play, and sometimes he would find some new and interesting things to do, until he coaxed her until she was all smiles.
That evening at dinner, Su Su only took two extra bites of her favorite cold shredded vegetables before Li Qianche ordered them to be taken away.
Su Su immediately got angry, put down her chopsticks, and no matter how he coaxed her, she just kept a cold face and didn't speak to him until she fell asleep.
Knowing she was upset, Li Qianche became extra clingy during their nighttime rest. He held her tightly in his arms, showering her with delicate kisses on her brow, eyelashes, and the tip of her nose, finally lingering tenderly on her slightly pursed lips, caressing and licking them with utmost gentleness. His large hands also lingered and caressed her delicate back and waist, carrying a clear sense of appeasement and reconciliation.
Su Su initially resisted a few times, but her body was already familiar with his touch. Under his skillful teasing, her anger melted away like spring snow, turning into soft and melodious moans.
The temperature inside the tent gradually rose. He carefully and persistently pursued her in their lovemaking until they reached their third time. Su Su was so exhausted that she could barely move her fingertips and drifted off to sleep.
Perhaps due to physical and mental exhaustion, or perhaps because her inner knots were loosening unknowingly, Su Su unexpectedly fell into an incredibly vivid dream that night.
She found herself standing in the familiar yet eerie courtyard of the cold palace, the biting wind swirling with snowflakes, chilling her to the bone. And on the ground lay another lifeless "self"—pale-faced, with dark red bloodstains at the corners of her lips, already dead.
She saw a smug, ferocious look on Zhuang Shuning's face. The palace maid Yingchun rushed over and whispered a few words in her ear. Though soft, her voice carried clearly to Su Su's ears in the quiet snowy night: "Your Highness! Something terrible has happened! The Emperor… the Emperor is coming towards the Cold Palace! It seems he knows! We must leave quickly! If His Majesty sees us, we'll be in grave danger!"
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Shuning's expression changed drastically. She glared at the corpse on the ground with a mixture of jealousy and hatred, muttered "bitch!" and then hurriedly slipped away with Yingchun through a small door on the other side. Their figures quickly disappeared into the vast snow and palace walls.
Someone has arrived. Su Su was shocked. So, in her past life, Li Qianche arrived as soon as she breathed her last?
Immediately afterwards, she saw Li Qianche and Mu Hanyan hurrying into the courtyard.
Li Qianche spotted her lying in the snow at a glance. His usually cold and stern face instantly drained of color. He rushed forward, almost staggering, and knelt down, his hands trembling as he tightly embraced the already cold "Su Su." His voice was hoarse and broken as he cried out, "Su Su! Wake up! Wake up! Su Su! Imperial Physician! Quickly, call the Imperial Physician! Where is the Imperial Physician?!"
He panicked and completely lost his composure, his arms clenching so tightly as if he wanted to warm the already cold body with his own body heat.
Seeing this, Mu Hanyan, who was standing to the side, gently reminded him, "Your Majesty, let me take a look." She herself was a female physician.
Li Qianche, as if grasping at a straw, suddenly looked up, his bloodshot eyes filled with pleading and panic, and stammered, "Yes, yes! Look! Save her! Quickly!"
Mu Hanyan crouched down, her slender fingers touching Su Su's cold wrist, examining it intently for a moment. A trace of pity and compassion flashed in her eyes. Finally, she gently placed the cold hand back in its place, raised her head, and addressed Li Qianche in an extremely slow and clear tone, filled with sorrow: "Your Majesty... please accept my condolences. Consort Su... the poison she suffered from was extremely potent, having invaded her lungs and internal organs for a long time, and now... there is no hope of recovery."
"Impossible!" Li Qianche let out a beast-like howl, clutching the corpse in his arms tightly, refusing to accept this fact. "No! She can't be dead! How could she leave me! Impossible!" His tears surged out without warning, mixing and falling onto Su Su's cold cheeks.
He seemed to have all his strength drained away in an instant, his eyes empty and devoid of life, filled only with boundless regret and despair. He muttered to himself, "It's all my fault...it's all my fault...Susu...I thought...if I locked you up, no one would be able to find fault with you, no one would be able to hurt you...Once I've dealt with the spies lurking in the Southwest Kingdom and found out the truth, I can release your father and brother, and then you can come out too...I didn't really want to lock you up for life...I didn't..."
He choked back tears, burying his face in the cold crook of her neck, his shoulders trembling violently.
Just then, the bodyguard Night Shadow appeared like a ghost, knelt on one knee, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, we have caught a suspicious eunuch. He has confessed that he saw Consort Zhuang... take Your Majesty's decree and forcibly administer poison to Miss Su."
Li Qianche suddenly raised his head, his eyes flashing with a murderous intent that could destroy the heavens and the earth. His voice was as cold as the ice and snow in the courtyard: "When did I issue this decree? Who gave her the audacity! To falsely convey an imperial edict is despicable. Arrest her! Arrest them all! Execute them by slow slicing! Immediately! Right now!"
Nightshade seemed to hesitate for a moment, but still replied, "Yes!" and took the order to leave.
"Wait!" Li Qianche's voice was like a poisoned blade. "And Zhuang Shijie! List out all the evidence of his crimes over the years, including forming cliques, framing loyal officials, and colluding with foreign enemies! I want his entire Zhuang family, including nine generations, to be executed in the marketplace! Not a single one will be spared!" The words "execute in the marketplace" carried a bloody and vicious aura that sent chills down one's spine.
Nightshade was terrified and kowtowed deeply: "Your subordinate obeys!"
Li Qianche ignored him and simply hugged the woman in his arms tightly again, as if she were the only treasure in the world.
He carefully, as if holding a fragile piece of glass, lifted her up horizontally and, step by step, extremely slowly yet with an unusually absent-minded air, stepped out of this despairing cold palace and headed straight for his Qianqing Palace.
He gently placed her on his usual sleeping bed, his movements incredibly tender. He personally used a warm, damp cloth to wipe away the dirt from her face and hands, changed her into clean, soft nightgown, and finally carefully tucked the quilt in, making sure it covered her chin.
He sat quietly by the bed, gazing at her pale yet still beautiful sleeping face, as if she were just asleep and would open her bright eyes at any moment.
Shen Gaoyi, watching from the side, was terrified, cold sweat pouring down his face. Finally, he couldn't help but step forward, his voice trembling with tears as he cautiously pleaded, "Your Majesty... Consort Su... has passed away... According to custom, she should... should be laid to rest as soon as possible... The Empress Dowager has also arrived... and the imperial physicians... are waiting outside..."
"Get out!" Li Qianche didn't even turn his head, only squeezing out these two words from his throat. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a kind of madness on the verge of collapse and an unquestionable tone.
Shen Gaoyi was so frightened that he knelt down with a thud, but dared not persuade him any further. He could only scramble out, leaving behind a deathly silence and an emperor who was holding a corpse and refusing to let go.
Li Qianche's bloodshot eyes, filled with endless pain and emptiness, were deeply imprinted on Su Su's soul.
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