Chapter 65 The City Falls: The Qi army has breached the city gates.
Despite Su Panyue's repeated refusals, and even though the Qi soldiers outside were attacking the city day and night, they still couldn't stop Shan Mingyuan's enthusiasm for marrying her.
The courtyard was gradually decorated to look festive, with bright red lanterns hanging all over the corridors and the character for "happiness" pasted on every window.
Several groups of embroiderers came to take measurements and make wedding dresses for Su Panyue.
She finally couldn't sit still any longer. If she stayed obediently any longer and was really going to get married, she had to do something.
So her attitude underwent a complete 180-degree change. She abandoned her initial indifferent attitude and began to act out every day.
"This dish is not to your liking, so I'll give it to you as a reward. Have the kitchen prepare a new one."
"I want to eat fish from Tianchi Lake in Beiling. Go and catch one for me."
"I want a pure white pony. Go find one for me."
"This is so boring! Aren't you two guards bored watching over me every day? Come on, let's have a fight."
Her demands grew more and more each day, and no matter how outrageous they were, they were always met. The servants seemed to have truly come to regard her as an empress.
However, Su Panyue became increasingly distressed. This was not what she wanted, and she wanted to leave.
But she hadn't seen Shan Mingyuan for several days.
Confined to this mansion every day, with more than a dozen guards following her even when she went out, she now realized how lax Xie Lanzhou's so-called "house arrest" had been.
This courtyard is quite far from the city wall, but recently, Su Panyue could hear the sounds of weapons clashing outside the city getting closer and closer, along with deafening cannon fire and constant noise.
Su Panyue guessed that the Qi soldiers were about to invade, which was why Shan Mingyuan had no time to worry about her.
So she became even more unreasonable, sometimes demanding that an opera troupe perform, sometimes wanting to go ice skating on the north shore of the lake, causing her maids and guards to suffer greatly.
Today, when she even sent someone to invite several male prostitutes from brothels to have some fun, Shan Mingyuan finally appeared.
In the center of the courtyard stood several young men dressed in light clothing, each of them doing their utmost to play the zither, sing, dance, and perform, all in an attempt to win the favor of the future empress.
However, the sounds of string and wind instruments could not drown out the deafening commotion from the distant battlefield.
Su Panyue looked at them absentmindedly, her brows furrowing unconsciously as she worried about the situation on the battlefield.
The courtyard gate was suddenly pushed open, and Shan Mingyuan walked in from outside.
Su Panyue immediately put away her worried expression and looked up at him.
After several days apart, he was still dressed in white, like a gentleman, but there was a hint of sorrow between his brows, and his figure had become increasingly thin.
The male entertainers in the courtyard immediately stopped what they were doing, bowed respectfully, and withdrew. Only Su Panyue remained leaning against the chaise longue without moving.
Shan Mingyuan sat down beside her and straightened his already impeccably dressed robes.
"Moon." He raised his hand to take Su Panyue's hand, but she dodged it.
Shan Mingyuan's hand paused in mid-air for a moment before slowly withdrawing, and he said gently:
"Moon, I've been very busy lately and have neglected you. It's normal that you feel resentful."
"Don't be upset. I'll grant you whatever you want and whatever you want to do, once I'm done with this busy period..."
Su Panyue suddenly interrupted him, "Then I want to go back to the palace."
Shan Mingyuan was taken aback and frowned slightly: "The war is intense right now, I can't leave."
Su Panyue lowered her eyes, her tone becoming much lower: "Since you intend to make me empress, will there be a grand ceremony for her coronation? Will there be an audience with all the officials? Don't tell me that we'll just have a wedding ceremony in this temporary courtyard that you've requisitioned, and that'll be considered a marriage."
Shan Mingyuan fell silent, his fingers stroking the cup, his eyes lowered, lost in thought.
Su Panyue secretly raised her eyes, but due to the emperor's cunning, she couldn't discern anything from his expressionless face.
She raised her hand and smeared the chili water she had prepared beforehand on the corner of her eye, then blinked hard.
"It's so spicy!" she couldn't help but let out a very soft sob.
Then large tears slid down her face, and coupled with her feigned sorrowful expression, she looked as pitiful as pear blossoms in the rain.
As expected, Shan Mingyuan's face showed emotion, and he took out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears.
Su Panyue tilted her head slightly, snatched the handkerchief from his hand, and wiped herself haphazardly.
She raised her reddened eyes to look at Shan Mingyuan, her tone resolute: "If this is how you treat me, you might as well set me free. The world is vast, and there will always be a place for me."
Shan Mingyuan avoided her gaze, his still gentle face filled with helplessness.
"I'm sorry, Yue'er. I've already lost you once, but I will never let you go this time."
"I can only ask you to make do for now. Once the war is over, I will kill that tyrant to avenge you. After that, I will definitely hold a full coronation ceremony for you."
Su Panyue leaned back against the chaise lounge, turned her head away, and ignored him.
She heard the man let out a very soft sigh, followed by the sound of the door opening and closing, and Shan Mingyuan left the room.
She cried, she made a scene, she even resorted to self-inflicted suffering, but Shan Mingyuan still didn't agree. Su Panyue was truly at her wit's end.
However, this was also the result she expected.
The situation in Lu is extremely dangerous. The Emperor of Qi is personally leading the army and has the city at his gates. Instead of fighting alongside his soldiers, the newly enthroned Emperor of Lu is hiding in the palace and holding a grand ceremony to officially recognize his queen. This is probably what truly shows his loss of the army's morale.
The sound of horns continued to echo in the distance. Su Panyue lay limply on the chaise longue, unable to stop thinking:
I wonder what Xie Lanzhou is doing now, and how he would react if he knew this news.
*
Outside the city walls, the man she was talking about was wiping a long spear.
"Your Majesty, please go and rest. I know you can't sleep, but if you keep going like this, even the strongest body can't take it."
Suki anxiously advised from the side,
"That quack doctor prescribed a sedative and sleep-inducing medicine. Shall I bring it to you?"
Xie Lanzhou coldly raised his eyes and glanced at him, his eyes bloodshot and filled with ruthlessness, which frightened Shouxi into immediately falling silent and not daring to persuade him any further.
Gui Bo came over carrying a wine jug, smacked his lips and looked him up and down, and said mockingly:
"You look more like a ghost than an old man. I have more energy than you. Don't forget, you're now in the same boat as Su Panyue. If you die, she'll die too."
Xie Lanzhou remained silent with a dark expression, tossed the spear in his hand to Shouxi, and stepped into the tent behind him.
This was the tent he shared with Su Panyue. Her belongings were still in their original places, including a bronze mirror on the small table.
Xie Lanzhou walked over, picked up the bronze mirror, and looked at himself in the mirror.
He hadn't taken care of himself for the past few days, and his beard had grown quite long. If Su Panyue were still here, she would definitely complain that it was prickly.
His already angular face had become noticeably thinner; if she knew, she would surely tell him to eat more.
Xie Lanzhou washed his face, shaved his beard, looked at the dark circles under his eyes, and called out, "Call me in two hours."
Shouxi readily agreed.
Then Xie Lanzhou lay down. The bed they had slept in together was now empty except for him. Her fragrance seemed to still linger on the sheets.
He reached out and touched a painting on the bedside table. It depicted Su Panyue, who had just come of age. Xie Lanzhou found it under her pillow the night she left.
Two notes were also tucked inside the painting. One read, "If you want your brother, my wife will come in exchange." The other was written in his familiar small regular script on silk, with only four characters: "Wait for me to come back."
Only then did he realize that it was Shan Mingyuan's doing, that he had forced Su Panyue to leave him.
The note that read "My Wife" had long been crushed into dust by him, but he kept this painting by his bedside and looked at it many times.
However, every time Xie Lanzhou looked at it, he could feel a dull pain in his heart.
Through this painting, he seemed to see that innocent and lively girl and her fiancé, childhood sweethearts, living in perfect harmony, so well-matched.
Remembering that the painting was by Shan Mingyuan, Xie Lanzhou wanted nothing more than to tear it to shreds, but looking at the woman's bright smile in the painting, she ultimately only reached out and stroked her face twice before carefully putting it away.
However, he will see her soon. He has arranged everything and will break through the city tonight. Then he will tear Shan Mingyuan to pieces.
With these thoughts in mind, Xie Lanzhou finally closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
*
As dusk fell, Su Panyue sat at the table, lost in thought.
After Shan Mingyuan refused this afternoon, she lost the mood to make a fuss, but the kitchen still dared not neglect her duties and the dishes sent were still exquisite.
Before she could even pick up her chopsticks, a voice suddenly called out from outside the door: "Princess, His Majesty has prepared the carriage. Let's go quickly."
Su Panyue looked up in surprise and saw that the guards who were assigned to watch over her had indeed arrived in a carriage and were waving anxiously at her.
She asked hesitantly, "Why are you leaving?"
"The Qi army has breached the city gates; we must leave as soon as possible!"
Su Panyue was secretly delighted, but dared not show it.
She sat back down. "Let me pack my things."
The guard was very anxious: "Princess, the palace has everything you need, you don't need to pack anything."
Su Panyue didn't take it seriously and even closed the door, saying, "Wait a minute, I still have some important things to take."
She retreated back inside and locked the door, hoping to stall until Xie Lanzhou led his troops in.
She put all the gold hairpins that Shan Mingyuan had given her on her head, just in case.
The guards outside were already very anxious and started knocking on the door repeatedly to urge them on.
"Wait, don't rush, it'll be quick," Su Panyue reassured her.
The sound of horses' hooves approached from afar, and the sounds of battle continued to rise.
"I'm sorry, Princess." The guards outside began to bang on the door, which creaked open.
Su Panyue's heart pounded, and she hurriedly shouted, "I'm changing clothes! Who dares to come in!"
Upon hearing this, the guards stopped what they were doing, hesitating and unsure of what to do next.
Before she could even breathe a sigh of relief, Shan Mingyuan's voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Yue'er, it will be too late if we don't leave now, I'm sorry."
After saying this, the guard continued to pound on the door with all his might, and soon the bolt broke.
Shan Mingyuan walked in and, upon seeing that Su Panyue was dressed neatly, even somewhat formally, he ordered the guards behind him to remove the blindfold.
Struggling any further was pointless, so Su Panyue followed him into the carriage.
The coachman spurred his horse on at breakneck speed, and the carriage swayed and sped away into the distance, with the sound of hooves seemingly echoing behind.
Su Panyue couldn't help but lift the curtain and look back. The mighty Qi army was unstoppable. The two armies clashed, and the shouts shook the heavens.
On the tall horse at the very front, a figure was very familiar. Su Panyue couldn't see the face clearly, but her eyes reddened.
Before a single tear could fall, it was blown away by the wind and drifted further and further away.
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Author's note: Sigh, I've been having a bit of writer's block lately [chin resting on hand]
I'll randomly select a few lucky commenters to receive red envelopes!
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