Chapter 66 She allowed him to hug her and kiss her, this…
Xie Yushu straightened her rumpled belt, got up and sat back in her chair. She glanced at Xiao Dao, who was sitting there like a cooked shrimp. She gently kicked him with her toe. "Open the door."
He snapped out of his daze, immediately got up and went to the door, then remembered something and turned back to look at Xie Yushu. Seeing that her clothes were neat and her hair was not messy, he opened the door.
Zhao Mingzhao stood outside the door holding a cup of tea, glared at him, but noticed that his face was unusually red. She brought the tea in and immediately asked, "Why is your face so red? Are you feeling unwell again?"
"No." Xiao Dao subconsciously touched his face and muttered guiltily, "It's probably because it's too hot in the room."
"Hot?" Zhao Mingzhao turned around to look at him in surprise: "Where is it hot?" If it's hot, why did he close the door?
Xie Yushu stood up and said gently, "I won't drink the tea. Xiaodao, if you're alright, you should rest first. You need to rest properly after being injured."
She then said to Zhao Mingzhao, "Deputy General Zhao, you don't need to see me off. I know the way back. You take care of Xiaodao."
She didn't linger outside the door.
Xiao Dao immediately grabbed the umbrella, eager to take her home. He hadn't seen Xizhi and the others in a long time, but Yu Shu took the umbrella, shook her head at him, and told him, "Get some rest."
He had no choice but to obey orders.
Zhao Mingzhao signaled two soldiers to follow behind and escort her back. After seeing her leave the courtyard in the distance, he said to Xiaodao, "You should be more careful. Madam Pei is the general's niece-in-law. You are a grown man, but being in the same room with her like this might cause unnecessary gossip for Madam Pei and create discord between the couple."
Xiao Dao felt a tightness in his chest. What husband and wife? Did Pei Shilin even deserve to be called one? He had humiliated Yu Shu like that before, and now he dared to gossip?
Besides, Yu Shu doesn't like Pei Shilin at all; she likes him.
He sat back in his chair, touched his burning lips, and could still smell her fragrance. He felt a mix of joy, sadness, and unease. He wasn't sure if Yu Shu liked him.
She allowed him to hug and kiss her; how could that be fake?
"Did you hear that?" Zhao Mingzhao bothered him again.
Xiao Dao really wanted to tell him: Pei Shilin was the one who should be mindful of boundaries and keep his distance from her. The entire Pei family, including Pei Heng, knew about his affair with Yu Shu, and it was perfectly legitimate.
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Xie Yushu was somewhat surprised to hear the system's voice, as the "green hat value" hadn't increased for a long time.
Little knife? He actually managed to accumulate 1 point of "green hat" value. Does he now think he has the right to be jealous? Because they kissed?
Xie Yushu couldn't help but laugh; he was truly innocent.
She returned to her courtyard, where Xizhi and the others helped her change into clean clothes, but she didn't sleep. She was waiting for Song Jie's reply—had the plan succeeded or not? Was the King of Song really dead?
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Thunder rumbled, and the rain poured down harder.
Song Jie was soaked to the bone. He sat in the unlit pilgrim's quarters, looking at the dying King Song on the bed, unable to describe the feelings in his heart at this moment.
He's dying.
The wounds he had inflicted himself were soaked white by the rain, and many of his bones were broken when he fell off the cliff, yet he was still struggling to breathe, like a dying fish.
Because they were all waiting for one person, and only by seeing this person could they die in peace.
Footsteps sounded outside the door, and Cangshu said softly from outside, "Your old friend, Jade Maiden, is inside. Please come in."
The door was pushed open, and cold, damp air rushed in. Song Jie suppressed a cough and saw a figure enter and stop at the doorway.
"Song Jie, who exactly are you bringing to see me?" Wan Susu stood at the door, pushing it open, wary and unwilling to come in, and also forbidding Cang Shu from closing the door.
The room was pitch black. She could only see Song Jie sitting by the bed curtains. His face was very pale, and his wet black hair hung down beside his cheeks. When he looked up at her, he looked like a dead water ghost with his eyes wide open.
"Mother," he called out in a hoarse voice, using a term he shouldn't have.
Wan Susu panicked as if a sore spot had been touched: "Shut up, I'm not your mother, don't call me that." She lowered her voice and asked anxiously and angrily, "What exactly do you want?"
Song Jie forced a weak smile: "I only want Mother to come in and see an old friend. You don't need to be so wary of me. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done so long ago. Come in, Mother. You don't want anyone to find out that I'm having a secret rendezvous with you here."
Fearing being seen or overheard, Wan Susu glanced back at her personal nun, signaling her to stay outside, before stepping through the door and walking toward Song Jie.
The door closed behind her, making the room even darker.
Wan Susu stopped in her tracks, smelling a strong odor of blood, and panicked: "Where is the person you want me to see?"
Song Jie got up and lifted the dark blue bed curtains. Amidst the lightning and thunder, Wan Susu saw a person lying on the bed who was about to die. She was so frightened that she almost screamed and hurriedly backed away. But then she heard Song Jie ask, "Don't you recognize him? He was the one who looked after you for the late emperor. Yes, he kidnapped your son when you were giving birth."
Wan Susu stopped in her tracks, staring in astonishment at the person on the bed. She couldn't recognize him at all. In fact, she had never met the guard who had watched over her when she was imprisoned by the late Emperor Xiao Di. She only remembered that the guard was one-armed.
The person on the bed, near death, suddenly stirred, opened their eyes with each breath, and murmured, "Has she come? I think I heard her voice..."
"They're here," Song Jie said softly.
The Song King, lying on the couch, turned his head with difficulty to look in the direction of Wan Susu. When he saw Wan Susu in a Taoist robe, his dying eyes suddenly lit up, and he said with difficulty, "Does Your Highness still remember me?"
How could Wan Susu possibly remember? She even dared not look at that face that looked like a dead person.
The King of Song was delighted: "It doesn't matter if you don't remember me, do you still remember your son? I mean, the son you had with Xiao Xu... I suppose the Imperial Concubine only recognizes this one son..."
"What exactly do you want to say?" Wan Susu was flustered and irritated, not understanding why Song Jie insisted on forcing her to come here to see a bodyguard.
The King of Song gave her a forced smile: "I'm about to die. Before I die, I want to ask you, Consort, do you remember when the midwife showed you the child after you gave birth? Do you remember what he looked like?"
"Of course I remember." Wan Susu was confused, but of course she remembered Zhen'er's appearance, his appearance as an infant, his appearance at one month old, his appearance at one year old... she remembered every year he was born.
But the King of Song laughed and said, "Really? Then how could the Imperial Concubine treat her fake son as a real treasure..."
Wan Susu was struck dumb, frozen in place, as if she couldn't understand what he was saying: "What...what do you mean? What nonsense are you talking about?"
King Song stared at her panicked face from his couch, then burst into satisfied laughter, laughing so hard that blood gushed from his throat, spitting it out mouthful after mouthful. He then heard Wan Susu anxiously approaching and questioning him: "What fake son? What real treasure? What do you mean by this?"
The resentment in his heart seemed to be expelled along with the blood, finally bringing him a little relief. He not only wanted to avenge the late emperor, but he also hated Wan Susu and Xiao Xu. Back then, Xiao Xu killed the late emperor and seized the throne, killing all the palace maids who had served the late emperor, including his wife. She only had one year left before she could leave the palace and live a normal life...
He was the late emperor's man and deserved to die, but his wife was just a palace maid serving outside the late emperor's palace. She did nothing wrong, yet she was strangled to death outside the palace gate.
Xiao Xu, Wan Susu... they all deserve to die.
King Song closed his eyes with satisfaction.
Song Jie, who was by the bed, pushed Wan Susu away, leaned down and stared at the King of Song, and asked in a low voice, "You've seen the person you wanted to see. Now it's time to keep your promise and tell me."
When he rescued the King of Song from the cliff, the King of Song promised that if he could see Wan Susu before he died, he would tell Song Jie where the midwife who delivered him was.
King Song coughed up another mouthful of blood, opened his eyes again to look at Song Jie, and said with difficulty, "She is here..."
The voice was hoarse and low, so Song Jie had to lean in and, amidst the mouthfuls of blood and foam, he heard a name that surprised him.
A thunderclap struck outside the window, its deafening roar seeming to split the heavens and earth apart.
When Wan Susu rushed over again, the King of Song had already died. She grabbed Song Jie's arm and asked, "What did he say to you? What are you plotting? Are you trying to harm Zhen'er? Song Jie, the person you hate is me. Kill me. Zhen'er did nothing to wrong you. He is innocent."
Her fingers gripped Song Jie so tightly they almost dug into his skin.
Song Jie's body stiffened, and he looked down at her, asking painfully, "He's innocent, but am I not innocent too? I'm your son too..."
"You're not!" Wan Susu said with extreme hatred, "The child born out of wedlock isn't my child!"
"Then why did you give birth to me?" Song Jie asked, clutching the front of his shirt.
"Do you think I wanted to give birth to you?" Wan Susu said, nearly collapsing. "You're lucky! Even abortion pills couldn't get rid of you!"
Song Jie could no longer hold back and began to cough violently, coughing up blackish-red blood mixed with fresh blood, until he couldn't stand up and collapsed to the ground.
Wan Susu didn't even try to help him up; she just watched him collapse at her feet, watched him painfully pull out a medicine bottle from his sleeve...
But his hands were shaking so badly that the medicine bottle rolled to the ground. He reached out to grab it, but Wan Susu suddenly kicked the bottle away.
Song Jie missed his grip, stared blankly up at her, and looked at her with the eyes of someone who was his mortal enemy.
He thought painfully: So Wan Susu never once wanted him to live...
The door was pushed open, and Cang Shu rushed in, shouting, "Prime Minister!"
Before Song Jie fainted, he only had time to instruct Cang Shu: throw the Song King's body off the cliff, and tell Xie Yushu... Jiang Hua...
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Author's Note: A little bit of angst for Song Jie [Let me see]
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