Chapter 31 Liuqing: In the end, it was all just a mirage to her alone...
Inside Jinyang Palace, even the mixed scents of ambergris could not suppress the lingering ailment.
A young eunuch, his hands trembling, knelt before the bed, holding a white jade medicine bowl, his voice trembling: "Your Majesty, please administer the medicine."
Jia Fengtian's turbid gaze swept over the bowl of thick, dark soup. He suddenly waved his hand, and the jade bowl flew out with a piercing sound, the medicine spilling all over the ground.
"Get out!" The emperor's voice was hoarse, his face ashen. Another heart-wrenching cough erupted as he pounded the bedside, as if coughing up his internal organs. "Go! Summon Imperial Physician Wang for me! Cough cough...!"
He knew his own body best. The daily herbal medicines from the Imperial Medical Academy not only failed to improve his condition but actually worsened it. Could this quack doctor... truly possess the audacity to plot against the Emperor?!
A moment later, Imperial Physician Wang, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, scrambled into the inner hall, his official robes disheveled. He collapsed to the ground with a thud, his forehead pressed tightly against the cold floor, his body trembling like a leaf: "Your Majesty...Your Majesty..."
Jia Fengtian pointed at the trembling imperial physician on the ground and demanded sternly, "Speak! What medicine did you give me? Why is my condition not improving at all!"
Physician Wang was terrified, his voice trembling with sobs: "Your Majesty, please calm down! Your Majesty, please understand! This prescription was made after careful consideration by all the physicians of the Imperial Hospital. It contains only the right medicine for the symptoms. Logically... it should have been effective long ago!"
"If there were no mistake, why would I still suffer this torment?!" Jia Fengtian's anger flared even more, a violent cough interrupting his words again. He gasped for breath, his eyes flashing with a terrifying ferocity. "I'm giving you one last chance! If you don't tell the truth, I'll immediately exterminate your entire family!!"
"Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me!" Imperial Physician Wang kowtowed repeatedly, his forehead instantly turning bruised and purple. Fear made him stammer, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, I have always... I have always been following the Empress's instructions to administer medicine to you..."
The words "Your Majesty the Empress" struck Jia Fengtian like a thunderbolt. He was startled, his face turned ashen, his chest heaved violently, and the metallic taste he had been forcibly suppressing surged up into his throat.
"Cough cough cough... Pfft—!"
Dark red blood spurted from his mouth, staining the bright yellow bedding.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Someone come quick! His Majesty has vomited blood!!" A young eunuch serving nearby cried out in a sharp, shrill voice, piercing the silence of the entire Jinyang Palace.
-
Meanwhile, the Han family mansion in Luoyang was shrouded in a different kind of oppressive atmosphere.
"Father! In this life, I will only marry His Highness the Crown Prince! I will not marry anyone else but him!" Han Liuyue cried, her eyes filled with tears, as she tugged at her father Han Shangshu's sleeve.
Seeing his beloved daughter, whom he had doted on since childhood, in such a state, Minister Han felt both heartache and anxiety, and a nameless anger surged to his head: "Nonsense! This is utter nonsense! His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the Crown Princess are deeply in love, and the whole court knows it! How can there be a third person in the Eastern Palace? You'd better give up on that idea!"
"But Father, I really like him... I like him so much..." Liu Yue's sobs became even more mournful, and large tears rolled down her cheeks, hitting her clothes.
"Smack!"
A sharp slap suddenly rang out, interrupting her sobs. Liu Yue covered her instantly swollen cheek, staring incredulously at her father, who had always doted on her.
"Let me tell you! This marriage is not for you to mess around with!" Minister Han's chest heaved violently, and his hand pointing at his daughter was still trembling slightly. "His Majesty has been unwell lately and wants to take a concubine to bring him good luck! I, as his father, have spent so much effort and used so many connections to add your name to the list of candidates! Do you know what this means for our Han family? This is an immense favor and opportunity!"
“But Father…” Liu Yue bit her lower lip, choking back sobs and unable to utter a complete sentence.
"No buts!" Minister Han abruptly flung his sleeves aside, turned his back, and said in a cold and resolute voice, "Stay in your room and prepare! I will send you to the palace to participate in the selection on another day!"
After her father's passing, Han Liuyue sat alone in her room, gazing at the unfinished portrait on the table. The outline of the person in the painting vaguely resembled Jialuolin, which she had carefully sketched stroke by stroke based on a fleeting glimpse of her.
Why not even give her a chance to express her feelings? Why deprive her of her right to pursue happiness? She refuses to accept this!
-
The next morning, the air was damp and cold, and the gray sky seemed to be filled with tears, ready to fall at any moment.
"Miss, Miss... please don't do this..." The maid Ru Hua's eyes were red with anxiety as she kept tugging at Han Liuyue's sleeve, her voice trembling with tears, "You can't be so impulsive..."
Han Liuyue remained unusually calm. While adjusting her clothes in front of the mirror, she wiped away the remaining tears from the corners of her eyes, revealing a sorrowful yet resolute smile: "Ruhua, don't try to persuade me anymore."
“Miss, even if you go in person, the result won’t change…” Ru Hua tried to persuade her in vain.
"I know," Han Liuyue interrupted her, her voice soft but filled with a girl's determination, "but I can't let myself have any regrets."
Ru Hua stared blankly at the young lady's meticulously made-up face in the bronze mirror. She was as beautiful as a night-blooming cereus with dew in the morning light, delicate and beautiful, yet seemingly about to wither away at any moment.
The carriage that had been waiting in front of the Han residence had been waiting for a long time. Han Lüliu looked at her younger sister's swollen eyes and her forced composure, and finally just let out a silent sigh, carefully helping her into the carriage.
The wheels rolled over the cobblestones, making a soft, rumbling sound. Liu Yue looked out through the small carriage window; the outside world was still shrouded in a thin mist, hazy and indistinct, making everything unclear. She sighed softly; perhaps her eyes were blurred with tears again.
Many years later, Han Liuyue would still remember that morning clearly.
At fifteen, I carefully made up my face, and with a bittersweet heart, I went to meet the person I had been longing for day and night.
The feelings back then were so pure, without a trace of impurity, like a crystal-clear mountain spring, tranquil yet stubborn, with only the wish to love that one person in this life.
Unfortunately, it was ultimately just a mirage on her part; no matter how hard she tried, it could never seep into that person's heart.
-
When Liu Yue entered the elegant courtyard under the guidance of her attendants, she saw Galorin and Byakuren engaged in a sword fight.
Both were dressed in crisp, white robes, wielding long swords, their garments fluttering like butterflies. Their movements were swift and precise, yet their eyes held a tacit, unspoken smile—a tacit understanding and intimacy that outsiders could never comprehend.
Liu Yue couldn't understand the exquisite sword techniques, but she was captivated by the breathtaking beauty before her. She involuntarily stopped and stood there, holding her breath and watching intently, afraid to make the slightest sound for fear of disturbing this harmonious and beautiful scene.
The sunlight grew stronger, casting dappled shadows beneath the trees. A Imperial Guard hurried over and whispered a few words in Galorin's ear. Galorin frowned slightly, sheathed her sword, gestured to Bai Lian, and then quickly left with the guard.
Bai Lian stopped, her body drenched in sweat, and gently wiped her forehead with her sleeve. Her gaze shifted, and she saw Han Liuyue standing by the tree.
Bai Lian looked closely for a few moments before remembering that Minister Han's daughter had indeed come to visit today, but she hadn't expected her to arrive so early.
Seeing that the girl was still gazing intently in the direction where Jialuolin had left, Bailian understood. She nodded slightly to Cuizhu beside her.
"Miss Han, this way please." Cuizhu understood and stepped forward to call out softly.
Liu Yue suddenly came to her senses and looked up to meet Bai Lian's smiling gaze.
A gentle breeze swept by, lifting the black hair tied behind Bai Lian's head, the ends of her hair curling lightly in the wind.
Her unadorned cheeks were flushed with a healthy rosy glow from her earlier exercise, and her naturally red lips curved slightly as she smiled sweetly at Liu Yue.
In that instant, Liu Yue felt that the woman in front of her was so beautiful that she couldn't open her eyes, as if she was surrounded by the beauty of spring, which was intoxicating and mesmerizing.
She hurriedly bowed, her voice slightly strained: "This humble woman, Han Liuyue, greets Your Highness the Crown Princess."
As she bent down, she could only see the other person's plain white clothes. Her own carefully chosen gorgeous dress seemed so gaudy and ridiculous at that moment.
"Miss Han?" Bai Lian noticed that she was lost in thought again and couldn't help but tilt her head and call out softly, her tone gentle but direct, "Miss Han, if you have something to say, please speak freely."
Bai Lian's poised and confident demeanor left Han Liuyue, who had prepared many words of explanation, momentarily at a loss for words. She took a deep breath, mustered her courage, raised her head and looked directly at Bai Lian, finally voicing the question that had been swirling in her mind for so long: "Your Highness, Princess Consort, do you... love His Highness the Crown Prince?"
Upon hearing this, Bai Lian's smile deepened, as if she found the question quite amusing.
Instead of answering directly, she asked in return, "And you, Miss Han, do you love the Crown Prince?"
-
When they returned to the Han residence, a light drizzle had indeed begun to fall.
The cold rain knocked down the already sparse petals of the peach tree in the courtyard, leaving scattered remnants of red petals on the ground.
Standing under the corridor, Liu Yue felt a pang of pain in her heart at the sight of the desolate scene. She instructed Ru Hua, "Go and bring me some of the most intact flower petals in that jade bowl."
Soon, a handful of peach petals, wet with rain, floated on the clear water.
The jade bowl, set against the backdrop of scattered red petals, should have been a stunning display of color, yet it could not conceal the inevitable decay and sorrow.
“Ruhua,” Liuyue stretched out her slender fingers and gently touched the petals in the water, a smile on her face but a deep sadness in her eyes, “I think I really am still just an ignorant child…”
Ru Hua stood silently behind her, her eyes filled with heartache and helplessness.
After returning from the Crown Prince's residence, the young lady was unusually obedient in cooperating with her master and mistress in handling all matters related to entering the palace, without the slightest resistance or complaint.
It was as if the girl who had fiercely resisted and even defied her father had never existed.
Han Liuyue sat quietly, gazing absently at the peach petals floating in the bowl. Her mind was filled with the words Bai Lian had said to her last.
The stunningly beautiful Crown Princess gazed at her with calm yet profound eyes and softly asked, "Miss Han, I know a type of person. They can disregard worldly etiquette and the feelings of others, doing things that are considered the most unconventional, even sinful, by the world. Yet, they are willing to give everything, including their lives, for the love they hold dear. Tell me, are such people selfish or selfless?"
On that misty morning, standing under the withered peach trees, fifteen-year-old Han Liuyue suddenly understood.
It turns out that she was the most inconsiderate and selfish person.
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