The white-robed young man suddenly laughed and said to Lanxiang, "In this life, it was Erlang who wronged you. In the next life, Erlang will definitely repay you."
Upon hearing this, everyone present wiped away tears.
After speaking, the white-robed young man finally closed his deep eyes with a smile.
Lanxiang tightly embraced the white-robed young man, shaking him as she cried, "Erlang, Erlang, Erlang, wake up! You can't sleep, wake up! Lanxiang doesn't want the next life, Lanxiang only wants this moment. In this life, and in all future lives, Lanxiang cannot live without you. Lanxiang knows she was wrong, Lanxiang misunderstood Erlang, Lanxiang cannot live without Erlang, cannot..."
No matter what she said or did, at this moment, it was clear that the white-robed young man had completely left this world, leaving behind the two women he could never let go of in his life.
Sorrowful and heartbroken, Lanxiang cried out to the heavens, her cries heart-wrenching, desperate, and earth-shattering.
The wind and rain continue, and the fallen flowers persist.
Meanwhile, Hongmei stood blankly to the side, seemingly lost in thought, clutching a light green silk handkerchief tightly in her hand, letting the torrential rain wash over her. She tried her best to suppress her grief as always, but finally, she staggered, lost her balance, and fell heavily to the ground, saying sadly, "This time, it's finally as you wished."
"Flowers bloom and wither without regret, fate comes and goes like water. Flowers wither for the sake of blooming, flowers fly for the sake of sorrow. Flowers grieve for the sake of tears, flowers weep for the sake of shattering. Flowers dance and fall with tears, flowers cry and petals fly. For whom do flowers bloom and wither, for whom do flowers grieve?"
At this moment, the two maids beside her were still in shock. Seeing their mistress collapse in grief, they rushed forward and carefully helped her up, crying and saying, "Miss, the young master is gone. Please take good care of yourself."
After a while, Hongmei slowly stepped forward and said to Lanxiang, "Sister Lanxiang, let Hongmei take Erlang home."
Upon hearing this, Lanxiang suddenly looked up at Hongmei and exclaimed in surprise, "Go home?!"
After a moment's thought, Lanxiang looked up at Hongmei, then down at the white-robed young man in her arms with a pale face. She then slowly took out the gold-inlaid magnolia hairpin, but her slender hand holding the hairpin kept trembling.
After gazing at the orchid-shaped jade hairpin in her hand for a long time, Lanxiang suddenly handed it slowly to Hongmei and said to her, "Although this orchid-shaped jade hairpin was born because of me, it ultimately belongs to Erlang. In this life, Erlang and I were ultimately deeply in love but our fate was shallow. As for you... you and Erlang, whether or not you were husband and wife in reality, you were always his lawfully wedded wife, married with all the proper rites and ceremony. Keeping this hairpin will only add to the sorrow... You should bury it with Erlang. In this life, he and I... owe each other nothing. If there is truly an afterlife... I also wish to have no further connection with him."
Hongmei nodded as if she had agreed, and then reached out to take the jade hairpin with its vibrant green orchid color and put it away.
At this moment, several servants carried two sedan chairs into the courtyard. One of the servants took two oil-paper umbrellas and handed them to the maid next to Hongmei. The maid immediately stepped forward and held them up to shield Hongmei from the wind and rain.
Hongmei took another oil-paper umbrella from the maid and handed it to Lanxiang. "Sister Lanxiang, Hongmei will take her leave now. Take care!"
Perhaps because she still felt a little unwilling, or perhaps because she wanted to cherish every last minute and second, Lanxiang did not reach out to take the umbrella that Hongmei offered her. Instead, she stared blankly at the man who was about to leave her embrace. Seeing this, Yishangyun quickly reached out to take the umbrella and thanked her, saying, "Thank you."
Several servants quickly stepped forward, took the white-robed young man from Lanxiang's hands, lifted him from the ground, and placed him in the sedan chair. Hongmei, also with a heavy heart, slowly walked into another sedan chair.
Soon, in the sudden downpour, everything vanished without a trace, as if nothing had ever happened...
In the rain, Yi Shangyun held an oil-paper umbrella in one hand and had his other arm around Lanxiang's shoulder. Lanxiang stared blankly at the wedding knot that the white-robed young man had painstakingly tied with his last breath before his death, then suddenly turned and buried her face in Yi Shangyun's shoulder, bursting into loud sobs, "Waaah..."
"Cry, cry, cry it all out. It'll be better if you cry it out. I know those harsh words you said earlier weren't from the heart. You just wanted Hongmei to promise that the one-of-a-kind orchid hairpin Erlang made for you would stay with him forever. You see, since Erlang risked his life to be with you before he left, and made this promise for the next life, it's destined that you and Erlang will meet again in the next life." Yi Shangyun patted Lanxiang's shoulder, comforting her.
Just then, Yi Shangyun glanced to the side and suddenly saw two mysterious men, each carrying a long sword, exuding murderous aura, and wearing black cloaks with their hoods pulled low to cover their eyes, gradually approaching her and Lanxiang from outside the gate.
Yi Shangyun quickly pulled Lanxiang up, urging, "Oh no, they're back! Get up, hurry, run..."
Upon hearing this, Lanxiang quickly came to her senses. As soon as she saw the assassin in black, she grabbed Yi Shangyun's hand and tried to run away. Yi Shangyun quickly dropped the oil-paper umbrella in his hand, bent down and picked up the poisoned short sword that he had just pulled from the white-robed young master. Then he followed Lanxiang and ran out through a small door on the other side.
Upon realizing they had been discovered, the assassin in black quickly gave chase.
Yi Shangyun and Lanxiang ran desperately forward, their heads covered, while two assassins in black pursued them relentlessly. They hadn't run far from Dream Garden when Lanxiang, a frail woman, clutched her stomach, panting heavily and unable to continue. Yi Shangyun, though a 21st-century university long-distance running champion, was also struggling to keep up as she was being chased by professionally trained assassins.
When the two reached a slightly safer spot behind cover at a street corner, they stopped to discuss their options. Yi Shangyun said, "No, if we keep running like this, we'll definitely get caught."
Lanxiang thought so too, but she was also very puzzled by it. She interrupted her and asked, "Who are these people? Why are they arresting us?"
Seeing that Yi Shangyun was lost in thought and silent, Lanxiang continued, "How about this, let's split up and go home. You're not familiar with the roads here, so just go back the way we came. That's the shortest way home. I'll take a different route. Do you still remember the way we came?"
However, Yi Shangyun still seemed not to have listened to what Lanxiang said. Suddenly, the image of the man in short clothes in the Dream Garden flashed before her eyes. The man's strength was so fierce, and he even coated the sword with poison. All of this clearly showed that he was determined to take Lanxiang's life.
Upon realizing this, Yi Shangyun's delicate eyebrows furrowed tightly, her eyes half-closed as if she had figured something out. She then glanced at the short sword she was gripping tightly in her hand and immediately understood. She asked first, "Is there anyone else who knows about your family?"
Lanxiang answered with some hesitation, "There is another person, who is one of my sisters in Wanjiao Pavilion."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun's face suddenly turned fierce. He glared at Lanxiang and questioned her, "No, we can't go home... Let me ask you, have you done something, or known something you shouldn't know, that has affected someone's interests, to the point that they want to kill you to silence you?"
"Ah? I..." Lanxiang was shocked upon hearing this, but hesitated, her eyes darting around nervously. She lowered her head, wondering if her master had discovered something.
"It's about Yu Niang, isn't it?" Yi Shangyun asked, having already guessed what was going on, seeing his hesitation. But with the black-clad assassins closing in, this wasn't the time to delve into the matter.
After a moment's thought, she said to Lanxiang, "The black-clad assassins in the Dream Garden earlier are probably the same group. Judging from their ruthlessness, they didn't seem to intend to spare you; they wanted you dead on the spot. Fortunately, your Erlang appeared in time to shield you from that fatal blow. But you're probably doomed from now on. Your family will likely be targeted sooner or later."
Lanxiang was shocked to hear this and said, "Oh no, what should we do? Lanxiang has done all sorts of bad things and deserves to die, but my grandmother, my grandmother doesn't know anything, she really doesn't know anything."
Seeing that Lanxiang was already in a state of panic, Yi Shangyun asked, "Do you know who wants to kill you to silence you?"
Upon hearing this, Lanxiang pondered for a moment, then bit her lip and nodded gently.
Seeing this, Yi Shangyun exhaled a breath of turbid air and said to him, "The person they want to kill is you. I'll go to your house to bring your grandmother out for you. Do you...do you know Ruyi Residence in the south of the city?"
Lanxiang said urgently, "Ruyi Residence? I know it. It's not far from Wanjiao Pavilion and is the best inn in the south of the city."
Yi Shangyun glanced at Lanxiang and said, "You seem quite familiar with these places... Go directly to Ruyi Residence and find a young master named Jiang Zhixuan to wait for me. Oh, the one who came to Wanjiao Pavilion with me that night, the one wearing a mask. He came from the west of the city with me, and he's a nice guy. Just tell him that I asked you to wait for me at Ruyi Residence, and don't say anything else. He'll take care of you."
As she spoke, she suddenly stopped, hesitated for a moment, and then continued, "If I... if I am not able to meet you at Ruyi Residence by dawn tomorrow, then I have failed. You should then find another young master named Yi Junhao, and he will find a way to save me."
"Why didn't you ask Jiang Zhixuan to save you?" Lanxiang asked in confusion.
“Jiang Zhixuan…I’m not actually very familiar with him, but I’ve found him to be a very warm-hearted person. You don’t need to ask any more questions, just do as I say. Remember, never appear in front of the person you suspect is trying to kill you again. Also, let’s switch clothes, and I’ll distract them.” Yi Shangyun said, starting to take off his outer garment.
However, Lanxiang seemed to be very uneasy. While taking off her outer clothes, she said worriedly, "Yun'er, are these two people you mentioned really reliable? But what should I do if neither of them is at Ruyi Residence?"
"They're not at Ruyi Residence? Really?!" The moment Yi Shangyun uttered these words, Lanxiang seemed to have a better idea...
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