Chapter 24 I wonder what Your Excellency intends to do with my guest…
Startled by Hengbo's sudden movement, Er Gou froze for a moment, then saw Hengbo hug him and squat down, her face full of pain.
"What's wrong with you?" Er Gou rushed forward to check on her, but as soon as he touched her cheek, he shuddered and felt that her skin was ice cold, not like that of a living person.
Er Gou was so frightened that she jumped back. This was the first time she had ever encountered such a situation. How could someone who was perfectly fine just a moment ago suddenly become like this?
She paced anxiously on the ground, pulling at her hair and sighing. If only she hadn't been lazy and had instead learned some medical skills from Granny Green.
Oh, right, Granny Green!
She glanced at the place just one more alleyway away, then at Hengbo on the ground. Gritting her teeth, she knew that any further delay would only make things worse. She bent down and whispered in Hengbo's ear, "Wait for me here. I'll go get someone to rescue you. Don't run around!" With that, she disappeared in a flash.
Hengbo had long since lost his sense of the outside world, so he had no energy left to remember Er Gou's instructions.
Once her body had adjusted to the bone-chilling cold, her confused and muddled mind was completely dominated by the memories of being burned by smoke and fire. She got up and staggered forward.
She still remembered that her mother had handed her over to the late-arriving Qingxuzi and then went to the palace alone.
Qingxuzi handed a cloth bag she was carrying to Uncle Liu, the steward of the Crown Prince's residence. She didn't know what it was, but she heard Uncle Liu ask, "Are you sure it can pass for the real thing?"
Qingxuzi nodded: "Their ages and builds are not much different, but they have been buried for a long time. Due to the time constraints, this was the only body we could find. After the fire, we could no longer find any mistakes."
Uncle Liu sighed, "He's a pitiful child too."
He turned back to her, who was still in a daze, bent down and stroked her hair as usual, and said with a kind smile, "Princess, you will have to grow up on your own from now on."
Slightly brought back to her senses by Uncle Liu's actions, she seemed even more confused upon hearing this. She had grown up? Weren't they going to stay with her anymore?
Thinking of her departing mother, she couldn't help but ask, "What about you? Are you leaving too?"
"Yes, we'll be leaving after seeing the princess off."
"Take me?" she asked, confused. "Where am I going?"
Uncle Liu turned to look at the square courtyard. At this moment, all the people who remained in the Crown Prince's residence seemed to have received his instruction, or perhaps it was entirely spontaneous, and they slowly walked forward one after another.
Some people touched her hair, while others simply bowed to her from a few steps away. Without exception, they all wore the same smile as always.
“Wet Nurse? Green Sprout?…” Perhaps sensing the impending separation, she stood obediently in place this time, accepting their farewells one by one.
And the last person was none other than Master Chen, with whom she "hated each other from the first sight." He deliberately put on a stern face and said, "If I find that the princess's handwriting has not improved in the future, I will punish her with a ruler."
Her nose tingled with emotion, "Master Chen..." She used to dislike Master Chen the most, mainly because he always made her practice calligraphy and would complain to her father. She had often grumbled about him behind his back. But now, she found herself very reluctant to part with this old-fashioned man.
Uncle Liu patted him on the shoulder and laughed: "You, you're still so stubborn even now."
"Alright, Princess, go ahead."
"Go to a place with mountains and rivers, where there is freedom and a tomorrow."
After speaking, he turned to Qingxuzi, who had been calmly waiting to the side, and bowed with his hands clasped: "I entrust this to you, sir."
As he finished speaking, the dozens of people gathered in the courtyard seemed to have made some kind of agreement and bowed to him one by one. Even Master Chen, who dared to give the Crown Prince a sour look, bowed to Qingxuzi.
"Please, sir."
"Please, sir."
...
Their bows were performed at varying paces, one after the other, but Qingxuzi, who received the bow, felt a profound shock. He already knew their choices, yet he couldn't utter a single word to persuade them to stay.
Because he had come to understand that, faced with such a resolute determination to die, even pleading for them to stay would be blasphemous. And all he could do was remember them forever.
The streets outside the mansion were deserted, with only occasional small-scale skirmishes breaking out. The former Right Guard Commander of the Crown Prince strode in through the back door, his expression hurried: "Sir, we can't delay any longer."
Upon hearing this, Qingxuzi returned the greeting to everyone, picked up her (who had been dressed in coarse cloth), covered her face with a hood, and headed towards the back door. She clung to Qingxuzi's shoulder like a puppet, but her dark eyes, not covered by the hood, remained fixed on the group of people who were getting further and further away, the group of people who held all her memories.
Until she saw her wet nurse, who had been following her with her eyes, cover her mouth, bend over, and begin to sob silently.
In that instant, she suddenly had a premonition that they were lying to her, and that she would never see them again in this life.
She began to struggle violently, crying out, "No! Put me down! I want to go back!" She didn't want to go to some place with mountains and rivers, freedom and a tomorrow. There were no tomorrows for them there, and she would never be free.
But the frail girl was no match for Qingxuzi's restraints.
Qingxuzi pulled her tightly into his arms, quickened his pace, and mounted a jet-black steed that was already waiting at the back door.
The Right Guard Commander couldn't bear to look at the little child still convulsing in Qingxuzi's arms. His sorrowful face mirrored the boundless night: "As long as we have people with us, we will be safe along the way. Take care, sir!"
Qingxuzi donned a large cloak, completely concealing his small figure, nodded slightly to him, then cracked his whip and charged into the dense night net.
He couldn't see the child in his arms whose vision was blocked, but he couldn't ignore the blood-stained corpses falling one after another beside each of the soldiers who saluted him by the roadside.
This road was bought with countless lives, so he cannot afford to be soft-hearted or hesitant for even a moment.
However, on the bumpy horse, Qingxuzi, who was keeping a close eye on his surroundings, did not notice that the child in his arms, who had been struggling, suddenly stopped moving until he heard a trembling voice in his ear.
"Fire, a huge fire."
He looked down and saw that the child in his arms had somehow peeked out from under his cloak, and her clear eyes reflected the towering flames behind her.
They were already a mile away from the Crown Prince's residence, but perhaps because the night was too dark, or perhaps because the child could see too clearly, the firelight appeared so dazzling to her.
He was momentarily stunned, and the child broke free, falling straight off the galloping horse and tumbling several times. Startled, he quickly grabbed the reins and managed to turn the horse around, only to see a small, unsteady figure staggering towards the fire.
However, after taking a few steps with her broken left leg, she abruptly stopped.
Because she finally saw it: in the alleyway beside her, a pale-faced young man covered in blood was kneeling on one knee and bowing to her.
She had seen him at the Crown Prince's residence not long ago. Back then, he was full of vigor, in good health, and even greeted her with a smile. Not like now, with his severed arm hastily wrapped with strips of cloth, blood gushing out…
He remained silent, but she understood the pleading in his eyes.
He was begging her not to go back.
So she lowered her head, which had been looking up, and slowly bent the other leg that supported her swaying body. Her white forehead pressed against the cold bluestone slab, and her flesh, which was contrary to her soul, bowed heavily forward. Then, without any hesitation, she turned around and reached out her hand to Qingxuzi, who was on horseback with a complicated and indescribable expression.
The fire in her eyes died down, and her voice became hoarse, like dry tinder about to burn out: "Please, sir."
...
But this time, she came back.
So this is what the area looked like after the fire; even the walls were blackened.
Her hand ran over the peeling plaster, feeling the roughness inside, and she thought to herself that she should talk to Uncle Liu and have the wall rebuilt.
And Old Li, he used to always be waiting for her at the door whenever she went out. Why isn't he here today? Could it be that he went to buy wine again? If Aunt Zhang catches him, she'll nag him all afternoon.
Huh? What's that note on the door? Sealed? What does that mean? Just as Hengbo was about to tear it off, a clear, cold voice, like a frozen pool, came from behind him.
"You shouldn't have come back."
Who is this? Why does that voice sound so familiar? Hengbo turned her head and saw a young man she had never seen before gazing intently at her.
This man is incredibly contradictory. His face is very pale, but his eyes are extremely dark, as deep as an ancient well, with molten iron about to boil at the bottom. His voice is cold, yet it makes you feel as if he is already burning up.
Hengbo stared at his face. They might have met before, but with her mind in such a muddled state, she couldn't recognize him.
Wen Tinglan looked at the person in front of her, whose eyes were red and whose face was dazed, and sighed softly, "Why did you put yourself in this state?"
Hengbo tilted his head, not quite understanding what he was saying, but gestured to him: This is my home, I want to go home.
Wen Tinglan was stunned. Hengbo saw that his face was blank and knew that he did not understand her meaning, so she stopped wasting time with him and turned to tear off the seal on the door.
Suddenly, he was interrupted by a hand that landed on his shoulder.
It wasn't because the hand used a lot of force; in fact, it just rested lightly on his shoulder.
But why is it shaking so violently?
Hengbo turned his head again and saw that the face of this celestial being, who seemed to never be tainted by human emotions, was actually filled with suppressed pain, making him look rather pitiful.
Although Hengbo was annoyed by being interrupted twice by this person, she held back and did not lash out because he was so upset. She tried her best to communicate with him: What's wrong?
However, her movements seemed to add a little more force to his already stretched longbow. The pain in his heart could no longer be suppressed, and even his lips trembled slightly. His voice was no longer as cold as a frozen pool or as hot as a raging fire, but a plea that was humble to the extreme: "Shenxiao, please say something to me."
Shenxiao...who is Shenxiao?
Shenxiao is Ji Yu, then who am I?
I am Hengbo... then who is Ji Yu?
Oh right, Princess Shenxiao, Ji Yu, is dead. So, they're all dead...
Suddenly pulled from her memories, Hengbo felt a mouthful of blood rise to her throat and spill from the corner of her mouth. Her body went limp and she was about to collapse.
Fortunately, Wen Tinglan reached out and caught her in time. Looking at the unconscious person in his arms, Wen Tinglan didn't bother to ask about her throat anymore. He picked her up and went back to the mansion to settle her down.
However, when he turned around, he saw a tall, elegant young man being led forward by a panting young maid.
The man narrowed his already slightly long eyes and said with a half-smile, "Where do you intend to take my guest?"
A note from the author:
----------------------
Wangcai: May I ask where you intend to take my guest?
Future Wangcai: Give me back my wife!
Hello everyone, my next book is "Ruyi". Here's a brief description. If you're interested, please check out my author page and add it to your favorites. Love you all!
A female protagonist, a caged bird in her past life, is reborn as a phoenix; a male protagonist, who loved unknowingly in his past life, is reborn to know his love for the world.
Lin Ruyi, the daughter of a Grand Secretary, had the ambition to serve the country and reform its ways, but she was constrained by her gender, burdened by her beauty, and confined to the deep palace. Her talent was overshadowed by her beauty, and her reputation was tormented by her romantic affairs.
On the eve of the fall of the country, this frail woman, who had been imprisoned in the deep palace for nearly ten years, stood in the Golden Palace dressed in white mourning clothes. In front of her was her former lover, who was now more beautiful and charming, and behind her was her new lover, whose throat she had just slit, whose body was still warm.
She carried the scarlet-stained blade and walked forward step by step. "Although my name is Ruyi, my life has been filled with disappointments. If you still cherish our past love, can you grant me a promise?" The man, whose eyes were filled with love, desire, and struggle, finally sighed and said, "I can give you anything except my life."
Upon receiving this answer, Lin Ruyi showed no disappointment. She casually tossed the sharp blade aside, stroked the face that still vaguely resembled his former self, and gently nuzzled his neck with a smile. "I know you don't want to give me your life, so..."
The man pushed away the soft, fragrant woman in his arms and leaned his swaying body against the golden pillar with a coiled dragon.
Although he immediately held his breath, his vision continued to blur.
Through the swaying vision, I saw the woman pick up a sharp blade from the ground and approach step by step.
Finally, a chill ran down her throat, but even colder was her voice: "I will take your life myself."
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