Chapter 76 Chapter 76 Gu Shi thought Lingchuan was dead
Jinzhan hurried to the palace. She thought that Gu Shi was definitely not in the mood to deal with her resignation, and she didn't want to bring up irrelevant issues at this time.
She has served Lingchuan the longest, and Gu Shi definitely doesn't want to see her.
She only informed the Ministry of Internal Affairs that she was leaving the palace, gathered the paperwork, gave instructions for the remaining matters, and then hurriedly packed up and left.
Gu Shi became more and more anxious. He didn't know whether Lingchuan had already found a way to leave, or whether she was wholeheartedly waiting for him to come back.
It was almost evening now, and he was becoming increasingly restless. It was not so much that he wanted to see her, but rather that he wanted a definite result.
His heart was hanging in the sky, unable to come down, and he felt more and more tormented.
"Return to the palace."
He threw the thing to the ground.
"Your Majesty, it's too late now. Why don't you come back tomorrow?"
A palace maid knelt on the ground and spoke humbly.
"It's alright, you don't have to bother with me. I'll just take a few palace maids and guards back with me. Where is Jinzhan?"
"Your Majesty, Aunt Jinzhan has just submitted her resignation, saying she is old and wants to return home and get married."
"Then ask a few of the maids working in Cong Cui Palace to go back with us."
It's only been a day's work. Where can Lingchuan run with such a body?
The wound on his collarbone had been treated by an imperial physician and was now swollen. The slightest movement would cause a sharp pain. Even when he was lying still, he would feel a dull pain from time to time. His right arm was also numb and he couldn't lift it.
He felt that Lingchuan's injury would not be any less serious than his.
He was exhausted from the long journey, and every time the carriage shook, his wound felt like it was being torn open again.
The sedan chair was carried into the palace, but Gu Shi only smelled a strange smell.
He had smelled this smell somewhere else.
He smelled this smell six years ago. On a whim, he went into a small restaurant, but unexpectedly, a fire broke out.
That was what he smelled at that time.
Then, he met Lingchuan.
Both her parents were burned to death, leaving her a poor little girl all alone.
Then he fell in love with her.
The Cong Cui Palace had been completely reduced to ashes, with numerous sparks scattered on the ground, like golden sand.
"What's going on?"
Gu Shi's tone was unusually calm, not because he accepted everything calmly, but because his mind was blank and he was unable to handle the matter at all.
"Your Majesty, I'm afraid there's a fire."
Several guards walking nearby knelt down one after another.
"About how long ago did the water leave?"
He was too anxious and rubbed the wound on his collarbone. A sharp pain came up, and his entire upper body trembled and he almost fell down.
Several guards raised torches and went forward to investigate.
"Your Majesty, this fire has been burning for too long. I'm afraid it's impossible to tell if there are any... any debris inside."
"Your Majesty, after all, she was in such a physical condition that I'm afraid she couldn't even get out of bed, let alone escape from the fire. Please accept my condolences."
A palace maid knelt on the ground and cried.
The ground was very hot and her knees were blistered, but she didn't dare to stand up.
My condolences... What does my condolences mean...
Why would someone ask him to mourn?
Why is he here? Who is he looking for?
The only real pain was the one below the collarbone. She had pierced the entire bone with a hairpin knife, and the injury was really serious.
who is she?
Gu Shi took out the hairpin knife from his sleeve. It lay quietly in his hand, emitting a bright light like moonlight.
The stabbing pain in his collarbone spread to his chest, and he felt his heart aching.
Gu Shi fainted on the sedan chair.
Several guards quickly carried him to the nearest palace to rest, and the remaining guards looked at each other in confusion.
A guard said in his hometown dialect that no one else could understand:
"Is the old emperor's wife here? Did she run away or something?"
Another guard snorted coldly:
"Where can a half-dead woman go anyway? She'd already been burned to ashes! He'd even kill us loyal warriors for that woman! I don't think we need to look for her. Just find a female corpse from the mass grave, burn it overnight, and throw it in there. I guarantee he won't be able to see it."
"Isn't this too risky?"
"What's the risk? I think we need to teach him a lesson. That woman has bewitched him to the core. If we don't find the body, who knows what the old emperor will do to us. Finding a female corpse and burning it into charcoal will put an end to it all. Wouldn't that be better?"
When Gu Shi woke up again, it was already the next morning.
Several palace maids on duty in Congcui Palace knelt on the ground, tears on their faces.
"Your Majesty, please accept my condolences."
"If she's alive, I want to see her. If she's dead, I want to see her body. Where's her body?"
"The guards have found it."
The palace maid wiped away her tears.
Gu Shi vomited a mouthful of blood. He covered it with a handkerchief, but the blood instantly soaked the handkerchief. He could only throw the handkerchief aside and lie on the ground retching.
He couldn't help but wonder, what did Tao Jinrong leave behind in her life? What did she leave behind for him after their acquaintance?
A child who was never born, a wound that pierced his collarbone and caused pain day and night, and a silver hairpin knife.
This hairpin was left to her by her mother and now lies in his sleeve.
The wound will heal, but a scar will remain.
His eyes were empty and he could hardly shed tears. He felt as if a very heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders, and at the same time, he felt as if everything had lost its meaning. He didn't know for whom he would live from now on.
He looked at the silver hairpin in his hand and thought, it's all over, it's just like a dream.
She burned all the memories between them in one fire.
Closing his eyes, the Cong Cui Palace where he grew up had been reduced to ashes, and the golden sand-like fire spots appeared before his eyes again. This way of dying was just like she hoped to die in the fire with her parents before she met him.
She wouldn't be coming back, and she certainly didn't want to be buried with him.
"Send her body back to her hometown... and give her a proper burial."
He wanted to wipe away his tears, but ended up smearing the blood on his hands all over his face.
"yes."
The two palace maids had no choice but to retreat.
Taking advantage of the fact that there were not many people around, the palace maid Alan quietly slipped out through a small path to buy some food and drinks.
She was just pretending to cry just now, who would really feel that?
"Ah, Alan, why are you here?"
"Sister Jinzhan."
I didn’t expect to meet Jinzhan as soon as I came out.
"Sister Jinzhan, it's a good thing you left quickly. The queen burned to death in there, and the guards have found her body."
Jinzhan was shocked, her face turned pale, and she quickly covered her mouth.
Indeed, it’s a good thing she ran fast.
"Then... then Your Majesty... what can he do alone..."
Alan sighed.
"There's nothing I can do. I can only try my best not to offend anyone."
Jinzhan's lips couldn't help but tremble. Lingchuan was not dead at all. How did the guards find a charred female corpse to impersonate Lingchuan? That was a crime of deceiving the emperor and the nine generations of the family would be executed. If the matter was exposed, it was hard to imagine how tragic the end of those guards would be.
"Alan, don't stay outside, go back quickly."
After she persuaded Alan to go back, she walked back and came to an inn.
She knocked on the door, and it creaked open. Lingchuan was standing inside, wearing plain clothes and looking at her without any makeup. Her cheeks were much redder.
"Girl, let me see, are you a human or a ghost?"
She reached out and pinched her face, but Lingchuan didn't react and was pinched on the face for no reason.
"Jinzhan, what are you doing?"
"He thought you were dead."
Jinzhan said with a pale face.
Lingchuan was startled and took two steps back. Jinzhan walked in and closed the door.
"Really? The guards found a charred body in Cong Cui Palace. Who knows where they pulled it from?"
Jinzhan said with a serious face:
"Do you think he'll seek death? Will he slaughter the entire palace and cause a river of blood to flow?"
Lingchuan covered his chest and slowly sat down.
"Then are you going to tell him I'm still alive? If you know the truth but don't report it, would that be considered deceiving the king?"
Jinzhan rolled her eyes and said:
"I had anticipated the subsequent troubles and had already quickly submitted my resignation and was ready to go home."
"Aren't you most afraid of your family urging you to get married?"
Jinzhan gritted her teeth and said:
"That's why I'm not going back. I'm just going to start my own small business here."
Lingchuan hesitated for a while and said:
"I'd better not go back to find him. His sadness will only last for a while."
Jinzhan sighed and said:
"Young lady, this is all I can say to you. There are many palace maids walking around in this area. If you don't want to be found, it's best to stay away from this area."
"Jinzhan, do you know where I can get some medicine tested?"
"I know, Qingjitang. Why, do you want to go and look for your little lover?"
Lingchuan got angry, frowned, and said coldly:
"I won't be your lover anymore."
Jinzhan laughed silently, and felt guilty. For the sake of her own life, she had to go back to her hometown and hide away to avoid the limelight.
Lingchuan decided to wear a veil hat whenever he went out, so as to avoid being recognized by the palace servants coming and going.
She thought to herself, even if Gu Shi thought she was dead, so what? She had already told him clearly that she was leaving, and she would just leave and be gone. She had no obligation to report her safety to him. As for how he would act in the palace, that was none of her business.
It's impossible that when she's around, Gu Shi blames her for killing someone, and when she's not around, he blames her for not being there.
This makes no sense at all.
She felt that she was almost recovered, and Qin Sizhao's medicine was indeed effective.
She thought about it over and over again, feeling restless, so she simply put the veil on her head. If she stayed here alone, she would just be lost in her thoughts. She might as well take action and set off for Qingjitang right now.
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