Chapter 78 I Don't Love You Anymore "Gu Xi, don't you want me anymore?"...
As the cold fog gradually dissipated, the warm winter sun broke through the clouds and slanted into the Weiyang Palace's sleeping quarters through the windows.
Gu Xi and her two servants sat around the dining table in the warm pavilion, enjoying their breakfast.
To encourage Gu Xi to eat more, Zhu Yin and Hua Yue prepared different kinds of food for her every day.
"Miss, try this, I made it myself!"
"Your Highness, please try this! The head chef of the Imperial Kitchen specially saved it for me! No one else can get to eat it!"
Gu Xi looked at the two of them with a smile, feeling that it was so good to have them by her side!
Hua Yue suddenly remembered something and said slyly, "Do you know why the Emperor was injured yesterday?" She raised an eyebrow, "I heard it was because he fought with the Sixth Prince, and the Sixth Prince was the one who caused the injury!"
Because she was afraid of upsetting Gu Xi, she hadn't been talking to her much about palace matters lately, only mentioning the interesting things. But she still couldn't help but want to tell her about the Emperor being beaten.
That felt so good!
She now harbors a bit of admiration for the Sixth Prince!
Gu Xi lowered her eyes and did not reply.
Zhu Yin looked on in surprise. The Sixth Prince would actually hit someone! He must have done it to avenge her young lady!
After Hua Yue finished speaking, she took two bites of the pastry, swallowed them forcefully, and added angrily, "Serves you right!" After saying that, she secretly glanced at Gu Xi and saw that the smile on her face had faded a little.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Zhao Fuquan's voice rang out from outside, announcing, "The Emperor has arrived!"
Hua Yue and Zhu Yin quickly got up and stepped aside.
It's a ghost!
It's true, don't talk about people during the day, and don't talk about ghosts at night!
Gu Xi frowned. Why are you here again?
Xiao Heng stepped in, enveloped in a chill, and his gaze immediately fell on Gu Xi.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects!"
"This servant greets Your Majesty!"
Xiao Heng strode over to Gu Xi's side and helped her up. He then took her hand, and although Gu Xi instinctively tried to pull away, he held on tightly and only released her after pulling her to sit down.
Gu Xi then noticed that the original meal on the table had been removed and replaced with a new one.
Xiao Heng ordered, "You may all leave."
Zhao Fuquan and Zhu Yin and the others all retreated.
Gu Xi looked at the meal prepared according to her preferences, but she couldn't feel happy.
She didn't want to see him.
She pursed her lips and made a gesture of rising. "Your Majesty, I have finished eating. Please excuse me."
Xiao Heng pressed her back into her seat, saying, "Eat some more." As he spoke, he placed a piece of osmanthus-flavored chestnut cake into her bowl.
Gu Xi didn't understand why he had acted so suddenly, but she didn't want to make things difficult for herself. She hadn't eaten much when he arrived, so she ate a few more bites.
After she finished eating, she had just stood up when Xiao Heng suddenly grabbed her wrist, looked up at her, and said, "Gu Xi, I'm injured." He looked rather pitiful.
Gu Xi glanced at the injury on his face. It wasn't serious. Remembering what Hua Yue had said, she asked worriedly, "How badly is Brother Che injured? Is it serious?" She knew that Xiao Che must have fought with Xiao Heng for her sake.
Xiao Heng's face immediately darkened. "You should be concerned about me!"
Gu Xi frowned at him and struggled, "Your Majesty, please let me go first. I will have Chief Eunuch Zhao summon the imperial physician for Your Majesty."
Xiao Heng tightened his grip, "Apply the medicine for me." His eyes were determined.
Gu Xi resisted the urge to kick him out. "I don't have any medicine for treating external injuries here."
“You have it.” Xiao Heng released Gu Xi, and using his memory, he found the bottle of skin-regenerating ointment in the room. He sat on the couch and waited for Gu Xi to apply the medicine to him.
Gu Xi stared at the medicine bottle, thought for a moment, and said in a cold voice, "Please wait a moment, Your Majesty."
She put on her cloak and headed towards the side hall. A moment later, she returned with two palace maids who were there for study, thinking it would be a good opportunity for them to learn how to apply medicine to the wounded.
Gu Xi handed the skin-regenerating ointment to the palace maids and quietly instructed them on how to apply the medicine to Xiao Heng before sitting down at the table and writing medical records.
Xiao Heng looked at the two palace maids standing in front of him, his face darkening, and said coldly, "Get out!"
The two palace maids retreated tremblingly.
Gu Xi looked up at him with a frown, then decided to ignore him after a moment and continued writing the medical records.
"Gu Xi, are you just going to ignore me like this?!"
Gu Xi continued writing intently, as if she hadn't heard anything.
"Gu Xi!" Xiao Heng called out again.
Gu Xi didn't want to talk to him, but he kept bothering her, which annoyed her.
She had no choice but to put down her pen, wash her hands, and begin applying medicine to Xiao Heng.
She convinced herself that she was a doctor and he was a patient, and she couldn't just stand by and watch him die; that was what her senior brother had taught her.
As Xiao Heng watched Gu Xi intently applying medicine to his body, his gaze gradually softened, revealing regret, guilt, and a hint of fear and unease.
Will she forgive him?
Gu Xi had just put down the bottle when Xiao Heng suddenly reached out and pulled her into his arms.
Gu Xi stiffened, abruptly pushed him away, took two steps back, and her eyes turned indifferent. "What exactly is Your Majesty's intention today? I thought it was made very clear the other day!"
There's no need for them to continue this entanglement.
"Gu Xi, you don't need to lie to me. You don't love him, you love me, right?"
Xiao Heng took out a piece of paper from his pocket and carefully unfolded it. The ink had already blurred, and the characters were so faint that they could not be distinguished without close inspection. However, the paper was ironed very flat. Anyone who did not know would think it was a masterpiece of calligraphy that he had carefully treasured.
Gu Xi stared intently at the paper in his hand, her thoughts drifting far away. She suddenly felt a profound irony; he would rather believe a few lines of text than believe her own words. What she had so desperately tried to prove now seemed utterly ridiculous. She looked up at Xiao Heng, opened her mouth, and said, "I don't love him..."
Xiao Heng's eyes suddenly lit up, but the next moment he heard her say, "But I don't love you anymore!"
Gu Xi spoke with a firm voice and resolute eyes, looking as if there was no room for reconciliation.
Xiao Heng's heart sank. The resolute look in her eyes made his heart plummet. When had he ever seen such a resolute look? It was at that banquet when she played the zither for him with tears streaming down her face. The people in that melody were her and him.
That day she told him that she was going to give up this relationship, that her heart would never stay for him again, and that she would never again be by his side every day with gentle words as before.
A huge panic engulfed him. He held her shoulders with both hands, his voice trembling slightly: "Gu Xi, are you saying this out of anger? You still love me."
Gu Xi simply looked at him indifferently, "Has Your Majesty finished asking your questions? If you have, please leave."
Xiao Heng stared intently at her. He had never seen such a look in her eyes before. Her eyes seemed to tell him that she didn't care about him at all now.
"If Your Majesty won't leave, then I will." Gu Xi forcefully broke free from his hands, turned around, and stepped out of the room.
Xiao Heng snapped out of his daze, strode after her, and hugged her from behind. Gu Xi was completely wrapped up in his arms. He lowered his head and asked in her ear, "Gu Xi, don't you want me anymore?"
Gu Xi smiled inwardly and replied softly, "No, thank you." There was no resentment, no unwillingness, no lingering affection in her voice, nothing at all.
Those three words floated lightly into his ears, yet pierced his heart fiercely. He stiffened, his grip on her tightened abruptly, so tight it felt like he was about to crush her, and madness flickered in his eyes.
The next moment, he picked her up by the waist, ignored her struggles, carried her back into the house, and gently placed her on the bed.
"Let me go!" Gu Xi pounded on his fists.
Xiao Heng braced himself on the bed, completely ignoring her mischievous hands, and simply looked down at her, tenderly murmuring her name, "Gu Xi..." He lowered his head to kiss her.
Gu Xi turned her head to one side and hissed, "Don't touch me!"
Xiao Heng looked up, turned her face back, and continued to look down at her. "Fine, I won't touch you. Tell me, you still love me, don't you?"
He stubbornly wanted an answer, to confirm that she still loved him and that he hadn't lost her.
Gu Xi looked him straight in the eye and said, word by word, "I don't love you anymore."
Xiao Heng's pupils contracted sharply, and the panic in his heart almost made him lose control. He said in a sharp voice, "I will not allow it! How can you not love me!" His voice was almost manic.
Gu Xi looked at him calmly, but her eyes were almost imperceptibly red.
Xiao Heng panicked immediately, realizing he might have frightened her, and quickly asked softly, "Gu Xi, will you continue to love me?" His voice was pleading, "I can give you anything you want."
"Anything is fine?"
"Sure, just tell me." Hope suddenly ignited in Xiao Heng's eyes, and his voice softened a bit.
With a serious expression, Gu Xi said, word by word, "Your Majesty, I hope that Your Majesty will never set foot in Weiyang Palace again!" Until the day she dies.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Heng's face immediately darkened, and he looked at her with a gloomy expression.
After a moment, he suddenly remembered something and his expression softened. "Then you can move to the Qianqing Palace."
Enraged, Gu Xi roared, "Absolutely not!"
Xiao Heng's lips curled into a smile, and he raised an eyebrow. "Then I'll have to come myself."
"You!" Gu Xi's voice trembled with anger.
At this moment, Zhao Fuquan suddenly knocked on the door. "Your Majesty, the ministers of the Ministry of Rites are already waiting at the Qianqing Palace."
"Gu Xi, I still have some matters to attend to. I will come to see you later."
Xiao Heng got up from the bed, tidied his clothes, and stepped out of the room.
Gu Xi called out to his retreating figure, "Could you please not come?"
Xiao Heng stiffened, said nothing, and continued walking outside.
After Xiao Heng left, Gu Xi took Zhu Yin and Hua Yue and left Weiyang Palace.
*
It was midday.
After finishing his work, Xiao Heng rode in a sedan chair towards Weiyang Palace.
Upon arriving at Weiyang Palace, they pushed open the door to the sleeping quarters, only to find the room empty, the only sound being the crackling of embers from the charcoal brazier.
Xiao Heng felt a sudden panic, "Where is he?!"
Zhao Fuquan immediately ordered the palace servants accompanying him to search the entire Weiyang Palace, but they couldn't find a single person.
"Go find it for me!" Xiao Heng clenched his teeth, his fingertips turning white.
Xiao Heng had the entire palace searched, and finally found Gu Xi in the laundry department, where she was teaching medicine to several palace maids.
When Xiao Heng appeared at the laundry department with a group of palace servants, Gu Xi was startled by the scene and looked at him with a look of panic.
Without a word, he picked her up and carried her towards Weiyang Palace. Gu Xi struggled to get down, but he held her tightly.
As they approached the plum grove in the Imperial Garden, they suddenly heard the voices of several palace maids talking.
"Have you heard? The Left Prime Minister has divorced!" a palace maid said.
Gu Xi paused for a moment, then stopped struggling.
Bai Xingzhi and Yao Yao got divorced? Was their divorce because of her?
Gu Xi felt a tightness in her chest, overwhelmed by guilt and helplessness, and instinctively clenched Xiao Heng's sleeve.
Xiao Heng paused in his steps.
A palace maid chimed in, "I've heard about it for a long time! And I also heard that their divorce was because of Consort Xi!" She lowered her voice, "I heard that the Left Prime Minister and Consort Xi were in love before, but the Emperor forcibly took them into the palace!"
Another palace maid retorted, "I heard that she and the Sixth Prince were in love, and the Emperor forcibly took her into the palace?"
"Don't you guys think the Emperor and the Left Prime Minister look somewhat alike? Especially their eyebrows and eyes!"
Hearing this, Gu Xi felt the hands holding her tighten suddenly. Only then did she realize that he had actually stopped eavesdropping.
"I think the three of them are somewhat similar."
"Who do you think Consort Xi really likes?"
"I wouldn't be able to choose either; perhaps this is the dilemma of beauty!"
Feeling embarrassed by being talked about like that, Gu Xi was too ashamed to speak up for fear of being discovered, since the person remained standing still.
"If it were me, I would choose the Left Prime Minister or the Sixth Prince. The Emperor always has such a stern face, he looks too scary!"
As the sound faded into the distance, Xiao Heng lifted his leg and continued forward.
Gu Xi peeked over and saw that his face was very gloomy. She couldn't help but laugh to herself. It seemed that he was really angry and had forgotten to punish those palace maids.
Back at Weiyang Palace, Xiao Heng sat on the couch in his bedchamber, holding Gu Xi on his lap, gazing at her intently.
Gu Xi didn't struggle; instead, she hooked her arms around his neck and asked, "Does Your Majesty want to ask if I can tell the difference between you and him?"
Xiao Heng didn't speak, but continued to stare intently at her.
Gu Xi smiled charmingly, and Xiao Heng was momentarily captivated, but her words instantly brought him to his senses.
"Of course I can tell the difference. The Emperor's appearance is still inferior to that of Lord Bai."
"You!" Xiao Heng's face darkened, and his voice was squeezed out from between his teeth.
Gu Xi looked surprised. "Your Majesty doesn't know? Lord Bai is as handsome as a jade statue, as dashing as Pan An. His looks are top-notch. Your Majesty can only rank second at most." She thought for a moment, "No, there's also my brother Che. It's just that I've seen him since I was a child, and I'm used to it." She blinked. "Unlike Lord Bai, I fell in love with him at first sight. No wonder I can't let him go. This is Your Majesty's fault." Gu Xi gave him a coquettish look, then laughed heartily.
"Didn't Your Majesty always ask me before whether I preferred Lord Bai or how Your Majesty treated me? I'll tell Your Majesty now..."
"Shut up!" Xiao Heng interrupted him sharply, his neck veins throbbing with anger.
He put Gu Xi down and stormed off from Weiyang Palace.
The smile on Gu Xi's face gradually faded.
It turns out that without love, there is no fear.
But this confrontation also exhausted her. It felt like she was wearing a mask, and she had become unlike herself.
Gu Xi thought that Xiao Heng wouldn't come again after she said those words, but he still came that night. She was really at her wit's end.
Xiao Heng lay beside her, holding her tightly. The person in his arms struggled for a while before giving up.
He knew she was deliberately trying to provoke him today, and he was indeed angered by her.
But it's okay. Compared to the harm she suffered, this is something he should bear.
He leaned close to her ear and asked in a hoarse voice, "Gu Xi, are you sad that you lost your child?"
Gu Xi's body stiffened.
"You're just as sad as I am, aren't you?"
That was their first child.
Wei Lin told him that when she returned to Weiyang Palace that day, she was in a terrible state. The Imperial Hospital found out that she had taken a pregnancy-preserving medicine, and that she did not want to abandon their child.
It was him; he killed their child.
His chin rested against her hair, and the guilt and remorse in his heart almost overwhelmed him.
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Author's Note: I'm here! Sorry for the wait~~
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