Chapter 412 Obsession
Water gushed out from the gaps in the gate, and everyone was scrambling to block it. They were all soaked and looked miserable.
Mei Dai wiped the water off her face and shouted to Shen Yuexi, "Sister, the water is almost up to your calves. Don't talk to Madam Pei, come and help, otherwise we will all drown here!"
Even though Xiao Zhuo and Mei Dai can both dive, the water level keeps rising and will eventually submerge the entire tomb. Then Shen Yuexi, who cannot swim, will be the first to die, and the rest of the people will not be able to breathe in the water and will not be able to survive.
Shen Yuexi was anxious and waded towards the gate, saying "I'm coming too".
Xiao Zhuo was worried that the water from the gate would splash onto Shen Yuexi's lower abdomen, so he quickly shouted, "Don't come over here. Sea water is not good for children."
Chen Lan said angrily: "Brother-in-law, it's already this time, and you are still thinking about whether to have children or not. If you can't block the floodgates, neither adults nor children can be saved."
Shen Yuexi reached the gate, tore a piece of cloth, and placed it on her palm to block the water flow. The jet of water hitting her hand felt like someone was pushing her. She finally managed to block it, pressing it tightly with both hands. Then the water began to pour down her arms, soaking her whole body. Fortunately, the tomb was already quite hot, so she didn't feel cold.
The parrot Liuli couldn't stand the water jet, so it spread its wings and flew away, landing on the sarcophagus.
"Husband, this won't stop it," Shen Yuexi shouted to Xiao Zhuo, "The water is still coming out."
"At least the water isn't coming in so fast," Xiao Zhuo said. "If we leave it alone, the water will come in even faster."
The four men blocked the gates, not daring to leave. But the water continued to pour in, soon reaching calf-high, filling the entire tomb. Half the glazed lamps on the walls had gone out, shrouding the chamber in darkness. Only two sarcophagi, waist-high, could be seen above the water. Pei Jingyun, sitting in the sarcophagus to the right, watched them with a smile, showing no sign of offering any assistance.
Mei Dai shook her head and said to Xiao Zhuo with a sad face, "Prince An, what we are doing is in vain... It's a pity that no one can get the message out. I really can't accept this... I once swore to protect the Mei family..."
By the end of her speech, she was crying and couldn't go on.
Chen Lan was the most vulnerable of the four, struggling to hold on. Seeing Mei Dai say this, and the water pouring relentlessly into the tomb, everyone was helpless. She burst into tears and said, "I don't want to die. Someone please save us."
Xiao Zhuo pressed his hands on the gap in the gate. Seeing that Mei Dai and Shen Lan were facing collapse, he looked at Shen Yuexi.
Shen Yuexi's mentality was much better. She had experienced many harsh things, and although she was afraid, she didn't show it on her face. She calmly said to Xiao Zhuo, "Husband, our child hasn't been born yet. This is my biggest regret."
Xiao Zhuo did not answer. He let go of his hands, quickly pulled out the long sword embedded in the gate, turned around and waded through the water to the front of the sarcophagus.
Seeing Xiao Zhuo approaching with a sword in hand, Pei Jingyun smiled nonchalantly and said, "If you had kept blocking the crack in the door, you could have lived a little longer. If you want to kill me while I'm still alive, then go ahead. I've already considered myself dead."
Chen Lan was crying there. Mei Dai and Shen Yuexi looked at Xiao Zhuo nervously, wondering what he was doing in front of Pei Jingyun.
Xiao Zhuo stared at Pei Jingyun with a red face. Then he bent his knees and knelt in the water, saying, "Mother, please save Yuexi. If you agree, I will commit suicide in front of you immediately."
After saying that, Xiao Zhuo placed the sword across his neck.
Shen Yuexi was shocked and cried out, "Husband, please don't be impulsive."
Mei Dai shouted, "Sister, these three strips of cloth on Prince An have been broken open. Please help me plug them."
Xiao Zhuo left the gate, and the gaps he had blocked were washed away by the water. Now, five or six jets of water were pouring into the tomb chamber. Mei Dai and Shen Yuexi were anxious, but they only had two hands, so they blocked the leaks here and there.
Seeing Xiao Zhuo kneeling before her, Pei Jingyun couldn't help but burst into laughter, clapping her hands on the edge of the sarcophagus: "That bitch's son is kneeling in front of me, that bitch's son is kneeling in front of me... Hahaha, it's a pity that she died too early and couldn't see this moment."
Shen Yuexi saw Pei Jingyun mention Wen Yi again, which revealed the depth of her hatred for her. She also knew that Xiao Zhuo, despite his proud personality, would kneel before his mother's murderer simply because he wanted to save her. To save her, he would give up everything.
At this time, the baby in her belly moved again. Shen Yuexi felt a lump in her throat when she thought that she was about to die here. Tears welled up in her eyes and mixed with the water that sprayed on her face and flowed down her body.
Seeing Pei Jingyun just laughing, and the water almost rising to everyone's knees, Xiao Zhuo hurriedly urged, "Mother, stop laughing. Please save Yuexi quickly."
Pei Jingyun stopped laughing and said slowly, "What's the point of trading your life for something? You were going to die anyway. Only a fool would agree to your request. I'm going to die, and you're going to die too. Neither of us has any bargaining chips to trade."
Xiao Zhuo's face was filled with sorrow. He said, "Do you hate my biological mother so much? She did everything according to your instructions. It's fate that things have come to this. Why do you have to cling to this obsession?"
"It's her, it's her," Pei Jingyun said, her smile turning into anger. She slammed the sarcophagus and screamed, "She took away everything I cherished. Everything, you know!"
When she got excited, she covered her face with her hands and cried.
"She stole my husband's heart and the token of his love he gave me. Those were the most precious things in my life, and she took them all away. I've been planning for so many years, but in the end, I have nothing. Living is painful for me, and death is the only way to be free."
Xiao Zhuo sighed and was about to persuade her again when Shen Yuexi's voice came from the other side of the gate: "Mrs. Pei, look here."
Pei Jingyun raised her tearful eyes and saw Shen Yuexi holding something up to her. Once she saw the jade pendant's reflection, she screamed and leaped out of the sarcophagus, plunging into the water. She didn't even bother to stand up, but used her hands and feet to crawl towards Shen Yuexi.
"Jade pendant," she said, eyes wide open, flopping in the water towards Shen Yuexi, splashing water everywhere, "Give it to me, give it to me!"
When Shen Yuexi heard Pei Jingyun mention the token, she immediately thought of the jade pendant. It was Xiao Ming who gave this jade pendant to Pei Jingyun, which led to everything that happened later.
Big Bear had already collected the materials and started manufacturing when he was on the boat, but she paused it. Now she asked Big Bear to use the last bit of electricity to complete the manufacturing.
Mei Dai didn't understand what had happened. She had clearly seen Xiao Zhuo smash the jade pendant. But then she thought that maybe Shen Yuexi had changed the jade pendant to deceive Pei Jingyun, so she leaned over to Shen Yuexi's ear and said:
"Don't give the jade pendant to Madam Pei yet. Use it to blackmail her into revealing the secret. This is our last chance."
Shen Yuexi looked at Pei Jingyun. Although the tomb was dim, she could still see her white hair sticking to her face, her eyes full of pleading, her bloodless lips trembling, and her composure completely gone. She was like a person who was about to die of thirst in the desert and suddenly saw a spring of sweet water and crawled towards it desperately.
"My mother is so pitiful," she shook her head. "If this is what she's obsessed with, then let her do it."
Mei Dai was about to stop her, but Shen Yuexi stepped forward and placed the jade pendant on Pei Jingyun's outstretched hand.
Pei Jingyun tightly grasped the jade pendant with both hands, hugged it to her chest and burst into tears: "Yes... This feeling cannot be wrong, this is the jade pendant that Brother Ming gave me."
Ever since she received this jade pendant at the age of seven, she had held it in her palm and caressed it every day. Everyone in the Duke's Mansion knew how much she loved it. Later, when Wen Yi took her place in the Duke's Mansion, she had no choice but to give the jade pendant to Wen Yi. After all, she was going to serve Wen Yi's poor family and it was impossible for her to wear such a valuable jade pendant.
Later, Emperor Yongde banished Wen Yi to the cold palace. She sent assassins to kill Wen Yi and specifically instructed them to retrieve the jade pendant, but Wen Yi had already given the jade pendant to Xiao Zhuo and was unable to get it back.
When Xiao Zhuo smashed the jade pendant and obtained the Jade Silk during the Battle of Yongwei in Xiliang, Pei Jingyun learned about it later and gave up on it. Unexpectedly, she saw it again today and was overwhelmed with emotions, unable to control herself.
She cried miserably, and Shen Yuexi also cried with her. She placed her hand on Pei Jingyun's shoulder and said, "Mother, cry as much as you want. For so many years, you have been in pain all the time. Now at least you are with it, hold it well."
Pei Jingyun raised her head and asked, "Didn't this jade pendant break? Did you repair it? Why can't I feel any cracks?"
Seeing Pei Jingyun remain clear-headed despite such excitement, Shen Yuexi was secretly shocked. She remembered that when they first entered the tomb, Pei Jingyun had said she believed in the afterlife and ghosts, so she lied and said:
"I did repair it. There were many cracks on it originally. But now they are gone... I guess my father's spirit saw how much my mother was suffering and smoothed out the cracks with his own hands."
After listening to this, Pei Jingyun looked towards the other sealed sarcophagus and said, "Brother Ming, your spirit is still thinking about me? Didn't you mistake me for that bitch, and that's why you asked Yuexi to give me the jade pendant?"
She cried, then laughed, stood up shakily in the water, and walked towards Xiao Ming's coffin with the jade pendant in both hands.
"Brother Ming, it turns out you didn't mistake me for that woman. Why did you tell me only now..."
Shen Yuexi looked at Pei Jingyun's back, raised the back of her hand to wipe away her tears, and said to Mei Dai: "Sister Mei, no matter what, at least I have fulfilled one person's wish."
Mei Dai seemed to be less anxious and smiled at her, "Sister, you did the right thing. If we are all destined to die here, at least one person's obsession can be satisfied. If there is reincarnation, I will still look for you, sister. Compared to you, I am ashamed of myself."
Shen Yuexi didn't want to block the water column anymore, so she walked up to Mei Dai and Shen Lan and reached out to hold their hands.
Shen Lan had been sobbing since just now, but now she had stopped crying and said to Shen Yuexi, "I'm such a loser that I actually cried in front of my sister."
Shen Yuexi smiled slightly and called Xiao Zhuo, "Husband, come here quickly. We must die together. Never separate."
Everyone stopped blocking the door and decided to face death calmly. The water from the gate turned into a waterfall, pouring into the tomb violently. The water level rose rapidly and soon it was above the knees.
Just as Xiao Zhuo was about to come over, Pei Jingyun said coldly, "Xiao Zhuo, come to your father's coffin and kowtow three times and bow nine times. This is the etiquette you should perform as a son."
Hearing Pei Jingyun's words, not only Xiao Zhuo was stunned, but even Shen Yuexi was stunned.
For the first time, Pei Jingyun called Xiao Zhuo's name.
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