Chapter 222 Sadness
When Shen Yuexi regained consciousness, she felt a dull pain at the back of her head, as if struck by a heavy log. Her body swayed back and forth, as if she were lying on something moving.
She reached out her hand, touched the back of her head, and opened her eyes.
There won't be a big swelling on the back of my head, will it?
As soon as I opened my eyes, what came into view was Maep's terrifying pale face.
Shen Yuexi screamed, sat up suddenly, kicked the ground with her feet, and retreated away from Mep until her back hit the hard barrier.
Damn, it was so scary. When I opened my eyes and saw a dead person, my heart almost jumped out of my throat.
"You're awake, Shen Yuexi." Mei Dai's voice rang out from the front. "I can't find a suitable car right now, so I can only let you and your brother lie together for the time being."
Shen Yuexi pressed her pounding chest and looked around, only then realizing she was on an open cart. This was a cart specially used by the Great Yan army to transport food and fodder, deliberately narrow to facilitate travel on rugged paths.
The carriage walls were low, only two feet high, and a lantern hung on the inner wall, knocking against the wall as the carriage moved. It was pitch black overhead, with a hazy moon and a few remaining stars hanging in the night sky, and a cool breeze whistling overhead.
It was clearly morning when I returned to the barracks, but now it was evening. Could it be that I had been unconscious for so long?
"Mei Dai," Shen Yuexi covered the back of her head and looked at Mei Dai who was driving in the front, "it turns out you are not crazy."
Mei Dai's long hair had been tied up, but she still wore the cold mask on her face.
"Seeing my brother die before my eyes, I almost went crazy," Mei Dai replied without turning her head. "You can say I'm crazy or not, it doesn't make any difference."
"Why did you hit me?" Shen Yuexi touched the back of her head, feeling a burning pain, as if it was really swollen. She couldn't help but get angry.
Fortunately, it was the back of the head that was hit. If it had been the face, it would have been disfigured.
This Mei Dai was really ruthless. She sounded so delicate and harmless, but she didn't expect that... She had thought that Mei Dai had hit Dr. Hua too hard, but now she understood that this was the real hardest hit.
"I just hit you with a horsewhip. Did it hurt?" Mei Dai turned around, her cold metal mask reflecting the light. "If I hadn't seen the prosthetic hand you made for your brother, I would have used a knife."
When Shen Yuexi heard this, she noticed that Meipu, who was lying in front of her, had the metal prosthetic hand she made on his left arm.
The prosthetic hand had been made and placed on the table in the big tent. I didn't expect that Mei Dai didn't forget to take it with her.
At least this prosthetic hand finally found its rightful owner.
She felt a little sad and whispered, "I promised to do this for him before, but I didn't expect him to come back like this. Are you going to kill me without this prosthetic hand?"
"Xiao Zhuo killed my father, my mother, and my brother!" The voice behind the mask began to cry. "My heart is bleeding. I originally planned to kill both you and Xiao Zhuo."
"You're talking nonsense! You're slandering me!" Shen Yuexi was furious and shouted at Mei Dai, "My husband didn't kill your father, your mother, or your brother!"
She would not accept having all the deaths in the Mei family blamed on Xiao Zhuo.
This is absolutely a frame-up.
As she was shouting, Mei Dai turned around and asked, "Has Xiao Zhuo never had any improper thoughts about us, Xiliang?"
Shen Yuexi suddenly quieted down.
Mei Dai's words hit the nail on the head. Honestly, Xiao Zhuo did harbor desires for Xiliang. Not only that, but he had them from the very beginning. It was just that he had Mei Pu as his friend, so he never truly acted. More seriously, Xiao Zhuo misunderstood that Mei Dai was the one who framed him, and even imagined even more horrific revenge, but these remained words.
"He...he..." She hesitated for two words, not knowing how to respond next.
If he said yes, it would mean he admitted that Xiao Zhuo was involved in the death of the Mei family father and son. If he said no, it would be a lie.
This virtuous concubine can make Emperor Yongde obey her orders, but she is definitely not someone who can be easily deceived.
Mei Dai saw that she couldn't answer, so she didn't press her. She turned around, raised her whip, and lashed again. The horses pulling the cart snorted heavily, and the sound of their hooves became more frequent.
"Do you know how much hatred I felt the moment I saw Xiao Zhuo?" After a moment's silence, Mei Dai continued, "Have you ever experienced the pain of being unable to do anything when the enemy who killed your entire family is right in front of you?"
Shen Yuexi said, "Sister Mei, I admit that my husband does have feelings for Xiliang. But he has never done anything to let the Mei family down."
"You're his wife, so naturally you'll speak up for him," Mei Dai snorted coldly. "Everyone protects those they're close to, but that's not always true."
Chen Yuexi was unconvinced and retorted, "Without my husband diverting the 100,000 Western Rong troops besieging the city, the Western Rong would have already conquered Leshan. Does this still harm your father?"
Mei Dai thrust her whip into the shaft of the cart and turned back to ask, "Could it be that everything Zhang Song told me was a lie? If Xiao Zhuo hadn't deliberately retreated at the Benniu River, how could my father have died?"
"Zhang Song? Is he the bastard who sent assassins to kill me and my husband? He even went to the capital to look for you, you despicable villain!"
After scolding Zhang Song, Shen Yuexi did not forget to get back to the main topic.
"Your father was defeated at the Benniu River, but he insisted on attacking. My husband had already reached a truce with the Western Rong, but he was the fool who insisted on letting Prince Mei attack Zhangwu."
"What does 'brain-dead' mean?" Mei Dai asked, "I've never heard of this word before."
"It's just that your brain is filled with water, damaged by the blisters," Shen Yuexi said with increasing agitation. "Don't you know your own weight? You were beaten to a pulp by the Western Rong, losing two cities in a row. After a truce was finally reached, you were so shameless as to insist on attacking Zhang Wu. If you can't win, ask my husband for help. My husband has always been a gentleman of his word. He would rather break his oath and bear the infamy to risk his life to rescue Prince Mei. But in the end, your father felt that such a great opportunity could not be missed... He can't even beat an armadillo. An armadillo knows to curl up when it sees an enemy..."
Mei Dai did not respond, but hugged her knees and buried her face in her arms.
"Yet you still don't understand him. Even if he harbors ambitions to take over Xiliang, has he ever truly harmed you? On the contrary, he's saved your Mei family time and time again... And now, yes, right now, my husband is still taking revenge on your Mei family. He was injured in the duel with Xiao Kai and was nearly killed by a single sword strike. Tell me, what does he owe your Mei family?"
Shen Yuexi was venting her dissatisfaction, but saw Mei Dai silent, her shoulders twitching slightly, as if she was crying.
Thinking of Mei Dai's situation at the moment, her heart softened again and she stopped talking.
"You're right, you're right," Mei Dai's sobs grew louder. "Your husband is injured, but you can still talk to him. You can see him cry, see him laugh... No matter how much pain you endure, at least you can still feel him. But I have nothing left. I can only touch my brother's cold face and cry, but even this little hope will soon be gone."
Shen Yuexi glanced at Meipu's body. Now that the weather was starting to warm up, it would rot if it was not buried.
Mei Dai was right, she really had nothing.
She stood up and came behind Mei Dai, putting her hands on her shoulders: "Sister Mei, I know you are in pain, I can understand."
Mei Dai turned around, hugged her with both hands and burst into tears.
Since Maep's death, she had been suppressing her grief until this moment when she finally let it out.
"Cry, sister," Shen Yuexi gently patted Mei Dai's shaking shoulders, "You'll feel better if you cry."
"Sister, I'm not the kind of person who would make unreasonable demands. I know what you said is true." After crying for a while, Mei Dai stopped crying and raised her head from Shen Yuexi's shoulder. "A person with a guilty conscience would never speak like you. I was prejudiced and wronged you."
She had been in the capital the entire time, and had only heard everything that happened in Xiliang from hearsay. Later, Zhang Song added fuel to the fire, and she was already filled with hatred for Xiao Zhuo. Now that Shen Yuexi had spoken out about the matter, she realized that she had wrongly blamed Xiao Zhuo.
"Now that the misunderstanding has been resolved and I'm not ill, it would be rude for me to wear a mask to meet you."
She slowly raised her hands and took off the metal mask on her face
When the moonlight fell on Mei Dai's tearful face, Shen Yuexi immediately understood why Emperor Yongde was so bewitched. Even she, a woman, was attracted by Mei Dai's beauty.
"Sister Mei, you are so beautiful." Although it was inappropriate, she couldn't help but admire.
"I once ridiculously thought I was the most beautiful woman in the world. But now I realize that appearance is the least important thing." Mei Dai raised her hand and wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve. "What use is beauty other than pleasing men and satisfying their vanity? I'd rather be as clever and skillful as you, my sister."
Shen Yuexi was stunned. What Mei Dai meant was probably the same as the vase.
Although the vase is beautiful, it is only for people to appreciate and has no connotation. It is extremely shallow.
"Aside from my looks, I have nothing." Mei Dai placed the mask on her legs. "My father and brother are no longer with us. I don't even know what the point of living is."
Shen Yuexi disagreed with Mei Dai's opinion and advised, "Sister, don't look down on yourself. In my opinion, you are better than most women."
A woman who could suppress the grief of losing a loved one and feign madness to deceive everyone. She had only seen this kind of willpower in ancient stories.
"Sister, there's no need to comfort me," Mei Dai said with a forced smile. "I'm already disheartened. Once my brother is buried and the war is over, I'll spend the rest of my life guarding my family's graves."
After Mei Dai finished speaking, Shen Yuexi thought of an important question: Where is Mei Dai taking her?
Just now, his mind was full of support for Xiao Zhuo, and he spoke passionately. Later, he was busy comforting Mei Dai and forgot about his own situation.
"Sister, where are you going after you bring me out here?"
The carriage was just entering a lifeless town. The houses were like huge black rocks, emerging from the darkness on both sides of the road. Cold, silent, and lifeless.
She has an impression.
This is Longsheng Town, a small town south of Yongwei near the border between the two states. All the residents have been killed by the Jingzhou cavalry.
"Prince Zhao is about to be defeated. I will help you escape from there," Mei Dai picked up the whip again. "After passing through Longsheng Town, there is a secret outpost of the Mei family on the southern mountain. It was set up by my grandfather. It's very hidden and ordinary people can't find it. We will seek refuge there for the time being."
"My husband is going to lose?" Shen Yuexi couldn't believe what she heard, "Why?"
"Xiao Beiheng has already breached Nanping and is now outflanking Prince Zhao's army from the north," Mei Dai lowered her head. "Prince Zhao's army no longer has any chance of victory."
Shen Yuexi was shocked: "How did my sister know?"
"My brother told me. The Xiliang Army under his command went north... to help Xiao Beiheng."
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