Chapter 663 Desperate Situation?
"Xuan Lang sacrificed himself for his country today, offering his blood as a sacrifice to Xiao Yuanshan. You will forever be a traitor and a villain."
These words were spoken with almost all his strength, and he collapsed limply to the ground.
A heart-wrenching cry came from beside him: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty!"
The ministers who witnessed this upheaval all had bloodshot eyes.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
With tears of blood streaming down his face, Minister Wang Yong suddenly pulled out the hairpin from his hair and lunged at Xiao Yuanshan.
"You scoundrel! I'll fight you to the death!"
Xiao Yuanshan turned around impatiently, a mocking smile curving his lips. Everyone heard a soft "poof" sound, and Wang Yong in front of him suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Xiao Yuanshan casually flicked his wrist, pulling out the longsword that had pierced his chest.
Lord Wang Yong's faded robe traced an arc in the swirling snow before slowly falling.
The jade hairpin, a gift from the late emperor, which he had worn in his hair for nearly fifty years, slipped from his hand, fell onto the dirty snow, and shattered in two.
The sound of the jade hairpin shattering was crisp and pleasant, yet it carried a deep sense of sorrow. It seemed as if everyone's heartstrings had snapped along with it.
It turns out that Wang Yong, the chief civil official who served three dynasties, was nothing more than a frail old man of similar stature to a petite woman after he fell to the ground.
His eyes widened in disbelief. Snowflakes danced in the air, and one drifted into his eye, slowly melting.
The hatred and sorrow in his eyes did not melt away with the snowflakes; the intense emotion seemed to overwhelm those who witnessed the scene in an instant.
Zhang, who had joined the cabinet at the same time as him, watched helplessly as Wang Yong, who had been his lifelong adversary, passed away before his eyes. In a daze, he closed his eyes tightly and turned his face away.
"Wang Yong." The Emperor, now held captive by the divine physician, his pupils constricted sharply, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. His life was slipping away.
Among the officials, except for the few ministers beside Xiao Yuanshan, everyone kowtowed.
"Respectfully seeing off Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty, we respectfully bid you farewell."
Amidst the swirling snow, the officials shouted their obeisance. Wang Yong and Grand Secretary Chen perished on the spot. The emperor coughed up blood. Xuan Ting wept. Blood dripped from the tip of a sword.
Scenes flashed before her eyes, and Jiang Nuan clenched her fists. Perhaps this scene was just a small chapter in the long river of history, but no one had ever told her what it felt like to be in it.
For a fleeting moment, she felt a lump in her throat. Her gaze involuntarily drifted towards Xuan Lang.
He was, after all, an emperor; he had his pride. He had clung to life, attempting to prolong it through despicable means. But he was still an emperor, and his demise was ultimately the end he himself drew.
"Father! Father!"
Seeing the emperor's lifeless eyes, Xuan Ting collapsed to the ground, embracing the emperor's body, tears streaming down his face: "Don't leave Xuan Ting! Father!"
The child's voice echoed almost throughout the entire imperial city.
Looking at the Emperor's fading pupils and his still trembling lips, it seemed he still had something to say.
Jiang Nuanzhi suddenly leaned closer, her fingers flying across his body as she pierced several of his major acupoints, once again keeping him alive.
His pupils had dilated, but his expression was strangely gentle, and his voice was no longer as hoarse as before. He looked up at the sky and slowly said, "The plum blossoms in Kyoto are about to fade. She loves the green plum blossoms in the snow the most."
"Please bring the green plum tree from my study to her. I owe her so much."
"who is she?"
Jiang Nuanzhi squatted down and asked softly.
Li Quan, his hands trembling, took out a handkerchief from his bosom. Embroidered on it was a bird with a red tassel on its skin. He presented it to Jiang Nuanzhi: "The Emperor is referring to Miss Song. This was given to the Emperor by Miss Song years ago, and the Emperor has kept it until today. Today, I will give it to you."
Jiang Nuanzhi glanced at Li Quan beside her and saw that he had initially been full of hatred, but now he was surprisingly calm. He didn't even look at Xiao Yuanshan, but focused on his emperor. When he talked about this Miss Song, he even had a smile on his lips.
"Physician Jiang, please don't refuse. Miss Song must like you very much. The dress you wore when you first arrived in the capital was stitched by Miss Song, and the Emperor recognized it at a glance. If I hand it over to you, the Emperor can leave with peace of mind."
Jiang Nuanzhi was suddenly stunned. Her clothes when she first arrived in the capital.
Without time to think, the emperor in front of him gasped for breath, his eyes greedily scanning his surroundings as if trying to imprint everyone and everything in his mind.
He glanced at Lord Wang lying in a pool of blood, then his gaze finally settled on Jiang Nuanzhi's face. His lips moved, and he uttered a few words. Clearly, those words were directed at Jiang Nuanzhi.
However, the sound was so soft that no one heard it.
Then, his last breath finally dissipated.
Jiang Nuanzhi felt a sudden chill run down her spine for no apparent reason, and moved the needle again: "Your Majesty, what are you trying to say? What do you mean?"
Unfortunately, the emperor in front of her never opened his eyes again, and no one could give her an answer.
The sounds of Xuan Ting's weeping and the farewells of the officials echoed in her ears. Jiang Nuanzhi repeatedly rehearsed the lip movements of the emperor's last three words.
That is
sorry?
Why would he apologize to himself?
For some reason, Jiang Nuanzhi's heart suddenly jumped. Her eyelids twitched, and vaguely, it seemed that she had forgotten something.
However, too many things were happening around her to think about it carefully, and then she heard Xuan Ting's voice filled with hatred.
"Xiao Yuanshan! I'll kill you! I'm going to kill you!"
Xuan Ting rushed out with bloodshot eyes, wishing he could devour its flesh and drink its blood.
Jiang Nuanzhi sensed something was wrong and immediately ordered someone to bring Xuan Ting back to her side.
Xiao Yuanshan watched this scene and smirked, "How boring."
He glanced at the emperor's corpse: "Our emperor didn't even drink your blood. Otherwise, he could have lived much longer. What a pity."
His eyes swept over Xuan Ting, sizing him up: "He really dotes on you, his son. He would rather die in front of all the ministers than do so, probably to tell others that you are not the one who murdered your father, and that he wants to stand up for you, the crown prince. Tsk tsk, such a deep love for his son. It truly moves me."
As he spoke, his eyes suddenly turned cold: "But now, the game is over."
Xiao Yuanshan's lips curled into a cold smile: "I've been waiting for this day for a very, very long time. It's time to close the net."
Without realizing it, he made a throat-slitting gesture to the guards behind him: "Heh, men, begin."
With a bang, Xiao Yuanshan's words were interrupted, and the smoke in front of him suddenly exploded.
"Spread out, it's poisonous."
Xiao Yuanshan gave a cold order, and the group panicked.
Looking up in a daze, I saw a huge falcon circling in the air.
Within a few breaths, the loud cries of eagles echoed from the sky. A vast swarm of falcons swooped down, a dark mass engulfing the city.
Jiang Nuanzhi whistled again, and a black feather slowly fell from the sky and landed in front of her.
Lightning struck faster than a feather, landing on her shoulder. She flapped her wings and kicked her legs. Jiang Nuanzhi turned her head and saw that there was a piece of paper tied to her leg.
(End of this chapter)
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