Chapter 30 Chapter 30 "Jiang Ci! Go call someone!"...
Ji Xu's voice was as light as a breeze, but it made Jiang Ci's heart tremble violently.
She was about to step forward and say something, but Ji Yang beside her spoke first, his tone cold and stern with a hint of calm and suppressed anger:
"Baiyang, spread the word. Don't let anyone know about this. Anyone who dares to spread this news outside of the Dongyang Marquis' Mansion will be beheaded."
His eyes were sharp, his voice resonating like pearls dropping to the ground. "We have to go control the floods right now. Hanbei is ready to make a move. If word of this gets to Xiling, it will only cause more trouble. Just say that my cousin has contracted a serious illness and died. We'll choose a date for her burial."
Bai Yang was startled for a moment, then he clasped his fists in agreement and quickly left to pass on the message.
The rain was still lingering in the courtyard, and the air was thick with dampness.
Jiang Ci stood behind Ji Yang, but his eyes were always on the man on the steps.
Ji Xu lowered his eyes, looking somewhat lonely, his gaze filled with grievance and fatigue. His gaze slowly shifted towards her, then slowly dropped again. He gently brushed aside his loose hair, as if trying to straighten his appearance, but as he pushed himself to his feet, he suddenly tumbled forward, collapsing headfirst!
"——Brother!" Ji Yang growled and rushed forward quickly.
"Jiang Ci! Go call someone!" He turned around and shouted as he caught Ji Xu.
Jiang Ci was stunned for a moment, then immediately reacted, turned around and left quickly.
Ji Xu was quickly carried back to his room. Outside, rain pounded against the window frames, and the lights flickered. The doctor also hurried over and knelt before the bed to feel his pulse.
Ji Yang stood aside with a gloomy look on his face.
Jiang Ci wanted to stay, but was stopped by him.
"You're useless here, go back and rest. You've just recovered, don't make things worse."
"I just..." Jiang Ci opened his mouth, wanting to say that he couldn't let go, but in the end he was blocked by his words and had to retreat silently.
The room was silent. The doctor withdrew his hand, slowly stood up, and looked gloomy.
"Commander-in-Chief, the eldest son's life is coming to an end."
"What did you say?" Ji Yang stood up straight in an instant, his voice trembling slightly.
"The eldest young master already had a pre-existing illness, and he was poisoned. His emotions are volatile, and his heart fire is backfiring. I'm afraid... there's no way to save him."
The four words "life is about to end" were like a heavy hammer, hitting Ji Yang's heart hard.
He stopped where he was, the air in his chest seemed to freeze for a moment, and his face turned pale in an instant.
He suddenly rushed forward and grabbed the doctor's collar: "Impossible, he has held on for so many years! Now he has just made it to this point, tell me, is there any way, is there still hope for him!"
The doctor gritted his teeth and said nothing, just lowered his head in silence.
Ji Yang froze there, his fingers loosening little by little. He stared blankly at Ji Xu lying on the bed, then suddenly, as if he had lost all his strength, he slowly knelt down.
He raised his hand and held the palm that was gradually cooling down, gently covering the palm, as if holding a bond that was about to break.
He lowered his head, resting his forehead on the edge of the couch, his shoulders trembling slightly.
Tears, drops falling on the quilt——
He finally couldn't hold it in any longer, and he choked and suppressed his emotions, burying all his guilt and sorrow in his sobs.
The next morning, Ji Xu woke up slowly, her eyelashes trembling slightly. Before her eyes could focus, she saw her brother who had been guarding her bed all night.
Ji Yang sat by the bed, tears still lingering in the corners of his eyes, his expression tired but resolute. He saw Ji Xu wake up, suddenly leaned over, held his hand, and called out, "Brother."
Ji Xu forced a smile and raised her hand to touch his face, her fingertips feeling slightly cold. "Zisu...you've always loved crying since you were little. Why are you still like this now?"
Ji Yang choked in his throat, covered his cold hand, bit his lip, and shook his head gently.
He couldn't say anything.
Ji Xu looked at him, as if he had finally seen through his fate. His tone was gentle but clear, "I've already drawn the pattern for the jewelry you requested. It's on the desk in the study. Also, Afan is still young, so I'll leave her to you from now on. Mother is always careless and doesn't care about many things. You have to pay more attention to her."
Having said that, he paused, his eyes moved outside the window, and then fell back on Ji Yang's face: "And my sister-in-law... She is a good woman, Zisu, even if you don't like her, don't hurt her feelings."
This sentence sounds like a trust, but also like a sigh.
Ji Yang's eyes were red, and he said in a hoarse voice: "Don't say anything, everything will be fine...it will definitely be fine."
Ji Xu seemed not to hear and suddenly asked softly, "Do you still remember the Lonely and Cold Temple we visited when we were little?"
Ji Yang was stunned and nodded.
"The hibiscus flowers over there... should be blooming now." Ji Xu chuckled softly, "I want to go and see them again."
Ji Yang finally couldn't control himself anymore, tears started to fall again. He lowered his head and said, "Okay, let's go together... Let's go see the hibiscus flowers together."
"Let's do it today." Ji Xu closed his eyes, his voice was very soft, but very stubborn.
Ji Yang raised his hand to wipe away his tears, stood up and told someone to prepare the carriage.
After hearing the news, Jiang Ci insisted on going with them: "I am a woman, I can take care of big brother on the way... What's more, he is the first person in this mansion, besides my mother-in-law, who treats me sincerely and well."
Ji Yang glanced at her, did not refuse, and nodded in agreement.
The carriage slowly drove out of the Dongyang Marquis Mansion and headed towards the Guhan Temple.
The car was quiet. Ji Xu was leaning on the couch, his face pale, his breathing weak, and a layer of cold sweat faintly seeping out of his clothes.
Jiang Ci sat beside him, gently wrung out the handkerchief, and wiped his forehead carefully. His movements were very light, but his eyes were full of hidden sadness.
Outside the Guhan Temple, the mountain wind was blowing and the clouds were floating.
The vast expanse of blooming Gesang flowers on the hillside is as bright as the morning glow, blooming wantonly and ostentatiously, as if they are reluctant to leave.
Ji Xu sat quietly in the small pavilion beside the temple, wearing the cloak that Jiang Ci had covered him with. He leaned against the pillar, half-closed his eyes, looking at the rolling sea of flowers in the distance, with a barely perceptible smile on his lips.
He seemed to be immersed in an old dream, but also seemed to have finally unloaded all his burdens.
The wind blew through the flowers, and Ji Yang suddenly felt a silence beside him. He turned around suddenly and saw Ji Xu's head slightly lowered, his eyebrows and eyes gently closed.
“…Brother?”
He called out tentatively.
Ji Xu did not answer, but just leaned quietly against the vermilion pillar, as if he had finally found a corner in this world where he could rest in peace.
Ji Yang stood there for a long time, and seemed to finally understand something. He reached out his hand tremblingly to feel Ji Xu's breath.
The next moment, he threw himself on Ji Xu's knees, crying out in pain, his heart broken.
"Didn't you say we were going to see the flowers together...Brother, don't do this...don't do this..."
Jiang Ci stood outside the pavilion, looking at the man and the corpse, her nose already sour. She slowly walked into the pavilion, walked to Ji Yang's side, squatted gently, and reached out to hug him.
Ji Yang's shoulders were shaking violently from crying. Jiang Ci could feel all his collapse and helplessness, but she couldn't say any words of comfort at this moment.
My throat is choked and painful.
She just hugged him tightly and cried with him.
Behind them, the Gesang flowers were still swaying in the wind, as gorgeous as a dream.
…
After returning to the Dongyang Marquis Mansion, Ji Yang seemed like a completely different person.
He was dressed in black clothes, standing in front of the hall, his eyes as cold as ice: "Chen Ru'an, drag him to the mass grave and feed him to the dogs."
He wouldn't allow anyone to collect her body.
Then he ordered his servants, "Go, invite the best undertaker to wash and dress the eldest son."
In front of the coffin, Ji Yang personally changed Ji Xu's clothes, straightened his collar, and helped him to put on his hair, as meticulously as he did when he was a child.
He looked at the peaceful face, with waves surging in his eyes. Finally, he bent down and gently closed the coffin lid for Ji Xu.
At that moment, it seemed to cover the softest corner of his heart.
His voice was low, but clear to the ear: "Before Mother passed away, she asked me to take good care of you. Now that you've passed away... How can I explain this to her?"
The lights in the mourning hall were dim.
Ji Yunfan knelt on the mat, crying out of breath, her small body leaning in Jiang Ci's arms, trembling with tears.
Jiang Ci hugged him, tears still in his eyes, but he gently wiped the tears from his face.
At this time, Madam Ji's carriage was returning from the Marquis of Pingchang Mansion. As she entered the Dongyang Street intersection, she saw from afar that white banners and satin were hanging in front of the door of the Marquis of Dongyang Mansion. Lanterns wrapped in white cloth were also placed at the door. The white paper rustled in the wind, as if in mourning.
Her heart suddenly tightened, and her hands, which were clutching the curtain, could not help but tremble. She urged repeatedly: "Hurry up, hurry up, go home quickly!"
The coachman responded, whipped the horse to speed up, and the horse's hooves galloped on the stone road. Before the carriage had even stopped, Madam Ji had already lifted the curtain and stepped out, her light-colored brocade robe slightly disheveled due to her rapid pace.
She took a few steps into the mansion, walked very quickly, and almost ran into the front hall.
The mourning hall was located in the main hall. The door was open, the white curtains were low, incense was burning, and mournful music was playing. As soon as she stepped in, she saw a room full of people standing solemnly in plain clothes, and a memorial tablet with gold characters on a black background in the hall.
[Spiritual tablet of my eldest brother Ji Xu]
At that moment, it seemed as if a corner of the world had collapsed.
Madam Ji stood in front of the door in a daze, her eyes instantly losing focus, her throat choked with sobs, as if being strangled by an invisible hand.
She stumbled into the mourning hall, and the servants saluted one after another: "Madam Ji."
After hearing the call, she seemed to come back to her senses and looked at everyone, but the next moment, her eyes were firmly grasped by the spirit tablet.
Ji Yang was kneeling in front of the memorial tablet. When he heard the noise, he slowly turned his head with a serious look in his eyes.
Madam Ji walked forward tremblingly. When she saw the incense on the altar and the white cloth covering the coffin, she felt as if struck by lightning and staggered.
Then she threw herself in front of the coffin, beat her breast and stamped her feet, wailing loudly: "My son——!"
This sound seemed to tear apart the silence of the entire Dongyang Marquis Mansion, and also tore apart the silent and suppressed grief of everyone.
Jiang Ci was holding A Fan in the corner of the hall. He couldn't help but close his eyes when he heard the cry, and a tear fell from the corner of his eyes. Ji Yang clenched his teeth, his eyes bloodshot. He just stood up and helped his mother up from the coffin. His voice was hoarse and trembling:
"Mom, my eldest brother passed away peacefully, without suffering..."
Madam Ji seemed to be deaf to all this. She only cried and clapped her hands on the coffin lid: "Didn't you say you would wait for Afan to grow up? Why did you leave?"
Her crying was extremely heartbreaking, as if she was venting the sorrow and loneliness that had been weighing on her heart for all these years.
After Ji Xu's death, the entire Fengdu was immersed in suppressed grief.
A long mourning tent was set up in front of the Dongyang Marquis's mansion, and a constant stream of guests came to pay their respects. Officials and civilians were all dressed in plain clothes. Elderly people on the roadside spontaneously lit incense and paper, while children held onto their mothers' clothes and whispered, "Mother, will that eldest young master never come back?"
The streets were quiet, even the usually bustling teahouses and taverns had fallen silent.
Everyone said that the eldest son of the Dongyang Marquisate was as gentle as jade, modest in his dealings with others, and a true gentleman. He did good deeds without showing off, and the people of Fengdu respected and mourned him.
White banners lingered on the beams, a mournful wind blew to bid farewell to the guests. The incense in front of the mourning hall never ceased to burn. Even late at night, people often arrived, clothed in their robes, standing in silence for a moment, bowing their heads in deep worship.
A few days later, the sound of hurried horse hooves broke the silence.
Lu Linchuan, draped in dust, entered the Dongyang Marquisate with an urgent military report. Upon entering the inner courtyard, he headed straight for the main hall. He passed through the mourning hall, shrouded in flowing white gauze, and stood behind Ji Yang, who was kneeling in prayer. He spoke in a deep voice, "Commander-in-Chief, it's time to set out to control the floods. I know you're heartbroken, but the mountains and rivers are in danger, and the riverbanks are about to collapse. If we delay any further, I'm afraid the people will suffer."
Ji Yang didn't turn around, but just responded softly: "I know."
He stood before the coffin, then knelt down and bowed three times.
He stood up, took off his outer robe, wrapped the plain white mourning clothes under his armor, and then put on a jet-black cloak. He walked out of his grief, his face as cold as iron and his eyes as sharp as frost.
Before leaving, he came to Jiang Ci's door.
He hesitated for a moment, then finally raised his hand and knocked on the door.
Jiang Ci opened the door, his face still looking a little haggard. When he saw him, he was slightly stunned.
Ji Yang looked at her and said in a deep voice, "I am going to set off to Ningling to control the flood. Ningling connects Tingzhou and Liangzhou."
He paused, then suddenly changed his tone to understated, "You're more familiar with the customs and practices of that area than I am. This trip is complicated, so if you're willing, you can come along."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com