Chapter 97 A Day Apart "Don't be so hard on yourself, it's not your fault..."
Inside the Danhe Gate square, four guards silently carried a stretcher forward.
Ah Hui, stiff on the stretcher and covered with a white cloth, was being carried to the palace gate.
According to palace rules, unless the emperor issues a special decree, the carriages transporting corpses are not allowed to step into the palace gates.
Ever since they came out of the side hall of Changxin Palace, Yu Nie has been holding onto A Hui's hand tightly with one hand and hasn't let go.
She walked beside the creaking stretcher, a chilling, lifeless coldness creeping from her palms to her heart, constantly reminding her of everything that could not be changed.
Song Ai and Cuiwei followed behind her, their gazes fixed on their mistress's straight and desolate back, their eyes red and their lips tightly pressed together.
Cuiwei and Sui En wiped away their tears as they walked, sobbing softly.
Along the way, Yu Nie was not accompanied by Xiao Chengyan and the others, only by the people from Hongzheng Pavilion.
In the empty square, apart from the guards, only their group remained.
Not far away, Huan Xun stared intently at the lonely figure walking ahead of him.
After she left Jiushao Palace, he used the excuse of feeling unwell to withdraw.
His gaze was heavy, as if weighed down by lead, unwavering, as if trying to etch that frail figure into his eyes.
After three days of continuous dark clouds, the burden finally gave way, and a torrential downpour began.
The torrential rain poured down relentlessly, instantly weaving the night sky into an impenetrable net.
Song Ai, who used to be afraid that she would get sick, did not speak or go up to disturb her this time.
The rain came suddenly and violently, but Yu Nie, walking in the rain, seemed unaware of the downpour and continued to hold Ah Hui's hand steadily as they walked forward silently.
The rain had already soaked through her clothes, and strands of hair clung to her pale cheeks, but she was completely unaware.
Following Huan Xun's gaze, Lu Jinshi turned his gaze away, tilting the oil-paper umbrella in his hand slightly.
He hesitated for a moment before finally speaking: "Sir, how long will it take to follow us like this?"
He didn't know why his master, who was attending the banquet, suddenly left Jiushao Palace, and why he had followed him all the way to Changxin Palace, and then here.
Even Huan Xun, who was a formidable warrior on the battlefield and adept at handling any situation, could not explain this point clearly.
“Hongzheng Pavilion,” Huan Xun replied succinctly, cutting off the conversation with just three words.
Lu Jinshi swallowed his words, his throat bobbing.
At this moment, no matter how foolish or stupid he was, he was still a family man, and he sensed something was wrong from the unusual behavior of those around him.
Under the oil-paper umbrella, he stole a glance at the profile of the person next to him.
He remembered clearly that this person had said that the one on the dragon throne was the most meticulous and calculating.
As someone who had briefly lived in Huaiyuan, he was also angry about Ahui's death, but the man walking in front of him tonight, wielding a knife and storming into the palace, was undoubtedly showing contempt for imperial authority and had already overstepped his bounds.
Even if their actions are intended to prove to the emperor that he is in love with the royal princess, wouldn't doing so make the emperor harbor resentment even if he believes in their feelings?
If, as previously stated, the purpose is merely for exploitation, then this approach is not considered safe.
There's no need to go all the way to Hongzheng Pavilion for a performance, since the emperor's spies aren't with them at this point.
Even if I performed it, no one would have seen it.
But when he saw his master's cold eyes, filled with unfathomable emotions, he didn't dare ask a single unnecessary question and could only hurry to catch up.
The rain was pouring down.
Huan Xun walked so fast that most of his court robes were soaked through.
His attendant, Lu, tried several times to open the umbrella, but failed, his gaze fixed on the slender figure in front of him.
He followed her to the palace gate and watched as she stepped onto a wooden bench set up by the guards, and then carried Ah Hui's stretcher onto the carriage transporting the corpse.
As soon as she left, he didn't hesitate for a moment, mounted his horse, and followed closely behind.
*
The carriage bumped along for an unknown amount of time before finally stopping outside the vermilion gate of Hongzheng Pavilion.
Rainwater dripped down the bronze animal heads on the lintel, splashing up water droplets on the ground.
The people in the building had already received the news because Song Ai had sent someone back to report.
A dozen or so maids and eunuchs dressed in plain clothes waited silently outside the door.
Once the carriage came to a stop, several guards in white silently stepped forward.
The head guard raised his hand to signal, and the body, covered with a white cloth, was lifted out of the carriage.
Yu Nie was the last to get off the bus and followed behind.
The hairpin in her hair swayed gently with her steps, making a soft, crisp sound in the rain.
She was so focused on the stretcher in front of her that she didn't even notice the threshold under her feet. She swayed and almost fell to the ground.
Song Ai and Cuiwei quickly supported her: "Be careful, Princess!"
In the front courtyard, a long couch covered with plain white brocade was already prepared.
After everyone settled Ah Hui in, Song Ai gave a single glance, and the rest of the group filed out.
The creaking of the window frames as the wind turned mingled with the sound of rain, creating a serene atmosphere.
The sound of rain outside the window grew clearer, and the candlelight flickered.
Yu Nie slowly squatted down and wrung out a warm cloth from the copper basin beside him.
Ah Hui's face was bluish-gray in the dim light, with bluish-purple patches on his cheekbones and bruises on the corners of his mouth.
Cuiwei stepped forward and said softly, "Princess, let me help you."
She stopped what she was doing, turned her head, and said in a hoarse voice, "Let me do it."
"But the imperial physician said it's best to avoid getting your hand injured in water..."
When she left the side hall of Changxin Palace, the wound on her right palm was simply bandaged, and traces of blood were still faintly visible.
"Let me do it." She gave a barely perceptible smile. "I always wiped my junior brother's face clean when he got it dirty before."
When Cuiwei met her red eyes, her heart ached, and she couldn't say a word. She could only let her do as she pleased and stepped aside.
Yu Nie turned his head and gently wiped A Hui's forehead with extremely light movements.
Her face, which had been rosy when she went out in the afternoon, was now ashen.
The cloth in her hand brushed against the corner of his eye, where some bloodstains had formed.
Yesterday, those eyes were filled with a warm smile as they handed Xue Nu to her.
Just one day apart...
But it was only a day later...
Those eyes will never look at her with that smile again.
Seeing her tears falling continuously from the side, Cuiwei felt a pang of sadness. She placed the newly brought water in front of her hand, turned her face away, and wiped away her tears.
Looking at this scene, Song Ai felt as if a heavy stone was pressing on her chest, making her feel suffocated. She was about to turn around and instruct her servants to invite the mortician to discuss the encoffining and to ask the Fangxiangshi to preside over tomorrow's ceremony.
Before she could even move, she turned around and saw Huan Xun standing quietly by the door.
She was startled and was about to bow when he raised his hand to indicate that there was no need for such formalities.
His gaze passed over Song Ai and fixed directly on the slightly trembling figure in the hall. His eyes seemed to be churning with a thousand words, but when they reached his lips, they ultimately settled into a deep silence.
When Yu Nie brushed against Ah Hui's neck, his hand paused.
The indentation was so deep that even the slightest touch revealed the shattered cartilage beneath the skin, a pain that made one's heart clench. She stopped what she was doing, touched the wound, and her fingers trembled as they rested on Ah Hui's neck.
All the forbearance he had accumulated over the years crumbled at this moment.
She broke down in tears, her sobs filled with heart-wrenching pain. Overwhelming hatred and regret caused her to tremble violently, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.
The rain was still falling outside the palace.
Amidst the pattering rain, everyone outside could hear her broken cries seeping from the carved window lattice.
Gu Xiangzhi, who had just arrived, also heard her crying.
He stood outside the west wing courtyard, raising his hand to push open the door, but his fingers stopped when they touched the wooden door.
“Princess…Princess, you’ll ruin your eyes if you cry like this…” Cuiwei and Song Ai saw that she was crying so hard that she almost fainted, and they couldn’t help but sob as they stepped forward to comfort her, their voices full of heartache.
Song Ai's own face was already streaked with tears. She reached out and kept wiping away the tears for her, choking back sobs.
“Princess, you must hold on. If Ahui were alive today, seeing you like this, she would not be at peace. Furthermore, if your mother were alive today, seeing you like this would also break her heart.”
"Yes, Princess, please stop crying... If you're like this, I... I..."
Cuiwei hastily wiped away her tears with her sleeve. Before she could finish speaking, she choked up and couldn't say anything more.
She couldn't hear a single word at that moment, as if she had been thrown into a deathly silent vacuum, where all sounds around her were completely blocked by an invisible barrier.
Her frail body trembled uncontrollably, as if a rusty, blunt knife was stuck in her chest, and every breath she took was accompanied by a tearing pain.
Her jaw clenched unconsciously, and her tongue instantly tasted the strong metallic flavor of blood.
Seeing blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, Cuiwei and Song Ai were terrified and cried out in alarm, "Princess! Princess, stop! You'll bite off your tongue!"
Before their panicked cries had even faded, Huan Xun strode forward and said in a deep voice, "Get out of the way."
He knelt down, pulled her into his arms, and decisively reached for her chin, forcefully prying it open.
"Quick! Go and fetch the imperial physician!" Song Ai suddenly turned her head and shouted towards the door.
At this moment, Yu Nie was already out of his mind. The instant he pried open Yu Nie's jaw, Yu Nie bit down hard on his tiger's mouth as if grasping at the last straw.
Bright red blood gushed out instantly, trickling down between his fingers.
"Oh dear! Lord Huan! What should we do!" Cuiwei was so frightened that her face turned pale.
Huan Xun's brows furrowed suddenly, and he ordered, "Go and get a cloth."
Cuiwei seemed startled by this sudden scene and remained motionless.
He glanced to the side, his voice rising slightly: "Go quickly!"
Cuiwei suddenly realized what was happening and was so shocked by the unexpected turn of events that her legs went weak and she staggered out.
He lowered his eyes and watched her bite him with an almost frantic ferocity, showing no intention of letting go.
Instead, he tightened his arm around her, gently patting her back with his other hand, one pat after another, with a soothing force, as if coaxing a frightened little animal.
A deep voice sounded in her ear, with a rare gentleness: "Don't be so hard on yourself, it's not your fault."
Faced with absolute evil, not everyone can be completely prepared.
After all, among all the princes, only a beast like Zhao Yuanze, who had lost all humanity, dared to so openly and ruthlessly kill.
He moved gently, softly calling her name: "Relax, Qiqi..."
Song Ai stood aside, anxious and at a loss, but when she saw his actions, she couldn't help but pause.
Yu Nie seemed unaware that she was biting someone, and was simply biting the thing in her mouth on instinct.
Her consciousness plummeted, as if sinking into an endless abyss of darkness. There was no light around her, only a biting cold relentlessly assaulting her.
Occasionally, fragments of memories would flash through the chaos: Ah Hui's gentle smile, Lang Xi asking her where Ah Hui had gone. These images would vanish in an instant, quickly swallowed by darkness.
Not long after, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside.
Cuiwei stumbled in carrying a basin of hot water and several towels.
Just then, as if she had exhausted all her strength, Yu Nie loosened her jaw, slowly closed her eyes, and, under his comforting touch, collapsed softly into his arms, motionless.
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Author's Note: This is now a paid subscription! Thank you for your support!
I'm giving myself a shout-out to this pre-order, please add it to your favorites, please take it with you ( )() (This is a very blatant advertisement insertion)
Pre-order 1: "Married to My White Moonlight's Brother After Losing My Amnesia"
A resilient, limp beauty meets a ruthless, cunning crown prince.
Chu Yun, the daughter of Xuanfeng Dafu, was as beautiful as jade.
At the age of eighteen, she was carried into the Eastern Palace in a grand sedan chair carried by eight men, dressed in a phoenix coronet and embroidered robes, amidst a ten-mile procession of red bridal procession.
After their marriage, everyone envied her; she and the Crown Prince were deeply in love and lived in perfect harmony.
Some people say that it's enviable that a concubine's daughter, whose mother came from a humble background and whose family had little influence, could become the Crown Princess.
Some people say that she is very lucky to have married into the imperial family and still be able to live such a happy life, with her husband loving her so much.
Chu Yun also thought she was lucky.
Her husband was the best person in the world to her, besides her mother.
Until that day, the two were boating on the lake, surrounded by beautifully blooming lotus flowers. He mentioned that she had slept sprawled on top of him the night before, just like her pet raccoon that loved to sunbathe outside all day.
As he spoke, his eyes shone with a warm smile, as always.
Looking at Chu Yun's smile, he felt increasingly strange.
"No, that's not right..." she murmured unconsciously, "Qian... that's not how you laugh..."
Upon hearing the name "Ah Qian," the man's eyes suddenly turned cold.
But in an instant, that chill was replaced by a familiar warmth.
He had a smile on his lips, but his tone was chilling.
He touched her temple and asked, "Really? Then... how did he laugh?"
[Reading Instructions]
Fictional setting, Song-style text, both leads are virgins, 1v1, male lead is truly insane.
Pre-order 2: "My Ex Was My Contract Partner's Boss"
Twenty-five-year-old Liang Weixing was once asked how she would describe her relationship with Ling Yu.
At that time, she thought they should be:
They are siblings
lovers
A stranger
So what about now?
She thought that, legally speaking, she and he should be landlord and tenant.
But Ling Yu didn't think so.
——
A seemingly aloof and awkward girl X a crazy guy who doesn't even realize it
Both are virgins, 1v1, never on the same household registration, pseudo-incestuous relationship.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
