Chapter 295 Meng Xi and Lu Zhaoruo are completely cut off from each other.
After Eunuch Zhao and his entourage, escorting the stretcher and Lu Zhaoruo, disappeared into the rainy night, a terrifying silence fell over Tingzhuxuan Courtyard, with only the sound of the pouring rain washing away the bloodstains on the ground.
"Mother!"
Yunxiu suddenly broke free from Aunt Ji, and like a child who had suffered a great injustice, she staggered and rushed into Shu Linglang's arms, trembling uncontrollably.
She looked up, her face a mixture of rain and tears, filled with fear and resentment.
When Linglang was tackled by her daughter, her body stiffened slightly at first, but then her usual domineering demeanor softened instantly, turning into overwhelming heartache and anger.
She reached out and firmly supported her daughter's trembling shoulders: "Look at you, so pathetic!"
"The sky won't fall down."
She said each word slowly and deliberately, "With your mother here, no one else has the right to bully you!"
“I remember every grievance you suffered today, every tear you shed.”
"Lu Zhaoruo? Xiao Yeming?"
A cold, ruthless smile curved her lips. "What they've done to you, Mother will make them... pay back with interest, for the rest of their lives!"
After saying that, she didn't look at her daughter again, as if seeing her heartbroken face would make her lose control.
She abruptly turned to Aunt Ji, her voice regaining its usual authoritative tone: "Send the Princess back to her room."
Then he added, “Pass down my message: if even a single word of what happened tonight reaches outside the mansion, his tongue will be pulled out and he will be beaten to death.”
Having given her instructions, she turned around, straightened her back, and walked step by step into the depths of the inner courtyard.
That figure, even in the rain, maintained the absolute majesty of royalty, yet it also carried a chilling, resolute storm of revenge for his daughter.
The top floor of the library.
Yun Jing, the Minister of Revenue, stood by the window.
He silently watched everything that was happening in the front courtyard of Tingzhu Pavilion below, his face calm and composed, revealing neither joy nor anger.
Meanwhile, in the shadows on the other side of the library, another pair of eyes were peering intently through the windowpane downstairs.
It was Lin Yingyu, who should have left long ago!
She had already quietly left through the side gate after arranging the poisonous incense, following the Grand Princess's secret orders.
But she did not leave; instead, she climbed up to the library where she could peek into Tingzhuxuan.
She wanted to see for herself what would become of Lu Zhaoruo.
However, what she saw was Eunuch Zhao barging in with an imperial edict in hand, and what she heard was the earth-shattering title of "Third-Rank Lady"!
"How could this happen... How is this possible!"
Lin Yingyu trembled and instinctively covered her mouth to prevent herself from screaming.
She leaned against the cold wall, her legs went weak, and she almost collapsed to the ground.
Lu Zhaoruo not only survived, but also rose to prominence, becoming a Lady of Imperial Decree!
But then, she began to feel fortunate.
"Fortunately...fortunately she didn't know I had been here! And she didn't know about that incense burner...the secret inside that incense burner!"
"Lu Zhaoruo... you're lucky this time! But our score isn't over yet!"
She left quietly through the side gate.
Her destination was the Marquis's residence in Xiang'an County.
Now, she has successfully ingratiated herself with Pang Ying, the eldest son of the county magistrate.
This young marquis, a spoiled and dissolute man, was attracted by her deliberately cultivated image of fragility and mystery. He was completely smitten with her and obeyed her every word.
More importantly, Pang Ying didn't care about her past at all, and was even quite fascinated by her vague and somewhat tragic "stories".
Outside the mansion gate.
The rain had stopped, but the night was dark and the chill was biting.
Several horse-drawn carriages were already waiting.
The Imperial Guards carefully carried the unconscious Xiao Yeming out of the mansion and headed straight for the most spacious carriage at the head of the procession.
Lu Zhaoruo stepped out of the threshold, her legs weak and almost unable to support her weight.
A man wearing a gray-blue cloak quickly stepped forward and reached out to help him up...
However.
Lu Zhaoru steadied herself, her gaze never wavering, passing directly past his outstretched hand, her eyes fixed on the stretcher in front of her, her mind and eyes filled with Xiao Yeming's pale face, as if everything around her had ceased to exist.
The desperate anxiety and heartache in her eyes were clearly seen by him, piercing his heart.
His hand froze in mid-air before slowly falling down.
He watched as she boarded the carriage without looking back, the door closing right in front of him.
This person was none other than Meng Xi.
Today, he had just finished dealing with Li Nian'er's matter and wanted to find Lu Zhaoruo to discuss the marriage again, but he was shocked to learn from Dong Rou that she had broken into the Grand Princess's mansion alone to save A Bao.
He rushed there, and on the way he encountered Wang Wu carrying A Bao, who looked like a blood-soaked gourd.
He immediately led them to the nearest mansion of Duke Di, where there happened to be a highly skilled veterinarian.
Having learned of the perilous situation within the mansion from Wang Wu and witnessed A Bao's miserable state, Meng Xi knew that Yun Xiu had gone mad, and that Xiao Yeming's solo journey into the Dragon Pool was fraught with peril.
He immediately pleaded with Duke Di for help, and the two rushed to the palace to meet the emperor.
The Emperor was receiving the Crown Prince of Qing, and he and the Duke of Di waited outside the palace until night fell.
Just then, the people Shuheng sent to Jizhou to investigate brought back news that Lu Zhaoruo was innocent, and the emperor originally intended to bestow a reward upon her the next day.
Upon hearing of the incident at the Grand Princess's residence, at the earnest pleas of Duke Di and Meng Xi, the Emperor immediately issued an imperial edict, ordering Eunuch Zhao to rush there and rescue the people at all costs.
Meng Xi then rushed over with Eunuch Zhao and waited outside the mansion gate in the rain for a long time, his clothes already half-soaked.
…………
The carriage disappeared at the end of the long street, swallowed up by the night along with the last glimmer of light and the final clamor.
Meng Xi stood there, the cold rain sliding down his forehead and flowing past the corner of his eye like a tear.
A faint smile slowly curved his lips, a smile that was so subtle yet imbued with the deepest bitterness in the world.
He turned and stepped into the deserted street.
The rain gradually became denser, silently falling on his already soaked shoulders, the chill biting to the bone, but he was completely unaware.
It's as if this body can no longer feel the temperature of the outside world.
Suddenly, he lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly uncontrollably, and a low, hoarse laugh escaped from his throat.
Then, the laughter grew louder and louder, echoing in the desolate rainy night.
He just smiled and walked aimlessly forward, like a shell whose soul had been taken away.
Memories surged forth like a tidal wave, catching me completely off guard.
He recalled that in the beginning, in a teahouse, he saw through the window the figure kneeling on the long street to save his brother.
Her words were filled with pleading, but there was no trace of humility in her eyes. Instead, they were as clear as autumn water, shimmering with an unyielding resilience.
At that moment, he realized that this woman was different from ordinary young ladies.
Then, dressed in plain clothes, she showed no fear whatsoever when facing the spirited horse "Feihong".
She nimbly stepped forward, gently stroked the horse's neck, whispered a few words, and then, with a twist of her slender waist, she mounted the horse like a light cloud. Her movements were crisp and beautiful, drawing the attention of everyone present.
He vividly remembers falling into the water and, in his dazed state, it was she who jumped into the icy lake without hesitation.
When he was pulled ashore, in his delirium, he grabbed her cold hand and mistook it for his mother's, mumbling incoherently.
The most unforgettable memory was the attack, the assassin's blade pointed straight at his back! Without a second thought, she stepped in front of him to shield him! The blade sliced across her arm, blood instantly staining her white dress, but she only let out a muffled groan…
Those precious memories he had carefully treasured had now turned into sharp fragments, piercing his heart.
He has always been indifferent to worldly affairs, and there is always a veil between him and the mundane world.
Fame and fortune are like fleeting clouds, and human relationships are like flowing water; neither of them catches his eye nor his heart.
As for romantic love, in his eyes it was nothing more than the self-inflicted troubles of lovesick men and women, adding only burdens.
At that time, although his body remained, his heart was as still as an ancient well, no different from a walking shell.
But her appearance was like a pebble thrown into an ancient well, suddenly creating ripples all over the place.
Her unwavering resolve when she knelt and begged for her brother's life, her calm and decisive action when taming the wild horse, her selfless act of saving him in the icy lake, and even her courage in taking a fatal blow for him... all pierced through the barrier he had built for himself, reaching straight to his heart like beams of light.
His long-dormant heart began to beat involuntarily.
It was she who made him, whose heart had become like a withered tree, smell the warmth of human life again, and truly "come alive" from a heartless and emotionless "living dead".
He once thought that with the passage of time, he could always warm the distance in her eyes with his heart, and that he could always wait for her to turn around and see him.
But tonight, he witnessed what it meant to fight to the death.
Xiao Yeming used his blood to etch an indelible mark on her heart.
From that moment on, her entire world shone only for that one person, leaving no room for anyone else.
The rain soaked his clothes completely, the cold fabric clinging to his skin, but he seemed not to feel the cold, still smiling and shaking his head.
The long street was deserted, with only the sound of lonely footsteps and endless rain as companions.
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