No regrets in death
Below the viewing platform was a rugged slope with rocks. Cheng Yayin leaned on the railing and looked into the distance, letting the mountain breeze blow her hair.
It wasn't until she heard footsteps behind her that she slowly turned around. After being trapped in the villa for more than half a month, she finally saw Pei Songsheng.
He had lost a lot of weight, his face was haggard, his steps were slow, and he looked like a sinner with a gloomy expression. Only when he saw her did a faint light ignite in his eyes, but it was soon drowned by deep pain and guilt.
When Cheng Yayin saw him, she subconsciously opened her mouth but didn't say anything.
Meng Yu was sitting leisurely not far away, watching this scene that was performed just for him with a completely appreciative attitude.
Two men brought Pei Songsheng over and made him kneel before Cheng Yayin. Cheng Yayin recognized one of them as the bandit leader who had pursued her and Pei Songsheng the previous time they were in danger on Xiling Mountain. The man noticed Cheng Yayin's gaze on him, gave her a provocative smile, and then retreated.
Cheng Yayin clenched her fist silently and let out a breath.
Pei Songsheng knelt before her without any dignity, and the first words he said were: "I'm sorry."
Cheng Yayin looked at him coldly, gritting her teeth, not letting on a hint of something strange. Pei Songsheng said, "I really didn't know my father would collude with foreign enemies. If I had known, I would have done everything in my power to stop him."
"I know." Cheng Yayin said calmly.
Pei Songsheng looked at her deeply, his eyes filled with pain. "My father committed a heinous crime. I am willing to share his guilt and atone for it with my own death. But I have only one wish. If I die, I only want to die by your hands. Please grant me this wish."
Cheng Yayin pulled out the dagger, its bright and cold light dazzled her eyes for a moment. She said coldly, "That's why I came here."
Pei Songsheng looked at the sharp blade slowly coming towards his neck, but instead showed a look of relief, closed his eyes, and faced death calmly.
Cheng Yayin held the dagger against his neck. With just a little force, she could cut through his skin, splashing blood three feet away. Suddenly, she called out in a low voice, "Pei Songsheng."
Pei Songsheng's eyebrows twitched, and he opened his eyes with a confused look. Just as he was about to speak, Cheng Yayin quickly stuffed something into his mouth. The dagger that was originally against his neck slid down and cut the rope on his body in an instant.
Behind Pei Songsheng was the railing of the observation deck. Cheng Yayin rushed towards him and hugged him and jumped down the railing together.
Everything happened in a flash, leaving no one able to react. Meng Yu's expression changed drastically. He rushed forward and looked under the railing, only to see jagged rocks and the still-trembling grass on the wall. His face darkened as he shouted to those around him, "Go after them!"
The men immediately obeyed the order and left. About an incense stick of time later, Cui Shou, the chief guard at the palace and the bandit leader who had disguised himself as the robber, returned to report that no one had been found. They had only found some bloodstains and scraps of clothing, likely from scratches sustained when they tumbled down the mountain. They had also found horse hoof prints, suggesting they had escaped on horseback.
Cheng Yayin had been under house arrest, so how could she have arranged the horses in advance? Meng Yu instantly thought of Xia Changhuan. No wonder Cheng Yayin changed her mind after meeting her.
Good, very good. They were all used to putting on a show in front of him. Meng Yu's fingers cracked, his voice as oppressive as the dark sky before a storm: "They're going back to Shengjing. Chase them immediately and bring them back, dead or alive!"
*
Cheng Yayin's escape was actually due to Xia Changhuan.
She seemed to be pinching herself hard, but when Cheng Yayin tried to pry her hands away, she slipped a note into her hand with lightning speed. She took advantage of the fact that no one was around while she was changing clothes and quietly opened it. It read, "There's a fine horse in the deep valley below the viewing platform, galloping back to the capital."
Only then did she realize that she had misunderstood Xia Changhuan. There was no time to make careful arrangements. She had no choice but to return to Shengjing as soon as possible to bring people to rescue Xia Changhuan.
The horse Xia Changhuan had brought was indeed a fine one, its hooves swift as the wind, but she didn't know how to control it, and in her panic, it ran wildly. Meng Yu must have sent people to chase them. Cheng Yayin was worried that her efforts were in vain, so she panicked. A pair of hands behind her took the reins and expertly spurred the horse into a gallop.
The bloodstains on his arms were from protecting her tightly when he fell off the cliff. Cheng Yayin cried heavily and said, "You're back, aren't you?"
"Yeah." Pei Songsheng hugged her from behind, "I'm sorry for making you worry."
It had only been over half a month since they last saw each other, yet that voice seemed like a lifetime ago. So much had happened in the intervening time that Cheng Yayin truly wanted to hug him and cry, but now was not the time for such things. She had just fed him the antidote, and the Soul-Separating Powder poison in his body had been cured, but his life was hanging on the flames, and he would be burned to ashes in just twelve hours.
It would take about three hours to get back to Shengjing from Ganchuan, even if we rode at full speed. But with the pursuers behind us, there was no telling how much longer it would take.
Cheng Yayin had just thought of this when she heard the sound of arrows piercing the air. Pei Songsheng, spurring his horse, pressed down on her back to avoid the attack, and the sound of horse hooves became chaotic.
Cheng Yayin, tucked in Pei Songsheng's arms, glanced back with difficulty. She saw the bandit leader leading a large group of men, each armed with longbows, firing a barrage of arrows. She felt a mixture of hatred and fear. Meng Yu must be so furious he didn't even care about their lives. If they couldn't escape today, they would be dead.
Pei Songsheng pulled his hand back and pressed her head back into his arms. At this critical moment of life and death, his voice in her ear remained calm: "Don't be afraid."
Pei Songsheng's voice controlled his horse, dodging the hail of arrows. At one point, Cheng Yayin heard the dull thud of an arrow piercing flesh, and felt the body of the person protecting her tense for a moment. She looked up and saw Pei Songsheng's jaw clenched, his eyes showing endurance, but not a trace of pain.
Cheng Yayin felt as if she had suffered a deep pain herself, and she held back her tears and said, "Are you hurt?"
Pei Songsheng gritted his teeth, remained silent, and clamped his legs against the horse's belly, urging it on. Cheng Yayin pulled one hand from his arms, slid along his arm, and felt behind him, feeling for an arrow shaft at the back of his shoulder. Blood soaked his shirt where it had pierced his flesh. Her nose suddenly tightened, and tears rolled down her cheeks, falling like flying pearls amid the clatter of galloping hooves.
Pei Songsheng grabbed her hand and hid it in his arms, saying, "Be good, hide well." His voice wasn't as steady as before. Cheng Yayin choked up and said, "Leave me to them and go back to Shengjing. Remember to go back and find Doctor Wang and ask him to detoxify you."
"Don't be silly, we need to go home together."
There were pursuers behind them. Meng Yu controlled Ganchuan from top to bottom, and checkpoints were set up along the official roads, and traps were also set at the city gates. With the main roads blocked, Pei Songsheng took a small path, exploiting the complex terrain and narrow roads to successfully evade the pursuers and navigate through a valley.
After a long time without hearing the sound of the pursuers' horses' hooves, Pei Songsheng handed the reins to Cheng Yayin and told her in a weak voice in her ear how to control the horse and which direction to go.
Cheng Yayin held back her tears and said, "I remember everything. I will definitely bring you back to Shengjing. But please don't tell me this in such a tone. I..." After holding back for a while, she finally burst into tears. "I'm scared. Please hold on. Don't leave me alone."
Pei Songsheng raised his arm with great effort, touched her face, and wiped away her tears. "Don't be afraid, Zheng, I'm fine." He weakly lowered his head to the side of Cheng Yayin's neck and rubbed it lovingly. "I'm just a little tired. I'll be fine after a rest..."
As soon as Pei Songsheng closed his eyes, his consciousness fell into a trance. He felt his body getting lighter and smaller, floating in the air like a feather, and suddenly it fell to the ground. He looked up and saw the tall gate of the Cheng Mansion. The ten-year-old boy was taken by his father to visit Mr. Cheng, and he would study at the Cheng Mansion in the future.
Mr. Cheng was a man of profound learning and a masterful method of teaching. Pei Songsheng benefited greatly from his experience as his student. Yet, buried in his desk, he would occasionally reflect that his life, everything he would learn and do, had already been predetermined. His father had paved a path for him, and he could only walk it alone, without making any mistakes. On this path, he needed to forsake pleasure and cultivate a deep sense of tranquility. Whenever he thought of this, the young boy's heart would suddenly turn desolate.
In the second year of studying at the Cheng Mansion, perhaps because he felt that the daily teaching was too boring, Mr. Cheng decided to hold a poetry meeting every month. The subject matter was not limited to the classics of sages, and students were free to express their thoughts.
The poetry gathering was held to relieve the boredom of studying, so there was no ranking. Mr. Cheng only asked everyone to collect their poems and submit them to him, and he would review them privately. If anyone wanted to improve their poetry skills, he would give them some pointers.
Pei Songsheng was assigned the task of collecting student poems each month, and he would glance through them as he compiled them. One day, he stumbled upon a poem that was exceptionally well-written, free of artificiality, and refreshing to read. There was no signature at the end of the volume, and he couldn't find the author among his classmates. So, he took the poem to Mr. Cheng.
Mr. Cheng glanced at it and immediately laughed. He put the scroll into his sleeve and said helplessly, "This is my daughter's work. She was young and naughty and liked to show off. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you."
Pei Songsheng knew that Mr. Cheng had a daughter, but he had never seen her. He did not expect her to be so talented in writing.
From then on, after the monthly poetry gathering, when he sorted out his poems, he would occasionally find an extra poem. It was still unsigned, but he recognized her handwriting.
For some reason, whenever he saw her poems, he would quietly take them out and take them home to read carefully over and over again.
They had never met before, and he didn't even know her name, but in a piece of poetry, he overturned all his imaginations of her.
She acted like no lady at all, and her writing style was sometimes playful and cheerful, sometimes melancholic and nostalgic, and sometimes free and unrestrained. She didn't write every month, but whenever she felt like it, she would write a piece, quietly inserting it among the poems and essays of the other students, freely writing as if unwilling to be bound by any rules.
Once you start paying attention to the slightest signs of someone's presence, it becomes difficult to hide. Pei Songsheng discovered when she delivered the poem to the school. It was during the lunch break, when Mr. Cheng was away. Some students had gone home for lunch, while others were strolling around the Cheng residence. Not many people were left in the hall. It was at this time that she tiptoed in, like a nimble cat, and in a corner where no one could see her, she placed her poem on the desk and quietly left.
Even though he still noticed her little movements, Pei Songsheng pretended not to know, sometimes even making some noise to help her cover up. She didn't know she had been discovered. Every time she managed to leave, her steps would always be lighter than when she came. Pei Songsheng could only see her back, and the butterfly-shaped pearl flower on her head trembled gently with her steps, as if it was about to take flight.
An inexplicable longing took root in his heart.
Once, when she sneaked in to hide poems again, Pei Songsheng suddenly felt an impulse and walked to the table and met her eyes.
Those were a pair of eyes that were much more lively than the ones he had imagined a thousand times in his imagination. When they met his gaze unexpectedly, panic filled her eyes. She didn't even have time to put down the poem in her hand and fled in a hurry.
Pei Songsheng stood frozen in place, his heart beating rapidly. Several classmates were chatting quietly in the classroom, not paying attention to him. No one knew how extraordinary he had just done.
After that, she didn't come for a long time. Pei Songsheng was extremely upset. His reckless behavior that day scared her away, and he couldn't even see her back anymore.
Until one day, he heard those quiet footsteps behind him again. She was coming, and Pei Songsheng's heartbeat, which had been stagnant for a long time, began to boil again. He could feel her approaching. When she walked to the desk, she didn't rush to put down her poem, but cast her eyes on him, and then spun around. Pei Songsheng clenched his fists, and it took all his strength to restrain himself from looking back. Seeing that he didn't notice, she quickly put the paper on the desk and turned and slipped away.
Pei Songsheng did another absurd thing—he actually followed her footsteps, trailing behind her from a distance. Along the way, he dodged servants and mentally berated himself for his absurd behavior, for throwing all gentlemanly etiquette to the wind. But he couldn't control himself; he just wanted to be closer to her, closer and closer.
She jumped into an archway with hanging flowers without knowing anything. Pei Songsheng stopped in front of the door, knowing that this was a ritual that could not be violated under any circumstances, but he was reluctant to leave. Only when he heard a servant coming this way did he hurried back to the school.
From then on, Pei Songsheng went to the Cheng Mansion Academy tirelessly, rain or shine, summer or winter. Besides studying, he had another secret motive. Every time he sat at his desk, thinking of her reading, writing, and playing just a few walls away, he felt as if the bricks, tiles, and plants he had grown so accustomed to in the Cheng Mansion were now brimming with life.
She is bright, fresh, and quirky, the only life in his dull and boring life.
At the age of seventeen, he passed the imperial examination and was about to embark on an official career, so he no longer had to go to Cheng's house to study.
On the day the results were announced, he went to Mr. Cheng's residence to thank him for his years of training. Mr. Cheng was overjoyed, saying that he was his best student and that he would have a bright future. Pei Songsheng listened to this, but he felt no joy at all.
As he walked out of the Cheng Mansion's gate, he thought to himself that he would never have the chance to be so close to her again.
He was walking alone towards home. After a few steps, he heard someone calling from behind, "Pei Songsheng."
His heart was moved, and he turned to look. She was standing at the door, looking at him with her beautiful eyes, full of tenderness as she looked at him.
This moment seemed like a dream that had lasted for many years coming true. He couldn't help but walk towards her. The short distance seemed to take forever. She was right in front of him, but he couldn't touch her.
Her figure was like a drop of ink dissolved in clear water, becoming increasingly faint. Pei Songsheng was anxious and ran towards her frantically, but he only encountered emptiness. The only sound in his ears was her calling for him, still echoing in his ears.
"Pei Songsheng..."
"Pei Songsheng..."
The surrounding scenery seemed faded by the scorching sun, the landscape rapidly dimming. Only the voices calling out grew clearer and clearer in his ears. Pei Songsheng followed the sound, as if being pulled back to the world by a strong hand. He opened his eyes and saw the person who had just disappeared from his sight was now in his arms. The sound of the voice was heartbreaking, and the tears that flowed down his face fell on the back of his hand, melting his heart.
As the horse's back rocked, he reflected on his current situation. He could feel the aconite poison in the antidote spreading through his body, slowly sapping his strength and life force. His head drooped limply against Cheng Yayin's neck, and with his last remaining strength, he tightened his grip around her waist. At this moment, teetering on the brink of death, he felt nothing but relief.
I will never regret having you accompany me on this journey of life.
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