Chapter 89. Embrace.
Flames surged and billowed inside the pagoda, and thick smoke billowed like a giant python.
Yuan Chaolu grabbed Yuan Zhaobi's wrist and led her downstairs, but was forced to retreat repeatedly by the thick smoke.
Yuan Zhaobi, who was behind her, suddenly fell to her knees and slid to the ground. Fortunately, Yuan Chaolu caught her in time, preventing her from falling down the stairs.
"Sister..."
Yuan Zhaobi said, "Just now, those men forced me to kneel down and broke my kneecaps."
Her gaze fell upon Yuan Chaolu, then suddenly froze.
Yuan Chaolu turned around and saw several guards standing in the shadows of the stairs, their faces almost obscured by the swirling smoke. They had tried their best to stop Yuan Chaolu from going upstairs earlier.
"Your Majesty, please leave immediately!"
The guards and palace servants in the pagoda had all been dismissed by the Empress Dowager when the Emperor and Empress left the pagoda, leaving only these three people.
Yuan Chaolu stood up and ordered the three men to come over and help take Yuan Zhaobi away from the pavilion.
Those who obeyed the Empress Dowager did not take any action.
"Since you address me as Your Majesty the Empress, you should know who you should obey at this moment. If you delay even for a moment, I will have His Majesty personally cut off your heads!"
She rebuked sharply, her gaze intense.
These three individuals were all confidants of the Empress Dowager and had been instructed to know of today's plan beforehand, but they had tried their best to dissuade the Empress Dowager before taking action.
The Jingming Temple Pagoda represents the culmination of many people's efforts; to burn it all down would be utterly insane.
Now, seeing the Empress's furious face, two of them did not hesitate and immediately stepped forward. One squatted down, while the other helped Yuan Zhaobi up from the ground and placed her on the back of the person in front of him, with one hand guarding her side.
"Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is still atop the pagoda. We, your humble servants, will go up and invite her to leave with us..."
Yuan Chaolu said, "The Empress Dowager has probably left herself a way out. If any of you are worried, then you can wait here."
She glanced at the guard who hadn't moved, then spoke and didn't linger.
Amidst the ever-increasing flames, the group hurried down the tower.
**
Thick smoke billowed from the top of the tower, yet two figures remained.
A night breeze stirred up sparks, brushing against Empress Dowager Lu's cheek. Her gaze remained icy: "What did you call me just now?"
The next moment, the wooden platform beneath their feet began to shake. The flames had spread to the area, causing the wood to sway and show signs of collapse.
The commotion quickly attracted the attention of the people below the pagoda.
Xiao Zhuo looked up from the foot of the pagoda and saw the smoke rising from the top floor of the pagoda, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.
Princess Zhenning, with her back to the pagoda, was unaware of what was happening behind her. She had come tonight for Yuan Chaolu and said urgently, "That day I sent someone to deliver the Buddhist scriptures she copied for you to the palace, but I didn't expect the Empress Dowager to stop it. It was my carelessness, but the Empress was truly..."
He suddenly raised his hand to interrupt her.
Xiao Zhuo gazed at the pagoda and asked, "Where is the Empress now?"
Upon hearing this, Zhong Changjun was startled and turned to signal his men to go find the Empress.
The smoke at the top of the tower grew thicker and thicker, and the wooden platform suddenly began to shake violently.
In the chaos, Lu Changli grabbed Empress Dowager Lu and carried her to safety inside the room. In an instant, the wooden platform where they had just stood collapsed.
However, half of Lu Changli's body slipped off the edge of the break.
The sudden collapse of the wooden pagoda's viewing platform caused a commotion among the crowd. No one knew how the pagoda, which had been perfectly fine just moments before, could suddenly burst into flames.
Soon, someone noticed that someone was teetering on the edge of the nine-story tower.
The noble families watching the ceremony downstairs exclaimed and discussed in surprise.
Princess Zhenning covered her lips, recognizing the person as Lu Changli.
At this moment, Zhong Changjun rushed back, his face pale: "Your Majesty, the Empress is not outside the pagoda, she is inside the pagoda..."
A chill ran through Xiao Zhuo's eyes, and his expression darkened.
Before he finished speaking, Xiao Zhuo's clothes had already brushed past everyone's eyes.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
**
On the high platform, Empress Dowager Lu sternly rebuked Lu Changli for letting go, but she felt a surge of heat around her, and her other arm was being pulled by him. Her body leaned forward, and she was about to slide down with him little by little.
Empress Dowager Lu heard the footsteps of the guards downstairs, but the guards hesitated and refused to come up to the top floor.
At that moment, Empress Dowager Lu saw a dagger lying at her feet, its blade still stained with blood, which was glaringly red in the firelight.
She fumbled for the dagger, only to see Lu Changli looking up at her, his voice weak: "Back then, after you gave birth, you were unconscious for several days. When you woke up, the baby in your swaddling clothes had been switched..."
Empress Dowager Lu's hands trembled as she glared at him, "What nonsense are you spouting?"
Lu Changli's clothes fluttered in the wind. He seemed to have lost all strength, and even speaking was extremely difficult. His fingertips were slowly sliding off her arm. "Mother can't eat fish and shrimp because they cause rashes. So do I. But Runlan is different because she... is not your son... she is Mother's brother. She was afraid that the fact that I am a boy would be revealed to the Xiao family and bring trouble in the future..."
Empress Dowager Lu's hands trembled violently. The heat wave, carrying a fishy wind, rushed towards her. The light in her eyes flickered more rapidly than the firelight, and her nails almost dug into Lu Changli's wrist.
"What did you say! Impossible... How could you be..."
Her hoarse voice sounded as if burned by thick smoke, and she stopped abruptly as her shocked pupils reflected the swaying figure in front of her.
She reached out her other hand and suddenly grabbed him desperately, "You explain yourself to me! Guards! Changli—"
The phoenix crown on Empress Lu's temples had already fallen off in the process, and her clothes were scorched black by the smoke.
But on the high platform, there was no one else, only the sound of raging fire echoing in her ears.
The raging fire engulfed everything around them, and the wooden platform beneath their feet emitted a chilling groan, seemingly unable to bear the weight and about to collapse at any moment.
If they continue like this, both of them will fall.
Empress Dowager Lu had already lost her balance. After she let go of the pillar beside her and tried to pull Lu Changli back, her body slid down little by little without any resistance.
Lu Changli slowly raised his gaze and it fell on her cheek.
Water droplets hit her cheeks; it was hard to tell if they were her tears or raindrops falling from the sky.
"It's raining," Empress Dowager Lu said in a trembling voice, her eyes no longer holding any sharp killing intent, only panic and fear. "Wait a moment while Changli is gone, I will summon someone now."
Lu Changli looked at the raging fire behind her. The fire had not yet destroyed the wooden stairs, and there was still a way down. If she left in time, she could still make it.
This meticulously constructed pagoda, adorned with countless gold, stone, and jade artifacts, will also be lost forever. A pagoda can be built, attracting millions, but a pagoda can be destroyed with a single fire.
Nothing lasts forever, like the lotus flower patterns on the wall; nothing remains.
Suddenly, another fire appeared before his eyes.
Jiangnan, medicinal herb fields, cold winds, thick clouds.
It felt as if an invisible hammer had struck my chest. Like a fateful response—
On that moonlit night in Jiangnan, he felt the cold wind pierce through his internal organs, watching as the fire he had set engulfed the medicinal herb field that his wife had painstakingly cultivated.
He raised his arrow and aimed it at his wife's back.
He loves beautiful things, but he also loves the moment when he breaks them with his own hands.
But she was still alive, and even said that she had been pregnant.
Lu Changli felt a surge of resentment grip his heart as he watched helplessly as the raging flames devoured the tower, seemingly tearing at his flesh as well.
Today, this pagoda is filled with gods, Buddhas, and flying apsaras, a magnificent sight beyond description. He wanted to leave his name for posterity, but in the end, he too will vanish into nothingness.
This is exactly what it means to be consumed by inner turmoil...
Before he was completely exhausted, he reached out and touched the dagger at Empress Dowager Lu's feet, pressing it against his fingers.
Empress Dowager Lu realized what he was about to do, her pupils contracted sharply, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Lu Changli cut off his five fingers.
A strong wind was howling in his ears as he plummeted downwards.
"Chang Li!"
Empress Dowager Lu's heart-wrenching screams were drowned out by the raging flames, and she could only watch helplessly as that figure fell into the thick smoke.
Everything vanished like smoke, leaving only the torrential rain pouring down.
**
Thick smoke billowed from the tower, obscuring the view.
When Yuan Chaolu descended to the fourth floor, he looked up and saw a thick cloud of smoke. It turned out that the two guards and his elder sister had been separated.
She covered her mouth and nose, groping her way down through the thick smoke, but was forced back a step by the heat. When she opened her eyes, she saw that this floor was also on fire. A wooden platform outside the railing on one side was ignited by flames falling from higher floors, and the fire spread all the way to where she was standing.
The hot wind lifted her robes, making it impossible for Yuan Chaolu to see clearly. She coughed incessantly and was forced to turn around and run towards the railing on the other side, which had not yet been affected by the fire.
There was finally some air there, but the fire suddenly spread towards her again. She held onto the railing and turned to look down at the pagoda.
This place is four stories high; if you jump, you might still have a chance to survive.
She gripped the scorching railing, her fingertips burning, and suddenly remembered—
In the evening, I asked Princess Zhenning to convey a message to the emperor, but I don't know if he knows about the Buddhist scripture that I haven't sent out yet.
But at this moment she had no time to care about him anymore. The flames surged and the heat was so intense that even the wooden platform here was about to be affected.
Yuan Chaolu's skirt fluttered in the night wind, her long hair flying wildly in the gale. Without hesitation, she grabbed the railing and tried to turn over, but then she heard a loud "crack" from above. Looking up, she saw a wooden platform engulfed in flames about to pour down.
When Xiao Zhuo reached the fourth floor, he heard a noise outside the wooden platform extending from the palace tower. He saw a figure standing by the railing. The wooden platform under her feet swayed, and the railing behind her suddenly broke. She staggered and fell outwards amidst the violent shaking.
Xiao Zhuo strode forward, and Chao Yuanchao pounced on him.
"Morning dew!"
The night wind howled and the cold rain poured down. Her body swayed precariously, almost collapsing and falling, but at the last moment, she was pulled into a strong embrace and dragged back.
Almost as soon as the two of them had steadied themselves, the wooden platform behind them was smashed down by a falling wooden beam.
Yuan Chaolu's heart was pounding in his chest. Before he could calm down from his palpitations, he looked up and met Yuan Chaolu's phoenix eyes, which were shining brightly in the firelight.
Beads of sweat slid down his high, aloof brow. His gaze flickered, as if he felt annoyed that she had come up with such an absurd and reckless act out of desperation, and also as if he was afraid.
He gritted his teeth and said, word by word, "Yuan Dynasty Dew."
The wind howled in her ears, and the fire raged. Yuan Chaolu's stray hairs fluttered in the wind as she felt his arm gripping her tightly, his palm burning hot.
She stared at him blankly, the emotions that had been suppressed in her chest for so long finally bursting forth at this moment.
She could no longer control herself and threw herself into his arms, crying, "Your Majesty..."
**
The Jingming Temple Pagoda, built over several years, resounds with golden bells and shines brightly in the night, vying to depict the appearance of a celestial palace.
However, on the day of its consecration, it was mysteriously destroyed by a fire.
Lu Changli, the Minister of Revenue, died in the fire. Empress Dowager Lu was devastated and fell into a coma due to severe injuries from the fire.
Yesterday's glory has vanished.
Everything vanished with the wind, reduced to nothing in the raging fire. The magnificent, intricate, golden, and dreamlike structures sank into the sea of flames, leaving only the charred tower under the cold moonlit night and torrential rain.
It rained heavily.
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