Chapter 95 Her heart was blown away by the wind.
The guards of Chaolu were Mr. and Mrs. Wen. Although they were old, they were the most capable elders in the Helan family. They were strong, ruthless, and skilled at training servants.
Along the way, the two used every means at their disposal to get their hands on Chaolu.
She felt the swaying beneath the carriage floor and listened to the torrential rain outside, as if she were on a small boat, not knowing where she was going.
Because she refused to bow her back even in death, she gritted her teeth and insisted on living, even though she knew that the powerful and influential had a firm grip on her destiny and that from the moment she stepped into the Helan Mansion, she had no say in her own life, she was still unwilling to accept it.
How can I accept this?
With a tenacity she herself could not imagine, she told herself to forget the pain, fight back to the death, and never give in. Even if the punishment she received next time was worse than before, she would face the injustice head-on.
She refused to believe that her life was meant to end there.
She calmed down, became docile, and gave up struggling. The Wen couple thought she had finally resigned herself to her fate. When the caravan entered Jiangnan and stopped at an inn, they relaxed their vigilance and untied the ropes on her wrists.
As Chaolu was escorted upstairs, she cried out for help again, hoping someone could rescue her from her predicament. But all around her were numb faces. After witnessing the power and wealth of the Helan family, no one was willing to lend a helping hand and invite trouble upon themselves.
Her actions drew retaliation. Helan Yi ordered her to be locked in the damp and cold woodshed, and the guards stepped forward, grabbed her, and dragged her down the stairs.
With all her might, Chaolu broke free from the crowd and rushed into a half-closed guest room ahead.
The sky was gloomy and dark, and there were no lights in the room. Chaolu knelt on the ground and looked up to see a long sword hanging above her head. Her breath caught in her throat and her heart pounded.
The guard in front of me, dressed in black, was wary and cold, with murderous intent in his eyes.
She still got up, reached out her hand towards the white robe of the man behind the tea table, and pleaded, "Please, young master, save me."
This is her last chance; if she is taken back, her fate is predictable.
This young man was different from the others. He sat there, his snow-white robe, which hung to the ground, was embroidered with gold thread, and gleamed in the dim light. The dagger hanging at his waist was inlaid with gemstones.
This was a man from a different social class than her, and also the most distinguished person Chaolu had met along the way.
Dawn was just around the corner. She grasped the corner of his robe, but before she could even see his face clearly, she was seized and dragged away by the Helan family members who had arrived.
The woodshed was filled with firewood, dark and cold. She sat in the corner with her knees drawn up to her chest, feeling the pain she had forced herself to ignore along the way suddenly become unbearable.
The rain poured down, the wind howled, and the world was vast; she seemed so small and insignificant.
Why, despite giving it our all, can we still not defy fate?
She saw the light of day again several days later when the Helan family set off to leave Jiangnan. Rain swept across the land, its icy chill threatening to engulf her. Knowing full well the consequences of resistance, she was still unwilling to give up.
Because she refused to comply, the convoy was delayed and stuck in the middle of the road.
She noticed a distant gaze from the pavilion, but before she could even look up, she was pushed into a carriage.
The car door closed again, and her world dimmed.
She lay there, embarking on the long road back to Longxi. Inside the vehicle, she couldn't distinguish between day and night, until—
Someone opened the car door, and a ray of sunlight pierced her eyes, though it was faint, it was particularly dazzling to her.
As dawn broke outside, the Helan family's caravan stopped by the water's edge.
This wide, shimmering river sits on the plain, where seagulls occasionally skim across the surface and reeds sway in the wind.
The reeds, some as tall as a person, provide natural cover.
When she saw the man's face clearly outside the carriage, she was overwhelmed with indescribable shock.
Just a few days ago, in that young nobleman's house, he pointed his sword at his own guard.
He came forward to untie her and urged her to leave quickly.
She fled along the reed marshes in the dawn light of Jiangnan, with magnificent fiery clouds behind her and reeds surging like snow in front of her.
Chaolu stopped, turned around, and in the dawn light saw a magnificent carriage with a canopy that she had never seen before, parked beside the Helan family's caravan.
A figure was vaguely visible behind the beaded curtain. He slowly lifted the curtain with one hand, revealing the delicate lower half of his face. In the distance, the autumn dawn shone brightly, overflowing with splendor, like a vast ocean of fire surging, gilding him with a veil of light.
Yuan Chaolu felt the wind blowing hard, his eyes were wet, and all he could hear was the sound of the reeds swaying in the breeze.
rustling, rustling, rustling...
**
The carriage swayed, and the iron bells hanging under the canopy rang out crisply.
Yuan Chaolu looked out the window at the scenery, which gradually changed from the green mountains outside the capital to the imperial city, and then to the rolling palaces.
The rosy glow, like silk, covered every corner of the palace. Yuan Chaolu stepped down from the carriage and entered the Xuande Hall complex. At the bottom of the long steps in front of the main hall, she met Zhong Changjun standing outside the hall. Upon seeing her, he immediately came to greet her.
"Your Majesty is back." Zhong Changjun said with a gentle expression that dinner was ready.
Yuan Chaolu thought Xiao Zhuo should be waiting for her, nodded and was about to walk into the hall, but Zhong Changjun quickly stopped her, telling her to wait at this moment and not to go in.
His Majesty is in a bad mood right now.
A familiar woman's voice came from inside the hall. Her voice suddenly rose, her emotions fluctuating, as she argued with the emperor about something.
The visitor was Princess Zhenning. Yuan Chaolu was somewhat surprised. After listening for a while, she learned that the princess was extremely dissatisfied with the Helan family. Now that Helan Yi was about to leave Luoyang, she requested the emperor to deal with the Helan family.
"Although they are meritorious officials, the Helan family disregarded the Emperor's grace first and committed the crime of deceiving the Emperor. Your mother's coffin has not yet been buried. It is still in Zhaoyang Palace, and her body is still lying there coldly. Yet the Emperor only gave the Helan family a minor punishment. It is truly chilling."
"In the past, the late emperor gave his two children to an ally as hostages, and then broke the alliance, resulting in the two being beheaded and their heads displayed to the public. Doesn't the emperor remember all of this? That's why he broke with the late emperor, yet he is so cold-blooded now."
The Xuande Hall was silent for a moment, then the emperor's voice, tinged with a faint laugh, rang out: "Does the princess mean that I am like the late emperor?"
Zhong Changjun had seen all sorts of situations, but upon hearing this, his face stiffened, his eyes filled with fear, and he glanced inside.
These words struck like a thunderbolt. Those outside the hall were unaware of the situation inside. After a long while, the princess said, "Your Majesty, that was not my intention."
Xiao Zhuo's voice remained calm and chuckled as he said, "Your Highness has said so much, would you like to stay for a meal?"
Zhong Changjun turned around and asked the Empress not to enter the palace for the time being. He quickly walked into the palace, but after a few steps, he turned back and cast a pleading look at Yuan Chaolu.
Yuan Chaolu said, "I've come to appease His Majesty; you go and inform him."
When Princess Zhenning came out, she was pale and her face was as thin as paper. Her chest was heaving. She bumped into Yuan Chaolu, exchanged only a few words with her, and then hurriedly left.
Zhong Changjun followed her out shortly after, shaking his head helplessly. "His Majesty requests that Your Highness return. Several ministers who were discussing matters will come to collect it shortly."
Yuan Chaolu stood still, watching the candlelight in the hall cast her figure onto the window screen. A cool breeze made her clothes flutter. After standing there for a while, Zhong Changjun reminded her again.
Yuan Chaolu then softly said, "I understand."
**
Princess Zhenning was unwilling to reconcile with the late emperor. The two were entangled for many years. Even after the Xiao family established the empire, she did not want to make her entanglement with the late emperor public. She also maintained a distant attitude towards the emperor. Despite this, Xiao Zhuo respected Princess Zhenning very much. Not long after their marriage, he took Yuan Chaolu to visit Princess Zhenning.
Even when Princess Zhenning proposed punishing the Helan family, she couldn't persuade the Emperor...
Helan Yi had a distinguished military record, earning merits on the battlefield. He was a key minister in the founding of the Great Qi Dynasty and could be considered half of the emperor's right-hand man.
Her husband was an emperor, so calm and collected, always able to distinguish between advantages and disadvantages. Even if he were muddleheaded, he would never go so far as to destroy his own foundation for her sake.
Inside Changqiu Palace, the candlelight shone brightly. Yuan Chaolu sat quietly before a table, the candlelight dancing on her face.
A thick stack of letters lay before her. Yuan Chaolu raised her hand and opened one of them. It was a letter of recommendation, introducing the life, abilities, and unwavering loyalty of a nobleman's son to the Empress.
Such letters have been continuously sent to Changqiu Palace from all directions since the Empress took over the central palace.
The Empress's attitude was ambiguous; she never explicitly refused, accepting each letter until now before finally looking through them.
The Empress needs power. Her younger brother's crime of treason is too serious, and he was forced to go to the northern frontier to deal with Helan Yi. If she has any conscience, she should get him out of trouble and deal with his other crimes later.
Eliminating Helan Yi outright would be the worst possible strategy, pushing her and her husband to the opposite side entirely.
The only way to break this deadlock is to find someone who can replace Helan Yi.
The candlelight illuminated the letter, casting a glow upon the reader. The water clock in the corner ticked silently, echoing throughout the hall.
When the emperor arrived at Changqiu Palace, it was already very late.
He entered the palace quietly, stopping behind the desk. He saw the Empress lying on her side with her cheek resting on her elbow, fast asleep, leaving a pink mark on her cheek.
Zhong Changjun's voice came softly at this moment, "This morning at Zhaoyang Palace, General Helan stopped Her Highness and spoke with her for a while—"
He paused for a moment, then continued, "It must have been extremely offensive to Her Majesty, at which point Her Majesty's mood would have been quite off."
Xiao Zhuo's face was illuminated by the candlelight. He leaned down and brushed the stray hairs from her cheeks. Then he gently took her arm, pulled her body against his chest, and then reached under her knees with his other arm to lift her up in his arms.
The emperor moved gently, without disturbing the person in his arms in the slightest.
Everyone in the hall had left, and the wind rushed in with the sound of the door closing, causing the curtains to flutter and the candles on the lampstands to flicker.
Xiao Zhuo stood tall by the bed, took off his black fox fur cloak, and looked at the person on the bed.
"Helan Yi," he murmured the name.
A cold glint appeared in his phoenix eyes, and candlelight flickered across his cheeks, while the other half of his face was shrouded in shadow, revealing a deep, sculpted silhouette, like a somber and icy sculpture.
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