Qingying walked to the window and looked out. It was pitch black outside, and there was no one there. Just as she was wondering what was going on, a person suddenly hung down from the eaves. Even though she had experienced this many times before, she couldn't help but be startled.
"A-Shu?!" She clutched her heart, still shaken.
The person crossed their arms and landed on the ground with a flip.
Qingying looked at him and frowned. "You are not Ashu."
Although they were wearing the same clothes and could only see each other's eyes, this person's eyes held more indifference and a detached view of the world, and he did not have a beauty mark at the corner of his eye, only faint fine lines.
“Yes, Miss Liu, don’t be afraid. I am also a shadow guard by His Highness’s side. Ashu, he…” He lowered his eyes and slowly said, “He is already dead.”
"Dead...dead?" Qingying was surprised and astonished, a faint sadness welling up inside her. She asked, "How did he die?"
"He and His Highness the Crown Prince fell into the water together during the attack. His Highness is safe now, but his body was carried away by the river."
"Didn't you send anyone to look for it?"
"We searched, but only found the clothes he was wearing before he fell into the water. But as long as His Highness is alright, who would care about the life or death of a shadow guard?" He spoke calmly, as if he were recounting something insignificant.
That's true. To them, it's just the death of an insignificant shadow guard. Soon, someone else will take over Ashu's position.
This statement pained Qingying deeply. "It's still a human life, no matter what. Why not send more people to search for it?"
The man looked at her, puzzled, and said, "Shouldn't you be concerned about His Highness the Crown Prince's injuries? Ashu is dead, so be it."
"What do you mean by 'death is death'? Do you view your own life in the same way?"
"Of course. It is our honor to serve our master to the death."
Qingying knew she couldn't reason with him, so she stopped talking, took back the letter, and said in a light tone, "Since Ashu is gone, I won't deliver this letter. Go back."
The shadow guard stood still and continued, "I have come here on orders to retrieve the jade token from Miss Liu."
Qingying paused, looking at him. "Did His Highness the Crown Prince send you?"
He forgot everything else, but he still remembered this?
"It is also His Majesty's will."
Qingying breathed a sigh of relief. She put the letter away and said in a calm tone, "He was the one who gave me the jade token back then. If he wants it back, he needs to come to see me in person."
The shadow guard seemed to have anticipated her refusal. He hesitated for a moment, then turned and left without saying a word.
The next day, Qingying ordered someone to buy paper money and incense, and set up a copper basin behind the house.
"Ashu, you saved me, and I am truly grateful to you. If you go to the underworld, I will burn some paper money for you as travel expenses on your journey. After crossing the Bridge of Helplessness and drinking the Meng Po soup, may you be reborn into a good family in your next life, and never again be a shadow guard working for others. If you are fortunate enough to still be alive in this world, leave the capital and live the life you want, and never come back."
When Wei Huaixu arrived, this was the scene he saw: a woman dressed in plain clothes with a white flower in her hair was kneeling on the ground putting paper money into a basin.
Whom are you mourning?
The sudden sound startled her, and she instinctively grabbed a handful of paper and threw it into the brazier. Turning to look at him, she asked, "Why are you here?"
Recalling what happened last night, she paused for a moment, then asked, "You're here so quickly?"
Wei Huaixu approached and glanced into the brazier. He saw the character "述" written on a corner of the unburnt paper. His pupils contracted sharply, and he looked at her with a puzzled expression.
Qingying stood in front of the brazier, head down, rubbing her hands, and whispered, "My mother's death anniversary is coming soon. I don't dare to make a sound, so I can only hide behind the house and secretly burn some money for her."
"Really?" His tone was full of doubt.
"Yes, yes, yes." Qingying nodded hurriedly, then remembered to curtsy and said, "Your Highness is still injured, so it's best not to get any bad luck here. Let's talk in the front courtyard."
Wei Huaixu's expression was somewhat strange at this moment, his mind wandering, yet he obediently followed her to the front yard.
Qingying secretly took the white flower and hid it in her wide sleeve. Looking up, she noticed that his face was still very pale, a pale white caused by the rain. However, perhaps because he had just returned from the battlefield, his body looked quite robust, without any of the frailty often associated with illness.
It seems there shouldn't be any major problems.
"What brings His Highness the Crown Prince to the General's residence so suddenly?"
"Didn't you say you would only return the jade token if I personally intervened?"
It really was for this reason...
Qingying looked at him in confusion, "Didn't Your Highness forget everything from the past? Why do you still remember this jade token?"
"Has no one told you that I have only forgotten what happened in the last two years, and that I have not forgotten everything that happened before?"
"???" You can selectively forget things even if you have amnesia?
Qingying felt that God was playing a joke on her. She stared intently at Wei Huaixu, trying to find even the slightest trace of deception in him, but his expression was serious and he didn't seem to be lying at all.
“I remember that I have a jade token made of smoky purple jade. It was a gift from my mother before she passed away. That group of shadow guards also came from my mother’s maternal clan, the Han family of Jinling. Therefore, that jade token is of great significance to me. I hope that Miss Liu can return it.”
Qingying continued to stare at him, but her eyes were filled with more confusion and bewilderment.
She felt that the person in front of her was a complete stranger. It was clearly the same face, even the small beauty mark under his eye was exactly the same, but she felt as if she had never known him before.
When he handed the jade token to me, he said, "Since I have chosen you, I am entrusting this to you. If you encounter any danger while I am not by your side, it may be able to save your life."
But now he is personally asking her to return the jade token, completely disregarding his weak body that he fainted while kneeling in front of the palace yesterday. Does he really not want to have anything to do with her anymore?
However, it's not hard to understand when you think about it. Back when he had her in his heart, he also ruthlessly rejected Lu Xingli's feelings. Later, he even threw Lu Xingli out to take the blame because of the assassination attempt on her.
At the time, Lu Xingli drank poison in prison and said to her before he died, "My today will be your tomorrow." She thought he was just trying to annoy her, but little did she know that it would come true in less than a year.
Wei Huaixu saw that her originally clear eyes gradually filled with mist, and her slightly haggard complexion made her look frail and delicate, as if she might collapse at any moment. He couldn't help but feel a pang of pain in his heart.
"Don't cry..." He slowly reached out his hand, but stopped just before touching her cheek.
Qingying turned her face away from him and said in a low voice, "Please wait a moment, Your Highness. I will go and get the jade token and return it to you."
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