Chapter 47. Cui Huai watched with his own eyes as Shen Yunzhi's coffin was laid to rest...
Cui Huai brought Shen Yunzhi back to the Chu Prince's Mansion.
The imperial physician was already waiting in the mansion. As soon as she was brought back, the imperial physician immediately diagnosed and treated her.
She was alive, Cui Huai was absolutely certain; she was still breathing and her pulse was still beating.
Even if it's just a faint glimmer, she's still alive.
She'll wake up, won't she...?
Cui Huai was confused. When he picked her up from the cave, she was terribly cold. After he carried her onto the carriage, he saw that her lips were white and her face was completely bloodless. No matter how he called her, she did not respond.
It seems like she really is going to die.
The imperial physician, accompanied by female physicians, examined Shen Yunzhi, who had been unconscious for some time, checking her pulse and wounds, cleaning, applying medicine, and bandaging them. Meanwhile, the Crown Prince of Chu stood guard by the bedside with a chilling expression, watching his every move, causing a cold sweat to break out on his back—
Although the young woman's wounds were not fatal, they were not treated in time and she lost a lot of blood.
Besides, they were probably in the cold in the mountains for too long, which made their condition quite bad.
Whether one survives or not depends on fate.
But how should we convey this message?
Cui Huai looked at Shen Yunzhi lying on the bed and felt that her complexion seemed worse than when she was in the carriage. And this was only the beginning, because within half a day, she developed a high fever due to her injury.
Day after day.
Shen Yunzhi remained unconscious, quiet and elegant like a different person.
Several imperial physicians took turns staying by her bedside, taking her pulse, prescribing medicine, administering it orally, and performing acupuncture... trying all sorts of methods in an attempt to bring her fever down. These methods had some effect, but it was weak, and the fever would return after a short time. During this period, she never woke up even once.
It was as if the flowers on the branch, at their peak bloom, suddenly withered.
Watching Shen Yunzhi, whose eyes remained closed and who was gradually losing her vitality, Cui Huai stayed by her side day and night, but he felt as if he were in a fog, unable to see the way forward.
Cui Huai couldn't quite explain his feelings.
He had experienced the death of his mother, who was suffering from illness at the time, and her death was like a relief.
But what about Shen Yunzhi?
Before this assassination attempt, she was healthy and lived a cunning yet radiant life.
She forced a kiss on him, in an extremely flirtatious manner.
She also questioned him in an extremely malicious manner whether he would be seduced by her tricks or fall for her schemes.
But now, she won't do anything for him anymore.
No matter how clumsy her tricks were, she had no energy left to use them on him.
"Zhi Niang..."
Cui Huai ran his fingers over Shen Yunzhi's eyebrows and eyes, his chest feeling empty, as if the biting cold wind outside the window could easily pass through it.
The person on the bed still couldn't give him any response.
Her face was serene, peaceful as if she would sleep like this forever.
A sudden clap of thunder in the night jolted Cui Huai, who was keeping watch by the bedside, awake.
He looked up at the bed and saw Shen Yunzhi sleeping peacefully. He gently rubbed his temples with his fingers, then got up and walked to the window.
Fine, persistent raindrops pattered against my face.
Looking out at the pitch-black night, Cui Huai felt a strong and irrepressible desire to give birth to Shen Yunzhi.
He went back to the bedside and lifted the bed curtains.
He leaned closer to Shen Yunzhi, his forehead touching hers, and Cui Huai's low, slow voice carried a barely perceptible tremor.
"I promised you that I would marry you as my Crown Princess."
"Zhi Niang, if you refuse to wake up, do you expect me to marry your memorial tablet in the future?"
...
On the fifth day after Shen Yunzhi was injured and fell into a coma, several peach trees in the Chu Prince's mansion bloomed.
Remembering Shen Yunzhi's fondness for these things, Cui Huai specially went to pick flowers and arrange them in a vase. When he returned to Yunxi Courtyard, he found the imperial physician, female physicians, Princess Chu, Cui Lizhu, and others surrounding the bed. He slowly stepped forward and watched as the imperial physician and female physicians busily administered acupuncture and medicine to Shen Yunzhi, the sounds of weeping still ringing in his ears, giving him a splitting headache.
The imperial physician and the female physician left the bedside and knelt down to beg for forgiveness.
Everything seemed to come to an abrupt end, except for the sound of weeping, which was even louder than before.
Cui Huai pursed his lips and stepped forward.
He gently placed a peach blossom branch beside Shen Yunzhi's pillow and reached out to touch her neck, but this time he couldn't feel her pulse.
The last faint pulse and breath disappeared completely.
She will never wake up again.
Cui Huai's fingers lingered on Shen Yunzhi's face, then he glanced down at her chest.
The place, which had been empty for days, now felt like a sharp knife, cutting into his flesh piece by piece.
Withdrawing his hand, Cui Huai took a step back, his vision blurring in waves.
His breath seemed to be stolen away. He braced his hands on the edge of the bed, his stomach churning violently, causing him to bend over and gag violently.
"Big brother!" Cui Lizhu cried out in alarm upon seeing this and rushed forward to help Cui Huai. In that instant, she saw his bloodshot eyes and tear-streaked face, and she froze, her movements halting. The next moment, tears welled up in her eyes, and she opened her mouth, but could not speak, only bursting into loud sobs.
The news of Shen Yunzhi's death reached Cui Xuan's ears that same day.
She was drinking in the warm pavilion when she heard about this, and immediately ordered someone to summon the imperial son-in-law, Huo Ming.
Two handsome men sat beside Cui Xuan, pouring her wine and feeding her snacks and fruits. Huo Ming stepped into the warm pavilion and saw this scene, but his expression remained unchanged, as if he were already used to it: "What business does Your Highness have with me?"
"Your Highness, your beloved is gone."
Taking a sip of fruit wine from the hand of her male favorite beside her, Cui Xuan smiled provocatively, "How does it feel to personally tell the Prince Consort this good news?"
Huo Ming's face darkened.
He didn't argue with Cui Xuan, and turned to leave the warm pavilion.
The news wasn't hard to find out.
When Huo Ming heard the report from his subordinates that the cousin of the Prince of Chu had passed away, his head buzzed.
He squeezed his eyes shut, recalling the last time he met Shen Yunzhi.
At that time, she asked him for a blank travel permit.
Road signs...
Huo Ming was stunned, a thought flashing through his mind too fast to be grasped.
As a cousin residing in the Chu Prince's mansion, Shen Yunzhi's funeral should not be a grand affair. Therefore, the Chu Princess took charge of arranging everything for her, and in the end, she was buried on the hilltop of Yuhua Temple, closer to her parents and brothers.
The sky was overcast on the day of the burial.
A light drizzle began to fall in the mountains.
Cui Huai, dressed in a plain white robe, stood before Shen Yunzhi's grave, his handsome face slightly pale. His fingers touched the sachet at his waist, his fingertips tracing the amulet inside through the sachet. As he watched the coffin being lowered into the ground, he recalled her last kiss to him, and a surge of anger rose in his heart for no apparent reason.
Before the servants could fill the pit completely, Cui Huai left first.
"What did you find out?" he asked Lin Yue in a low voice as he walked toward the carriage.
Those men in black were after her alone.
Not many people knew exactly which estate she was on during those days.
"The coachman said that on the day the princess and her cousin went to that estate, they ran into Miss Liang on the long street."
"Miss Biao also exchanged pleasantries with Miss Liang for a while. After Miss Liang parted ways with Miss Biao that day, she went to keep an appointment with the Seventh Princess."
Lin Yue reported the truth to Cui Huai.
After listening, Cui Huai nodded and, after getting into the carriage, instructed them to return to Qiyun Residence.
In the study, a sandalwood box contained all of Shen Yunzhi's belongings.
The things in Yunxi Courtyard remained untouched; the box contained the items she had brought back from the estate to the Chu Prince's Mansion.
Cui Huai found an undelivered letter among them.
The envelope was blank at first, but once the letter was opened, it was clear who it was written to.
It was for Cui Hong.
Cui Huai read through the letter, which was originally intended to refuse to leave with Cui Hong, word by word, and finally calmly folded the letter and put it back.
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