Chapter 48. It gradually grew together with his flesh and blood. ...
A somber mood hung over the Chu King's mansion.
When the Queen Consort of Chu fell ill, Cui Lizhu cried day and night until her eyes were red and swollen. She couldn't help but argue with Cui Hong.
"If it weren't for Second Brother's inexplicable insistence on marrying Zhi Niang, how could things have developed to this point? If it weren't for Second Brother's proposal, she wouldn't have run to the estate, and she wouldn't have been murdered and lost her life!"
Choi Yeo-joo was furious and berated Choi Hong, but tears kept flowing.
Whenever she recalls the past and thinks about the reason why Shen Yunzhi went to the manor to take refuge, she feels heartbroken.
If her second brother hadn't gone to their father to ask for her hand in marriage, if she hadn't disliked the poor conditions on the estate and left Zhi Niang behind to return to the palace first.
Actually... Zhi Niang won't be in any trouble, right?
Cui Hong also did not expect things to turn out this way.
If Shen Yunzhi were assassinated and disappeared, he could still suspect Cui Huai, suspecting that Cui Huai knew what he had said to Shen Yunzhi and had hidden her away.
That's right.
The injured Shen Yunzhi was found by Cui Huai, and she later died in front of them at the Chu Prince's Mansion.
This was never what he expected to happen.
If he could have foreseen today's situation, he would have certainly sought another opportunity.
"My sister is right."
“I am partly to blame for my cousin’s accident, and it is only natural that my cousin resents and hates me.”
Choi Hong seemed to accept Choi Yeo-joo's accusations without complaint, but the hidden disappointment in his tone made Choi Yeo-joo even more heartbroken.
She couldn't say anything more hurtful, and once again buried her face in her second brother's shoulder and wept bitterly.
In contrast, Cui Huai seemed calm as usual.
He handled everything inside and outside the palace with the same efficiency as always, and remained aloof and distant towards everyone in the palace. You could no longer find any trace of joy or anger related to Shen Yunzhi on his face, as if such a person had never existed.
Cui Huai did occasionally have this feeling.
After Shen Yunzhi's coffin was buried, she seemed to have completely disappeared without a trace.
Although she lived in the Chu Prince's mansion for a year, there was almost no trace of her presence in the mansion.
If it weren't for the sachet and amulet she had given him that could serve as temporary proof, he would have had difficulty confirming her existence.
When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out.
In the end, all that's left is this; love, hate, promises—all are illusions.
It can't even compare to a dazzling firework under the night sky.
If one day he forgets, she will act as if he had never been there at all.
But he didn't forget.
She is dead, but the memories associated with her have grown into his flesh and blood like a malignant tumor, raging and shouting every night, making him clearly remember how genuinely she had moved his emotions.
But she never appeared in his dreams again; he never dreamed of her again after her death.
February weather is unpredictable, with alternating periods of warmth and cold.
The peach and apricot trees planted in the Prince's Mansion blossomed one after another, but the vibrant spring scenery failed to spread to Qiyun Residence.
On this morning, the tranquility of Qiyun Residence was broken by the maid's sobbing pleas for mercy.
When Lin Yue arrived, he entered the room and saw a little maid kneeling on the ground, trembling, while Cui Huai was slowly tidying up a blood-stained robe.
Lin Yue immediately recognized the robe as the one Cui Huai had ordered him to burn but had instead kept, and the bloodstains on it belonged to Shen Yunzhi. His mind went blank. He knew that Cui Huai must have fallen asleep in that robe again last night.
Forcing himself to remain calm, Lin Yue stepped forward and gestured for the maid to go down and receive her punishment, then reported to Cui Huai.
"Your Highness, the carriage is ready."
Cui Huai responded with a faint sound.
He folded his robes and placed them on the bedside table before coming out of the room.
"Has the Seventh Princess set off yet?" Cui Huai asked as they boarded the carriage.
Lin Yueying said "Yes," nodded, and calmly instructed, his fingers tracing the sachet at his waist, "Have someone take care of it."
At the beginning of spring, Cui Xuan left the capital with several male favorites to visit the royal villa.
However, while riding a horse with her male favorites, she fell off her horse and injured her head. She was still unconscious when she was sent back to the princess's residence.
Upon hearing of this, Consort Shu obtained permission from the Emperor to visit her unconscious daughter at the Princess's residence. She asked Huo Ming why Cui Xuan was injured, but Huo Ming claimed to know nothing. Consort Shu, both angry and furious, immediately dismissed him. Huo Ming, who had no desire to care for Cui Xuan anyway, didn't take it to heart and was quite content with the peace and quiet.
However, Cui Xuan's injury and coma reminded Huo Ming of the same thing that happened to Shen Yunzhi before her death.
He was unable to accompany her on her final journey and did not know the details. All he knew was that she remained in a coma until her death.
I had previously planned to offer incense to her, but I didn't go because of Cui Xuan.
Cui Xuan's injury and unconsciousness gave him an opportunity, and besides... he was also somewhat concerned about the blank travel permit that Shen Yunzhi had asked him for.
Would the travel permit be among her belongings?
What if they're not there?
Only they and his sister knew that the travel permit was in her possession.
He had considered that if Cui Huai discovered the existence of that travel permit, he might not tolerate it, but so far nothing related to it had happened. Either no one had found the travel permit among her belongings, or... the travel permit wasn't actually among her "belongings" at all.
By the time I rode my horse to the forest where Shen Yunzhi was buried, it was already dark.
Huo Ming dismounted and strode to Shen Yunzhi's grave. He touched the tombstone with his fingertips and traced her name engraved on it.
At this moment, a surge of impulse welled up within him.
He wanted to confirm that guess, to confirm that possibility.
But digging up graves and opening coffins is a big commotion.
Even if you really do it, you have to make sure no one notices, especially not Cui Huai.
Huo Ming was unsure.
However, if that speculation is confirmed, it means she will face a predicament that can only be resolved by faking her death.
No matter how unbelievable or absurd it may seem, he couldn't think of anyone else besides Cui Huai who could have put her in such a predicament. He didn't know what she had been through, or what had happened between them; all he knew was that she was just a weak woman who could only rely on her aunt. Anything that could force her to make that choice must have been extraordinary.
...
After taking a bath, Cui Huai changed into his robes and went to bed as usual.
But tonight, Shen Yunzhi appeared in my dream.
He dreamt of their last and only kiss; her lips pressed against his, but she didn't give him a chance to come any closer. She smiled at him, a bright smile, but the scene before him suddenly shifted, showing her lying on the bed, her body cold and stiff, her face blurred.
He embraced her cold, hard body.
He couldn't warm her, but he was willing to fall with her into the boundless, icy abyss.
After waking up, Cui Huai stared silently at the top of the tent for a long time, his brows furrowed.
He tried hard to recall what Shen Yunzhi looked like, but still couldn't. He closed his eyes and called Lin Yue in.
In the desolate mountains and forests, Shen Yunzhi's grave stands quietly.
Cui Huai walked to her tombstone, gently placing his hand on it. The night wind was chilly, and recalling the scene in his dream, he slightly tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"You once asked me, what's wrong with being deceived by you once? At that time, I felt that you were deceiving me all the time. If I had agreed to deceive me then, would you not have died? Those men in black were sent by the Seventh Princess. I have avenged you, but Cui Hong wants to kidnap you, and I haven't figured out how to deal with him yet..."
Even without a response, Cui Huai continued speaking in a low voice.
But as he lowered his eyes, he suddenly noticed a series of messy footprints in front of the grave, illuminated by the moonlight.
Someone came tonight.
Cui Huai's gaze darkened, a violent glint flashing in his eyes.
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