Chapter 70: Eternal Doom
She was exhausted and her voice was a little hoarse. She fell to the ground at the door, but she still stretched out her hand, trying to grab Qiandeng's clothes.
It turned out that there was a dagger stuck in her heart, which had penetrated deeply into her chest, but she still used up her last strength and rushed out of the door as if she wanted to say something to her.
This situation was strange yet also a bit eerie. Although Qian Deng had felt sympathy for her plight before, he had also nearly been attacked by her and Feng Yi in the mountains. Therefore, he was naturally wary of her and did not step forward to support her. "Who is he? Who told you to wait for me here?"
Lan Xiurong did not answer, but the answer was obvious.
She stared at Qiandeng with a distracted gaze: "Princess Lingling, I'm dying... There's something I beg you for... Promise me, I'll repay you..."
Qiandeng did not answer, but just held the sharp blade in his hand vigilantly and looked down at her injuries.
Her clothes were tattered on her chest, and blood was gushing out from the deep wound. She was undoubtedly on the verge of death. However, the dagger had not penetrated her heart, but between her breasts, so she didn't die immediately. However, her lungs were injured, and her mouth and nose were filled with blood foam. It was already beyond saving.
Ling Tianshui took a look and saw that she was obviously dead. She definitely didn't have the strength to launch a sneak attack on Qian Deng. Moreover, it was inconvenient for a man to check the wound, so he turned his back and didn't approach.
"I... I'm waiting here, hoping to ask you for something. Feng Yi and I have been together for so many years, but we only spent a few days together... Now he... he's dead. This is all due to his past sins, and I don't blame anyone else... I'll let him go now. I only ask that the county lady have mercy on us, and after I die... bury our bodies together, so that we can be together forever..."
Qiandeng helped her cover up her messy clothes and hesitated slightly.
After all, Lan Xiurong was Jin Jingting's wife in name only. It would be inconvenient for her, a girl in the boudoir, to come forward to collect the bodies of a married man and a soldier and bury them together.
"Promise me, I...I can really...repay you..."
Seeing that she didn't answer, Lan Xirong's spasmodic hands suddenly grabbed Qiandeng's clothes, motioning her to lower her head and put her ear close to her lips.
Still warm blood foam spurted out of her mouth, staining her ears and filled with a horrible smell of blood: "Feng Yi told me that he learned a... secret from his benefactor... You... you bury us together, and I'll tell you..."
Qian Deng had already revealed that Feng Yi's benefactor was Meng Lanxi, so it was better not to hear about his secrets.
But Lan Xiurong had to confide this matter to her in such a difficult situation, in exchange for her and Feng Yi's affairs after death. She hesitated for a moment, and finally lowered her head to listen to what she said.
"My benefactor's brother... has... a deep hatred for the Crown Prince of Changhua... Therefore, he was ordered to come from the Shuofang Army to clear the obstacles in the northwest... and also... to avenge the Changhua Prince's suppression of the old Linhuai Prince, which led to his death in depression... He wants to disrupt the royal palace, eliminate his wings... and eliminate the last of his enemy's old subordinates..."
There was a buzzing sound in her head, and Qian Deng's eyelashes trembled suddenly. She raised her eyes and looked at Ling Tianshui who had his back to them.
She couldn't believe it, how could she believe it.
But along the way, everything she had verified and had not had time to confront him about was exactly the same as what Lan Xiurong said.
All the questions seemed to have answers.
Seeing that she really did react, Lan Xiurong's face showed a trace of a difficult and ferocious smile, and her withered lips opened and closed, uttering the last few vague and subtle words -
"Princess Lingling, be careful... He wants to avenge his previous humiliation and overthrow the Changhua Palace, bringing ruin to your Bai family...!"
Eighteen years ago, her father refused to help Ling Tianshui eliminate all those who insulted his mother, separating him from his mother. The next time they saw each other was forever.
Six years ago, the old King Linhuai disobeyed the court's control. Her grandfather was ordered by the court to garrison in Anxi Protectorate to fight against Beiting Protectorate. He was on guard against the wolf's ambitions all day and night, and only withdrew his troops after the old King Linhuai died of grief and anger.
Four years ago, the Shuofang army, which could have arrived earlier to repel the rebellion, ultimately decided to wait until she and her grandfather had drawn their main force into the Wengcheng before annihilating them all in one fell swoop. Her grandfather, her father, and most of their elite troops shed blood in the palace because of this decision, using their flesh and blood to build that great victory.
Today, she is the only orphan left in the Changhua Palace.
But her insistence on continuing the glory of the Bai family was a wishful thinking that they would not allow.
She tried her best to protect her father's and grandfather's old subordinates, so she found someone from the Shuofang army to pretend to be Ji Linyou's cousin and enter the mansion. And while she was looking for the murderer of her mother, she calmly pushed all the crimes onto Ji Linyou's head.
If she had not finally found out the real culprit, the Ji family, the most important among her father's grandfather's old family, would have been wronged and dispersed, and all the remnants would have fallen apart.
There are not so many coincidences in this world.
Could it be that all the encounters, companionships, understandings, and trusts along the way were just carefully set traps, and she actually lost her mind because of his calm and stable temperament like her father and grandfather -
Or perhaps, even this rock-solid and pine-like temperament is one of the means carefully chosen by the other party to deal with her.
A child who had the seeds of hatred buried deep in his heart eighteen years ago, took one step at a time, carefully planned until today, and finally succeeded.
What's funny is that she actually sent him all the way here and wanted to let the tiger go back to the mountain herself.
Lan Xiurong's last words were uttered, her breath on the verge of fading. Her grip on Qiandeng's clothes loosened and fell, and she could only mutter, "Brother Feng, I finally... finally..."
After that, there was no sound.
Qiandeng stared at her corpse for a long time without being able to move.
Ling Tianshui noticed the movement and looked back to see that Lan Xiurong was dead.
He walked over, pulled up her body, and laid it flat inside the door. He asked, "What did she say to you just now? You don't look happy."
Qian Deng looked up at him, but didn't answer. She only said in a hoarse voice, "When I return, I will bury her with Feng Yi."
Ling Tianshui noticed that her expression was not right, so he simply tore open Lan Xirong's clothes and checked the wound - at this time she was already a corpse, and for a coroner, the distinction between man and woman no longer made sense.
"Suicide, what a nonsense." Ling Tianshui examined the wound and said coldly, "Feng Yi died for her. She didn't want to live a good life, but she exchanged her life for your burial. What's the point?"
Qian Deng was stunned by these cold words. After a long moment, he asked, "Did Feng Yi die for her? They certainly deserved to die, but what grudge did Lan Xiurong have against you?"
"She's not a good person, but she's not stupid either. She's been with those rogue soldiers for quite some time, so it's quite possible that she knows some secrets."
Yes, I did know some secrets, and in exchange, I told her.
"Besides, they both wanted to kill you, so I didn't want to spare her life. But Feng Yi fought to protect her, and the terrain in the mountains and forests was chaotic, so I was delayed and couldn't catch up, so she escaped. At that time, I was worried that she would be a disaster."
Qian Deng was familiar with and admired these cold words, but now Lan Xirong's words kept circling in her mind, over and over again. Finally, her whole body began to tremble slightly.
He wants to avenge his previous humiliation, overthrow the Changhua Palace, and bring ruin to the Bai family!
Because of Lan Xiurong's delay, it was already late.
Ling Tianshui bandaged the wound hastily and took out the package he had prepared for Meng Lanxi - it contained food, water, clothes, documents, and a pass, enough for him to reach Shuofang City smoothly.
He mounted his horse and gave her a last, deep look. "Thank you, my lady, for sending me on this journey. The mountains are high and the rivers are long. I'm afraid I won't be able to repay your kindness one day."
"Favor..." Qian Deng muttered. Because of the burning pain in his chest, he raised his hand and grabbed his horse's bridle, staring straight at him, as if he wanted to see through his heart: "Ling Tianshui, I have done you a favor, but do you... have feelings for me?"
This sudden question caught him off guard and he didn't know how to answer for a moment.
Her gaze pierced his heart even deeper than her trembling voice: "From the beginning to the end, when you entered the palace, everything... was for your mother, for those days?"
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