103. Empathy
The marriage was being planned, and under Yun Zhihe's lobbying and Xuanyuan Ying's pressure, the court officials finally compromised on the matter.
Before that, Yun Zhihe took the time to visit Qin Duan.
He was imprisoned in a magnificent palace, and seemed to be bored as he lifted his hair and let it down again, his face calm and composed.
Yun Zhihe lowered his eyes and looked at him, paused, and spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Brother."
Qin Duan seemed to have forgotten the unpleasantness of "rebellion". The corners of his lips rose, and he stood up to greet her happily, smiling and muttering to himself.
"How did Jinniang come to see my brother? Have you been busy lately?"
Yun Zhihe paused.
"I'm getting married."
Qin Duan suddenly stopped, his expression expressionless, and spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Yeah."
Yun Zhihe tugged at his sleeve, his voice dry, "Brother, your kindness to me is as great as a mountain. I have always treated you as my own brother."
"I'm getting married to Ying, and I hope to have your blessing."
She pursed her lips.
"I have already discussed with Ying that you will be expelled from the capital and you will never be allowed to return."
Qin Duan paused, seeming a little bit unbelievable.
He frowned slightly, his voice was dry, but his eyes were calm and indifferent.
"I thought you were coming to see me for the last time."
He sneered, "Or, later, a glass of poisoned wine or white silk."
Seems a little confused.
.
"Why...Xuanyuan Ying, don't you kill me?"
He paused again, as if he understood, and looked at Yun Zhihe, almost with certainty.
"...You pleaded for me."
"I know what my brother wishes!" Yun Zhihe suddenly spoke.
She raised her eyes and looked into his stunned eyes.
"You also yearn for the freedom of a carefree life. You love mountains and rivers, and you love storytelling..."
Yun Zhihe's eyes were a little red.
"And when you told me about your travels when we were little, you held me in your arms, your eyes full of hope, yet you kept silent. You were always harboring hatred, always yearning for revenge, always thinking about the tragic deaths of your father and sister."
"But I know that you clearly...long for freedom."
——Otherwise, he wouldn’t have held her in his arms when she was young, smiling sweetly and beautifully, pointing at the small painting in the travel notes, and speaking with anticipation.
"Jinniang, let's go and see it later."
Qin Duan paused for a long time, covered his face and let out a breath.
"...Really, kid."
His voice was hoarse and suppressed, with a smile that sounded like crying.
"Mingming, Jinniang, it's time for you to grow up...but you're still so foolish and naive."
Yun Zhihe ignored his seemingly sarcastic or sad words, just took a step forward, pulled up his sleeve, and spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Brother, go and take a look."
Qin Duan lowered his head for a long time, his hair falling down, then he pursed his lips and responded with a trembling voice.
"……good."
Finally burst into tears.
…
Xuanyuan He didn't cry or make a fuss. He just sat on the bed with a cold expression and didn't say a word for several days.
Only when Yun Zhihe came over did he slowly look up at her, then pause.
He held out his hand, his expression still gloomy and calm, but with a dazed paranoia.
"Hey... do you still want me?"
Yun Zhihe was stunned for a moment and looked down at him. His hands were particularly white, almost cold and transparent.
She shook her head.
Xuanyuan He's expression remained unchanged.
"I have no romantic feelings for you... and I'm getting married to Ying."
Xuanyuan He's expression suddenly darkened. He grabbed Yun Zhihe's collar and used his petite body to push her down.
“Hmm—”
Yun Zhihe cried out in pain.
Then she felt a string of tears dripping onto her face. When she opened her eyes, she saw Xuanyuan He with tears in his eyes and a dazed look on his face, asking her in a hoarse voice, almost gritting his teeth.
"You also, don't want me anymore?!"
Yun Zhihe was stunned.
He burst into tears, sobbing and burying his head in her chest, choking on his sobs.
"Don't leave me, don't leave me... He'er, I will be good."
He was shaking and could barely breathe.
"He'er, He'er will never cry or make a fuss again, and will never be picky about food again... Woo... Please don't leave me..."
"Wuwuwu... Wuwu... Please, don't leave me..."
Xuanyuan He sobbed and cried, mumbling unconsciously as if to vent, breathing rapidly.
Yun Zhihe raised her hand to push him away, and heard him tremblingly mutter something.
"...Don't leave me, don't leave me——"
"——Father."
Yun Zhihe suddenly stopped. She looked at Xuanyuan He who was pressing on her, trembling all over, murmuring and sobbing. After a pause, she still reached out to touch him.
...hot.
He has a fever, no wonder he is so unconscious.
Yun Zhihe sighed lightly, picked him up and put him on the bed.
When Xuanyuan He was unconscious, holding her sleeve with tears on his face and refusing to let go, she reached out and pulled his fingers apart.
Xuanyuan He could always remember the day he killed that man. The poisoned wine was cold, his hands were cold, he was high above, watching him cry and laugh, then he curled up in pain, spat out a mouthful of blood and died.
He calmly watched the corpse for a long time until it finally became motionless.
He sat there for so long that he was in a trance at night. Then he stumbled to the man's body with a calm expression, curled up and hugged him.
Hoarse, he spoke softly.
"Father, hold me."
As if responding to the man's crazy words, "My prince... my good prince... let your father hold you."
The corpse in Xuanyuan He's hand was very cold.
In fact, it is not as cold as the bone-chilling cold he has endured alone in the wind and snow over the years.
The final imperial decree still announced the fate of the two.
Qin Duan was guilty of treason first, but Your Majesty is merciful and will spare his death sentence. Instead, he will be demoted to a commoner and expelled from the capital, and will never be allowed to enter the capital again.
Xuanyuan He was bewitched by Qin Duan and had poor judgment. Your Majesty was deeply saddened and stripped him of his title of Crown Prince and demoted him to the Princess of Yushan, never to leave the county again.
The long-planned rebellion ended in such a sad way.
Qingzhu... should be said to be Shen Qing. Yun Zhihe also met him. He was named a princess and the Shen family overturned the case.
The incident of blaming the country was led by Queen Mother Cheng, and Xuanyuan did not have much real power at that time.
Chen Qing lowered his eyes and smiled as he fiddled with the flower branch in his hand. His smile was light and gentle. He was wearing gorgeous and soft cloud gauze, and his face was handsome, which was particularly attractive.
Yun Zhihe looked at him with complicated eyes.
"Shen..."
Just as I was about to call out his name, he paused, then spoke with a smile.
"Madam Yun, please call me Qingzhu. I'm not used to hearing that from Chen Qing."
He smiled tenderly, and every frown and smile of his revealed the temperament of a noble family.
No wonder his demeanor before didn't seem like that of a brothel man.
Yun Zhihe nodded, then paused and lowered her eyes. "Qingzhu...about the Shen family. I...have read the poems your mother wrote back then, and I admire her immensely...I just wanted to ask you about it."
"oh?"
Qingzhu slowly poured a cup of tea, which felt familiar yet strange.
He lowered his eyes calmly, still with a faint smile on his face.
“…I don’t want to say.”
Yun Zhihe paused. She also knew that this was nonsense, but after she heard what Qin Duan said about the Shen family's suicide, her mind was filled with the thousands of Shen family members standing in the mansion, their white clothes fluttering, and then she spoke with a calm and resolute expression.
--clean.
She always wakes up in shock.
Then cover your face.
…She empathized.
This is the unchangeable flaw of intellectuals. A daughter who is self-reliant will cry over an unsuccessful poem written a hundred years ago, and can also vaguely remember the lingering image of the sage of that time.
She would repeatedly ponder a poem of boudoir resentment, and could also see the unrestrained and carefree shadow of the ancients in a song and prose, and then look up to sip wine and gaze at the moon.
This moon once shone on the ancients. The bright moon was noble and pure, quietly watching the rise and fall, joys and sorrows of generations over thousands of years.
She read the history books casually, and then wrote lightly, a series of her centuries.
Yun Zhihe closed his eyes, raised his hand to apologize, bowed, and turned to leave. "Zhihe is abrupt. I'm very sorry. I'm sorry for any offense."
Qingzhu suddenly grabbed her as she was about to leave, put his arms around her waist, and leaned his head against her gently.
"Madam Yun... Zhihe..."
He closed his eyes.
"I always dream of that day when my mother led the ladies in drinking poisoned wine, then died clutching her stomach and vomiting blood, repeatedly shouting 'Shen's innocence'. But she clearly... could no longer speak..."
Qingzhu's voice trembled.
"And my father. He ordered my nurse to hide me, and then he and his young servants were hung with white silk, dangling from their bodies until they died..."
Qingzhu let out a light breath, his breathing a little rapid, and then stopped talking.
Yun Zhihe closed her eyes and reached out to pull his hand away.
She was speechless.
Qingzhu did not use fancy words to embellish her voice, but spoke in a hoarse, clear and light voice.
She could imagine it. She had read all the books of sages, so how could she not know such a nature?
The world was corrupt, and despite his loyalty to the emperor and his patriotism, he committed suicide filled with grief and indignation.
...It's so sad and lamentable.
It was probably the rows of corpses and the bloody beheaded bodies that were outlined in her mind. There was blood everywhere, the blood was so red that it looked black, but Yun Zhihe could only think of "white".
--clean.
She was a little stunned, and then she was about to cry.
It took Yun Zhihe a long time to find his voice, and it was almost trembling.
“Mr. Shen, take care.”
Turn around and leave.
…
Xuanyuan Ying was still holding the child and coaxing him, whispering softly, "Niannian, Ayi..."
Eunuch Li was smiling kindly at the side, but for some unknown reason he wanted to cry.
"After giving birth to the prince and princess, His Majesty has become much gentler and smiles more often."
He wiped away his tears.
Xuanyuan Ying paused and pursed his lips...because it was Jinniang.
He reached out and wiped away the tears from the corners of Eunuch Li's eyes, but his voice was not as cold and hoarse as before, he just spoke softly.
"Stop crying."
“…I’m very happy.”
Xuanyuan Ying smiled, his eyes were tender, and the child in his arms was soft.
It is the joy that comes after suffering and the love that is almost ultimate.
His expression was firm yet gentle, "I love her, that's why I do this..."
Yes, he loved her so much that he couldn't express it in words, and his heart would soften just thinking about it.
Love is like this.
Yun Zhihe walked in and saw the warmth in the room. Eunuch Li wiped his tears and left, leaving the family of four behind.
She looked at Xuanyuan Ying sitting there, lowered her head and reached out to touch the side of his face, her fingertips gently stroking his jet-black hair, and then saw the man's cold eyebrows and eyes stained with a light red.
He looked at Yun Zhihe's face, at the girl's beautiful and delicate eyebrows and eyes, and was a little dazed, whispering softly.
"……like."
I didn't realize I was saying such shameless words.
Yun Zhihe paused, chuckled, bent down and kissed the tip of his lips.
"I like it too..."
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