Chapter 54 Death Sound died in the shipwreck, his body torn to pieces.
Life at sea felt like an eternity.
Even though Mingying has now escaped the wolf's den and is safely sitting on the boat arranged by her brother, she still can't rest easy.
The sound of massive fireballs echoed from ahead, filling her with dread. She had no idea what the battle was like and could only wait anxiously.
That night, after soaking in the icy seawater for a while, she was weak and intolerant of the cold. Even now, wrapped in thick clothes and warming herself by the fire, she still felt cold, and her pale lips parted and closed.
A few days later, the sea calmed down, and the troops were ordered to retreat.
Shen Mingshu didn't even have time to take off his armor before he boarded the ship and couldn't wait to see Mingying.
Hearing the commotion, Mingying rushed out and asked about his injuries. She learned that although he had been shot in the arm with an arrow, the arrow had missed its mark, but after treatment and bandaging, he was fine.
"Cough cough..."
Although Shen Mingshu did not suffer any external injuries, he suffered serious internal injuries from the impact of the broken deck during the fight, which damaged his lungs and internal organs.
Even though he tried his best to hide his weakness in front of Mingying, a metallic taste rose in his throat, and he couldn't help but cough up a mouthful of blood.
"Brother, what's wrong!"
The pool of crimson blood on the ground was particularly glaring. Mingying gasped for breath, disregarding everything else, first helping Shen Mingshu to sit down, then ordering someone to find a doctor on the boat.
Shen Mingshu was pale, and the pain weighed down his back. "I'm fine, it's just a minor injury, I'll recover with some rest."
A sharp soreness rose in Mingying's nose, a deep sense of guilt enveloped her heart, and tears rolled down her cheeks.
The reason her brother acted this way was because he was removing the curse from her.
Thinking about this, her fingernails dug deeply into her palms, leaving several red marks.
That rainy night, raindrops fell from the eaves, striking my heart again and again, cold and suffocating.
"There is no cure for this poison."
The room was deathly silent, the atmosphere heavy.
He Lianqing watched the brother and sister's faces darken, and after a long while, she finally said, "Unless..."
Mingying suddenly looked up.
Shen Mingshu spoke first: "Unless something is needed, is it some kind of miraculous medicine? Doctor He, please tell me, I will go through fire and water to find it."
He Lianqing simply shook her head.
These days, he searched through medical books and finally found the most dangerous solution. This solution was extremely risky, which is why he did not tell his siblings about it at first.
Seeing Shen Mingshu's excited expression, he swallowed hard, but still spoke.
"Unless someone is willing to give the person afflicted with the poison a blood transfusion."
"Drain her blood and replace it with half the blood of someone else. Only in this way can the poison in her body be completely eliminated."
He looked at Shen Mingshu, his voice heavy with emotion: "However, the person who performs the blood transfusion will suffer from blood and qi deficiency, and will lose at least ten years of their lifespan."
Mingying listened quietly, her jaw trembling from the cold, her fingers twitching unconsciously.
"I will not remove the curse."
She was afraid of this, afraid that her brother would risk everything for her.
It's not worth it to save her.
Shen Mingshu ignored her words and looked at He Lianqing: "Doctor He, if we use this method, when can we start?"
He didn't want to see his sister like this; she should remember everything.
His ten-year lifespan was just enough to make up for the ten years he lost her.
For those ten years, he lived a life of luxury, like a wealthy young master, while she lived a miserable and destitute life, wandering from place to place.
“Brother!” Mingying cried out, tears streaming down her face as she gripped Shen Mingshu’s hand tightly. “I don’t know how to cure this curse. As long as I leave him, what does it matter if I’m cursed? But I’ll have to trouble you to teach me more in the future. If there’s anything I can’t forget, just teach me more and I’ll remember it.”
"Ah Ying, be a good girl."
Shen Mingshu knew that this would be futile. If left unchecked, she would eventually forget him as well.
Mingying was adamant, and seeing that she couldn't persuade her brother otherwise, she could only get up and open the door: "Doctor He, thank you for your help, you can leave now, I will not cure the curse."
He Lianqing wanted to say something, but ultimately swallowed her words and left silently.
She thought that by sending He Lianqing away, she could put an end to her brother's desire to save her.
But when she drank a cup of tea and drifted off to sleep, she woke up to find her brother sitting on the edge of her bed, his lips pale and his face weak.
In that instant, she remembered many things: the year her family was destroyed, Ling Shuang who died in her arms, Lin Xian who fell off a cliff in front of her, and Jin Kui whose life was as fragile as paper.
She saw her brother's face and instantly realized something...
At that time, besides feeling guilty towards one person, she also felt hatred towards another!
It was these two emotions that held her broken body together.
She had a premonition that they wouldn't be able to leave Hangzhou.
Therefore, when she heard her brother say that he would return to the capital to lead troops to fight Pei Xiaoyun, she secretly played a game of chess.
She persuaded her brother to spread the word about their medical visits in the city, hoping to entice Pei Xiaoyun's men to investigate and eventually find their address.
So, when the older brother went to the city gate alone to scout out the news, he indeed received a letter from Pei Xiaoyun. In order to put on an act, the older brother pretended to go to Pei's mansion. Because he was prepared in advance, he escaped smoothly on the way and also lulled Pei Xiaoyun into a false sense of security.
As expected, she also received a threatening letter from him. She pretended to be under a spell and returned to his side, waiting for him to take her on the ship.
After boarding the ship, I received the carrier pigeon that my brother had released, just as promised.
Pei Xiaoyun was arrogant and conceited, thinking he could control everything. He even bewitched her, and his heart was full of his Mian'er. He took the initiative to hand over such an important thing as the road map to her.
This is exactly what she wanted!
The boat sped along, waves crashing against the rocks, and her heart pounded with the deafening roar.
Thinking of all this, her eyes welled up with tears, and she finally felt a little relieved.
Because her brother has returned safely, Pei Xiaoyun's fate will not be good.
She took the medicine prepared by the servant and handed it to Shen Mingshu. After he drank the medicine, his complexion improved somewhat, and he asked, "Brother, where is he?"
Every night after escaping from the ship, his face would flash before her eyes, only to be extinguished by her willpower time and time again.
She wanted to hear with her own ears whether her enemy was alive or dead...
The mere mention of Pei Xiaoyun caused Mingying to react uncontrollably.
Shen Mingshu saw this and couldn't help but feel heartbroken. At the same time, his eyes and brows were filled with a sense of satisfaction at having avenged his great enemy, and his chest heaved violently.
"He lost."
"They died in the shipwreck; their bodies were riddled with bullets."
Mingying's wrist twitched, spilling the medicine onto her dress. Her breathing was unsteady: "He's dead?!"
Something seemed to be spreading in my eyes, sometimes bright, sometimes dim, sometimes clear, and when I looked up again, all emotion was gone.
She had thought he would be severely injured or defeated and captured.
I never expected that he would die like this.
She naturally wouldn't pity him, nor would she regret doing so.
With her enemy dead, her tense mind, strained by hatred, suddenly relaxed, and she became aimless for a time.
Yes, she betrayed him, sold out his plans, and killed him, but so what? He brought it all on himself!
He oppressed her in every way, threatened her in every way, and used every means to humiliate her. He used Lin Xian's "death" to deceive her for so long.
They even put that stuff on her, turning her into something neither human nor ghost, into a form she herself loathed.
Every night, enduring his actions, the red scratches on his back filled with humiliation and hatred; sharing a bed with him, every image that flashed through her mind was how he died!
Now, after enduring humiliation and hardship, I have finally avenged myself and ended my entanglement with that madman.
Shen Mingshu patted her head: "It's alright, Aying. He's dead. No one can bully you anymore. We can go back to Yangzhou."
Mingying nodded, the sea breeze brushing against her face, feeling somewhat unreal.
She was certainly overjoyed, but for some reason, she couldn't laugh out loud as she had imagined.
Perhaps she was utterly exhausted, for she gazed at the vast river wind in silence; or perhaps she was weeping with joy, for her tears dripped to the corners of her mouth and tasted a bitter flavor.
Once ashore, they began escorting prisoners of war.
Pei Xiaoyun's remaining soldiers and those around him were ordered not to be spared.
On the passenger ship where Mingying first stayed, there were only a few guards and maids left.
The guards were Pei Xiaoyun's trained assassins. Seeing that they were about to be defeated, they committed suicide by poisoning themselves. Several maids were also tied up.
Those she knew well, including Zisu, had reportedly fallen into the water and disappeared without a trace; only fish were seen. She was covered in dust and dirt and was roughly shoved by the soldiers.
"Brother, could you save someone for me?" She looked at her brother, unable to bear it, wanting to save an innocent person.
She had some affection for the girl Yu'er, and this time she used her to completely dispel Pei Xiaoyun's suspicions.
As for the others, she was powerless to help them and could not save them.
Shen Mingshu has made a contribution this time and has gained some prestige. Without saying more, he can still save a prisoner of war.
He promised Mingying that he would secretly let the girl go when they were counting heads.
—
One month after the great battle.
Everything in Hangzhou was in ruins and needed to be rebuilt.
Only after the warships that needed to be salvaged were salvaged and those that needed to be evacuated were evacuated did the people dare to open their doors and windows and come out.
The wounded soldiers were treated at several clinics in Hangzhou. He Lianqing stayed in Hangzhou and didn't go anywhere else. He only dared to come out to treat the people after the war had subsided.
Dressed in a blue robe with his sleeves rolled up, he moved busily among the rows of medicine furnaces, his head spinning with worry.
People who came to see the doctor today were saying, "Did you see that? They've pulled another body out of the sea."
Another person scolded him, "What's so new? How many people died in the war? Aren't bodies being pulled out every day?"
"The body we pulled out today is none other than the corpse of the traitor Duke Anguo."
After Pei Xiaoyun's death, the court sent people to various places to spread rumors that Duke Anguo, Pei Xiaoyun, was a traitor who colluded with the enemy. The people, who knew nothing about politics, followed suit and cursed him.
"I heard that the corpses were all gnawed to pieces by fish, and not a single bone was intact!"
As He Lianqing wrote the prescription, he listened to the people's discussions and couldn't help but sigh.
He had said long ago that Pei Xiaoyun was arrogant, acted swiftly and recklessly, and offended too many people; he would get his comeuppance sooner or later.
I never expected the retribution to come so quickly.
He shrugged, his smile a mixture of exhaustion and helplessness.
Such an arrogant person ultimately met a tragic end, dying in battle far from home, with no trace of his remains.
Of course, he wouldn't pity that person; it was all his own doing, and he deserved what he got.
As the people chatted and laughed, the door to the clinic's cubicle suddenly opened, and a slender woman emerged carrying a sword on her back and a bundle on her shoulder.
He Lianqing saw this through the window, quickly put down her pen, and left the consultation room: "Where are you going? Your injury hasn't healed yet."
After the battle, Xingwei was washed ashore by the waves. When he followed the doctor from the clinic to treat the wounded, he found her unconscious and brought her back to life.
She was seriously injured and lay unconscious for half a month before gradually recovering in the last few days.
Even if he can get out of bed now, his internal injuries are definitely not fully healed.
Xing Wei searched his entire body and found a small piece of silver, which he placed on the consultation table: "Thank you for saving me, this is the consultation fee."
He Lianqing looked at the silver grain and sneered, "If I were greedy, I would charge each person I treated one such silver grain. Wouldn't I be richer than a country?"
He didn't want his painstaking treatment to be in vain.
This guy, Xingwei, always thinks he's very capable, but he still gets hurt every time.
"Then I owe you a favor. See you later, I'll repay you when I have the chance," Xingwei said calmly. Then, he tightened the sword rope around his body and prepared to leave.
"Where are you going?" He Lianqing raised his voice when she saw that she was still going to leave. "It's not peaceful outside right now."
Xingwei looked at the distant mountains: "Let's go to the capital."
He Lianqing's chest heaved, his anger staining the base of his neck red. He grabbed her arm and said, "Pei Xiaoyun is dead. His body is lying on the coast. The court is going to send people to cremate him and scatter his bones to ashes. What are you going to do in the capital?"
"Our master was murdered by treacherous officials in the court." Xingwei's voice was hoarse as he clenched his fists.
She didn't believe her master was dead. While recovering from her injuries, she waited for news of her master in Hangzhou, but she hadn't received a single word from him all these days.
She was beginning to believe the fact that her master had died, but she still wanted to go to the capital to find out more.
"You're his former subordinate. Are you going to the capital to wait to be purged?" He Lianqing didn't understand why she would do this. She had already escaped one disaster, so why did she still want to get involved in those messy affairs?
Even though they were not on the same wavelength, he couldn't help but try to save her when he saw her seriously injured and unconscious.
"It's none of your business, I'll take care of myself." Xingwei shook off his hand.
She simply cannot afford to lie in the clinic and waste her time.
He Lianqing was furious.
He vowed that he would never interfere in her affairs again; whether she lived or died was none of his concern.
He watched her retreating figure, then turned and entered the clinic.
—
Pei Xiaoyun died and fell from power. Now, the Xiao family, the emperor's uncle and the head of the powerful clans, is in power. Xiao Hou, the head of the Xiao family, holds the emperor hostage and commands the feudal lords.
After the great battle, Shen Mingshu was rewarded for his meritorious service in leading troops to victory. He was ordered by the emperor to return to the capital to be awarded a title and commendation. Mingying also returned to the capital with her brother.
After a month-long journey, when the carriage arrived in the capital, she slowly lifted the curtain and gazed at the street scene.
I haven't been back here for three years, and the red walls and green tiles, the streets and alleys, are still the same.
Back when I left, I had barely escaped death. Now, sitting in the carriage and looking at the familiar street scene again, I can't help but feel heavy-hearted and depressed.
Looking at her droopy face, Shen Mingshu said with concern, "It's a pity that we don't know where Doctor He is. I can't rest easy about you looking like this. We still need to invite a famous doctor from the capital to take a look at you."
"Brother, I'm perfectly fine, I don't need to see a doctor." Mingying touched her face and smiled.
She's been having recurring dreams about Pei Xiaoyun lately, dreaming that he climbs out of the sea, smiles coldly at her, and says he'll seek revenge.
This person's spirit lingers even after he's dead.
"Sigh." She sighed deeply.
She felt sorry for him; he had gotten nothing he wanted.
He was a haughty, arrogant, and cold-hearted man who always seemed to have victory in his grasp. It's unexpected that he died like this, his body even being gnawed by fish and shrimp. No wonder he was unwilling to accept it.
But this was all his own fault. If he had gone his separate ways with her earlier, he wouldn't have ended up like this.
She would settle scores and avenge any wrongs; she had done nothing to wrong him.
It seems she needs to go to the White Horse Temple to ask a master to exorcise his ghost and stop him from entering her dreams.
Shen Mingshu made military achievements and was awarded a mansion by the emperor, where he and his sister temporarily lived.
As soon as they arrived in the capital, Pei Xiaoyun's former residence was ransacked, and all his family members were sold off or imprisoned. The only suspicious thing was that his daughter had disappeared.
The Xiao family was not reconciled to this. They had been suppressed by Pei Xiaoyun for many years and hated him to the bone. If he hadn't fallen into the sea and died, and his body hadn't decomposed, they would have definitely torn him to pieces to vent their hatred.
They will certainly not show any mercy to his children.
He then ordered a thorough search for the daughter of a disgraced official, and once found, to eliminate her completely.
The news of the raid spread so quickly that it caught everyone off guard.
Upon hearing the news that the Duke of Anguo's mansion had been raided, Mingying looked anxious and uneasy.
Because there is one person she can never let go of—the daughter she and Pei Xiaoyun risked everything to protect back then.
Everyone in the court, like her, hated Pei Xiaoyun to the bone; how could they possibly show mercy to the daughter of a disgraced official?
Late at night, Shen Mingshu returned with news: "I went to investigate. It is said that when the soldiers went in to search the house, there was no master in the house except for the servants, and the child was nowhere to be found."
Hearing this, Mingying breathed a slight sigh of relief and asked, "So, the court officials haven't found the child either?"
Shen Mingshu nodded.
When he learned that Aying had a three-year-old daughter with Pei Xiaoyun, he was shocked and felt a mix of emotions.
Pei Xiaoyun is now a criminal, and his family members will inevitably be punished as well.
But all of this was his own doing; the child was innocent.
The best outcome would be for him to take Aying and the child, live in anonymity, and leave the capital to return to Yangzhou together.
Mingying was temporarily relieved. "No news is the best news."
Pei Xiaoyun is incredibly intelligent, almost supernatural. She must have had a backup plan, and once the truth came out, she sent the child away.
It's not bad, he still has some conscience.
I hope that child can grow up safely somewhere else.
Shen Mingshu then told her about the court proceedings that day: "Aying, the court said they wanted to bestow upon me the title of Marquis of Jing'an and ask me to stay in the capital, but I refused."
A first-rank marquis title is something many officials dream of their entire lives, but he had no interest in it and resolutely refused.
Now that their great revenge has been achieved, the siblings no longer need to hide.
He no longer wanted to get involved in the court's infighting, and he had had enough of the sand in the Northwest. He had promised Aying that he would return to his hometown of Yangzhou to live.
"I heard that after Lin Xian presented the blueprints, he also left the capital. Someone who was on the same boat as him said that he returned to Jiangnan."
Mingying's breath hitched.
She and Lin Xian had lost contact for far too long, it felt like a lifetime ago.
But the image of him falling off the cliff to save her still often lingers in his mind.
Once she returns to Jiangnan, she will definitely find him.
She clenched her fist, her eyes filled with fervent hope: "I hope our family can be reunited soon."
—
In the middle of the night, the flowerpots on the windowsill were blown off by the wind.
Mingying was still plagued by nightmares.
Pei Xiaoyun's face, like a demon, lingered in her mind. That night, she woke up again, clutching her blanket, her forehead covered in cold sweat.
Her lips parted and she murmured incessantly, as if speaking to his ghost in her dream: "Don't come looking for me... You deserve it all. You can hurt others, but others can't scheme against you?"
Selfish people, even after they die, still come to disturb the living.
She sat by the bedside for half the night until birds sang and flowers bloomed outside the window, and the first light of dawn appeared before she finally got out of bed and put on her clothes.
With her brother not at home during the day, she ordered a carriage to be prepared, intending to go to the White Horse Temple to offer incense and ward off any unclean spirits around her.
She hadn't been to Baima Temple for three years.
Everyone says that praying to the gods and Buddhas here is very effective. She thought that she had prayed here before that she would be able to reunite with her missing brother in this life, and that wish had come true.
Now that she and her brother are about to leave the capital, and there are no such efficacious temples in Jiangnan, she wants to take advantage of these few days to go and pray again.
The carriage stopped in front of the temple. She got out of the carriage, dressed in a light white floral dress, and walked into the temple alone.
Passing by the old tree next to the ancient well, I saw that the ground beneath the tree was covered with lanterns used to pray for the deceased.
A tree of lanterns swayed in the wind. She looked up and noticed the largest lantern, which was supported by a lampshade.
This lantern seems to be quite old; the inscription on the outside of the lantern has turned slightly yellow and faded.
Although the handwriting is blurred, one can still see the winding strokes, the sharp and profound style, like dragons and snakes freely wielding their brushes.
She could recognize it at a glance; it was Pei Xiaoyun's handwriting.
She didn't want to see anything about him; even seeing his words made her heart clench for a few moments.
Upon seeing that it read "My beloved concubine Mingying," her eyes darkened, her brows furrowed, and anger surged within her.
He decisively stood on tiptoe and ripped the lantern off, using so much force that he even tore half of it to shreds with a "crash".
The bronze incense burner beside her was emitting wisps of smoke, and the incense was burning brightly. She casually tossed the lantern into it, and the thin paper clothes were instantly burned to ashes, leaving only a pile of ash.
Her eyes were filled with anger, and her knuckles were clenched so tightly they turned white.
She is still alive and well, while he is decapitated, with the lamp he lit for her still hanging brightly on his body—it's utterly absurd.
Who is his beloved concubine?
“Amitabha, benefactor, why did you disturb the lamps lit by the other worshippers?” The young novice saw that she had destroyed the worshippers’ lanterns and put his hands together in prayer. “The worshippers who lit the lamps may come to make offerings again.”
She said coldly, "No, he's already dead."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Please water my plants! [crying emoji]
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