Chapter 43 Chapter 43 [VIP]
May 18th is an auspicious day in the calendar.
It started raining early in the morning, the sky was gloomy, and beneath the curtain of rain, the world was dark.
Yuan Mu looked up at the gray sky, cut the colorful rope around his wrist, bent down and put it into the flowing stream.
The King of Chu's residence in Shuofang was very large, with a stream running through the inner courtyard, adding a lot of vividness to the original artificial landscape.
Yuan Mu stood under the eaves and watched the rain for a long time.
She didn't know if it was because of the gloomy weather, but she had been feeling inexplicably depressed since early morning.
The King of Chu left the palace last night for some business and has not returned yet.
Yuan Mu sat on the couch, flipping through the book anxiously.
She had been reading the astronomical book for several days. The book that she could read calmly yesterday, but today it seemed as if every word was jumping.
I can't get into it no matter how hard I try.
Near noon, the King of Chu finally returned to his palace.
He was in a hurry and went straight into the library to discuss matters as soon as he returned.
Yuan Mu woke up from his nap and the King of Chu had not yet finished his meeting.
She became particularly sleepy when she was upset. During the year she was pregnant, she was unable to stay awake for more than a few hours throughout the day.
For pregnant women, sleepiness is normal.
But later, when he met a traveling doctor in Shuofang, Yuan Mu heard a different point of view for the first time.
"My lady, you have a mental illness," he said, stroking his white beard. "Excessive worry will cause this."
Because we want to escape, we would rather stay in dreams than face reality.
He gave this condition a very mysterious name, regression.
In the past two years, Yuan Mu is no longer sleepy, but she is still doing this. She deliberately avoids her previous experiences in the palace.
It seems that as long as you don’t think about it, you can pretend it never happened.
The sky became even darker in the afternoon. Yuan Mu supported herself with her arms and sat up. She leaned on the couch, holding the cup in her hand, and drank tea for a long time.
There was a faint rumble of thunder in the clouds.
Yuan Mu took the astronomy book that he couldn't read.
She spread the book out on her lap and read it for a long time.
Yuan Mu wanted to relax his mind, but all that kept flashing through his mind were the repressed memories of his time in the palace.
The night when Zhang Qin was killed, the rainy night when she was forced by the emperor, and the early morning when she suddenly became pregnant.
Yuan Mu's motherly nature prevented her from feeling ill towards the little prince.
But she had thought about it countless times: if she had not been pregnant with him, would she have gained true freedom long ago?
Freedom without fear.
It felt like something was blocking my chest, and I couldn't help but feel suppressed emotions surging.
It rained heavily all day.
At the beginning, it was a drizzle, but it became heavier as time went on.
The climate in Shuofang is dry, with rain concentrated in the summer and heavy rain rarely occurring at other times.
It was not until evening that the King of Chu finished his business. He lifted the bead curtain, and his robe was slightly wet by the wind and rain.
"Something happened," he whispered, "Go take shelter first. I'll pick you up later."
The King of Chu had two private residences in Shuofang, which were very secretive and not many of the servants knew about them. When Xi Rongjing came to Shuofang before, the King of Chu sent Yuan Mu there once.
Xi Rongjing's style of doing things has changed a lot in the past two years.
The originally gentle and refined gentleman gradually developed a somewhat cruel temperament.
Yuan Mu didn't know what was going on, but she didn't ask any more questions. The maids gathered around nervously, asking repeatedly, "Your Highness, are we going with you?"
The King of Chu shook his head and whispered, "Except Jinzhi, everyone else will stay in the palace."
It was like this before.
Time was urgent and Yuan Mu didn't even have time to change his clothes.
It was still raining heavily outside, so she hurriedly put on a thicker snow-white cloak and was directly put into the carriage.
The King of Chu looked solemn, and he said something to his servants.
Yuan Mu was wearing a cloak with a sash tied, revealing only half of her snow-white face. Her eyes were shaking, revealing a hint of helplessness.
Just before leaving, she spoke: "Did something happen in the capital..."
The King of Chu looked at Yuan Mu and leaned over to help her straighten her hood which was slightly tilted.
"Don't be afraid, everything will be fine," he said in a low voice, "but if I haven't come to pick you up the day after tomorrow, follow the attendants to the border state first. I have someone prepare the pass."
The King of Chu talked about things to pay attention to.
Yuan Mu's eyes suddenly became wet.
"Did he...find out?" Her voice trembled. "Don't do this. Hand me over, or the palace will be implicated."
Yuan Mu's knuckles turned white and were clenched tightly together.
"No," the King of Chu raised his eyebrows slightly, "Don't worry, I'll tell you when I get back."
Then he stepped back slightly and asked the driver to drive away.
On a foggy and rainy night, the green grass and trees in the mansion gradually turned gray.
Everything is covered in rain.
Yuan Mu curled up in the carriage, bent her knees, hugged the thick blanket tightly in her arms, and saw
What she fears most is
In Yuan Mu's heart, even if she was forcibly taken back to the palace by the emperor and imprisoned again, it would be a hundred times better than dragging the King of Chu who saved her into the abyss.
, breathing is stagnant and difficult.
The private residence of the King of Chu is hidden in a deep alley and does not attract attention.
The neighboring houses were deserted, and when the car drove in, not even a bark of a dog woke them up.
Jinzhi held an umbrella and led Yuan Mu inside. She helped Yuan Mu hold up his skirt, but the corner of his snow-white robe was inevitably stained with mud.
The King of Chu had already explained this to us.
Dinner and hot water had already been prepared in the mansion.
Yuan Mu had a very poor appetite. She held the bamboo chopsticks and only ate half a bowl of rice before pushing the plate away.
She hasn't eaten much recently, and Jinzhi is anxious, but she doesn't want to urge her to eat too much.
After changing her clothes, Yuan Mu went straight into the bathroom. She stepped into the wooden tub filled with hot water and sank her whole body into the water. Only then did she feel her mind finally free up a little.
Her thoughts were in a mess, and she didn't use much perfume, so she just bathed quietly.
It was raining heavily outside, and the room was so quiet, but for some reason there was a strong sense of depression.
Yuan Mu stayed in the bathroom for almost an hour before coming out.
She was covered in steam and wearing a bathrobe, and there was an emotion in her eyes that was both familiar and unfamiliar to Jinzhi.
I am tired of the world and have no expectations for the future.
Jinzhi used to see this emotion on Yuan Mu's face, but since leaving the palace, Yuan Mu hasn't been like this for a long time.
Jinzhi took out a thick blanket, wrapped Yuan Mu in it, and then dried her hair as well.
"Don't be afraid, my lady," Jinzhi hugged Yuan Mu tightly, "It will definitely get better. With His Highness here, nothing will happen."
Yuan Mu's black hair was scattered behind him.
Her hair had grown a lot longer, almost reaching her hips.
Yuan Mu remembered very clearly that her hair was also this length when she was about to leave the palace.
Her life seemed to be stuck in a huge cycle.
Whenever Yuan Mu felt that her life was getting better, fate would give her a head-on blow. She was hugged tightly by Jinzhi, but she could not feel any warmth on her body.
She didn't know what was happening.
But her instinct had already told her the answer.
Yuan Mu couldn't help but feel fear. The imperial power was a web so huge that ordinary people couldn't imagine it.
Trying to avoid such plunder is harder than climbing to the sky.
Yuan Mu doesn't have that ability.
She is even a person who cannot make a living independently.
Yuan Mu had no identity and no pass. If she were on her own, she wouldn't even be able to leave Jingzhao.
If this were a time of chaos, she might be able to find a place to hide.
But now that the world is at peace, there is no room for aliens to exist even in dark corners.
Yuan Mu clenched her fingers tightly. She really didn't know what to do. Her vision was misty and her shoulders were shaking.
She is now in a state of frightened bird.
But just when Yuan Mu was full of hope, something even more terrifying happened.
Suddenly there was a loud noise in the front yard.
Ever since that day when he was almost molested by Gao Chi, Yuan Mu has always carried a dagger with him.
She inserted the dagger into her boot, carefully covering it.
Yuan Mu learned a lot of new things after coming to Shuofang. She even thought about learning sword, but her physical condition was too weak, and sword skills needed to be mastered from a young age.
So she simply learned knife skills.
Yuan Mu hid the dagger in his sleeve and then pulled Jinzhi up.
There was a tall wardrobe in the room. She whispered, "You go in and hide for a while. I'll go to the front yard to check the situation."
The private residence of the King of Chu was built to conceal his identity, and there were not many servants.
Jinzhi shook her head and refused to go in.
She clasped Yuan Mu's wrist tightly and said tearfully, "Madam, please hide first. I'll go to the front yard to take a look..."
There are countless attendants in Ziwei Palace and Qingning Palace.
But after two years, Yuan Mu was unable to establish contact with anyone.
She accidentally brought Jinzhi back from the bench where he was being beaten to death, but she never expected that the two of them would be destined to be together.
Yuan Mu's face was cold. She touched Jin Zhi's face and said softly, "I'm just going to take a look. You hide here. I'll be back in a while."
Then, without waiting for Jinzhi's response, she pushed Jinzhi in with a cruel heart and locked the wooden lock.
Yuan Mu has lived a very good life in the past two years.
She was raised all over again by everyone in the mansion like a child.
All the care Yuan Mu didn't receive in her childhood was made up for, and she was happy and content every day.
But life is full of twists and turns, and she has had a rough life. All she can do is try her best not to burden others.
Yuan Mu walked out of the inner room holding the umbrella.
The noises in the front yard were getting louder and louder, and it sounded like a fight was happening.
The King of Chu had just sent her here not long ago, and someone coming at this time must be coming for her.
When Yuan Mu walked to the corridor, he smelled a strong smell of blood. A guard was lying in front of the screen wall with a knife stuck in his chest.
The rest of the guards also seemed to be in poor condition.
Among the crowd of soldiers on the opposite side, one person stood out from the crowd.
Gao Shi was riding on a horse, his cold face revealing a chill.
He wore a long sword at his waist and said nonchalantly, "If you still want to live, you should be sensible."
Gao Shi's figure was as sharp as a knife, and he had a lot of blood and energy in his body.
Bloodthirsty, cruel, and vicious.
And without any concealment, his malice was revealed so clearly.
Gao Shi was undoubtedly a general coveted by countless soldiers on the battlefield, but off the battlefield, he was a man who could make women and children extremely afraid.
Yuan Mu had seen many cruel scenes before, but those were all things that happened during the Jingzhao Rebellion.
She suppressed the urge to vomit and looked at Gao Chi.
Yuan Mu raised his voice and asked, "What do you want to do?"
She stood in the rain, her thick black hair simply tied up with a headband, and she was wearing a snow-white robe.
She is graceful and elegant, just like the goddess of Luo River in poetry.
Such a beautiful face, even if it is covered with mud, is still so beautiful that people can't take their eyes off it.
Gao Shi looked at Yuan Mu, his eyes full of interest. If it hadn't been raining so hard tonight, he really wanted to grab her slender waist and make her cry in front of so many people.
He is now over thirty years old.
He had countless wives and concubines at home, and also kept many people outside.
I have seen countless beauties in the flower garden, even the blonde girl from the Western Regions, whom I have admired several times.
It had been a long time since Gao Chi had felt such a strong desire to plunder a woman.
Perhaps it was because she was the King of Chu's woman, perhaps it was because of her overly beautiful face, or perhaps it was because of her strange nobility.
Gao Shi really wanted to hold this soft waist in his palm and play with it carefully.
He got off the horse straight away.
The guards were outnumbered and had long been unable to hold out.
Surrounded by his bodyguards, Gao Shi walked straight up to Yuan Mu.
He chuckled softly, "You were so scared the other day, how come you're so brave today?"
Gao Shi has always preferred mature women to young women. Women are more charming when they have more experience.
But the woman in front of him was different. She gave people the impression of a whore or a slut who had been played around by men for a long time, but her eyes and eyebrows revealed innocence.
Clean and clear, as if it had never been touched by anyone.
Yuan Mu couldn't help feeling nauseous. She had slapped Gao Shi that day and her palm was numb with pain, but he seemed to feel nothing.
Her body trembled, and her voice trembled: "Is he dead?"
Gao Shi followed Yuan Mu's gaze and saw the guard lying on the ground with a knife in his chest.
He said nonchalantly, "Do you want him to die or live?"
"Save him," Yuan Mu's hair was slightly wet, "and don't touch anyone in this house!"
Her face held a fragile beauty, but her voice was no longer as trembling.
When she said this, Yuan Mu didn't look like a prostitute, but rather like a noble lady.
Gao Shi looked at Yuan Mu with interest and said with a smile, "Then what do you want to exchange for it? I'm not a philanthropist who only does good deeds."
He raised his hand and wanted to pinch the tip of her snow-white chin.
She is so young, I don't know how old she is, but her skin is as white as flawless jade. Could it be that her skin is so white because she soaks in milk every day?
But Yuan Mu forcefully opened Gao Shi's hand.
Her eyebrows were lowered, but there seemed to be fire burning in her clear eyes.
This appearance is a hundred times more deceptive than the docile and soft clay puppet.
"Anything is fine," Yuan Mu frowned, "but the premise is that you can't touch any of them."
There was a childish innocence in her words.
Gao Shi hadn't met a girl like this in a long time. He smiled and said loudly, "Did you hear that? Go and save those guards quickly, and don't touch them anymore."
Everything he said was full of sarcasm, and his expression made people want to slap him in the face.
Yuan Mu's tense heartstrings relaxed a little when he saw the military doctor waking up the guard who was stabbed by the dagger.
It was only then that she realized that she was covered in cold sweat.
Gao Chi chuckled softly, "Are you relieved now?"
His face revealed a bandit-like air. He didn't look like a noble family at all, but more like a wild man hiding in the mountains.
The draft blew across Yuan Mu's body, and her chest felt cold.
When Gao Chi wanted to put his arm around her waist, her knuckles trembled and her teeth almost bit her lips until they bled.
"Let's go to the flower hall." Yuan Mu said with his eyes lowered.
It was very troublesome to enter the Prince of Chu's Palace. After Gao Shi went in once, he could no longer enter again.
He asked someone to guard outside, as he didn't believe that Yuan Mu would not come out for several days in a row.
Sure enough, after waiting for several days and nights, they finally fished the man out.
It had been a long time since Gao Chi had tried so hard to win someone over.
After finally getting the person, he was in a good mood at this time, and said in a drawling tone: "I will listen to you, my lady."
This private house is not very big, and the hall is not very spacious either.
But in the noisy rainy night, there is an extremely ambiguous atmosphere.
Gao Chi had long forgotten what the first woman he had met looked like, but it seemed to be on a rainy night like this one.
The red waves rolled in the tent, and the girl's fragrance was so rich that it made people's souls flutter.
Yuan Mu had no heavy makeup on her face, and no hairpins or ornaments in her hair.
Her clothes were simple and her eyes were clear.
Clear, beautiful, and fragile.
Gao Shi really wanted to put his hands into Yuan Mu's black hair, press the back of her neck, and make her dirty.
However, she was completely oblivious to his obscure gaze and carefully closed the door of the flower hall.
Yuan Mu has a slender figure and a winding waistline, but her snow-white breasts bulge out and her soft buttocks also outline an exciting curve.
There is no ambiguity at all where the meat should be.
The snow-white robe she wore gave off a bewitching feeling that was even more thrilling than a pearl and jade robe.
There is a chaise longue in the center of the flower hall.
Gao Shi grabbed Yuan Mu's wrist and tried to push her down, but as soon as he touched her wrist bone, she couldn't help crying out: "It hurts..."
How much does the King of Chu love her to have raised her to be so delicate?
Gao Shi originally thought that a prostitute like Yuan Mu should be familiar with the affairs of the bedroom, but he didn't expect that she was as delicate as a virgin.
He let go of her hand and sighed softly, "The King of Chu loves you, do your patrons love you that much as well?"
Gao Shi looks like a military general, but he is a man of meticulous mind.
If the King of Chu really had someone he loved, the Emperor would have granted their marriage long ago. This woman's status must be extremely low and obscure, which is why she is so shady.
Yuan Mu turned his face away, stroking his wrist with his slender jade fingers, tears in his eyes, looking pitiful.
That delicate temperament is like it is made of gold and jade.
But it is also true that after the King of Chu got the person, he must have loved her very much and was willing to spend money on her.
Yuan Mu sat on the chaise longue, her long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings. She was so beautiful, a bit... like the deposed queen of the Yuan family.
Gao Shi leaned on the couch, changed his position and picked up Yuan Mu.
Her body was shaking, but she finally stopped crying.
"Has anyone told you?" Gao Chi looked at Yuan Mu's face carefully, "You look a bit like a nobleman."
He hadn't seen Yuan Ying very often, but he could tell.
The King of Chu is the emperor's younger brother, so it's natural for him to not see it.
Gao Chi suddenly understood why the King of Chu hid the person so closely.
Yuan Mu's watery eyes trembled, and he said in a low voice: "No."
Gao Shi couldn't help but smile, for the obscure secret he had glimpsed, and for Yuan Muchian's naive and ignorant words.
"Have you heard of the Luoyang Yuan clan, the imperial family of the previous dynasty?" he asked softly. "The current empress is from this lineage. Although she has been deposed, she was once glorious."
Gao Chi tapped Yuan Mu's forehead and said maliciously, "You look a lot like her."
Yuan Mu sat astride his legs, unbuttoning his belt with her small hands in an unskilled manner.
"I don't know." Her voice was a little muffled.
Young girls have their own advantages of being young.
Gao Shi had little patience and no tenderness, but Yuan Mu's actions and words did not make him impatient, but instead gave him a very subtle sense of stimulation.
He pressed her wrist bone and teased her, "Why don't you take off yours?"
Yuan Mu's face flushed slightly, and he pressed his wrist and whispered, "If you're not satisfied, get out."
These words sounded willful and childish, but Gao Shi couldn't help laughing.
He smiled and said, "Okay, it's all up to you."
Gao Shi just looked at Yuan Mu's clear and watery eyes. He looked so intently that he didn't even notice that she threw the sword at his waist on the ground.
Yuan Mu was too weak. He could restrain such a powerless woman with just one hand.
Gao Shi didn't even ask anyone to wait outside.
He asked casually, "By the way, what's your name?"
Yuan Mu said softly: "Yuan Mu, Yuan of Yuanxiao, Mu of admiration."
The name sounded very familiar. Gao Shi's brows knitted together and he asked in a low voice, "Are you from the Yuan family?"
"Yeah." Yuan Mu nodded, "I have Xianbei blood, so my eyes are blue."
She introduced herself very seriously.
Gao Shi's mind suddenly trembled. The younger sister of the deposed empress of the Yuan family seemed to be called Yuan Mu.
She had already been promoted to the rank of Imperial Concubine.
It is said that she has a peerless beauty and is a hundred times more favored than Yuan Ying. The current prince is her son.
But the problem is that Concubine Yuan died in a fire in the palace two years ago.
Gao Shi's heart was beating like a drum, and his face was full of horror. However, before he could do anything, the dagger in Yuan Mu's hand pierced his heart steadily.
The hot blood splashed out, staining Yuan Mu's fair face.
She sat on his lap, pulled out the dagger swiftly, and stabbed it into his heart again.
Since ancient times, lustful men have been prone to dying on their beds.
It’s just that one type of people died from madness, and the other type of people died from other things.
This was not the first time Yuan Mu had done something like this.
The night she killed Zhang Qin, she completely collapsed. To this day, she still sees his dead face in her dreams.
But the second time he did this, Yuan Mu's hands didn't shake as violently.
She knew clearly that she couldn't miss the target by even a little bit, otherwise she would be finished.
Yuan Mu's eyes trembled. She didn't know how many times she stabbed. She only knew that the hot blood in her body had solidified and revealed a deep coldness.
After she was sure that Gao Chi was completely dead, she covered her face and burst into tears.
If this person had not deliberately plundered her, the King of Chu would not have had to find a way to solve her identity, and the emperor would not have noticed it at all.
His appearance ruined everything for her.
Two years of peaceful and stable life were easily and completely broken after Gao Shi appeared.
He had no idea how hard it was for her to achieve all this.
Outside, there was heavy rain and rumbling thunder, just like the countless depressing nights in the palace.
But what made Yuan Mu even more devastated was yet to come.
"Yuan Mu! Are you in there?" A pair of hands were banging on the closed door almost frantically. The voice came from someone who was both very familiar and very unfamiliar to her.
He actually found her.
The flower hall is so small that there is no place to hide.
Yuan Mu held a dagger in her hand, her palms were covered with sticky and slippery blood, and her body was filled with a strong smell of blood.
She raised the sharp blade and tremblingly brought it close to her neck.
Survival is the most instinctive thing for human beings.
Yuan Mu listened to the life-threatening knocks on the door outside, and her chest seemed to be drowned by cold deep water. Just when she was finally about to make up her mind.
Suddenly, the sky brightened and the tall door was forcibly broken open from the outside.
The emperor's face had never looked so ugly.
He snatched the dagger from Yuan Mu's hand, and then, regardless of the blood all over her body, he picked her up.
I lost it and found it again, but I am still in shock and fear.
All these complicated thoughts were about to drive the emperor crazy.
He hugged Yuan Mu tightly and scolded him in a low voice: "Are you crazy?"
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