Chapter 60 [60]
【60】/First released on Jinjiang Literature City
The strong cold white light shone on my thin eyelids, and a familiar call came to my ears, sometimes far away, sometimes near, sometimes distant.
"It's moving, Wanwan is moving!"
"Doctor, good morning, go call the doctor."
"Wanwan, my precious daughter, open your eyes and look at your mother..."
Mom? Lu Zhiwan's eyelids twitched slightly, and he managed to keep them open a little, his blurred vision revealing familiar faces.
Mom, Dad and sister Lu Zhizao.
A wave of joy surged in her heart, and tears welled up in the corners of Lu Zhiwan's eyes. She tried to speak, but her soul seemed to be bound in this body, unable to move.
She could only watch all this quietly like an outsider.
Is this in the hospital? What's wrong with her?
She was lost in thought when suddenly another distant, ethereal voice called out from behind her: "Wanwan, don't die."
The sound of grief that could not be concealed made her heart tremble violently. She turned around subconsciously, but behind her was a dark chaos.
It was a void, with nothingness everywhere. The only clear thing was a road made of white light.
The road was very long, as if it was separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, and by endless time and space, but she could clearly see a small figure standing at the end of the road.
The skinny, dark-skinned child, wearing tattered, dirty clothes, had a stubborn face and tears in his eyes. "Wanwan, don't abandon me."
Lu Zhiwan couldn't see his face clearly, but she knew who he was. Her heart was filled with sorrow, and she responded in a hoarse voice, "A Yin."
The young Xiao Jingting stood there, looking around in confusion, shouting anxiously: "Wanwan, where are you?"
"I can't find you, please don't abandon me..."
Suddenly, the small figure transformed into a tall, grown man. He looked frail and haggard, his voice hoarse, "Lu Zhiwan, you lied to me again."
"You clearly promised to be with me forever, you liar."
Xiao Jingting!
Lu Zhiwan burst into tears of joy, took two steps forward, and shouted back, "I didn't lie to you, I didn't lie to you."
The other end seemed to hear her response, and the road beneath their feet became brighter: "Wanwan, Wanwan!"
"Imperial Physician, Imperial Physician, come quickly—"
In the evening, the tranquility in the Hall of Mental Cultivation was broken by a burst of urgent calls.
The imperial physician, who had been on duty outside the palace for seven days and nights, perked up immediately upon hearing the noise, straightened his official hat, and hurried inside: "Your Majesty, I am here!"
In the bedroom, filled with the aroma of medicine and brilliantly lit, the emaciated emperor tightly grasped the hand of the woman on the couch, a hint of uncontrollable joy flashing across his gaunt face: "She just moved!"
"Come and see her, she's still alive!"
“…”
The imperial physician's face froze, and he felt it was extremely absurd.
Seven days ago, when Concubine Zhao was carried to the Imperial Hospital by His Majesty, she had already died.
The sleeve arrow that had shot into Concubine Zhao's shoulder blade was taken out, and it was indeed poisoned, and it was a deadly poison that would kill instantly upon contact with blood.
But His Majesty refused to accept this fact and insisted that Concubine Zhao was just unconscious and not dead.
These imperial doctors had been guarding outside the palace for days, not for Concubine Zhao, but for His Majesty - his condition was really worrying. Since the day he vomited blood and fell into a coma, after waking up, he was either crazy and killing people, or guarding Concubine Zhao's corpse, silent and motionless.
There are rumors outside that His Majesty has gone crazy due to excessive grief.
Now it seems that this is indeed the case. How can a corpse that has been dead for seven days move?
The imperial physician stood there, hesitating, wondering how to persuade her. The emperor beside the bed lost his patience and strode towards him: "What are you still standing there for? If you delay Wanwan's recovery, I will kill you!"
Seeing the emperor approaching with disheveled hair and sunken eyes, the imperial physician's legs felt weak as he stammered, "Yes... yes... I will take the emperor's pulse right away."
Only then did Xiao Jingting suppress his fierce look and hurried the imperial physician to the bedside like a duck.
The imperial physician was puzzled when he saw the pale yet delicate face lying on the bed. Although the cold weather of autumn would slow the decay of corpses, it was unheard of for someone like Concubine Zhao to still look alive after seven days of death.
The emperor was watching anxiously, so the imperial physician had no choice but to take the patient's pulse according to the procedure he would use for a living person.
He placed a thin silk handkerchief on the wrist, and after a while, the imperial physician's face changed slightly.
His fingertips trembled slightly, and he glanced at the woman on the couch again, thinking he was hallucinating.
But this pulse cannot be wrong - although it is loose and weak, it is indeed a pulse!
Xiao Jingting stood beside the couch: "Don't be afraid, Wanwan, the imperial physician is here and will definitely be able to cure you."
After saying this, he lowered his eyes and looked at the imperial physician. His voice was no longer gentle, but cold: "Can it be cured?"
The imperial physician felt a chill run down his spine at this question, which sounded like both a threat and a warning. He nodded repeatedly, "Your humble servant...Your humble servant will do your best."
"Try your best?"
"Of course, of course, I will!"
The emperor was satisfied and stood with his hands behind his back, supervising the imperial physician's diagnosis of the emperor's pulse.
The pressure on the imperial physician doubled, but he dared not say anything. He could only hold his breath and concentrate on feeling the pulse on the wrist.
He had been practicing medicine for many years, but this was the first time he had seen a pulse disappear for many days and then reappear - could it be that there really is such a thing as bringing the dead back to life?
This was indeed a strange fact, so he did not dare to jump to conclusion. He consulted the emperor and invited several colleagues to diagnose the case together.
This commotion also attracted Empress Dowager Gu.
Seeing that Lu Zhiwan on the hospital bed had a pulse and breath, but still looked like a living dead, he felt very worried.
Bending down to tuck the corner of the quilt for her, she walked over to Xiao Jingting, who had lost a lot of weight. Her eyes lingered on his deep, tired brows for a few times, and she couldn't help but comfort him with heartache: "Ayin, I know you are worried about her, but you have to take care of yourself too."
Xiao Jingting sat back in the armchair, his whole body filled with dejection, and he murmured hoarsely: "She still hasn't woken up."
Seeing that he wasn't listening to her at all, Queen Mother Gu sighed softly, "It will be fine. Just like your mind was confused before, isn't it restored now?"
It is said that fortune and misfortune are closely linked, and misfortune and fortune are closely linked. No one expected that the robbery and murder at Caishikou would cause Concubine Zhao to be poisoned and fall into a coma, but would also stimulate the blood clots in the emperor's body, allowing him to return to normal.
"No one can predict what will happen in this world."
Queen Mother Gu glanced at the dark circles under his eyes and the stubble on his chin, and said earnestly, "No matter what, you must cheer up first. Before, when you were ignorant, Concubine Zhao was still calm and composed, accompanying you to court and reviewing memorials every day. Now that she is unconscious, it is God's time to test you. You should cheer up. Hasn't she always hoped that you would be a wise ruler, and that the world would be peaceful and the people would be at peace? If you truly care about her, you should follow her wishes."
Yes, this has always been her wish.
Xiao Jingting's eyes moved slightly, and he looked at Lu Zhiwan lying quietly on the bed, and suddenly remembered every little thing they had done together in the past.
She is always so optimistic. Although she has a lot of weird ideas in her mind, she never gives up easily when she encounters real difficulties.
The only time she shed tears was when they were about to die. She wiped his tears and told him with a smile not to be sad.
She said that maybe she didn't die, but went home.
Yes, she is a monster, how could she die so easily...
Maybe she just went back to her monster cave, and when she recovered, she would come back to find him -
After all, she said it herself. She liked and cared about him both when he was mentally disabled and when he is now.
**
No matter how much comfort others give you, it can't compare to figuring it out yourself.
Ever since Lu Zhiwan's pulse returned that day, Xiao Jingting had also ignited a glimmer of hope. He bathed, shaved, tied up his hair, and returned to court to govern, trying hard to play the role of a virtuous and wise ruler, although he was not lenient with the punishments he meted out to Zixiao Villa and Zhao Wenshao.
Those men in black who were arrested at the execution ground were thrown into the imperial prison. They had to endure all eighteen kinds of punishment in the imperial prison before they were allowed to die.
As for the rest of the people in Zixiao Villa, Xing Zhou personally led his troops to annihilate all the people in the villa, and finally burned the villa to ashes with a raging fire.
All those related to Zhao Wenshao were executed along with their entire clan. Zhongjia Village was the first to be hit, and everyone was killed overnight.
After this drastic move, the people were in panic. Zhao Wenshao was like a plague god, and everyone avoided him.
Prince Yuzhang and Princess Yuzhang did not benefit either. Xiao Jingting spared them from beheading because of Lu Zhiwan's kindness to Xiao Ningning. He gave each of them a cup of poisoned wine and allowed Xiao Ningning to collect the bodies of Prince Yuzhang and his wife.
Xiao Ningning was grateful for the leniency shown by the Emperor and Concubine Zhao. When she received the letter from Zhao Wenshao, she followed her promise to Concubine Zhao and informed Xiao Jingting of the matter.
Xiao Jingting used Xiao Ningning as bait and set up a trap to lure Zhao Wenshao into taking the bait.
Almost at the moment when Zhao Wenshao was captured by two Jinyiwei, Xiao Jingting drew out the sword of the guard beside him, stepped forward, and personally stabbed Zhao Wenshao in the chest.
"Uh..." Zhao Wenshao's pupils suddenly widened. He never expected that the emperor would be so anxious to take action.
Xiao Jingting lowered his black eyes and stared at the hateful face, with a deep indifference in his eyes.
This man should have died long ago.
He increased the force on his wrist, and the blade penetrated deeper.
The moment it was pulled out, warm blood splattered, staining Xiao Jingting's slender palm, neat satin robe, and cold, handsome face red.
The surrounding soldiers and Xiao Ningning were all stunned, looking at the scene in shock.
The pampered emperor seemed to have no intention of stopping.
He grabbed Zhao Wenshao's tied hair, and the next moment, he pulled out the knife and stabbed it again.
Again and again, no one knew how many times he stabbed. All they saw was the endless flow of blood all over the ground, and Zhao Wenshao's lifeless and broken body shaking constantly.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."
Finally, Yu Mingjiang reacted and hugged the emperor's waist, stopping this crazy and brutal massacre.
"Your Majesty, how could such a traitor be worthy of your personal action?" Yu Mingjiang sniffed the strong smell of blood on the emperor's body, his eyelids twitching. "He's dead, he's already dead!"
After hearing this, the action of finishing off the opponent stopped.
Xiao Jingting's face was covered in blood, but his dark eyes showed no emotion. He looked at the body that had been stabbed almost to pieces, and after a long pause, he finally spoke, "Is he really dead?"
Yu Mingjiang nodded hurriedly: "Dead, dead, really dead. Your Majesty, you have avenged Concubine Zhao."
"Revenge?"
As if hearing something funny, Xiao Jingting raised his thin lips in a playful arc: "Who the hell is he? How can his worthless life be compared with my Wanwan?"
Yu Mingjiang saw that His Majesty was furious and didn't know how to respond. He could only nod in agreement: "Your Majesty is right..."
Xiao Jingting put down the blood-stained knife.
With a "click", the long knife made a dull sound in the pool of blood, and Zhao Wenshao's body also fell down.
Xiao Jingting slowly wiped the blood from his eyelids with his slender fingers, straightened his back, and looked at the corpse at his feet calmly, as if he was looking at a piece of insignificant garbage.
"I should have killed him long ago..."
His voice was hoarse, and he didn't know what he was thinking of. His eyes flickered violently: "Come here, drag him away, tear him into pieces, grind his bones and scatter his ashes—"
When everyone heard this order, they looked at each other in bewilderment, wondering how much His Majesty hated this traitor.
But since the emperor had given the order, they had no choice but to obey and quickly dragged the unrecognizable corpse away.
When Xiao Ningning looked at the long trail of blood left by Zhao Wenshao's body, her calves trembled and she finally couldn't hold on any longer. She collapsed to the ground, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.
Dead, he actually died like this.
The strange thing was, she had thought she loved him dearly and couldn't live without him. But now, she didn't seem too sad...she even felt a little happy inside.
Xiao Ningning was horrified by her own secret "evil" thoughts. She covered her face with her hands, trembling. What had happened to her? How did she become such a cold-blooded and ruthless villain?
She remained sitting there, in a trance, until Yu Mingjiang helped the emperor leave.
Xing Zhou couldn't bear to watch any longer and held the handle of the Embroidered Spring Knife in front of her: "It's time for the princess to go."
Xiao Ningning finally came back to her senses, and she grasped the hilt of the knife in a daze, using the force to stand up: "Thank...thank you very much."
The setting sun outside the house is crimson, just like the blood on the ground.
A cool evening breeze blew by, and for some reason, Xiao Ningning suddenly felt her mind clear, as if she was reborn.
**
This fiery sunset lasted for a long time.
When Xiao Jingting rushed back to the Yangxin Palace, washed off the blood stains, and changed into clean clothes, the sky outside the window was still as red as silk.
So, he got excited and carried Lu Zhiwan, who had been sleeping on the couch for many days, to the window to watch the sunset with her and share the good news that he had killed Zhao Wenshao.
"Although you don't like me killing people, I have to kill this annoying Zhao Wenshao myself to feel at ease."
He held the soft body in his arms, his chin resting on the top of her head: "But don't worry, I bathed carefully and washed it very cleanly. There is no smell at all."
The person in my arms closed his eyes and remained quiet.
"Wanwan, now that the Yuzhang Rebellion has been quelled, the Yuzhang Prince and his wife are dead, and Zhao Wenshao, whom you have always been worried about, is gone. There will be nothing to bother us in the future."
His slender fingers slowly combed her hair. Xiao Jingting's eyelashes drooped slightly, hiding the gloom in his eyes. "Are you still in the monster cave? When can you come back?"
“…”
"I miss you so much."
The evening breeze rustled the branches, and the red glow in the sky gradually turned into dark purple.
As if afraid that she was cold, the man wrapped his arms around her tighter, and buried his tall nose deep in her neck, greedily absorbing her scent.
"Wanwan."
His voice was low and hoarse, with a barely perceptible tremor if one listened carefully: "I will listen to you and be a good emperor. Please don't abandon me, okay?"
The stars are twinkling, and the two figures hugging each other by the window seem to be frozen into eternity in the twilight.
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