Chapter 35 Springtime Scenery Within the Palace Walls Leads to Deceit (Part 4) Please, General, show some mercy…
Those beautiful, expressive eyes now held only wariness and aloofness, as if he were some venomous snake or ferocious beast to be avoided at all costs.
“Now that things have come to this, there is probably only one thing I have that General Chu can still use one more time.” She raised her chin, trying to maintain her last bit of dignity. Her voice was soft, but it carried a calmness as if her heart had turned to ashes. “What the general wants is hidden in the Ye family’s imperial tomb outside Chang’an.”
She bowed slightly, performing a standard yet incredibly distant salute. Her posture was respectful, yet it only widened the distance between them. "The imperial seal of the previous dynasty must be of some benefit to the general's great cause. In exchange, I beg the general to be merciful and spare my life. From now on, let us part ways peacefully and never...see each other again."
Chu Huaili felt a chill rush from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, instantly freezing his limbs and bones.
She actually thought... he actually made her think that he did all this for that damned imperial seal of the previous dynasty! He closed his eyes briefly, suppressing the surging blood in his chest, and when he opened them again, his eyes were filled with indescribable pain and rage.
He saw her standing in the moonlight, her figure as thin as paper, her face as pale as snow, only her eyes, filled with excitement and despair, shone with an unusually clear light, like the loneliest star in the cold night, breathtakingly beautiful, and chillingly cold to the bone.
"You think everything I did, all the forbearance and scheming, even going so far as to use you to get Geshu Che caught, was for that dead thing?!" His voice trembled slightly as he tried to control himself.
“Otherwise,” Ye Yixiang raised her clear eyes and retorted without fear, her gaze sharp as a knife, “besides that little bit of usefulness, I really don’t know what else I have in this broken body and filthy name that would make the general go to such lengths to scheme against me.”
These words ignited the long-suppressed flames in Chu Huaili's heart. Without another word, he suddenly grabbed her arm again, his strength leaving her no room for resistance.
"Let go! Chu Huaili!" Ye Yixiang struggled fiercely, her fingernails leaving red marks on the back of his hand. "Let me go! General, please have some self-respect!"
"I'll take you somewhere!" he almost growled, his eyes burning with a terrifying intensity. "There's someone you want to see there!"
Upon hearing the words "the person you want to see," Ye Yixiang's struggles abruptly ceased as if all her strength had been drained.
She raised her teary eyes and looked at him in disbelief, her gaze filled with doubt and a faint glimmer of hope that even she couldn't control.
She stopped resisting and let him hold her hand tightly as he led her away from the Nie residence and put her into the carriage that had been prepared outside the gate.
The cramped carriage was instantly filled with his cool yet domineering aura, which enveloped her completely.
The familiar scent involuntarily reminded her of the chaotic and passionate entanglement of the previous night. Beneath her indifferent mask, a blush of shame rose uncontrollably on her cheeks, and she felt extremely uncomfortable. She could only hurriedly look away and stare intently at the swaying carriage curtain.
She subconsciously lifted the curtain and looked out the window at the rapidly receding night view, trying to distract herself and dispel the restless palpitations in her heart.
In Chu Huaili's perception, the enclosed space seemed to be completely filled with the elegant and sweet fragrance of osmanthus emanating from her.
The fragrance, mixed with her faint body breath, was like the most deadly poison, seeping into his nostrils and stimulating his already tense nerves.
Beneath the clothes, a long-suppressed impulse stemming from the most primal instincts was bursting forth uncontrollably, surging and roaring.
He gazed at the slender figure so close to him, at the expanse of her fair neck revealed as she turned her head, at her tightly pursed yet still soft lips, and a deep crimson crept into the corners of his eyes. He had to exert every ounce of self-control to refrain from doing anything more outrageous at this moment.
The carriage traveled for an unknown amount of time before finally stopping in front of a secluded courtyard on the outskirts of the city. Ye Yixiang almost immediately broke free from the eerie atmosphere inside the carriage, jumping off as if fleeing some monstrous beast.
The courtyard was small, but it was clean and bright. There were even a few hardy green plants in the corner, which looked vibrant under the moonlight. It was clear that the owner had taken good care of it for a long time, which was completely different from the hasty feeling of the temporary residence.
A warm oil lamp shone inside the room, its dim yellow light filtering through the window paper, giving a sense of calm and security in the chilly night.
From afar, a child's sweet, pleading voice could be heard: "Grandma, Cheng'er wants a little bit more icing sugar, just a tiny bit!"
A familiar voice, slightly aged yet full of love, made Ye Yixiang's heart stop: "Oh dear, my little darling, if you eat too much frosting, the worms will eat all your teeth, and then our little Cheng'er won't be able to eat meat anymore..."
"Granny, it's all because you spoil him too much!" Another familiar, gentle yet slightly helpless female voice rang out.
These two voices... these two voices she thought she could only relive in her dreams for the rest of her life!
Ye Yixiang's vision was instantly blurred by a torrent of tears, her legs seemingly nailed to the spot, unable to move. Was it a hallucination caused by excessive longing? Or... or...
Chu Huaili stood quietly beside her, not saying a word, just silently watching her.
He saw the woman before him, and his initial shock and doubt turned into unbelievable ecstasy. His feigned indifference and strength crumbled at that moment.
She could no longer suppress it. As if she had finally confirmed something, she used all her strength to rush forward, her hands trembling, and pushed open the half-closed door!
"Squeak—"
The door was suddenly opened, and the three people inside were all startled, turning to look at each other.
The first to react was the beautiful middle-aged woman. Her needlework fell to the ground with a thud. She jumped to her feet, her eyes instantly reddening, her voice trembling with disbelief: "Rao...Rao'er?! Isn't this Rao'er? I...I'm not dreaming, am I..."
“Liu… Madam Liu…” Ye Yixiang softly uttered this long-unheard title, her voice choked with emotion, almost incoherent.
This Lady Liu was once the daughter of a sixth-rank official. When her family suffered misfortune, she was sent to the Prince's mansion as a concubine in order to ensure the safety of the Liu family. Her mother was kind-hearted and pitied her background, always treating her with courtesy. She, in turn, remained obedient and was especially gentle and loving towards the younger generation.
"Who's here? That voice... Is it the princess? Has the princess returned?" Although Granny Sang, sitting on the kang, looked over in the direction of the sound, her gaze was unfocused, vaguely looking towards the door. Her eyes, which used to always be smiling, were now covered with a layer of grayish-white gloom.
"Granny!" Ye Yixiang burst into tears, rushed over, and threw herself into Granny Sang's warm but thin embrace, sobbing uncontrollably, "Granny! Your eyes... what happened to your eyes?!" Her hands trembled as she gently stroked Granny's wrinkled cheeks.
"Oh...Princess, don't cry, don't cry..." Granny Sang hugged her tightly, patting her back repeatedly with her rough hands, just like she used to comfort her when she was a child. "Granny is alright, I'm just old and useless, my eyes aren't doing well anymore, I can't see clearly...It's nothing serious, as long as the princess is safe, as long as she's safe..."
She thought that with the city destroyed, her family ruined, and the palaces collapsed, all the relatives who had watched her grow up, and all the warmth of the past, had long since turned to ashes with the fire, and could only appear in the blood-red memories of midnight dreams.
I never imagined that I would have the chance to truly touch them and hear their voices in this lifetime!
"Grandma, who is this big sister? Why is she crying so sadly?" A childish voice rang out nearby, filled with the innocence and curiosity unique to children.
"Silly child," Madam Liu picked up the chubby, adorable little boy from the ground, secretly wiping away tears from the corners of her eyes, "This is your elder sister! Your own elder sister!"
"Eldest sister?" Ye Chengque tilted his head, his big, clear eyes full of confusion. "How come Cheng'er has an eldest sister? Usually, it's Brother Huai Li who sends people to visit us, bringing us delicious food and warm clothes. Is eldest sister also Brother Huai Li's sister?"
Ye Yixiang lifted her head from Granny Sang's arms, her eyes brimming with tears, and looked at the little boy in Madam Liu's arms. His little face was round and fair, with a healthy blush, clearly showing that he had never suffered any hardship.
Although still young, the air about him faintly resembled his father, while the soft features of his face, especially his clear eyes, were strikingly similar to his mother's…
Overwhelmed with emotion, she reached out and carefully took the heavy Cheng'er from Madam Liu's arms, cradling his soft little body in her embrace. The little fellow seemed quite at ease, curiously reaching out to touch the tears on her face, and softly calling out, "Elder sister, don't cry..."
That innocent cry almost completely melted Ye Yixiang's heart. She held her long-lost younger brother and played with him for a while, feeling the warmth of this long-lost blood connection, before gradually regaining some rationality from the huge emotional shock.
She handed Cheng'er back to Madam Liu, took a deep breath, and tried to calm her still turbulent emotions. With a lingering sob in her voice, she asked, "Madam Liu, Granny Sang, how... how did you get here?"
How have they managed all these years? What grievances have they suffered?
Madam Liu gently pressed her wet eyes with a handkerchief. Her hands, rough from years of hard work, trembled slightly. She sighed deeply, a sigh filled with the vicissitudes of time and the trembling of surviving a calamity.
"Princess." Her voice was tinged with a distant sob.
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