Chapter 75 A Eulogy for the Loyal Souls (Part 3) First published on Jinjiang! ...
After he finished speaking, the study fell silent.
Ye Yixiang gazed at his retreating figure, his tall, slender frame appearing somewhat desolate in the reflected light and shadow. She opened her mouth, as if to say something, but was interrupted by his sudden turn around.
He closed in on her in an instant, his breath carrying the crisp scent of ebony and sandalwood, mixed with a barely perceptible whiff of blood. That aura, like an invisible net, instantly enveloped her, trapping her in place.
"Your Majesty..." She subconsciously tried to back away, but her waist was firmly held by his other hand as if he had anticipated her move.
Chu Huaili's fingertips traced her chin again, caressing it with a gentle yet firm touch, carrying an inescapable sense of control. Sunlight danced in his unfathomable eyes, its flickering light mirroring the emotions surging within him, almost bursting from his chest.
"Ah Rao," he called again, this time in a lower voice, almost touching his earlobe, "I'm really nostalgic."
Ye Yixiang stiffened. This name... he rarely used in public. Most of the time it was in bed, or in extremely private moments. To hear it spoken now sent a chill down her spine.
"Your Majesty, I am merely trying to share your burdens." She tried to remain calm, but her fingertips were already digging into her palm.
"Share my burdens?" Chu Huaili chuckled softly, the smile not reaching his eyes. "What, can he give you something I can't?"
He was referring to Geshu Che. Ye Yixiang understood, and her heart felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer. She raised her eyes to meet his unfathomable gaze: "Your Majesty, why do you say this? All I ask for is the peace of Lintong City, Your Majesty..."
Before she could finish speaking, he suddenly leaned down, his lips almost touching her earlobe, his warm breath making her flinch: "Can't I give you a sense of security? Can't I give you a way out? Or have I neglected you these past few days, unable to give you pleasure..." He paused, then said, word by word, "...made you think of that person?"
Ye Yixiang abruptly broke free from his grasp, staggered backward, and her back slammed against the cold bookshelf. Several scrolls of bamboo slips slipped and fell to the ground with a dull thud.
"Your Majesty!" Her voice trembled, whether from anger or fear, "If I had no loyalty, why would I be here enduring this hardship? I beg for a chance to marry into a foreign land, just to exchange for reinforcements to relieve the siege?"
Chu Huaili stood there, looking at her pale face and her eyes, reddened with emotion. His hand, hidden in his sleeve, slowly opened, revealing bloodstains on his palm, but no one saw them.
"The moment you knelt down," he began slowly, his voice devoid of emotion, "I wondered, were you truly doing this for Lintong, or... finally finding a legitimate reason to leave me and return to his side?"
Ye Yixiang was stunned. She had never imagined he would think that way.
"I didn't..." Her voice was weak, and she felt powerless to defend herself.
Chu Huaili suddenly smiled. He walked closer, trapping her between the bookshelf and himself, and raised his hand to stroke her cheek. The movement was extremely gentle, like touching fragile porcelain, but the undercurrent in his eyes startled her.
“Arao, do you know,” he said softly, his fingertips brushing against her trembling eyelashes, “that what I hate most is not that you want to leave. It’s that you clearly want to leave, but you still pretend to be doing what’s best for the country and its people, making even my reasons for keeping you seem selfish.”
Ye Yixiang's tears finally fell. She shook her head, wanting to say no, wanting to say that she really just wanted to help him. She didn't know that Nie Huaizhang had been executed by Chu Xi; she just wanted to protect the city, the soldiers, and the people, at the lowest possible cost. But her throat felt like it was blocked, and she couldn't utter a single word.
He lowered his head, forehead to forehead, their breaths mingling: "Tell me, if I were to grant you permission to marry right now, would you really leave without looking back?"
She closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face: "Your Majesty... I don't know."
That "I don't know" was like a knife, piercing Chu Huaili's heart unexpectedly. He suddenly grabbed the back of her neck and kissed her.
It wasn't a gentle kiss, but rather a possessive and punitive one, bordering on violent. His lips lingered on hers, tasting the saltiness of her tears, the fear in her trembling, and a sense of powerlessness that drove him mad yet was beyond his control.
Ye Yixiang tried to push him away, placing her hand on his chest, but felt his rapid, heavy heartbeat, like a beast trapped in a cage. Suddenly, she stopped moving.
The kiss lasted a long time, so long that both of them were breathless, so long that the light of dawn was slightly cool, and the eunuch carefully lit new candles outside the door.
Chu Huaili finally released her, looking at her swollen lips and her teary yet still stubborn eyes. He raised his hand and used his thumb to wipe away the blood from her lips, a gesture that carried a rare hint of violence.
"I forbid it," he said hoarsely, as if declaring a sentence or making a vow. "You are not allowed to go anywhere."
Ye Yixiang looked at him and suddenly understood the surging emotions in his eyes. It wasn't the weighing of power by an emperor, but a man's most primal possessiveness.
"Your Majesty..." she said softly, "I have never thought of leaving you."
Chu Huaili gave her a deep look, then said nothing more, simply pulling her into his arms. The embrace was tight, as if he wanted to meld her into his very bones.
**Chang'an, the Imperial Prison**
A damp, musty smell mingled with the stench of blood, permeating the dimly lit passageway. Torches cast dancing shadows on the walls, stretching those who walked through into distorted, ghostly figures.
Chu Xi wore a dark brocade robe, the hem embroidered with a dark python pattern in silver thread, which shimmered faintly in the firelight. He walked slowly, his boots making a sticky sound as they trod on the damp ground. Behind him followed four guards, the scraping of their armor particularly jarring in the silence.
Deep within the dungeon, dozens of people were chained to the wall. There were men, women, and children of all ages; the oldest was an elderly woman with white hair, and the youngest was a child of only five or six. Their clothes were tattered, and many bore the marks of torture. When Chu Xi entered, some trembled, some glared angrily, and some were completely numb.
"Your Highness," the head eunuch bowed and handed over a register, "These are the families of court officials who have been found to have secret dealings with Lintong in recent days, or whose children have sought refuge with Chu Huaili. There are thirteen households and seventy-nine people in total, and they have all been detained here."
Chu Xi took the roster and flipped through it casually. The rustling sound of the pages rubbing together was particularly clear in the deathly silence.
"Li Su's wife," he paused, his fingertip pointing to a middle-aged woman in the corner, "I heard your son is a captain in the garrison at Lintong?"
The woman raised her head, her eyes filled with hatred: "My son is loyal to the emperor and loves his country, what wrong has he done!"
Chu Xi smiled and tossed the register back to the steward: "Loyal to the emperor and patriotic? Good, very good." He walked slowly to the woman, bent down to look at her, "Then I will let your entire clan go to the underworld to continue being loyal to your former emperor."
He straightened up, his voice not loud, but loud enough for everyone in the cell to hear: "Execute them all. Their heads will be displayed on Suzaku Street for three days, and their bodies will be thrown into a mass grave to be fed to wild dogs."
“You traitor! You usurper who attempted to kill the emperor and seize the throne, and harm the loyal and virtuous! You will not have a good end! My son was loyal to the country in Lintong. Even if I die today, it is better than for a shameless scoundrel like you to live on! I curse you! I curse you to be abandoned by everyone and die without a burial place!” A man suddenly stood up, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at Chu Xi.
"Your Highness! Your Highness, spare me! I am seventy-three years old... I know nothing! I have long since severed all ties with that rebellious son! Please, Your Highness, have mercy!"
"Mommy! Mommy, I'm scared! I want to go home..." In the corner, a little girl, about five or six years old, huddled in a young woman's arms, trembling with fear, her cries shrill and broken. Her little hands gripped her mother's clothes tightly. "When will Daddy come to pick me up... It's so dark here, I'm afraid of the dark... Mommy, I'll be good and never steal candy again... Let's go home, okay? Let's go home..."
A burly man furiously shook the iron bars, the shackles clanking: "Bastard! Come at me if you dare! What kind of skill is it to kill women and children! I'll haunt you even as a ghost! I'll be waiting for you down there! When you come down, I'll tear you to pieces!"
Cries for mercy, curses, wails, and the intermittent babbling and sobbing of children... all mingled and crashed against the damp walls, echoing repeatedly in the narrow passageway, filling the air with a heavy sense of fear and death.
Chu Xi seemed not to hear, and turned to walk outside. Just as she reached the entrance of the passageway, a slender figure blocked her way.
Ye Lingrou wore a plain-colored cloak, her face as pale as paper. She looked at Chu Xi, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
“Stop,” she said softly, yet with unusual clarity, “while there’s still time to escape.”
Chu Xi stopped, raised an eyebrow at her, and a hint of amusement flashed in his eyes: "Escape? Rou'er, where do you think I should escape to?"
“Anywhere is fine!” Ye Lingrou stepped forward and said urgently in a low voice, “Reinforcements from various states are on their way, and Lintong is under siege. Your defense of Chang’an is already a desperate gamble. If you stop now, perhaps you can still…”
"Perhaps what else can I do?" Chu Xi interrupted her, suddenly reaching out to stroke her cheek. The movement was gentle, as if touching a cherished treasure, but his eyes were icy cold. "Save your life, to linger on like a stray dog, chased all over the world by Chu Huaili?"
Ye Lingrou trembled all over.
Chu Xi's thumb caressed her delicate skin, a wicked smile playing on his lips: "Rou'er, don't you understand?" He leaned close to her ear, his voice so low that only the two of them could hear, "From the moment I decided to rebel, from the moment I killed the first stubborn man who refused to submit... there's no turning back on this path."
He stepped back slightly, looking into her eyes: "Right now, in Chang'an, there are more people who want to kill me than those who want to be loyal to me. Outside the city, Chu Huaili's reinforcements are watching us like hawks. You want me to escape? If I escape, I'll die even faster."
Ye Lingrou's lips trembled: "But if you continue to harm the innocent like this... it will only make more people hate you, and cause those ministers who are still watching to completely side with Lintong!"
"Then let them fall." Chu Xi released his grip, a mad gleam in his smile. "I want to see if their bones are harder, or if my blade is faster." He turned and walked out of the dungeon, his voice echoing in the corridor. "Since they're already covered in bloodshed, what harm is there in adding more?"
Ye Lingrou stood there, watching his departing figure, her whole body feeling cold.
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