Chapter 39 Like a dream, like an illusion, like dew, like lightning, all…
Emperor Jinghui felt his heart was bleeding.
Su Jun was the only woman he had ever truly loved. Before seeing her today, he had already decided that as long as she was willing to come back to him, he would not care about her running away from him, nor would he care that she was already married.
She didn't even go to see the Crown Prince, which meant she had already let go of him. He believed that everything she had done in her life was only because she resented him, not because she truly loved someone else. As long as her heart was free of attachment, he still had a chance.
But she would rather be with a vulgar military officer than give him any more chances.
What he found even harder to accept than hearing that she hated him was that she wished him good health and a long and happy life.
She was even reluctant to regard him as an enemy, unwilling to take revenge on him, nor to receive any compensation from him. She wanted to completely sever ties with him. From then on, he was the king, and she was the subject. Apart from that, they had no other connection.
He gazed at her for a long time, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably, dripping onto the bluestone floor.
Lou Xueying knelt before him, her forehead pressed to the ground, her back bowed low, almost as if she were crawling on the ground, begging him in an extremely humble posture.
"But what am I supposed to do..." Emperor Jinghui said hoarsely, "How can I lose you..."
If he had never had her, that would be one thing. But he had had her before. He had played chess and chatted with her under the moon, brewed tea and played the zither with her among the flowers, held her hand and laughed together, embraced her and poured out their hearts to each other…
Like a dream, like an illusion, like dew, like lightning, all vanish into nothingness.
The woman in front of him remained silent and did not answer.
Emperor Jinghui closed his eyes briefly and then asked, "Is he really good to you? Are you truly happy being with him?"
She still didn't answer.
Emperor Jinghui was taken aback, then his expression changed. He rushed to her and helped her up.
She collapsed into his arms, her eyes closed, her lips chapped and pale; she had lost consciousness.
"Help! Help!" he shouted in alarm, his finger trembling as he reached under her nose—
Thankfully, there was still a faint breath.
Seeing that no one answered, he was furious and horrified. He scooped her up in his arms, kicked open the door, and shouted, "Zheng Rui—!"
"This old servant is here!" Eunuch Zheng rushed in from outside the hanging flower gate in a panic, and almost tripped and fell flat on his face because he was running so fast.
"Find a doctor! Immediately! Right now!"
When Eunuch Zheng got up from the ground and looked up, he immediately gasped in shock.
The one being held in the emperor's arms, limp and unconscious, could only be the Lady of Wu'an Marquis!
Ever since he discovered that the woman corresponding with His Majesty was actually the Lady of the Marquis of Wu'an, he deeply regretted his earlier loose tongue and hoped that His Majesty would extricate himself in time to avoid jeopardizing state affairs. However, His Majesty insisted on seeing the Lady of the Marquis of Wu'an, so he had no choice but to comply. As a result, not long after bringing her inside, he heard a fierce argument erupting from within.
At first, he thought that the Lady of Wu'an was strong-willed and unwilling to submit to His Majesty. However, after eavesdropping for a while, although he could not hear the specifics, he still heard something about "killing" and "rebellion" when the voice was loud. He was so frightened that he almost fainted. He then dared not listen anymore, ran outside, and ordered all the guards around him to cover their ears. He covered his own ears as well.
If he hadn't suddenly and vaguely heard His Majesty's angry shout, he could have continued standing outside for much longer.
Although it is unknown why the Lady of Wu'an Marquis suddenly fainted, it is probably related to His Majesty.
While his heart pounded with anxiety, Eunuch Zheng shouted at the guards outside, "What are you all standing there for?! Go find a doctor! The nearest one and the fastest! Tie him up and bring him here!"
Alas, we didn't bring the imperial physician, and we don't know the skill level of the folk doctors. If they can't cure Lady Wu'an, judging from His Majesty's condition, he might really kill her.
...
Lou Xueying woke up.
She opened her eyes and saw an unfamiliar bed ceiling. In the blink of an eye, she was still in the room where she had been before she lost consciousness, with a lingering ghost beside her.
She closed her eyes again, exhausted.
"The doctor said you are fine, just a little weak. You must have been hungry for a long time and then got emotional, which caused you to faint." Emperor Jinghui sat by the bed and said softly, "I tried to feed you some honey water, but you couldn't swallow it. Now that you are awake, drink some porridge. In any case, don't hurt yourself."
Lou Xueying remained silent.
Emperor Jinghui then said, "After you finish your porridge, I will have someone send you back to your residence."
She opened her eyes and looked at him.
He held a bowl of congee in his hand, which was still slightly steaming, and on the table next to him was a bowl of light yellow honey water, which had already gone cold.
She propped herself up on the bed, trying to sit up. Emperor Jinghui quickly reached out to help her, but she dodged him and sat up on her own.
Emperor Jinghui pursed his lips and handed the bowl of porridge to her.
She ignored him and insisted on getting out of bed and going outside.
Emperor Jinghui stopped her, saying, "Eat something before you go."
She raised her hand and knocked the bowl out of his hand.
The fine, white porridge spilled all over him, soaking his clothes, but he wasn't angry. He simply said, "I'll have someone bring me another bowl."
Lou Xueying said coldly, "The Marquis's mansion is not so poor that we have to beg for food."
Emperor Jinghui: "But you didn't take good care of yourself while you were in the Marquis's residence."
"How I am in the Marquis's mansion is my business, it has nothing to do with you," she said. "If I don't drink, will you not let me leave?"
She glanced at the sky outside; it was overcast and seemed as if the sun had already set.
Lou Xueying: "If I don't return soon, Old Madam Li will definitely send people to look for me. The dignified Lady of Wu'an Marquis has disappeared without a trace. Do you think any official in the capital can sit still? Or are you planning to personally give orders to prevent them from investigating?"
Emperor Jinghui remained silent for a long time before saying, "Drink the porridge, and I will bring Li Pan back."
Lou Xueying looked at him and suddenly smiled.
She said, “You know what? You are exactly like your son. When I was sick, I refused to take my medicine, so he forced me to take it, saying that if I didn’t, he would find a reason to punish the Lou family and exile them.”
She drank it anyway, but she still knew nothing about the Lou family.
Emperor Jinghui remained silent once again.
Lou Xueying: "I've changed my mind. I don't want Li Pan to go back to the capital. Anyway, there will still be fighting at the end of the year, and it's not good for him to keep going back and forth. I'll go to the Northwest with him myself, and from now on, we'll go our separate ways."
Emperor Jinghui took a deep breath, his hands slowly clenching on his knees, veins bulging, and said, "Must you be so heartless to me, Su Jun? Even if I don't interfere in your life, you won't let me even look at you? What kind of place is the Northwest? How can you endure such hardship?"
Lou Xueying: "Having taken so many kinds of medicine, what is this little bit of bitterness?"
She got out of bed, found a mirror in the room, and slowly tidied her disheveled clothes and hair.
After tidying up, she got up and headed outside.
She hadn't eaten much yesterday or today, so she was indeed quite weak. If she stood up after sitting for a while, her vision would briefly go black.
She leaned on the table and stood there for a while to catch her breath. When her vision cleared, she saw Emperor Jinghui standing in front of her, holding the zither.
“If you don’t want porridge, then forget it,” he said softly. “But please accept this zither. It was made just for you. If you don’t want it, it will have no owner. Such a fine zither shouldn’t be left to gather dust. You shouldn’t sacrifice your own preferences just to avoid me. Don’t make things difficult for an inanimate object.”
Lou Xueying looked down at the zither for a moment, then asked, "If I accept it, can you really let me go?"
Emperor Jinghui said, "The carriage is right outside."
Lou Xueying eventually accepted the zither quietly.
Emperor Jinghui's tense expression relaxed, and a smile finally appeared on his lips. As he opened the door for her, he said, "The zither is too heavy. I'll have someone carry it for you."
Lou Xueying shook her head, picked up her zither, and slowly walked out of the room.
When I went outside, I realized that the sky looked gloomy, not only because it was late, but also because it was drizzling.
A light drizzle, like smoke and mist, like silk threads, drifted between heaven and earth, weaving a vast net that enveloped everyone. The grass and trees in the courtyard drooped, glistening with dew, and the buildings outside seemed shrouded in a gray haze, devoid of any vibrant color.
Eunuch Zheng bowed and offered to hold an umbrella for Emperor Jinghui, but Emperor Jinghui said, "Don't worry about me. She's frail. Give it to her."
Lou Xueying paused, then chuckled softly, “Your Majesty is so frugal; with so many people, you can only afford one umbrella.”
Eunuch Zheng: "..."
Eunuch Zheng was terrified; fine beads of water formed on his forehead, whether from rain or sweat, he couldn't tell.
While he held the umbrella over Lou Xueying, he couldn't help but steal glances at her and the emperor walking beside her, covered in porridge soup.
...His Majesty truly dotes on Lady Wu'an. Even after all that treatment she received, he still tolerates it so much. After all, they've only exchanged a dozen or so letters; how could he suddenly be so in love? If the ladies of the harem knew, they'd probably be so jealous they couldn't eat.
As for Lady Wu'an, she was indeed fierce, but at least she knew her limits and didn't escalate the conflict too much with His Majesty. If she had truly angered His Majesty, it wouldn't have been good for either her or the Marquis's household.
Fortunately, only their close circle of confidants knew about what happened today, and they would never tell anyone, even if it meant death. As for the unfortunate doctor who was kidnapped, his eyes were covered, and he had no idea who he was treating from beginning to end, so naturally he had no idea what a shocking secret he had missed.
Lou Xueying finally boarded the carriage to return to the mansion.
When Eunuch Zheng saw her sitting gracefully inside the carriage, holding her zither, he breathed a sigh of relief, stepped forward to lower the curtain for her, and said with a smile, "Please take care, Madam."
He stepped aside, made a gesture, and the coachman started the carriage and drove off.
Emperor Jinghui stood at the door, watching the carriage disappear into the distance. He swallowed hard, his gaze filled with complex sorrow.
Eunuch Zheng quickly held up an umbrella for him and said, "Your Majesty, it's getting late, shouldn't we head back..."
Before he could finish speaking, a loud crash was heard from ahead. Eunuch Zheng looked up in astonishment and found that the zither, which had just been held in the arms of the Marquis of Wu'an, had been thrown out of the carriage and was now lying on the wet bluestone ground, broken in two.
Emperor Jinghui's pupils suddenly contracted, and Eunuch Zheng was so frightened that he shut his mouth.
The carriage also came to a sudden stop.
The driver turned around in shock and looked at the woman behind him who had lifted the curtain and was breathing slightly.
"What?" Lou Xueying sneered, "Do you want to turn around and send me back?"
The driver, at a loss, looked back over the carriage.
In the long alley, only the figures of a master and his servant could be seen under the umbrella.
The two people stood there, deathly silent, neither of them moving.
Lou Xueying said, "Since your master hasn't spoken, he has no objections. Let's go."
The coachman hesitated and waited for a while. When no one came to deliver the message, he tentatively picked up the reins, urged the carriage on, and continued on his way.
Lou Xueying lowered the carriage curtain.
The carriage turned out of the alley and disappeared completely from Emperor Jinghui's sight.
Eunuch Zheng lowered his head and dared not utter a sound.
After a long while, Emperor Jinghui turned around and said, "Let's go back to the palace."
Eunuch Zheng looked worried: "That, that zither..."
"It's a fine zither, it's such a waste to waste it." Emperor Jinghui sighed, his eyes gradually becoming deep and dark. He said softly, "Find someone to write witchcraft runes on the broken part, then repair it until there is no trace of it. Have someone present it to the Crown Prince and tell him that if he presents this zither to his father, he will surely win his father's favor."
Eunuch Zheng stared in shock.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com