kicking someone when they're down
Chu Yuanyi sneered, wanting to say a few more sarcastic remarks, when he heard Su Jinlan plead in a mournful voice, "Young Master Xie, if Miss hadn't entered the palace to become Empress, and had only married an ordinary man of equal social standing, this child would surely call you Uncle Xie."
Hearing the sounds, it seemed as if she crawled forward on her knees, grabbing the other person's clothes and pleading: "Please, for the sake of our two families' long-standing friendship, and for the sake of your childhood bond with the young lady, give this child a way out!"
Faced with Su Jinlan, the maid of an old friend, Young Master Xie could not remain silent. He calmly replied, "I am merely a minor Left General, acting on orders. Such a momentous matter as the succession to the throne is not something I can interfere with."
In fact, such things have happened in the palace before; there have always been instances of substitutions and other similar practices. If this young master Xie were willing to be accommodating and find another child to take the place of this one, secretly sending him out of the palace, although it would still be against the natural order, it was something that the concubines in the palace often did to protect themselves.
However, Young Master Xie flatly refused, indicating that he had no intention of taking any responsibility for Empress Shangguan.
Ah Qiu was very clear about his stance on this matter: he would never side with the Shangguan family, even though he and Empress Shangguan had been friends since childhood.
Suddenly, a dull thud was heard, as if something had struck someone heavily. Then, Chu Yuanyi's heavy breathing resumed, and he shouted, "Su Shi, open the door and take the child away!"
A Qiu was unaware of what had happened outside the door, and the circumstances under which Chu Yuanyi made this decision—preferring to let the enemy Su Jinlan take the child rather than let it fall into the emperor's hands—when suddenly the door to the secret room was pushed open with all its might.
The torchlight outside the door shone into her eyes, and she saw Su Jinlan with a resolute expression, head held high, lifting her skirt as she stepped over the threshold to come in.
Behind her, Chu Yuanyi, with disheveled hair, was desperately clinging to a tall man in black robes and gold armor.
The person's face was hidden in the darkness and could not be seen clearly. There was only a sense of profound loneliness and indifference about them.
He uttered three words softly: "I'm sorry."
The moment he moved, he easily broke free of the poisoned Chu Yuanyi and threw him against the wall. The next instant, Su Jinlan, who had just stepped through the door, was already in his hand, her pretty face filled with utter horror. He lightly struck her on the back of the head with a chop to the neck, and Su Jinlan immediately lost consciousness.
He was bending down toward A Qiu, while she lay on her back, unable to move. As the face of this young master Xie drew closer, her astonishment and sense of foreboding grew stronger.
This person was indeed someone she knew, but she never imagined he would be like this.
Xie Lang, the founding monarch of Dayan, the father of her senior brother Xie Tiao, the confidant and comrade-in-arms whom her master Gu Yi fully supported, and the former Left General of the Tiger Guard in the palace.
He stared intently at A-Qiu, his gaze incredibly complex. It was a mixture of tenderness and disgust, indifference and pity.
Ultimately, feelings of disgust and indifference prevailed.
His lips moved, uttering a whisper that only A-Qiu could hear: "You won't die by my hand." He looked down at his hands, his expression a mixture of sarcasm and mockery: "I value my reputation and would never use these hands to kill someone, giving others ammunition and incurring their resentment."
But A Qiu was not reassured by his words, because she felt her body leave the ground, as Xie Lang was lifting her into the air.
She heard Xie Lang whisper in her ear, "You shouldn't exist in this world. Go into the snake's belly!"
Overwhelming dizziness and darkness.
The eerie green eyes of the beast hovering above her head remained fixed on her. Its hissing sound was almost within reach.
She tried to struggle, but couldn't move; she tried to scream, but no sound came out.
This is a frozen, boundless nightmare.
She seemed to be imprisoned alone in an isolated ice coffin, with no end in sight.
Looking back, it seems like every day in this world has been like that.
As soon as it was born, it was sent to a cold, sealed room.
At this moment, they had simply been moved to another abandoned palace chamber.
I have never felt the warmth of the world.
The only person who looked her in the eye and spoke to her was that young master Xie, Xie Lang.
What he said was, "You shouldn't exist in this world."
Her mottled body, with its rough, hard scales brushing against her skin, made her even more stiff and cold with an overwhelming sense of fear.
In the biting cold and loneliness, A-Qiu suddenly realized something as if struck by lightning.
This was the source of her life, which she had forgotten in the snowy plains of Lanling Hall.
Just as Master Wanqiqing had said, there was nothing worth clinging to.
It turns out that she was born into this world to be fed the kiss of snakes.
Beneath the beast's eyes, which resembled eerie green lanterns, a gaping maw with a red tongue lunged at her, and she was utterly powerless to move.
The infant's despair and fear of death overwhelmed her completely.
A ray of light appeared.
A clear, dignified, yet gentle male voice commanded, "Zhulong, step back!"
Suddenly, the hall was illuminated as the door was pushed open, and a man with full silver hair and eyes as clear as misty rain slipped in.
The face that came into view was deep and resolute, yet it made her scream the moment she saw it.
"Gu Yi, save me!"
A-Qiu was awakened by his own scream.
The bedside lamp was dim, casting the shadow of the person sitting opposite in a shimmering, undulating light.
She looked around. The bedding covering her was neither new nor old, and many parts were torn, with old silk fibers showing through the tears. The candlelight on the table was dim and not bright.
The cloth curtain was old and yellowed, but the weave holes on it were so clear that light could see through them, making it seem like a world apart.
For some reason, she knew that this room was a side bedroom of the abandoned palace in Liyang, and it felt like a scene she had experienced in her previous life. She felt an instant connection with it.
She gradually remembered what had happened before.
She visited Lord Liyang, but was so frightened by the strange beast Zhulong in the main hall that she fainted.
Then, I had a very, very long dream.
At the end of the dream, she saw Gu Yi again.
The thought of this made her feel like she didn't want to wake up.
Gu Yi.
How long has it been since she last called that name?
Whether in the past or in the future, she will only dare to call out "Gu Yi" when she is facing him in person.
After Gu Yi passed away, whenever she mentioned him to others, she would only refer to him as "Master".
The person on the other end spoke, their voice low and still suppressed: "Who were you calling just now?"
It was the voice of Lord Liyang from just now.
A Qiu was utterly startled. She had never imagined that Lord Liyang himself would sit opposite her and speak to her.
The hand that was about to lift the curtain was immediately pulled back in fright.
She paused for a moment, then decided to answer truthfully: "I just had a nightmare. In the dream, they were calling for my master."
The deity gave a faint "hmm," without revealing any particular emotion.
After a moment, he asked, "What did you dream about?"
The words that A-Qiu was about to blurt out suddenly caught in his throat, and he could no longer utter a single word.
Warm tears fell like that. At first, they fell like raindrops, but then they became like a raging river in the rainy season, completely uncontrollable.
She didn't understand what was happening; her heart felt empty and desolate, filled only with grief.
Lord Liyang remained silent, seemingly hesitating for a moment. Then he finally stood up and walked to the bedside.
The lamplight cast his shadow onto the bed curtains, but surprisingly, for the first time in his life, A Qiu felt no wariness at the approach of a stranger.
Perhaps because the deity was not human, A-Qiu was unable to detect any human rhythm or aura in him. Therefore, A-Qiu did not feel that he would harm her.
If he wanted to harm her, he could have simply ordered the Candle Dragon to devour her directly; there would have been no need to go through all that trouble to bring her to the side hall.
The deity softened his tone and tentatively asked, "Do you miss your master?"
He asked very carefully, but A-Qiu could sense the deity's kindness and goodwill. Unfortunately, she was speechless and unable to answer.
Seeing that she did not answer, the deity said to himself, "If you really miss him, and he is not dead, then go and find him."
A-Qiu heard it clearly; there was a hint of reproach in his tone, as if he was blaming her for not going to find her master.
A-Qiu could only wipe away her tears and weakly said, "I must fulfill my master's request before I can face him."
The deity said calmly, "Have you done something to offend him that you need to show him any respect?"
A-Qiu was stumped by his question and couldn't speak for a long time. She stammered, "Well... it's nothing. I just..."
Now, thinking of Gu Yi feels like being separated by an insurmountable chasm. Is Gu Yi, after his powers have been dissipated, still the same person? Would he still want to see her? If they were to meet, what would their relationship be?
She avoids thinking about these issues in order to avoid them.
Gu Yi's final request was for her to fulfill his will and return to the court. He said nothing else. And she, of course, would not think of going against his wishes.
Even without Gu Yi, she still has to continue living in this world.
But only when she woke up from the nightmare did she realize that Gu Yi seemed to be the only stable and reliable support in her life when she looked back.
Other things, when I think about them, don't seem so happy.
The deity continued, "Or is it that you don't actually want to see him?"
He said calmly, "You walk in the imperial court, so naturally you have your ambitions and responsibilities. At this moment, Gu Yi is just a cripple, so it's normal that you don't want to spend your time on him."
A Qiu immediately retorted, "Regardless of whether I possess martial arts skills or not, my master is like a celestial being in my heart. Only he finds me a burden and useless. If I have the chance to stay by his side, even for a moment, I would be willing to exchange everything for it!"
The deity seemed to chuckle softly.
A Qiu suddenly realized something and a question arose: she had only admitted that she missed her master, but had never mentioned the name "Gu Yi". How could the Divine Lord of Liyang know that her master was Gu Yi so easily? But then she understood. It seemed that the Divine Lord had indeed lived in the palace for a long time, and it was normal for him to know Gu Yi, who was an important minister of the court.
Before she could even ask the Divine Lord why he was so familiar with Gu Yi, even knowing so clearly about his loss of power, the Divine Lord solemnly said, "In that case, I need you to make a choice."
He continued, “You have come here to seek the original forms of the Shao and Wu dances. I learned these dances from court dancers a hundred years ago and can demonstrate them to you. But you must also know that one cannot make presumptuous requests before gods and men. You must pay a price.”
A Qiu immediately knelt down on the bed and said, "I cannot thank you enough for your great kindness. Whatever the Divine Lord asks of me, as long as it is within my power, I will do it without hesitation."
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