Chapter 84 A newborn sets out alone into the vastness; narrow love should not linger...
"Your Majesty!!" The generals and guards beside him were terrified. Seven or eight of them rushed forward, grabbed his arms tightly, and blocked his way.
"Let go!" Jiang Xu's eyes were bloodshot, and veins bulged on his forehead. He struggled fiercely with terrifying strength, almost throwing off the soldiers who were trying to stop him.
Fear and panic raged within him, burning his very being. "Find...find the person." As he finished speaking, the metallic taste of blood in his throat intensified. "I want to see them alive or dead...I want to see their body."
Jiang Xu swayed abruptly. A guard beside him, seeing this, swiftly caught him, his voice almost pleading, "Your Majesty, please take care of yourself! We've been planning this for so long, and it's about to..."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
At this moment, the surrounding sounds were even quieter, almost nonexistent, and the man's originally somewhat scarlet and frightening eyes suddenly lost focus, leaving him with only a huge, empty shock and astonishment.
After a moment, he raised his hand to wipe the blood from his lips.
Shi Wan is dead.
Shi Wan... just like that, she died?
The flames before my eyes were menacing, billowing and surging upwards. Water and fire collided in the air, mixed with the stench of blood. Getting too close felt like being burned alive.
In an instant, a wave of regret washed over him, and for a moment, Jiang Xu didn't even know what to do.
He still had so much to say, so many questions to ask, and so many things to do.
"The lives and fortunes of our soldiers are in your hands! The nation and its people cannot be left without men!"
Life and fortune, the nation and its people.
Each word gradually pinned Jiang Xu to the spot. In the past, these things that he valued most, things that he had used to scheme and maneuver with Shi Wan, now felt like shackles, dragging him down.
Was Shi Wan also in such unbearable pain when she was shackled?
His thoughts were in disarray, and even his steps became heavy. A burning flame flickered wildly in his eyes, greedily devouring everything before him. In his chest, the old wound began to throb violently after he had coughed up blood.
In an instant, his vision blurred—the scorching flames, the thick black smoke, even the panicked and anxious faces of his subordinates…
Jiang Xu suddenly realized something, trying to regain his senses, staring intently at the firelight in front of him, almost weeping blood, "Use medicine... to wake me up."
As soon as he finished speaking, all his strength was instantly drained away, and he could no longer hold on, falling backward.
......
*
When the medicine forcibly roused Jiang Xu, the sky was already dimly lit, and the cold wind was still blowing. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the worried expressions of Xiao Chijie and his subordinates.
"...How is the fire?" Jiang Xu's eyelids were heavy, and he felt a sharp pain in his chest, but his mind was extremely clear due to the effects of the medicine. However, being too clear-headed made him feel the excruciating pain even more.
"Your Majesty, the fire has been brought under basic control." This time, Xiao Chijie went on the expedition with Jiang Xu, leaving Jing Yan to guard the border.
He had just returned from Luoyang when he heard the devastating news, and he was more panicked than anyone else.
But seeing Jiang Xu's gloomy expression, Xiao Chijie had no choice but to swallow the words of comfort he was about to say, "The army doctors have prepared medicine, Your Majesty, why don't you drink it before... going to see a doctor?"
Behind him, everyone expected to witness their king's fury or impulsiveness, but to their surprise, Jiang Xu merely glanced at him before drinking the medicine in the bowl on the side table in one gulp.
As soon as he finished drinking, he suddenly stood up and headed towards the house outside. This time, no one had any excuse to stop him, and they could only follow him, stepping into the still slightly warm scorched earth.
It was the third quarter of the Yin hour. Winter days are early, and a few rays of morning light mingled with the gray sky. The rain was pattering, and after about half an hour, it was starting to get heavier.
The once exquisitely decorated house was now a mess, with charred wood and broken bricks piled up like mountains. Raindrops fell, filling the air with a nauseating stench of burning.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Xu's pupils contracted slightly. As if possessed, he ran to the highest pile of coke ruins and began rummaging through them, completely disoriented, digging mechanically again and again.
Rainwater slid down the man's robes as he knelt on the still-scorching rubble. Soon, his fingers were torn open, blood mixed with black ash, bringing excruciating pain.
However, Jiang Xu was completely unaware, his eyes filled with a stubborn look mixed with a hint of confusion, as if he were searching for something.
Behind them, no one dared to step forward to dissuade them, so they followed suit and continued searching.
The chain around Shi Wan's ankle was specially made; it could only be removed and would never disappear after being burned. Thinking of this, Jiang Xu dug even faster.
Lifting the shattered bricks, the soft flesh under my fingernails ached painfully. My body, not yet fully recovered, seemed weary at this moment, silently screaming.
But besides that, what's quietly creeping into my heart right now is fear.
A deep... fear.
He was terrified that he would find the shackles he had put on himself, and he was also afraid that he might not find them, or... what else he could not bear.
A moment later, a rumble of thunder sounded, and large raindrops began to fall without warning, quickly forming a curtain of rain that slanted down.
The rain poured down, carrying with it the biting cold wind of winter, instantly staining Jiang Xu's robes a deeper color. The rainwater gathered into muddy streams, washing away the dust floating in the ruins and gullies. The speed was so fast that it seemed that in an instant, it would also take away the last trace of Shi Wan.
The sky was filled with dense raindrops, which pounded on the ruins, bricks, and beams. The heavy, short thuds sounded like the knocking on a coffin, silently telling the story of her death.
After a thorough search, dawn broke, but the group dared not stop, continuing to dig and pray for any clues they might find. A short while later, Jiang Xu heard a voice behind him, a voice that sounded both surprised and fearful, calling out, "Your Majesty! There's...something found here!"
Jiang Xu moved almost immediately upon hearing the command. His exhausted body suddenly burst forth with strength, driving him toward that place. His mind was blank. After a moment, what he saw was a charred corpse, burned beyond recognition.
The familiar figure, with a pair of shackles around his ankles—shackles he had personally put on him—suddenly appeared, leaving Jiang Xu momentarily blank in his mind.
Beside him, a more straightforward soldier spoke up: "Your Majesty, now that the lady's body has been found, we must quickly find a coffin and place her properly, lest the rain..." However, before he could finish speaking, he suddenly stopped when he saw Jiang Xu's gaze.
His gaze was as cold as a knife, full of ruthless ferocity that frightened the soldier so much that he subconsciously took a step back, then suddenly knelt down without uttering a word.
Jiang Xu turned his head and stared at the unrecognizable corpse for a long time. His back was slightly drooping, and his eyes, which had been filled with frantic searching and constant movement, were now just empty and gray.
His voice was mumbled, drowned out by the clamor of the rain; his few words were barely audible.
On both sides of her face, it was impossible to tell whether it was rain or tears, but they silently slid down and disappeared into the ground.
*
At this moment, Shi Wan had been rescued by Qiao Zuyi with great difficulty. Fortunately, with the help of the former subordinates of Consort Yue, a small path was carved out. The two of them walked forward and finally saw Cai Yue and the others who were there to meet them in the distance.
Hua Lan stood two steps behind Cai Yue. When she saw Shi Wan and Qiao Zuyi, she quickly took out the bundle on her back and rummaged through it. After a while, she found a thing that looked like a medicine bottle and handed over two light green pills. "Miss, these pills can calm the mind and temporarily relieve the symptoms."
Knowing that she was worried about her safety, and considering her own frail health, Shi Wan did not try to be brave. She took the pills and swallowed them with the water pouch.
Immediately, Shi Wan seemed to remember something and hurriedly hid behind Cai Yue, turning her back to look out. She took out the silver notes that she had hidden in her clothes long ago. The oil paper was from a time when she deliberately wanted to eat pastries and left them behind after she finished eating. Fortunately, Jiang Xu was always generous in terms of food, clothing and daily necessities, so she took out a full five hundred taels of silver notes.
Noticing the sudden, fixed gaze beside her, Shi Wan took out three hundred taels and handed them to Hua Lan, saying, "Thank you." She then handed two hundred taels to Cai Yue, and when Cai Yue declined, she shoved them into her hand without a word.
"The three hundred taels are to thank Hua Lan for taking the risk of sailing here to meet and wait for you, but what I'm giving you is what I originally intended to give to Tang Yun."
If Jiang Xu hadn't intercepted her that night, Shi Wan had planned to find an opportunity to stay in that "secret place," write a note, and avoid attracting attention.
Unfortunately, although she and Tang Yun spent many time together and developed some tacit understanding, they were ultimately not destined to be together.
As her thoughts returned to their source, she heard Hua Lan say, "Miss, the boatman is my husband's sworn brother. He is an upright man and an excellent swimmer. He will surely get you safely to your destination."
Even now, after leaving the Prince of Jingbei's side, she still habitually calls Shiwan by her old name. After speaking, she handed over the clothes she had prepared earlier.
Qiao Zuyi closed her eyes to rest and recover her strength on the boat, while Caiyue naturally took on the important task of helping her change her clothes. Hualan stood aside and smiled, "Thank you for sparing my life that day, Miss."
"Today, I will also do my part, however small."
"Bon Voyage."
The charred clothes were all removed, and in the blink of an eye, she changed into an ordinary light gray cloth jacket. Shi Wan boarded the cabin and looked back. On the shore, she saw her old friend waving goodbye with a smile in his eyes.
Memories surfaced one by one, then gradually faded away, and the burning scars on my ankle seemed insignificant at this moment.
As soon as I turned around, a wide-open space opened up before me.
Thousands of mountains and valleys all converge on both sides.
Alone, I venture into the vast expanse.
Narrow-minded love should not find its harbor.
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