Chapter 168 Yuwen Hao falls into the lake
Su Luoxue raised her hand and gently wiped away the remaining tear stains on Yuwen Che's face with her sleeve, her movements tender. Then she called out, "Fuling, Li Dehai."
The two entered in response.
"Clean up the outer room," Su Luoxue instructed, her tone now calm.
"Yes." Li Dehai immediately led the palace servants to quietly tidy up the messy outer hall.
Su Luoxue then took Yuwen Che's hand and led him back to the inner hall. Fuling followed in carrying a copper basin full of warm water, her handkerchief dampened, and was about to hand it to Su Luoxue.
"Give it to me." Yuwen Che reached out and took the warm handkerchief, then said to Fuling, "There's no need to serve me here."
"Yes." Fuling bowed and withdrew.
Yuwen Che gently wiped away the tears that were still wet on Su Luoxue's face with a handkerchief, his eyes filled with guilt and tenderness: "It was my fault today... I lost control for a moment and frightened you."
Su Luoxue tiptoed and gently kissed his cheek, her eyes still glistening with tears, but filled with a tender smile: "Ache, I love you."
Yuwen Che felt a warmth in his heart. He carefully wiped away the tears on her face, his fingertips brushing against the corners of her slightly red eyes. His tone was full of affection: "It is my fault that my Xue'er has been crying for so long."
Inside the inner palace, the storm outside seemed to have vanished, leaving only the tender whispers of the two of them leaning on each other.
Yuwen Che stood behind Su Luoxue, holding a jade comb in his hand, gently combing her slightly messy long hair. The bronze mirror reflected the two figures leaning on each other.
A series of hurried footsteps and suppressed sobs came from outside the hall. A palace maid ran to Li Dehai in a panic, trembling like a leaf in the wind, sobbing uncontrollably: "Chief Eunuch Li... something terrible has happened! Prince An... Prince An, he..." She pointed with trembling hands towards the Imperial Garden, "... drowned... drowned in the lake in the Imperial Garden!"
Li Dehai was struck dumb, grabbing the palace maid's arm abruptly, his voice trembling: "What did you say?! Say it again?! Did you see that clearly?!"
The palace maid nodded vigorously, sobbing, her words tumbling out incoherently: "It was...it was Prince An...this servant...this servant wouldn't dare to lie..."
Li Dehai's face turned deathly pale. He no longer cared about etiquette, pushed open the palace door, and practically tumbled and crawled inside, his voice filled with unprecedented panic: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!"
Inside the inner hall, Yuwen Che frowned unhappily as he looked at Li Dehai, who had rushed in in a disheveled state, and was about to reprimand him.
Li Dehai knelt heavily on the ground with a thud, his head touching the earth. His voice trembled as he reported, "Your Majesty... just now... a palace maid came to report... Prince An... His Highness Prince An... drowned in the lake in the Imperial Garden!"
With a "clatter," the jade comb in Yuwen Che's hand fell onto the dressing table, making a crisp sound.
He whirled around, staring at Li Dehai in disbelief, his eyes instantly turning terrifying: "What did you say?!"
Su Luoxue stood up abruptly, her face instantly turning deathly pale, her voice trembling sharply: "What did you say? Hao'er... Hao'er, he..."
Her vision went black, her body swayed, and she could barely stand. Tears instantly welled up in her eyes.
Yuwen Che immediately reached out and firmly supported her swaying body, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and asked Li Dehai sternly, "Where are the Crown Prince and the Princess? Are they alright?"
Li Dehai hurriedly reported, "Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the Princess are still in Fengyi Palace, being cared for by their wet nurses and are safe and sound."
Su Luoxue seemed completely deaf to everything. She abruptly shook off Yuwen Che's hand, lifted her skirt, and rushed towards the Imperial Garden, crying hysterically, her voice broken and fragmented.
"Impossible! I don't believe it! Yesterday... he was perfectly fine yesterday... he even said he wanted to learn swordsmanship from you... how could this be... Hao'er—!"
Su Luoxue rushed towards the Imperial Garden, tears streaming down her face. Yuwen Che followed closely behind, holding her hand tightly, and the two ran wildly towards the lake. Fuling, Li Dehai, and a group of palace servants followed in a panic.
Upon arriving at the lakeside of the Imperial Garden, they found Yuwen Hao's small body lying quietly on the grass, soaked to the bone, his face pale and lifeless. The palace maids and eunuchs around him knelt on the ground, trembling. The imperial physician stood to the side, shaking his head heavily.
"Hao'er—!" Su Luoxue let out a shrill cry, abruptly shaking off Yuwen Che's hand and rushing to Yuwen Hao's side. Trembling, she reached out and tightly hugged Yuwen Hao's cold, stiff little body, tears streaming down her face like a burst dam.
"Hao'er... Hao'er, open your eyes and look at your mother... How could this happen... How could this happen!" She cried her heart out, almost unable to breathe.
Yuwen Che squatted down and looked at his eldest son's lifeless, tender face.
Thinking of his obedient behavior yesterday, and the longing look in his eyes as he yearned to learn swordsmanship, my heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, and a suffocating pain spread through me.
As if suddenly remembering something, Su Luoxue hurriedly laid Yuwen Haoping flat on the ground, clasped her hands together, and pressed down on his cold chest with all her might, crying out as she did so:
"Hao'er! Wake up! Look at your mother! Didn't your mother promise you that she would love you like her own son? ... Your mother hasn't even had a chance to properly cherish you yet... How could you... How could you just leave like this! Hao'er—!"
Her cries echoed in the silent Imperial Garden, filled with despair and irreparable grief.
Yuwen Che closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again, his eyes filled with only icy killing intent. He stood up, his gaze sweeping over the kneeling palace servants, his voice like that of the coldest abyss:
"Speak! What exactly happened?! Why did Prince An fall into the lake?!"
Su Luoxue seemed oblivious to the sounds around her, mechanically pressing on Yuwen Hao's cold, thin chest again and again, tears falling like broken beads onto the child's pale face.
"Hao'er... open your eyes and look at your mother... look at me..."
Her voice was hoarse from crying, filled with a heartbreaking plea, "Mother promises you... From now on... From now on, Mother will be your own mother, okay? Mother will love you as much as she loves Cheng'an and Ning'er... Wake up, give Mother a chance, okay?"
A young eunuch responsible for cleaning the Fengyi Palace knelt forward, his voice trembling as he reported, "Your Majesty...this morning, Prince An said he wanted to go for a walk alone...we thought His Highness was just nearby...but...but after a long time, His Highness didn't return, so we hurried out to look for him...and then...and then we found His Highness by this lake...he...he's already..."
Su Luoxue suddenly raised her head, her tear-streaked face filled with despair on the verge of collapse. She cried out to the imperial physician and the palace servants around her, "Think of something! You must think of something! Save him! Save my Hao'er! He can't die... he can't die!"
The imperial physician knelt on the ground, his head bowed low, his voice filled with helplessness and fear: "Your Majesty... please accept my condolences... His Highness... His Highness has been lifeless for some time now, his pulse... has stopped... Your Majesty... Your Majesty, we are powerless to save him..."
"No—!" Su Luoxue let out a shrill cry, collapsing beside Yuwen Hao's cold little body, and wept bitterly.
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