Qiu Di
The decisive Qiu Di hunt finally arrived.
Inside the carriage, Yan Shu tightly gripped the half of the jade pendant in her hand. Ling Yuan sensed her tension and comforted her, "Don't worry, Shu'er, everything will be alright."
"Um"
The carriage stopped at the entrance of the hunting grounds. Yan Shu followed Ling Yuan toward the center of the hunting grounds. The further she went in, the more she felt that the scene resembled the one in her dream, and the more uneasy she felt.
Lingyuan held her hand and said to her, "Shu'er, after the Autumn Di is over, I will ask my brother for a fiefdom so that we can be far away from the capital."
Yan Shu said, "Okay."
She couldn't see Ling Ying and Qing Feng at this moment; they should have returned by now.
According to the plan, they should have returned before Qiu Di.
At this moment, Yan Shu saw that the Emperor was being pushed out by the Empress, with Consort Lin following behind. The Emperor seemed to want to say something, but he couldn't make a sound. One of his hands was weakly resting on the armrest, and he didn't even have the strength to lift it.
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Everyone knelt down to pay their respects.
Yan Shu knelt down with the others, but couldn't help but lower her voice and ask Ling Yuan beside her, "Your Highness, when did His Majesty... when did His Majesty become so ill?"
Ling Yuan was also surprised. "A few days ago, when I went to the palace to pay my respects, my brother was still able to speak and hold a pen... How could this be..." He paused. "Because the Qiu Di are approaching, I have been busy with the Ministry of War affairs these past few days, checking the bows and arrows used in the hunting grounds, and I have not seen my brother."
Even he didn't know the Emperor's condition was so serious! It seems someone deliberately concealed it.
The sound of sacrificial horns interrupted her thoughts.
The pre-hunt sacrificial rites began. First, prayers were offered to the ancestors for blessings, then the hunt began, and finally, the hunted animals were offered as sacrifices to the ancestors, praying for national peace and prosperity. Because Lingyuan and Xuangui were both members of the royal family, they led the sacrificial rites in the middle of the hunting grounds. Yan Shu, however, had no interest in watching. Just as the ceremony was about to end…
"Report—!"
Three ordinary soldiers quickly walked through the crowd and came to the emperor's carriage, where they knelt down with a thud.
The leader held a wooden box aloft with both hands.
"Your Majesty! Lin Kong, the commander-in-chief of the Northern Army, attempted to rebel! He has been executed on the spot, and Lin Kong, his core followers, and relatives have all been killed!"
The voice wasn't loud, but it had a penetrating power.
Yan Shu was completely bewildered. What was going on?
How could this be...? Is history truly unchangeable? Didn't Ling Ying and Qing Feng go? Why is this the result?!
"Nonsense!" Xuan Gui exclaimed. "My maternal clan has guarded the northern border for generations, and the whole family is loyal and valiant. How could they possibly rebel?! Father! This is a frame-up! I beg you, Father, to investigate thoroughly!"
Ling Yuan reacted even faster than Xuan Gui. He drew his sword from his waist with a "whoosh," pointing the tip directly at the three soldiers: "Your Majesty! There is absolutely no possibility of the Northern Army rebelling! These three men are suspicious, and what they say must be a frame-up! I beg Your Majesty to issue an order for a thorough investigation!"
"Your Majesty, please investigate this matter thoroughly!"
"General Lin is utterly loyal and has no ulterior motives!"
In the arena, many generals from the Northern Army lineage stepped forward, knelt on the ground, and echoed the sentiments with great emotion. They were all former subordinates of Lin Kong and knew the old general's character well.
At this moment, the emperor could only open his mouth wide, but no sound came out.
The leading soldier lifted the lid of the wooden box—
"Grandfather—!"
"Father!" Standing beside the imperial carriage, Consort Lin looked at her father's head and fainted.
The soldier then pulled out a letter from his robes and held it high: "This is a confession written by the traitor Lin Kong! It details Prince He Chen Xuan Gui's rebellious intentions."
The soldier continued, "We can have the former Northern Army troops in the capital identify whether it is Lin Kong's handwriting, and then we'll know if it's genuine or not."
At this moment, Ling Yuan's blood had frozen. Looking at his uncle's severed head and the handwritten letter, he knew someone had deliberately framed him. But how could he explain it now? All the evidence pointed to his maternal clan's rebellion.
"Your Highnesses!" Several generals from the Northern Border Army drew their swords and surrounded Xuan Gui and Ling Yuan, their swords pointing outwards. "We firmly believe in General Lin's innocence! Today's events are clearly a setup! We are willing to follow Your Highnesses to the death!"
Crown Prince Xuan Shuo abruptly stood up. "Insolence! The Emperor is still alive, yet you utter such outrageous words! What is this if not treason?! Now that the Emperor is gravely ill, I, as the Crown Prince, have the power to oversee the country! If you dare to rebel, are you not afraid of having your entire family executed?!"
"Xuan Shuo!" Ling Yuan pointed his sword at the Crown Prince. "Your Majesty is still sitting here! I haven't yet issued an edict appointing you as regent! Seeing how anxious you are, I suspect this fabricated charge is something you've framed."
Before he finished speaking, Ling Yuan swung his sword and killed the three soldiers.
"I have a token..." Before he could finish speaking, Ling Yuan heard him.
"Ling Yuan! Watch out!"
"puff"
He heard the sound of a sharp blade piercing through a gun. He turned around and saw that Yan Shu had already fallen, struck by an arrow.
It turned out that Yan Shu had been watching all along. Suddenly, she noticed an arrow already fully drawn, aimed directly at Ling Yuan. Without thinking, she rushed out, and at the moment she was struck by the arrow, she saw it clearly...
It turned out that the person being carried was Ling Yuan, and the woman in palace attire was herself.
At that moment, she also heard Ling Yuan's words from the modern world: "That arrow that should have been shot at me... They... they wanted to kill me! But it hit... hit her instead..." She remembered it all.
At that moment, she desperately wanted to tell Ling Yuan that the arrow wasn't aimed at him, but rather that it was meant to kill her. She saw an unprecedented fear on Ling Yuan's face as he ran towards her, but she felt so cold, and her vision blurred until it was pitch black.
"Shu'er!!!!"
"Royal Aunt!!"
He threw aside his blood-stained sword and pounced on Yan Shu like a madman. His legs were so weak that he could barely stand, and he practically tumbled and crawled to her side.
He trembled as he carefully picked up the body that was slowly growing cold.
"Shu'er... Shu'er, look at me... Shu'er..." He pressed her cold cheek against his own, tears streaming uncontrollably down his face, dripping onto her cheek. Overwhelmed by immense grief, he was in so much pain that he could hardly breathe.
"puff--!"
Another arrow.
"Royal Uncle"
The arrow pierced Ling Yuan's left shoulder!
"Shu..."
Overwhelmed by grief and physical trauma, everything went black before his eyes. He could no longer hold on and collapsed. In his dazed state, he still wanted to hold Yan Shu's hand…
"Royal Uncle!"
"Your Highness!"
Amidst the chaos, Crown Prince Xuan Shuo spoke directly:
"Guards! Seize Prince Chen, Xuan Gui, and Consort Lin!"
When Lingyuan opened her eyes, she saw the familiar bed curtains; Lingxiao Pavilion was quiet.
"Shu'er!"
He sat up abruptly, a sharp pain shooting through his shoulder; blood was seeping through the gauze. But he ignored it, throwing back the covers to get out of bed.
"Your Highness!" Chun Tao, who was guarding outside the door, rushed in upon hearing the commotion. "Your injuries haven't healed yet, you can't move around..."
"Where is the Princess?" Ling Yuan grabbed her wrist with frightening force. "Where is Shu'er?"
Chuntao burst into tears.
Ling Yuan suddenly remembered that Yan Shu had collapsed in front of him. When he went to hug her, she was already ice-cold and hadn't left him a single word.
Just then, a bell suddenly rang out from outside.
One sound, two sounds, three sounds...
The funeral bell rang a full twenty-seven times.
Chun Tao knelt down with a "plop," tears streaming down her face.
"Prince Duan, receive the imperial decree—"
Ling Yuan stood still, gazing out the window.
The eunuch unfolded the imperial edict:
"Having just ascended the throne, and considering that Prince Duan was unaware of the crimes committed by his maternal clan and in light of his military achievements, I hereby grant him his title of prince, his residence's expenses, and his servants. However, since he is still implicated by his maternal clan, he is forbidden from stepping out of his residence without an imperial edict. So be it—"
After reading it aloud, the eunuch handed the imperial edict forward: "Prince Duan, please accept the edict."
"Get out, everyone." Ling Yuan turned his back.
Chuntao and the eunuch exchanged a glance, then silently withdrew and gently closed the door behind them.
Lingyuan was the only one left in the room.
He slowly walked to the window and looked at the bare crabapple tree in the yard. That year, Yan Shu stood under the tree, tiptoeing to pick the flowers, her eyes crinkling with laughter. Back then, she picked the most beautiful crabapple branch, put it in a white porcelain vase, and admired it on the windowsill for many days.
But now, the flowers have withered, and the person is gone.
He didn't care about the title of prince, the expenses of the royal palace, or the confinement order... he didn't care about any of it.
His Shu'er is gone.
The vermilion gates of the Prince Duan's mansion slowly closed, the sound of the lock clicking heavy and clear.
On the very first day of the new emperor's ascension to the throne, he made Prince Duan the most honored prisoner in this bustling capital.
He knew that from the moment he lost her, this palace and this imperial city meant nothing to him.
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