Chu Qiao was actually awake all the time, she just didn't want to open her eyes. She knew that someone was walking around her, someone was calling her softly, someone was crying sadly, someone was feeding her medicine, and someone was watching her silently, not approaching or speaking.
She knew everything, but she didn't want to wake up. She kept sleeping in a deep sleep, her heart like a cold, dry firewood, dry and without any nutrients. She was having a dream over and over again. It was a cold dream. She was floating in a pitch-black icy lake. It was so cold all around. Ice fragments kept touching her skin. Zhuge Yue was facing her, sinking little by little. There was a faint light flickering behind him, making his face look so pale. Only his eyes were dark and bright, like stars. It was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry. He just looked at her quietly, slowly, sinking a little bit...
For the first time in her life, Chu Qiao felt so fragile and tired that she wanted to fall asleep. There was nothing left to be nostalgic about in life. The dreams that once made her crazy and persistent were shattered in an instant. She didn't want to think about it, she didn't have the energy to think about it, and she didn't even have the courage to open her eyes and face the reality. She wanted to escape, weakly thinking that if she didn't open her eyes, nothing would happen. It was not until this moment that she finally realized that she was also a woman, who could feel pain, sadness, hurt, and even despair. She refused to eat, take medicine, or drink water.
Until one day, there was suddenly a commotion outside the door, and someone was cursing her loudly. Countless resentful words flew out sharply, piercing her heart one by one. The voice was so familiar that she opened her eyes in panic and climbed down from the bed, only to see Zhu Cheng's pierced body in time.
The young butler who had no martial arts skills was covered in wounds, his clothes were torn, and his face was covered in blood. He looked like a madman. One of his arms had been cut off, but he was still trying to rush in frantically. Blood flowed onto the bluestone slabs in the yard. His eyes were red and he cursed loudly while attacking the guards next to him with his only remaining hand. The guards did not use any brutal force, they simply prevented him from approaching the house, knocked him down again and again, and then watched indifferently as he got up in a mess over and over again.
"You are a heartless, ungrateful woman!" Zhu Cheng screamed wildly. His whole body was covered with wounds and frostbite, and many parts of his body were festering. It was obvious that these injuries were caused by lurking in the snow for a long time.
Luliu hugged her, trying hard to cover her eyes with her trembling hands, but Chu Qiao stood straight, like a sharp gun, standing still, watching Zhu Cheng being knocked down repeatedly, and then getting up again and again, rushing towards her again and again.
"Stop." Chu Qiao whispered slowly, "Stop!" She suddenly shouted loudly, staggered and pushed Lvliu away and ran out. The wind outside was so cold, like a cold knife. She ran over frantically, pushed away the guards in front of her who were blocking her, and shouted loudly, "Stop!"
"I kill you!"
Zhu Cheng yelled and swung his knife clumsily. Chu Qiao stood there stupidly. At this moment, she seemed to no longer be the agile modern agent. She did not dodge or evade the oncoming knife, but watched helplessly as the sword came at her head.
However, at the moment when the blade pierced her clothes, a sharp arrow came from the sky and accurately pierced Zhu Cheng's heart. Blood spurted out from the young butler's mouth and all splashed on Chu Qiao's cheek. The man's body shook, his pupils dilated instantly, and then his knees went weak and he knelt on the ground. Chu Qiao held him tightly, and saw the man looking at her with disgust. He used up his last bit of strength to spit a mouthful of bloody phlegm on Chu Qiao's face, and cursed coldly: "Bitch!"
With a bang, Zhu Cheng fell to the ground. Dust flew up, like a winged insect, and stuck to Chu Qiao's bloody cheek. She slowly raised her head, but only saw Yan Xun's indifferent face.
Putting down the bow and arrow, Yan Xun came over with a gloomy face, looked down at her, and said in a deep voice: "I have already announced to the world that you set a trap to lure Zhuge Yue here and kill him. This man came to Yanbei with Zhuge Yue, so he came a little faster. I estimate that in a few days, Zhuge family assassins will come in batches, but I have sent a large number of people to protect you, so you don't have to worry."
Chu Qiao looked at Yan Xun, in a trance, she didn't even know the name of the man in front of her. She tried hard to open her eyes wide to see him clearly, but she felt her head aching madly. The sunlight shone on his body, so golden that she couldn't open her eyes.
The guards dragged Zhu Cheng's body away, blood flowing all the way, but his resentful eyes were still open, staring at her viciously, as if he wanted to swallow her into his stomach.
Yan Xun quickly took his men away, and the yard became quiet. The servants brought large buckets of water, poured them on the ground, and washed the blood off the ground over and over again. Chu Qiao stood there motionless. No one dared to disturb her. Lvliu approached carefully, tremblingly pulled the corner of her clothes, and called softly, "Girl? Girl?"
The wind blew on her body, so cold. Lvliu gently shook her arms, and her voice gradually became tearful.
Suddenly, a young man's angry curse was heard outside the door. A Jing strode in, yelling at the guards who tried to stop him. Seeing Chu Qiao's appearance, his nose suddenly felt sore. He didn't care that there were servants around him, he picked up Chu Qiao and walked into the house. It was so cold outside, but Chu Qiao was only wearing a single white dress. The maids rushed up to her in panic and rubbed her hands and face to keep her warm. She just sat there in a daze, letting them do whatever they wanted, as if she were already dead.
"Girl, don't be like this." Ah Jing said to her with red eyes, "Don't blame your Majesty, it's all because of that treacherous villain Cheng Yuan who slandered you. Girl, you have to be strong."
Ah Jing's voice sounded so far away, as if it came from the distant horizon. Chu Qiao turned her head slightly and looked at him in confusion. After a long time, she slowly asked in a deep voice: "Where is He Xiao?"
Chu Qiao's voice sounded so hoarse, like a broken bellows. Ah Jing was slightly stunned, as if he didn't understand what she said, and asked stupidly: "Ah? What?"
"Where's He Xiao? Where are the soldiers of the Xiu Li Army? How are they? Is there anything wrong?"
"It's okay, it's okay," Ah Jing replied quickly, "They are fine, they are in the military guard station now. They want to see you, but you are still recovering from your illness, and His Majesty does not allow outsiders to disturb you."
“Oh.” Chu Qiao nodded silently, her expression very calm, and then asked, “Are all of Zhuge Yue’s men dead?”
"All of them are dead. Their bodies have been salvaged. Most of them are still alive. Some were too deep to be salvaged, but I don't think they are alive."
“Where’s Zhuge Yue? Did he get anything?”
Ah Jing licked his lips, and seeing Chu Qiao's calm expression, he said in a deep voice, "We have fished it out. General Yue was escorting it back to Daxia, and Zhao Che came to pick it up personally. Because it was an intact body, we also exchanged it for a ransom of one million gold from the Zhuge family."
Chu Qiao still had a wooden expression, her eyes were wide open, and she just kept nodding. Ah Jing said nervously, "Girl, don't worry. No one destroyed his body. It was still in good condition when it was sent back. His Majesty even prepared a good coffin..."
"The person is dead, what's the use of a coffin?" Chu Qiao said lightly, then stood up. She hadn't eaten for six or seven days, and was only given some medicine at the beginning. She walked unsteadily and almost fell. Lvliu wanted to help her, but she pushed her away. She walked to the desk tremblingly, picked up paper and pen, as if she wanted to write.
"I'll grind the ink for you." Lvliu hurried forward.
The door of the room was still open at this moment. The wind blew in, making the books on the desk rustle. Lvliu anxiously ordered the maid, "Close the door quickly!"
When she lowered her head again, she saw that Chu Qiao had already finished writing. She folded the letter and handed it to Ah Jing, saying calmly, "Please give this letter to He Xiao and ask him to do as instructed above. He must stop the assassins of the Zhuge family from entering Yanbei."
Ah Jing took it in a daze, but saw Chu Qiao waved her hand and quickly wrote another letter, handed it to him and said: "Give this letter to Mr. Wu, and tell him that personal power is limited, but there are many ways to achieve faith. I have sown the seeds in Shangshen, and now I will give it to him."
Afterwards, Chu Qiao picked up her pen and wrote another letter.
"Give this letter to Wan Wan and tell her that I leave everything to her."
Ah Jing had a bad feeling in her heart, and the straightforward man asked stupidly, "Girl, you are not going to commit suicide, are you?"
Chu Qiao raised her eyes and looked at him, her gaze was still as clear as ever, but Ah Jing felt that something seemed different.
Yes, it is different. Even though the girl was calm and composed before, when she looked at you, you would truly feel her emotions, her joys and sorrows. And now, even when she looks at you, you can't feel her gaze. Her eyes look at you, but they also seem to penetrate you, across your body, across the house, across the courtyard wall, across the clouds and the distant moon in the sky...
"No." Chu Qiao said lightly, then turned around and said to Lvliu, "I'm hungry, bring me something to eat."
Lvliu was stunned for a moment. After a long while, she happily agreed and ran out quickly.
The food had been prepared and kept warm. Lvliu led the servants to quickly set a large table. Standing next to Chu Qiao, she said excitedly, "This was sent by His Majesty. The young lady has just recovered from a serious illness, so this is the best food for her. This is the medicinal food prescribed by Doctor Yu, which is good for the spleen and stomach. The young lady hasn't eaten for a few days, so she can't eat too much meat. This is the chicken soup I made myself, which I simmered for eleven hours. Come and have a taste..."
Lvliu's voice gradually became lower. She looked at Chu Qiao helplessly. She saw that she was holding the bowl and just mechanically scooping rice into her mouth one mouthful at a time, chewing and swallowing in big mouthfuls. She finished a bowl very quickly, then stood up, got another bowl, and sat down to continue eating.
The way she ate was scary, like a beggar who had been hungry for a long time, desperately stuffing food into her mouth. Lvliu was frightened and tried to pull her away tremblingly, but she saw Chu Qiao buried her head and ignored her. Luliu bit her lip, tears falling bit by bit. She pulled Chu Qiao's arm tightly and cried sadly, "Girl, if you feel uncomfortable, just cry. Don't hold it in. It will hurt you. If you feel uncomfortable, just cry!"
Chu Qiao said nothing, but continued to eat, chewing mechanically, as if she wanted to chew up and swallow the pain and depression in her heart.
The room was very quiet, with only the sound of Lvliu's sobbing. Ah Jing held the three letters and felt her fingers were cold. He wanted to say something, but was immediately met with Chu Qiao's cold eyes. The woman raised her head coldly and said lightly: "Go away."