Chapter 107 Domineering White Moonlight 26 The Fifth World Ends
No one knew who had leaked the news that Ali was a demon, but now everyone in the court knew about it. The people were outraged, and countless memorials were sent to Xie Jingchuan's desk like snowflakes.
The fact that Princess Wangshu in the palace is a demon is shocking. According to past precedents in the Jin State, demons and evil creatures cannot escape death and must not be let off.
But now, Your Majesty not only does not deal with it, but even wants to make this monster the queen. This is simply unheard of and goes against the will of heaven.
Several veteran ministers jointly wrote a petition, kneeling in front of the Qinzheng Hall for a long time, requesting His Majesty to immediately execute the evildoer in order to restore order and reassure the people.
Prime Minister Sun, a veteran of three dynasties, led the charge, holding up a memorial in his hands. His voice was mournful yet resolute: "Those who are not of our race must have different hearts! There are countless examples of evildoers causing ruin in past dynasties. Your Majesty must learn from these examples and must not be deceived by evildoers!"
"This monster has been lurking in the palace for years, harboring sinister intentions to steal the fate of the Great Jin. Your Majesty, are you going to watch helplessly as the foundation laid by your ancestors is destroyed by this evildoer?!"
"If Your Majesty does not punish this evildoer, we, the ministers, will die in this defense to ensure peace in the world!"
But these tearful words were destined to receive no response from the emperor.
All the shocks of the previous dynasty were suppressed by Xie Jingchuan's thundering means. Those who dared to speak out were either dismissed from their posts and investigated, or locked up and imprisoned. One or two people who spoke angrily were even beaten to death in front of the Qinzheng Hall.
The blood slowly flowed down the jade steps in front of the hall, shocking the people below.
Xie Jingchuan issued a clear order prohibiting anyone from discussing the identity of the queen. Anyone who disobeyed would be killed, exiled, or their entire family would be implicated and imprisoned.
Through this series of actions, he announced to the world that tomorrow's coronation and wedding would be held as usual and there would be no changes.
And all of this was isolated outside the Hidden Moon Pavilion.
The previous dynasty was in turmoil, but in the harem, preparations for the wedding celebrations had not stopped. Ali's wedding dress was finally decided and was delivered to Yinyue Pavilion by the Shangfu Bureau.
The entire imperial city was shrouded in a strange festive atmosphere, and Ali had completely lost his former vitality and allowed the palace servants to manipulate him.
She didn't eat or drink, didn't speak or move, and lost all perception of the outside world.
The wedding day.
The salutes outside rang again and again. Ali's eyes were empty, his long hair was scattered behind his head, and the paleness and witheringness on his face could not be concealed even by rouge.
The gold chain on her foot was temporarily removed, but the anklet was still coldly fastened to her ankle.
The palace maids applied layer after layer of gouache on her, wrapped her in layer after layer of brocade and gorgeous clothes, helped her up, and sat her down to listen to the envoy read out the edict of enthronement, and bestow upon the empress the golden seal and imperial seal.
Then, Ali was sent onto the Queen's phoenix sedan chair and headed towards the Taimiao.
The journey was filled with red and beautiful scenery, but the number of imperial guards was twice as many as usual.
In front of the Taimiao.
All officials knelt and the atmosphere was solemn.
Ali was supported by the palace servants and walked step by step towards the man at the highest point.
Xu Xing was dressed in black and stood far behind Xie Jingchuan. Seeing the queen's figure gradually appear, he sighed inwardly.
When Xie Jingchuan first found him and ordered him to set up a ban in a palace, he refused to do so.
Although the monster in this palace has lived here for many years, it has never been stained with blood or killed anyone. It is not a vicious monster. Even if Xu Xing meets it outside the palace, he will not trap it to death or kill it indiscriminately.
However, Xie Jingchuan threatened Xu Xing with the lives of all the members of the Xu family, so Xu Xing had to do as he was told.
However, he was arrogant by nature, and was extremely angry when he was forced to act this time, so he deliberately kept a trick when setting up the restriction. If the monster was lucky enough to find the key, it could escape.
Unexpectedly, although the demon did not break through on its own as he expected, it came to You Zhi and asked her to help pass on the message.
It’s a pity that I still couldn’t escape.
Perhaps, this is her fate.
On the high platform, the emperor and empress stood side by side, paying respects to their ancestors and the ancestral temple together.
Amidst the solemn and dignified music, the ceremonial officer recited the ceremonial process aloud, and each step was extremely complicated and rigorous.
Ali had a blank expression on her face. She knelt down and stood up as he spoke, as if she was not the one doing all this.
Turning around, Xie Jingchuan supported the shaky Ali and completed this grand ceremony. The two of them never made eye contact from beginning to end.
After the ceremony, Xie Jingchuan still had to accept the worship of all officials. Ali was sent back to Kunning Palace and covered with the dragon and phoenix veil that he had scratched.
After he left that day, Ali took the embroidery frame in his hand again and quietly sewed it with the same silk thread.
Every stitch and thread is so meticulous that it almost blends into the original embroidery pattern.
However, the dragon and phoenix on it were still twisted and could not be repaired no matter what they did.
Ali sat there and waited from early morning until late at night.
Pairs of red candles with dragons and phoenixes lit up in Kunning Palace, and huge "囍" characters were pasted all over the window frames. Outside the window, the wind was biting cold, and Ali sat upright on the bed, motionless.
More than ten years have passed in a flash, from childhood sweethearts to deep love, and then to a completely different relationship.
Now all that's left are scars and they look at each other in silence.
She wanted to leave, he wanted to stay, they were like two red threads that kept getting entangled. The harder they tried, the more inseparable they became. The entanglement became tighter and tighter, and finally it became a knot that would never end.
All the noise had ended, the air was filled with the rich and sweet fragrance of Albizia julibrissin, the door of the palace was quietly pushed open, and footsteps gradually approached.
Xie Jingchuan, dressed in an elaborate and formal wedding dress, dismissed all the palace servants, walked forward, and stared at Ali for a long time.
She had become thinner, and the layers of gorgeous clothes weighed down her, almost crushing her.
Xie Jingchuan dispelled the coldness from his body, walked closer, raised his hand and put it down again and again, almost as if he was escaping, not daring to lift the veil that was so close to him.
He is afraid.
He was afraid that beneath the veil was her resentful and hateful eyes, and he was afraid that all this splendor was just his one-man show.
After a long silence, he sat on the edge of the bed covered with a brocade quilt decorated with auspicious dragons and phoenixes, not too far from her, and spoke to her slowly, "Are you tired today?"
Ali didn't say anything and didn't move.
Xie Jingchuan continued as if he didn't care, "Tonight... is our wedding day. I've been looking forward to this day for many years."
"After returning to the palace from the fishing village, you were first raised in the Imperial Concubine's Palace, and then moved to Shou'an Palace. I was young at that time, and no one would listen to a child's nonsense. They always stopped me from seeing you." Xie Jingchuan's voice came slowly.
"When I was a little older, I went to Shou'an Palace to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager, and I immediately saw you peeking behind the screen."
He smiled at the unresponsive Ali, pursing his lips: "I didn't mean to scare you then, I just wanted to see what that swaddled child looks like now."
He sent away the palace servants around him, walked around Shou'an Palace, and successfully caught the "little tail" following him.
"Little Tail" was frightened by his sudden turning back and fell down on the grass, tears in his eyes.
He panicked and tried his best to coax her with a gentler tone than ever before.
Miraculously, the "little tail" was soon coaxed into submission by him. He took the initiative to extend his hand towards him and said in a muffled voice, "You, help me up."
Without any hesitation, he took her hand and pulled up the little girl, who was not even as tall as his chest. For the first time, he felt needed: "Come on, I'll take you out to play."
At first, I just treated her as a good playmate and a younger sister who needed to be taken care of.
But slowly, she occupied his whole heart. He hoped that she could rely on him without any worries for the rest of her life, and he would never get tired of her.
Xie Jingchuan spoke softly, as if he was afraid of disturbing someone. "Occasionally, we would sneak out of the city on horseback and compete to see who could reach the lake outside the capital first."
"You always win first place in competitions like this. When you get there first, jump off your horse and wait for me under the big tree by the lake."
On the outskirts of the city covered with lush grass, two horses strolled to the lake to drink water. Two little people rested their heads on their arms, leisurely lying in the shade of a tree, feeling the wind, looking at the clouds, and talking.
The air was filled with the lingering scent of green grass and the silvery laughter of a young girl.
As it grew dark, Ali became sleepy and refused to ride back on his horse.
Xie Jingchuan said that she was cheating, but he had already walked up to her, squatted down, and patted her shoulder.
Ali lay on his back peacefully. When she woke up, she put some dogtail grass she had pulled off into his hair and giggled mischievously where he couldn't see.
Xie Jingchuan noticed out of the corner of his eye that grass was beginning to grow on his head in the lake, and he felt inexplicably sweet in his heart. He did not expose her, but just lifted her up, and Ali was so scared that she quickly hugged his neck.
The setting sun stretched the shadows of the two men very long. The two horses followed them obediently, slowly walking towards the city gate.
He has lived in a world full of lies since he was a child. The fake father and mother, the fake identity, and the fake feelings have made him accustomed to presenting a fake self to others.
Only she never hides her likes and dislikes. Only when facing her can Xie Jingchuan feel that he is truly alive, a real, lively person.
Everyone said that the princess was domineering and brainless, and that she had a good life today because she clung to the prince. But only Xie Jingchuan himself knew that it was he who could not live without Ali, and it was he who seduced and indulged Ali to cling to him.
Xie Jingchuan paused for a moment, the tenderness in his eyes seemed to have substance: "At that time, I was thinking, how wonderful it would be if this road never ended."
He leaned forward slightly: "I know you hate me, hate that I keep you by my side in this way, but I have no choice."
"Because you are all I have. You are really all I have."
She is not only the one he loves, but also the only one of his kind, so he wants to "protect" her by his side and never leave her side.
Because losing her is equivalent to losing myself.
Xie Jingchuan carefully took her folded hands and pleaded with her, "Please forget about those things, okay? Let's be like before. I will treat you very well, better than anyone else in the world."
"We will be husband and wife. I will accompany you to every corner of the world. We will spend many New Years together until we are old and gray..."
"We will have a child, and she will grow up beside us, studying and writing, and getting into trouble just like we did in the past..."
"But she won't be deceived or hurt like us. She will easily have the whole world at her disposal."
He talked on and on, building a future that only he believed in.
Suddenly, the quiet veil nodded very slightly.
It was just an imperceptible amplitude, but it instantly made Xie Jingchuan stand there in a daze.
The huge surprise almost overwhelmed him. Before he could speak, tears had already fallen: "Ali...you agreed?"
His voice was trembling. He wanted to lift the red veil in front of him, but she held his hand down: "Don't use your hands. It's unlucky."
Xie Jingchuan nodded repeatedly and solemnly took a Ruyi scale tied with red silk from a tray covered with red satin beside him.
He took a deep breath, his fingertips trembling slightly, and slowly extended the scale bar towards the veil.
"One scale star, two scales bright, three stars shining high, carrying auspicious clouds..."
"Pick the left one, and you will get a unicorn to bring you a son..."
"One pick to the right, and the phoenix will sing for a hundred years..."
"A piece of lotus noodle in the middle..."
Xie Jingchuan had already repeated the congratulatory speech that should have been said by the bridesmaid several times in his mind. He recited it softly and slowly lifted the veil.
The bright red veil fluttered off, revealing the person he had been thinking about day and night.
Ali was extremely beautiful tonight, with a gentle smile on her face, looking at him with bright eyes, like an extremely unreal dream.
Xie Jingchuan couldn't believe his eyes. He touched her warm face with trembling hands, and noticed that she was still as dependent on him as before. She turned her head and rubbed his palm.
It seemed as if everything had returned to that carefree time.
Xie Jingchuan's eyes were red, and he wanted to hold her in his arms, but he saw a trickle of dark red sticky blood slowly and uncontrollably flowing out from the corner of her pale smiling lips.
The pair of eyes that were always watching him slowly lost focus, and the body swayed slightly, like a puppet with its strings cut, and fell silently towards the wedding bed covered with a bright red quilt.
The joy on Xie Jingchuan's face was still frozen, and his arms were still hugging her.
At that moment, the sounds of the whole world seemed to disappear.
With bloodshot eyes, he picked up the limp Ali and wanted to call the imperial physician, but he could not make a sound. Only the bulging blue veins on his neck were shaking uncontrollably.
Ali felt his body gradually becoming lighter. Looking at the almost crazy Xie Jingchuan, he opened his lips with difficulty.
Xie Jingchuan was stunned for a moment, leaned down, put his ear close to her lips, and hot tears flowed down her collarbone into his heart.
"You must be a good emperor, don't kill innocent people, and don't let your hands be stained with other people's blood..." Ali could hardly open her eyes. The severe pain swept through her body, making her tremble uncontrollably.
Before Xie Jingchuan came in, she condensed all her demonic power into her fingertips and struck the inner elixir in her heart fiercely, ending her life as Shen Li in the most painful way for a demon to die.
Mrs. Tan once said that once a demon's inner elixir is broken, hundreds of years of cultivation will be destroyed, and it will turn back into the original unintelligent beast.
However, Ali's situation is more special. Her inner elixir was not obtained through her own cultivation, and she does not have hundreds of years of demonic power to protect her body.
If the inner elixir is broken, even Madam Tan doesn't know what will happen.
Perhaps from then on, Ali would no longer exist in the world and would completely disappear from the world, and even his soul would not be found.
Ali would not make such a decision unless it was absolutely necessary.
But Mingshuang's death was the last straw that broke the camel's back.
Xie Jingchuan hugged her tighter and tighter, as if this could save her rapidly fading life: "A-Li... don't leave me, I was wrong, don't leave..."
"Don't leave..."
"Don't leave..."
Ah Li's breathing gradually became lighter. She used up her last bit of strength and leaned over to whisper in his ear: "Xie Jingchuan, in the next life, in the next life, I hope to never, ever meet you again..."
This sentence seemed to sentence Xie Jingchuan to death, and the blood in his body froze at this moment.
Ali exhaled her last breath, fell softly on his shoulder, and was silent again.
Outside the window, the first snow of this winter fell heavily and quickly at night, which was a good omen for a good harvest.
Next year will definitely be a good year.
*
Ali's last memory was of her floating in the air, watching Xie Jingchuan holding her gradually cooling body in his arms, heartbroken.
But she still couldn't leave the palace, and the restriction on her ankle still held her tightly.
Ali used up all her remaining demonic power and broke through the restriction regardless of the consequences. The moment the golden light in front of her eyes shattered, she was finally free.
But everything in front of her eyes gradually became unfamiliar, as if it had faded. She could not remember who the man who was crying so sadly was. She only remembered that the woman who closed her eyes and seemed to be asleep was called Chen Li.
There were no wounds on her body, except for a little blood at the corner of her lips. There was nothing unusual to see, but she was indeed dead.
It seemed as if Ali had accidentally lived a life in Chen Li's body. Even though he knew that Chen Li's life ended the moment she was born, Ali still didn't want to hurt her when he left.
I heard from the elderly that if the body is intact after death, it will be reincarnated into the home of the parents in this life.
By then, perhaps Chen Li will have a complete and happy life, with loving parents and a long life.
Ali floated and floated until he was in the air. He saw that the palace in front of him was half hung with red silk and half hung with white silk. Some people were crying and some were laughing. It was really weird.
What was even more bizarre was that a young woman carrying a bag and wearing coarse clothes ran crying all the way towards the palace where the crying was loudest.
In the palace, "Chen Li" was still wearing her bright red wedding dress, with her face covered with the red cloth that had been split in two, lying quietly on the bright red bed.
Ali couldn't see the young woman's appearance clearly, he only remembered that her name contained the characters "Ming" and "Shuang".
Looking at her, Ali inexplicably felt like crying, but she was just a soul, where did the emotions and tears come from?
Ali floated higher and higher, as if flying, and couldn't help wagging his tail happily.
She took a last look at the palace below, and in the blink of an eye, several golden lights flashed inside the palace.
At this time, Ali only took a glance and knew what it was.
Who is so stupid as to exchange decades of his own life for this restriction?
You know, if this restriction is forcibly broken, that person will suffer backlash.
He really doesn't care about his life.
Ali commented.
After saying this, she no longer lingered in the human world below, and floated away in all directions, finally landing in a mountain stream and jungle.
*
The palace that Ali had seen before had a new owner a few years later, a kind and generous prince of the royal family.
The original emperor was honored as the Supreme Emperor and moved to Ningshou Palace.
It is said that the retired emperor was also full of vigor and vitality when he was young, but he was bewitched by an evil spirit and actually made a dead person his queen. Since then, he has been crazy and unruly.
The retired emperor lived alone in Ningshou Palace, and there was not much to do there. The palace servants often gathered in the corner to chat and slack off.
One person said, "This person inside is easy to serve, and all he needs is food every day. He is also difficult to serve, and he always asks Your Majesty for some strange and bizarre things."
Another person agreed, "That's right. I heard there's a corpse in the back hall. That person is always talking to it. It's really creepy!"
One of them pointed to his head and lowered his voice: "Is there something wrong here?"
"It's hard to say. I heard from the people who served him before that he has always been like this. It's been many years."
"Speaking of that corpse, could it be the legendary bewitching monster? How could His Majesty allow him to keep such a dangerous thing?"
"It's because that thing is completely dead. Otherwise, what if it comes back to life and seeks revenge?"
"You're right," the man who spoke first nodded, and then he noticed a shadow darting past the wall. "Where did these wild cats come from?"
"Where is it? The Queen hates cats the most. We need to catch it quickly to avoid any disturbance!"
As they spoke, several people stood up, bent over and began to search the whole yard, but they couldn't find it.
The man scratched his head: "Could it be that I am dazzled?"
It was a spring afternoon when a skinny little raccoon cat accidentally crossed the deserted courtyard and slipped into the inner hall through the gap of an unclosed carved wooden door.
It was so hungry that it didn't even have the strength to lick its fur. Its fur was an unhealthy yellowish color, and only the slight movement of its belly proved that it was still alive.
The hall was dimly lit and filled with a faint medicinal and stale smell.
The little civet cat adjusted to the light and saw a figure sitting in the shadows by the window.
The man had messy white hair and a thin body, and looked a little scary.
The little cat hesitated for a long time.
It was so hungry that it could no longer walk. If the person in front of it didn't give it food, this would probably be the place where it would finally fall down.
The instinct of survival overcame its fear, and it staggered towards the man, its body so weak that it couldn't even make the slightest meow.
But the man seemed to have heard its voice and slowly turned his head.
His eyes were initially unfocused, his eye sockets sunken and lifeless, but when he saw the small, furry animal on the ground, something seemed to twitch slightly in his eyes that had been dead for many years.
When the little cat saw him coming, all the fur on its body stood up. Facing an enemy so many times bigger than itself, it wanted to appear less weak.
But the man bent down and waved at it.
The little civet cat sat down where it was and paced a few times, but didn't go over.
The man was not in a hurry. He stood up and when he bent down again, there was a little food in his palm.
The little cat licked its lips subconsciously, but finally couldn't resist the temptation. It ran over, grabbed the man's palm and started eating voraciously.
Xie Jingchuan reached out his hand tremblingly and gently touched its head: "Are you her?"
No one could respond to him.
After that, the little civet cat finally found a place where it could always fill its stomach. The white-haired man would prepare tender fish minced meat for it every day, removing all the bones and still making it slightly steaming.
The little cat had never eaten such delicious food before. Every time he would concentrate on eating and meow comfortably.
After eating and drinking, it had some strength and found a sunny place to bask in the sun, not caring at all about Xie Jingchuan's constant gaze on it.
After a few months, the originally skinny and small civet cat gradually gained some meat and its fur became shiny. The whole cat looked much better, as if it had been reborn.
It began to run around the hall, using the expensive curtains and table legs to sharpen its claws, but it refused to let Xie Jingchuan touch it.
As soon as he tried to get close, the little cat would bare its teeth and stretch out its claws without any hesitation, scratching him until his flesh was bloody.
Once, there was thunder and lightning outside, and Xie Jingchuan closed all the windows and doors of the palace. The little civet cat mistakenly thought that he wanted to lock it up, so it made a mess everywhere in the palace. Finally, the cat found a loophole and ran away.
This run lasted a whole month.
The little cat had a very bad month. The weight he had gained went back down and he even trembled when he walked.
What it didn't know was that Xie Jingchuan had also had a very hard time this month. It was like history repeating itself, and he experienced that deep pain again.
From then on, Xie Jingchuan would never approach or disturb it except for feeding it every day.
Only when it is in a good mood will it occasionally reward him by combing its hair under his steady gaze.
His movements were clumsy and gentle, but actually quite comfortable.
When he smelled the breath of death again, Xie Jingchuan was lying in a rocking chair. His originally handsome face was now covered with a few wrinkles, but his expression was calmer than ever before.
The little cat sniffed carefully, then quietly jumped onto his knees. It saw Xie Jingchuan slowly closing his eyes and slowly dying.
It lay down and nudged the cold hand with its furry head, wanting him to touch it for the first time.
But that hand will never be raised again.
It found a comfortable place on Xie Jingchuan's gradually stiffening body, curled itself up into a ball, and was reluctant to leave for a long time.
In the deserted and dilapidated palace in spring, one or two low meows could be heard occasionally, as if someone was crying.
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