I miss her so much
Two hours later, at the King's Mansion
As dusk settled, the flames of a few tallow lamps flickered weakly in the study.
Xiao Chengyan's shadow was stretched to a huge and distorted size, cast onto the map covering the wall behind him, like a silent, trapped beast.
The air was almost still.
Changfeng stood in the shadows with his hands at his sides, his gaze fixed on the lonely figure of the prince behind the desk.
After the prince personally brought the absurd wedding to a close, he plunged headlong into the mountain of official duties.
There was no pause, no word, not even a trace of extraneous emotion. The actions of approving, stamping, and placing were mechanical, like the mechanical devices Gu Jinghong had created, cold to the point of cruelty.
Changfeng's heart sank little by little.
Changfeng knows best the three-year friendship between the prince and Gu Jinghong.
But now, the prince himself has pushed her into another man's mansion, watching her heart ache and go almost insane... how can the prince be so... calm?
Just as Changfeng's thoughts were churning, Xiao Chengyan's pen suddenly stopped behind the desk.
The unfolded memorial concerned the allocation of provisions in the northern border.
However, beneath the vermilion brush, where the mark of "approved" or "approved" should have been written, two bold and menacing characters were instead written: "惊鸿" (Jing Hong).
Xiao Chengyan was immediately stunned.
His gaze was fixed on "Jinghong" without blinking, his eyes seeming to hold a fierce and ruthless intensity.
Memories flooded back—
In the desolate, frigid land, she buried her head in the crook of his neck, holding him and crying for a very long time.
"Your Highness... Cheng Yan... Yanlang..." she called to him, her arms wrapped around his neck;
During their campaign in the southwest, the two of them disregarded everything and entrusted themselves to each other...
Until the very end, the scene shifted back to the moment in the auditorium. Her dim eyes, her blood-stained red lips, and the last time she took Gongsun Cheyuan's hand and called him "husband."
Xiao Chengyan barely managed to suppress the metallic taste rising in his throat.
"Husband"—that's what she used to call him secretly when he was dozing off.
The "husband" she spoke of was actually him...
Well--
His heart seemed to be suddenly gripped by an indescribable, stagnant pain, and a suppressed groan escaped from his clenched teeth.
The next instant, as if engulfed by invisible karmic fire, Xiao Chengyan swept his red sleeve away.
"Crash—bang!"
The rosewood brush holder, the famous Duanxi inkstone, the jade paperweight, the piled-up memorials... all the items on the table were swept to the ground, and ink splattered like dirty blood, staining the expensive carpet and the scattered papers.
The inkstone shards flew out, one of them barely grazing his arm, and crimson blood immediately trickled down.
"Your Highness!" Changfeng's eyes widened in fear as he stepped forward in horror.
Xiao Chengyan leaned on the edge of the desk, his chest heaving violently, veins bulging on his forehead, his voice hoarse as if grinding sand: "Bring me the wine."
Changfeng was taken aback and stood silently.
Miss A-Yuan said that the prince is afflicted with a strange poison. This poison has no cure, and drinking alcohol is strictly forbidden, as alcohol can nourish the poison. With the poison's strength waning, she fears the prince might not be able to withstand it!
Seeing that Changfeng remained motionless, Xiao Chengyan's eyes turned sinister. In a very short instant, he reached out and grabbed Changfeng's neck, his voice as cold as ice that had never melted in a thousand years.
"I say—bring the wine!"
Changfeng's face instantly flushed red, his eyes widened, and the veins in his neck bulged—he couldn't give it to him!
He managed to utter a few words: "Your Highness, I am Changfeng."
Xiao Chengyan's hand tightened again: "Does this mean my word no longer carries weight?!"
Before long, a servant from the manor appeared, trembling with fear, carrying a large jar of strong liquor.
Xiao Chengyan grabbed the wine jar, broke the mud seal, tilted his head back, and poured the wine into the jar.
The liquor flowed down his taut jawline, past his Adam's apple, and soaked his red collar.
Changfeng blushed as she looked at the red wedding dress that the prince hadn't yet changed out of, and instantly understood—it turned out that in the prince's heart, this matching wedding dress was as if he were marrying Gu Jinghong.
...The prince never forgot that he wanted to marry her.
The strong, pungent smell of alcohol instantly filled the study.
This level of alcohol tolerance wouldn't normally be a problem for the King of Ashes, who was known for his inability to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, but at this moment...
Changfeng was horrified to discover that the prince's eyes were becoming unfocused and hazy at a visible speed, as if some kind of will was being forcibly dissolved.
Xiao Chengyan downed the wine in a few large gulps, then casually tossed the wine jar aside.
"Thump—splash—"
The wine jar shattered into pieces, the fragments wobbling precariously before finally falling silent.
He raised his hand and wiped the wine stains from his lips with his sleeve, a strange yet relieved smile appearing on his face.
"Changfeng," his voice was slurred, reeking of alcohol, his gaze unfocused, "you tell me, that 'me' at night... wasn't it... actually quite enjoyable?"
Changfeng's heart sank suddenly, and a chill rose from the soles of his feet, instantly engulfing his entire body.
What is Your Highness saying? How could he possibly envy that...evil spirit!
“He can do whatever he wants…” Xiao Chengyan suddenly pulled out a strangely shaped “bird” from his pocket, and chuckled softly, his laughter hollow and sorrowful. “He doesn’t need to worry about his identity, he doesn’t need to weigh the pros and cons… and he doesn’t need to… be afraid of becoming an evil spirit and hurting someone…”
"How wonderful... so much more comfortable than now..."
The strangely shaped "bird" in Xiao Chengyan's hand was something Gu Jinghong made casually from withered branches and scraps of cloth when they were in dire straits in Medicine Master Valley. Although it was crude, it led them out of the miasma and death zone.
Changfeng knew that since the prince was poisoned by the Gu, he had been trying to suppress and even eradicate the evil spirit. For this, he did not hesitate to test the medicine on himself and endure inhuman pain. Gu Jinghong was the only flame that sustained him.
But today, the prince himself extinguished the fire, leaving the future uncertain. It's unknown whether he can still hold on...
"Your Highness, you're drunk," Changfeng tried to bring him back to his senses. "That wasn't your intention, please sober up!"
"Sober?" Xiao Chengyan looked up as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world. He suddenly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes staring straight at Changfeng. "Am I not sober enough?!"
He began to speak, his voice low, yet each word as cold as ice.
"I am fully aware that she is the Master of the Hidden Abyss Pavilion, and I am fully aware of her feelings for me!"
"I know perfectly well that the mechanical arts and those dead soldiers have absolutely nothing to do with Gu Jinghong!"
"But I know even more clearly that if she stays in the palace, she will soon be killed! Someone wants to use me to get rid of her and take control of Qianyuan Pavilion!"
Xiao Chengyan pointed to his temple, “...Therefore, I ‘chosen’ to use all my strength here...to personally sever it! Push her away, far away, to the Duke of Zhenguo’s mansion, to the side of that mediocre Gongsun Cheyuan!”
"In my opinion... this is the best move, the most sensible path! The most damn correct choice!"
“But Changfeng…” Xiao Chengyan’s voice suddenly dropped, filled with a deep-seated weariness and helplessness. He staggered and tried to stand up, but his legs went weak and he slowly collapsed, his eyes like those of a lost beast. “My reason… can’t kill her!”
“It can’t kill the image of her in my eyes! It can’t kill the breath of her whispering in my ear! It can’t kill…” His voice suddenly choked, his fingers unconsciously touching the corner of his lips that Gu Jinghong had bitten, now bleeding, his eyes glazed and in pain, “…it can’t kill that damned warmth on her lips!”
"I closed my eyes, and it was her! Reviewing memorials, it was her! Even the air in this palace... it was her!"
His emotions reached a fever pitch; his eyes were wild and filled with pain.
"Cough cough—cough cough—uh—"
Xiao Chengyan coughed violently a few times, then suddenly burst out of his throat, which had been pressing down on him, and slowly flowed from his thin lips, down his chin, and onto his slender hand.
Changfeng felt as if his blood had frozen instantly, and he blurted out instinctively, "Your Highness!"
To his horror, he saw that in the prince's eyes, which were bloodshot from pain and drunkenness, a dark red ring, like congealed blood, was spreading visibly around the edges of the dark brown pupils.
These are the characteristics of a body when that monster is about to take over!
In the southwest, Changfeng had witnessed it several times: when the blood-red color filled his pupils, the prince would transform into a cold, violent, and inhuman evil spirit.
This monster even brutally killed Mu Chuchu, the orphan girl whom the prince had risked his life to save from the Southwest Expeditionary Army.
"Your Highness... Your Highness?!" Changfeng's voice changed, fear made him subconsciously take half a step back, his hand already on the hilt of the sword at his waist, his whole body tense!
It appeared during the day!
The prince is still conscious; is that dark thing about to forcefully break free of his body?!
Xiao Chengyan seemed oblivious to the blood in his mouth, or even to Changfeng's fear. He remained immersed in the immense pain and questioning, his body swaying violently, the dark red ring in his pupils spreading and deepening eerily...
Time seemed to stand still.
Changfeng held his breath, cold sweat instantly soaking his back; he could even hear his heart pounding wildly.
However, just as that terrifying dark red was about to engulf the entire pupil, it seemed to see something, and then, like the receding tide, it suddenly paused, and began to retreat and dissipate extremely slowly...
The color of his pupils gradually returned to black, but spiderweb-like blood vessels remained at the edges, a testament to the terrifying ordeal that had just taken place.
Almost simultaneously, the frantic and painful light in Xiao Chengyan's eyes also quickly dimmed and went out.
As if he had exhausted his last bit of strength, his tall body swayed violently, lost all support, and fell straight to the side.
Changfeng darted forward and caught the heavy, burning body firmly on his shoulder.
Xiao Chengyan's head drooped limply against Changfeng's neck, his hot breath carrying a strong smell of alcohol spraying onto Changfeng's ear, while he still tightly gripped the broken "bird" in his hand.
He was completely drunk and passed out, or rather, the fierce battle with his inner demons and the poison had exhausted all his energy.
Changfeng looked down at the prince's pale, tired profile, his brows still furrowed even in his unconscious state, and felt a surge of turmoil in his heart.
Xiao Chengyan was still muttering in his sleep: "Ah Hong, Ah Hong... It's alright..."
—Thank goodness you weren't here, thank goodness you didn't see me looking like this.
"How is the prince?" A slender figure pushed open the door and entered, a red butterfly mark prominently displayed on her beautiful and defined collarbone.
Changfeng subconsciously turned to the side to stop Xiao Chengyan's murmur and looked up at Ayuan.
A-Yuan reached out and pried open Xiao Chengyan's eyes. Her sharp gaze swept over Changfeng: "You let him drink?!"
Changfeng was speechless, but when he lowered his eyes, he was shocked to find that the butterfly mark on Ayuan's collarbone was missing a corner!
He was stunned. This mark could be destroyed?!
—If A-Yuan isn't Yongning, then Miss Gu...
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