While the flowers of April have faded in the human world, the peach blossoms in the mountain temple are just beginning to bloom. Behind Qingliang Temple, there is also a magnificent scene that arrives late in the morning.
Beside the peach grove, a stream flows by. Visitors who come to enjoy the spring walk along the stream. The water is clear, and fish frolic freely in the water. People on the bank exclaim in surprise from time to time.
Perhaps due to excessive excitement, a man dressed as a scholar lost his footing and suddenly slipped into the water.
The stream wasn't deep. In his panic, the man only shouted for help. A young man on the bank who could swim quickly jumped into the water to save the scholar.
Before he could help the scholar up, a purple shadow flashed through the peach grove, bringing with it a shower of petals.
Peach blossoms fluttered in the air as a purple figure waded through the water, reaching out with both arms to pull two men from the water to the shore.
The tourists on the shore were all amazed, praising the man's superb skills. After saving the person, the man in purple did not linger and quickly left.
Beside the peach grove, in a secluded spot, a dignified and refined middle-aged man, seemingly unwell, sat on a rock with his hand on his chest and a pained expression.
The man in purple turned back and, seeing the scene, hurried forward. "Master, are you experiencing heart palpitations again?"
The middle-aged man shook his hand, signaling him not to come closer; palpitations were nothing to him.
The scene of the scholar falling into the water just now stirred up a deep-seated memory in his mind: he had also experienced such a difficult time in his life.
That woman had appeared so vividly in his life, arriving unexpectedly and leaving just as suddenly.
In an instant, the pain subsided, and the middle-aged man reluctantly lowered his hand, turning his gaze away from the stream. He flicked away the peach petals from his sleeve and asked softly, "Has he come?"
The man in purple bowed and replied, "Reporting to Master, he has arrived and is waiting outside. Should we summon him?"
The middle-aged man nodded. "Let's announce it."
The man in purple turned and retreated. After a while, another set of footsteps sounded in the woods. When the middle-aged man saw who it was, his already cold eyes grew even colder. If it weren't for her, he would never have spared her.
"This humble subject greets Your Majesty, may Your Majesty be well."
"Hmph, I am uneasy. What a hypocrite! That stupid woman, Tong, can't she see through me?" The Fourth Prince was filled with resentment the moment he saw him.
Aside from the throne, his heart and soul were completely devoted to her, that woman. Just thinking about her made the Fourth Master's heart ache.
“Nan Yi was never stupid. She was very perceptive. On the contrary, you betrayed her sincerity and let her die a miserable death in the cold palace. Before she died, she was even bitten by rats. If Ninth Brother knew how you treated her, he would probably be so angry that he would come back to life.”
The man speaking was none other than the late Emperor's eighth son, Yinzhi, who had passed away in the eyes of the world and was later renamed Prince Lian.
His face was full of anger, his eyes were slightly red. He thought he was going to die, but he never expected to see the light of day again.
Changing his name and living as an ordinary person in the countryside—all of this was simply because the person on the throne felt guilty towards Nan Yi.
What's even more infuriating is that after Nan Yi left, this person actually erased all traces of Nan Yi in the world. There was never a Consort Tong in the Yong Prince's Mansion, and there was never a Consort Zhen in the Chengqian Palace in the Forbidden City, as if she had never existed.
Everyone's gone. He's alive, but his life is worse than death.
"Shut up! What does this have to do with Ninth Brother? I didn't do it on purpose. She was just trying to scare me. Who knew..." Who knew that she would suddenly disappear?
Yinzhen was equally grieving. As he spoke, he suddenly turned his head away. Li Er had told him that she had left in an uneasy state. In the first six months after Yi'er left, he dreamed every night of swarms of fat rats chasing and biting her, leaving her bloodied and mangled. No matter how hard he tried to save her, he could not exterminate the rats.
During that period, everyone knew that the emperor hated rats, and the rats in the palace were wiped out completely.
Heaven knows why the Emperor has gotten so into a feud with rats.
"Didn't she live in the Forbidden Garden for ten years? Don't you know what the Cold Palace is like?"
"That's all your fault, causing me to be separated from her for ten years," the Fourth Prince said angrily.
In the half of his life with her, the actual time they spent together was, when you really think about it, quite short.
She always liked to go out and didn't like living in the mansion. She would stay in the villa for a few months every now and then. She lived in Tongzhou for three years, and he was willing not to go see her for those three years.
With many wives and concubines in his harem and busy official duties at court, even if he doted on her, he could only spend a few days a month with her.
She's gone, and I didn't even get to see her one last time. Tong Shi, how cruel she is.
Eighth Master paused for a moment, then sighed softly, "Yes, it's my fault. I'm sorry to her, we're all sorry to her, but she has always treated her friends and family with the same sincerity."
"Bury Ninth Brother next to her. They were the best of friends and loved to play and fool around together. They would have each other's company and wouldn't be lonely on the road to the underworld. With Ninth Brother by her side, no one would bully her."
"I'll leave my tenth, thirteenth, and fourteenth brothers to His Majesty. I certainly don't trust them."
"...I'm leaving. This place is too close to her, her presence is everywhere, and they constantly remind me of the people we have wronged."
He left as quietly as he had come.
The fourth uncle did not stop him, but remained silent, a silence so profound that his heart was desolate and filled with loneliness.
After a long while, a soft murmur came from the edge of the peach grove: "Let down, who let down whom in the end?"
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