Eternal Night
Wen Renrang panted heavily, tilted his neck, and squinted at the sword under his chin. He then looked at Shangguan Yichen beside him, smiled, and whispered, "Good skills!"
Shangguan Yichen snorted coldly, and with his other hand, he pushed him hard, causing him to stagger, and shouted to his subordinates, "Catch him!"
The soldiers who had been waiting for a long time came forward and pressed Wenren Rang to the ground, one on each side. Wenren Rang resisted desperately, with one leg already kneeling on the ground and the other leg still standing half-bent. His arms were restrained by the soldiers, but his head was still held high with pride.
Jin Hong stepped forward, and Shangguan Yichen bowed and said, "The traitor Wen Renrang has finally been captured. Please, Your Majesty, decide his fate!"
Jin Hong said in a deep and stern voice, "You thief, Wen Renrang, you may not obey, but the Dali Temple has already fully grasped all your crimes. Today, you have added another crime: treason and assassination of the emperor. Since you are from Nansai, you should be punished according to the laws of Daqi!" He then said to the soldiers beside him, "Imprison him in the Dali Temple prison and hand him over to the Dali Temple Junior Secretary Sun Zili for interrogation!"
The soldiers answered in unison: "Yes!" They lifted up Wenren Rang and ordered: "Get up!"
Wen Renrang's lips curled in a look of defiance, his fierce eyes fixed on Jinhong. Unable to resist, he lowered his head, bent over to lift his bent leg, then weakly rose. Everyone looked at him with disdain, waiting for the soldiers to lead him out of the hall. As he stood on his legs and slowly straightened his upper body, his drooping head slowly rose. Zhong Yujing saw his eyes suddenly blaze with bloodthirsty glare. For a moment, Zhong Yujing imagined a pack of wolves approaching from afar, poised to attack them in the dense forests of Nansai at night. Their eyes flashed with a dark green light, like phosphorescent fire from a grave, like the flames of hell, poised to pounce and take someone's life.
Wenren Rang was indeed raised by wolves. He was still pretending to sleep just now. That was a common trick of wolves, just to confuse everyone and make them let down their guard. He knew that he was no match for Shangguan Yichen, so he should not attack fiercely and had to use his wits to defeat him.
Those eyes were rapidly approaching, and it was too late. Zhong Yujing suddenly opened his arms to block Jinhong and shouted, "Be careful!!!"
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The eyes did not approach her, but stopped in front of her and were blocked by a wall, so she could not see anything.
The wall was silver-grey and tall. Not only did it block the sudden attack of the bloodthirsty wolf, it also made the entire world quiet, as if nothing had happened. It was so peaceful, without danger, yet so calm that it was terrifying...
Zhong Yujing heard the man in front of her groan, and everyone in the hall froze, as if time had stood still, frozen in that moment. She saw the terrified eyes of Yi Shi and the soldiers, and their stiff bodies began to tremble slowly. After a moment of stalemate, a group of soldiers rushed forward and restrained one man, practically beating him to death and stomping him to the ground. Then she heard Yi Shi's trembling voice cry out, "General!!!"
All the soldiers rushed forward and surrounded Zhong Yujing, and the wall in front of her finally slowly fell on her.
Blood, all blood, how could there be so much blood...
I can't stop it...
She hugged him, his face was right in front of her, she leaned over to look at him, he wanted to say something, but when he opened his mouth, blood gushed out, and he couldn't utter a word. He could only pull the corners of his lips stiffly and smiled at her, as if he was relieved that she was okay, and also as if he was proud to show off that he had finally protected her well and she was not hurt at all.
Zhong Yujing lost her thoughts, lost consciousness. She could hear nothing around her, only his face and the blood that covered his body. How could he have bled so much? It was as if he had drained all of his own blood. She felt a chill running through her body, as if she were in an ice cellar. She felt numb and numb. But why was his body so cold too? Was it because she was holding his armor? His armor, clad in it, was like silver light on a cold night, illuminating countless moments in her life. Why, after shining so brightly tonight, was it only cold?
His face grew paler and paler, as if drained of blood. His blood had stained his silver armor red, and at that moment, it was so shocking that she forgot to speak, forgot everything, even forgot to ask him what had happened, until she saw the corners of his lips, which were trying to smile at her, twitch and then fall. His eyes closed as he looked at her, and his head tilted slightly to the side on her arm. Zhong Yujing's heart suddenly stopped beating.
Every time he looked at her with a smile, his eyes curved slightly, the corners of his lips raised, with a hint of youthful spirit and a hint of playful pride. But now, he would never look at her like this again.
There was no light in her world anymore.
After a long time, she heard the chaotic shouts of the crowd.
"Brother! Brother!... Hurry! Go and call the imperial physician!!!" It was Jinhong's voice.
"Impossible... I don't want to kill him..." It was Wen Renrang's voice.
"General!!!" There were bursts of crying, "General, wake up quickly!!!" These were the voices of Yi Shi and the soldiers.
Later, no one knew who had called the imperial physician, and the soldiers carried Shangguan Yichen out of the hall. She was like a moving but unconscious zombie, just following Shangguan Yichen, just looking at him, followed him all the way to the carriage, and followed him back to the Xianwang Mansion.
She heard the soldiers talking on the side. Wen Renrang stood up and took advantage of the soldiers beside him to draw the sword at his waist and stab Jinhong. She blocked Jinhong. Shangguan Yichen stood in front of her to protect her, but Wen Renrang's move was too fast. She had no time to resist. The long sword pierced Shangguan Yichen's body...
She heard the imperial physician say that the assassin really wanted to kill the emperor with one sword. Shangguan Yichen had injured his heart and lungs and was in critical condition. He didn't know if he could survive the night. The imperial physician told the Prince Xian's Mansion to prepare for the worst, and he would not give up on treatment.
She heard the concubine's heart-wrenching cry, "My son... if you die too, what's the point of my old bones staying in this world!" Finally, she was driven out of Shangguan Yichen's room.
And she said nothing from beginning to end, and didn't even cry.
She seemed to have lost the ability to speak. Sometimes she could hear someone talking to her, but she just looked at Shangguan Yichen. She didn't want to answer anyone, nor did she know how to answer.
After all the chaotic voices died down, it was Jinhong who said to everyone, "Let Jing Xiang stay here with the prince. That way she will feel more at ease."
The surroundings finally fell silent, the only sound in the room being the crackling of the burning charcoal. A thick brocade quilt covered Shangguan Yichen's wound. His armor and outer garments had been removed, leaving him in only a thin nightgown. The imperial physician had bandaged his wound, even using a needle, but the wound was like a gaping hole, quickly soaking the gauze and staining his nightgown red. His face was as pale as his lips, as white as paper. He lay quietly in bed, motionless. Zhong Yujing had never seen him like this before. The candlelight in the room was bright, and his clear features reflected in her eyes. His sideburns were neat, his hair was stiff, and his eyebrows were thick and dark, yet they slanted down into his temples like a knife-cut blade. Even when he wasn't smiling, he looked incredibly heroic. His eyes were closed, their inner corners slightly pointed. When he wasn't smiling, his gaze was deep and secretive, but when he smiled, the curve of his eyes held a hint of cunning. His nose was strong, his lips were full, and there was always a hint of blue stubble around it. Perhaps it was because of the hard hair, but he always gave off an air of deepness and inscrutableness. His jaw was firm, and it curved perfectly towards his neck. His Adam's apple was motionless. The quilt covering him didn't rise or fall at all, and his chest was silent...
Zhong Yujing suddenly became frightened and reached out to check his breath, which was so faint that it was hardly noticeable... His hands were slightly exposed outside the quilt, right in front of her. She couldn't help but desperately grab those hands. Those hands were so strong. They had once carried her onto the horse and had once tightly wrapped around her waist, never leaving her side. But now they lay unconscious in front of her. No matter how hard she held on, there was no response. His cold palms had no temperature... The last bit of strength in Zhong Yujing's body collapsed in an instant and scattered all over the ground. Tears immediately poured down, and she cried silently. In the silent night, even though there was moonlight outside the window and candlelight in the house, her world fell into eternal darkness and there would be no light anymore.
She fell on Shangguan Yichen's body and sobbed.
In her more than 20 years of life, she had never lost her mind like this. She had always been calm and clear-headed, and she practiced Taoism to be pure and free from desires, but at this moment she collapsed to the extreme.
She had never considered what fate meant to her, nor had she ever regretted being born into such a family, with such a fate, even though Jinhong had mentioned to her more than once that perhaps a different life, a different way of living, would have been happier than the present one. But at this moment, she was deeply chastising herself, regretting everything she had done. She blamed herself for being so devoted to the imprisonment fate had placed on her, for repeatedly pushing him away, for holding onto the shackles in her heart and not responding to him even after he had sacrificed himself for her. And he waited patiently, knowing all her concerns, knowing she dared not break free of the shackles, and was determined to break the cage for her.
As early as when he followed her down the cliff in the Ya Cave in Nansai, she should have put aside all her worries and followed him, but she was too stingy to even give him a hug back.
Why was he so stupid, cowardly and slow to realize things, and only woke up at this moment? Now, even if she said something in his ear, he would not hear it. Even if she hugged his body tightly and cried like this, he would not know, nor would he open his eyes to look at her again.
She remembered Jinhong telling her that he was such a good person and hoped they could be happy. Although she did not comment, she was not as sure about herself as he was. It was not that she did not want to, but she did not dare. She had a family and a mission behind her. She always thought she was very strong and clear-headed, but at this moment she denied everything and felt that she was just a fool.
Until this moment, she realized that without him, all her missions, pride and responsibilities were meaningless.
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