Chapter 112 [VIP] Shadow Guard (Ending)
Nan Yan finally took the medicine obediently, but she still didn't wait until she recovered to seek justice, because Zhao Shiqi came to her first.
Ye Qiuchen was not at home that afternoon as he had gone out to buy medicine. Nan Yan felt the house was too stuffy, so she sat on a stone bench in the yard to get some fresh air, wondering how this world would end.
At this time, she heard a knock on the door. At first she thought it was Ye Qiuchen who had returned. She walked over and opened the door, only to find that it was the person she had always been thinking about, Zhao Shiqi, standing at the door looking at her.
Nan Yan’s expression… was stunned.
She didn't seem to expect to see him at her door. They hadn't seen each other since the last time. She was a little surprised when she suddenly saw him.
But she reacted quickly, pursed her lips, and showed a faint smile to the person opposite her, with deliberate alienation.
"Prince...what are you doing here?"
She called him...Prince?
Zhao Shiqi's eyelashes trembled slightly. He didn't know why, but seeing her distant and indifferent attitude, he felt a little stuffy in his chest for a moment, as if an unspeakable bitterness was spreading and brewing in his chest.
In fact, after accidentally hurting her that day, he had been regretting it deep down. That regret seemed to have slowly taken root in his heart, making him feel a dull pain whenever he thought of her, and he had no interest in doing anything.
He wanted to come find her, but he was worried that she would show such a cold and distant attitude towards him, just like the look she gave him that day, which suddenly made Zhao Shiqi feel endless panic and uneasiness in his heart.
He pursed his lips and looked at the face of the person opposite him. After not seeing her for a few days, she seemed to have lost a lot of weight. Her chin had become pointed, her face was very pale, and her lips were also pale, without a trace of blood.
"Is your hand wound better?"
Zhao Shiqi asked almost subconsciously, his eyes fell on her fingertips again, and he felt a little regretful after he finished speaking, because the injury was caused by him accidentally.
Nan Yan seemed a little surprised. She didn't expect him to care about her injury. Her fingertips curled up and a calm expression appeared on her face. "It's just a minor injury. It's not a big deal anymore."
She lowered her head again after she finished speaking, her dark hair hanging down in front of her chest, occasionally messed up by the wind, sticking to her cheeks, making her face look even paler. She showed a relieved smile, "If you're here to apologize, then there's no need, because this is originally my own problem, and it has nothing to do with you."
"No, no, I'm not here just to apologize." Zhao Shiqi said it without thinking, but in fact he didn't know what was wrong with him. Some hidden thought in his heart drove him to come find her.
Especially after hearing what she said, he unconsciously remembered what Doctor Zhang said that day, and subconsciously asked, "I heard that you have a kind of life-saving dragon that can be used as medicine in Qixia Villa. I... Yanyan is sick, and the doctor said that only that dragon can save her life. I want to ask if you have it?"
He immediately regretted saying this.
He felt like he didn't know what was going on. Why did his mouth become so stupid when he was talking to her?
Obviously he didn't think like that in his heart. He just wanted to come and see her, apologize to her, and make up for the wrong thing he did that day. He really didn't mean to hurt her.
Nan Yan was a little stunned after hearing that. She raised her head, her eyes that were like crescent moons were clear and distinct, with a hint of disbelief in them, and she just stared at him blankly.
After a long while, she looked away, and then Zhao Shiqi heard her ask in a hoarse voice, "So, you came to me just to ask for medicine?"
Her tone seemed a little depressed.
Zhao Shiqi's breathing stopped for a moment. He didn't know that she would react so strongly when she heard about this. He was just making up an excuse. He didn't expect to gain anything from her, let alone make her sad again. He just wanted to have enough reasons to compensate her.
Zhao Shiqi's lips moved, and a hint of apology appeared in his eyes. He was about to explain something, but was interrupted by the other party's voice, "Do you know that it is difficult to raise that pig?"
She smiled at him, and there seemed to be no warmth in her eyes anymore.
Zhao Shiqi looked at her in a daze. He didn't know what to say. It seemed like he had done something to upset her again.
Nan Yan pursed her lips and sighed softly. Her eyes fell on the other person's stunned expression. Her voice suddenly became a little melancholy, as if she was distressed. "It's not impossible to give it to you, but what do you want in exchange?"
She tilted her head slightly, then pursed her lips and chuckled, staring at him half seriously and half jokingly and asked, "How about you marry me?"
Zhao Shiqi felt his heart shudder slightly for a moment. He didn't know why his heart was beating so fast at this moment, as if his whole body became tense. He looked at her without blinking, and suddenly felt a little timid. He didn't know whether what she said was true or false. She seemed to be just saying it casually, but there was an indescribable seriousness in her eyes.
Zhao Shiqi clenched his fingers unconsciously, looking at the calm eyes of the man in front of him, and finally suppressed the inexplicable emotions in his chest. He turned his head away uncomfortably, lowered his eyes and said in a muffled voice,
"I...I'm already engaged."
Come to think of it, this guy is indeed quite principled.
Nan Yan glanced at him and felt that the situation before her was just like when they first met.
This guy has a very bad habit, which is that he never directly rejects the thoughts that he is unsure of. This actually just shows that he is very hesitant at the moment, and even a little confused about his own emotions, just like he was reluctant to be with her in the beginning.
Nan Yan remained calm in her heart, pursed her lips and chuckled, then added, "It doesn't matter if you don't want to marry me, then can you stay with me for one night?"
Zhao Shiqi looked at her in a daze.
There was a flash of surprise in those black and white eyes. He pursed his lips. At this moment, he really didn't understand what she meant. Did she want to... Just when he was hesitating whether to agree to it, she suddenly laughed, with her eyebrows curved, like a pear blossom in full bloom.
Even her pale face suddenly became more lively, with a hint of freshness on her face. She said gently, "Prince, are you mistakenly thinking that I am going to do something bad to you?"
Zhao Shiqi's breathing paused for a moment, and he felt his ears were slightly warm. His eyes fell on the smiling face, and he felt inexplicably familiar. He moved his fingers subconsciously, but did not touch her.
Nan Yan seemed not to notice his actions and continued, "Actually, I don't have any other intentions. I just want you to pretend to be my fiancé and stay with me for one night."
She sighed again as she spoke. She was feeling a little down as she said this, and the smile on her face gradually faded.
"The time I spent with him... was so short, so short that the day he left, I didn't even have the chance to tell him that I loved him and that he was the only one I would love in my life."
After she finished speaking, her eyes slowly fell on the familiar face in front of her, examining his features inch by inch, her eyes were distant,
It was as if I was looking at someone through him. His face seemed to be covered by a layer of mist, which made me feel powerless and unable to grasp it anymore. There was also a hint of regret and nostalgia on his face.
"Because you look so much like him, so much so that every time I see you, I mistake you for him."
"I wonder if you are willing to agree to my request? Just treat it as fulfilling my last wish. I won't do anything else to you, and I won't make you do anything embarrassing, okay?"
The other person's serious look suddenly showed a hint of expectation. Zhao Shiqi felt depressed, especially when being stared at like this. He found that he didn't even have the slightest thought of resistance, and agreed almost without hesitation.
"Yes, I promise."
He said yes, but for some reason he had a strange feeling in his heart. Pretending to be the man she liked and spending a night with her made him feel inexplicably sad and even had an unspeakable feeling of... rejection?
Nan Yan didn't seem to expect that he would actually agree. When she heard his voice, she raised her head and looked at him, only to find that he was just looking at her intently.
She smiled a relieved and gentle smile again, "This is actually my own selfishness. I haven't really said sorry to you all along."
She lowered her eyes again, her voice apologetic, "Actually, what happened that day was because I was too impulsive. It has nothing to do with you. I have always been the one who made the mistake. It is normal for you to feel annoyed by my repeated entanglements. And because of this incident, your fiancée is bedridden. I am really sorry. Whether you are willing to agree to my request or not, I will..."
Before she finished her words, Zhao Shiqi subconsciously took a step forward and blurted out, "I'm not reluctant, I agreed."
His anxious attitude seemed as if he was afraid that Nan Yan would go back on her word and refuse to agree. He paused for a moment after he finished speaking, and even Zhao Shiqi himself found it baffling.
他覺得好像有什麽在脫離掌控，有什麽要噴薄欲出，偏偏他又什麽都想不起來，很多時候，面對眼前這人，很多事情，完全都是自身的本能，連他自己都不知道是怎麽回事？
南嫣愣了一瞬，然後擡眸與他對視着，大概是對方說話的語氣太過堅定了，這讓南嫣臉上的笑意頓時更真了些，然後她偏着頭對他說，“那我先回屋去換件衣服，然後你陪我去逛個廟會祈個平安福好嗎？”
趙時栖看了一眼她還有些蒼白的面色，猶豫片刻，最終還是點頭應了。
八月初七的城隍廟會也是十分熱鬧的，附近的街道上從早到晚都支着各式各樣的小攤子，賣的都是些胭脂水粉、符紙檀香，還有各種彩繪的糖人娃娃，小生意做的是如火如荼。
趙時栖一直都不太習慣這種人多的地方，上次陪着杜玉顏出門的時候也是這樣，一不留神，轉個身的功夫，他就把人給弄丢了，後來在街上磨磨蹭蹭找了很久才找到。
但是現在，他好像還沒有意識到自己的反常，全部的心神都在眼前這個不停往人潮中去擠的女子身上，幾乎是寸步不離地跟着，生怕她被旁人擠着了，甚至連那些不小心靠過來的婦人都被他一一擋了回去。
兩人一路順着街道往前走，她今晚好像格外開心，步子邁得輕快，一只手還扯着他的袖子時不時地催促他走快些，
“快點快點，前面還有很多好玩的。”
趙時栖抿着唇，想提醒她走慢一些，免得不小心摔了，但對方此刻明顯是聽不進去的，他只能更小心地注意着。
然後兩人走到了一處賣首飾的攤子前，她忽然轉過頭來盯着他瞧，那雙美麗的眼裏露出歡喜的神色，
“十七，你不賠我一支珠釵嗎？”
她喊他十七的格外不同，十七跟時栖，明明都是一樣的稱呼，可是她喊十七的時候，仿佛情人間撒嬌時的呢喃，嗓音裏蘊含了無盡的情愫，聽得他耳畔有些發熱。
“……賠？”
他有些迷惑地望了人一眼，那雙水潤分明的眼眸滿含期待地看着他，趙時栖被她盯得有些不自在，呼吸遲緩地移開了視線。
南嫣就笑着拍他手臂，“當然要賠了，你上次不小心摔壞了我一支珠釵，快點選一支最漂亮的還給我，不然我就要生氣了，別忘了，你現在可是我的影十七，主子說話怎麽能不聽呢？”
主子……影十七……
趙時栖目光落到眼前的攤子上，各式精致珠釵琳琅滿目，他覺得眼前的場景似乎有些熟悉，心底有一種莫名的情緒在翻滾着。
但沒等他想清楚，對面那人又伸手撩了一支珠釵遞到他手上，然後沖他嬌俏一笑道，“就這個吧，我喜歡這支，你給我戴上好不好？”
趙時栖手指微顫着拿起那支遞過來的珠釵，然後在對方淺笑盈盈的目光下，将那支釵斜着別到了她烏黑濃密的發間。
他們順着人流一直往下，越往後面人越來越少了。
他們一起看了河燈，吃了很甜的糕點，最後她還趁他不注意的時候，偷偷将那還剩下半塊的糕點塞進他嘴裏，然後看着他耳尖發燙的模樣，笑得眉眼彎彎。
最後又湊近他耳畔輕聲問，“十七，你耳朵發熱的時候，耳垂上那顆小痣是不是也跟着一起變紅了呀？”
趙時栖的腳步一頓，随後整個身體都僵住了，然後緩緩看向她……
他覺得自己好像在哪裏聽說過這句話。
這一刻，趙時栖是真的覺得自己不對勁，他不是沒有查過她的身份，從那天晚上回去之後，他就去調查過，他一開始以為她是為栖霞山莊來報仇所以刻意接近他的，但是好像并不是那樣的，她對他沒有惡意。
他真的不明白，為什麽那天晚上自己在看到她那一瞬間，胸口就有種悶悶的、壓抑又克制不住的情緒，他原以為這種情緒是因為杜玉顏而起，是因為他看到杜玉顏哭了，所以心疼引起的，可是他好像弄錯了，他明顯是對眼前這人更加的在意，甚至她一個眼神都會讓他有種胸口發酸的感覺。
其實他也調查過自己失憶前的事情的，但是不夠詳細，或許是因為他曾經的身份不高，所以留下的痕跡很少，再加上他對手臂上那個奴才的印記，所以下意識地就有些排斥過去的事情，可是現在……
看着眼前這人朝着他嫣然一笑的樣子，趙時栖只覺得心中那股噴薄欲出的、卻始終被一層迷霧禁锢着，讓他在其中撕扯着、掙紮不開，他下意識地抓住了她的手掌，嘴唇輕顫着，眼底湧出一絲恐慌，
“嫣嫣……”
他不知道自己為什麽忽然就喊出了這個名字，明明腦子裏一片空白，什麽印象都沒有的。
而原本要離開的紅裙少女轉過頭，她的面容在燈火下愈發清晰起來，那雙清潤分明的眼眸朝他望過去，然後緩慢靠過來，雙手按住他的手臂，輕輕吻上了他的嘴唇。
纏綿又眷戀，溫柔且認真。
而幾乎就在兩人相觸的那一瞬間，趙時栖只覺得腦袋裏的那一根弦，轟然斷了。
他不知道自己這是怎麽了，可是緊接着腦海裏瘋狂地湧出了一些片段，那些混亂的畫面讓他險些站立不穩，腦袋裏的血管突突叫嚣着，幾乎要炸裂似的，瘋狂又錯亂，徹底扭曲了他原本冷靜的面孔。
他好像想起什麽來了，那些眼熟的畫面……
“十七，你竟然偷親我啊？”
從一開始的相遇，到後來的心動。
“你以後不能欺負我，要一輩子都守在我身邊，永遠陪着我保護我，不可以騙我的。”
她滿心歡喜地答應了他，他們一起逃婚一起私奔了，在一個山清水秀的村子裏隐居了。
“想生小十七也不是不可以呀，可是我們都還沒有成親，你連聘禮都沒有給我，就想哄着我嫁你了，天底下哪有這麽好的事情？”
……
曾經的一切歷歷在目，以往和南嫣相處的種種記憶全都争先恐後的冒了出來，她滿心歡喜捉弄他時的樣子，她哭泣擔憂時的面容，還有她不顧一切朝他奔赴的姿态……
這讓他幾乎控制不住痛喊出來聲來。
那畫面越來越清晰，那麽多的回憶，每一個都是和她相關，從開始到結束，全都是她的面容，到最後卻是她無助哭泣的聲音，這讓趙時栖變得愈發痛苦絕望起來。
他怎麽能……
他怎麽可以啊！
那麽重要的事情他怎麽可以忘記呢？
她是他的嫣嫣，是他生氣了連一句重話都舍不得對她說的主子。
他那麽喜歡她，喜歡到即便背棄一切也要和她在一起，喜歡到放棄所有也沒有關系，可是失憶後的他都做了什麽啊？
趙時栖痛到連呼吸都快停滞了，他指尖掐進了掌心，幾乎渾身都在顫抖了。
他寧可自己就這麽死了，也不願意傷她分毫的，“他”怎麽可以……怎麽可以讓她那麽痛苦，怎麽可以讓她那麽絕望的。
記憶恢複的那一瞬間，仿佛全身的血液都在那片刻的功夫都沖到了頭頂，一股極致的痛苦瞬間從胸腔蔓延到四肢百骸，痛得他幾乎能感受到喉嚨裏的一股腥甜。
整個人幾欲崩潰。
……
而身旁的南嫣在輕輕一吻後便退了開來，她面色愈發蒼白了，然後從懷中掏出一只小巧的盒子遞給他，“十七，你還記得當初我讓你帶我逃婚的事情嗎？”
她朝他笑了笑，眼底卻有些濕潤，“那個守城将領家的獨子想娶我做妾室，不是因為他有多喜歡我，而是因為栖霞山莊的蠱是用人來養的，這下，你明白為什麽栖霞山莊的續命蠱可以替別人續命了吧。”
她将那只盒子塞進他的手心。
趙時栖眼淚不知何時落下來了，他想起來了，他全都想起來了，那時候他手臂上烙了一個“奴”字，她看到了覺得新奇，于是就給他看了自己的手臂，她手臂內側也有一個印記，一朵梅花的形狀，那是種了蠱的印記，這才是栖霞山莊養蠱的真相，栖霞山莊的子女都是從小就被種下這種蠱，但是能養成的卻少之又少，這種法子就是以命換命！
他怎麽可以……
趙時栖看到她手腕上包紮過的痕跡，還有血絲滲出，此刻只感覺整個人已經快要失控了，喉頭一甜，一開口鮮血就順着嘴角溢了出來，唇齒間滿是血污。
“嫣嫣……”
他想靠近她一點，想伸手抱着她，想跟她說對不起，可是渾身上下一點力氣都沒有，甚至連站都站不穩了。
整個人一不小心就跌倒在湖邊的那顆柳樹旁，只剩下一只手還死死抓着南嫣的手腕，力道緊得讓人發疼，
“你給我……吃了什麽……”
他聲音斷斷續續，夾着一絲嗚咽，幾乎是用盡了全身的力氣才抓住了她的手腕，眼淚更是不受控制地往外流。
Nan Yan's body swayed a bit, her face turned pale, but she still gave him a very faint smile.
"It's the cake I just fed you. It contains some drugs that can make people powerless. I just don't want you to see me...in an ugly state after death..."
“Don’t… don’t go…”
Zhao Shiqi shook his head, his tears seemed to have broken off, his chest heaving violently, and the little strength he had left tightly grasped her sleeve.
Nan Yan took out the broken jade pendant from her arms again, and then put it into his arms, "Seventeen, I will return the jade pendant to you. From now on, you don't have to keep that promise anymore, and you can start over with the person you like."
Her tears dripped onto his eyelashes. After she finished speaking, she bent down and gently kissed his forehead, as if she was relieved and didn't want to care about it anymore.
Then, under those pleading and desperate gazes, she pried open his fingers without hesitation, turned around and left without looking back.
“…Don’t go!”
He was so anxious that his throat was cramped, he spat out a mouthful of blood, and fell down from under the tree.
Hearing the sound, Nan Yan seemed to pause for a moment, and the wounds on her body made her body a little unsteady.
Zhao Shiqi behind him was still struggling frantically. He tried hard to stand up, but it was impossible. He had no strength left in his body. He dug his fingers into the ground, and the gaps between his fingers were full of mud and blood. "Yan, Yanyan..."
"I know I was wrong...I was wrong..."
His chest ached terribly, his eyes were red, and he stared at the departing figure with despair, repeating it over and over again, his voice becoming increasingly hoarse.
"Don't leave me... I remember..."
"I remember everything now. Please don't leave me."
"Please, don't go!!"