Chapter 78 Chapter 78 Death
Xie Yunzhou didn't know how long he had been searching in the water, but he couldn't even touch a piece of her clothes. His lips were blue and white from the cold, and he refused to get on the boat. Finally, he was dragged ashore by the imperial guards, but he fell to the ground and coughed violently, with dark red spots between his fingers.
Chen Sui was horrified upon seeing this. He hurriedly helped the man up and urged, "Young Prince! That woman... probably, probably can't be saved. You can't delay any longer. You must return to see a doctor as soon as possible!"
Xie Yunzhou was soaking wet, his face pale and bloodless. He clutched his sleeve tightly with his knuckles and growled, "Go find him! Go again... go again, call someone! You must find him!"
Chen Sui had no choice, he really couldn't bear the consequences, so he gritted his teeth, raised his palm and chopped him off the back of the neck, knocking him unconscious.
Not long after Lu Chen arrived, Xie Yunzhou had already been forcibly taken away by Chen Sui.
The water in this section of the Bian River was fast, so the government had set up emergency troops every mile. Nan Heng had already sent a message, and soon a general led the troops to rush over. Dozens of guards and soldiers who were proficient in swimming took turns diving into the icy river and searching repeatedly.
Torches on both sides of the river were like dragons, and new reinforcements kept coming in. There was a chaotic crowd of people and horses, and boats were constantly coming and going on the river. The shouts and the sound of splashing water mixed together in a noisy mess.
Lu Chen stood silently on the shore, waiting for news.
The night gradually spread like ink, and a line of light white with a bluish-gray hue appeared in the sky.
A whole night has passed.
The general came to report.
"General, I have searched this section of the river and have not… have not found any trace of Madam."
Lu Chen remained motionless, as if he hadn't heard anything.
"General, you may not know... Since the canal was opened this spring, more than forty people have fallen into the Bian River, either due to boat capsizing or jumping into the river. The soldiers in the various villages have recorded that there are only a few who survived..."
The general paused, raised his head, glanced at him cautiously, and lowered his voice, "Only five people..."
As soon as the words fell, the air fell into dead silence.
Lu Chen remained silent for a long time, until the general's forehead was covered with a layer of sweat and he was about to collapse. Only then did he open his mouth and softly utter a word: "Aren't there still five?"
The general hesitated for a moment, then steeled himself and spoke frankly, "General, although five people survived, they were all strong boatmen with excellent swimming skills. Even strong men would find it difficult to endure such a chilly climate, so how could an ordinary, frail woman withstand it? Not to mention... she can't even swim..."
Lu Chen's expression suddenly turned cold and gloomy.
The general was suddenly frightened and lowered his head, not daring to breathe.
After a long moment, Lu Chen closed his eyes and said word by word, "Even if you turn the Bian River upside down... I want you to see me alive, or die..."
The voice stopped abruptly and the Adam's apple rolled violently several times.
He clenched his teeth tightly, veins bulging on his forehead, and for a long while, he still couldn't utter the word.
The imperial guards and soldiers had no choice but to obey orders. Nan Heng turned around and led two teams to search separately. They continued to rescue people from the river and searched for bodies along the river banks.
Lu Chen's eyes turned red as he stared at the river.
The Bian River is the lifeline of the grain transportation between the north and the south. Grain ships travel back and forth every day, carrying 60,000 dan of grain to feed the millions of people in the city. The underground canal under the Rainbow Bridge passes through the city. The river is wide and can accommodate five ships at the same time. The deepest part is more than 50 meters. The turbulent water is shining with a dark green light, and the undercurrent whimpers as it merges into the Huai River, day and night.
When a person falls into this vast river, it is like a drop of morning dew falling into the vast sea, disappearing in an instant without a trace.
Lu Chen suddenly felt as if his chest was being pressed down by a huge rock, and a suffocating feeling like squeezing came over him. The first rays of dawn in the sky made his eyes go dark, his ears were buzzing, and the sounds around him became distant and vague.
Xie Yunzhou was forcibly sent back to the Forbidden City. As soon as he woke up the next day, he immediately struggled to break out of the palace, but was stopped by the Forbidden City Army. In anger, he fell seriously ill and did not eat or drink for three days. When he looked at people, his eyes were bloodshot and as cold as a knife. His previous arrogant and unrestrained appearance was gone, and there was even a hint of death in him.
The government saw this and couldn't bear to be completely ruthless, so they sent more people and let him go out to look for the person.
With him watching the movements on the river, Lu Chen personally led people to search inch by inch downstream along the bank.
Countless soldiers and imperial guards searched for more than ten days, and the salvage boats on the Bian River never stopped for a moment. Although they still couldn't find any trace of her, it was not a complete failure.
First, they fished out the body of the Qiang man who had fallen into the river with her that night. The man was still holding her jade locket tightly in his hand, which seemed to have been torn apart while struggling.
Three days later, the soldiers fished out another blood-stained piece of women's clothing. After a hasty identification, they immediately brought it to the shore and showed it to Lu Chen with trepidation.
Since the moment she fell into the water, Lu Chen's body and mind have been shattered for several days and nights.
He gritted his teeth and held on until this moment. He heard the news in a trance and came to his senses after a while. He raised his head expressionlessly, and his distracted gaze slowly focused on the large pool of blood.
However, just as he took a step forward, Lu Chen suddenly leaned over and began to retch violently.
At first it was just a few muffled coughs, but in the blink of an eye he vomited a large mouthful of blood. The scarlet color splashed on the new buds of early spring, which was shocking.
"My dear!" Nan Heng couldn't bear to see him like this. He grabbed his arm and pleaded softly, "Let me go and recognize him."
Lu Chen shook his head slightly, held down the hand he extended to support him, silently wiped the blood from the corner of his lips, and walked over slowly.
His eyes were fixed calmly.
It's her clothes.
She seemed to have been scratched by the sharp ice in the river, and a long tear appeared on the shoulder of her clothes. Large patches of blood spread out, looking hideous and glaring.
A frail woman who couldn't swim, injured and bleeding in such a fast-moving, icy dark river, would not have survived for more than half a minute.
There is no hope of survival.
The result was self-evident. Nan Heng's heart sank suddenly. He held his breath unconsciously and looked at Lu Chen nervously.
Lu Chen didn't seem to react much. He just stood there silently for a while, turned around, and slowly walked back two steps.
Such unusual behavior made people even more uneasy. Nan Heng was extremely nervous, his heart pounding. Just as he was about to follow, he saw Lu Chen suddenly stop and called out softly, "Nan Heng, come and help me."
Nan Heng hurriedly caught up with him, but saw him stretch out his hand stiffly and probe into the air as if groping.
Startled, Nan Heng subconsciously looked up at Lu Chen's face, and saw that his eyes were as red as blood, his gaze was scattered, as if he could no longer focus.
Nan Heng's throat tightened, and his voice almost choked: "My dear, your eyes..."
Lu Chen was stunned for a moment, then slowly looked in the direction of the voice, nodded slightly, and said in a low, hoarse voice: "I can't see."
"My dear!" Nan Heng lost his voice in panic.
Lu Chen shook his head silently, as if he wanted to continue walking back. But the next moment, amid the exclamations of his guards, his body swayed and he fell down unexpectedly.
…
At some point, he seemed to see her again.
Outside Taozhou City, surrounded by dark green mountains and a pool of spring water, she stood barefoot in the gurgling stream and turned to smile at him, "Lu Bingyan!"
The water surface reflected the sunlight, creating shimmering waves that made him dizzy.
The stream was clearly very shallow, yet his heart suddenly tightened as he stumbled through the water to catch up, "Miss, come back!"
But she just smiled, and waved at him with her eyes full of smiles in the bright sunlight.
The clear stream water flowed over her slender white ankles, her crabapple-colored hairband fluttered gently in the wind, and her whole body gradually blended into the dazzling sunlight.
"妱妱!"
Lu Chen suddenly opened his eyes.
The night wind was silent, blowing silently through the curtains.
It was just a dream.
It was just a dream.
He didn't know when he fainted and was awakened by the dream again.
Lu Chen slowly closed his eyes, and his face became wet and cold without him noticing.
After a long silence, he slumped down against the couch and stiffly and numbly opened the familiar drawer at the foot of the bed.
Inside was the Mohele that I made for her when we were in Taozhou.
Before leaving for Beijing, she carefully wrapped him in layer upon layer of soft cloth, brought him carefully to Beijing, and even made small clothes for him.
Originally they were just two rough and simple little clay figures.
Later, a fat doll painted in gold and color was added.
Although his eyesight had improved significantly after he had gotten over the previous bout of anger, he still had difficulty seeing, and everything seemed covered in a thin layer of fog.
Lu Chen narrowed his eyes slightly and stared silently at the round, white, and adorable fat baby. A slow and intense pain slowly arose in his heart, gradually spreading to his limbs and bones, and even a trace of soreness and coldness seeped into the joints of his bones.
Everything is because of him.
The fault is all his.
The more he wanted to keep her, the more he failed and pushed her further away.
Even... harming her to this extent.
He knew he was wrong.
He really knew he was wrong.
But... she is gone.
His insides had already been torn and broken into pieces, and countless amounts of blood were silently flowing in his body. However, he was like a trapped beast with its throat tightly grasped by someone, unable to even utter a cry of pain.
Lu Chen arched his back in pain, his spine hunched, and he knelt on the ground like this. A whole night and a day passed, without a sound or movement.
Nan Heng stood outside the door with bated breath, even breathing very lightly, for fear of missing the slightest movement in the house. Cold sweat kept oozing out of his palms.
I waited in fear until the next day when the sun set, the night fell, and lights were on everywhere. Then the tightly closed door finally creaked, as if someone got up and walked out.
When Nan Heng heard the sound, he immediately turned around and walked forward, but the moment he saw Lu Chen's appearance clearly, he stopped abruptly. He was struck by lightning and opened his eyes wide in shock.
However, overnight, the young man's originally black hair had turned gray, especially at the temples. Facing the bright lights under the corridor, it seemed as if it was covered with a layer of white frost.
Nan Heng was shocked and speechless, unable to recover for a long time.
That year on the battlefield of Taozhou, it was Lu Chen who dug him out from the pile of dead bodies and carried him back to the camp, saving his life.
Over the years, they were nominally master and servant, but in reality they were brothers who had shared life and death together. He had seen the young master in countless appearances, but he could never have imagined that the young master, who was only twenty-four this year and should have been full of vigor and vitality, would... turn gray overnight.
"My dear..." Nan Heng's eyes turned red for a moment. After a while, he opened his mouth and called him softly.
Lu Chen was unaware of his appearance change. He stood quietly in the corridor for a moment, then called out to him in a hoarse voice, "Among all my generals, you are my most trusted one. I have two important matters that I need you to handle."
Nan Heng was stunned for a moment, then straightened his back, suppressed the sobs in his throat, and replied in a deep voice: "Master, please give me your orders. I will go through fire and water and die without hesitation!"
Following the light from the corridor, Lu Chen lowered his eyes to glance at him, and explained in a calm voice, "A while ago, Zhao Zhao and I took inventory of our assets and shops in Shangjing. We kept the medicine shop on Ma Xing Street and transferred it to Xiaochan. The rest were sold, and all the money was divided in half."
"Give half of it to my mother, and you take the remaining half as a reward between you and me."
Nan Heng was stunned for a moment, then looked up in astonishment: "My dear?"
Lu Chen pretended not to hear, and spoke calmly and gently: "First, after her clothes and hat are buried in the future, you will guard her grave for three years on my behalf."
His voice was low and hoarse, wrapped in the coolness of the night wind, like a wisp of vague cold mist, but every word he spoke was as heavy as a thousand pounds.
Nan Heng shuddered, and immediately realized that something was wrong. A chill ran from the soles of his feet up his spine: "My dear, what are you doing——"
Lu Chen's eyes grew calmer, without a trace of emotion in them, as he continued, "Secondly, from now on, on the first and fifteenth day of every month, you must recite sutras and pray for her. Don't neglect them. Every year on the birthdays and anniversaries of her mother and father's deaths, you must visit their graves and offer sacrifices, and don't stop at Xiangguo Temple."
The more Nan Heng listened, the more panicked and helpless he became. Even if he was slow-witted, he realized at this moment that he was making arrangements for his affairs after his death.
Nan Heng's heart tightened, and he could no longer suppress the grief and anger in his heart. Tears rolled down his eyes, and his throat was choked with sobs that he couldn't utter a word.
If the lady had left several times in the past, the husband still had a thought in his heart to find her and reunite with her so that they could live a good life in the future, but now that the lady has left, what is the difference between that and taking the husband's life directly?
It is clear that... he is determined to die.
Nan Heng was extremely sad, but he didn't know how to dissuade her. For a moment, he was so anxious that he spoke incoherently, "My dear, my dear, you can't..."
Lu Chen was silent for a long time before he spoke very slowly, his voice hoarse, "Don't worry, I won't die anytime soon."
The night wind was bleak, the moon was cold and frosty. He slowly raised his head and looked towards the northwest, a cold and gloomy flash in his calm eyes.
"There is still one offering missing before her spirit."
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