Gu Qingxu's face flushed red instantly. She stammered and whispered, "Husband."
——
On the day Shen Chang was executed, Shen Tangning went to watch in person.
Chi Yan was worried, so he took half a day off to accompany her. The two of them hid in the crowd and looked towards the execution ground.
Shen Chang was forced to kneel before the guillotine by the executioner. His body was hunched over, his face was haggard and weathered, and his expression was somewhat numb.
Shen Tangning saw it all, but her heart was surprisingly calm. There was no sadness or hatred in her heart, as if she were looking at a complete stranger.
She thought to herself that she was no longer the person who would silently suffer for a long time because of her father's neglect.
She stopped dwelling on this vague and illusory fatherly love and truly emerged from that damp and gloomy rain.
Her hand, hanging by her side, was enveloped by a warm, large hand. She turned her head and met Chi Yan's gaze, which held a hint of concern. The corners of her lips curled up slightly.
"I'm fine."
He said in a deliberately casual tone, "You're fine, but I'm scared. This is the first time I've ever seen anything like this, so you'd better hold on tight!"
She knew he was doing this to distract her, and a feeling of comfort washed over her.
The crowd around him was filled with indignant protests. The executioner had just finished drinking a large bowl of wine and was spitting it onto his blade.
The person below reminded him, and the executioner glanced at the time, then pulled a token from the lot-drawing container and threw it on the ground:
"Execute immediately!"
As Shen Chang was pressed against the guillotine, he turned his head and seemed to catch a glimpse of Shen Tangning in the crowd. He struggled slightly, a tear of regret rolling down his cheek, while she remained expressionless.
The executioner raised his blade high, and in the instant it fell, Shen Tangning's vision went dark. Chi Yan placed his hand over her eyes, his casual voice carrying her:
"What an unlucky thing to read, be careful not to have nightmares."
She didn't struggle, letting him cover her, her eyelashes fluttering as they lightly brushed against his palm.
A gasp rippled through the crowd, and she knew the execution was over.
Light returned to her eyes, but before she could examine the bloody scene, Chi Yan pulled her around and, like a starving ghost, dragged out his words, "I'm starving, let's go back and eat."
Shen Tangning couldn't help but ask, "You can actually eat all of this?"
Chi Yan: "..."
...
Shen Chang is dead, but his funeral still needs to be held. However, it cannot be too ostentatious, lest it displease His Majesty. Everything must be kept simple.
As Shen Tangning was pondering the regulations, she received some news—
"The Crown Prince's palace caught fire last night."
Her heart tightened suddenly, and she quickly asked, "And then?"
Yuan Zhao reassured her with his eyes: "It was discovered in time, and no one was injured or killed, but the losses were quite heavy. The Crown Prince and Crown Princess have been evacuated and sent to the palace."
Shen Tangning sensed something was amiss: "How did this fire start?"
"It is said that the tragedy was caused by a problem with the charcoal fire. The person on night watch did not close the window properly, and the wind picked up in the middle of the night."
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