Luzhou-Mond - Kapitel 132
In the distance, Shen Tingxuan strode over, and Shen Zexuan turned back to look at me, gently calling out, "Huai'en, take care."
Tears welled up in her eyes, and it would be a lie to say she felt no regret. She softly called out, "Your Highness, take care." She raised her hand to wipe away the tears on her cheeks and smiled slightly at Chen Zexuan.
Shen Zexuan rose leisurely and walked in the direction Shen Tingxuan had come from. The fiery red hem of his robes billowed with each step, like flowing flames that stung my eyes. Watching his receding figure, I smiled bitterly to myself. Before, I was always the one leaving; now, finally, I was the one watching his back.
Before I knew it, Shen Tingxuan had walked up to me and stood there without saying a word. When I noticed him, he just looked at me thoughtfully, then gently shook his head, and after a long while said, "Perhaps, you should be the Third Prince's consort."
I laughed out loud: "Brother Ting, you're overthinking it. I was just daydreaming about the future."
Shen Tingxuan smiled faintly, sat down on the stool again, and casually began to strum the strings of his zither. My thoughts, however, had already wandered off somewhere else.
On the fifth day of the eleventh month, the eve of the wedding, Shen Tingxuan moved back to the Second Prince's residence from Qiyun Villa to prepare for the wedding the following day. That night, I went to bed early, wondering what tomorrow would bring. I wondered if the Emperor's goal would be achieved, and if anyone would truly fall into his trap for my sake. On the city wall of Xiangzhou, I called out Gan Lin's name, and Shen Haoyu turned his horse around. This news shouldn't attract him, right? I've already sent Gan Lin away; there shouldn't be anyone else…
On the sixth day of the eleventh month, before dawn, I was dragged out of bed by a palace maid who forcibly held me down to wash my face, do my makeup, and change me into a bright red wedding dress. After nearly two hours of this, looking at the completely unfamiliar woman in the mirror, I couldn't believe that I was the bride today, and that this wedding was nothing but a charade.
The maids thoroughly inspected the room, inside and out, before stopping and quietly waiting for the auspicious hour. A short while later, a chattering sound came from outside, and several brightly dressed women entered the room. One of them said to the maids, "Grannies, you've worked hard. His Highness has sent us to keep the Princess Consort company for a while. You can go and rest now." As she spoke, she took out several red envelopes and stuffed them into the maids' hands. The maids accepted them with smiles and left the room one by one.
After the old women had gone some distance, these women surrounded me and hurriedly removed the hairpins and ornaments that I had painstakingly put on my head. I asked in surprise, "What are you doing, ladies?"
The woman who had spoken earlier didn't even look at me, her hands still busy as she said, "His Highness wants you to leave today. We'll leave a substitute here, so you can come with us."
Remembering what Shen Tingxuan had said before, leaving today was indeed a good opportunity. Normally, this place was heavily guarded, and it would be impossible to sneak out. Today, with so many people, they could take advantage of the chaos. In that case, the emperor wouldn't suspect that he had deliberately let the bride go on the wedding day. He had indeed thought things through very carefully.
Thinking of this, I quickly took off my dress. A woman sat down in front of the mirror and started applying makeup to her face. In no time, she looked like me. I was very excited. This way, I was even more sure of success.
The girls then put all the things they had taken from me onto the woman, making her look exactly like me from before. After putting on the woman's clothes, they casually wiped my face a few times, and I was no longer myself.
After changing clothes, the auspicious time was almost here, and it was already getting noisy outside. The woman in charge covered my double's head with a bright red veil, opened the door to invite the old women outside to wait, and then pulled me into the crowd, and we left Qiyun Villa together.
Things went much more smoothly than I expected. Standing outside, I looked back at the brightly decorated Qiyun Villa, then at the deserted Third Prince's residence next door, and strode away.
As I followed the girls to a secluded spot, just as I was about to ask them where they were taking me, the leader of the group moved with lightning speed, quickly sealing all my acupoints, hoisting me onto her shoulder, and speeding off towards the west of the city.
Upon arriving at a dilapidated house, the woman in charge threw me violently to the ground, and an ominous feeling welled up in my heart—they were not sent by Shen Tingxuan at all.
The woman squatted down, wiped my face clean, took out a pill from her bosom and stuffed it into my mouth, sneering, "This royal secret medicine, the Soul-Severing Pill, is really a waste to use on you!" With that, she clapped her hands, stood up, leaped onto the courtyard wall, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
I was still in shock. The royal secret medicine, the Soul-Severing Pill—was this how the emperor arranged it? So that he could continue his plans and get rid of me at the same time?
Before I could think any further, a sharp pain shot through my chest. Was this Soul-Severing Pill as deadly as arsenic? Was I going to die here?
Waves of pain, waves of dizziness, a feeling of my chest being torn apart, yet I was being held back from dying, enduring this torment alive.
I don't know how much time passed, but the sealed acupoints had all released themselves, yet I was still breathing, only vomiting black blood. Did the emperor hate me that much too? He wouldn't even let me die a peaceful death!
Unable to hold back her pain, she cried out. Her limbs were already mobile, so she gritted her teeth and got up, slowly moving towards the door. No matter what, she couldn't just wait to die here. She had to at least keep a breath to tell others how she died, and how the emperor poisoned his daughter-in-law on his son's wedding day.
After finally managing to get outside, they saw a large group of people heading in this direction. In an instant, they were right in front of them. The leaders were Shen Tingxuan, who was wearing a bright red wedding robe, Shen Zexuan, and the fourth prince Shen Yixuan, whom they had met once before in Chongde Hall.
Upon seeing Shen Tingxuan, I was about to speak when another mouthful of black blood gushed out. The Fourth Prince gave an order: "Arrest this regicide witch!" Immediately, many Imperial Guards surrounded me.
Emperor murder? I looked at Shen Tingxuan in astonishment. When did I murder the emperor? I've never even seen the emperor's face! But the complex and indescribable expression on Shen Tingxuan's face seemed to tell me that I had indeed murdered the emperor.
Two imperial guards approached me. I waved them away, barely suppressing the nausea that threatened to erupt again, and looked sadly at Shen Tingxuan: "Your Highness, I was taken out before the auspicious hour, fed a Soul-Severing Pill, and left here. How could I possibly have murdered the emperor?"
The fourth prince retorted, "Stop making excuses. During the ceremony, in full view of everyone, you took the opportunity of bowing to the Emperor to assassinate him, and then escaped with someone's help. We tracked you all the way here. What else do you have to say?"
I looked at Shen Tingxuan with a bitter smile. So this was a huge trap, not only targeting me but also involving the Emperor. Who orchestrated it? The royal secret medicine—it must be either the Emperor or one of the princes. Shen Tingxuan? I didn't even dare to think about it. Shen Zexuan? Looking at his cold face, my heart ached terribly. The Fourth Prince? How could he possibly know so much about my situation? The First Prince is still under house arrest in his residence; there's no way he could possibly know.
Unable to hold it in any longer, he spat out a mouthful of black blood. After catching his breath for a while, he looked up and asked the Fourth Prince, "Your Highness, if I had escaped from the wedding ceremony, I would have been wearing my wedding attire. How could I have had time to change into this outfit? And where did I get this deadly poison from?"
The fourth prince was speechless, while Shen Tingxuan and Shen Zexuan remained seated on their horses without uttering a sound.
Even now, I still don't want to believe that this matter has anything to do with Shen Tingxuan, but who else can freely enter and leave Qiyun Villa on such a day? Thinking of Shen Zexuan next door, I couldn't help but twitch the corners of my mouth and smile slightly at him: "Third Prince, is that you?" My voice was unusually weak.
In a daze, I saw Shen Zexuan's expression suddenly change, and heard Shen Tingxuan shout "Huai En!" before leaping off his horse and galloping towards me. A warm feeling welled up in my heart; he still believed in me, and he still hadn't abandoned me.
Before collapsing, she softly nestled into Shen Tingxuan's arms, the black blood she vomiting staining his magnificent red wedding robes. A smile played on her lips, tears welled in her eyes, and she softly called out, "Brother Ting." If I am to die now, whoever did it, let that emperor die with me. Brother Ting, I'm sorry, I'm not reconciled.
The pain in my chest and abdomen was excruciating; I could feel my life slipping away bit by bit. I had escaped death several times, but this time it seemed I couldn't escape it. I wanted to say something to Shen Tingxuan as a farewell, but every time I opened my mouth, blood gushed out. If this continued, I wouldn't be poisoned to death; I would bleed to death first. Shen Tingxuan frantically wiped away the black blood I kept vomiting, his voice trembling as he called my name. "Brother Ting, I'm so sorry. If I were to die such a miserable death in your arms, you would be heartbroken."
I struggled to lift my eyes and look around. The Fourth Prince sat blankly on his horse. Shen Zexuan had dismounted at some point and was standing beside me, his lips trembling and his face filled with unconcealed sorrow.
Her consciousness gradually blurred, and she had to strain to see Shen Tingxuan's face clearly. Suddenly, a very shrill cry rang out: "Sister! Sister!" A dark figure leaped over the heavy guards and rushed over, the voice sounding very familiar.
The person who arrived had a black band wrapped around their forehead. Hearing the familiar "Sister," I smiled slightly. Zinuo, is it you who came to pick me up? Well, this can be considered a reunion.
With Brother Ting seeing me off and Zi Nuo picking me up, I finally closed my eyes contentedly...
Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 115
Chapter word count: 3624 Update time: 09-09-12 11:41
I groped in the dark, trying to find a glimmer of light, but all I could see was endless darkness.
Suddenly, I stepped on something in the darkness, lost my footing, and plummeted downwards. I tried to scream in terror, but no sound came out. It was like falling into water, my body tumbling in the waves, one side icy cold, the other burning like flames. I endured this agony alone, endlessly repeating the same cycle, and I could only struggle aimlessly in the darkness.
Finally, the storm subsided, the darkness receded, and I saw a stunningly handsome man in red approaching, his movements graceful and alluring. He smiled gently at me, a smile that made my heart flutter, and I completely forgot who I was. Was this my reward after all the suffering I had endured? Watching the handsome man approach, he slowly knelt before me, his fiery red sleeves concealing the lush green grass beneath him. He asked gently, "Do you want to see my true heart?" I nodded unconsciously; I would agree to anything he said. But then, with a flick of his sleeve, a flash of cold light appeared in his hand, revealing a gaping, dark hole in his chest, from which blood gushed. I stared in terror, my eyes widening. Suddenly, his smile twisted into a grotesque grin. He placed a hand before my eyes, and in his palm was a beating heart—but it was black…
I flung his hand away in terror, and darkness descended once more. The handsome man in red vanished instantly. Once again, I was tormented by ice and fire. I would rather endure this pain than see that black hole, that black heart.
The storm subsided once more, and I was filled with boundless fear, terrified of seeing that beautiful yet frightening man again. Thankfully, he didn't appear this time. Relieved, I stretched out my arms and legs and lay down on the soft grass, feeling utterly powerless.
The warm sunlight shone on me. How long had it been since I'd seen the sun? But I was too lazy to open my eyes, so I comfortably turned over and fell into a deep sleep.
A gentle voice whispered in my ear, calling "sister" over and over again. Who was so annoying? I'd finally escaped this hell of ice and fire, and now I couldn't even get a good night's sleep! I covered my ears in annoyance, but I couldn't stop the voice from assaulting my ears. The voice was pleasant, that's true, but when it disturbs my sleep, even the most beautiful voice is just noise.
Cool liquid dripped onto my face. I reached up and wiped it off. Was it raining? I squinted at the blazing sun overhead, wondering why there were water droplets. Was it a sun shower? Oh well, as long as it didn't rain too heavily.