She didn't know how much time had passed. In her half-conscious state, she felt a warm current leave her body. Holding her breath to preserve the last bit of clarity, she heard a shrill voice call out, "Young Master is gone." Her mind instantly plunged into chaos, and she could no longer hold on, falling back into darkness.
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Qiu Su thought, if only she were dead. If she could die, none of this would concern her. Why must she shoulder the responsibilities left behind by the Ji family? She wasn't surnamed Ji; her surname was Qiu, ever since she could remember. Who had placed such a heavy burden on her shoulders? She couldn't bear it; not only could she not bear it, but she also lost her child because of it.
She thought she could protect her child, but unexpectedly, this happened only half a day after entering the palace. She hated it; if she could hate, she would choose to hate. But now, she found that hating someone was so difficult.
As Qiu Su felt the warmth of the skin touched by her palm, a wave of sorrow washed over her.
"Pei Yuan." Sun Qi glanced at Pei Yuan, who had remained kneeling by the bed since the brief moment Qi Xiu had driven him out, and touched his nose, saying, "Um, should the child be sent back to the Pei residence, or..."
Pei Yuan trembled, raising his bloodshot eyes to look at Sun Qi. Sun Qi took a step back and said, "Well, should we have Xiao Shunzi handle it?"
Having already arrived at the palace, Madam Pei said coldly, "Even if the grandson of the Pei family dies, he is still a member of the Pei family, and naturally, our Pei family will make arrangements for him." As she spoke, her eyes reddened.
"My condolences, Madam." Sun Qi glanced at Lingling, who looked at him with disappointment, and raised an eyebrow. "Then I will..."
Before he could finish speaking, Pei Yuan threw a punch. The punch was quite heavy, and Sun Qi stumbled and almost fell to the ground. Pei Yuan, like a madman, grabbed Sun Qi by the neck and gritted his teeth, saying, "You useless puppet, you've wasted my..."
Sun Qi shouted, silencing Pei Yuan, and kicked his legs in alarm, yelling, "Quickly, someone protect the emperor! Protect the emperor!"
Xiao Shunzi rushed over to pull Pei Yuan away, but was immediately slapped to the ground by Pei Yuan's arm. Sun Qi gave Xiao Shunzi a wink, and Xiao Shunzi immediately shouted in a shrill voice, "Young Master Pei has gone mad! Someone come quick, protect him!"
The room erupted in chaos. When the regent arrived, he saw Pei Yuan straddling Sun Qi, his gaze filled with malice. Sun Qi's face was pale, and he coughed and stammered, "Uncle, quick, quick, Uncle..."
The regent glanced at Qiu Su, who remained unconscious, and beckoned several guards to pull Pei Yuan away. Sun Qi, sitting on the ground coughing violently, ripped open his collar and gasped, "You dare assassinate me? You've gone too far! Guards!"
"Your Majesty!" Madam Pei exclaimed, "Yuan'er's behavior was due to excessive grief. Your Majesty, please forgive him this time. I am willing to atone with my life!"
Looking at Pei's mother kneeling before her, Huang Tao felt a strange sense of vengeful pleasure. Being of lowly status, she couldn't enter the circles of wealthy women. Seeing Pei Yuan carrying Qiu Su, whose face was covered in blood, she regretted for the first time supporting her daughter's marriage to him. If she had been with He Zhuo, she certainly wouldn't have suffered like this.
Huang Tao glanced at Pei Yuan, who was pinned to the ground with his arms twisted behind his back, and felt absolutely no urge to plead for him. She thought, the child's loss was fate; that way, her young mistress could leave gracefully and without regrets. Let him and Zhu Yuan from the neighboring courtyard be together forever. Let them return to their Qingyuan Mountain. The next time he appears there, she'll be the first to rush at him with a knife.
Sun Qi glanced at Lingling, whose eyes were gradually becoming misty, and stared blankly at her. He irritably flicked his sleeves and said, "Fine, fine, drag her out and await further instructions."
Sun Qi then ushered everyone out, leaving only Lingling and Xiaoshunzi in the room. Sun Qi walked to the bedside and said, "You must have woken up long ago, since they've all gone out."
Qiu Su slowly opened her eyes, and Lingling exclaimed in surprise. Sun Qi frowned and said, "Xiao Shunzi, take Ling'er to the side hall."
"I'm not going!" Lingling stepped forward and grasped Qiusu's hand, saying, "Sister-in-law, you've slept for a whole day and night, and my brother is going crazy."
"Sister-in-law," Lingling said with red eyes, "it's all Lingling's fault for not being able to help you. I should have stayed by your side the whole time. My brother told me to stay by your side at all times. Waaah, I didn't mean to not help you, please don't be angry with me, sister-in-law."
Qiu Su closed her eyes briefly. "You saw the child?"
Lingling covered her face and cried, "It's a little nephew, very, very... his eyebrows are just like my sister-in-law's."
"I want to take a look."
Lingling looked at Sun Qi and said in a trembling voice, "They... I don't know where they took them."
Qiu Su turned her gaze to Sun Qi, who shook his head with difficulty. "A stillborn baby cannot enter the Qin Zheng Palace. The Empress Dowager had it taken away directly."
Qiu Su looked away, and after a long while, she said in a hoarse voice, "Lingling, go out. I have something to say to the Emperor."
Lingling looked at Qiu Su, then at Sun Qi, pouted, and followed Xiao Shunzi out.
Sun Qi glanced at Qiu Su, who was facing inward, and rubbed his hands together, saying, "Well, I don't count as breaking my oath."
Sun Qi felt the implication was quite obvious, but seeing that Qiu Su showed no surprise, he only sighed and said, "No. If you truly like her, don't let her come to the palace."
Sun Qi peeked out, awkwardly touched his nose, and whispered, "I didn't expect her to use someone else's hand... Anyway, it's good that nothing happened."
Qiu Su's eyes flickered, and she looked at Sun Qi with surprise. Sun Qi then changed the subject, smiling as he asked, "What are your plans?"
Qiu Su's gaze dimmed. Sun Qi and Pei Yuan might be brothers, but it was her child who died, and he had nothing to do with it. Even without the child, his plans could still proceed, so he could talk and laugh as if nothing had happened.
Not wanting to think further, Qiu Su closed her eyes and said, "Just let me stay in the palace, Pei Yuan. I don't want to see you again. Give me your things as soon as possible, and I'm prepared to leave under some pretext."
"Just let me know if you need my help."
Qiu Su looked at Sun Qi and said calmly, "Are you really willing to give up this throne?"
"Hehe, everyone says it's good to be an emperor, but once you actually sit on that dragon throne, you'll deeply understand the sorrow that others can't comprehend. I've wanted to give it up for a long time. If it weren't for not wanting my father's empire to fall into other hands, I would have left long ago."
"You seem to have a good attitude, but he..."
Qiu Su paused for a moment, then said, "That's all for now. Arrange for Huang Tao to leave the palace. As for the rest, I'll have Xiao Shunzi tell you later."
Pei Yuan was placed under house arrest in a remote corner of the Cold Palace by Sun Qi on charges of assaulting the Emperor. Qiu Su, meanwhile, remained in the care of Consort Li, recuperating in the palace. Out of sympathy for Qiu Su, Consort Li treated her fairly well. Having lost her child, Qiu Su had lost her previous timidity. She ate and drank whatever Consort Li gave her. Her life was actually worthless; if someone wanted to take it, she was happy to save herself the trouble.
As the fifteenth approached, Pei's mother would occasionally visit her in the palace, but most of the time she wanted Qiu Su to plead with the Emperor to release Pei Yuan. Qiu Su neither said anything nor refused; she listened to whatever Pei's mother said, but it went in one ear and out the other.
Huang Tao was unable to enter the palace. Qiu Su sent a letter through Xiao Shunzi, instructing her to return to Qingyuan Mountain first. Whether she complied or not remains unknown.
The palace was still bustling. It was the New Year, after all. Why would they stop celebrating because of someone as insignificant as her? Sun Qi visited Changqing Palace more often, and Consort Li's face showed increasing delight. Every time she looked at Qiu Su, who was always in her way, she felt even more disgusted.
On the night of the fifteenth, everyone went to the Empress Dowager's Xing Le Palace to celebrate the Lantern Festival. Qiu Su, due to her health and the taboos within the palace, remained in Changqing Palace, accompanied by a maid whose name she still didn't know. Perhaps because of the festival, there were fewer guards in the Cold Palace. Pei Yuan climbed the wall for the umpteenth time, and seeing the guards gone, he felt relieved and secretly went to Changqing Palace.
Music played continuously from Xingyue Palace, and fireworks soared into the sky, illuminating most of the palace. Pei Yuan carefully avoided the maids and eunuchs coming and going, crossed the Imperial Garden, circled around to the artificial lake, and hurried towards Changqing Palace. Having not been out for half a month, Pei Yuan had lost weight, and his unkempt beard made him look very haggard.
Everything seemed to be out of his control. Ever since Qiu Su suddenly fell, Pei Yuan had been experiencing a growing sense of powerlessness. For the past two weeks, he had been isolated from the outside world. He constantly thought about escaping, constantly thought about Qiu Su who had just lost her child, and about her pale face. Every moment was a huge torment to his mind.
Pei Yuan dodged another row of palace servants carrying fruit platters, but the next instant he saw the firelight reflected in the lake turn pale. The firelight was coming from Changqing Palace; Pei Yuan had only been stunned for a moment when the fire had already spread another layer, illuminating the entire Changqing Palace. Pei Yuan blinked again, looking at the firelight on the lake in disbelief, and the next instant he rushed out.
Author's Note: Although this story is quite detached from the mainstream, I've decided to make it available for purchase tomorrow. The ending of the first part will be released at the usual time, and after you've read it, it will probably be available for purchase in the afternoon.
The second part is optional; the general story goes like this: Su Su went to the Northern Frontier, of course, with He Zhuo. Some things happened between them...sigh, I don't know how to end it like this. As for who will ultimately be the male lead, I really have no plans right now. I haven't written anything about this story for a long time.
The child stayed with Pei Yuan until they met again when the child was about two years old. This reunion involves Su Su's younger brother, He Zhuo's, background. Of course, if Su Su has a brother, she must also have parents; the events of 20 years ago will gradually unfold.
Remember Qinqin from Pingcheng? She should be making an appearance.
Remember that scholar surnamed Yang? And that Shui Sheng... pfft, he's actually Lu Sheng, they might still appear.
44
44. Conclusion...
Changqing Palace was in chaos, and no one knew how the fire started. Fortunately, Consort Li and several people around her had gone to Xingle Palace, leaving only a few maids and Qiu Su in Changqing Palace. Seeing that the fire was out of control, no one was in a hurry to put it out.