Scharlachroter Regen überflutet die Stadt

Kapitel 72

The master she was talking about... Could it be...? Something caught in my throat, and I quickly grabbed Xiaoyu's hand. "The master you're talking about, is it—"

"You brat, didn't I say I'd let her wash alone? You want to be punished too?" Aunt Qiu's scolding voice suddenly rang out, and I quickly shook off Xiaoyu's hand. Xiaoyu stood up helplessly, glancing at me with worry. I looked at her reassuringly, and she sighed and ran towards Aunt Qiu, her figure gradually disappearing into the central hall. Aunt Qiu pointed and muttered curses beside me. I sighed inwardly; Aunt Qiu was, after all, Yao Shuhuan's person. I stood up, intending to retort, but perhaps I stood up too suddenly, my head spun, and I slipped, falling backward into the dirty pool. I felt a nauseous smell from head to toe, standing soaking wet in the pool, covered in filth and reeking of foul odors. I loathed myself, standing motionless and disheveled in the pool. I could hear the laughter of several aunts who had been watching, turning and leaving as they laughed. Were they eager to tell Yao Shuhuan about this amusing incident?

With his legs filled with water, he struggled to take a step in the pool.

But then that hand reached out in front of me, and stopped in mid-air...

I stared at his hand, stunned, and a weak smile quietly bloomed on my lips.

I also reached out my hand—

Two hands approaching each other...

My fingertips touched his palm...

His hands, roughened from years of wielding knives, were now so callous...

Chapter Thirty: Unrecognized

I was forcibly pulled out of the pool by that icy, cold-faced man.

"I'm dirty—" I kept backing away, my voice trembling.

He didn't seem to care, taking off his robe and draping it over me. I stared in astonishment; yes, even their backs looked so alike. Unable to control my eyelashes, tears welled up in my eyes instantly, my breathing became shallow, and then they streamed down my face…

He looked at me with a puzzled expression. He rarely spoke, and when he did, his voice was so soft. “It’s not good for a girl to have her face all wet with tears.”

The wind carried the chill of spring, and my spine stiffened...

It's not good for a girl to have her face all wet with tears...

Something was gently peeling away from my mind. In my memory, there was a boy who looked at me quietly, smiled slightly, and said... "Girls...it's not good to have your faces covered in tears..."

That's exactly what he said, word for word.

Tears streamed down my cheeks, slowly flowing to my chest. My vision blurred, filled with a white fog. Xuan, is that you?

I don't want to think, I just want to see him clearly, and I want to hold him tightly in my hand and never let go.

"It was just a dream! You're alright! I know you wouldn't lie to me, you said you wouldn't leave me! You're actually alright..." I smiled, and cried at the same time. "I was wrong, I swear I'll never raise my voice at you again, never yell at you again, never lie to you again, I'll never run away from home again, and I'll never make you angry again. I'll listen to whatever you say!... Please, don't die for me, don't leave me, please never let me have these terrible dreams again..."

Crying with all my might. As if by just trying so hard, I could stop believing. I could have illusions. Just like... it really was you.

I opened my eyes. Through the blur, I saw Xiaoyu looking after me.

The clothes I was wearing had already been changed, but they still felt dirty. I frowned and sat up.

Xiaoyu walked up with a smile. "Don't frown. I washed you clean. Your clothes are brand new too. I was only gone for a short while. How did you end up looking so disheveled? When that Liao lord carried you in, I was shocked. I almost didn't recognize you."

Xiaoyu shook her head and handed me the soup. She let me drink it all in one go to warm me up.

I struggled to my feet. Then I remembered I still had to go back to the inner sanctum.

Xiaoyu stopped me, saying, "You're not needed this time. Your embarrassing situation has spread like wildfire, even the Prince knows... I just sent palace servants to fix everything." Did he watch the show and then try to play the good guy again?

Remembering what Xiaoyu had said before, he pulled her in front of him and asked, "Xiaoyu, where is your former master now?"

Xiaoyu froze, her gaze turning cold.

"Is she safe and sound now?" I was eager to know the answer to this question.

“My master retired a year ago,” she replied expressionlessly.

Feeling relieved, he let out a long breath and muttered to himself, "It's good that you're alive. So you were infiltrated into the palace under Rong Xiyue's orders."

When I called out my master's name, Xiaoyu could not hide her surprise.

"Who... exactly are you?"

"If possible, I would like to see your master." I tightened my grip on Xiaoyu's hand. "You have endured humiliation for the Rong family until now, and all of us in the Rong family will always be grateful to you."

Back in the main hall, shaking her aching head, she bumped into that tall figure and leaned heavily into his arms.

I looked up groggily and met a cold gaze.

Recalling what happened by the pool, she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. She pulled away from his embrace, lowered her head, and said, "General Yelü—"

He didn't speak, but his gaze deepened as he looked at me.

I got annoyed by their stares, so I had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "I just dirtied your clothes, General. I'd like to help you wash them."

"No."

"General—please don't take offense if I said anything wrong before."

"Why—" His voice was heavy, each word suffocating me, "why do you have to endure this?"

Endure? Could he really see through it? She took a deep breath, tilted her head back, smiled at him, her breathing light, "This servant—has something she wants to protect, so I can endure and endure some more, without feeling bitter or tired."

A gleaming light shone deep within his eyes. "To protect?"

“Yes.” I stared at him intently. “Haven’t you ever done that?”

I feel happy because I have people I want to protect and people I want to cherish. That's what Xuan said. But I'm stubbornly clinging to the fact that the person in front of me is him.

He gave a cold laugh, his eyes unfathomable. "I never did." He turned and left, the dagger at his waist gleaming.

"Wait a minute." A swift step blocked his path. "Can I take a look?"

"What?"

Unable to suppress his eagerness to verify, a hand reached up to his shoulder, and he was shocked to find a knife drawn and pressed against my throat.

"You think I would hurt you?" I smiled helplessly.

"Would you like to see who's faster, your hands or my knife?"

I forcefully pulled off his collar with my wrist, dodged his advancing dagger to the side, and my eyes fell on the shocking wound on his left chest. My whole body froze uncontrollably. The dagger slashed across his neck, and he realized I had stopped. He suddenly withdrew his blade, and the dagger fell to the ground.

"What exactly do you want to do?" He was somewhat annoyed, ignoring the knife that had fallen to the ground, and looked at me with a cold gaze.

I stared at him blankly, then looked at the scar on his chest. "How did you get that scar?"

He had already pulled up his collar, and his eyes held a hint of disgust as he looked at me. "You Han Chinese women are really strange."

How did you get the scar?

He was taken aback. "Wounds sustained on the battlefield."

"Really?" I chuckled. "Is that what they told you? Or is that what you're telling yourself? Living like this is wonderful, isn't it? If I could, I'd want to live like this too."

I don't understand what you're saying?

"Of course you don't understand, because you simply don't want to understand." She bit her lip tightly. "Have you ever thought about avenging that sword wound? If you encountered the person who stabbed you on the battlefield, what would you do?"

“Kill him,” he answered decisively, without the slightest hesitation.

"You shouldn't have said that you really liked me." With a mix of dejection and resolute determination, I slowly turned around, wanting to leave.

Did I say that?

Upon hearing this, he stiffened and could no longer take a step.

"Did I say that when I was Xiao Xuan?" He spoke casually, as if he were telling someone else's story. "I've had many names: Liu Xia, Fang Ziming, Qiao Buhuan, and many more. Xiao Xuan is just one of the names I'm familiar with. Each mission has a different name. Some missions last for years, while others only take a few months. Doing too many missions leaves behind a lot of debt, so after each mission, I have to clean up those things that are no longer relevant."

Was it all just a mission? To you, I was simply a mission.

"You orchestrated your own death by my hand, a death that seemed perfect to you." I smiled softly, not wanting to shed another tear for him. "Everything was part of your plan."

"Sometimes, this is one of the methods needed to get out of trouble. For me, death means I can quickly take over the mission and move on to the next role."

"Perfect for you." She gently closed her eyes, her breath warm against her nose. "Do you know what I am to you? You lied to me when you were alive, and I'm still being lied to you now that you're dead. I'm so easy to fool."

"You have a wound on your neck."

"Your knife is slower than before." He wiped the blood from his neck expressionlessly. "That's fine, we're even now."

The wind howled like ghosts as the carriage sped along the imperial road of the capital. I lifted the curtain to peek at the twilight street scene. The vast square of the Meridian Gate, with its two towering pillars used for executions pointing straight to the sky, made my head throb again. I lowered the curtain, closed my eyes slightly, and heard my brothers' heart-wrenching groans. Before me was a sea of fire; that fire had burned for three days and three nights, turning the sky crimson, burning away all traces of the dead, leaving only ashes scattered in the wind…

Xiaoyu led me into Qingning Nunnery; it was already late in the day.

I looked at the nun who was tapping the wooden fish with her eyes closed and said softly, "Master, could you please look up at me?" Hearing my voice, she trembled, put down what she was holding, and turned to look at me with a complicated expression. I nodded to her, and a single glance conveyed a thousand words. In that instant, I saw a strange light in her eyes.

"You..." She stood up and gently took my hand, "You are Rong... Rong..."

I lowered my voice and called to her, "Sister."

Chapter Thirty-One: A Heart for the World, A Heart for a Beauty

The Prince Qin's Mansion in the east of the city had been sealed off for many years, abandoned long ago after the deposed Crown Prince Lu Hong fled to Da Meng. Xi Yue sent Xiao Yu to wait outside the mansion, and I followed her inside. The courtyard was desolate, and I felt a cold wind rush in from behind, making me shiver. I gasped, and Xi Yue turned around and nodded to me.

The room was dimly lit. Xiyue gently knocked on the door, and a little maid opened it and hurriedly led us into the inner room.

"Go down." Xiyue dismissed the little maid behind her.

The dim light illuminated the two of us—no, the three of us.

The person behind the curtain was both familiar and strange. Familiar because of the feeling she gave me, strange because of her disheveled hair and barely covering her body. I held up the lamppost on the table, wanting to get closer, but Xiyue stopped me, "Don't go over there, you'll scare her, she's afraid of fire."

"Is that my second sister?"

Xiyue nodded, "After my mother passed away, she became like this. When Lu Hong fled, he wanted to take her with him, but she bit her tongue in her madness. Lu Hong had no choice but to hand her over to me."

The person on the edge of the bed blinked at us, her eyes showing no unfamiliarity, but rather a piercing pain. She crawled to the bedside and beckoned to me, "Butterfly, come here." I looked at Xiyue in confusion, and she shook her head in return. I put down the candle and slowly approached, her features becoming clearer and clearer, but I was increasingly shocked. Rong Jihe had become like this.

I sat down by the bed, but felt that the bed was uneven. Touching it, I felt something like pebbles under the mattress. Lifting the satin, I saw that the bed was covered with chess pieces, white and black mixed together, too many to count.

"Zhaozhi, don't touch her chess pieces," Xiyue hurriedly said, afraid that my slightest movement would disturb Jihe.

“Zhaozhi?” Jihe on the bed trembled upon hearing this, shrank back, and looked up at me. For a moment, I thought she remembered everything, but then she laughed again. “She was taken away and became a ghost child. Her mother is crying, that woman is dead, and there is… the child’s corpse.”

Her ravings sounded like she was reminiscing to herself.

"Chess pieces. Chess pieces. All chess pieces!" Jihe suddenly jumped out of bed, scattering chess pieces all over the bed. They landed on me and Xiyue. Xiyue sighed and pulled me out of the warm pavilion. I walked over to Jihe, picked up a chess piece from her feet, and handed it to her, saying softly, "Chess pieces?!"

Jihe's eyes widened. Her pupils grew increasingly clear. "It's all of it." She grinned strangely. Two tears streamed down her face. She cried and laughed. Laughed and cried. Xiyue couldn't bear to watch any longer. She pulled me out with one hand.

On the way back to the palace, the image of Jihe laughing and crying seemed to fill my mind. Her laughter was eerie and mad. But her tears were so real that they startled me. They were tears that fell unexpectedly, tragically and resolutely.

The lights in Chaoyang Palace were still on. When I entered, he was writing a memorial at his desk.

When I entered, he remained expressionless. Only a few servants beside him, sensing my presence, quickly withdrew.

I sighed, "I'm sorry to have interrupted your business." I straightened my clothes and found a chair to sit down.

"It's nothing." He pushed aside the documents in front of him, placed one hand on his brow, closed his eyes, and asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"If I touch one of your women, will you blame me?" I paused. "You have many women, one more or one less wouldn't matter, would it? Of course, I mean women are just decorations for your imperial family." I spoke softer and softer, because Lu Li's eyes were fixed on me without blinking. I only got half a sentence out, of course I understood Yao Shuhuan's significance to him, but suddenly I felt a little awkward under his gaze.