Hibiscus as a Painting - Chapter 2
When Linde Guijun opened the door, he was shocked to see the Empress standing outside, dressed in tattered clothes and covered in dust.
The empress, holding a fish basin, stared at the two live fish inside and said in a daze: Look, I caught two of your favorite fish with my own hands.
Linde Guijun glanced at the fish indifferently, then glared sharply at the Empress and asked: What do you want?
The Empress looked past Linde Guijun at the person behind him. His eyebrows were like distant mountains, his eyes like autumn water, and he was silent yet full of affection, his gaze gentle and tender.
The Empress lowered her head nervously, tugging at her robes, trying to conceal her tattered commoner's clothes. She smoothed her disheveled hair and unconsciously walked into the room, approaching the side of the Noble Prince Linde.
As the Empress approached, Lin De Gui Jun calmly shielded the woman behind him.
The Empress's clear, watery eyes were suddenly filled with sorrow. She stared expressionlessly at the person she longed for, protecting her under her wings, and said with a self-deprecating smile: What if I said I wanted her dead?
The woman nervously grabbed Lin De Gui Jun's collar, and Lin De Gui Jun returned the grip, tightly holding the woman's hand.
The Empress watched this scene, carefully placed the fish basin on the desk, and said with a bitter laugh: "You should know that the Emperor does not speak in jest."
The woman gazed lovingly at the noble prince: "I cannot live with you in this life, but to die with you now is my blessing."
The two held hands and gazed at each other as if no one else was around, which aroused the Empress's anger and jealousy. She raised her hand to try to take back Linde Noble Prince's hand.
Lin De Gui Jun misunderstood the Empress's intentions, thinking she was going to harm a woman. He drew his sword from the bedside and attacked the Empress. Caught off guard, the Empress's wrist was cut by Lin De Gui Jun's sword, and a string of yellow amber beads fell from her hand.
The Empress's blood dripped onto the scattered amber beads. In despair, she looked up at Consort Linde and shouted fiercely: "You protect her so much, I will not let her live!"
Lin De Gui Jun shielded the woman firmly behind him, ignoring the Empress's heartbreak.
Enraged, the Empress launched her attack. Blinded by jealousy, she was determined to harm the woman being protected in the arms of her beloved.
To protect the woman behind him, Consort Linde had no choice but to fight the Empress. The Empress, exhausted from her long journey and already wounded by a sword, knew she was no match for Consort Linde. Now, driven only by her pride, the Empress refused to show weakness to Consort Linde any longer. The days of travel and blood loss left the Empress dizzy, and Consort Linde thrust his sword forward. Looking at the man and the sword before her, the Empress was filled with bitterness and exhaustion. Unable to resist, she closed her eyes and lowered her hand.
When Linde Guijun realized that the Empress was off guard, the arrow was already on the bowstring and could not be pulled back. The sharp sword pierced the Empress's heart, and blood splattered into the carved and gilded fish basin.
The Empress lowered her head, straining to widen her eyes, her hands braced on the desk, unwilling to collapse before her lover and rival. She watched as her heart's blood dripped slowly into the basin, turning even the fish within blood red, and murmured softly, "So ugly."
Linde Guijun stared at the Empress in disbelief. He never expected that the Empress, who was his equal, could not even withstand three of his moves.
The Empress looked up at Linde Noble Consort and smiled dreamily, her expression like that of a child showing off a treasure: Look, I caught your favorite fish, I caught it myself.
Lin De Gui Jun's lips moved, but his feet were rooted to the spot and he could not move.
The Empress, supporting herself on the table, swayed. Her phoenix eyes gradually dimmed as she murmured, "Did I force you? Did I rob you of your freedom? I only wanted to be good to you, to be good to you. I thought you would eventually see me. I was born into royalty, deprived of the right to soar from a young age, yet you have to suffer with me. I forced you… I forced you… I forced you…"
The empress, struggling to stay upright, staggered toward the door, her eyes vacant, as if she had exhausted all her life force.
The woman behind Linde Guijun grew anxious: If we let her out like this now, she will definitely not let either of us live...
Upon hearing this, the Empress turned around slowly and lightly, her brows furrowing slightly and a hint of trouble appearing in her phoenix eyes: Indeed, if I die, my brother will surely blame you.
The Empress mechanically pulled out the elixir that the Empress had always made her wear, silently swallowed it, closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again, she had recovered considerably. She glanced at the tightly clasped hands of the Noble Consort Linde and the woman, wanting to preserve her last bit of dignity, and with her last breath of true energy, she leaped away, intending to use her lightness skill to leave.
At that moment, the woman behind Linde Guijun launched a hidden weapon.
The empress fell to the ground with a short thud.
Lin De Gui Jun, who had been stunned and lost in thought, finally reacted a step too late and angrily asked the woman: What are you doing?!
The woman's delicate eyes seemed to hold a hint of grievance: If we let her out of this door, how will either of us survive?
The Empress lay in a pool of blood, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. Her crystal-clear eyes were filled with utter despair as she gazed directly at Prince Linde. She reached out her hand towards him, a faint smile playing on her lips: "I would never have harmed you. I just didn't want my brother to know… Do you believe me?"
Lin De Guijun stared at the person on the ground with complicated eyes. His expression softened slightly as he took two steps forward, but was pulled back by the woman behind him.
Lin De Guijun suddenly awoke, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes. The Empress had always been intelligent and cunning; how could she be so easily injured to the point of near death? He said firmly, "You are wearing the Golden Silkworm Robe; how could you be injured so easily?"
The Empress was no longer able to answer Linde Noble Princess's questions. Her eyes were unfocused and she was not in her right mind. She was still murmuring Linde Noble Princess's name.
Lin De Guijun took two more steps forward with some doubt.
Just then, a person in a yellow brocade robe suddenly descended from the sky.
After discovering that the amber bracelet was broken, the emperor and empress found their way to this place. He ran towards the empress, who was lying in a pool of blood, his face pale.
Lin De Gui Jun, who had taken two steps forward, retreated and stared at the two people opposite him.
The Empress, holding the Empress's lifeline, wore expressions of grief and despair. He gently embraced the nearly lifeless body on the ground.
The Empress raised her eyes, looked at the person before her, and smiled slightly. Instantly, the blooming flowers in the courtyard could not compare to that smile: Brother... you've finally come to find Jin'er... Brother, please don't be angry with Jin'er anymore... Jin'er dares not... never again...
The Emperor and Empress, trembling, held the person in their arms, their voices choked with sobs: "Jin'er, don't sleep too long, your brother has come looking for you... Brother will take Jin'er home... okay?... Brother and Jin'er will go home..."
A hint of joy appeared in the Empress's phoenix eyes. She gazed at the person before her, revealing a touch of girlish charm: "Brother, please don't blame them. It was my own carelessness that caused this. If anything happens to me, the throne will be given to you, brother. This will repay the debt I owe you all these years."
Only then did Linde Noble Prince realize that the Empress was not acting. The sudden, overwhelming joy made him feel suffocated. He couldn't understand the turmoil in his heart and could only stand there dumbfounded.
Seeing the still unmoved expression on Linde Noble Consort's face, the Empress smiled faintly: This ending is for the best. You all have what you most desire, only I am superfluous… Look… I caught this fish myself… I forced it… I forced it…
Lin De Guijun stared at the person in the distance and actually closed his eyes. For a moment, his heart ached, and he reflexively rushed over, wanting to test whether the person was really serious this time.
He muttered: Stop making a scene...
When his trembling hand touched the Empress's nose, he froze. He couldn't understand why his heart ached so much. Didn't he want to drink her blood and devour her flesh? Wouldn't it be satisfying to see her end like this? Why was his mind and heart filled with her every smile and frown?
How spirited and ambitious I was back then! The title of General and King envied so many! But why, with a single command from her, was I forced to spend the rest of my life in that dark and hopeless harem? Shouldn't I hate her? Shouldn't I hate her?
The Emperor and Empress held the Empress in their arms, their gentle, jade-like eyes filled with a deathly stillness: Jin'er... Brother will never be angry again... Brother will never fight or snatch again... As long as Jin'er is alright... Jin'er will come home with Brother, Brother will take Jin'er home.
With a leap, the yellow figure vanished into the sky, taking with it the lifeless body...