Hibiscus as a Painting - Chapter 54
She knelt down and broke ties with her beloved father, whom she cherished dearly.
For the first time, I felt sympathy for this mighty general, Zi Yingfeng, who held immense military power and constantly threatened the fate of my Jun family. At that moment, he appeared so humble, pitiful, and desperate.
The first time I saw my father, the emperor who once commanded the rivers and lakes and strategized with such authority, his expression beneath the shattered imperial mask was one of utter panic, regret, and despair.
But none of that mattered as much as the panic I felt when she turned and left.
Who was it? Who severed her last ties to this place? Who drove such a gentle and delicate person to such a resolute end?
She's about to leave... but she didn't even glance at me. I'm not reconciled... how can I be reconciled?
I used all my strength to grab her as she walked away, and told her that although so many people have nothing to do with you, I still have... I still have, my heart is still with you, how could you be so cruel as to abandon me?
The reluctance and softening I wanted weren't on her face, but a faint sense of guilt welled up in her eyes, which comforted me for a long time. I know we're different from those people; we're still connected, aren't we?
She casually slapped away my hand, which I was holding tightly, a hand I would never let go of for the rest of my life.
I'm not reconciled... I'm not reconciled... I abandoned my status, my dignity, everything, and begged her... just for her to soften her heart for me just once... just once... just for her to look at me one more time... just one more time...
I don't want anything anymore... I really don't want anything anymore... I don't want anything at all...
Is it still not enough? ...Is it still not enough? ...Is it still not enough? ...Is it still not enough? ...
A lifetime of love and hate, hard to understand; reincarnation begins again. The bamboo-wielder, unintentional, faces many trials and tribulations upon first entering the world of martial arts (Part 1).
The journey into the martial world is full of twists and turns (Part 1). Xi Le and Zi Jin's group fled all the way to the outside of the palace. Twelve of them left the city and headed towards Chen Kingdom to lure away the pursuers. The remaining twelve people, including Zi Jin and Xi Le, stopped in a large mansion in the bustling area of the imperial city.
Since leaving the palace, everyone had been hiding in the mansion. What worried Xi Le these past few days was not the pursuers from the Moon Kingdom, but that Zi Jin was becoming more and more sleepy. In the first few days, she could only be woken up at noon, but in the last few days, the time from waking up to falling asleep again was less than two hours. Sometimes, she would fall asleep on the table while eating, and no matter how she was called, she could not be woken up.
The night was still young, and under the dappled moonlight, Xi Le sat on the edge of the bed, a dazed smile on her stunningly beautiful face. She gazed at Zi Jin on the bed, raising her hand to gently stroke her sleeping face. Her hand slid over Zi Jin's features little by little, and the smile on her face slowly turned sinister, a hint of hatred, a hint of strangeness, a hint of mockery, and a hint of complexity flashing in her eyes.
"Master, the person has been brought back," a man standing outside the door said respectfully.
west Le lightly raised her hand, and the person silently retreated. She slowly smoothed Zi Jin's messy hair, a strange smile appearing on her face, before getting up and leaving.
In the northernmost corner room of the house, Jin Yu stood respectfully outside the door, while west Le slipped inside.
Inside the room, an oil lamp cast a dim yellow light. Yu Luo, her hands bound, sat expressionless. When Xi Le entered, she slightly raised her eyes, a hint of disappointment flashing across them.
"Heh, disappointed?" west Le's lips curled into a sarcastic smile.
“That person said that if I came voluntarily, I could see my master.” Yu Luo’s eyes flickered as she glanced at west Le and replied coldly.
With a smile on her lips, west Le strolled over and sat down next to Yu Luo, toying with a glass thumb ring in her hand: "But she doesn't want to see you."
Yu Luo paused slightly, a hint of pain flashing in her eyes: "Is Master... alright?"
west Le turned her head to the side: "She took off that Soul Gathering Jade, do you think she's a good person?"
“I originally intended to take back the Soul Gathering Jade, but the general keeps it clutched in his hand every day…”
"Five years ago, to repay Zi Yingfeng for saving your sister's life, you willingly became his spy. In just one year, you not only won Zi Yingfeng's admiration, but also made him entrust you with someone he valued more than his own life. Tell me... how could it be such a coincidence? How could there be so many coincidences? I've investigated you for three years, but I can't find out your origins or past... Yu Luo, whose person are you really?" Xi Le smiled gently, lightly pinching Yu Luo's chin, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.
Yu Luo met west Le's gaze without fear: "Princess, please speak frankly if you have something to say."
west Le's expression hardened, her eyes filled with ruthlessness: "Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"
“If the Princess wanted to kill Yu Luo, why go to all the trouble of bringing her here?” Yu Luo’s face revealed an extremely cold smile.
Xi Le raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly: "I like smart people, but I don't like those who think they're so clever. I don't care whose people you are or who you're loyal to... I just want to make a deal with you."
"What deal?" Yu Luo suddenly looked up, raised her chin slightly, and asked in a firm voice.
Facing the dim light, west Le picked up the glass thumb ring in her hand: "The Phoenix Amber Bracelet was a family treasure left by our Sikou clan ancestors five hundred years ago... but it was destroyed by Zi Yingfeng. I used all the amber beads and the world's most precious treasure, Cold Silver, to forge this glass thumb ring, which I have always worn on my elder brother's hand. Tell me... how did it end up in your master's hands?"
Yu Luo frowned and thought for a long time before replying, "Four years ago, after you returned from the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, you obtained this ring. I don't know the specifics."
"Is that so?" west Le smiled and put away the ring, then reached out and untied Yu Luo's bound hands, slowly taking out a pill. "Eat it."
Yu Luo hesitated for a moment before looking at the pill, then slowly reached out to take it, closed her eyes, and swallowed it.
“Your sister has been taken out of the General’s Mansion and is on her way to Chen Kingdom. Jin Yu will escort you to meet her. When you arrive in Chen Kingdom, take this ring to see my brother, the Emperor.” Xi Le placed the glass ring in Yu Luo’s hand.
The glass thumb ring in Yu Luo's hand shone with iridescent light under the lamp: "This matter is probably inappropriate. This thumb ring was obtained by my master..."
"You can rest assured, Your Majesty did not see the face of the person who took the ring. Although I do not know how the ring ended up in your master's hands, I can tell that Your Majesty... has no ill intentions towards the person who took the ring."
“In that case, it’s not necessarily Yu Luo’s fault. Yu Luo wants to stay by Master’s side…”
"Stay by her side? So you can continue to drug her?" Xi Le sneered, turning to stare intently at Yu Luo. "If this matter weren't necessarily your doing, why would I have gone to such lengths to bring you here? Do you really think my brother is so easily fooled? Not to mention that you were in the Yue Kingdom's palace four years ago, just the fact that four years have allowed you to know everything about Zi Jin's habits makes it difficult for me to do without you. Besides, when I was a hostage in Chen Kingdom, I visited Taiping Pavilion almost daily; I needed a suitable reason. You have the perfect timing, the perfect location, and the perfect people. Tell me, how could I not use you?"
Yu Luo lowered her head tightly and asked in a hard voice, "Why did the Eldest Princess go to such lengths to deceive Prince Anle? Is it really just to keep her master by her side?"
“It’s not Prince Anle, it’s my elder brother, the Emperor.” west Le turned around under the lamp and gave a charming smile.
Yu Luo suddenly raised her head, staring in utter astonishment at west Le's half-smiling profile under the lamplight: "Could it be that four years ago they arrested...?"
"That's right, he is indeed my elder brother, the Emperor."
Yu Luo stood there, stunned, her lips moving, her expression unusually complicated.
"I really want to see how Emperor Xuanlong and Zi Yingfeng will react when they find out about this. Alas... what a pity..." west Le slowly turned around, her smile growing even brighter.
"What does the Princess want Yu Luo to do?" After a long while, Yu Luo came to her senses.
"Take this ring and go see my brother, the Emperor."