Hibiscus as a Painting - Chapter 202
Zi Jin hugged Jun Lin tightly for a long time before finally bursting into tears: "Jun Lin, please let me stay with him during this time, okay? I... I didn't mean it to him, but he, but he's already like this... I... I knew before... he, he..."
Jun Lin gently kissed Zi Jin's cheek, carefully wiping away her tears, and softly coaxed, "Alright, alright, I promise you... Don't cry."
With a cold expression, Jin Yu strode into Weiyang Palace. Just as he reached the outer room of the main hall, he knelt down with a "thump" towards the inner room.
Sikou Xunxiang, sitting by the bed, was slightly taken aback. He tried very carefully to pull his hand away from the one held by the sleeping person on the bed, but failed and ultimately did not force it. He frowned and turned to look at Jin Yu kneeling in the outer room, asking in a very low voice, "What happened?"
Jin Yu kept his head down for a long time before finally saying with difficulty, "The scouts report... Rouge Valley has been razed to the ground, and the young lady and Master Cheng have disappeared together."
"What!" King Anle, who had kept his eyes tightly closed, struggled to sit up and asked in surprise.
Sikou Xunxiang, still in a daze, stared blankly at Prince Anle, who was struggling to sit up. It took him a while to realize what was happening, and he hurriedly helped him sit up.
Prince Anle sat up, panting, and glared fiercely at Jin Yu, who was kneeling in the outer room: "What happened!"
Sikou Xunxiang held his breath, staring intently at Jin Yu outside.
Jin Yu said, "I heard from the local people that, just a few days before the Emperor's wedding, a large number of people gathered near Rouge Valley, including some dressed as government officials. They hired most of the local people and spent three days and nights cutting down all the bamboo in Rouge Valley. On the morning of the second day after the Emperor's wedding, the group quietly left, and the young lady and Master Cheng also disappeared without a trace."
"It's Jun Lin! It's Jun Lin again! Rouge Valley is in the territory of the Moon Kingdom, only he can take away the little mute girl so openly... cough cough... cough cough... despicable! cough cough... pass on the order..." Due to excessive excitement, King Anle coughed so much that he could not speak.
Sikou Xunxiang glanced at Jin Yu, who was still kneeling in the outer room, slowly lowered his eyes to conceal the worry in them, and said in a low voice, "Get up... This matter... was my carelessness, I never expected..."
Prince Anle gripped Sikou Xunxiang's robe tightly, suppressing his unsteady breathing as he urgently said, "Brother! Send troops immediately to rescue the little mute... She's been taken away by Jun Lin for over a month. After how she treated Jun Lin, how could he possibly forgive her! Brother! You can't just stand by and watch her suffer! Quickly! Send troops!... It's my fault! It's my fault! If I hadn't been sick... Brother! Brother! You... cough cough... cough cough... cough cough cough cough..."
Sikou Xunxiang patted Prince Anle on the back, lowered his eyes, and after a long while said, "We cannot send troops."
Prince Anle grabbed Sikou Xunxiang's sleeve tightly, panting as he tried to speak, but then he was struck by another violent cough.
Si Kou Xunxiang gently patted his back and softly comforted him, "Le'er, don't worry. We absolutely cannot send troops. The most important thing now is to find out where she and Master Cheng are being held..."
Prince Anle said urgently, "Brother! What are you afraid of! Jun Lin hurt the little mute's heart by making you get married, but he only gave me a year's supply of antidote... crippling half of my martial arts!... My current state... is all thanks to him! Aren't you angry, brother...?"
"We cannot send troops," Sikou Xunxiang said in a low voice, his tone firm.
“Brother! Are you still waiting for Jun Lin’s antidote? Don’t even talk about whether he’ll give it to you or not! Jun Lin doesn’t have an antidote at all! ...cough cough…” King Anle roared loudly.
Sikou Xunxiang asked in surprise, "What...did Le'er say?"
King Anle roared, panting, "Brother, do you know how I got this poison? When I assassinated Jun Ying, I was also injured, and my wound was stained with his blood... cough... cough cough... If they had the antidote, Jun Ying wouldn't have had to suffer this excruciating pain!... The Jun clan was wiped out overnight, and Jun Ying was expelled long ago. How could he possibly have the Jun clan's secret medicine! Cough... This poison was originally given to him by the Jun clan chief to control him. Later, he became her shadow guard, and the Jun clan chief wished for his early death, so why would she give him the antidote? Therefore, all these years he has only been able to suppress it with the medicine given to me, but he is deeply poisoned, and even his blood has become poisonous... cough cough..."
Si Kou Xun Xiangying's pink lips were tightly pursed. He stared blankly at Prince Anle's face, which was flushed red from anger and coughing: "Le'er knew from the beginning, didn't she?"
“Yes!” King Anle said through gritted teeth.
Sikou Xunxiang raised his eyes and silently glanced at Prince Anle, then slowly stood up, only to have his sleeve grabbed tightly.
Prince Anle gripped Sikou Xunxiang's sleeve tightly, refusing to let go. He looked up at Sikou Xunxiang's slightly cold face, his eyes reddening slightly: "Brother! I didn't want to! I didn't want to! If it weren't for that antidote... I'm afraid I wouldn't even last a year... Brother, I don't want to die, I don't want to die... Even if I can only live for a year... just to see the little mute one more time... Brother, I was poisoned a long time ago, but we couldn't find a medicine to suppress it. You weren't here then, the Imperial Hospital couldn't do anything... Brother, I endured for so long, I gritted my teeth and endured for so long, just to get you to give me back, to give me back that year's worth of antidote, Brother... I really don't want to die, even if it's just to stay with the little mute one a few more days..."
Brother, please don't blame me...please don't blame me...I really didn't know Jun Lin...would abduct the little mute girl. I thought...I thought he just wanted to hurt her...But brother, but I also want...I also want the little mute girl to see me...not just you, but me...I don't have long to live, you have so many years ahead of you, so many days with the little mute girl...Brother, I just don't want to see you and the little mute girl so deeply in love...I don't want to see...Brother, do you know how much pain I'm in? How much pain, how much pain? Brother...you've always loved me the most since we were little, I can't let you give up the little mute girl...but I also want to let you get married, and then confine you in this palace, so the little mute girl can stay with me, stay with me for the rest of the year...
Brother, she's always been yours... always yours... but I... I still like her... Brother, I don't want much, I really don't want much... just one year... just one year will be enough..."
Si Kou Xunxiang slowly closed his eyes, his tense hands gradually relaxing. He sat down next to Prince Anle again and gently patted his trembling body: "That's enough, don't think too much about it. You should take care of yourself first."
“Brother, but Little Mute… she’s still in Jun Lin’s hands. Brother, Jun Lin must hate him to the core… Brother! Brother… you can’t abandon her…”
Si Kou Xunxiang said, "Le'er is overthinking it. Jun Lin would never hurt her. You should rest well, and I will send someone to the Yue Kingdom to investigate."
King Anle frowned, pondering for a long time, then suddenly turned to Jin Yu and whispered, "Back then, I planted spies in the Yue Kingdom's palace. Jin Yu, hurry! Quickly send them a message. Tell them to do everything they can to protect the little mute..."
"Le'er...you're tired, go back to sleep." Si Kou Xunxiang glanced at Jin Yu not far away and coaxed Anle Wang in a low voice.
"No, I won't sleep, I can't... um..." Before King Anle could finish speaking, Jin Yu had already pressed his acupoint to put him to sleep.
Sikou Xunxiang settled Prince Anle in, gently smoothed his furrowed brows, slowly stood up, walked to the window and looked at Weiyang Lake in the distance, and whispered: "Order the secret agents to search for Mr. Cheng's whereabouts with all their might. If they find him, do not alert him, and report back immediately."
Jin Yu nodded: "That girl..."
Si Kou Xunxiang gripped the wooden slats on the windowsill tightly, and after a long while, he finally spoke: "The young lady will be fine. Jun Lin would never hurt her. What I fear is... that when Mr. Cheng was injured by you, it gave Jun Lin the opportunity to capture him. The young lady is not the same as before. If there were no threat to Mr. Cheng's safety, how could she obediently submit to Jun Lin's control?"
"I will take care of it right away."
"Wait." Sikou Xunxiang slowly turned his head and looked at Jin Yu thoughtfully. "I know that you were given to Le'er by her when you were young, but Le'er must not know anything about this matter. Le'er is too weak now and can no longer be stimulated."
Jin Yu lowered his eyes slightly and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I understand." After speaking, he quietly walked out of the main hall and strode towards the gate of Weiyang Palace.
Si Kou Xunxiang gripped the wooden strip tightly, silently gazing at the lush lotus flowers on Weiyang Lake, the image of Zi Jin leaving that day flashing through his mind.
How heartbroken she must have been back then!
I went to look for her after the banquet, only to find she had already left. She returned to Rouge Valley overnight. At that time... at that time, she really wanted to drown herself.
Why won't she believe it even now? How can she not believe it? Who else could she possibly want besides her? She's already hinted so clearly, can't she even wait one more day? How could she be so heartless as to give herself away like that?
Si Kou Xunxiang slowly lowered his eyes, concealing the pain and worry in them. He clenched his fist and pressed it tightly against his chest, trying to calm the piercing pain.
Love and hate leave no trace, deep affection is hard to wait for; the descendants of the gods, three generations of marriage and resentment fill the river, watching the tide rise and fall amidst the wind and rain (Part Two)
Watching the Tide Rise Amidst Wind and Rain (Part Two) - Yao Chen 532, Yan Zai 16th Year, Empress at 19
In the silent palace, Zi Jin sat on the high dragon throne with a frown, gently toying with the military tally that commanded 100,000 elite troops in the Northwest. She glanced at the person behind her and asked, "Jun Xiaosan, is this military tally pretty?"
Jun Ying lowered his eyes, glanced at the exquisitely crafted gold and jade plaque in Zi Jin's hand, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Your Majesty, do you intend to give this military tally... to Noble Prince Linde?"
“Heh…” Zi Jin sat up with a smile. “Jun Xiaosan is indeed the one who understands me best. He knows exactly what I’m thinking.”