Hibiscus as a Painting

Chapter 219

Madam Yu said, "Tell me about it."

A gentle smile flickered across Si Kou Xunxiang's warm eyes as he said, "I want to take her away from the Moon Kingdom and from Jun Lin's hands openly and honestly."

Madam Yu frowned and said, "This is probably..."

Sikou Xunxiang said, "She was someone I had given everything for. What's wrong with taking her away openly and honestly?"

Lady Yu said urgently, "But Lin'er... how heartbroken he must be. Since the King of Sikou has already won her heart, why should he care about these worldly matters?"

Si Kou Xunxiang's gaze was sharp, and he smiled confidently: "When the Empress of Yaochen ascended the throne, to please her, the three major families came to pay homage, almost giving away everything they had. This gift was the wealth of the entire land at the time. This treasure trove of wealth was hidden away by the Empress for future needs, and its location was only known to each successive emperor. Since its founding, Yaochen has enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity, without any wars. You were also a member of the palace back then, so you should know that every year at the end of the year, the national treasury would be short of a batch of rare treasures and gold. After five hundred years of accumulation by the Yaochen Dynasty, what a treasure this must be! ...Isn't Madam tempted?"

Lady Yu's eyes flickered slightly, and she calmly said, "Emperor Hongsu died suddenly in the palace one night back then, and the location of this treasure has been lost for many years. How could the King of Sikou know about it?"

Si Kou Xunxiang said calmly, "For whom did Emperor Hongsu die? Why was my Si Kou family so favored back then? Why was my father so fearless back then? Emperor Hongsu was capable of anything to please my aunt. You must know this, Madam."

Madam Yu's face showed a troubled expression: "But Lin'er... Lin'er is sincere too. If you leave secretly, at least you can leave him with something to remember you by. But if you leave so resolutely, then he..."

Si Kou Xunxiang's dark, jade-like eyes shimmered with a dreamlike brilliance. He revealed a captivating smile: "What I want is to make him completely give up on her! From a very long time ago, she was destined to be mine, and no one else can even dream of her."

Madam Yu paused, then slowly turned her head, not daring to meet the arrogant gleam emanating from Sikou Xunxiang's dark, jade-like eyes. People say Sikou Xunxiang is gentle and refined, a humble and unassuming gentleman… Can someone with such eyes truly be called a humble gentleman?

Sikou Xunxiang laughed again: "Madam, have you thought it over? Do you want a Chen Kingdom that has no money or grain, or a Chen Kingdom that is the richest in the world? Although if we get the Chen Kingdom, the Yao Kingdom will be as easy as taking candy from a baby, but how can we mobilize troops without money?"

Madam Yu's mind stirred slightly, her gaze shifted, and she said loudly, "Alright! As you wish."

Si Kou Xunxiang slowly raised his eyes and looked at Madam Yu again: "I heard that Steward Bao of Madam's residence suffered a qi deviation while practicing martial arts some time ago, and because he had been eating poison since childhood, he was also poisoned by the poison, which has now entered his heart. I wonder how he is now?"

Lady Yu paused, a hint of melancholy crossing her brows: "Bao Xian and Wu Tong have disappeared... Your Majesty can rest assured, I will never tell her about this."

Sikou Xunxiang nodded slightly: "Thank you, Madam."

Late at night, outside Shili Pavilion, a simple horse-drawn carriage slowly drove out from the grove of trees.

Inside the car, Zi Jin leaned softly against Si Kou Huanxiang's chest, her brows furrowed with exhaustion. She frowned at his bandaged hand and whispered, "Who told you to come alone? Didn't you know there was danger just now?"

Although he had been thoroughly tricked by Madam Yu, Sikou Xunxiang didn't want to hold a grudge after learning that the woman in his arms was pregnant. Back in Rouge Valley, to keep her from feeling uneasy and to allow himself to hold her in peace, he had thought about having a child every day. But nearly half a year of his persistent pursuit had repeatedly disappointed him. He never expected that the time at the imperial palace would…

With a dreamy smile on his jade-like face, Si Kou Xunxiang gently stroked Zi Jin's lower abdomen: "Be good?...Will you make a fuss?"

Zi Jin glared at the person with the infatuated look on their face and said maliciously, "What are you laughing at? Didn't you hear Jun Lin say that it's his child?"

Si Kou Xunxiang frowned, a hint of displeasure and calculation flashing quickly in his dark eyes. He hurriedly called out, "The old man said, two months... that time... in the small garden, Xiao Zi forced me..." His anxious words were filled with deep grievances and accusations.

Instantly, Zi Jin's cheeks flushed red, and without thinking, she tightly covered the mouth that was about to utter nonsense. She glanced at the carriage curtain, then whispered angrily, "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll throw you away!" Only when Si Kou Xunxiang nodded did she dare to let go, glaring fiercely at him.

Si Kou Xunxiang looked timidly at Zi Jin's angry face, his eyes slightly lowered, his feather-like eyelashes trembling gently, and his pink lips pressed tightly into a line. His tearful appearance was heartbreaking to see.

At this point, Zi Jin couldn't glare anymore. She hurriedly reached out and patted the person opposite her face, gently coaxing, "Master and Master are outside. It wouldn't be good if they heard you talking nonsense."

Sikou Xunxiang lowered his head, fidgeting with the hem of his robe: "Back then, in the small garden, the thorns pricked me terribly... Little Purple above..."

"Okay, okay, please stop talking. I know I wronged you back then, I know you were in pain. It was my fault, okay?" Zi Jin pleaded repeatedly.

"But, Jun Lin..."

Zi Jin hurriedly said, "On the day Jun Lin abducted me, I drugged him, so he thought that he and I were already... and that the child was his. I also promised Madam Yu that I wouldn't tell him. Actually, Jun Lin... is also very pitiful. Please don't hold these things against him... okay?... It's all my fault. I shouldn't have teased you like that. Don't be sad. I won't do it again, okay?"

A hint of a smile flickered in Si Kou Xunxiang's eyes, which were hidden by long eyelashes, but the grievance on his face grew even more pronounced: "Then..."

Cheng Qingsong suddenly lifted the carriage curtain, looked at Zi Jin who was still sitting inside, and frowned: "You brat, you just had a miscarriage, and you're not even lying down properly!" After saying that, he gave Si Kou Xunxiang a heavy look and then lowered the curtain again.

Si Kou Xunxiang abruptly raised his eyes, a flicker of unease crossing his dark, jade-like gaze. He hurriedly and quietly sat up, leaning against the corner of the carriage. With his uninjured hand, he adjusted the comfy couch, then, with an air of unwavering care, gently helped Zi Jin lie down, placing her head on his lap. He then pulled up the silk quilt beside him and carefully draped it over her. His face was filled with anxiety as he softly said to Zi Jin, "Sleep."

Zi Jin looked at Si Kou Xunxiang's cautious yet somewhat panicked face with amusement, smiled reassuringly, and said softly, "Don't be afraid, I won't let anything happen to our child."

Slowly, Si Kou Xunxiang's eyes narrowed into slits, his smile deepening. He nodded slightly, lowered his head, and gently kissed Zi Jin's face, an indescribable satisfaction on his jade-like face. His uninjured hand continued to stroke Zi Jin's lower abdomen, again and again, as if it were never enough. After a long while, he softly called out, "Little Zi..."

"Mmm," Zi Jin responded softly, already enveloped in drowsiness.

After an unknown amount of time, Si Kou Xunxiang kissed the forehead of the sleeping Zi Jin again, and sighed contentedly, "...So good..."

Si Kou Xunxiang gazed deeply at the person in his arms, his dark, warm eyes overflowing with doting affection and joy, his lips pursed into a beautiful curve. His expression was content and serene; on his peerless, ethereal face, where was there even a trace of naivety or childishness?

Outside the carriage, Qiu Baifeng and Cheng Qingsong listened intently, and after all the noise subsided, they looked at each other and smiled.

As Qiu Baifeng drove, she reached out and touched Cheng Qingsong's slightly pale face, whispering, "Don't be so hard on yourself... Now that the girl's wish has been fulfilled, you shouldn't feel guilty anymore... The girl's health is much better now, isn't it? There's plenty of time in the future, you can make it up to her however you want..."

Cheng Qingsong leaned weakly on Qiu Baifeng's shoulder, grasping her hand: "If I hadn't argued with you back then, I wouldn't have fallen into his trap so easily. If I hadn't been imprisoned by him for all these years, we wouldn't have had to separate, and maybe we could have had another child... When I was in Chen Kingdom, I missed you so much... I thought about you every day, wondering if you were still waiting for me, and how I could get out... Then I met this girl, and I immediately knew I had hope. Even though I knew it would kill her, even though I knew she couldn't possibly withstand it... I still drew her blood... I... I..."

"Don't say anymore. I know you must have been feeling terrible back then. Don't overthink it. I really like that girl. You'll be with her from now on. There's a long road ahead. You can make it up to her however you want, right? ... I think even if she finds out, she definitely won't blame you anymore."

Cheng Qingsong turned and gazed at Qiu Baifeng's profile, slowly raising his hand to touch her slightly graying hair. Gradually, his small eyes filled with tears. He tightly grasped Qiu Baifeng's hand: "Baifeng... let me make it up to you properly in the future, okay?"

Qiu Baifeng was stunned for a moment, then her face was filled with joy, and her eyes slowly reddened. She quickly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and nodded heavily to Cheng Qingsong.

The night was as gentle as water...

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 (15) The finale

In the early summer of the 20th year of Xuanlong in the Zhongyue Kingdom, the seriously ill Emperor Xuanlong announced to the world that he had abdicated in favor of Crown Prince Junlin.

In the summer of the twentieth year of Xuanlong in the Yue Kingdom, Crown Prince Junlin ascended the throne and changed the era name to Yanhe.

In the late summer of the first year of the Yanhe era of the Yue Kingdom, Emperor Xuanlong died in the Suoqing Palace at the age of forty-three.

In the late summer of the first year of the Yanhe era of the Yue Kingdom, Emperor Zaichu of the Chen Kingdom died suddenly. Soon after, Empress Luoxia of the Chen Kingdom, accompanied by the young crown prince, presented the Chen Kingdom's military tally and a letter of surrender written by Emperor Zaichu himself to the Yue Kingdom. In the same month, Emperor Yanhe led an army of 100,000 to advance on the Chen Kingdom. The Chen Kingdom opened its border gates wide and welcomed Emperor Yanhe with the courtesy due to a monarch.