By the time they stepped out of the courtyard, the night had already deepened somewhat. Nan Xuzong stepped forward and gently embraced her, pulling her close to his chest. He then placed his large hand on her shoulder and gently stroked it. "Are you feeling cold?"
"Hmm, it's a bit cold." Ji Wushang leaned gently against his chest, and the two walked slowly towards Xinyuan, cherishing each other's company.
"It'll be fine in a little while." Nan Xuzong kissed her forehead and pulled her into his arms.
"How do you feel after hearing what Grandmother said?" Ji Wushang looked up at him.
"I won't force you. If we're meant to be, we'll meet again. You're all I need." Nan Xuzong smiled, noticing her slow pace and guessing she was tired, so he picked her up and carried her home. "Let's go back."
Ji Wushang smiled, put her arms around his neck, and then nestled in his arms, closing her eyes in comfort.
The night grew even deeper, and the darkness in the sky seemed rather unsettling, so suddenly thunder and lightning began to flash.
The candlelight in the room burned softly, and on the bed, Nan Xuzong held Ji Wushang tightly in his arms, Ji Wushang nestled in his embrace, covering her ears.
She didn't want to hear those sounds; it felt like the thunder and lightning were trying to shake her very soul out of her body!
"Don't be afraid, I'm here, Wu Shang, I've always been here..." Nan Xuzong held her in his arms with utmost gentleness. Ji Wu Shang moved slightly, but gradually calmed down in his embrace.
In front of a mansion, the arrogant and wicked man stood in the wind and rain, holding an oil-paper umbrella, waiting for her news.
Groups of guards ran over from a distance, knelt before him, and reported that they could not find the woman.
Huangfu Xuan was slightly stunned. So, he really couldn't keep her after all? He could never win her heart? Why did she choose to leave him just when everything was about to settle down? Why give him this difficult problem? Was it really that he didn't love her enough? Or was she deliberately avoiding him, afraid that he would see her withered and broken body?
Heh, how could he possibly dislike her? What he wanted was to be by her side! Huangfu Xuan finally understood why Nan Xuzong, even with only a little over a month, didn't miss a single opportunity to be with Ji Wushang.
It's because I'm so deeply in love that I'm determined to fight tooth and nail to hold onto this love!
They cherished each other deeply and wanted to live happily ever after. She understood why Nan Xuzong had refused when she tried to persuade him to give up.
It turns out that it is so difficult for a person to give up their deepest love.
So that's how it is. But when I finally understood, did she not give me a chance? Or was it that fate was denying me a chance?
Thinking about it, I did realize that I was being a bit too domineering and unreasonable, but it was all for her own good.
Does she understand her own heart? Does she understand everything about herself?
"Your Highness, please return to your residence to rest." A guard, seeing that Huangfu Xuan had been fighting in the wind for a long time, couldn't help but step forward and say.
Another guard immediately stepped forward, "Yes, Your Highness, please take care of your health!"
"Please return to your room and rest, Your Highness!"
"Your Highness, if there is any news of the Imperial Consort, we will report it immediately!"
...
Gradually, more and more people rushed to persuade Huangfu Xuan to temporarily give up the search for Ma Ruyi, because in their hearts, Huangfu Xuan was absolutely the best candidate for emperor! No matter what the crown prince or Huangfu Ting was, they couldn't do it!
Huangfu Xuan snapped out of his daze and coldly swept his gaze over the guards, who immediately knelt on the ground, too afraid to utter a sound. The wind and rain lashed against them.
"I'm going out for a walk. You all go down and do what you need to do!" Huangfu Xuan was unusually calm, not angry at all. He turned around and walked towards the street.
"Your Highness!" the crowd called out behind him.
"Don't make me repeat myself!" Huangfu Xuan turned his head, his cold, sinister eyes sweeping over the crowd, causing them to shrink back! They had truly forgotten that Huangfu Xuan was a capricious and unpredictable man! And that he could kill for pleasure in an instant!
A bloodthirsty glint flashed in Huangfu Xuan's eyes. He tossed the oil-paper umbrella behind him and walked slowly forward against the wind and rain.
So this is how cold the wind and rain are! Huangfu Xuan sneered. The wind and rain dampened his thin lips, and his lips were cold, so was his heart.
He was wearing a crimson robe, his belt was red, and even the ribbon that tied his dark hair was red.
This wasn't his favorite color.
It's what she likes.
He still remembered how, when he favored her in the military camp, she would feel a strange excitement when she looked at red, and he loved seeing that expression on her face.
He asked, "Why do you like red?"
“Because red represents life, a lifetime.” She smiled. “If I die in the future, I don’t want you to wear white mourning clothes. I want you to wear a red robe. I like to see you wearing this red robe.”
When she first disappeared, he covered all his tents with red paint. He gradually fell in love with red clothes, whether it was robes or anything else, and rarely any other color.
Back then, after I returned to the palace, I lived in Hongxuan Hall, which was also decorated in red.
Huangfu Xuan smiled slightly. She really didn't understand her own heart. Or had she let her feelings run too deep, so she hadn't seen them? Huangfu Xuan smiled in the wind and rain, slowly walking alone into the darkness.
"Ruyi, sometimes you are even more ruthless than me! You make me both hate and love you. What will it take for you to treat me a little better?" Huangfu Xuan laughed arrogantly.
The people on the surrounding streets were awakened by his voice in the middle of the night. They thought about going to see who it was, but when they saw the arrogant man dressed in red, they immediately closed their doors and windows.
Legend has it that the man who walks in the dark and stormy night is the most insane and irrational! You have no idea what he might do!
Moreover, look at this man, he is alluring like a demon or a ghost, and his whole body is cold and aloof, like a cold-faced Asura from hell!
If you don't stay far away, you'll end up hurting yourself!
Huangfu Xuan's lips curled into a cold smile. He thought to himself, his life had been like that of a demon walking on a knife's edge; others wanted his life, wanted his blood, while he himself had always replenished himself with the blood of others!
I once thought I was a walking corpse, trapped in darkness from which I could not escape. But then I met her. Meeting her gave me a spark of life, a wider range of expressions and emotions. I realized there is a kind of feeling called helplessness, a feeling that makes me smile when I look down at her.
She gave herself flesh and blood!
But now, she has disappeared too.
Huangfu Xuan headed straight for the street. After today, he would return to his bloodthirsty self, the self that would forever seal his heart away! That was the real him, wasn't it?
He walked to the riverbank against the wind and rain. The river was overflowing and rising due to the rain.
Huangfu Xuan vividly remembered the time he released lotus lanterns with her in the palace, and the words he had spoken then. Did she hear them in her heart?
"Ruyi, I, Huangfu Xuan, am willing to spend this lifetime with you." Huangfu Xuan murmured, gazing absently at the riverbank. Looking out, the wind and rain in the river surged even more fiercely. "Why are you more stubborn than me? Why don't you believe me?" He laughed, "Haha, Ruyi, is this how our lives are going to be?"
Only the wind and rain can hear his voice. The world is cold and indifferent; even emotion is a luxury.
He stood there for a long time, then turned around and saw a tree not far away—a conjoined tree! It was covered with plaques proclaiming their union. But he no longer had a chance.
Why is it that everyone else can have happiness and a beautiful ending, but I can't?
Huangfu Xuan's dark eyes turned deep and unfathomable. He walked over casually, a powerful force already gathering in his hand.
"Everyone should be in that darkness. Since there is no such thing as love, there is no need for this kind of intertwined tree!" Huangfu Xuan's cold eyes were sinister. He raised his powerful hand, but at this moment, he heard low sobs behind the intertwined tree.
His heart skipped a beat. Was it her? He quickly walked behind the intertwined trees, only to see a woman in a thin pink gauze dress huddled under the tree, her head buried in her knees, suppressing her sobs.
His heart felt as if it were being strangled.
☆、278 Remain still and listen to the wind!
"Yi'er." Huangfu Xuan called out softly, unable to believe it. He didn't know if it was real or not. Was it because he missed her so much that she appeared? Or was it true that even heaven had taken pity on him?
The woman froze, looking up in disbelief. She was stunned. How could he have known about this place! And with such a fierce storm, how could he possibly have come out!
The man in front of her was dressed in a flamboyant red robe, but he was completely soaked. Water dripped from his dark hair onto his body, which was also completely drenched. The liquid clung to his tall frame, and his black pupils were fixed on her, as if trying to absorb her soul!
He was also taken aback. She was a thin, frail woman, curled up, soaked to the bone. Her gauze dress clung to her body, revealing her undergarments and outlining her exquisite figure.
She was speechless, her face filled with panic. He stepped forward, the flames in his eyes seeming to consume her completely!
He's angry again... No, I don't want to be near him! I don't want to make him angry again. I don't want him to see me! If it weren't for the terrible pain in my body, and this unpleasant weather with its strong winds and heavy rain, I'm sure I could find somewhere to hide!
The woman who should be by his side is a beautiful and virtuous one, not herself! He will never lack women! As long as he has the world, he can have everything he desires! She doesn't want his love anymore; she doesn't want him to see her like this!
Walk!
Ma Ruyi supported herself and stood up despite the pain. She immediately turned and left, running at a speed that clearly showed she had used all her strength! Yes, she wanted to get away from him, desperately trying to avoid him.
"Ma Ruyi!" Seeing that she was still trying to escape, Huangfu Xuan took a step forward and hugged Ma Ruyi tightly in his arms. This woman was still trying to avoid him.
"Let me go! I'm not Ma Ruyi!" She struggled violently, and these words slipped out of her mouth without her even realizing it. She was startled for a moment, but quickly continued, "Who are you? Let me go! I don't know you!"
"What did you say?" Huangfu Xuan was stunned for a moment, his dark eyes staring at her. "What did you just say?" He looked at her in disbelief. She said she wasn't Ma Ruyi? If she wasn't Ma Ruyi, then who was she!
"I don't know who I am, please let me go!" She had to keep pretending, otherwise this entanglement would continue! She had to be ruthless, ruthless! Ma Ruyi tried her best to look at him calmly. But, no matter what, she couldn't completely hide the panic in her eyes.
"You don't know who you are?" Huangfu Xuan's anger subsided. "You've actually forgotten me?"
"I...I don't know, don't ask me." Ma Ruyi broke free from his embrace, but unexpectedly, because the pain in her body had not yet fully subsided, she suddenly fell to the ground!
Huangfu Xuan was surprised and quickly pulled her into a tight embrace. "Yi'er! Don't be afraid, I'll take you to the Prince Zong's residence, no, to General Ji's residence. Fourth Brother will definitely have a way!" Her illness hadn't improved, and now that she'd been caught in the rain, she was even weaker! It was his fault for neglecting to look after her; otherwise, she definitely wouldn't have been able to run away!
"No more." She pushed him away. "Let go of me! I have to go. I don't know you at all." Ma Ruyi pushed him away forcefully, and he was somewhat taken aback.
"Why? Don't you recognize me? Ma Ruyi, you say you don't recognize me? Don't you believe me? Don't you love me?" he asked from behind her.
With her back to him, she said, "I don't know you. I'm not Ma Ruyi." She turned away, gritted her teeth, and slowly walked away.
The wind and rain continued to fall, making both of them shiver with cold.
Huangfu Xuan stared at her, his eyes cold and filled with anger. He strode forward and pulled her into his arms. "Ma Ruyi, are you testing my patience? Have I been too good to you? That you've become so willful time and time again, trying to leave me!"
"I, I didn't... Waaah..." Without much resistance, he angrily sealed her small lips with his thin lips. His strength was so great that it felt like he could crush her. His large hand was on her waist, as if he wanted to knead her into his body!
Her body was soaked by the wind and rain, and the temperature was extremely low. His eyes were filled with a mixture of anger and lust, and as he watched her struggle, the beast within him became even more wicked!
"Let go...of me!" She tried to push him away, but she was no match for him!
Just as she was about to suffocate, Huangfu Xuan slowly released her tongue. His eyes gleamed, and his large hands tightly held her captive. "You don't know who you are? Then I'll tell you: you are my wife, my concubine! My lover, everything, the one who will walk with me, Huangfu Xuan, for a lifetime!"
Ma Ruyi was completely stunned. What she had just heard was... he was talking about his wife, his lover, everything... everything! The person who had walked through life with him!
Is it really possible? Can I really follow him down this path?
"I, I..."
"What do you mean 'I'? I said it's true, so it's true!" Huangfu Xuan said impatiently. "It's getting cold, let's go back to the manor!" This damned weather! Seeing her face, which was almost transparent like a sheet of paper, made his heart ache!
"No, no! Huangfu Xuan, I... I'm not worthy, I'm really not worthy!" She was terrified. She didn't want to go back with him! She would die in front of him, become incredibly ugly, and turn into a pile of bones!
"What do you mean by 'worthy' or 'unworthy'? I say 'worthy'!" Huangfu Xuan pulled her into his arms, then, realizing something was amiss, he turned to pick her up. "Let's go back first, and we'll go see Fourth Prince tomorrow to check on your condition!"
"I don't want to! I'll die! I don't want to die in front of you! Huangfu Xuan, put me down!" She flailed her arms and legs, finally shouting out what she truly cared about.
Huangfu Xuan stood still, his starry eyes looking at her, quiet and dark.
She was still a little scared. He felt too strong and powerful. She opened her arms and had to back away! But he pulled her back into his arms in an instant, and she had no way to escape!
"You've finally remembered." His face was somewhat cold. "Ma Ruyi, you're calling my name! Ma Ruyi, look at me! Why won't you believe me? Why, Ma Ruyi, why? Haven't I done enough for you?"
"No, I'm not... You're very good, you really are!" Ma Ruyi shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "You're a good person, you should find a woman you like, and who likes you too. She will love you very much and accompany you for the rest of your life. Or you'll have many, many women around you, three thousand beauties, but that person, those people, won't be me, won't be..." She gently shook her head.