Emperatriz viuda Xiaoxuan

Capítulo 159

"Brother... Brother..." Zi Jin lay helplessly on the ground, calling out loudly, tears streaming down her face.

Si Kou Xunxiang seemed to hear Zi Jin's cries. He searched around blankly, falling heavily off the edge of the bed without realizing it. His gentle eyes were filled with panic, his unfocused gaze darting around: "Jin'er... Jin'er... Brother's here... Brother's here... Don't go... Don't go..."

A bone-chilling cold seeped into Zi Jin's heart, and she clutched her chest, unable to utter a word. Everything around her seemed to freeze. Zi Jin whirled around, and before her eyes stood a gigantic crystal mirror. Reflected in the mirror was a woman in a yellow robe, with dark, almond-shaped eyes, a full, rounded oval face, a face like a lotus blossom, lips like a touch of vermilion, and tear-streaked cheeks. Unlike the other women's ethereal and elegant beauty, she possessed a striking beauty tinged with a touch of heroic spirit.

Zi Jin, stunned, reached out to touch the mirror, only to find the woman also reaching out to touch it. Zi Jin stared blankly at the person in the mirror, her eyes wide with terror, while the person in the mirror's eyes were filled with the same terror. Zi Jin slowly, very slowly, touched her own face, and the person in the mirror perfectly mirrored her gesture: "No..."

Zi Jin frantically pulled out the gold hairpin from her hair and slammed it into the mirror. The mirror cracked little by little, shattering into pieces that fell to her feet: "No!...I'm not her! I'm not her! I'm not her! No!...How could I be her! How could I be her!"

Think about it... think about it again... your past life... the soul lamp was overturned back then, causing your memories to become disordered... what you remember is just a fragment of a certain life... not your past life... think about it... think about it again... you are her, and she is you! You and she have always been the same person, always the same person.

A cold female voice suddenly pierced Zi Jin's ears. Zi Jin instinctively covered her ears: "No..." This "no" was so weak and unconvincing. Zi Jin's mind was a complete mess. She was a modern person... was she really a modern person? But who was she... why couldn't she remember? Why couldn't she remember how she died? Feng Yin... but she had a name... she called herself Feng Yin...

"Feng Jin... Feng Jin... Feng Jin..." Si Kou Xunxiang lay on the spot where he had fallen, calling out softly again and again. The person was clearly right in front of him, but his voice seemed to be separated by an invisible high wall, as if the distant call was lingering in his ears.

"Feng Jin... Feng Jin... Feng Jin... Jin'er... Brother is here..." That voice, as clear as spring water, contained so many complex emotions, like longing, like grief, like expectation, and also contained a faint despair.

That voice…it’s him! It’s him! It was him back then! I came into this world following that voice, it’s him, it really is him…haha…what a joke…a huge joke…I actually misheard…Feng Jin…Feng Yin…brother…brother…brother, how foolish are you…how stupid are you…

Zi Jin closed her eyes and laughed, her face full of bitterness... Brother... Brother... How can I repay you... How can I possibly repay you?

The shattered crystal mirror on the ground slowly transformed into countless points of light, which then suddenly pierced into Zi Jin's body.

Zi Jin's mind was filled with all sorts of familiar images.

"Sister Su'er, I'm scared, I'm scared... Mother... Mother, she..." Zi Jin hugged a seven or eight-year-old girl tightly and cried softly.

The girl held little Zi Jin and patted her gently: "Your Majesty, don't be afraid... The Empress is gone... You still have me... Su'er will always be by your side... Always here."

Dressed in a dragon robe, Zi Jin, who looked to be about ten years old, walked step by step towards a young girl and suddenly hugged her waist: "What are you doing, sister!"

The girl tried to hide something, but Zi Jin snatched it away first: "Who did you embroider this for, sister? It doesn't look like it's for Jin'er... Hmm... Let me think... Is it Jun Xiaosan?"

Zi Jin sat on the large dragon bed, staring blankly at the increasingly beautiful woman in front of her: "Sister, go with Jun Xiaosan. This time... Jin'er is probably going to marry someone from the Sikou family. The Sikou family is treacherous by nature... They dare not do anything to Jin'er... But what about you, sister? Right now, Jin'er doesn't even have the slightest power to protect you... Sister, go with Jun Xiaosan."

Zi Jin frowned and looked Jun Ying up and down for a long time: "I clearly fed my sister the Hehe Soup, how could there not be?... Jun Xiaosan, could it be that you...?"

Jun Ying's handsome face flushed completely red: "Your Majesty, please don't make wild guesses... It's normal for things to be different sometimes..."

Zi Jin breathed a slight sigh of relief: "Since it's not impossible, I'm relieved... Jun Xiaosan, you have to try harder... Sigh... Is having a child really that difficult?... I don't care what you do, I want you to give me a child within five years!... Isn't five years too long?... How about three years?..."

Jun Ying lowered his head further and further, even the roots of his ears turned bright red.

Zi Jin carefully held the baby's tiny fist in her palm and said softly, "His eyebrows are just like mine, and his smile is so similar to yours. He looks exactly like your and my child."

Jun Ying stared at the Empress's profile in shock for a long time, his eyes overflowing with tenderness and love. He followed the Empress's gaze and carefully examined the infant in the swaddling clothes, the coldness in his eyes fading considerably.

As the sun set, Zi Jin silently observed the woman sitting by the bed, holding an infant. Five years had passed since she left the palace, yet her gentle demeanor remained unchanged, though her figure was slightly fuller, perhaps due to recent childbirth. Gradually, Zi Jin's eyes reddened: "Sister Su'er... Jin'er... has come to see you."

The woman was startled and looked up abruptly, frozen in place: "Your Majesty..."

Zi Jin wrapped her arms around Su'er's waist, looking at the child in her arms: "Sister, have you noticed? This child looks a lot like Jin'er. Aren't the eyebrows and eyes exactly the same as Jin'er's when she was little?... This is your child, and also Jin'er's child... I want to give this world to this child... Jin'er doesn't want to be emperor... not at all..."

"Your Majesty, how could you think like that?" Su'er suddenly turned around and scolded in a low voice.

“Since childhood, how much suffering has my sister endured for me? How many hidden attacks has she shielded me from? ... My sister also has the blood of the Nalan Nan tribe flowing in her veins, so why can’t this world be given to Lin’er? ... Lin’er doesn’t belong to my sister alone, he is also Jin’er’s child. How can my sister be so selfish as to keep Lin’er by her side? ... My sister doesn’t know that Jin’er is alone... It’s cold and scary in the palace... Jin’er doesn’t want to fight anymore, doesn’t want to struggle anymore…” Zi Jin buried her head in Su’er’s back and said aggrievedly.

Su'er held the infant in one arm and stroked Zi Jin's head: "Your Majesty... don't think nonsense. You are the only one left of the Nalan Nan clan bloodline. Nalan Anxi is not of Nalan Nan clan blood. Although you call me sister, we have no blood relation whatsoever. Nalan Anxi's mission is to protect her master and live and die with him. The reason I agreed to send me out of the palace was because I had lost all my inner strength. If I stayed in the palace, I would only become your weakness and leverage... Your Majesty, don't be willful... you have done a lot, really well."

Zi Jin suddenly released Su'er's hand from her waist: "This world belongs to me, and I can give it to whomever I want! My sister clearly has divine power, yet she refuses to admit that she has the blood of the Nalan Nan tribe... Fine... I can ignore all of that, but my sister was born to obey me. I am not discussing this with my sister, but ordering her. Our ancestors said... Anxi's life and her person belong to their master, and her children are no exception."

Su'er reached out and grasped Zi Jin's hand: "Since we were little, I've always listened to whatever you said. When have I ever disobeyed you? Now you're putting on airs like an emperor."

Seeing Su'er's aggrieved look, Zi Jin immediately felt that she had gone too far. She quickly lowered herself to comfort her and said ingratiatingly, "Sister, don't be angry. Jin'er is only doing this for the child's own good. ...My little Junlin...My little Junlin will eventually stand above everyone and look down on the world."

Unresolved emotions and inescapable demonic obstacles; karmic retribution—when will we meet again? Parting leaves fall in the wind, the zither strings break. (Part Six)

As the shattered images gradually faded, a chill returned, and Zi Jin curled up, trying to escape the bone-chilling cold. It was a coldness emanating from her very marrow, a lingering, penetrating chill that seeped into her entire body, gradually eroding her limbs and senses, slowly stiffening her body and blood. Wave after wave of icy breath pushed her to her limit.

After an unknown amount of time, Zi Jin, who had been so cold she was numb, suddenly felt a wisp of warmth seeping into her palms. Though it was only a tiny bit of warmth, it made Zi Jin feel much warmer. As if she had found a way, the warmth surged forth, making Zi Jin feel so comfortable she wanted to scream.

Zi Jin slowly opened her eyes, and what came into view was Bao Xian's pale face sitting opposite her. His eyes were tightly closed, and his forehead was covered in sweat. The warmth in his hand had not yet disappeared. Zi Jin was slightly stunned and saw that Bao Xian's hand was tightly held in hers. If she didn't have those memories, she might not have known what the warmth in her hand was: "Bao Xian, are you trying to kill yourself?"

Bao Xian suddenly opened his eyes, a hint of joy flashing in his emerald eyes. He slowly withdrew the warmth from his hands. Zi Jin's unfriendly expression made him hurriedly get off the bed. The sudden movement made him sway unsteadily. He steadied himself by holding onto the bedpost. He lowered his eyes and said respectfully in a low voice, "Master is awake."

"Why did you transfer your internal energy to me?" Zi Jin asked weakly, leaning against the brocade quilt that had been placed behind her.

"How did Master know that Bao Xian was transferring his internal energy?" Bao Xian asked in surprise.

“Bao Xian…” Zi Jin hesitated, staring intently at Bao Xian for a long time, “Bao Xian…you are the Dark Breath of the Nalan Southern Clan, aren’t you?”

"Master... have you remembered something?" Bao Xian's voice was somewhat uncertain.

Zi Jin lowered her eyes and shook her head: "My mind is a mess. It seems like I remember, but it also seems like I don't... Bao Xian is Dark Breath, right?"

"Yes." Bao Xian pondered for a moment, then asked again, "Is Master still feeling unwell?"

“It’s not that you forgot the antidote, it’s that the old woman wouldn’t give it to you,” Zi Jin said again without answering.

Zi Jin's confident tone left Bao Xian speechless: "Master is overthinking it, Madam..."

"Forget it, stop defending her... Ha... You're getting harsher and harsher on me..."

"Master, would you like something to eat? You've been asleep all day..."

"You can go now. I feel very tired and want to sleep for a while." Zi Jin slowly closed her eyes, listening to the increasingly light footsteps, and spoke again, "Bao Xian, don't be busy anymore, go and rest for a while too."