Emperatriz viuda Xiaoxuan

Capítulo 160

Bao Xian's hand, which was pulling the door, stiffened slightly. He silently turned his face, glanced at the direction of the bed, and then went out the door.

Before dawn, a simple carriage and several attendants slowly drove out of the back gate of Cangyu Manor. After only a few steps, the surrounding streets suddenly brightened, and Dugu Xihui and Prince Anle, one on horseback and one on foot, blocked the road.

Dugu Xihui forced a smile, staring intently at the carriage: "Where are you and His Highness the Crown Prince going?"

Lady Yu leaned out of the carriage and smiled lightly: "In a few days, it will be the Crown Prince and Jin'er's wedding. This old woman will naturally take His Highness to the ancestral mausoleum to pay respects to our ancestors. What is the meaning of this, King Dugu?"

Dugu Xihui smiled slightly: "The heavy snow has blocked the mountains, and the road is not safe. It is not appropriate for Madam and His Highness to travel so lightly. Fortunately, the Prince and I have dispatched three hundred guards to escort His Highness and Madam there."

"Is this a threat to the King?" Lady Yu's eyes sharpened as she stared directly at Dugu Xihui.

Dugu Xihui's smile deepened: "Madam, do not be alarmed. The Prince and I have no interest in your precious granddaughter. You should know who I am doing this for, and who I am waiting for."

"You!...Do you think I don't know what you're up to? Jin'er and she can only..."

“If Madam does not agree, then don’t blame me for having to use force with the Prince.” Dugu Xihui glanced around and said casually.

Lady Yu squinted her cloudy eyes: "Heh... What a ruler of the Dugu Kingdom... Since the ruler is so insistent, I will sacrifice my Jin'er to satisfy the ruler!"

Dugu Xihui's eyes darkened: "She's not here, so Madam doesn't need to pretend to be so affectionate. At this moment... you have no choice but to let her go!"

Jun Lin jumped out of the carriage expressionlessly, glanced at Dugu Xihui, and then gave a deep look at the seemingly smiling Prince Anle. He said coldly, "Since both the King and the Prince are in such high spirits, please come over there."

Qi Yongyue led a snow-white horse from behind, and Jun Lin leaped onto it, riding alongside Dugu Xihui and Prince Anle. Not far behind, two simple carriages slowly followed, and the large group, escorted by more than three hundred people, slowly headed towards Bu Ri Valley.

Under the moonlight, the "Valley of No Suns" is serene yet desolate. In the distance, snow that has remained unmelted for millennia piles up on the mountain peaks, and layers of snow plum blossoms appear even more exquisite and translucent under the soft moonlight. At the very back of the Plum Blossom Garden, clusters of torches flicker, busily burning for some unknown reason.

Two figures sat leisurely on the rooftop, watching the torches and busy crowds in the distance.

"Baoxian, are they coming soon?" Zi Jin asked, lying diagonally on the roof and gazing into the distance.

Bao Xian sat expressionlessly below Zi Jin, seemingly indifferent, but a closer look revealed that he was subtly protecting the reclining woman, as if afraid she might accidentally slip off the roof: "Madam should arrive tomorrow, so please don't worry, Master."

"That day... how much internal energy did you give me?" Zi Jin thought for a while before asking.

Bao Xian smiled gently, her emerald eyes shimmering with a soft light: "It's not much. No matter how much I give to you, you won't use it. Wouldn't that be a waste of all the years of hard training I've put in? I'm not stupid. I know what's important."

Zi Jin lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes concealing her emotions: "Yes, I don't know how to use this internal energy, so why waste it on me... Has Bao Xian ever thought about... living the life he wants? Not having to follow me and Madam anymore?"

Bao Xian paused for a moment, then said, “Since Master already knows that Bao Xian is a Dark Breath of the Nalan Southern Clan, you should know that Dark Breaths have no self. A Dark Breath’s master is everything to a Dark Breath, and a Dark Breath is born to be with its master… through life and death. Does Master mean you despise Bao Xian by saying this?”

Zi Jin looked up at the moonlight high above: "Bao Xian likes Wutong, doesn't he... Doesn't Bao Xian want to leave with Wutong and live the life he wants?"

Bao Xian stiffened slightly: "Hehe, Master is joking, isn't he?... Master knows that Bao Xian is pregnant... and can never marry again in this life... why ruin Wu Tong's life?"

"What if Wutong doesn't care? If Wutong doesn't care, then take her away, far away from here, and never come back. Find a place you want to live and live the life you want to live."

“Master doesn’t understand. To Anxi… there is no such thing as himself…” Bao Xian lowered his eyes and said in a low voice.

Zi Jin turned to Bao Xian and said, word by word, "The Nalan Southern Clan has long been exterminated. Why should Bao Xian follow this imposter around? The world is about to change... The Madam and the Jun family are too ambitious... Bao Xian and Wu Tong should go... Go far away and never come back... The Nalan Southern Clan is gone... Why should Anxi continue to uphold the ancestral precepts?"

“How could you say such a thing, Master? As long as you live, the Nalan Nan Clan will not perish. Don’t you know that? Since its founding, the Nalan Nan Clan has not valued bloodline, but the inheritance of the soul… Master…” A trace of urgency flashed in Bao Xian’s eyes.

Zi Jin's face revealed a mocking smile: "Bao Xian... you knew everything from the beginning, didn't you? You were involved in all of Madam's plans, weren't you?... Using me, the legendary reincarnation of Nalan Fengjin, as bait, you lured the rulers of the three kingdoms to this place, secretly dispatching troops to surround 'Bu Ri Valley' and the mountain town, and killing the rulers of the three kingdoms... no... killing the rulers of two of them. Madam's partner this time is the Yue Kingdom, which is why she arranged for me to marry the Crown Prince of the Yue Kingdom to ensure the benefits I can obtain. And Jun Ying, Nalan Fengjin's most loyal guard who has never shown his face, is waiting for the opportunity to act, preparing a large army. Neither of the two rulers has had an heir." Once the world learns of the deaths of the two kings, both countries will inevitably descend into chaos. At that time, the Yue Kingdom will launch a surprise attack on the borders of either or both. How many elite troops has the Yue Kingdom secretly cultivated over the years, all for this one opportunity? If the attack succeeds… with an army crossing the border, the Yue Kingdom could potentially annex both countries… Emperor Xuanlong has such a huge appetite, such great ambition… I wonder what benefits our self-proclaimed loyal Chief Steward Bao will receive? Wealth, high office, and riches—what has His Highness the Crown Prince promised Chief Steward Bao to make him so devoted, even wasting ten years of his cultivation on a useless person like me?”

Bao Xian lowered her head slightly, her hand unconsciously clutching the hem of her robe: "Master... how could you think like that? Those things are meaningless to Bao Xian..."

"Indeed, he is already disabled. No amount of wealth, honor, or high office can compare to the allure of a beautiful woman. I'm afraid it will only break the heart of Steward Bao." Zi Jin's lips curled into a wicked smile.

“Bao Xian has never been disloyal to his master… How could his master humiliate him like this…”

"What a fine 'single heart'! Who would be so vicious as to poison their own master? ... When you poisoned me, did you ever think of me as your master? Did you show the slightest mercy? ... Did you feel a sense of vengeful pleasure as you watched me suffer from that poison? ... You hate me, don't you? If it weren't for me, why would you have become this neither-man-nor-woman?! You want revenge, don't you?" Zi Jin squinted, a half-smile on her face, staring intently at Bao Xian as she spoke.

Bao Xian lowered his head so low that the aura emanating from him evoked pity in those who saw him.

Silence, a suffocating silence, as if everything around had fallen silent, and no one knew how much time had passed.

Zi Jin slowly turned her face back, a smile playing on her lips as she looked at the crescent moon in mid-air: "Bao Xian..."

"Hmm?" Bao Xian's voice had a heavy nasal tone.

When did you meet me?

"Back then... when the master was still... in swaddling clothes, the lady held Baoxian's hand and said, 'Baoxian, from this day forward you must remember that she is your master. Even if you have to give your all in the future, you must protect her...' Every day after that, the lady would take me to see you, repeating those words... Later, the master was taken away by the general... and the lady sent Baoxian to her master's place. But every year... there were a few days when Baoxian would visit the master at the general's mansion, but the master didn't know... It wasn't until the age of eleven that the lady sent Baoxian to the Yue Kingdom's palace, and Baoxian was finally separated from the master..." Under the moonlight, Baoxian closed her eyes tightly, a faint smile on her lips, as if recalling the most beautiful past in the world, but her gentle profile carried a faint sense of loneliness and desolation.

Zi Jin stared intently at Bao Xian in the moonlight: "Bao Xian, do you... hate me?"

“I don’t hate you…” Bao Xian turned her face, her emerald eyes meeting Zi Jin’s.

"Don't hate?... Wutong said that when you were little, you had a pair of bright, dark eyes. She had never seen such beautiful eyes before, so dark... And look at what you've become now?!... Who would willingly be poisoned from infancy? Who would willingly be sent to be castrated and made a palace maid in their innocent and naive youth? Don't you hate? How could you not hate? Why did they treat you like this? It's because of me! Because of me! How could you not hate?!" Zi Jin suddenly sat up and glared at Bao Xian.

Bao Xian dared not meet Zi Jin's gaze, slowly lowered her eyes, and asked softly, "Master, do you... hate Bao Xian?... Do you hate Bao Xian for cruelly poisoning you?..." Her voice was very soft, so soft that it was almost inaudible.

"I hate you! Xi Bao was innocent and pure, the cleanest person in my heart, but you turned him into this! In this world, the person I hate the most is you! Especially those demonic eyes that disgust me!" Zi Jin said fiercely.

"Master...do you dislike Baoxian's eyes?" Baoxian raised his head, lowered his eyes, and asked softly.

"Baoxian, you should pick up the bronze mirror and take a good look at your eyes. See how your bewitching eyes are any different from the most venomous snake!"

Zi Jin's resentful words and the undisguised hatred on her face deeply wounded Bao Xian's eyes. He gripped the hem of his clothes tightly, his face deathly pale: "When Master was in Taiping Pavilion, he wouldn't let Bao Xian call himself a servant, wouldn't let Bao Xian kneel, made Bao Xian eat at the same table as you, and even saved a portion of the stolen snacks for Bao Xian..."

Zi Jin looked up at the sky and said softly, "That's happy Bao, not your Bao Xian!"

"My master once said that Baoxian has the most beautiful eyes..."

"Nonsense! When did I say that!" Zi Jin turned her face and glared at Bao Xian.

Bao Xian lowered his head slightly, obscuring his appearance: "It's windy on the roof, Bao Xian, please carry Master down."