Emperatriz viuda Xiaoxuan

Capítulo 185

"Brother?" Prince Anle stared thoughtfully at the person who stumbled out of the back hall and called out hesitantly.

Seeing Cheng Qingsong being rescued, Sikou Xunxiang breathed a slight sigh of relief. He composed himself and walked step by step to Prince Anle's side, raising his hand to slap him: "Is this how you treat my savior?"

"You hit me?...You hit me again?" Prince Anle stared at Sikou Xunxiang incredulously with his peach blossom eyes, muttering to himself.

"If I had arrived any later, would you have killed me again? You!... How could you have become so bloodthirsty?!" Sikou Xunxiang frowned as he looked at Prince Anle, his eyes filled with disappointment.

"You despise me? Even you despise me?" King Anle slowly lowered his head and said softly.

Si Kou Xunxiang slowly turned around: "You can leave now. Don't ever come back again."

"You don't want me? You don't want me anymore?"

Sikou Xunxiang slowly lowered his eyes, and after a long while, he said again, "From now on... the Chen Kingdom and the Sikou family will be entrusted to you. You're grown up now, and I can't be with you forever. I will come back to see you in the future."

Prince Anle grabbed Sikou Xunxiang's robe and said in a low voice, "Brother is leaving, isn't he? Brother is going to go with her and abandon Le'er, isn't he?... How can you be so selfish? How can you be so selfish as to abandon me! What Chen Kingdom! What Sikou family! I don't want any of it! I don't want any of it! Brother, please come back with her, okay?"

“Brother…I can’t stay with you forever…Go back.” Sikou Huanxiang said firmly.

While King Anle was lost in thought, Jin Yu and the other four returned and whispered a few words in his ear.

King Anle waved his hand hastily: "Let them run away then."

Upon hearing this, Si Kou Xunxiang breathed a slight sigh of relief, his face showing no further emotion.

Prince Anle slowly straightened up, silently watching Sikou Xunxiang's indifferent back. A ruthless glint flashed in his peach-blossom eyes: "Brother, you've probably forgotten that Consort Luo and the First Prince are still waiting for you to return and fulfill your promise."

“I haven’t touched Nan Yu Luo in the slightest, so how could I be a prince? Don’t try to spread this nonsense again,” Si Kou Xun Xiang said coldly.

Prince Anle was suddenly taken aback: "Brother, you remember everything?"

Sikou Xunxiang nodded slightly.

"Didn't your brother tell her?"

Si Kou Xunxiang stopped speaking, his pink lips pressed tightly together.

"Hehe... Since you've remembered, you must understand that she doesn't like the current you, so you're still pretending to be the same as before to deceive her, right?" King Anle laughed with an unusually bright smile.

Sikou Xunxiang suddenly turned around and glanced at Prince Anle: "Whether it was me at that time or not, wasn't I still me? Whichever version of me she liked, I would be that version of myself. As long as she was happy, I would ask for nothing more."

"Bang!" Prince Anle slammed his hand on the table beside him: "You want to leave? You want to abandon me and go alone? I won't let you have your way! Go and bring the girl out to me!"

One of them accepted the order and quickly walked towards the back hall.

Si Kou Xunxiang's brows were furrowed with anxiety, yet he remained firmly rooted to the spot, fearing that if he took a step forward, Prince Anle would realize that he had lost his martial arts skills: "Le'er, stop fooling around!"

"Brother, don't force yourself. From the moment you stepped out of the inner hall, I could tell that your martial arts skills had been completely destroyed." Prince Anle gently wrapped his arms around Sikou Xunxiang's waist, rested his head on his back, and said softly.

"Le'er... don't be silly, you'll scare her." Si Kou Xunxiang's voice was filled with barely concealed anxiety.

"Why is it that from the past until now... the person you care about most is always her?" King Anle's low voice was full of accusation.

The person who received the order quickly came out from the back hall: "Your Majesty, Your Highness... the young lady is not in the back hall."

Sikou Xunxiang and Prince Anle were both stunned. Prince Anle released Sikou Xunxiang and strode towards the back hall. When he saw that only the old woman who had been measured had been knocked unconscious in front of the bronze mirror, and there was no one else in the room, he turned around and shouted: "Quick! Go after her for me!"

Si Kou Xunxiang frowned as he looked at the empty room for a long while before saying, "She was kidnapped; she didn't run away on her own."

King Anle was slightly taken aback, then glanced at the old woman who had been knocked unconscious, rushed back into the shop, and shouted angrily, "Quick! Quick! Go find her for me! Go now!"

Jin Yu, who had been protecting Prince Anle, cautiously looked around: "Your Highness, this place is not very safe. Perhaps we should return to the post station first and then make further plans."

Prince Anle shoved Jin Yu, who was blocking his way, and stumbled toward the shop, shouting, "You go too! Go and find her for me!"

Sikou Xunxiang strode towards the outside, but was pulled back by Prince Anle: "Brother can't go... Brother can't go. If you find her, you will never come back... Brother... Brother..." As he spoke, he fell to the side.

Sikou Xunxiang glanced sideways at Prince Anle, whose eyes were unfocused, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes. He reached out and caught Prince Anle's swaying body: "Le'er... Le'er..."

Prince Anle clutched Sikou Xunxiang's sleeve tightly, his whole body trembling uncontrollably: "Brother, don't go, don't go... don't leave Le'er alone, they... they will force Le'er to her death... Le'er can't... Le'er can't... without her, without brother... Le'er can't live... Le'er can't live..."

"Your Highness has been poisoned. Please, Your Majesty, move to the post station," Jin Yu said urgently, kneeling beside Sikou Xunxiang.

Sikou Xunxiang glanced at Jin Yu in surprise, and without saying a word, he used all his strength to lift Prince Anle up and quickly followed Jin Yu into the carriage.

Prince Anle trembled uncontrollably, clutching Sikou Xunxiang's sleeve tightly: "She...and her...Brother, don't leave her...don't leave her alone..."

Sikou Xunxiang whispered in Prince Anle's ear, "Le'er, go to sleep first. I'll help you find her. Don't be afraid, Le'er... don't be afraid..."

He had barely boarded the vehicle when Prince Anle reached his limit and fainted with a gasp.

With eyes full of anxiety and heartache, Si Kou Xunxiang gently wiped the sweat from Prince Anle's forehead: "Jin Yu."

Jin Yu lifted the carriage curtain and walked in, then knelt down before Si Kou Xun Xiang with a thud: "Your subordinate failed to protect the prince properly, please punish me, Your Majesty."

"What happened?"

Jin Yu lowered his head and whispered, "After the Emperor disappeared before the New Year, Emperor Xuanlong captured Chimen Pass in one fell swoop. The Prince led his army on a 13-day trek to the border, where they fought desperately to hold Chimen Pass. The Prince was worried about the Emperor's safety every day and had no heart for fighting. He was also eager to win... He secretly went to assassinate Emperor Xuanlong alone... Although he severely injured Emperor Xuanlong, the Prince himself was not much better off. He had seven knife wounds all over his body and was also stabbed in the heart and marrow..."

Sikou Xunxiang stared blankly at Jin Yu. After a long while, he slowly lowered his eyes and stroked Anle Wang's gaunt face again and again: "Corrupted marrow and heart... Corrupted marrow and heart... The Jun family's unique poison... Is that it?"

Upon returning, Zi Jin stared in astonishment at the empty shop and the bloodstains on the ground, her heart filled with panic. Just then, a figure suddenly appeared from the shadows and pulled Zi Jin into the shadows: "Girl, don't panic, come with me to see your master."

Zi Jin glanced at the man and then nodded.

In a darkroom of an ordinary blacksmith shop, Cheng Qingsong sat pale-faced on the bed. Seeing his apprentice, who had been wearing a cold expression since entering the room, he quickly said, "It's a flesh wound."

"Who hurt you like this?" Zi Jin slowly walked to Cheng Qingsong's bedside and sat down, asking in a harsh voice.