Prince Ning remained silent, not pressing the matter further, but sighed and said, "Ah Hao, you..."
Song Shuhao interrupted him, saying only, "Your Highness Prince Ning, we can go now."
Prince Ning nodded, remaining silent the entire way. He didn't take Song Shuhao back to the Xuanzhi Palace, but instead escorted her to the Yuanshu Pavilion. Ahao didn't say a word, following him up to the third floor. Prince Ning finally couldn't help but say to her, "Take care. Once Sixth Brother calms down, everything will be alright."
Ahao nodded to him and said gently, "Thank you, I won't do anything foolish." Prince Ning wanted to say more, but held back, comforted Ahao a couple of times, and left. The area around the Yuanshu Pavilion was full of guards with swords. Ahao stood on the pavilion and looked around. When she saw someone looking up at her, she went back inside.
Inside the Xuanzhi Hall, Zhang Yu had already woken up. He lay on the couch and heard the Prince of Ning outside reporting that the person had been found and taken to a safe place. However, he only touched the jade pendant at his waist and remained silent for a long time.
Chapter 79 Update
Zhang Xin was eagerly anticipating leaving the palace with Ling Xiao to catch Xia Mingzhe, who was out drinking and carousing. However, after waiting for a long time, the person she was waiting for didn't appear. Instead, her tenth brother arrived instead. Seeing her tenth brother rush in, ask where Ling Xiao was, and then storm off in anger, she was completely confused about what had happened.
After feeding on mosquitoes for half the day, Zhang Xin finally realized that Ling Xiao must have run into some trouble and couldn't come. She dragged her exhausted body back to Yongle Palace, having done nothing yet. She sent people to inquire, but they didn't know what had happened. They only knew that there seemed to be some activity at the Yuanshu Pavilion, and that it might be that A-Hao was in trouble. Zhang Xin was increasingly confused.
There was absolutely no news about Ling Xiao. Although Zhang Xin was worried, she felt somewhat relieved knowing that her tenth brother wouldn't harm her. After yawning several times, a palace maid came to help her wash up, instructing her to notify her immediately if there was any news about Ling Xiao. Unable to stay awake any longer, Zhang Xin climbed into bed to rest.
Ling Xiao barely woke up from her unconsciousness. After a moment's thought, she remembered what had happened and was completely stunned to find herself still in the same place while A-Hao was nowhere to be seen. Noticing that the place where she had planned to escape the palace was guarded, she had no choice but to slip away in another direction and return to the Imperial Hospital.
With a large bump on his head from being hit, Ling Xiao applied ointment and sat blankly in the room, feeling both angry and wanting to cry at the thought that A-Hao hadn't at least had company as they had promised. Prince Ning arrived and sat beside her, but Ling Xiao ignored him. There were no candles lit in the room, and the two sat in silence for a long time.
Prince Ning didn't ask anything. He then reached out and touched Ling Xiao's head, easily finding the sizable bump on his head that Ah Hao had hit. He pressed it maliciously, and Ling Xiao simply brushed his hand away, frowning as he said, "It hurts."
“Stop running away,” Prince Ning said. “Where can you run to?” Ling Xiao didn’t speak, but Prince Ning continued, “You only need to trust me this once. I will definitely not let you regret it. Is marrying me that scary? I won’t hold it against you for taking advantage of me.”
Although she was misunderstood as having run away because she didn't want to marry him, Ling Xiao didn't want to explain. After a long while, she said to Prince Ning, "I'm worried that you'll regret it in the future." Prince Ning didn't seem to understand what she meant, but he just patted Ling Xiao's head and said, "I won't regret it either."
·
During the night, Ahao developed a high fever, her body burning hot. She wasn't discovered until the early hours of the next morning. A young palace maid hurriedly woke her up and sent someone to Xuanzhi Hall to deliver the message. Imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital came to Yuanshu Pavilion to examine Ahao, but she refused to see any of them, only ordering someone to summon Lingxiao instead.
Prince Ning did not reveal Ahao's whereabouts, and Ling Xiao only learned at this moment that Ahao was under house arrest in the Yuanshu Pavilion. Looking at the heavily guarded guards outside the Yuanshu Pavilion, as soon as she tried to enter, her medicine box was searched, and most of the contents were taken out and she was not allowed to take them up.
Ling Xiao shuddered as she recalled the emperor's actions that day and his behavior today. No matter how deep the affection, it shouldn't be like this; how many people could bear such obsessive love...? She went up to the third floor of the pavilion, with palace maids watching her every move from both the front and back.
Ah Hao lay on the bed, a towel soaked in cold water covering her head to try and lower her fever, but it was too high for her to handle. Ling Xiao called out to Ah Hao, but received no response; she seemed somewhat delirious. She quickly ordered someone to fetch some aged wine, diluted it with cold water, and used it to wipe Ah Hao's body. She then wrote out a prescription and instructed a palace maid to prepare the medicine.
In a daze, Ahao felt she could hear Lingxiao's voice. She tried to open her eyes, but her throat hurt when she tried to speak. Knowing that she had been a burden to Lingxiao, Ahao was slightly relieved to see that he was alright, but she managed to say, "It's good that you're alright..." before her consciousness became hazy again.
These words brought tears to Ling Xiao's eyes. He felt a pang of guilt, realizing that he had been so confident in his ability to help A-Hao, only to find himself in a situation where he was ultimately ineffective. But he needed to get her fever down first, so Ling Xiao suppressed his own feelings and got to work.
It wasn't until half a day later that Ah Hao's body temperature finally dropped; it was no longer scalding hot to the touch, and Ling Xiao felt a little more at ease. Ah Hao slept on and off for a long time, and the two barely spoke, but Ling Xiao had to leave for the time being.
Ah Hao fully regained consciousness at night. She vaguely remembered Ling Xiao coming by, and knowing she should be alright, her worries lessened. After taking some medicine and taking some supplements, she slept again. She had a fever again during the night, but it wasn't as severe as before.
The next morning, Ling Xiao came to see Ahao again. He wanted to bring her something, but his offer was refused. With palace maids watching over her, they couldn't say much, only briefly checking on each other's conditions. After taking Ahao's pulse, Ling Xiao was practically ushered out of the room.
Zhang Yu never visited Song Shuhao at the Yuanshu Pavilion, and Ahao neither asked nor resisted. After her fever subsided and her health improved, she asked for pen and ink and spent day after day copying Buddhist scriptures at the Yuanshu Pavilion. As the weather gradually warmed up, ice blocks were placed in the pavilion. Later, the palace maids would often bring books for Ahao to read, and then bring new books after she finished reading them.
As luck would have it, Ah Hao was reading that book about the emperor and empress again. She remembered that last winter, on the way to the hunting grounds, when she was riding in a carriage with Zhang Yu, she had read a story about how the empress was scratched by a peach branch, and His Majesty the Emperor ordered an entire peach orchard to be cut down.
At the time, Ahao thought that Zhang Yu might be capable of such a thing. Little did she know that what he would do would be a thousand times more terrifying. But at that time, Ahao never imagined that Zhang Yu would do it for her. The scene she had deliberately tried to forget but couldn't brought back flooded her mind. She closed the book and put it aside; she couldn't read any more.
As usual, the palace maid asked Song Shuhao what she wanted for dinner. Usually, she would not answer, but today she ordered several dishes and then complained that she could not eat any of them. After many changes, she would at least taste the first few dishes, but she would not touch the last ones that were served, saying that she did not want to eat them.
By nightfall, Ahao had developed red bumps all over her body, which were quite severe and intensely itchy. The palace maid suggested that she fetch the imperial physician, but Ahao refused to see any of them. However, she kept repeating that she wanted to see His Majesty the Emperor, and she wouldn't stop until late at night, making everyone uncomfortable.
Zhang Yu appeared around midnight. He stood outside with a somber face, not coming in. A-Hao, lying on the bed, could see him but didn't get up to go over. If you counted the days, it had been over a month since they last met, yet when they saw each other again, they were speechless.
A-Kai looked at Zhang Yu for a moment, then looked away and said, "Your Majesty has finally deigned to appear. I thought that you would only look at my coffin when I died."
"What is it?" Zhang Yu remained motionless, his gaze heavy as he asked Song Shuhao, his voice hoarse. A-Kan could see he had lost a lot of weight, and his whole demeanor was gloomy, but she couldn't soften her heart. Even the most painful things would eventually pass. There would be new people around the emperor; she wasn't that important anymore.
Even today, she still thinks of that night from time to time, feeling fear and guilt. She can't get over that hurdle; every day she spends in the palace is a day of madness. She has no attachment to love, but she can't take the deaths of so many innocent people for granted.
Ah Hao just stared at Zhang Yu and asked with a smile, "Does Your Majesty also have to wait until this servant dies before you will come to this servant's side?" Zhang Yu then stepped into the room and walked to the bedside. The palace servants all quietly withdrew.
As Zhang Yu drew closer, Ahao felt a little dazed. This was torture for him, and it was no less so for her... but she couldn't accept it calmly, nor could she feel at peace with herself.
Looking directly at Zhang Yu, A-Hao propped herself up on one side, but Zhang Yu didn't help. She reached out and grabbed the hem of Zhang Yu's shirt, revealing a section of her fair forearm, which was covered with small red bumps.
Ah Hao clung tightly to Zhang Yu's clothes, saying, "Your Majesty, please spare me! Do you really want to see me die in this palace? Even though my life is lowly, I only beg you to show me a little pity. Even if you don't consider the fact that I served you, at least consider... that I was once of some use to you..."
Zhang Yu lowered his eyes and looked at the red bumps on her arm, but said, "Let Ling Xiao take a look at them for you."
Ah Hao laughed, but still said, "Do you dare to put your hand on your heart and tell me that you have never used me? Not even for a moment? When you knew that Prince Zhao seemed to have feelings for me and mistakenly thought that I was Prince Zhao's savior, did you never do that either?"
Ignoring Ah Hao's words, Zhang Yu repeated, "Let Ling Xiao take a look at you."
“There’s nothing to see… If you don’t agree to my request, this kind of thing will just happen again. I won’t die right away, but it can be done a few more times. Why bother? Even if you lock me up for life, it will only increase my resentment.”
What do you want?
“Leave the palace.” Ah Hao said softly but firmly, “There’s a nun my mother knows at Jingyun Nunnery. You can send me there. The palace is so lonely. You want me to stay with you even if I’m confined to this study for the rest of my life, but I don’t want to… I don’t want to die in this cold palace, I don’t want to…”
Perhaps the red bumps on her body were flaring up, for Ah Hao's voice suddenly lowered. She couldn't resist scratching at the bumps, from her face to her neck, then to her arms, leaving red welts wherever she touched them. It seemed incredibly itchy and painful; she couldn't bear it, scratching and crying, no longer able to speak to Zhang Yu.
She cried and scratched for a long time before stopping, but Zhang Yu just watched silently, without saying a word. Ahao scratched her face until it bled, crying and begging him, "I beg you, please let me go. I have no other request, I just want to leave the palace." But she never mentioned those nightmares, but even if she didn't say it, they both knew the truth.
Zhang Yu watched her quietly until Ahao couldn't resist reaching out to scratch the bumps again. Only then did Zhang Yu take her hand and say, "Alright. I will have someone send you out tomorrow."
Author's Note: The Last Wave
The last wave
The last wave
She bit her handkerchief, sobbing, and then she had to lift twenty pot lids off her head.