Мир боевых искусств — это яма

Глава 153

When Si Kou Xunle saw the heavy corner table hit Zi Jin's foot, his heart clenched. Seeing that she seemed to be in a lot of pain but pretended to be fine, he became even angrier: "Who told you to come! You married that noble lady and built that Taiping Pavilion?! What are you doing here?! Didn't you dislike me and my brother?!" The more he spoke, the more aggrieved he became, and he couldn't hold back his tears, crying very sadly.

Seeing Sikou Xunle crying so hard she could barely breathe, Zi Jin's anger subsided considerably. She took two steps forward, squatted down, and embraced Sikou Xunle: "Have I wronged Le'er? Don't cry, don't cry... It's my fault, it's my fault, I neglected Le'er."

Sikou Xunle, who had been stiff and crying, suddenly hugged Zi Jin's neck and burst into tears upon hearing such tender words.

Zi Jin paused slightly, then picked him up and sat him down on a perfectly good chair. She gently patted his back and said, "Le'er, don't cry. If you cry any more, you'll hurt yourself. It's all my fault for neglecting your brother and Le'er."

After a while, the crying gradually subsided, and Sikou Xunle slowly raised her tearful eyes: "Am I...am I broken?...Am I going to end up like the eunuchs?"

"Nonsense!" Zi Jin shouted coldly, and Si Kou Xunle trembled violently in fright. Zi Jin quickly comforted her, "Le'er, don't think nonsense. Le'er's illness has long been cured. This matter... has a time limit, depending on the individual's constitution. How could Le'er have such absurd thoughts?"

Sikou Xunle clutched Zi Jin's robe tightly, burying his head in her chest: "I'm scared... I'm so scared... I don't want that... I... I..."

Zi Jin gently patted the little one in her arms: "Le'er, don't be afraid. I said I would protect you, protect you for life... With me here, you don't need to be afraid."

Upon hearing this, Sikou Xunle's already flustered heart instantly calmed down. He was exhausted from a sleepless night and the early morning's ordeal. Now, nestled in the warm embrace, waves of drowsiness washed over him, and he peacefully closed his eyes.

After Sikou Xunle fell asleep, Zi Jin picked him up, feeling a sharp pain in her injured foot. She struggled to move a few steps before finally placing the little boy on the small bed. The palace maids and eunuchs outside immediately got up and began to clean up the mess in the room.

When Zi Jinxiang got up, she realized that as soon as she stopped patting the little figure, the figure frowned and made a sound like crying. Zi Jinxiang smiled bitterly, endured the intense headache, resigned herself to sitting down, and gently patted the little figure.

When Sikou Xunxiang entered, he saw this scene: a woman dressed in bright yellow morning court attire was gently patting a sleeping child.

Sikou Xunxiang paused for a moment, then slowly walked in: "I wonder why Your Majesty has graced my humble Weiyang Palace with your presence?" He reeked of alcohol and resentment.

Unexpectedly, even the god-like Sikou Xunxiang could utter such words. Zi Jin was slightly stunned, slowly raising her eyes, her heart trembling: In just over a month, this person had become so thin? His face seemed to have some color due to drunkenness, and his dark jade eyes appeared excessively large due to his extreme thinness. His lips, which should have been pale pink, were sickly pale: "Brother...you..."

"Your Majesty, please don't address me so casually. I dare not accept such a title. Please speak plainly if you have something to say," said Sikou Xunxiang, his eyes slightly lowered.

Zi Jin was stunned for a moment, then suddenly stood up and took two steps forward: "I...I just came to take a look."

"Has Your Majesty finished reading?" Sikou Xunxiang stood with his head bowed, reeking of alcohol, his cold voice sounding unusually desolate in the empty hall.

Zi Jin stood frozen, unsure how to respond. Never before had she been treated with such coldness and distance by the Emperor and Empress. For a moment, Zi Jin felt a slight fear and panic, like a child who had done something wrong, wanting to approach but hesitant: "Brother..."

Sikou Xunxiang paused abruptly: "If Your Majesty has nothing else to say, please forgive me for not seeing you off any further."

Zi Jin quickly stepped forward and grabbed Si Kou Xunxiang's hand: "Brother, are you angry with Jin'er?"

"Your subject dares not." Sikou Xunxiang took two steps back.

Watching Sikou Xunxiang retreat step by step, Zi Jin felt a tightness in her chest for some reason: "Brother, are you so unwilling to see me?"

Sikou Xunxiang suddenly raised his eyes, a fleeting emotion flashing across them, impossible to catch: "Your Majesty, I fear I have offended your eyes."

Perhaps due to a hangover and a sleepless night, Zi Jin's mind was in complete disarray. She couldn't figure out how to deal with the unfamiliar Si Kou Xun Xiang. She endured the throbbing headache and the stinging pain in her feet: "Brother didn't go to the morning court today, and Jin'er was very worried, so I came as soon as court was over..."

“Your Majesty need not waste your energy on me. I had a few too many drinks and forgot for a moment,” Sikou Xunxiang said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

Zi Jin frowned, then suddenly took two steps forward and hugged Si Kou Xunxiang's waist: "Brother, Jin'er has a headache..."

With a slight exertion, Si Kou Xunxiang flung Zi Jin's hand away, allowing him to slip to the side. Zi Jin, who had been clinging to Si Kou Xunxiang due to her aching foot, was caught off guard and stumbled forward. She tried to grab the chair beside her, but a wave of dizziness washed over her, and she fell heavily to the ground, her forehead slamming against the chair's corner.

Zi Jin covered her forehead, looked up at the unmoved Si Kou Xun Xiang, and felt an even greater tightness in her chest.

"Brother! What are you doing!" Sikou Xunle jumped off the small bed and stood between Zi Jin and the Emperor and Empress, confronting them as a protector. "I won't allow you to touch her!"

The Emperor and Empress instinctively reached out to help him, but they stubbornly remained rooted to the spot. His shoulders trembled uncontrollably, and he steadied himself by holding onto the table behind him. His long eyelashes concealed the heartache in his eyes: "Let her go."

Sikou Xunle glared at his brother for a long time, his eyes reddening again. He suddenly turned around and grabbed Zi Jin, shouting angrily, "Why haven't you come to see me for so long?! Why did you marry Zi Yingfeng?! Why did you spend the night at Dugu Xihui's place?! Tell me! Explain yourself to me! So I can forgive you! Don't you know I've been waiting for you! Waiting for you all this time! But you never come! You never come! Tell me! Tell me!" Sikou Xunle trembled violently, screaming hysterically.

A wave of dizziness made it impossible for Zi Jin to think. She held her head for a long while before raising her eyes, and what she saw was Si Kou Xun Le's red and swollen eyes: "Le'er, don't cry. If you really don't like Hui'er, I'll send him home in a few days, okay?"

Sikou Xunle stared blankly at Zi Jin's serious expression: "Really?"

"Yes, really." Zi Jin nodded quickly.

Sikou Xunle was suddenly pulled aside. The Emperor and Empress were filled with desolation, resentment, and disappointment. Their once gentle eyes were now filled with anger: "You've gone to such lengths, what are you afraid of? Are you afraid of me? Are you afraid that I will harm Dugu Xihui?" Their voices were devoid of any emotion, icy cold.

Zi Jin was startled and, ignoring the pain in her foot, quickly got up and grabbed the Emperor and Empress's sleeve: "Brother, don't think nonsense. My feelings for Hui'er are those of a brother and sister. Now that he's grown up, it's time for him to leave the palace. He has nothing to do with you."

The Emperor and Empress struggled to suppress their heartache and reluctance, closed their eyes, and quickly pulled away their sleeves: "Since he entered the palace, you have fought for him for political power and official positions. Now, do you intend to hand over military power to him? Seeing that I am determined not to give it to him, you first sent away Dugu Xihui, whom you regard as your own brother, so that you would stop at nothing to deal with me? ... If it weren't for that military power... you would never have stepped into Weiyang Palace... is that right?"

"Brother, you've misunderstood..." Zi Jin said quickly, suppressing her dizziness.

"Misunderstanding? You sent away the most important person before our wedding, didn't you?" The Emperor and Empress's eyes were bloodshot, as if they wanted to vent all the resentment in their hearts.

Zi Jin took two steps back: "You knew everything?"

"Ha...do you think I don't know? I've always known...always known, but only now do I realize you have no heart...no heart...why are you so cold and heartless towards me alone! Where is your heart? Where is your heart?...In the past month or so, have you thought of me at all?...Have you thought of me even a little bit?...Ah..." A bitter smile appeared on the Emperor and Empress's fair and flawless face, and the deep questioning brought tears to the eyes of all who heard it.

Zi Jin suddenly took two steps forward and hugged the Emperor and Empress tightly around the waist: "Brother... Brother, please don't do this. It will make Jin'er feel bad. I won't send Hui'er away anymore. I don't want military power anymore. I won't be angry with you anymore. I won't dare to do it again. Please don't do this. It will make Jin'er scared... Jin'er was wrong... Jin'er was wrong."

Looking at Zi Jin, who was sobbing in his arms, the Emperor and Empress slowly softened. Sensing the Emperor and Empress's compromise, Zi Jin slowly raised her head, her dark phoenix eyes filled with grievance and fear. Her lips timidly approached, but before she could react, she was suddenly pushed away. A dizzying sensation ran through her, and Zi Jin could no longer hold on, collapsing softly to the ground.

The emperor and empress's outstretched hands froze in mid-air: having suffered too many hidden losses, they could no longer allow themselves to soften their hearts even slightly, otherwise... they would have no place to stand by her side.

Si Kou Xunle rushed forward from a distance, but was too late. He watched helplessly as Zi Jin fell to the ground. He turned around abruptly and glared at Si Kou Xunxiang: "Brother! You..."

The Emperor and Empress grabbed Sikou Xunle, hardened their hearts, and dragged her outside the palace. They walked a long way before stopping: "Le'er, if we... are still soft-hearted towards her... I'm afraid that in Yaochen's world... and by her side... there will be no place for the Sikou family to stand... That person is ambitious... If I really lose power... there will be no one in this world who can protect her!" Her voice was filled with helplessness, sorrow, and despair. It was unclear whether she was speaking to herself or to Sikou Xunle.

Two palace maids rushed over, intending to help Zi Jin up, but Zi Jin shoved them away, shouting, "Get out! No one is allowed to come in!"

The two palace maids left meekly, closing the palace gate behind them.

Zi Jin sat there for a while, a bitter smile on her face. After a long while, a glint of light flashed in her eyes. She rubbed her extremely dizzy head, stood up groggily, and walked towards the inner room. Shaking her head to clear her vision, a wave of overwhelming dizziness washed over her, and Zi Jin collapsed heavily onto the bed.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but when Zi Jin woke up again, she was already lying on the bed.