Чистая вода и прекрасные горы

Глава 47

A sedan chair was parked at the North Palace Gate. It looked so familiar from a distance... When I left, it was indigo blue, but now the scarlet blood gushing from the sedan chair stung my eyes.

When my maternal grandfather passed away, his face was this scarlet, and so was Xiao Xuan's...

"Mother—" A burning pain in my throat.

Despite the midday sun, a mist still lingered.

A bone-chilling cold filled the air.

Liu Shang's eyes were red and swollen, and his voice was hoarse and dry.

"We received news of the old prince and the other princes halfway through the journey. The princess simply told us to keep going, but unexpectedly..."

My mind went completely blank.

I don't believe it... Mother promised when she left...

A hand reached towards the sedan curtain, and Liu Shang quickly pulled me back, "Princess...please don't look."

I broke free from her hand, took a step forward in a daze, and the smell of blood hit my nose.

With trembling hands, I abruptly lifted it...

Puffs of white mist surged towards my eyes!

I can't see anything.

In an instant.

Everything collapsed...

Huddled in the darkness, they thought that by avoiding the light, they could avoid accepting the truth.

When Xiao Xuan left, he was like that too... He would feel flustered and disoriented at the sight of even a ray of sunlight.

At that time, my mother was with me, holding me tightly in her arms, as if afraid that I would turn to ashes and disappear.

The door was slowly pushed open, revealing a ray of light, followed by the soft sound of the door closing.

The golden boots gleamed in the darkness.

I closed my eyes in disgust.

A soft sigh was followed by a commanding tone, "Dinner..."

I suddenly opened my eyes, not looking at him, and sat at the table. Instead of using chopsticks, I stuffed my hands into my mouth. It had no taste, but my mouth was full of it, and I couldn't swallow it down.

"Don't do this." He poured tea and handed it to him.

I calmly accepted it, ignoring his sudden look of surprise.

"Hot—" Before he could finish his sentence, I had already downed the drink, my throat burning with a tearing heat.

His face turned ashen. He suddenly stood up, flicked his sleeve, and spilled a table full of food onto the floor.

"Do you—have to torture yourself like this?" His cold voice came from behind me, and I listened numbly.

After he slammed the door in a fit of rage and left, the room fell silent again.

Covering her mouth, tears finally welled up...

In just three days, the Prince of Huai's mansion had been ransacked.

The woman had long since married far away, escaping the entanglement. The Rong family had always had a small line of descendants; the eldest brother had been married for a long time, and his wife had died from postpartum hemorrhage. Despite the advice of his elders, the eldest brother insisted on not remarrying. The daughter his wife had given birth to that day also disappeared in the chaos of the house raid. That little girl named Rong Ziming, the one who had chased after me calling me "Auntie" for so long, that timid Ziming since childhood—how would she bear this calamity? Or was she still alive?

"Your Majesty, the imperial edict has been issued to the world, accusing the old prince of treason and colluding with the enemy, so..." Liu Shang was already sobbing uncontrollably.

I rubbed my head; the tea in my cup had gone cold. "Why is my father's body nowhere to be found?"

"It is said that when the Prince of Huai's residence was being held, the old prince died in his inner chamber, and his remains were never found."

I suppressed the pounding in my chest and asked, "What else? Could my brother be spared a complete body?"

"At noon today...the execution by burning at the Meridian Gate..."

Before noon, the Meridian Gate was already crowded with people, and soldiers were guarding the area around the execution platform.

I lost my way in the crowded throng.

My brother Rong Jing and Rong Ling were tied to a wooden stake.

I heard a mournful cry, and then I saw that white dress fluttering as she walked to the execution ground... It was my eldest sister, Rong Xiyue...

She knelt in the center of the execution ground, looking at her two brothers, and cried out in anguish, at a loss for what to do. No one else in the vast Meridian Gate made a sound; everyone fell silent and listened to the woman's cries.

With a command, the fire was lit, and gradually it began to spread. Thick smoke obscured the woman's white-clad figure, and the hissing flames drowned out her cries. I watched the fire rise higher and higher, until it touched the sky…

Chapter 40: Giving Birth

At the Marshal's Mansion, I stood guard beside the unconscious Rong Xiyue.

When she woke up, her eyes were glazed over, and one of her hands was gripping me so tightly it hurt.

"You..." she struggled to speak, but before she could finish, Marshal Pang walked in from outside.

Rong Xiyue's gaze suddenly froze, and she abruptly pushed me behind the screen. Did she not want Pang Jian to see me?

Pang Jian, with his back to me, grabbed Rong Xiyue's throat with one hand and said in a cold voice, "You'd better know your place. If you want to live peacefully as my marshal's wife, you'd better shut up forever."

Rong Xiyue gave a bleak smile and looked straight at him, "My father and brothers will never let you off the hook even in the afterlife."

"Are you... courting death?"

Rong Xiyue shoved him away. "What use is my life to me? Of course I know you hid the fake document in the Prince of Huainan's mansion, I know you framed my father, I know you were the one who ruined your father-in-law's marriage... You were indeed unwilling to marry me. Yes, my father killed your childhood sweetheart for me, and I am guilty about those things, but you... you are so cruel..."

Pang Jian clenched his fist tightly. "You should just stay in the manor and don't think about anything else."

"Pang Jian, do you think you can control everything?" Rong Xiyue's eyes blazed with anger. "My two younger sisters are both women of the royal family. They will always have the opportunity to turn the tables in the future. Your good days are numbered."

Pang Jian sneered a few times, "Do you really think the Rong family still has hope? Your two younger sisters are probably in dire straits, barely able to take care of themselves... The Emperor will never support a second Empress Rong... Do you think I can take down Huainan Prefecture by myself? You're wrong. Without the Emperor's secret arrangements, I could never bring down your father. If I don't deal with my father-in-law, the Emperor will wipe out my Pang family as well. Do you understand? Do you really understand? I need the strongest backing... to protect my family."

Rong Xiyue smiled. "You mean, just like how the Emperor used my father's power to get rid of Crown Prince Yanlun back then, now he's using your Pang family to get rid of my father again... The Emperor gave my Rong family over twenty years of glory, but what will he bring to your Pang family?!"

Pang Jian flicked his long sleeves. "The Emperor has already promised to make my Pang family the next Empress. Your Rong family's fate is sealed."

Rong Xiyue trembled. "You mean... Pang Ying..."

"Don't worry. The Pang family has always been loyal and devoted. Unlike your father, we don't harbor any wolfish ambitions. If you behave yourself, your position as the Empress's sister-in-law will naturally be secure..."

"My sister is the legitimate wife. Don't get your hopes up."

"So what if she's the legitimate wife? Isn't this just a facade the Emperor created for the Rong family?! Since he married Rong Zhaozhi to win over the soldiers, why can't he marry Pang Ying to win over the Pang family?"

Pang Jian turned and left, and I stood behind the screen, feeling only a cold loneliness all over my body.

The main house was not to be exposed to the blood and genitals of women, so I moved into the east wing two months before I was due to give birth.

She secretly gave the child a nickname, Zhi'er... She desperately hoped it would be a daughter, because she would be safer if it were.

That day, after returning from the Pang residence, was the last time I saw Lu Li in the main room. He just looked at me with a sorrowful expression.

I smiled, prepared my things from the room, and said softly, "Your Highness, why bother? In short, I married you because of the Rong family's power. Now that the Rong family has lost its strength, Your Highness will also gain that position that everyone admires. We should have nothing to do with each other."

He took my hand and simply asked, "If there's anything I can do for you, I..."

That's exactly what I wanted to hear. I looked at him and smiled sadly, "Can you hate for me? Hate the Emperor?"

He gasped and fell silent.

As I reached the threshold, I paused and lowered my voice, "My second brother, Rongling, still has bloodlines in the world. If Your Highness can protect them for me, I would be very grateful."

From dawn till dusk, the room was filled with the stench of blood.

This child was eager to come out before eight months had passed in my womb. Most children in the Rong family are born prematurely, and coupled with my physical and mental exhaustion during this period, I also expected that this child would not be born at full term.

My strength was slowly drained away by the pain, my consciousness gradually fading. It was noisy around me; someone was pinching my philtrum intermittently, but sensation was still fading. So this was the threshold between life and death. I gave up trying to think…

The sound of Liu Shang's soft sobs reached my ears.

A hand gripped mine tightly. The hand was warm and strong, but the calluses on the fingertips from years of holding a sword hurt me.

My brows furrowed suddenly, and I regained some consciousness. "Liu Shang, quick, let me out... How can a grown man like me get into this place?"

I turned my remaining gaze to Lu Li's terrified face. For the first time, I saw something in his eyes that wasn't indifference. What it was, I didn't have the strength to see clearly.

He tugged at the corner of his mouth, took a deep breath, and gathered the last of his strength to grip the straps again.

In a daze, a man in white robes walked towards me, a jade pendant at his waist swaying gently. He approached me with a smile, "You little brat, have you missed me?"

I nodded frantically, "Yes, of course I miss you, Xuan..."

He smiled, took my hand in one hand, and asked, "Are you tired of leaving me behind?"

"So tired, so very tired..."

He gently wiped away my tears. "Will you... come with me?"

I stood up and followed his steps, suddenly feeling very light. He pulled me along, step by step.

The sounds were overlapping, one after another, seemingly without end.

Xuan suddenly stopped and turned around, staring blankly at me. "He's calling you..."

Not far away, there were many cries, and it seemed to be Lu Li's voice... hoarse and low... mixed with the cries of a baby. I was suddenly startled—my beloved child...

Xuan smiled faintly, "You should go back and take care of Zhi'er..."

He let go of my hand, and my body fell backward, landing heavily.

I suddenly opened my eyes to find the room brightly lit, with familiar curtains and faces.

Liu Shang stared nervously at my face, then suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank God, I'm finally awake."

I opened my mouth, but couldn't say a word.

"Just as you predicted, it's a little princess. The prince is overjoyed," Liu Shang comforted me knowingly.

I took a breath and lay there quietly.

“We were all terrified. The Prince stayed by your bedside for two days, and you didn’t even know how many times you nearly died… Oh, I misspoke. In short, every time, we were scared to death. Fortunately, the little princess finally came to rest, and you’ve been sleeping like this for a day now. The little princess is still with her wet nurse.”

"Where is the prince?" I finally managed to ask.

Liu Shang quickly lowered his head and whispered in my ear, "I heard... that Princess Qin had a miscarriage. Right after you gave birth to the little princess yesterday, she was three or four months pregnant but didn't even know it. She slipped and fell in the room. By then, you were already stable, so the prince went to the south courtyard. He should still be there now. The concubine cried all day."

I nodded and whispered, "Bring the child here, let me see him..."