Чистая вода и прекрасные горы

Глава 128

Lu Li smiled faintly, took out a sufficient amount of silver and handed it over, "Bring everything except the free alcohol."

"Uh, wait a minute—" I frowned, "Who said alcohol was free? It has to be served."

After the waiter left, Lu Li's eyes flashed with anger. "You don't even know how to take care of your own health, all you care about is your gluttony..."

"What's wrong with my body?" I asked, puzzled.

His expression was unreadable; he simply said calmly, "Isn't...it already?"

I chuckled, choked a little, and Lu Li reached out to pat me on the back. So that's why he changed the flower tea earlier.

"That's fake" was something I made up so he wouldn't kick me out.

He finally relaxed, narrowing his eyes, "You scared me like that!"

"I had no choice, I had no choice." I took a small sip of the hot tea, and a misty haze appeared before my eyes.

Half-drunk, I returned to the palace, humming a little tune along the way, feeling exceptionally refreshed. Looking at the discontented moon, I suddenly smiled. When I entered the side hall, Xiao Zheng was leaning against the side reading a book. I walked over calmly, and his eyes lit up. "Oh ho, did you have a good time today?"

I rolled my eyes at him, sat down next to him, and casually flipped through a few folded books.

"You told him about our plan?!" Xiao Chang asked me in a low voice.

He simply shook his head. "No... there's no reason to drag him into this."

Xiao Chang sighed softly, and looked at me as I suddenly fell silent: "Do you know what I suddenly thought about while you were gone all day?"

I looked at him, puzzled, and seeing the solemnity in his eyes, I suddenly felt that it might not be something good.

"I suddenly feel lonely, this is the first time," Xiao Chang said with a hint of melancholy in his eyes. "I suddenly realized that it's not so bad to just live like this... I don't think about how many days I have left to live, I just think about playing around with you every day, being in the same boat with you, we're like grasshoppers tied together. Before, I was always fighting alone, it feels so good to have someone on the same path."

I deliberately feigned disdain, "What's wrong... have you lost your mind?! That's such a pretentious thing to say!"

The last trace of warmth in his eyes had faded: "Three days from now, the Empress Dowager will take you to Phoenix Mountain to pray for blessings!"

That was something I could have thought of, but upon hearing it, I couldn't help but look up at him and ask, "Really?"

“I suspect she wants to kill both you and your unborn child. Is this what you’ve been waiting for? To wait for the Empress Dowager to kill you, and then use that as an excuse for the Han people to attack the capital.” Xiao frowned, shaking his head absently. “If that’s the case, I don’t need you to do this… Is this your half-baked confidence?”

“Xiao Chang…” I smiled slightly, trying to comfort him with the simplest of smiles, “It will be alright, everything you’ve lost will come back. She’s still waiting for you at Baiyun Nunnery…”

Thinking of "her," he suddenly snapped out of his daze, sitting up straight in a daze. "Yes, there's her too..."

I chuckled softly and stepped outside. It was raining heavily in the capital... And she's here, so you won't be lonely... One lonely person is enough for me!

An oil-paper umbrella rose overhead. I didn't turn around; I simply asked, "Is everything arranged?"

"Yes," he said, a hint of excitement mixed with his dejected voice. Perhaps he had waited even longer for this day than Xiao.

"Three days later at Phoenix Mountain," I turned slightly to look at Xiao, who stood steadily behind me, my gaze indifferent.

Xiao suddenly raised his head, his deep eyes gleaming: "You really will go?"

I laughed. Isn't this what you've all been waiting for—for me to step in and end all of this?

"She's finally gotten restless and is preparing to make her move." I nodded, not looking at the people behind me. "If I don't return in three days, have Xiao Chang go to meet Lu Xiu's army. Lu Xiu knows what to do. You must stay behind and protect Lu Li."

I will.

"If all this ends, will you let Lu Li go home?" I looked at him, a smile gradually spreading across my face. "The children at home miss him very much."

He silently acquiesced.

I nodded. "Then... let's leave it at that."

Have you made up your mind?

I paused for a moment, then slowly reached out and pulled the begonia hairpin from my temple. "I should have no regrets now."

Chapter Fourteen of the Main Text: A Single Fall Before Jade Mountain

I sat calmly in front of the mirror, doing my makeup. Xiao Chang stood quietly behind me, his expression gloomy.

"I'll go and request permission...to accompany you on your journey," he said softly.

"Fool, the Empress Dowager isn't in court. What a perfect opportunity! Lu Xiu's side is waiting for your help. We're about to succeed!" I chuckled softly. "How could you ruin your future... How have I raised you?! Indecisive and womanly, how can you be a good ruler? You're not even as good as my son!"

"We're in the same boat. Since we made this decision together, I won't watch you walk this path of no return alone," he declared resolutely.

"As long as one of us wins, there is no loss."

"You don't need the troubles that plague us Liao people..."

“No,” I laughed, “This is a cursed fate sown by the Rong family, a feud between the Nalan, Rong, and Lu families. It should have nothing to do with you, but I am not only a descendant of the Nalan and Rong families, but also a daughter-in-law of the Lu family. My flesh and blood flow with the blood of these three families… If this hatred continues, it will only be a burden on the shoulders of my children, so… it must be ended with this generation.”

"Your Majesty the Empress..."

“My name is Rong Zhaozhi.” I buried my head in my hands, caressing the jade bell at my waist, which shimmered with an eerie light in the night. “Xiao Chang, you must promise me that no matter what he has done to me, you must spare General Yelü’s life… Give him this, and you don’t need to say anything.” The first rays of light appeared behind Xiao Chang, and I was mesmerized, a faint smile playing on my lips. Xuan, no matter who you have become, whether you truly don’t remember or are pretending, my heart remains the same as that little girl by the lotus pond many years ago, just like Rong Zhaozhi who would smile at you and act coquettishly towards you…

It was already noon when we reached Phoenix Mountain.

"The Empress Dowager is waiting in the Rona Palace," a palace maid gently reminded me.

I took a deep breath, walked around the main hall, and entered the courtyard to the west. Looking around... the woman in the main hall exuded an air of nobility.

As soon as I stepped across the threshold, she waved her hand, and several maids quickly surrounded me.

I smiled faintly and calmly gave her a curtsy, saying, "May your Majesty be well."

The people in the main hall ignored me as a nanny stepped forward and kicked me in the knee. I fell forward and landed heavily on the ground.

A nanny held my wrist down, then flung it away, stepped forward, knelt, and said, "Your Majesty, you have no affection for this wretched woman."

The Empress Dowager raised her eyebrows and looked me up and down with her sharp eyes. "Tell me, what exactly is your purpose?"

I straightened my clothes, stood up, and smiled faintly, "Of course I have to settle accounts with you."

She gave me a cold look and said, "I have a lot of old scores to settle. Which one are you referring to?"

"Nalan Huan's brushstrokes"

"With your... " She casually twirled a strand of hair at her temple and smiled charmingly, "Good daughter... you've finally revealed your identity?"

You are as beautiful as I imagined.

She laughed loudly, "Thank you for the compliment," but her eyes instantly turned cold. With a flick of her sleeve, several pear blossom needles shot towards me. I quickly stepped back and dodged to the side.

Her smile deepened. "Indeed, Father has raised you to be quite remarkable."

"You have no right to mention your maternal grandfather." The hand gripping the hem of her skirt tightened. "You made Xiao Xuan kill him! Kill your own father!"

"You've forgotten that he died because of you."

I felt a blockage in my throat, and my voice was hoarse. "What?"

Her smile was like a blooming peony, but when she calmed down, she was like a deep, still pool. "He loves you so much, he'll never let you remember that you were lucky, that someone always died in your place."

A chill ran through me, and the thought in my mind grew clearer and clearer. I gave a bitter laugh, “The first time was my maternal grandfather, then it was Xiao Xuan… and then it was Lu Li!”

"Do you care about these people?" She asked casually, as if she were talking about something unrelated.

"Why... am I doomed to die!"

She turned her head proudly, looking into my eyes, "Because... you are that person's flesh and blood."

"Because I am Rong Yucheng's daughter?! Because my father killed your own flesh and blood?!"

“It’s not just these things…” She suddenly stood up, shattering the jade porcelain cup she was fiddling with, and pointed at me with a trembling hand, “It’s all because of you—they killed my eight-month-old baby…I can never be a mother again…and what right do you have to take everything from my flesh and blood?!”

"Make your move, I can't dodge anymore!" I smiled sadly, gazing into the distant, uncertain horizon, a hint of melancholy in my eyes.

The woman suddenly smiled with unparalleled tenderness. A long sword, concealed in her sleeve, lashed out at me with a swift, swift motion, accompanied by a flick of her flowing sleeve. I slowly closed my eyes, feeling only a chill as a cold wind swept past, the stench of blood assaulting my senses… before a pair of strong hands had already firmly secured me in their embrace.

I opened my eyes in surprise, and the person in front of me smiled slightly. Yes, I recognized that smile.

"Xiao..." I stammered, frantically looking at the wound on his shoulder.

"It's alright," he shook his head and let go of me.

Nalan Huan watched the prince's dramatic scene with great interest, then simply waved his hand, and another broken cup fell to his feet.

"General Yelü..." she smiled gracefully, descending the steps and approaching step by step, "and I'll trouble you to handle this personally."

I was startled, and then I saw a figure slowly emerge from behind the curtain—Xiao Xuan… no, it was Yelü Mengshuo.

In that instant, fear, tension, excitement—none of it remained. He seemed like a complete stranger, as if the real Xiao Xuan had died for me years ago, and the gentle boy who smiled at me under the willows in the breeze was no more.

The familiar figure before me stepped forward, looking at me with an urge to shatter. Yelü Mengshuo slowly narrowed his eyes, and Xiao had already rushed forward to block his drinking horse blade.

“Xiao…” I stopped him, “This is between Xuan and me.”

Xiao's lips trembled as he turned to me in a panic, shaking his head with difficulty, "He's not him..."

I looked at Yelü Mengshuo, meeting his now incredibly cold and stern gaze. The sword in my hand fell unconsciously to the ground. I couldn't think of anything to do but laugh. "I said I would only die by your hand."

Xiao blocked Yelü Mengshuo's attacks step by step. Outside the hall, the sounds of battle filled the air. I knew... Xiao must have led Lu Xiu's army to rescue me first.

Nalan Huan remained standing calmly, a faint smile playing on her lips. She cared nothing for the rise and fall of the dynasty, only for the inexhaustible hatred she harbored.

"It's a blood curse..." A silent voice came from behind, it was Ran Ning.

Ran Ning moved closer to me, her eyes holding a depth I couldn't fathom.

"Xiao Xuan is the Empress Dowager's adopted son... Including the Thunderbolt Hall, they are all under the control of the Liao people. Xiao Xuan's only mission is to kill you. When we first met you, you were only eight years old... Have you forgotten the promise you made under the peach grove that day?"

"A peach orchard?" I shook my head.

My memories before that are blank; it's as if someone is frozen in my mind.

Ran Ning smiled slightly, "All of this... is because you forgot that Xiao Xuan betrayed the Liao Dynasty for you. After you killed him, the Empress Dowager took him to Tianshan Mountain and gave him a new life with a snow lotus. To punish his betrayal, she asked the Liao Dynasty's Grand Preceptor to plant a blood curse... that he will never remember you for all eternity and will serve the Empress Dowager for all eternity."

I watched Xiao Xuan fighting with Xiao, and sure enough, there was no trace of Xuan left in his eyes. Xiao had been struck by several swords and was already unable to hold on...

I went to meet him and pulled Xiao away, saying, "Stop fighting, you...get out of here..."

He trembled and shook his head violently, "I won't..."

The doors of the Doroi Palace suddenly swung open, a gust of wind rushed in, and Lu Li and Xiao Chang stood outside the palace.

The instant my eyes met Lu Li's, I felt a deep melancholy in his gaze. Then, his eyes suddenly trembled, revealing not only depth but also pain.

In the instant his gaze froze, he suddenly felt a heat in his chest. Something had pierced through him from behind; the blood-stained blade had passed through his chest from behind and remained motionless there. His chest felt so hot that he couldn't even feel the pain.

The person behind me suddenly pulled the knife from my body. In that instant, I saw a flash of blood, my body lost its balance, and I fell heavily backward. In that moment of upside down, I saw Xuan expressionlessly wiping the blood-soaked Yinma Dao with his sleeve… I smiled slightly, but then I couldn't control the taste of blood in my mouth and spat it out.

Just before my body hit the ground, Xiao threw down his sword and lunged at me, trying to catch me.

Xiao held me in one arm, his other hand already drawing his sword as he charged towards Xiao Xuan. A ferocity I'd never seen before flickered in Xiao's eyes; in that instant, he was contemplating how to tear Xiao Xuan to pieces. I gripped Xiao's sword and gently shook my head.