Chapter 126
Translator: NovelMultiverse | Editor: NovelMultiverse
Seeing Gan Lin approach step by step, Yu Linglong didn’t even know what to say .
For her, Gan Lin is just a stubborn big boy with his affection, his persistence, and his wishful thinking, but she couldn’t return his feelings .
For a long time, she thought that his admiration for her was nothing more than a childish possession, like a toy that he loved, and once he liked it, he wouldn’t let it go easily . But now, the whole world already knew that she was going to marry, but he still came, as if he didn’t see her with his own eyes or hear her with his own ears . He would not believe that she really wanted to marry someone else .
At this moment, he was not the son of the powerful Gan Taifu, he was not the nephew of the powerful Queen Gan, he was just him, a young man who had a deep affection for her .
Therefore, he didn’t bring an entourage, and he refused to let anyone announce him . He just stood alone and stubbornly at the door of the Yu Mansion, quietly waiting for her to appear .
Even if he was indifferent and exquisite, seeing his haggard appearance at the moment, her face couldn’t help but move slightly .
He used to be so energetic and graceful, but now his eyes were full of loneliness that did not match his age, and he seemed to have matured a lot overnight .
Yu Linglong quietly watched him approach, suddenly remembering the first time she saw him .
At that time, he was huddled alone in the dark, full of panic like a wounded little beast, until he saw her .
She had not forgotten his starry eyes, shining with surprise in the dark cave; she had not forgotten that he once held her hand tightly and followed her up the steep cliff; she did not forget that he once leaned on her shoulders, full of trust and dependence on her .
She knew that this kind of experience to Gan Lin, who lived like a prince since childhood, was like walking into the gates of h.e.l.l . When she appeared at the critical moment in his life, she became the most important person in his life and integrated into the most important memory in his life .
However, her heart was already locked, and no one could open it again .
No matter how much he loved her, no matter how affectionate he was, it had nothing to do with her .
Facing Gan Lin’s complicated gaze, Yu Linglong said faintly: “Prince Gan, are you okay?”
An ordinary sentence that sounded like a blunt knife in Gan Lin’s ears instantly cut his heart .
In her eyes, he was just an ordinary person .
He guarded her door for so long, but she didn’t see it .
The peach blossom face, the face he had dreamed about countless times, at this moment, seemed to be separated by thousands of mountains and rivers . It was so far away that he could never approach it as long as he lived .
Gan Lin only felt like a piece of cotton was stuffed in his throat, choked, and barely able to speak . After a long while, he said in a low voice: “…Are, are you really going to marry him?”
He always thought that he still had a lot of time . He always thought he would have a chance . One day, she would understand his intentions and understand how unique she was in his heart, unparalleled in the world .
But he was wrong . Just when he thought everything had just begun, it was over between her and him .
Knowing that things could not be changed, he still came to see her with the last glimmer of hope . Only by hearing her promise in person could he give up his love .
Yu Linglong looked at Gan Lin quietly . Her voice was not loud, but it was exceptionally clear: “Yes . ”
She was not an indecisive person, and she did not want to have anything to do with Gan Lin . For this infatuated teenager, she could only choose to refuse . Only by letting him completely cut off all his thoughts could it be possible to recover from the pain as soon as possible and leave .
A simple word made the last gleam of light in Gan Lin’s eyes disappear .
She really wanted to be someone else’s wife…
Next time they meet, she would no longer be Yu Linglong, nor the courageous girl who held his hand tightly in the dark . She will have only one t.i.tle, that is, Princess Xu .
“Linglong…” He could only call her name in a low voice, but he could no longer say the thousand words he wanted to .
What can he say? Talking, keeping, or begging, he knew that if there was a way in this world to keep her by his side, he would do everything in his power . He would work hard and pursue her, but the world was so cruel, so he didn’t . In any way, there was no hope . He can only watch the woman he was enamored with put on a wedding gown and marry as another man .
The most painful thing in life is this .
All that was left was to be speechless and tearful .
Yu Linglong got into the carriage and looked back at Gan Lin, her voice indifferent: “Prince Gan, we will meet again . Take care of yourself . ”
After saying this, she entered the carriage without looking back . Ling’er lowered the curtain, and the carriage started slowly .
Gan Lin silently looked at the carriage that was trotting away . The cold wind swept his cloak, seeming to get into his body, bringing bursts of biting chill .
His heart, unknowingly, is like falling into a deep ice .
If you say goodbye tonight, and leave forever, Cangshan bears snow and you will rest forever .
…
The journey from the capital to southern Xinjiang was long . General Yu was ordered by the Ministry of War to arrive within a time limit, so he changed his horses when he arrived at the post . He rode day and night and finally arrived in southern Xinjiang before the Spring Festival .
At this time, although the new year had pa.s.sed, the weather in southern Xinjiang was still very cold . The poisonous miasma that General Yu was worried about along the way was not that serious, so he was a little relieved .
It’s just that he was alone in a foreign land, and thinking about his own annoying things in the capital, General Yu was in a bad mood . He used wine to seduce his sorrow every day, and the wine he brought from the capital would soon be drunk .
On the day of the Spring Festival, there was a local lantern show at night . The streets were bright as day, with laughter and joy . General Yu had no intention of admiring it . As usual, he hid in his residence and drank alone .
Yes, they were all reunited with their families, bringing their wives and kids to see the Lantern Festival . He was alone and had no relatives or friends here . What else can he do besides drink?
The mellow wine reminded him of the days in the capital . Once upon a time, he had wives and concubines, sons and daughters . During the New Year, the family was reunited and lively . But what made him become the way he is now, yet he had to travel far away from home after he was over 40, to come to this haunted place to suffer?
The more he thought about it, the more bored he became, and he couldn’t help but pour out the wine . The acidity in his throat made him temporarily forget his troubles, but it also made him gradually lose his mind . It was not until he was so drunk that he threw away the wine gla.s.s in his hand that he fell on the table and snored .
The night was getting deeper . The candle burned out the last drop of wax, and the candle wick jumped a few times, and then quietly went out .
The sporadic sound of firecrackers outside had disappeared somehow, and there was silence all around .
In the darkness, there was a squeaky sound, but the sound was too small to wake General Yu, who was as drunk as a dead pig .
He was sleeping soundly, and he felt that something was p.r.i.c.king his mouth in a dazed manner . He wiped his face impatiently, changed his posture, and continued to sleep .
But soon, this feeling turned into pain, and it became more and more acute, finally awakening him from the pain .
The room was pitch black, and he couldn’t see anything at all . He just subconsciously touched his mouth, but he was shocked by the feeling in his hand .
He scratched his face, unexpectedly caught a hard and cold thing, and pinched it in his hand, but it was still wiggling .
General Yu was shocked, and immediately threw away what he had caught . He quickly took out the matchbook from his arms and lit it before he looked around .
It didn’t matter if he looked at it . When he saw the situation in the room, he was shocked in spite of the liquor .
At this moment, the ground was full of dense black shadows, squirming under the dim firelight, crawling towards him one after another, and his body was also full of twisting black shadows . He couldn’t see clearly in the darkness; it just felt like a worm but bigger than a worm, like a snake, but smaller than a snake . Before he could think about it, he quickly stood up and stumbled towards the door .
With this movement, a few cold things fell onto his neck . This feeling made him just feel that his scalp exploded, and he wanted to scream .
Before he could cry out, something hard and cold quickly crawled into his open mouth . Before he could react, a sharp tingling came from the tip of his tongue, and then he became numb again .
General Yu wanted to yell, but he realized with fear that his tongue was completely disobedient, and he could only utter a groan in his throat . He felt the same sharp pain on the tip of his tongue spread all over his body, and then it turned numb again .
At this moment, his drunkenness was completely awakened . He had been in the army for many years and knew that this feeling must be from poison .
Although he didn’t know what bit him, he knew that if no one came to save him, he would definitely be dead .
General Yu resisted the pain on his body and slapped the black shadows on his clothes indiscriminately . He just made a few hits, but in a blink of an eye, more black shadows climbed up, quickly from his neckline, cuffs, and hem of his clothes . They climbed in everywhere, gnawing on his skin to no end .
The bites on General Yu hurt and itched, and he fell to the ground almost uncontrollably, rolling as hard as he could, trying to crush these unknown things with his body, but when he lay down, he fell directly into them . In the dense group of black shadows on the ground, more black shadows flooded his body, gnawing mercilessly, as if enjoying a gluttonous meal .
The pale moonlight shined through the edge of the window to the strange situation in the room .
A human figure was tumbling on the ground in pain, but unable to make any screams . His body was full of squirming black shadows, like ghosts climbing up in h.e.l.l, full of revenge .
After a long time, the man on the ground seemed to run out of strength, and he seemed to be bitten and lost his mind . His movements became smaller and slower, gradually turning into a convulsive trembling, after a while only shaking and twitching, until the end, when he finally stopped moving .
The dense black shadows seemed to have eaten and drank enough, and they slowly dispersed, and soon the room was quiet again .
It was not until the next morning that the silence was broken by a scream .
The boy who delivered the meal pushed open the door and saw General Yu had fallen to the ground in a stiff posture, his bloodshot eyes wide, looking like he was holding a horrible stare .
The robe on his body was ragged, full of bite marks, and the exposed skin was covered with fine holes, and the blood flowing out had solidified and turned black, exuding a strange fishy smell .
After all, General Yu was an imperial court commander, and his death was so strange that the generals stationed there had to find a local medical officer to find out the cause of General Yu’s death .
The medical officer entered the room and was shocked to see General Yu’s body look so terrifying .
After a careful examination, the medical officer stood up and said to the general: “The general’s injury appears to have been bitten by centipedes, and the cause of death should be poisoning . ”
He pointed to the fragmentary corpses on the ground and said: “These are the centipedes . Before the general was about to die, he should have been struggling for a while, so there will be crushed centipedes on the ground . ”
Everyone realized that in southern Xinjiang, the centipede is a very common insect, and some are highly poisonous . General Yu should have been bitten by centipedes and did not receive timely treatment before he was poisoned and died .
Looking down at the dense scars on General Yu’s body, the medical officer looked confused and couldn’t help muttering to himself: “It’s just that, where are the centipedes in the winter?”
…
When the news of General Yu’s death reached the capital, it happened to be the day when Yu Linglong got married .
The bright red phoenix robe was draped over Yu Linglong, and the long tail of her skirt was dragged on the ground, making her figure more slender . On her head, she wore a golden phoenix crown with double-luan emerald silk inlaid with rubies . Behind them were the red gold phoenix tail agate ta.s.sels, with five phoenix hanging bead hairpins, and gilt gold flower beads swaying, making her more n.o.ble and graceful .
The room was full of matrons of honor, symbols of luck, and the attending Mama, who kept saying auspicious words . Ling’er was attached to Yu Linglong’s ear and whispered the news to Yu Linglong .
Her slender neck was slightly to the side, and the pearls and jade on her head suddenly made a crisp and sweet sound . Yu Linglong looked at the bright and cold sunlight outside the window and smiled faintly .
When Ling’er was a child, she heard from her family’s guard that insects and snakes were rampant in southern Xinjiang, and many were venomous . There were also various kinds of medicine there . Some can repel snakes and insects and protect you from harm; some can attract them . The poisonous insects were caught and taken to make medicine with . Each kind of poisonous insect prefers different foods and tastes, so the composition and usage of the medicine are also different . For example, if the powder of a centipede is fed to a chicken, you can use the chicken as bait, you can catch many centipedes .
Yu Linglong ordered people to put the centipede-inducing poison into the liquor carried by General Yu . In order to prevent the effect from happening too quickly, she only let people put a small amount in each bag of wine . These toxins acc.u.mulated over time . When General Yu arrived in southern Xinjiang, the medicine in the body had almost acc.u.mulated . By that time, General Yu was no different from a huge bait for those centipedes .
This method of killing was secret and poisonous . Almost no one would have thought that General Yu was killed . On the surface, General Yu’s death was caused by centipedes . In southern Xinjiang, where poisonous insects prevail, it was a common thing . Who would suspect Yu Linglong who was far away in the capital?
There were sky-shaking firecrackers outside, and it was full of a festive atmosphere . Yu Linglong took out some rouge and slowly pressed it on her moist lips .
In the bronze mirror, the gold flower between her eyebrows exuded a fine and sharp light .
The corners of her mouth raised slightly, and Yu Linglong smiled like a flower, so beautiful she could bring about the downfall of a nation .