As Feng Luodi left Fog of Flowers while hugging Sonorous, she suddenly thought of Situ.
It wasn"t that she"d "suddenly" thought of him. Feng Luodi told herself in her heart. She was always thinking of him. She didn"t know why but she missed him very much, especially at this moment. She hadn"t seen him for a few days already. She missed him so much that she was on the verge of tears.
Her hand wrapped around the guqin suddenly tightened and her fingertips turned white, its blood drained from it.
While Feng Luodi stood before the entrance of Flowers of Fog, the pa.s.sers-by were all looking at her in puzzlement. They didn"t understand why she was standing there in a daze, not entering or leaving. She simply stood there and they didn"t see anyone from Flowers of Fog come out to chase her away.
Only after a while did Feng Luodi retract her gaze and walk away from Flowers of Fog.
She was heading back towards the Feng Residence.
The scenery along the way was still the same as before. Among the people who brushed past, no one threw her an additional glance. At this moment, it seemed as if she didn"t know what exhaustion felt like. She had clearly not recovered from the cold but she continued walking forward, without stopping. It took her quite a while to return to the Feng Residence.
However, the housekeeper, Fu Bo, was surprised to see Feng Luodi home so early despite having gone out not too long ago.
This was also the first time that Feng Luodi wasn"t in the mood to explain her behaviour and uphold her image. She went directly to her own courtyard, and as soon as she arrived, she was greeted with Jet"s puzzled gaze.
"You should go to Mother"s place; you don"t come back for the time being."
Feng Luodi only left these words behind before she entered the room.
Jet scratched her head and left with a perplexed look on her face.
Feng Luodi returned to the room, then she walked out and placed Sonorous on the stone desk before entering the room again.
After a while, Feng Luodi took out another famous guqin that she had played on before.
She still found it hard to calm her current state of mind. She sat under the Chinese parasol tree and played the guqin, over and over again. They were all pieces that she"d played after arriving in this world. The sound of the guqin contained a trace of shrouded bitterness and gloominess that was unforgettable.
When Feng Luodi held the last guqin in her hand, she felt more saddened than happy in her heart. She finally had to make a choice. It was really a tough choice to make.
If she called Phantom"s name in her heart, would he immediately appear, tell her to take Sonorous somewhere to play a piece, and then take her home?
Going back home…how splendid did this sound? But, where exactly was her home? Was it the 21st century or the Xuan Kingdom"s Feng Residence?
Nothing was perfect in this world. No matter what one did, it was hard to satisfy everyone. No matter how composed or indifferent she remained, in the end, she was unable to escape her fate.
Fate…she didn"t even know her own fate.
When all the memories from her past lifetime and current lifetime gyred before her eyes, they converged to form only one person"s silhouette. It was that lofty, cold and stern appearance, which was as compelling as usual.
That person always liked wearing black clothes and a golden belt. He didn"t like to smile, but his smile would illuminate the entire world whenever he did. He was the man who treated and loved her wholeheartedly, yet she was ultimately going to let him down.
She would suffer retribution…her current deeds would definitely make her suffer retribution.
His name was currently stuck in her throat, urging to come out.
"Situ."
I can"t bear to part with you.
"Situ."
What should I do?
"Situ."
I love you. But, I"m sorry…
"I"m here."
As Feng Luodi continued to call out that name in a low voice, a familiar voice sounded behind her.
Feng Luodi pressed on the zither strings. When she looked up, what entered her eyes was a person dressed in black clothes standing on top of the wall quietly. The sunlight that illuminated him was very dazzling.
It was so dazzling that tears uncontrollably started to stream down her cheeks.
"I"m here."
Situ repeated. He leapt lightly and jumped down from the wall. He walked to Feng Luodi"s side and gently caressed her face that was overflowing with tears. When his hand slowly stopped beside the corner of her eyes, he gently wiped away her tears. At that moment, an almost inaudible sigh escaped from his mouth.
He ultimately couldn"t bear to see his beloved woman sad.
He had always been powerless before this person. When his marriage proposal was rejected in the deserts of the North, no matter how angry he was, he simply continued to think of ways to move the beauty"s heart. When he obtained the imperial decree with great difficulty to marry his beloved woman, his heart still softened because she knelt in the rain. It was still the same now. He knew that when he left in a rage, it would cause everyone to pressurise her and force her to get married to him. But in the end, he still couldn"t bear to leave her alone.
After the morning court a.s.sembly was dismissed today, he couldn"t refrain himself from missing Feng Luodi, so he secretly came to her courtyard and hid in the dark to watch over her. He saw her leave the Feng Residence to go to Autumnal Ombre, and he saw her leave Autumnal Ombre and stroll down the city streets.
At that time, he had been standing on the rooftop, watching his beloved woman from a distance of about 300 meters.
But why did she seem so grieved and sad? Feng Luodi would never have thought that she looked that dispirited amongst the crowd. She appeared as if she had been abandoned by the whole world.
He had always thought that Feng Luodi was the one who"d abandoned the whole world but he should have known how painful it was for Feng Luodi, as she was the person making a choice.
He no longer wanted to see Feng Luodi"s troubled expression. The expression that was so full of despair as if she was about to break down any moment.
Feelings and love were like poison. Even when one knew that they would be poisoned to death if they fall in love with the other party, they would still drink the poison known as "love" without a second thought.
He had once vowed in his heart that he would never let Feng Luodi shed tears again. Yet, he couldn"t keep his words.
As soon as he pulled Feng Luodi into his arms, the latter started to bawl like a child and embraced him tightly. At that instant, he knew that he was going to get poisoned to death by this poison called "love".
Yet, he would gladly endure this bittersweet experience without a second thought.
He, Situ Muye, had never thought that he would make so many compromises for a woman, only because this was the woman he loved.
Amidst the winds of change, the state of affairs in court was constantly changing.
Those with foresight knew that they should stand in the Heir"s faction while those who still dreamed of seizing power in the imperial court still secretly supported the Eighth Prince and the Eleventh Prince, scheming with no regards to human relations. Their name would clearly go down in history for infamy but they still went ahead in the name of justice. They were merely deceiving themselves and others.
The Emperor was laying in bed, but he soon noticed that the palace was exceptionally quiet today.
"Someone, come! Anyone there?!"
"Scoundrels, you"re not even answering my summons anymore?! I"m the Xuan Kingdom"s Emperor!"
Lamentably, the Emperor wasn"t even aware of his position before his death.
"Palace Attendant Yu! Heir!"
Upon noticing that all his shouting was to no avail, the Emperor finally panicked. For a split second, he thought that he"d already ascended to h.e.l.l, leaving everything in the world behind.
But the image of the bright yellow curtains, the majestic palace hall and the exquisite luxurious furnis.h.i.+ng surrounding him slowly entered his eyes, and every single one of them told him that he was still in his sleeping quarters.
Even though he was having difficulties breathing properly and had no more strength to struggle or do other things, he still felt that he was this nation"s emperor and that no one could replace him.
All of a sudden, deafening sounds of fighting, swords clas.h.i.+ng, and blood-curdling shrieks could be heard from outside the palace hall. Every single one of them drifting to his ears.
This was such a familiar scene. The Emperor searched his scanty memories and recalled that moment from one year ago. At that time, when the deposed Heir plotted a rebellion and forced him to abdicate, these familiar sword-clas.h.i.+ng sounds could be heard all around the Imperial Palace.
"Im-impossible."
The Emperor shook his head. How could anyone possibly rebel again? The Heir was supervising the nation and the other officials obeyed him with deference. No one would revolt again. All his sons were still very filial to him.
However, the Emperor"s delusion instantly shattered when he saw the Eighth Prince walking in, clad in martial attire.
"You unfilial son!"
The Emperor screeched in anguish. But right now, there was no one protecting him at his side like last time.
As for the Eighth Prince who directly walked in, it seemed as if he didn"t detect the abnormality in the palace. He walked straight to the Emperor"s side and albeit carrying a smile, he rudely said,
"Imperial Father, you should abdicate and relinquish your position for more apt people like me. After you leave behind a secret imperial edict, I"ll send you off on your way serenely."
"You unfilial son!"
The Emperor could only repeat this phrase continuously. He had never expected that only in his later years would he discover that this filial son of his had completely changed into someone else, and he no longer regarded him as his father.
"Imperial Father, you"re the one who forced me. I"m clearly the one most suitable for the position of Heir but you first let Second Elder Brother become the Heir, then let Eldest Brother, who popped up from nowhere, become the Heir. Have you ever thought of me as a son in your heart? You are really selfish. You made use of me to placate the other imperial princes and balance the power of the various parties, tossing me to one side after making use of me. Is your heart really made of stone?"
The Eighth Prince found a blank imperial decree and the imperial seal while bellowing at the Emperor, who was having a hard time catching his breath.
"Thinking about it, I"m the most outstanding imperial prince. I am well-versed in civil and military affairs. I"m proficient in almost everything. Whether it is ruling a country or pacifying the civilians…I can match up to the First Prince, Liu Ran, regardless of which aspect. But you never gave me a chance."
The Eighth Prince was getting more angry and resentful the more he spoke, yet he was still unable to detect the large crowd of people slowing inching closer.
As for the Emperor, when he raised his head and saw the Eighth Prince"s abnormal and near possessed countenance, he was dumbstruck for a while before he asked, "Unfilial son, don"t tell me that you weren"t the one who poisoned me?"
"Hmph."
The Eighth Prince"s eyes were currently bloodshot as if they were about to rupture but he still didn"t pay any attention. He continued to flip things over in his search and didn"t realise that the people who were supposed to break in together with him had disappeared.
"Who has that much spare time to poison you? You"re originally someone who"s about to die anyway."
Although the Emperor was furious in his heart, after coughing severely a few times, he became a little more clear-headed than before and his voice sounded much clearer as he said, "Unfilial son, if you put down your sword now and leave, I can still spare your life. Don"t let things escalate into the stage where there is no turning back."
"Hehe."
The Eighth Prince finally stopped rummaging; he sneered at the panic-stricken Emperor as he walked closer.
"If I can"t become the emperor, then I can never turn back. Imperial Father, on the account that I"m still calling you "Imperial Father", just leave a secret imperial edict behind for me. Since I was young, you never paid attention to me. Your eyes only ever contained the Eleventh Prince. Now that you let the First Prince become the Heir, his heart must be filled with anger."
The Emperor felt that there was something amiss with the Eighth Prince as he inched closer. It seemed like he was poisoned and he looked sick.
However, before the Emperor could say something, orderly footsteps could be heard from outside and a voice that he would never be able to forget sounded.
"Your Majesty, I am late in rescuing you. Please forgive me!"
It was Duke of Anping, the person he"d failed to get rid of.