The summer rain fell incessantly, fine and dense like a woven net, beating against the bamboo and piercing through the eaves.
Shallow puddles gathered before the steps, and all around, there was only the sound of rain striking the plantain leaves.
Su Zhenzhen stood there, not daring to look back.
She looked at Wei Heng in front of her and spoke in a dry voice, "We... are closed. Please come back tomorrow. If you really have some illness, Dr. Liu down the street has better medical skills than I do."
Wei Heng still stood there with a gentle expression. He looked at Su Zhenzhen, shook his head slightly, and then repeated the sentence he had just said.
"My master is waiting for you inside."
The summer rain hit Su Zhenzhen.
The rain wasn't heavy; it felt like fluffy cotton, even carrying a gentle touch.
Yet Su Zhenzhen was still frightened into a cold sweat.
She stood there with her head bowed, seeing her hands, clasped together out of nervousness, trembling incessantly.
Under the eaves hung a half-old lantern, illuminating the puddles on the ground. In them, Su Zhenzhen saw her own panicked eyes.
She thought she would never run into him again.
Even if they did meet, it should have been him sitting in a gold-inlaid and jade-adorned imperial carriage, while she knelt among a dense crowd of commoners, without even the chance to be granted a single glance.
"Does Godfather's leg still hurt?" Su Zhenzhen tried to play the emotional card.
How could an old fox like Wei Heng be fooled by her? He merely looked at her quietly, then raised his wide sleeve and made a "please" gesture.
Su Zhenzhen was thinking about what the probability of her escaping would be if she ran right now.
She raised her eyes, her gaze passing through Wei Heng to land on the half-open courtyard gate behind him.
Raindrops slipped through the gap, and she saw the unclosed gate.
Su Zhenzhen remembered that there was no one outside the courtyard just now.
She lifted her foot, pushed Wei Heng aside, and dashed toward the courtyard gate.
Then, just as she was about to cross the threshold, her body came to an abrupt halt.
Unknown when, many fine silver threads had appeared in front of the door.
These fine threads looked delicate but were actually incredibly tough.
If Su Zhenzhen remembered correctly, the Emperor had a team of hidden guards by his side.
These hidden guards possessed extraordinary skills, and among them, Shadow Two was the most adept at using these fine threads.
Their sharpness was beyond imagination. If she rushed out just like that, she would definitely be sliced to ribbons.
Su Zhenzhen took a step back.
In the curtain of rain, these silver threads became more obvious, like a spider web coated in water.
Su Zhenzhen looked up and saw that these silver threads had already clung to every corner of the courtyard.
She was like the prey caught right in the middle of the web; she had no choice but to be eaten.
There was no escaping.
Su Zhenzhen lowered her head, bit her lip, and helped Wei Heng up from the ground. "Godfather, why are you sitting on the ground?"
Wei Heng: ...
Wei Heng's clothes had been soiled by the rainwater on the ground.
He didn't get angry either, only saying, "Go in."
Su Zhenzhen took one last look at Wei Heng and turned to go into the house.
She walked through the summer rain and arrived in front of that handheld glazed lantern.
In the past, Su Zhenzhen thought this lantern was very beautiful. The young man holding it was like an elf, appearing in the twilight and disappearing in the mist.
She looked forward to seeing him every day.
But now, Su Zhenzhen felt this lantern was like a soul-summoning lamp, here to claim her life.
She stood at the door of the house, looking through the windows and seeing that it was pitch black inside, without a single trace of light.
Would she be stabbed to death by Lu Hexu's sword the moment she pushed the door open?
Su Zhenzhen's fingertips touched the door.
The door was a bit old, and the carved peony flowers on it had become mottled. Half-wetted by the summer rain, they turned a deep, dark color.
Su Zhenzhen raised her hand and pushed the door.
The wooden door let out a creaking sound.
Her eardrums began to tremble, and her fingertips shook even more violently.
Finally, the wooden door was pushed open.
It was so dark.
Tonight was rainy and lightless. Only the glazed lantern behind Su Zhenzhen cast a bit of light, slowly diffusing around her feet. But the illuminated area was limited. She could still only see the pitch-black room, and that... silhouette whose outline was barely visible.
Opening the door to Su Zhenzhen's house led straight into the bedroom, separated in the middle by a bead curtain. Behind the bead curtain was a bed, and there was also a small room she had partitioned off as a bathroom and bathing area.
At this moment, the bead curtain inside the room was quiet and soundless.
Through the string of beads, she saw a man sitting on her narrow bed.
Actually, her bed wasn't narrow at all, but the man was too tall and too large, making her bed seem small in comparison.
Her room wasn't small either, but contrasted against the man, it suddenly became cramped and low.
The room was too dark to see his face, but just from that silhouette alone, Su Zhenzhen felt an immense pressure.
That kind of undeniable oppressive aura flowing in the air.
Fortunately, though, she wasn't stabbed to death the moment she opened the door.
Su Zhenzhen stood at the door, her expression hesitant.
She subconsciously looked back toward Wei Heng's direction, only to find that the courtyard was already empty. Even the courtyard gate that had just been slightly ajar was now closed.
It was so quiet.
So quiet that Su Zhenzhen could clearly count her own heartbeats.
She thought that she should have kept a dose of the fake death medicine for herself, the same one she had just given to Liaochen.
The woman stood hesitating in front of the room.
"Come in."
The man's voice came from inside the room, stripped of its youthful immaturity and now much lower and hoarser.
Su Zhenzhen kept her head down, her voice thin. "Um, the lantern... should I bring it in for you?" She pointed down at the glazed lantern outside.
The man inside did not speak.
Should she bring it or not?
Su Zhenzhen thought about it and decided against it.
Given her current financial situation, she wouldn't be able to afford to replace it if she broke it.
Su Zhenzhen entered the room. Because her embroidered shoes had picked up wet mud outside, every step she took left a wet, dirty muddy footprint on the floor.
She thought for a moment and decided to leave her embroidered shoes at the door.
If she didn't die, she would still have to find time to mop the floor.
If she died... then she wouldn't have to.
Wearing clean socks, Su Zhenzhen walked up to the bead curtain.
The two were separated by a layer of bead curtain, with heavy darkness between them.
The faint light cast a layer of shadow on the man. As she got closer, Su Zhenzhen realized the man had grown more than just a little bit; he weighed down on her bed like a small mountain.
"Meow..."
Sushan made a sound.
Su Zhenzhen tried hard to widen her eyes and finally saw the small kitten crouching on the man's knees.
Judging by the sound, it seemed to be living quite well.
Su Zhenzhen breathed a sigh of relief.
"Light the lamp."
The man spoke even less than he did in his youth, and his tone carried an undeniable, suppressed ruthlessness.
Su Zhenzhen braced herself and turned to light the lamp.
She walked to the table by the door, where a bamboo-framed lamp was placed.
It had a simple frame tied with fine bamboo strips, or a wooden base, supporting a ceramic lamp bowl, with a shallow bamboo-woven cover added on the outside to prevent strong winds from blowing out the wick.
Su Zhenzhen had also added a handle to it, like carrying a bucket bag, making it easy to move around. It was more practical than a simple pure ceramic lamp, less likely to be knocked over, and less likely to leak oil and burn hands.
But now, when she removed the bamboo cover to light the lamp, she was still accidentally burned by the dripping candle oil.
The temperature of the candle wax wasn't too high, so it didn't hurt much, feeling more like a bug bite.
Su Zhenzhen retracted her fingertips slightly and continued her movements.
Once the lamp was lit, she placed the bamboo cover over it. Standing with her back to the man, her voice was very soft, "It's done."
"Bring the lamp and come here."
Su Zhenzhen picked up the lamp, turned around, and walked to the beaded curtain with her head lowered. She paused for a moment, hearing the man's impatient breathing.
Su Zhenzhen reached out and parted the beaded curtain.
The beads gently swayed and collided, emitting a crisp sound that broke the silence of the room.
It was narrower inside, and the distance between the two was reduced to only about two meters.
Su Zhenzhen saw the man's shadow cast on the ground by the lamplight.
Not just his voice, but even his shadow seemed to carry a bit of a stern and cold demeanor.
"Su Zhenzhen."
After five years, Su Zhenzhen heard Lu Hexu call her name once again.
Standing there holding the bamboo framed lamp, she felt as if her name had sent an electric shock through her skin. Her heartbeat quickened, almost leaping out of her throat.
She opened her mouth, but didn't know how to address the man before her.
Mudan?
Lu Hexu?
Or... Your Majesty.
"Aren't you going to look up at me?"
The woman stood there quietly, holding the bamboo framed lamp in her hand. The slender bamboo pressed against her fingertips, leaving faint red marks.
Hearing his voice, Su Zhenzhen slowly raised her head and looked at the man sitting opposite her.
A deep black robe was crossed with a scarlet sash, and his silky black hair was tied back, falling to his waist.
The hand resting on his knee pressed down on Sushan's head. The finger bones were distinct, the joints showing a faint porcelain white, and the skin was as pale and bloodless as ever.
He didn't look like he had been eating well.
Su Zhenzhen's gaze continued upward. A narrow waist, a tall and upright posture—not exaggeratedly muscular, but smoothly lean. The lines of his broad shoulders and narrow waist were sharp and relaxed. The thinness of the boy from the past had completely faded, leaving only a steady and vigorous silhouette.
Her gaze fixed on the man's neck.
The crossed collar of the robe pressed against the plain white standing collar inside, revealing a narrow section that accentuated his long neck.
That mole.
It was still there.
The man's Adam's apple bobbed, and Su Zhenzhen's eyes jumped along with it.
Her gaze moved higher, unexpectedly meeting Lu Hexu's eyes.
It was an exceptionally striking face.
Over five years, the youth had grown into a fully mature and gloomy emperor. Shedding his immaturity, his prominent bone structure was cold and hard like carved jade. The lamplight struck his profile at an angle, making the angles of his brow bone and cheekbones even sharper. Coupled with the melancholic aura surrounding him, he appeared cold yet full of tension.
He looked straight at her. It seemed that from the moment she walked through the door, his gaze had never left her face.
Su Zhenzhen thought to herself.
He had gotten even better looking.
As their eyes met, Su Zhenzhen widened her eyes and subconsciously raised the bamboo framed lamp in her hand.
Illuminated by the light, Lu Hexu instinctively turned his head away.
Su Zhenzhen quickly lowered the lamp.
The man's imposing presence was strong, no longer comparable to five years ago.
The only thing that hadn't changed was that he was still very thin.
"What is on your face?"
Lu Hexu frowned, his gaze landing squarely on her face.
Her disguise hadn't been removed yet. "It's the juice from a gardenia fruit..."
"Wash it off."
Oh.
Su Zhenzhen put down the bamboo framed lamp and turned to wash her face.
She walked over to the medicine cabinet, took out a small bowl, and added some almond powder and honey.
The thick honey mixed into the almond powder, emitting an enticing aroma.
Su Zhenzhen walked over to the dressing table.
The mirror on the dressing table was angled towards the bed. Su Zhenzhen's gaze met the man's in the mirror, and she immediately lowered her head to avoid it.
Once the almond honey mixture was ready, she carefully rubbed it onto her face in gentle circular motions, then continued applying it to her neck and hands.
The fine almond powder removed the color while the honey moisturized. It faded the marks without harming the skin, much like a modern wet mask.
The washroom inside the house had a place to freshen up. Su Zhenzhen carried the bamboo framed lamp inside, hung the lantern on a hook on the adjacent wall, and then lowered her head to begin washing her face, neck, and hands.
The pale yellow water washed away along with the almond honey. Su Zhenzhen lifted her wet face, reached for the towel hanging nearby, and wiped the water droplets clean.
Her thick eyebrows and the freckles on her face were washed away as well.
Su Zhenzhen hung the towel back up and walked out of the washroom.
She stood next to the bamboo framed lamp. The dark hair at her temples and forehead was damp, clinging to her porcelain white skin. Her beautiful, clear eyes fell upon Lu Hexu.
The man lifted his eyes to look at her.
Five years seemed to have left no trace on the woman. Her features were exactly the same as they were five years ago, only her gaze held a bit more tranquility.
At this moment, that tranquility was disrupted by the man's deep gaze, turning into an unconcealable panic.
Su Zhenzhen lowered her head, still avoiding the man's gaze.
"Drip, drop..."
Rainwater was falling inside.
Su Zhenzhen instinctively looked up.
It was leaking again.
Because of the heavy rain lately, the tiles on the roof were leaking.
It wasn't leaking much—just one drop after another, falling slowly like the slowest setting on an IV drip.
Lu Hexu looked up, and a drop of water fell squarely on his forehead.
He raised his hand, his fingertips wiping away the rainwater on his forehead.
His knuckles bent slightly, and the pads of his fingers rubbed gently a couple of times. His movements were slow and heavy.
"It's leaking there. Why don't you sit here?"
Su Zhenzhen tossed the pile of clothes from the chair onto the table in one go, then dragged the round stool over next to Lu Hexu.
The two were now closer. The man cast his gaze down, sweeping over her very lightly. His look was heavy, making it impossible to discern his emotions.
The rainwater continued to drip, hitting Lu Hexu on the forehead.
The man frowned, his expression showing displeasure.
"The rainwater coming from up there is very dirty... Sit here, there's no rain..."
Su Zhenzhen wiped the round stool with her sleeve.
With a gloomy face, the man sat on the round stool Su Zhenzhen had dragged over.
Su Zhenzhen breathed a sigh of relief, quickly grabbed a basin from the washroom, pulled back the bedding, and placed it on the bed boards.
To catch the leak.
If she didn't die, she still had to sleep.
Because Lu Hexu had moved to a different seat, Sushan, who had been sleeping on his lap, was forced to get down.
It half-opened its eyes, still a bit dazed, glanced up at Lu Hexu, and jumped back up.
Sushan was a white cat, and summer was when cats shed the most.
The man's black robe, especially around the knees, was almost completely covered with a layer of fluffy white cat fur.
"Shoo, shoo..."
Su Zhenzhen quickly shooed it away.
Do you not value your cat life.
Driven away by Su Zhenzhen, Sushan ran over to the pile of clothes on the table to sleep.
Those clothes were clean, she just hadn't had the time to fold them. Today, she had been busy going to the prison to find Liaochen, so she had casually thrown them on the round stool.
Sushan went to sleep quietly, even starting to purr softly.
Su Zhenzhen stood awkwardly in front of the man, her scallion-like fingers intertwined, nervously pinching her fingertips.
The room was very messy. Besides clothes, herbs were thrown everywhere.
Because there were many mosquitoes and bugs in summer, a sachet was hung on the cyan bed curtains.
It smelled of mugwort and mint.
The stitching was still rough, showing she clearly had no talent in this area.
Raindrops fell into the wooden basin, making a faint sound.
The man's forehead was still stained with a bit of dirt from the rain.
Su Zhenzhen fumbled around for a moment, pulled out a handkerchief, and tentatively offered it to Lu Hexu.
The man glanced at the crumpled handkerchief. Even from a distance, he could smell the faint, bitter scent of herbal medicine on it.
He didn't take it, but merely stared at her with a cold, gloomy gaze.
Su Zhenzhen withdrew her hand, clutching the handkerchief as she continued to stand there.
She grew tired of standing.
Su Zhenzhen could barely stay on her feet.
She had been running around all day and now desperately wanted to sleep.
"Dr. Su! Dr. Su!"
A loud voice shouted from outside, accompanied by the sound of someone pounding on the door.
Su Zhenzhen instinctively glanced at Lu Hexu.
The man seemed disturbed by the noise, his expression growing even more sullen.
"I... I'll go out and take a look? It might be an emergency."
As Su Zhenzhen spoke, she carefully edged her way toward the door.
The man sat there, motionless and silent.
Su Zhenzhen slipped on her wet embroidered shoes and prepared to open the courtyard door. Raising a hand to touch her face, she grabbed the veiled hat hanging by the door and put it on.
Su Zhenzhen opened the courtyard door.
The silk threads that were previously at the door had disappeared.
The summer rain had also stopped at some unknown point.
Because it was already late into the night, the neighbors were all asleep, making the older woman's voice seem especially jarring.
Seeing the door open, the older woman quickly reached out and grabbed Su Zhenzhen's arm. "Dr. Su, please come see my lady quickly, she's taken a turn for the worse again."
Su Zhenzhen recognized her as the servant woman from the old eunuch's household at Qushui Garden.
Several times before, when she went to treat that lady, it was this woman who had brought a carriage to pick her up.
"What's wrong?"
The lady had a slight fever and cough last time, but after taking Su Zhenzhen's medicine and sweating it out, she had mostly recovered.
"Oh, it's hard to explain, hard to explain. Just come with me quickly."
The older servant dragged Su Zhenzhen outside.
Su Zhenzhen glanced back inside the house. "Alright, alright, since it's so urgent, I'll make a trip with you..."
Su Zhenzhen thought to herself that five years had passed. The Qingxu Taixuan Society's uprising had been completely suppressed, and the Great Zhou dynasty had entered an unprecedented era of peace.
Lu Hexu hadn't turned into the murderous madman from the original novel, nor had he been killed by Shen Yanci.
Although his reputation as a tyrant remained undiminished, rumor had it that the prominent aristocratic families of Jinling, with generations of heritage, were nearly wiped out by him, but as an emperor, he should have matured, right?
At least from what had just happened, she felt he had become more composed.
In that case, he probably wouldn't go on a killing spree right here, would he?
Harboring these little thoughts, Su Zhenzhen followed the old woman into the carriage.
No one stopped her.
Sitting inside the carriage, Su Zhenzhen nervously listened to the sound of the wheels rolling over the bluestone pavement.
She was already very familiar with the route to Qushui Garden.
She figured the lady probably wasn't suffering from any major illness.
Would it work if she jumped out of the carriage and ran away right now?
No.
Master Liaochen was still in prison.
Su Zhenzhen recalled the carriage she had seen outside the prison earlier.
If she guessed correctly, Lu Hexu had been waiting outside the prison at that time.
Could it be... Liaochen was actually bait?
Although it was a murder case, it truly didn't warrant the involvement of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
She had been careless, only realizing it now.
So, he was certain she couldn't escape.
At this thought, it felt as though all the strength had been drained from Su Zhenzhen's body.
No wonder he didn't stop her from leaving with this old woman.
She was hungry.
After running around all day, Su Zhenzhen hadn't even had a sip of water.
She looked down inside the carriage and noticed a pot of tea and a plate of pastries.
That was the good thing about wealthy households.
Su Zhenzhen poured herself a cup of tea, picked up a piece of mung bean cake, and stuffed it into her mouth.
Washing the mung bean cake down with the tea, Su Zhenzhen finished the entire plate of pastries amidst the swaying of the carriage.
With her stomach full, she started to feel sleepy.
She was tired.
Su Zhenzhen closed her eyes and went to sleep.
She couldn't very well exhaust herself to death from staying up late before she even got murdered, right?
When Su Zhenzhen woke up, she found the carriage had already arrived at Qushui Garden.
The servant woman was just lifting the carriage curtain to wake her. Still groggy from sleep, Su Zhenzhen reached up to straighten her skewed veiled hat, then followed the woman out of the carriage.
The carriage had just entered through a side gate and was already parked at the entrance of the inner courtyard.
This old eunuch must have accepted quite a few bribes back when he was in the palace; the residence was built to be extremely magnificent and lavish.
When she had visited during the day in the past, Su Zhenzhen thought it was blindingly bright. Now arriving under the cover of night, her eyes were met with a brilliantly illuminated courtyard, resplendent in gold and green. Jade was inlaid into the pillars, and gold leaf adorned the carved lanterns. Illuminated by the firelight, it was even more eye-catching than in broad daylight.
"We're here."
Su Zhenzhen nodded and entered the main house.
Inside the main room, it was brightly lit. The old eunuch sat in a grand armchair, a cup of clear tea resting by his hand.
His gaze landed on Su Zhenzhen's face, obscured by the veiled hat.
The veil was thick, making it impossible to see her features clearly.
With her face hidden, the woman's figure became even more prominent.
Sloping shoulders and a narrow waist, her posture was slender and delicate. A plain cloth skirt gathered at a waist so slim it could be held in one hand, while a blue-green fragrant sachet hanging from it swayed gently.
The old eunuch took another sip of tea.
Su Zhenzhen's gaze swept across the room.
She did not see the old eunuch's wife.
She sensed something was wrong and turned to leave, but the door behind her was slammed shut.
Su Zhenzhen turned back around, her voice as calm as usual. "I drank too much tea in the carriage earlier. I need to use the restroom now."
The old eunuch looked at Su Zhenzhen, seemingly seeing right through her little trick.
He looked at her as if she were a little bird unable to escape his palm. "Although I have left the palace, I still have some connections inside. A few days ago, a friend in the palace sent me a letter. He told me that this silver hairpin is something even an ordinary palace maid could obtain. Lady Su, is this all the Emperor bestowed upon your husband, the future great general?"
Su Zhenzhen twitched the corners of her lips. "Naturally, there's more than this. My husband treats me well; he couldn't bear to not give me even an ordinary silver hairpin."
The old eunuch stared at her, as if trying to pierce through the thick veil to see the face beneath.
During those chaotic years of the uprising, Su Zhenzhen had come down the mountain with a fake identity made for her by Liaochen, and arrived in Yangzhou to open this shop. It was right at the height of the Qingxu Taixuan Society's rebellion, and there were injured civilians everywhere.
As a doctor, Su Zhenzhen naturally felt a stronger sense of duty than others.
There was no way to just stand by and watch those people die there.
She went up the mountains to gather herbs and treated people's illnesses.
She offered free consultations and gave away herbal medicine.
Over these five years, Su Zhenzhen had met many kinds of people, and she believed she could handle these situations with complete ease. But how could the evil of human nature ever have a bottom line?
Perhaps someone like Su Zhenzhen could never truly imagine the lowest depths of human nature.
"Actually, I encountered a good thing today. If I hadn't been so eager to save someone, I wouldn't have left my husband behind to come here and treat your lady. My husband has returned." Standing there, Su Zhenzhen slightly raised her eyes, looking at the old eunuch through the veil. "Just now, when the servant woman came to pick me up, there was a carriage parked outside my shop. That was my husband's carriage."
The old eunuch seemed to have heard a joke. "Since he has returned, let him come and pick you up."
Su Zhenzhen fell into an instinctive silence for a moment.
She thought back to five years ago, when she had been targeted by Zhao Zuchang and wrote a letter to him.
He had come to find her.
But now, he definitely wouldn't come for her.
Then again, maybe he would.
Su Zhenzhen thought, the man had traveled thousands of miles and set up a trap just to catch her; after going through so much trouble, he surely wouldn't let her die at the hands of another.
"Alright."
Su Zhenzhen nodded and looked at the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone resting by the window.
She walked over and wrote a letter.
The old eunuch was illiterate. Seeing Su Zhenzhen write something, he had no idea what it said.
But he didn't care.
The old eunuch ordered an old servant woman to come in and instructed her to take the letter to Su Zhenzhen's apothecary.
"Give it to her husband," the old eunuch specifically instructed.
The old woman was stunned.
Could it be that Doctor Su's husband, who was supposedly out fighting a war, had actually abandoned the beautiful women out there and returned?
The old woman left with the envelope.
She couldn't read either. Carrying the envelope, she drove a carriage back to Su Zhenzhen's shop.
The carriage parked at the entrance of the shop was still there.
"Is anyone there?"
"Is Doctor Su's husband here?"
The door to the small courtyard was opened.
Just as the old woman was about to speak, her gaze paused.
Standing before her was a refined and elegant man, dressed neatly and with an air of nobility. He didn't look like a military general at all, but rather a scholar wielding a brush.
"Are you Doctor Su's husband?"
Had he really returned?
Wei Heng was taken aback. He shook his head and stepped aside.
A man walked over from the main room of the courtyard.
He was extremely tall.
Dressed in a black robe, his features were strikingly handsome.
In all her long life, the old woman had never seen such a remarkable-looking person.
However, the aura surrounding him was far too cold. Just standing there, he exuded an indescribable, suffocating sense of oppression.
The man's handsome silhouette was wrapped in a bone-chilling gloom. His gaze swept over the old woman's face like a scraping blade, making her tremble all over.
"A-are you Doctor Su's h-husband?"
The man did not answer, his black eyes ruthless and freezing.
Not daring to meet his eyes, the old woman hurriedly handed over the envelope in her hand. "Doctor Su has been invited over by my master. She wrote a letter for you..."
Wei Heng stepped forward, took the envelope, and presented it to Lu Hexu with both hands.
Although the old woman hadn't seen much of the world, she felt that the man before her was no ordinary person.
Perhaps... perhaps what Doctor Su said was true.
She really did have a husband who had become a great general!
Lu Hexu looked at the three characters "Su Zhenzhen" written on the envelope.
Her handwriting was still as ugly as ever.
"Open it," the man ordered expressionlessly.
Hearing this, Wei Heng immediately tore the letter open.
There were only four words in the letter.
"I am dying."
-
Su Zhenzhen sat there, looking at the open window beside her.
It would soon be dawn.
The summer weather was stiflingly hot. Ice blocks had been placed in the room, and the old eunuch had even sent someone to bring her pastries and a cup of tea.
Su Zhenzhen did not eat.
"The weather is muggy. Lady Su can take off her veiled hat now."
Su Zhenzhen ignored him.
"It seems Lady Su's husband won't be able to make it."
He talks too much.
Su Zhenzhen pursed her lips.
She felt that Lu Hexu would come.
He had spent so much effort looking for her, even traveling all the way from Jinling City to Yangzhou City to corner her. He probably wanted to finish her off with his own hands.
Furthermore... hearing her call him her husband would probably make him furious, so angry that he'd want to come and hack her to pieces right this moment?
"Master! Master!"
A clamor arose outside, followed by the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground.
Then, silence fell outside.
Su Zhenzhen's heart skipped a beat. Unable to articulate her own feelings, she instinctively stood up and looked outside.
A figure appeared at the end of the winding corridor.
Stepping into the light of the summer dawn, his tall, straight figure broke through the faint morning mist in the corridor. Holding a longsword, he appeared abruptly.
Through the window, Lu Hexu saw Su Zhenzhen. With a face as cold as ice, he strode toward her.
He really came.
Watching him draw closer and closer, Su Zhenzhen suddenly felt a surge of cowardice.
She sat back down, even raising a hand to adjust her veiled hat.
Only after adjusting it did she realize how strange her action was.
Was she fixing her appearance for her own funeral?
Su Zhenzhen lowered her hand.
The main room was very close to the veranda. The man's footsteps grew nearer, and with a loud crash, the doors to the main room were kicked open.
The force was so great that the door panels skewed, hanging precariously off their hinges.
Lu Hexu stood in the doorway, longsword in hand, blood dripping from the tip of the blade.
Behind him lay the long corridor, a trail of blood winding all the way from the far end to the edge of his black boots. The hem of his dark robes was splattered with a few starlike specks of blood, yet he didn't look the least bit disheveled; it only accentuated his murderous aura.
Lu Hexu's gaze fell upon Su Zhenzhen, who sat there wearing her veiled hat.
I'm fine.
You came.
For the current Su Zhenzhen and Lu Hexu, these words were highly inappropriate.
If only he were still Mu Dan.
That would be nice.
Su Zhenzhen swallowed her words back down.
The two remained silent.
The sunlight was brilliant today, a rare beautiful day after the torrential rains and floods.
It seemed to herald that the flood disaster that had plagued Yangzhou City was finally over.
Yet the man wore a black cloak over his black robes. The cloak had a dark hood drawn up over his head, revealing only his sharp jawline. The front brim hung low, obscuring the expression on his face.
Compared to his youth, he looked even more gloomy and ghost-like.
"Y-you..." Seeing the man appear in such a manner, the old eunuch turned deathly pale from fright.
Lu Hexu said nothing. He simply shifted his gaze from Su Zhenzhen to the old eunuch.
He stepped into the room.
Leaving bloody footprints across the floor.
The old eunuch trembled in terror, unable to even sit upright in his armchair, tumbling directly onto the floor.
"Guards, guards..."
The old eunuch's shrill, piercing voice rang in Su Zhenzhen's ears.
"Let's go back and..."
Before Su Zhenzhen could finish speaking, she saw the man lift the old eunuch with one hand and run his longsword straight through him.
This was the first time Su Zhenzhen had seen Lu Hexu kill someone.
Back then, when Lu Hexu was still Mu Dan, he had killed Zhao Zuchang.
Su Zhenzhen had only heard about Zhao Zuchang's gruesome end from the mouths of others.
Pierced by the sword, the old eunuch's eyes widened. Before the terror in his eyes could even dissipate, his body slumped lifelessly to the side, held in place only by the blade running through him until the man cleanly yanked the sword out.
Warm blood splashed in a long streak across Su Zhenzhen's veiled hat.
She froze in a daze.
Expressionless, Lu Hexu carried his sword and turned to walk over to Su Zhenzhen, his breathing not even slightly disrupted.
The last time they met, he had been sitting down.
Su Zhenzhen hadn't realized the man had grown so tall.
She had to tilt her head far back just to look at him.
Lu Hexu reached out with his blood-soaked hand, lifted the veiled hat off the woman's head, and then used it to wipe the blood from his hands.
His movements were unhurried, carrying a hint of casual indifference. Only when a faint tinge of blood remained on his palms did he let go, casually tossing the bloodstained hat aside.
A thick scent of blood filled the room. Su Zhenzhen looked at the man before her, her eyes shimmering.
Lu Hexu looked down at her. The blood on his long sword was like viscous glue, slowly winding down the sharp spine of the blade. It dripped onto the floor, splattering into a small, wet patch of red that merged with the trail of blood creeping along the corridor.
"Did you think I came to save you?"
Su Zhenzhen watched the man's lips part and close.
She lowered her head and plunged straight into his embrace.
Her slender, soft arms hugged him tightly, just like in the past.
[He is so thin. He definitely hasn't been eating well.]
For my sake, let Zhenzhen tie your hair into twin tails, and we will let this whole thing go.
