[Drop-dead Gorgeous]
In a small hall within the temporary palace at the imperial mausoleum.
Su Zhenzhen opened her portable medicine chest, took out some medicinal powder, and sprinkled it onto Lu Hexu's cleaned neck.
The man's skin was fair, making the ten bloody scratches gouged out by fingernails exceptionally glaring.
The powder caused a sharp, burning pain upon contact. Even Lu Hexu couldn't help but let out a muffled groan.
[I did that on purpose.]
[It has to hurt for you to learn your lesson.]
Although she thought this, Su Zhenzhen still leaned in slightly and gently blew on his wounds.
"Does it hurt?"
"Yes."
[Serves you right.]
"It will stop hurting soon. This medicine works very quickly."
Su Zhenzhen had milder medicines in her chest, but the one she chose, while the most painful to apply, was also the most effective.
After applying the medicine, she took out a bandage and slowly wrapped it around his neck a few times. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, and she finally tied a heavy, tight bow.
Lu Hexu: ...
"It's a little tight, Zhenzhen."
Su Zhenzhen lowered her head and silently loosened it a bit.
The small hall fell quiet. Lu Hexu's hand brushed against her cheek. "Did you touch the incense ash?"
Su Zhenzhen shook her head. "No."
She sat there with her head bowed, her upper body leaning forward slightly, gently bumping her forehead against his shoulder.
After a few bumps, her anger dissipated. She reached out her arms and locked herself firmly in his embrace.
They were on a long couch by the window. The autumn sunlight streamed in, falling softly upon them.
Perhaps because the temperature wasn't high, the cursed runes on Lu Hexu's neck didn't surface. As a result, the terrifying bruises on the unbandaged parts of his skin looked even more appalling.
The ring of bruises extended up and down; the center was the darkest, fading slightly toward the edges.
Su Zhenzhen looked up and stroked his neck.
"Did you specifically bring me here to collect your corpse?"
Lu Hexu tightened his arms around her. He rested his chin on the top of her head. When he spoke, she could feel a slight vibration.
"No. I just thought... after I die, seeing the Empress Dowager in her mad state, you would think that I would eventually become like that too. Then, you wouldn't miss me or think about me anymore."
"If I were strangled to death, this face would definitely become very ugly."
"When the time came, you would only need one look to stop liking me."
Su Zhenzhen buried her face in his chest. "No matter what you become, I will always like you." She tightened her grip around his waist. "Lu Hexu, we agreed. Neither of us is allowed to die first."
The man's gentle voice came from above. "...Alright."
The hall grew quiet.
The sudden calm following such extreme emotions made Su Zhenzhen feel utterly exhausted.
Lu Hexu looked down and saw the woman closing her eyes in his arms, seemingly asleep.
He lowered his head and kissed her forehead.
A dense, stinging pain radiated from the wounds on his neck.
Lu Hexu tilted his head back, resting his nape against the windowsill.
Fragmented autumn sunlight filtered through the lattice. Through the gap in the half-open window, he saw yellow talismans hanging all over the outside.
Bells were attached to some of the talismans. When the wind blew, they jingled crisply.
Lu Hexu closed his eyes as well, lying with Su Zhenzhen in the autumn sun.
Lu Hexu opened his eyes to the glaring sunlight. He must have fallen asleep, but not for long, as the intensity of the light hadn't changed much.
He looked down and saw Su Zhenzhen slumped against him.
He gently stroked her cheek. The woman turned to her side and raised a hand to cover her eyes, likely bothered by the harsh sunlight.
Lu Hexu reached out to close the window. He carefully supported her head, placed it on a soft pillow nearby, and then draped his own outer robe over her.
With the doors and windows closed, the autumn chill could no longer enter the small hall.
Lu Hexu got up quietly and stepped out of the hall.
The sunlight was blinding. He stood in the light, and when he looked up, the wounds on his neck throbbed with a dull ache.
He walked forward, stepping over worn bluestone tiles, and arrived at the main hall.
Imperial Guards were already stationed at the entrance, and a heavy lock secured the main hall tightly.
Lu Hexu stood there and ordered the guards to open the door.
The heavy lock was undone. As the doors were pushed open a crack, a shrill, mournful howl rushed out to greet him.
Lu Hexu stood there and listened for a moment. It was nothing but curses directed at him.
His face was expressionless as he simply raised his hand and pushed the doors fully open.
The Empress Dowager had had several of her ribs broken by a kick from Lu Hexu. Her movements were hindered, and every breath brought her pain, yet she acted as if she felt nothing, cursing incessantly at the wall.
"You piece of trash, worse than a pig or a dog! You deserve to burn in hell... Rejected by heaven and earth, abandoned by gods and ghosts alike!"
Lu Hexu's gaze shifted to that wall.
The snow-white wall was covered entirely in curses written in cinnabar against him.
There were phrases in the Great Zhou language, as well as in Tibetan.
For the first time, Lu Hexu realized that his mother actually knew Tibetan.
In that case, she must have known long ago what the runes carved into his body meant.
"Mother," the man said in a low voice, standing still.
Hearing his voice, the Empress Dowager whipped around. Her eyes were wide, her expression so savage she looked ready to swallow him alive.
"I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"
With her hair disheveled, the Empress Dowager lunged at Lu Hexu like a madwoman. The man remained motionless.
Only when she closed the distance, her fingertips inches from clawing his face, did Lu Hexu raise his hand.
His well-defined hand shot out, gripping her neck with ruthless precision. His grip was as heavy as an iron shackle, lifting the Empress Dowager halfway off the ground.
The Empress Dowager began to suffocate instantly. Her eyes bulged, and her limbs flailed wildly, but she couldn't make a single sound.
Her fingernails dug fiercely into the back of his hand, but she couldn't pry his fingers apart.
Lu Hexu held her neck, his eyes half-closed.
He stood there quietly, his gaze bottomlessly dark.
Her neck was trapped in his palm; with just a slight twist, he could end her life.
Lu Hexu made no move.
He neither killed her nor let her go.
The Empress Dowager glared at the man before her, blinded by rage, her face growing even more contorted. "Urgh... I won't let you off even if I die... You, and that woman... go to hell..."
Lu Hexu's pupils shrank sharply, and his hand violently clamped down.
The Empress Dowager's neck bone let out a crisp snap, like dead wood being forcefully snapped in half.
Her struggling limbs instantly went limp. Her eyes remained wide open as her breath ceased, her face frozen in a twisted, savage grimace.
Lu Hexu lifted his gaze, watching her slump in his grip. Even in death, her eyes harbored a furious, murderous intent.
He released his hand.
The Empress Dowager's body crumpled to the floor.
Lu Hexu stood there, his fingers still curled in a choking gesture, his knuckles white.
He slowly retracted his hand and looked down at the corpse, her final words echoing in his mind.
The air around the man suddenly plummeted in temperature, exuding a chilling, sinister aura that was far colder than the layers upon layers of talismans in the imperial mausoleum.
When Su Zhenzhen woke up, she found herself alone in the small hall; Lu Hexu was nowhere to be seen.
Su Zhenzhen abruptly sat up, slipped on her embroidered shoes, and walked out of the bedchamber. Seeing the Imperial Guards stationed at the door, she asked, "Where did His Majesty go?"
"His Majesty is in the main hall."
Did he go to find that mad Empress Dowager?
Recalling the Empress Dowager's manic state from earlier, Su Zhenzhen couldn't help but lift her skirts and run toward the main hall.
The main hall wasn't far from the side hall. Panting heavily, Su Zhenzhen finally arrived at the entrance.
The doors to the main hall were wide open. Lu Hexu stood there clad in a plain white inner robe. Where the sunlight struck his back, the faint traces of cursed runes could be seen seeping through his skin.
Su Zhenzhen stepped forward, her field of vision gradually expanding.
She saw that the massive wall in front of Lu Hexu was covered entirely in curses written in cinnabar.
She remembered that when she rushed in to save Lu Hexu earlier, this wall had been clean.
Su Zhenzhen lowered her gaze and saw the Empress Dowager lying on the floor, completely devoid of life.
It was obvious that she was the one who had written these curses.
Although Su Zhenzhen did not understand Tibetan, she had seen the Tibetan script on Lu Hexu's body.
She could recognize that most of the Tibetan words on this wall were exactly the same as those carved into his flesh.
Su Zhenzhen's heart pounded violently. She walked up to Lu Hexu, stood on her tiptoes, and reached out to cover his eyes.
"Don't look, Lu Hexu."
The man's vision was blocked, and the shocking, glaring color of the cinnabar vanished from his sight.
Using her other hand, Su Zhenzhen pushed Lu Hexu outward. "You go out first."
Lu Hexu was pushed outside, and the heavy doors of the main hall were shut in front of him.
Standing alone inside the hall, Su Zhenzhen turned around. Seeing the yellow ritual banners and the bronze incense tripods, she still felt an eerie, terrifying chill.
She took a deep breath, looked down, and checked the Empress Dowager's pulse and breath.
Dead.
Seeing the strangulation marks on the Empress Dowager's neck, Su Zhenzhen's expression paused. She reached up, tore down a banner, and draped it over the body.
Su Zhenzhen remembered Lu Hexu telling her that when the State Preceptor had carved the runes into him, the Empress Dowager had come to watch.
If the Empress Dowager understood Tibetan, she must have known just how vicious the curses the State Preceptor was leaving on Lu Hexu's body were.
Yet, to resurrect her other son, she chose to sacrifice Lu Hexu.
Separated by the layer of cloth, Su Zhenzhen's voice was very soft, but her eyes gradually turned cold. "Empress Dowager, I hope you fall into the Avici Hell. May you be sawed by black ropes, have your bones burned by scorching iron, and molten copper poured down your throat. Day and night, may you never find release..."
After finishing this incantation, Su Zhenzhen finally pulled the banner over the Empress Dowager's face. She stood there, staring for a moment, before turning around to look at that blood-red wall.
Su Zhenzhen looked around and noticed that the incense ashes spilled on the floor yesterday hadn't been cleaned up yet.
The ashes were no longer hot. Su Zhenzhen grabbed a handful and smeared it onto the wall.
The vicious curses were covered by the incense ash. As she rubbed and ground it in repeatedly, the words gradually blurred into a murky, dark red patch, like dried, blackened blood.
That wouldn't do.
Su Zhenzhen turned and circled the main hall again. Finally, she spotted a bronze basin in the corner filled with clean water.
She walked over, lifted the heavy bronze basin, and struggled to carry it to the wall before violently splashing the water onto it.
The incense ash mixed with the cinnabar and flowed down. The blood-red water, clouded with ash, spread to Su Zhenzhen's feet.
Her embroidered shoes were soaked, the plain white fabric blooming with a hazy red.
Su Zhenzhen tore down another banner and continued to wipe the wall.
Some spots were too high for her to reach, so she dragged a stool over from within the hall, climbed onto it, and scrubbed.
Finally, Su Zhenzhen wiped the wall clean.
The white wall couldn't be completely restored to its original state, of course, but the curses were gone.
A faint, washed-out red rippled across the surface. Su Zhenzhen was so exhausted that her hands trembled.
She turned around and pushed open the hall doors.
The autumn sunlight poured in. As Su Zhenzhen looked up, she saw Lu Hexu standing at the entrance, waiting for her.
The man's expression looked a little off.
He stared at his own hands, then his gaze fell on Su Zhenzhen's face.
Then, past her face, he saw the wall not far away.
It had been wiped clean.
Su Zhenzhen walked up to him and took his hand. "The Empress Dowager suffered a bout of madness and passed away on her own."
"I killed her."
Su Zhenzhen shook her head and repeated, "The Empress Dowager suffered a bout of madness and passed away on her own."
Lu Hexu understood what Su Zhenzhen meant.
He instinctively tightened his grip on her hand, but then, as if remembering something, he abruptly let go.
Su Zhenzhen frowned. She grabbed Lu Hexu's retreating hand and held it tightly in her palm.
Lu Hexu looked down at her, his voice very soft. "Zhenzhen, what if... what if I drag you down to hell with me?"
He was a man who had murdered his brother and his mother.
He would surely go to the Avici Hell.
Su Zhenzhen cupped Lu Hexu's face and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him.
"Then we will go to hell together. It'll be perfect to have some company."
The woman's hands felt damp and a little dirty, stained with cinnabar and incense ash.
She accidentally smeared a thin, ashy, blood-red fingerprint onto Lu Hexu's face.
His dim eyes gradually regained their brilliance in the sunlight.
Su Zhenzhen tried to wipe it off with the pad of her thumb, only to find that it was getting messier.
Forget it, she wouldn't wipe it.
"I'm so tired. Carry me on your back."
Su Zhenzhen had run all the way here, then exhausted herself cleaning the wall in the main hall. Although she had slept earlier, it had been a long time since she had eaten anything, and she felt a bit lightheaded from low blood sugar.
Lu Hexu turned his back to her and bent down.
Su Zhenzhen hopped onto his back.
Lu Hexu carried Su Zhenzhen steadily as he walked down the stone steps.
The sunlight grew warmer, and the autumn scenery enveloped them from both sides. Dappled rays of light filtered through to shine upon the two of them.
Su Zhenzhen wrapped her arms around Lu Hexu's neck and rested her cheek against his shoulder.
The talismans hanging on the trees and along the corridors had all been taken down. From a distance, Su Zhenzhen saw the Imperial Guards escorting a group of Daoist priests out.
"Those Daoist priests..."
"They've been handed over to the Imperial Guards to handle."
These Daoist priests were the ones who had followed the Empress Dowager here when she fled from Jinling seeking refuge.
Back in the imperial palace, there was no telling how many palace maids' lives they had ruined.
Since they had been handed over to the Imperial Guards, they would definitely be sent to the Imperial Prison. They were in for a miserable time.
Su Zhenzhen still remembered a palace maid from a long time ago named Wang Yin.
"Do you remember a palace maid named Wang Yin?"
Lu Hexu didn't remember.
Aside from things concerning Su Zhenzhen, he didn't really remember other people. His memories from that period were very chaotic.
"The palace maid who poisoned the Empress Dowager using her own body. She was locked up in the Imperial Prison with me at the time. I thought she had failed, but when I was collecting the Empress Dowager's body just now, I noticed signs of residual poison in her system. It looked very similar to the poison that was in Wang Yin's body."
This meant that Wang Yin's poison had affected the Empress Dowager.
Perhaps this was also the reason why the Empress Dowager had suddenly gone mad after arriving at the imperial tomb.
"This matter was likely handled by Wei Heng." After a pause, Lu Hexu added, "He is soft-hearted."
Su Zhenzhen understood what Lu Hexu meant and couldn't help but curve her lips into a smile.
She tilted her head slightly. With a shift of her gaze, she could see the mottled curses on the skin of the man's neck.
Su Zhenzhen reached out, her ash-stained fingertips brushing over the runes, rubbing them gently.
Hmm?
Wait a minute.
Su Zhenzhen suddenly widened her eyes. She looked at the trace of the curse text she had wiped off, not daring to blink, for fear it was an illusion.
She took a deep breath and rubbed hard with the pad of her finger.
"Zhenzhen, it hurts."
"Don't move."
Su Zhenzhen grabbed Lu Hexu's head and rubbed hard against his neck.
It works?
It's actually incense ash!
A smile appeared on Su Zhenzhen's face, and as she smiled, she began to cry.
She tightly hugged Lu Hexu's neck, crying and laughing.
"Lu Hexu, it's incense ash, it's incense ash!"
"Zhenzhen, I can't breathe..."
"Oh."
-
In the small hall, the Imperial Guards brought in several charcoal basins.
The doors and windows were only opened a crack for ventilation to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.
The charcoal fire burned vigorously, and the temperature in the hall rose rapidly. A thin layer of sweat seeped through Lu Hexu's inner garments.
The Imperial Guards stood guard at the door. Lu Hexu turned his back to Su Zhenzhen and took off his clothes.
The man was very tall, with a slender but not thin figure, broad shoulders and a narrow waist, with beautiful lines.
He raised his hand and used a cat-ear gold hairpin to tie up his long hair, revealing the complete lines of his back.
Although Su Zhenzhen had already seen the curse text on Lu Hexu's back, seeing the curse text from his neck to his ankle again still made her heart ache.
On the long couch, there was a small table with an incense burner on it.
Half a burner of incense had already burned inside.
Su Zhenzhen tested the temperature with her fingertips. The incense ash was boiling hot and could not be used yet.
She sat on the couch, staring at Lu Hexu.
The man stood there, slightly tilting his head, "Ready? Zhenzhen."
Su Zhenzhen shook her head, "No."
Ah, what beautiful muscle lines.
He doesn't seem to exercise.
Could it be that he is naturally gifted?
The waistline really is tucked in.
The thighs look so solid.
The calf lines are also very beautiful.
"Zhenzhen, you're drooling."
Su Zhenzhen subconsciously reached out to wipe the corner of her mouth, and then found nothing.
Su Zhenzhen: ...
Lu Hexu walked over, propped his hands on the long couch, and circled her in his arms.
"Does it look good?"
"No."
[It looks so good.]
Lu Hexu leaned over and came to kiss her.
His cheek rubbed against her face, wet.
It was all his sweat.
It was too hot in the small hall. Not only Lu Hexu, but even Su Zhenzhen was sweating.
She was still wearing her autumn jacket.
Lu Hexu bent his knees and got on the couch, pressing against the edge of the long couch.
"Zhenzhen." He called her name in a low voice, his slender figure pressing over.
The two had not been close for a long time.
The incense burner was still burning, and a faint smell of incense ash floated over.
Lu Hexu pressed against Su Zhenzhen's lips, his fingertips brushing past her temples stained with fragrant sweat, "I'll help you, Zhenzhen."
The autumn jacket was taken off, revealing the slightly thin inner garments inside.
Under the pale moon-white inner garments were even lighter-colored undergarments.
Lu Hexu lowered his head, bit the strap of the undergarment, and gently pulled it open.
[Who needs your help.]
"Aren't I supposed to apply incense ash to you?"
Su Zhenzhen pressed her undergarment and pushed him onto the couch.
"Mmm..."
Lu Hexu let out a low panting sound, his eyes turning red, falling wetly onto Su Zhenzhen's face.
Su Zhenzhen's breath caught.
[It's not impossible.]
"Hearing" this sentence, Lu Hexu quickly pressed her onto himself with one hand.
"The incense ash is ready."
Su Zhenzhen looked up at him, her voice very soft.
"But I feel very uncomfortable, Zhenzhen."
Lu Hexu kissed her cheek, from her cheek to her temple, and then to her forehead.
Su Zhenzhen felt that the sweat on her face was not just her own.
Lu Hexu's fingertips brushed past the corner of Su Zhenzhen's lips, his eyes meeting hers.
Su Zhenzhen didn't know where Lu Hexu learned these things; she was clearly the modern person.
Her knowledge reserve was actually less than his!
-
There is a kitchen in the Imperial Mausoleum Palace.
The kitchen has hot water ready twenty-four hours a day.
After the Imperial Guards brought in the bathtub, they quietly retreated.
Lu Hexu carried Su Zhenzhen into the bathtub.
The water in the bathtub overflowed. Su Zhenzhen's throat hurt a lot. She lay on the edge of the bathtub, not wanting to speak, only glaring at Lu Hexu with a pair of wet eyes.
"Sorry, Zhenzhen, I didn't control myself well." Lu Hexu pressed up and hugged her, "Next time I'll help you."
"Is the incense ash ready?" Su Zhenzhen spoke, her voice indeed hoarse.
The corners of her lips were slightly red, very painful, and a little swollen.
Lu Hexu tilted his head and glanced, "Ready."
The incense in the incense burner had burned out.
"Go get it."
Lu Hexu got up and out of the bathtub.
Su Zhenzhen also came out.
She wiped her body clean, held Lu Hexu's hand, and sat on the couch.
A few lamps were lit in the room, and the light enveloped them. It was actually already dark outside.
Su Zhenzhen dipped her finger in a little incense ash and carefully traced it across Lu Hexu's neck.
The curse text, which had been smoked out by the hot air, slowly changed from deep black to light gray under the wiping of the incense ash, and finally disappeared.
Lu Hexu's curse text went from his neck to his ankle.
Su Zhenzhen carefully applied it all over him, and then wiped it clean with a wet cloth.
Those hideous and terrifying curse texts finally disappeared, leaving only a beautiful cold white skin, which oozed a lustrous color under the light.
Su Zhenzhen held the cloth in her hand, her eyes turning red again.
Lu Hexu lay on the long couch looking at her, his brows and eyes moistened by the lamplight, showing a gentle color.
Su Zhenzhen's fingertips brushed past his spine, touching the protruding shoulder blades.
Down the spine, pressing to the waistline.
Not a single bit of the curse text was left.
Su Zhenzhen felt happy for Lu Hexu.
"Lu Hexu, you're free."
The man raised his hand and brushed past her wet brows and eyes, his voice responding gently, "Mmm."
-
After dealing with those Taoist priests at the Imperial Mausoleum, Lu Hexu directly placed the Empress Dowager's body at the Imperial Mausoleum for burial.
The officials came to pay their respects in white mourning clothes. The mournful music lingered, and the bells and drums were silent. The Imperial Mausoleum was enveloped in the solemn and dead silence of a national mourning.
After a busy day, Lu Hexu returned to the small hall to rest.
Su Zhenzhen sat alone under the corridor, the mournful music around her unceasing.
Suddenly, something fell from behind.
She turned around and looked down, seeing a bamboo tube the size of a pinky finger.
Su Zhenzhen bent over, picked up the bamboo tube, and saw a rolled-up piece of paper inside.
Then, her vision blurred, and a figure landed in front of her.
Su Zhenzhen blinked, carefully recognized him, and tried hard to recall, "Are you... Shadow One?"
Shadow One nodded.
"You need me for something?"
Shadow One looked around, didn't see Lu Hexu, and stepped forward.
His face was smeared with black, revealing only a pair of slightly white eyes, and he reached out to Su Zhenzhen.
"This is yours?" Su Zhenzhen shook the bamboo tube in her hand.
Shadow One continued to nod.
Following the Emperor's orders, he hung on the beam under the corridor to protect this woman. He didn't expect the secret letter on him to fall out, and it just happened to be picked up by Su Zhenzhen.
Su Zhenzhen raised her hand and returned it to him.
Shadow One stood there, not moving, "Are you, not interested?"
What interest?
Su Zhenzhen didn't understand.
Shadow One said: "Curiosity."
Su Zhenzhen: ... Are you kidding? Curiosity killed the cat.
"You can take a look." Shadow One's voice was suppressed very low, and his eyes involuntarily glanced toward the small hall.
Su Zhenzhen noticed his small movements.
Because Shadow One's face was entirely painted black, the shift in his eyes was exceptionally obvious.
Was he afraid Lu Hexu would find out?
Was there really a secret?
Oh, it was dropped on purpose for her to pick up.
Su Zhenzhen opened the secret letter.
Inside was Lu Hexu's handwriting.
"If We ever harm her, you must kill Us."
Su Zhenzhen gripped the letter tightly, speechless for a long time.
"Shadow guards are forbidden from... harming His Majesty, yet this is also His Majesty's command..."
Shadow One's gaze began to dart around. "His Majesty said that if we do not comply, he will kill us."
Su Zhenzhen carefully tucked the letter away. "Rest assured, he will not hurt me. Your lives are safe."
The woman's watery eyes shimmered; the gaze she directed at Shadow One held absolute trust in the Emperor.
Su Zhenzhen turned around and entered the small hall.
Inside, Lu Hexu was still asleep.
He lay on the couch wearing only thin clothes. The charcoal basin in the room had not yet gone out, keeping the temperature very comfortable.
Su Zhenzhen walked over, gently pulled Lu Hexu's arm aside, nestled herself into his embrace, and then wrapped his arm back around herself.
A quick thank you to the top patron, it is a bit long.
