Chapter 125 The Dying Girl

In the name of their so-called reputation, the men in the audience hall in the imperial palace suddenly had amnesia of the benefit they got as well as the reduced casualty. They simply tried to ditch the poor girl after conquering the Empire of Yun. That was the misfortune of women in this period of time. The men had a selfish will that the woman would make the “proper” choice so that they would secure their loyalty and morality at the same time. Shui Yinzhu never thought that Xuan Zhi would chase her out of the hall. Xuan Zhi held her in his arms and kissed her lips regardless of her resistance. It was one of the very few times for him to be aggressive in front of her. It was a clean kiss filled with warmth and yearning, different from the disgusting one of Yun Su. The two hearts in love started to beat faster. Shui Yinzhu was soon lost in that kiss. The veteran in love was as innocent as a maiden in front of him. That was how love could change an action. “Zhi, you should go back.” “I won’t.” “Then come to the Xiyan Palace with me.” “Okay.” She understood that Xuan Zhi wasn’t willing to leave her, so she stopped pushing him. Shui Yinzhu chose to be indulged for one last time. She knew their shared time was limited. Shui Yinzhu went to the phoenix tree in Xiyan Palace and changed back to the white dress in her room just like the innocent Princess Xi many years ago. The only difference was that the simple hairpin with one pearl on her bun had turned into one with two pearls. Even when she was like a jade doll with no expression, her beauty as Princess Xi still exceeded her current self. At least she was flawless at that time. But for now, in the same white dress, she was no longer clean. The pearl hairpin wasn’t the only thing that changed. She took off the hairpin and pressed it onto her heart. Her eyes looked into the distance like before. She had no idea where to go. The Xiyan Palace with sweet memories and the room of hers were both stained, like her. As Shui Yinzhu looked back to the past, she felt like laughing at herself. She was but a helpless and impure girl. Xuan Zhi didn’t interrupt her and watched her walking to the phoenix tree. It was what he did the first time they met. But everything had changed. Neither of them would have imagined that there would be no turning back. Xuan Zhi and Shui Yinzhu didn’t have lunch or dinner that day, but they didn’t feel hungry. When the sun was about to set, Xuan Zhi walked to the back of her, wrapped her with his arms gently just like before. He stooped and lay his head on her right shoulder as his face rubbed that tender skin of hers. He said in a clinging voice, “Yinzhu, I miss you. I miss you so much.” “Silly Zhi, you’re about to be the emperor. You can get whatever kind of woman you want.” “But none of them is you.” “I’m not clean anymore.” “I don’t care. As long as you are with me, I can leave everything behind. We’ve parted for so long before getting back together. Will you please stop pushing me away?” He didn’t hear her response, so he repeated it over and over again. “All right.” She lied to him. There was sweetness in her heart, but more was pain. Shui Yinzhu still wished to see the smile of Xuan Zhi. They would keep lying to themselves until the time came for them to face reality. “Zhi, let’s go check the study.” “Sure.” The study in Xiyan Palace remained intact these years. Even though Shui Yinzhu never came here as the empress, the servants kept it clean. As she opened up the drawer of the table, there was still a couplet of wishes she wrote with Kong Yue, some of the ugly window papercut, and the portrait that Kong Yue painted for her. The maiden in the picture was still pretty. She wished that time could be frozen at then. The beautiful memory warmed up Shui Yinzhu’s heart again. She loved Kong Yue. That man was irreplaceable. But she loved Xuan Zhi, too. It turned out that her heart could hold two people at the same time. She found the set of hairpins Xuan Zhi sent her as a gift on her 15th birthday in another drawer of the bookshelf. It was funny to think that the gift she scorned would then become her treasure. There was a rare luminous pearl in that drawer, but Shui Yinzhu didn’t even look at it. She took up the hairpin set and carefully put it together with the mementos of Kong Yue. Xuan Zhi didn’t say a word. He looked at her with deep love in his eyes. As she closed the drawer, he asked, “Yinzhu, aren’t you taking them away with you?” “No. Wouldn’t it be better to leave them here?” “Right.” “Zhi, I want to come back and live in the Xiyan Palace. Tell them to put a bed in the study. I’ll be living here.” “Okay. I’ll be with you.” “No, you’ve got to go back.” “Wherever you are, I’ll be there.” Shui Yinzhu stopped the debate. She took his large hand and went to clean up the mess with Xuan Zhi. She didn’t want to make him a fatuous ruler. Everything came back to life during that spring. The reign of the Empire of Yun ended, and the empire changed its name to the Empire of Xuan, answering the god’s order. Xuan Zhi took the throne. But he was unwilling to hold a coronation ceremony. Xuan Zhi was used to being a general in wars. But there was much more to learn in managing an empire. The good news was that Xuan Zhi was a wise emperor. He listened to the advice of all the ministers, ruled the empire with kindness, and never sentenced people to death at his own will. The only thing that bothered the ministers was that Xuan Zhi wasn’t willing to marry any woman. The officials submitted suggestions many times on him marrying the real princess of the Kingdom of Yun for the legitimacy of the throne. But he always ignored those reports. He didn’t even spare to look at Zuo Xin, the woman who served him for years. The only woman in his heart was Shui Yinzhu, the evil empress of the former dynasty. As the morning sun shone into the study in the Xiyan Palace, Shui Yinzhu opened up her eyes. Xuan Zhi was no longer around, and she knew he had gone for the morning session. These three days, she had the best sleep in years. However, the two of them still didn’t take that step forward. Xuan Zhi was waiting until she let go of her past and willingly became his real wife. Hearing the sound inside the study, Xiaoxin and Paner walked in. Shui Yinzhu rubbed Paner on her face, and she looked at Xiaoxin with a smile in her eyes. “Xiaoxin, maybe you should leave this place with Anian.” “Your Highness, are you driving us away after having His Majesty?” “That’s not the reason, little girl.” “Isn’t it? Your smile seems happy. I’m so glad to see this. I don’t want to leave you.” “Xiaoxin, life would be happy when you marry the one you love and lead your life with him. Well, I’ll grant you a marriage.” “Your Highness.” Xiaoxin’s face immediately blushed. Shui Yinzhu then turned to Paner. “Paner, you should go home. Don’t stay around, or Master Li will get jealous of me.” “No, sister. I won’t leave you. I’ll stay around.” Shui Yinzhu was moved when she knew that Paner had married Li Yi to help her. Paner was indeed a silly girl. But now that they were married, Shui Yinzhu could only wish her a happy life. After Paner learned what Li Yi said about Shui Yinzhu in the audience hall, she chose to stay here as she wasn’t willing to meet with Li Yi. All she wanted was to stay with Shui Yinzhu, this dearest sister of hers. Shui Yinzhu was no longer the dreadful evil empress. She couldn’t force Paner and had to sit in front of the vanity table, allowing the two palace maids to comb her hair. Even though Paner had already been married and was no longer a little girl, her heart remained pure. She started combing Shui Yinzhu’s beautiful long black hair. But suddenly, the hair started to fall in fistfuls. Shui Yinzhu had been losing hair recently. It appeared normal, but today, the fallen hair was too much. Paner’s hands started shaking as she felt something must be going on. “Sister, your hair,” Paner sounded worried and confused. “What is it, Paner?” Shui Yinzhu felt strange about her unusual behavior. Xiaoxin took the fallen hair from Paner as the little one was hesitating. “This much?” Shui Yinzhu shut her eyes. It had to be concerned with the Heat Poison and the other poison she took. She had already ruined her body. If it had happened in the past days, she wouldn’t care about it. But she couldn’t ignore it after reuniting with Xuan Zhi. In order to hide her emotion, she appeared as if she didn’t care after opening her eyes again. “It should be fine. Just don’t tell His Majesty. Keep it among us three.” “Understood.” Everything seemed to be good. But Xuan Zhi was taking a lot of pressure from the imperial court, especially when the officials required him to get rid of Shui Yinzhu. The new emperor, on the other hand, kept putting it off for later discussion. Xuan Zhi wasn’t like Yun Su. He wouldn’t kill innocent people for such a thing, but he had to keep Shui Yinzhu under his protection. After the morning session, Xuan Zhi hurried to meet with Shui Yinzhu. He would only find peace in his heart after seeing his girl. She was the reason why he could deal with everything and rebuild the empire. The Xiyan Palace was quiet as usual. He opened the door of the study, now the bedroom of Shui Yinzhu, and saw that gorgeous girl in white. He ignored the greetings from the palace maids and hugged Shui Yinzhu. He did it so tightly as if he was afraid she might disappear. “Zhi, that’s too tight.” Shui Yinzhu loved his hug, but there was one thing she needed to make sure of. “Xiaoxin, tell Li Yi and Uncle Zhi to meet me here. Paner, don’t let anyone else in.” The clever woman was always emotionally mature. “Yinzhu, why do you need to talk to them? I miss you.” Xuan Zhi could turn silly only in front of Shui Yinzhu. He let go of Shui Yinzhu and looked confused. “I’ll talk to them about our relationship. I know the morning sessions have been hard for you these days. It’d be better to keep the two of them rest assured.” “I am a man. I’m not supposed to let my love worry about this.” “You fool. It’ll be better for me to deal with this, honey.” Shui Yinzhu kissed Xuan Zhi’s cheek. Actually, Uncle Zhi was the only person she wanted to meet with. But to avoid making Xuan Zhi suspicious, she summoned both of them. “All right, then.” A kiss on his cheek couldn’t satisfy Xuan Zhi. He kissed back on her lips. The two of them kept kissing each other. Even though they weren’t officially married, they were soulmates. Their love for each other was more profound than anything else. Neither of them was willing to get their lips separated. “Sister, Master Zhi and Master Li have arrived,” said Paner outside. Her voice sounded mad, which showed her grievance against Li Yi. “Okay. Tell Uncle Zhi to come in first.” Xuan Zhi and Shui Yinzhu stopped the kiss after hearing the voice. They had to adjust their breath. Shui Yinzhu pushed Xuan Zhi out even though he wished to stay. “Zhi, just give me some time to talk to them.” When Shui Yinzhu and Uncle Zhi were the only two people left in the room, she skipped the greetings and asked Uncle Zhi to feel her pulse. Xuan Zhi wasn’t like Yun Su. He loved her, and he would never spy on her. “Uncle Zhi, my condition must be terrible. Is there any chance I can survive?” “Your Highness, that’s a good judgment of your condition. Why bother torturing yourself? No one but an immortal can save you now.” “Uncle Zhi, there’s no hope, right?” “Yeah.” “How much time do I have?” “Three months at most.” “Three months? I’m losing hair now. What will happen next?” “You’ll lose all your hair, get disfigured and then die of organ failure.” “When will it affect my appearance and I won’t be able to hide it?” “When you start to spit blood.” “I see, Uncle Zhi.” She couldn’t help crying as it felt painful to know. She didn’t want Zhi to see her disfigured as she wanted him to remember her most beautiful status. “Please keep this from His Majesty. Please. I don’t want him to feel sad. I’ll get this settled.”