Feng Yin Tian Xia - Chapter 163.2

Chapter 163.2

Hua Zhu Yu slowly got up and turned around, her legs feeling somewhat numb as she headed back .  

Rong Lou stood a distance not too far away and Xiao Yin was still resting under the tree where she had left him . Seeing her come, Ping and An rushed over to help her . Kang and Tai were at her grandmother’s side while Huangfu Wu Shang was sitting on the ground, still somewhat out of it .  

 Hua Zhu Yu went to make sure her grandma was alright first before heading over to Xiao Yin who had already woken .   

“Yatou, elder brother has thought it through . No matter who you choose to be with, as long as you’re happy, I’ll wish you all the best,” Xiao Yin said with a soft smile as his long lashes drooped, concealing the pained look in his eyes .  

“No, elder brother, I’ll accompany you to Northern Kingdom . Only when I’ve seen that you’ve  fully recovered will I be assured,” Hua Zhu Yu said softly .  

“Yatou…” Xiao Yin said as he held her hand tightly, his eyes gleaming with tenderness and joy .

Hua Zhu Yu smiled and lowered her head . From the corner of her eye, she could see Rong Lou standing a distance away, his hand slightly shaking while her smile turned forlorn .  

Rong Lou! Though you fought without your fan, though you covered your face with the bamboo veiled hat, though you masked your natural scent with the fragrance of epiphyllums, though you changed the tone of your voice, I can still recognize you, Ji Feng Li .  

No wonder that day in Qing Cheng City, Rong Lou had gone to bid for the fake Dan Hong in order to obtain news of Ying Shu Xie . No wonder, Xijiang Yue provided the Southern Army with food and provisions . It turns out that Rong Lou was none other than Ji Feng Li .  

The last thing she could do for him had been completed .  

The war had come to an end . From now on, he can sit securely on his throne as Emperor and she was free to roam the world as she pleased .  

After recuperating for half a month in Yu City, Xiao Yin decided that it was time to return to Northern Kingdom . But due to the severity of his injury, it was not convenient for him to travel in a carriage . As a result, they decided it was best to take a ship instead .  

Standing on the deck of the ship, Hua Zhu Yu gazed back towards the shore but even when the ship had set sail, the man she wanted to see did not appear . She once promised him that she would never follow Xiao Yin back to Northern Kingdom . Now that she had broken her promise, she wondered if he would come stop her but in the end, he was nowhere to be seen .  

 From here on out, love and resentment were things of the past which had nothing to do with her now . She’ll go back to the person she once was, a person that was free to go wherever she wished, a person not bound by love, a person that’s sensible and level-headed .  

“The wind’s strong; be careful not to catch a cold,” Tai advised as he draped a brocade cloak over her shoulders .  

“Let’s go inside,” Hua Zhu Yu said with a faint smile as she turned and entered the cabin of the ship .

White sails fluttered in the wind as the ship had set off, sailing straight north .  

At a distance away from Qing Jiang River, Ji Feng Li stood on a cliff, his moon white brocade robes fluttering wildly in the wind as he cast his gaze ahead . Watching the ship sail farther away with each passing moment, he felt his heart growing hollow and the resulting pain was like the surging waters of the river, submerging him completely in an instant .  

She was gone! Out of his life for good . He may never see her again, ever .   

Her beautiful smile, her compassion, her stubbornness, her sweet kisses, her tears; he can only carry the memories in his heart and reminisce in his dreams, never to bear witness again .  

***

Ning City .

With a victorious defeat, the war had come to an end and the people flooded the streets in celebration, watching the grand display of fireworks lighting up the night skies .  

Upon returning, Ji Feng Li ordered the eunuchs to prepare the necessary ingredients for him as he headed off towards the kitchen to cook . Sensing that the Emperor was not in the best of moods, they quietly followed orders and did not dare to disturb him .  

Bird’s nest, eight treasured pearls(??), Ruyi skewers, mandarin fish, crispy chicken wrapped in lotus leaf, shrimp, tofu, and hundred sweetened wine . With the table filled with food, Ji Feng Li finally washed his hands and took a seat at the table, staring at the dishes he had made .  

These were all of her favorite dishes, especially the crispy chicken wrapped in lotus leaf and Ruyi’s skewers . But unfortunately, she was not here and he could not watch her smile happily as she savored her favorite dishes anymore .  

“Your Majesty, Chancellor Lan would like an audience,” a eunuch came and reported .  

 After some time, Ji Feng Li looked up and said, “Let him in!” 

Dressed in elegant blue robes, Lan Bing entered and reported in a low voice, “Your Majesty, I have brought the person . ”

Ji Feng Li nodded and said, “Let her in . You all can withdraw . ” 

After bowing, Lan Bing and the eunuchs quickly took their leave .  

When the curtain was lifted again, Jin Se entered in a pale pink dress . These days, though she was imprisoned in the palace, she lived comfortably, not lacking in any daily necessity . She walked over to Ji Feng Li and bowed . With a sad smile, she quietly said, “Greetings to Your Majesty . ” 

Dressed in white embroidered robes with a jade waistband, Ji Feng Li was a vision of elegance and refinement as he lightly said, “Rise!”

Jin Se slowly stood, silently assessing the man who she had held dearly in her heart . Looking at the nonchalant smile resting on his lips and the indifference in the tone of his voice, she could not read him at all and her heart rose with a bitter feeling the longer she looked .  

She knew that she had wronged him . Though he had imprisoned her, she knew that in fact he had saved her life . If she had fallen into Hua Mu and Huangfu Wu Shuang’s hands, she wasn’t certain she would still be alive .  

These days, she had been passing time peacefully in the palace, chanting Buddhist scriptures . She originally did not think she’ll ever see him again but unexpectedly, he had sent for her .  

 Ji Feng Li swept his gaze over Jin Se’s somber face and the memory of that night came flashing back, causing his heart to feel restless . Quietly, he raised a brow and narrowed his phoenix eyes, directly questioning, “Is there an antidote to Mei Sha?” 

Somewhat confused by his sudden question, she asked quietly,“What? Mei Sha?” 

Seemingly, as though he had expected such a response, he stated coldly, “Mei Sha is a type of poison . This poison is first given to a woman . It doesn’t harm the woman but once she spends the night with a man, the poison will enter the man’s body . What I’ve said, do you understand?” Ji Feng Li repeated what A’Gui had told him that day then remained silent as he observed her closely as if trying to peer past her look of surprise to see her true expression .  

 Beneath the candlelight, Jin Se was gazing back at Ji Feng Li and she could recognize the complicated look in his eyes .  

 After hearing what he had said, she had caught on to 4 important words, one was ‘poison’, the others were “spends the night’ . Jin Se repeated these four words in her head and her complexion suddenly paled .  

She knew that Ji Feng Li would not ask her to come here for no reason . Since he had asked her to come and told her about this then it must have something to do with her . Something to do with her? Jin Se’s heart suddenly began to race as she was confronted with things that she had not dared to face before .  

She thought of that night in the barracks .

In fact she was quite taken by surprise when Ji Feng Li suddenly said he wanted to marry her . Though she had her doubts, she didn’t have the courage to think too deeply and make sense of the situation, nor did she want to .  

 But now she had to face the truth .   

At that time, he had asked her, “Last night… . . it was you?”

She had said yes .  

But now it seems as if he didn’t know who was with him that night .  

“Your Majesty, can you tell me why you wanted to marry me so suddenly?” Jin Se suppressed the bitterness in her heart and asked with her head lowered .  

There was a hint of desolation in her softly spoken words which Ji Feng Li could notice . He remained silent for a moment, then asked, “Does that still need to be asked?” 

“Your Majesty, do you remember what you asked me that day? You had asked if it was me last night and I had said yes . That day I had escorted the army provisions to the camp and I was excited to go see Your Majesty . But when I arrived at the front of your tent, I saw someone running out, that person’s clothes were untidy and he was wearing a soldier uniform .   At that time, I thought Your Majesty had … had a broken sleeve and that had left me devastated . After going back, I cried all night . Later, when Your Majesty asked me, I thought that you had noticed my presence outside your tent that night so you had asked me that . ”

Before Jin Se finished speaking, the wine cup which he had held had slipped through his fingers, falling to the ground with a crisp sound and shattering into countless broken pieces .  

It wasn’t Jin Se!

Ji Feng Li slowly got to his feet unsteadily, he was so shaken by what he had heard that he looked as if he was about to fall at any moment . Seeing this, Jin Se quickly went to his side to support him .  

 But when her hands reached for his, he instantly pulled his hand back behind him while his other hand grabbed her wrist tightly . He narrowed his eyes and started at her, asking in a trembling voice, “You’re telling the truth?”

Jin Se’s complexion grew pale and she nodded silently .  

 Seeing this, Ji Feng Li tossed Jin Se’s hand away and fell back down in his seat .  

 His ear felt abuzz with noises but he couldn’t hear a thing . His mind flashed with scenes of that night, one by one, as he grew increasingly distressed as if a blade was piercing deeper into his heart .  

 That night, in the darkness, he could remember her silently resisting him and he could remember how cold and indifferent he had treated her . When he awoke the next morning, he had seen the patch of blood left on the brocade blanket beside him .  

That next day, she had fallen seriously ill yet he had chased her away, back to the Hu Battalion’s camp . After avoiding her for many days, he had gone to see her on the training grounds . Her strong, solitary figure had remained imprinted in his heart .  

 That night, he had sent her to lead a team of troops to launch an attack on the Northern Army Camp .  

That day, he had announced that he would marry Jin Se, he had even fed Jin Se medicine right in front of her .

That wedding night, she had come to steal the bride and the look in her eyes when she gazed at him was cold and full of resentment .  

On the execution grounds that day he swore that if he did not die, he would forget her .

With each scene flashing in his mind, it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to breath . Pain and anguish was overwhelming his heart but there was no escape, no place for this pain to find release, it could only turn into tears, streaming down his face .  

“Your Majesty, you… ” Jin Se didn’t expect Ji Feng Li to cry . This immortal-like being of a man in her eyes was actually shedding tears, but unfortunately it was not for her .  

Ji Feng Li’s face was still pale as he gripped the table to steady himself . Once he gained control over his body again, he stood and quickly headed for the door without another word .

She must hate him, right?

She should hate him!

He always thought that she hated him because she was the princess of the former dynasty but he didn’t realize there was this as well .  

 Jin Se and a group of palace attendants chased after him worriedly .  

He had headed straight for the stables and untied the reins, mounted his horse and spurred his horse to dash away .  

 After Lan Bing and A’Gui were informed by a palace attendant, they too quickly gave chase on their horses .  

 The night sky in Ning City was full of fireworks and the streets were crowded with people . Ji Feng Li rode past the crowd and rushed towards the river .  

 At the moment, there was only one thing on his mind, he had to catch up to her, pull her into his arms and never let go . Since the child was not Xiao Yin’s, it was not certain that the person in her heart was him(XY) either . Realizing this, he did not want to let her go even if she was the one that had poisoned him .  

But by the time he arrived at the river, the ship was long gone and out of sight . He spurred his horse to run along the riverside in pursuit . The cold moon resting in the night skies was becoming faint as less people crowded the streets . In the still night, there was only the sound of horse hooves beating against the ground and the sound of his heart racing as he silently called out …… Bao’er