Chapter 311: Chapter 285: A Gentleman’s Word is Not to Be Taken Lightly_2
He seemed like a giant pillar in the chaos of this world, a stabilizing force in the raging storms.
However, in his delight, Jiang Kesong murmured, "But why must we rendezvous at the Eastern Capital? It would be just as fine to return to the estate."
Shang Ruyi glanced at him without speaking.
She simply rose slowly and walked to the temple entrance. The wind and snow outside were still intense, almost obscuring everything beyond ten steps. Traveling in such weather was indeed tormenting.
She said in a deep voice, "We will depart when the snow lets up a little."
Everyone replied, "Yes!"
But in the moment they responded in unison, a massive accumulation of snow suddenly slid off the roof above them, crashing before Shang Ruyi like a pristine porcelain, shattering across the ground.
She was startled.
After she could see clearly again, she couldn’t help but laugh, thinking it a fuss over nothing. Yet, after laughing, looking at the shattered snow at her feet, her smile inexplicably turned heavy.
Almost simultaneously, a thunderous crash echoed, shaking the entire Warm Dock.
Standing outside the Warm Dock, Eunuch Yu and several little eunuchs exchanged glances, their bodies breaking into a cold sweat despite the chilling wind.
For just now, the Imperial Guard had delivered a message.
They didn’t know what the message was, only that His Majesty the Emperor, upon hearing it, immediately ordered the beheading of an entire squad of the Imperial Guard. Imagining the white snow would melt under the gush of hot blood, Eunuch Yu couldn’t help feeling his knees go weak.
More unsettling was that the time for departure was fast approaching.
A eunuch cautiously approached him and whispered, "Eunuch, should we go in and urge him?"
"..."
Eunuch Yu’s face showed a troubled expression.
If the departure was delayed, His Majesty would not punish himself, but it was people like them who would bear the punishment. Yet who would dare intrude when His Majesty was in such a rage?
At that moment, amidst the whispering snowfall behind them, light footsteps accompanied by frail coughing reached their ears.
Turning back, they saw Empress Jiang descending from a sedan chair carried by the little eunuchs.
She was dressed in a snow-white fox fur coat. Though her attire appeared heavy, it could not conceal her graceful form. Her steps, sluggish due to illness, lent her the appearance of a delicate willow swaying in the wind. Seeing her was like feeling the warmth of spring—both a reprieve and a relief—so Eunuch Yu and the others hurried forward to bow.
Eunuch Yu said, "Your Majesty, why have you come at this time? You should take care of your health."
Empress Jiang’s skin was already pale as snow. In the midst of the storm, she appeared fragile and translucent, like delicate porcelain. Forcing a smile, she said, "I heard His Majesty hasn’t departed yet, though it is almost time."
Eunuch Yu gave a bitter smile, "Yes, yes—something has caused a delay."
Empress Jiang asked, "Is it about the Yuwen Family?"
"..."
Eunuch Yu kept his head down, not daring to reply.
Empress Jiang glanced at the Warm Dock, her tender eyes revealing a faint hint of helplessness. She said, "Hurry and prepare, we must not miss the hour. I will go in and persuade the Emperor."
Hearing this, Eunuch Yu and the others felt a sense of relief. They immediately complied and withdrew.
After they left, Empress Jiang slowly entered the Warm Dock.
Even though departure was near, the palace remained warmed by the flowing hot spring, making the atmosphere cozy. Yet within this warmth, an air of chill pervaded, threatening to freeze the entire palace solid.
At the source of this ominous aura stood a solitary figure in the inner chamber.
Dressed in white, he was like an elegant Immortal. However, the aura he exuded was no longer ethereal but edging towards demonic, filled with gloom and coldness. At some point, he had unfurled the massive map beneath his feet, treading upon the now nearly abandoned Eastern Capital.
But gazing at his gaunt figure, it seemed it was he who was being abandoned.
In the corner lay shards of porcelain.
One glance was enough to know that in the heat of anger, a porcelain cup had been hurled there, shattering into pieces. Among the shards, something else seemed to shimmer subtly with a gentle glow.
Empress Jiang quietly observed the scene before her, letting out a long sigh. "Your Majesty," she finally spoke.
The figure slightly trembled.
After a moment, Chu Yang slowly turned around, his unparalleled handsome face now calm and devoid of any hint of emotion. He glanced at Empress Jiang indifferently, "Wasn’t the Empress supposed to stay in Ziwei Palace to recuperate? Why are you here?"
Empress Jiang replied, "I heard it’s nearly time yet Your Majesty hasn’t set off."
Chu Yang suddenly smiled, waving a hand as he strolled to sit by the bedside, speaking languidly, "Didn’t the Empress previously advise against the southern journey? Why now the urging?"
Empress Jiang walked over calmly, "Since Your Majesty made the decree, it wouldn’t do to go back on it now."
"..."
"An emperor’s words are beyond trivial."
"An emperor’s words are beyond trivial,"
Chu Yang narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly, then chuckled, "Indeed, an emperor’s words are beyond trivial. I should certainly keep my word, be it for any matter or any person."
For some reason, his practically grinding assertion stirred a slight tremor within Empress Jiang’s heart.
In the next moment, Chu Yang suddenly stood and walked to that corner.
Moments earlier, in a fit of anger, he had flung the cup with such force his arm still tingled slightly. In his numbed fingers, there was now a slight sensation.
There was something else he had thrown away.
Chu Yang knelt down and found it amidst the scattered shards—
A small, almost inconspicuous Jade Pendant.
He reached to grasp it, clutching along with it the finer porcelain remnants, his palm alarming with the instant rupture of skin, dispelling the numbness with a piercing pain that unrooted itself in his heart, poignant and unrestrainable.
Since his enthronement as Crown Prince, ascending the imperial seat, such pain had never afflicted him.
A pain so intense, it nearly suffocated him.
Chu Yang clenched his teeth in agony, his expression twisted by the hurt, eyes bloodshot, he gazed at the Jade Pendant in his blood-stained palm and his lips twisted into a sinister smile.
No one that I choose to bring along can escape!