Chapter 88

  Simazhe looked at them, his heart aching. He and Hongyu had been like that in the past too. When Hongyu left, he felt as though his life had gone with her, but he still had to keep living. Later, he married Murong Qian, who was also a beautiful and gentle woman, but his heart had already become stagnant water.

  Even if I knew that Hongyu had betrayed me, I would still forgive her. It seemed that as long as she was happy, nothing else mattered. Now, looking at Sima Rui's appearance, thinking of that intelligent and beautiful woman, I could only shake my head and sigh lightly. If it were so, why bother meeting each other in the first place? If I had married Murong Xue instead, perhaps there wouldn't be all these complicated relationships and grudges.

  Simarui's fingers lightly stroked those words, as if gently caressing Murong Feng's face, his expression focused, with tears in his eyes and a smile on his lips.

  Bai Min's heart ached as he looked at the bandaged hand, still seeping blood, the gauze stained red. He felt distressed for this person, but didn't know why. All he knew was that his heart hurt and he wanted to sit with him, even if it meant just watching from afar, unable to touch. It turned out that even this was a kind of happiness. Because the person who had wanted to reach out to his Feng'er was also unable to do so, fearing that Feng'er had long since passed away, her spirit returning to the Western Paradise.

  All that could be heard was Sima Rui's soft and gentle calls, "Feng'er, Feng'er, Feng'er..." Each call was filled with pain, love, and longing, each one seemed to be the sound of his heart bleeding, calling out in a daze, thinking in a stupor. With every call, tears fell, and a thread of smile appeared, unable to swallow the sorrow, unable to disperse the sighs.

  Simazhe lowered his head, tears falling down. This younger brother who had never been brought low by emotions, this younger brother who had always played with flowers, was now so infatuated that he was foolish. That Feng'er was worth it.

  "Baomin," Duan Zhishan's voice suddenly rang out, interrupting Baomin's thoughts. His eyes lit up and his gaze returned to the early point of view in front of him, where Duan Zhishan was standing without Yuexiao. He smiled and said, "Don't worry about it, that Yuexiao is a bit troublesome. She's my good friend's younger sister, and she's been spoiled since childhood. Don't mind her, just ignore her."

  Bai's face was pale and his smile was dazed, his expression somewhat bewildered.

  "Are you angry?" Duan Zhishan looked at Bai Min's expression, which was somewhat melancholy, thinking that she had waited anxiously and was a bit angry. He spoke softly and said, "I guarantee it won't happen again next time."

  "No, I just suddenly felt a little moved." Bai Min smiled slightly and said in a light tone, "Do you want to eat something?"

  Duan Zhi shook his head, "I've eaten at home. Let's go."

  "Maple, don't go, okay?" It was that melancholic voice's soft plea.

  Bai Mind hesitated for a moment, and in the quiet restaurant, there were only conversations of diners, perhaps he had an illusion again, hearing voices that shouldn't be heard.

  He walked out of the mountain and into the sunlight, squinting his eyes slightly, but in his heart was a sharp pain, an indescribable feeling, as if he had hurt someone's heart, though unintentionally, yet it bled.

  Every step I take is laborious, yet I am powerless to stop myself.

  The Fourth Prince's residence was quiet and deserted, with autumn rain falling ceaselessly. One by one, the people who went out to search for the Fourth Prince's consort returned, each bringing back the same news: "There is no news of the Fourth Prince's consort."

  The same news also reached Xiangfu Palace, the Empress Dowager was already bedridden due to anxiety and overexertion. As she heard the continuous reports coming back, her brow furrowed tighter and tighter. She ordered Xiaodezi to summon the Empress to her bedside, there were some things that she had to take precautions against in advance.

  "Empress, did you summon me for something?" The empress's complexion was also poor, pale and exhausted. Murong Feng's unexpected move still made it impossible for her to sleep peacefully until now. As soon as she thought of that innocent and lovely face, her heart ached.

  "What is Rui'er's situation like now?" The Empress Dowager struggled to sit up, leaning against the bed, slightly panting, and asked softly.

  The queen shook her head and said sadly, "According to Yan Yu, it's been six or seven days. Ever since Feng'er was startled by the horse and disappeared from the palace, he has been in a daze, not saying anything, not going anywhere, just staying in his room staring at some things left behind by Feng'er and crying. I heard that Zhe'er went to visit him, but they didn't exchange a single word."

  The empress remained silent for half a day, deep in thought, before finally speaking: "This isn't Rui'er's personality! If he took advantage of everyone's distraction to run away, I'm afraid there would be no chance of him returning. Now that he's willing to stay at home, it's only because he hopes the people sent out can bring back Feng'er, and also because...I had Yali put a certain medicine in his tea water. That day when I saw him walking out of the Wenyu Pavilion alone, dazed and confused, I knew something was going to happen, so I immediately ordered Yali to send some medicine over. Now, looking at his condition getting worse and worse, you must go tell Yali to increase the dosage of the medicine, no matter what, we have to get through this period of time. With more time, perhaps he'll recover."

  After saying all this in one breath, the empress felt somewhat tired and stopped, panting.

  "Will it affect his body?" The queen asked worriedly.

  The empress dowager shook her head, "Not for the time being, even if there is an impact, it can be slowly nursed back to health later. For now, we must think of every way to keep him in the palace."

  The queen sighed softly and nodded.

  "Did he say what to do with Liu's mother and son?" The empress dowager thought for a moment before asking.

  The queen shook her head, also somewhat puzzled, and said: "You ask this way, the daughter-in-law remembers one thing. By reason, he is so concerned about Feng'er. Now that Feng'er has had an accident with Liu's mother and son, if possible, he will definitely end Liu personally. But he didn't, he let Li Fei solve Liu's poison, send her and Sima Qiang's mother and son to the Thoughtfulness Garden together, and instructed people to take good care of them. As for Hongyu, due to the injury on her hand, Rui'er specially allowed her to return to the Wei Mansion to rest and recover. After the injury on her hand healed, she would go to the Thoughtfulness Garden again. As for why Rui'er is like this, no one knows, and the daughter-in-law can't guess either."

  The empress dowager couldn't guess the reason either, and in her heart she was so angry that she wished Liu's wife had been sliced to pieces a thousand times.

  That day, Murong Xuan woke up and the first thing she did was to rush into Murong Xue's room, raise her hand and slap Murong Xue, causing Murong Xue's mouth to bleed and look confused. Murong Xuan was so angry that her whole body was shaking, and she said hatefully: "Murong Xue, from now on, you have nothing to do with the Murong family. Remember, I swear to our mother in the underworld, from today on, you, Murong Xue, will only be the Emperor's Snow Concubine. Because of you, my third sister sacrificed her life, because of you, my third sister lost her life. You are truly a curse to the Murong family! I hate you."

  Murong Xue looked at Murong Xuan who was crying sadly and felt bewildered. What had happened to her third sister?

  "What's wrong, Chun Xi?"

  Spring joy is speechless, don't know how to say it, there's only silence!

  "Spring Joy, where's my third sister? What happened to her after all?"

  Chun Xi could only cry and couldn't speak. How to say it, tell Murong Xue that her third sister's life or death is still uncertain?! She was afraid she would go crazy.