Last night I had a brief sleep, and suddenly suspected you were coming, but it was just the crystal fire, before dawn.

  Yuán Xù

  Yuán Xù woke up from his dream, and what still entered his eyes was the bright yellow five-colored dragon pattern on the ceiling.

  He let out a sigh, startling Li Lu who was standing beside him. He hastily stepped forward and asked with a smile: "Your Majesty rose early today..."

  "Can't sleep at night, might as well just lie awake..."

  He said faintly, his eyes infinitely desolate, and this share of indifference made people's hearts even colder.

  Li Lu stole a glance at the emperor's pale face, and couldn't help but take another look at the bruise under his eye. Unconsciously, he shivered with fear, and the phrase "his life is not long" flashed into his mind.

  Yuan Xu was completely unaware, he had Li Lu serve him by rinsing his mouth with green salt, then put on a black common dress, wore a jade crown, and went to the Imperial Flower Garden to clear his mind.

  It's already deep autumn, and all the flowers and trees in the garden have withered and fallen to the ground. Those delicate purple and red petals are scattered everywhere, some still bright and shiny, while others have turned yellow and rotten, no longer as beautiful as they once were.

  The thick yellow leaves danced in the wind, and Li Lu saw that the emperor's face was not pleasant. He tentatively smiled and said: "These careless rascals are really thoughtless, and they don't even sweep up all these fallen leaves..."

  "In autumn Japan, leaves fall, where is it possible for human power to sweep them all?"

  Yu Xuan said softly, unable to discern any joy or anger. Li Lu bumped into a soft nail and asked even more cautiously: "Would Your Majesty like to stay here and enjoy the view? Why not lay out a soft mat and heat up some wine?"

  Yuan Xu nodded in agreement, Li Lu hastily called someone to fetch it, and himself busily laid out the soft felt mat, took out a pair of silver cranes from the food box, poured seven or eight points into the cup, and carefully presented it.

  Yuan Xu took over the jade cup, and the amber-colored liquid rippled with a few ripples, reflecting his face vaguely.

  No need to look, and you can know what it's like...

  He smiled wryly, recalling the reflection he had seen in the crystal mirror that day - his cheeks were sunken, his complexion was dull and yellowish, and even his bright eyes had a heavy network of bloodshot lines.

  It looks like a skull...

  He smiled slightly and was about to take a sip when he heard the sound of someone shouting in the distance, seemingly a woman's voice scolding loudly.

  He glanced over, but Li Lu understood and hastily went to visit. In less than half a moment, he returned with a palace maid following behind him, her powdered face stern.

  When they arrived at the palace, Yuan Xiu asked about the reason, and she just said in a low voice: "They want to go to the abandoned palace for adventure..."

  Yuwen's eyes sparkled with a sly light at this sentence. He smiled and asked warmly, "Then why do you want to stop?"

  "There's something incredible there!"

  She could no longer bear it, and sobbed softly: "A woman in her prime, dying quietly there - this palace is simply a place where people are devoured, I can no longer endure it!"

  With a loud "boom", Yuan Xiu's blood almost burst out of his body, he endured the pain in his temples and smiled even more deeply.

  "You said..."

  *****

  "You're saying that my crown prince is not born of the empress."

  Looking at the palace maid's tear-stained face, Yuan Xu's voice was calm and unruffled, the flames in his eyes gradually dissipating, as if filled with exhaustion and annoyance like sand, yet also like a taut violin string, which would shatter into pieces the next moment, vanishing into thin air.

  The palace maid was shocked by his indifference, her eyes wide with anger, and she said: "Your Majesty, don't you want to give Princess Xunmin a fair deal? The crown prince may be young, but he is also the future king of the country..."

  "It's precisely because he is the country's reserve prince that I don't want him to die in vain - the dead are gone, but the living still have a whole lot of youthful years ahead!"

  The palace maid stood up and coldly laughed: "So this is the style of a sage ruler, allowing his wife to commit murder, weak and incompetent. Is it comfortable being an emperor like this?"

  She turned her head and walked away without looking back.

  Yuanyu stopped Li Rong's angry shout and said softly: "You also think that I am very heartless, don't you?"

  "Your Majesty..."

  Li Lu was momentarily frightened and was about to kneel down when he was stopped by Yuan Xu.

  "After a few days, you can take this palace maid as your 'opposite food', give her some light work and try to keep her safe."

  "Your Majesty?!"

  "You must be thinking, since I am so indifferent, why bother saving her?"

  Yuan Xu's voice was ambiguous, and his smile became even more mysterious.

  "I want to leave a living proof for my son..."

  His voice was filled with an eerie delight——

  "In this world, many people mistake their enemies for their fathers and marry demons as wives. My son, you cannot recognize the wrong mother again!"

  ****

  Returning to the Qianqing Palace, it was just past noon. After lunch, the sky grew darker and darker, with sand and stones flying outside the window, knocking against the window frames.

  Yuan Xu's spirits had improved slightly over the past few days. He took the memorial from before and began to read it, propping up his cheek with his hand.

  "Excellent!"

  His eyes shone with a strange light as he glanced at the yellow silk cover and softly read out loud.

  "Zhou Jun...this is indeed an intelligent person."

  "The ancients said that the Book of Han is something that can be used to accompany wine, like a floating white cloud. But now I want to spend the whole night drinking with this young man!"

  Li Lu was shocked and stepped forward to persuade him in a gentle manner: "Your Majesty, the imperial physician said..."

  "I know, so I just think about it - this life of mine, there aren't many days left, have to use it sparingly."

  Li Lu's body trembled, and he was about to tactfully persuade him when Yuan Xu waved his hand indifferently and said, "I'm not yet muddled to the point of needing you to coax me."

  He picked up the memorial and read it again, then ordered: "Summon this young man for an audience."

  "Your Majesty, this person's status is too lowly, a solo audience does not conform to palace rules."

  "Are you suggesting that I should change this rule?"

  Li Lu was speechless for a moment, then bowed his head and quietly left.

  ****

  Before he knew it, it was already time for the evening lamp to be lit. After Zhou Jun bid farewell and left, only Yuan Xu remained, smiling lightly as he gazed at the disordered chessboard.

  "What a wonderful person..."

  He muttered to himself, recalling Zhou Jun's words just now, and couldn't help but laugh as he repeated: "You are Emperor Wu of Han, I am Wei Zifu; you are the King of Chu, I am not Qu Yuan... What a wonderful phrase!"

  Li Lu listened to this rebellious and treasonous talk, feeling only fear and trepidation. He asked in a low voice: "Should the slave go..."

  "You are really boring. If such a wonderful person were to disappear, the Tartars would be overjoyed, and the Empress would be bored to death!"

  Yu Xuan thought of these scenes and couldn't help but laugh wildly, laughing until he choked, before letting Li Ruo pat his back.

  "I won't live for many more days... Putting down these chess pieces doesn't count as a great achievement..."

  In the dim and hazy space, Li Lu only heard the emperor's voice drifting away. That desolate and lonely figure seemed not to be a physical body, but a fragment of soul that was slowly dissolving bit by bit.

  ****

  Nothing happened at night, and the emperor still went to bed early. At the second watch, Li Lu was a bit dazed, but heard a severe coughing sound in the palace.

  He rushed in and saw the emperor struggling to sit up, with a patch of fresh blood on the dragon bed, and some bloody foam flowing out from his lips.

  "Hurry up and come here!!"

  His shrill voice echoed in the Qianqing Palace.

  The imperial physician was hastily summoned, but the Emperor fell into a brief coma. When he slightly regained consciousness, he called for Li Lu alone.

  "Go and summon several princes over here."

  His voice was weak, but his eyes were still clear, "Go and call Jing Wang first, he's closer."

  Li Rong was originally a bright and transparent person. His heart suddenly lit up, and two moments later, he invited Jing Wang in.

  The King was only eight years old, still being mischievous and unruly. After his mother's death two years ago, he became even more unmanageable and eccentric. The Emperor wanted to severely punish him, but the Empress wept uncontrollably, saying that her sister's body had not yet been buried, how could she let this child suffer any injustice, so it always ended with nothing being done.

  Yu Xuanping saw him every day, always with a bad look on his face. Now, lying on the couch, he held his hand and stroked it, saying: "Among several sons, you are still the most sober..."

  The usual lazy expression on Jing Wang's face instantly dissipated, and a small child, his eyes slowly lit up with light.

  "Your Majesty, since you know about that wicked woman—"

  "You're making me out to be more formidable than I really am,"

  Yuan Xiu smiled calmly and said: "She is now fully grown with the help of her relatives, it's hard to shake her off!"

  "May Father Emperor recover soon, son will definitely be able to lend you a helping hand!"

  The king's eyes shone with a resolute light, and he gritted his teeth.

  "I can no longer see that day..."

  Yu Xuan's eyes narrowed as he looked at his son's disbelieving face. He smiled deeper and said, "I won't live past tonight!"

  With a "pop", the lamp burst into bloom, and in the sudden brightness, Jing Wang saw his father's face pale with sunken cheeks, where was the dignity of his former years?

  It is said that during the Jingyue Rebellion, Yuan Xu was able to turn the tide of chaos and lead his troops to victory. On the day he ascended to the throne, he was surrounded by civil and military officials, and his majestic presence was like that of a god. But now, after only over ten years have passed, how has it come to this?!

  "This is all so depressing!"

  The King's eyes blazed with anger as he gritted his teeth, thinking of that "sorceress", his face twisted in rage.

  "She's still not capable of that..."

  Yu Xuan sighed softly, "I am doing it for another person... unable to sleep at night..."

  He looked at Jing Wang and said word by word: "Child, listen, I will give you most of the power in secret..."

  When the other princes arrived, Jing Wang was already kneeling outside his quarters. Since he lived nearby, no one suspected anything.

  Yuan Xiu saw these people and was expressionless, after a few brief words, he signaled them to leave.

  He looked at the steady and introverted figure walking in the back and couldn't help but shout: "Ji'er——"

  The crown prince turned back in surprise, but Yuan Xu was unwilling to say more, and simply waved his hand for him to leave.

  The hall was silent again, Yuan Xiu thought of what he had just said and whispered: "Another person..."

  Another person...

  Another woman...

  That woman who holds hands and ties her hair together, forever entwining their hearts...

  Last night I had a brief sleep, and suddenly suspected you were coming, but it was just the crystal fire, before dawn.

  Yu Xuan let out a loud cough, his smile turned melancholic, but added a few more serene touches.

  Xiao Chen, wait for me... If a hundred years is not enough, I'll use a thousand years to make amends to you; whether it's the oil cauldron or the knife mountain, as long as you can be avenged, I'm willing to try them all...

  His consciousness gradually became blurred, the shouts of people in front of him gradually faded away, and a faint joy and relief emerged in his heart.

  My last chess piece, whether it's Lin Wan or Hu Lu, is likely to be in a precarious situation for a while.

  He was about to faint when he heard a clear and crisp female voice in the hall, elegant yet cold.

  "Your Majesty!"

  It's as if I'm being ordered...

  Yuan Xuhui sneered coldly in his heart, and suddenly another force emerged from somewhere. He abruptly opened his eyes and said: "I'm not dead yet!"

  "Your Majesty is wise and benevolent, your dragon body is precious—"

  Yuan Xu could no longer bear it and coldly sneered: "This time I have done as you wished!"

  A faintly discernible cold smile played on his lips, a glimpse of his former elegance.

  "After I pass away in a hundred years, you will be in charge of all military and national affairs."

  Without looking at her triumphant expression, he continued: "My life is short and fleeting, while you are a symbol of longevity - after my death, do not disturb me again. I have already given orders that the tomb will be sealed immediately after burial."

  For a long time, there was no sound. Just as he thought the empress had left, Lin Yueman suddenly laughed and said: "Is Your Majesty still hiding someone's corpse in that mausoleum, waiting to be buried together?!"

  "It doesn't matter what others say, she is my empress, although not recorded in history books, but forever my first wife, this is an unchangeable fact."

  Lin Wan heard this and didn't get angry at all, her laughter became even more joyful and pleasant——

  "I wouldn't dare compete with her for this position - but there's one thing, you're still in the dark and don't know a thing!"

  "Is it Hui Fei's matter?"

  Yuan Xu sneered coldly: "Although you got rid of her, but my will has never been found, isn't that right?"

  Lin Wan's smile was slightly delayed, but she still smiled and said: "Lin Hui is just a small boatman who crossed the river, not worth mentioning... I want to ask Your Majesty one question, have you ever entered the palace since you ordered Lin Chen's death?"

  “……”

  Yu Xu was speechless, he coughed and said with a heavy heart: "I mistakenly believed in the slanderous words, and harmed her to death. Since then, I have not been at peace day and night, and can only go down to the nine springs to apologize to her again!"

  "I'm afraid you won't have this chance again!"

  Lin Yuyou smiled coldly and said, each word like a thousand knives stabbing into his heart.

  "You didn't dare to return to the Zong Palace again, but you don't know that it's already been filled with talismans by Yu Xuzhen of Longhu Mountain. With those things suppressing him, Lin Chen will never be able to escape from the underworld flames in a million years. Even if you went to the Yellow Springs, you wouldn't be able to see her again!"

  "Not"

  A heart-wrenching low cry echoed in the hall, Yuan Xu spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes full of resentment and madness.

  Lin Wan's voice was increasingly soft and sweet, "Even if the Emperor were to bury that corpse together with him, it would still be just a pile of rotten bones. You and your Empress, even in death, will never be reunited!!!"

  Yuán Xù finally fainted and left.

  In a daze, he seemed to see Lin Chen in white clothes, surpassing snow, holding a lotus flower and coming.

  She smiled and stretched out her hand, letting him hold it tightly...

  Yu Xiang was dragged into the air, and all he felt was a coldness. He finally opened his eyes to see Lin Yuwen's gentle smile.

  Yuán Xù's eyes were wide open, he swallowed his last breath, outside the temple three drumbeats sounded, wailing voices rose to a crescendo, yet no one noticed that this ruler who had dominated the world could not even close his eyes in death!

  Last night I had a brief sleep, and suddenly suspected you were coming, but it was just the crystal fire, before dawn.

  In the end, I still didn't get to see you...

  Note: From Xiao Tong's "Farewell to Zhang Lang"