"Master, you are awake."
Chengfeng was standing beside the bed, his eyes full of worry.
Jiang Yubai happened to bring in a bowl of medicine and hurried over to check.
The pulse has become more stable, but is still very weak, and the bleeding symptoms in the body have temporarily eased.
"Come on, drink the medicine."
The bowl of medicine was handed to Pei Zheng's lips, but he didn't move.
Jiang Yubai thought that he had just woken up and might not have much strength, so he asked Chengfeng to help him up from the bed.
Unexpectedly, just as Chengfeng helped him sit up, Pei Zheng suddenly raised his hand and knocked over the medicine bowl.
The medicine bowl fell to the ground with a bang, and the black medicine splashed everywhere.
Jiang Yubai's hand was scalded. He was already angry and stood up suddenly.
"Pei Zheng! What are you crazy about!"
Pei Zheng raised his eyelids slightly, and his eyes were filled with red bloodshot.
The action just now had exhausted his strength. His lips were now as pale as snow. He kept gasping for breath, looking at Chengfeng.
Chengfeng lowered his head and dodged.
Pei Zheng suddenly felt a chill in his heart, and he felt a chill coming over him, so cold that the blood in his body froze.
His throat suddenly felt sweet, and he bent over and spat a mouthful of blood onto the dark mattress.
It turns out that after vomiting blood, the body hurts so much...
Jiang Yubai quickly pulled his wrist over to feel his pulse, but Pei Zheng refused to cooperate. He pushed him away and tried to get out of bed.
But he had a lot of external and internal injuries, and he was weak from just waking up, so he couldn't get out of bed at all.
Unexpectedly, Pei Zheng forced himself to stand up. He covered his chest with one hand and held the table next to him with the other.
He was barefoot and the broken pieces of porcelain on the ground pierced his feet, causing them to bleed.
Chengfeng wanted to come over to support him, but Pei Zheng grabbed him by the collar. Pei Zheng had no strength at all, but Chengfeng didn't dare to break free.
"Where are the people..."
Cheng Feng said, "Master, please go back to bed and lie down, and drink the medicine first."
Pei Zheng's eyes were red, "Answer... me..."
Chengfeng saw that he could not stand and was about to fall, so he quickly supported his arm.
"Master, there has been no news about His Highness for five days. It's snowing so hard outside that you'll freeze to death if you stay here for a day. There's no need to look for him any further..."
Pei Zheng's body swayed and he almost fell to the ground.
"Keep looking!" He roared hoarsely. He felt dizzy and had to support himself on the table with both hands to keep his balance.
At this time, the maid who brought lunch came in and placed the food box lightly on the table. Jiang Yubai asked her to go downstairs and bring in another bowl of medicine soup.
Then Jiang Yubai walked up to Pei Zheng and looked at him indifferently.
"Master Pei, your internal energy has been greatly damaged, and your tendons and veins are weak. If you force your energy again, it will be a piece of cake to destroy your martial arts. Do you want to spend the rest of your life paralyzed in bed?"
Veins bulged on Pei Zheng's forehead, his hands pressing on the table trembled constantly, and the internal energy in his body rushed around randomly, completely out of his control.
"You were able to survive after falling from such a high cliff because you had a strong inner energy protecting you. If you were an ordinary person without inner energy, your internal organs would have been shattered and you would have died, or even no remains would be left."
Jiang Yu's eyes turned red, "Master Pei, I think you can understand what I mean. Since you are awake, I have completed the task that the emperor gave me. You take the medicine on time, and I will return to the palace first."
After saying that, Jiang Yubai turned around and was about to leave, but his wrist was suddenly grabbed by someone.
Pei Zheng concentrated all his strength on his hands, squeezing Jiang Yubai's hand bones until they cracked. His eyes were red as if blood was about to drip out, and he stared at Jiang Yubai closely.
"You... say it again..."
Jiang Yubai ignored the pain in his wrist and pushed Pei Zheng hard with his other hand.
"I'll say it three times, four times, a hundred times, a thousand times, and it's still the same! Do you still need me to explain to you once more what the meaning of no remains left?"
Jiang Yubai could no longer hold back. During the five days that Pei Zheng was unconscious, he also went to search under the cliff. Looking for someone aimlessly in that vast expanse of white, the feeling of powerlessness and despair would be infinitely magnified.
It took him five days to accept this reality, and he shed tears secretly in the dead of night.
But now facing Pei Zheng, he was unable to control his emotions and just yelled.
"Your Highness is dead, gone, gone, and will never come back! Is that clear enough? It was you who forced him to jump off the cliff, so why are you the only one who came back? Why are you the only one who is still alive? Your Highness... What kind of deep hatred does your Highness have against you that you have forced him into such a desperate situation..."
Jiang Yubai couldn't say anything else, he turned around and stumbled out of the room.
As Pei Zheng stumbled, he knocked over the food box on the table, and the hot food inside spilled out, staining his clothes and scalding his hands, leaving a large red patch.
But he stood there, feeling no pain.
A fiery red figure appeared before my eyes, floating in the wind on the cold cliffs, beautiful and flamboyant.
He stretched out his hand to touch it, but the figure suddenly dodged backwards and then fell down rapidly.
Pei Zheng's heart suddenly tightened, and he hurried forward to hug the figure, but his arms hit nothing.
He continued to move forward unwillingly, walking towards the door in a daze.
As soon as the door was opened, the wind and snow rushed in with a howl. The sky outside was bright and the white snow was dazzling.
Pei Zheng's eyes couldn't adapt to the white light, and his vision became blurry, and he almost fell to the ground.
He held onto the door frame, breathing slightly, and was instantly frozen to the bone in his thin clothing.
In the past, he was not afraid of the cold at all, but now the weather is so cold that he can't feel anything all over his body.
It may also be because the blood in the body has turned cold.
Chengfeng followed him silently, always watching his back to prevent him from suddenly fainting on the ground.
Pei Zheng only felt that all the strength in his body was slowly being drained away, and what little internal strength he had was almost gone.
Yes, when he fell off the cliff, he clearly used all his internal strength to protect the little guy, which resulted in insufficient internal strength in his body and caused him to suffer such serious injuries.
But how could that little guy be left with no trace
He doesn't believe it!
He doesn't believe it!
He didn't believe it and he died just like that!
I don't believe he would just disappear from this world like that!
—It must be that those idiots didn’t search thoroughly, there must be some places they haven’t found!
Pei Zheng stepped out of the room and stepped on the new snow on the ground. The hot blood on his feet immediately melted into a red color.
He wants to find it himself!
The heavy snow was still falling, landing on Pei Zheng's shoulders, insteps, and hair.
It was so cold that even the ice and snow were not enough to melt.
Chengfeng watched his master walking unsteadily, leaving a trail of bloody footprints on the snow behind him. He felt a pang of sadness in his heart.
In fact, everyone has already determined that Prince Qi Changyi has fallen off a cliff and died, with no trace of his body left. The emperor has also issued a notice to inform the world.
It’s just that not many people knew about the prince’s existence, so no one cared.
There were many ministers in the court who had repeatedly petitioned the emperor to execute the son of Concubine Ning, who had colluded with the enemy and committed treason. However, over the years, the emperor had shown that he did not like the prince at all, so the important ministers gradually stopped protesting.
Now that the prince has passed away, those ministers may express grief on the surface, but in reality, they are too late to celebrate...
Chengfeng took off his heavy cloak, walked quickly forward and put it on Pei Zheng.
"Master, please wait here. I will go and prepare the horses."
Pei Zheng said nothing. Chengfeng knew that he had acquiesced, so he went downstairs to prepare.
Pei Zheng stood alone in the snow, his once sharp features now pale and out of focus.
The palms of his hands hidden under his sleeves were already covered with bloody marks.
Whenever he felt that his body could no longer support him and was about to fall, he would clench his fists a little tighter until blood flowed through his fingers, hot, drop by drop, and dripped beside his bare feet.
A red figure seemed to appear on the corridor not far away, moving towards him, with a red cape fluttering behind him. Pei Zheng stared at the figure closely, without blinking, fearing that the figure would disappear the moment he closed his eyes and opened them again.
Until his eyes felt sore and painful and everything was blurry, the figure finally walked up to him.
The hope in Pei Zheng's eyes disappeared in an instant, and his gaze became cold, replaced by disgust.
The person who came was none other than Qi Bingzhi, who was dressed in red.
Her wedding ceremony with Pei Zheng had not yet been completed, so she was not considered Pei Zheng's wife, but she now lived in the Prime Minister's Mansion, in the waterside pavilion next to the back garden.
Even though the palace had been kept in plain clothes these days because of the prince's affairs, Qi Bingzhi was wearing such a bright red.
"Sir, I heard that you woke up, so I thought of coming over to see you." Qi Bingzhi's eyes were full of worry, and he seemed to be sincere.
"Here is your medicine. Please drink it quickly. It is so cold outside. You just woke up. How can you come out and freeze?"
Qi Bingzhi directed the little maid beside her to deliver the medicine, acting like the mistress of the Prime Minister's Mansion.
Pei Zheng did not take the medicine bowl. Instead, he looked up and down at Qi Bingzhi with cold eyes.
Qi Bingzhi was a little frightened by his gaze and lowered her head. Only then did she see a large pool of blood under Pei Zheng's feet. She hurriedly and nervously grabbed Pei Zheng's arm.
"Sir, your injuries are so serious, why didn't Doctor Jiang bandage you? This is really a dereliction of duty..."
Unexpectedly, Pei Zheng raised his hand and pushed her away. Although he was very weak, he was still much stronger than Qi Bingzhi.
Qi Bingzhi fell to the ground by his sudden swing, accidentally knocking over the bowl of medicine, spilling it all over her.
"ah… "
Qi Bingzhi screamed out in shock from the burns and fell down in the snow, tears of grievance instantly overflowing.
"grown ups… "
Pei Zheng looked down at her without saying a word, then walked past her indifferently.
—The maid next to her hurried over to help Qi Bingzhi up from the snow. Qi Bingzhi wiped her tears, looked at Pei Zheng's back, and her nails slowly dug into her palms.
Pei Zheng walked alone to the gate of the Prime Minister's Mansion. Chengfeng had already prepared a horse and was waiting for him, followed by several teams of neatly arranged guards and imperial guards.
Although everyone knew that it was impossible to find anything, they had to obey the Prime Minister's order.
—The servant next to him simply bandaged Pei Zheng's bleeding foot and helped him put on his boots.
Pei Zheng climbed onto the horse, feeling extremely bad, dizzy and likely to fall off at any time.
The palms of his hands were already covered in blood and he could no longer muster any reason. Pei Zheng bit his tongue hard and the bloody taste instantly filled his mouth.
The taste of blood hits his brain directly, and this little bit of blood can keep him sane to the greatest extent.
He took a few deep breaths and forced the remaining internal strength in his body to be mobilized again. Feeling the resistance from the tendons and veins all over his body, Pei Zheng ignored it, stared ahead, and galloped away on his horse.
The army behind him also rushed out and headed straight for the hunting ground outside the imperial capital.
The wind and snow were whistling beside his ears, and the heart in Pei Zheng's chest was beating disorderly.
Uneasy, anxious, unwilling, unbelievable...
How dare that villain, how dare he just leave like that!
Don't you want him to marry someone else
Then why not say it, why not tell him!
Didn't I want to tell him everything in the past? Even if he was upset and didn't want to listen, the little guy would still keep whispering in his ear.
But since when did the little guy no longer treat me as close as before...
He was angry, angry that he was distant from him, angry that he kept pushing him away and trying to escape from him.
If the little girl is willing to bow her head, be submissive, and beg him softly, he will not marry her. As long as the little girl can come back and stay by his side, it will be enough.
As long as he can come back, he will tell him, and tell him all the words that he couldn't say...
Didn’t we agree to wait in the small building? Why did you leave without saying a word
Or is it because he was afraid of being blamed by the Emperor for hurting the third princess
But with him around, how could he just leave the villain alone? If the emperor blames him, he will take the blame.
Because the little guy had done so many things that deviated from his plan, it should be said that he had already included the little guy in his plan without knowing when.
Keep the little guy by your side, regardless of whether he is willing or not, and use all kinds of means, in fact, all to prevent him from leaving you.
It is clear what kind of feeling this is.
But this is something Pei Zheng, who has lived a cold-hearted and cold-blooded life for more than 20 years, has never experienced before...
The horse galloped into the hunting ground, which was also covered with snow.
He rode his horse into the forest and finally arrived at the foot of the cliff.
But looking around, the sky and the earth were vast and boundless, the snow stretched for thousands of miles, and the mountains in the distance were also white.
Pei Zheng wanted to get off the horse, but his steps were weak and he had to lean on the horse to steady himself. His boots sank deeply into the soft snow.
He walked forward alone, searching carefully behind every bush and under every tree trunk, even kneeling on the ground to look at those deep tree holes.
No…
No…
Still no…
There is not a trace of...
Pei Zheng's knees were numb from the cold. He tried to stand up, but failed and fell heavily into the snow again.
That little guy also had a knee injury and was in so much pain that he couldn't stand up. How did you treat him
Pei Zheng's vision became blurry and he felt a heart-wrenching pain in his body.
The people behind them rushed over, and the army dispersed and began to search carefully under the cliff.
Chengfeng got off the horse and saw Pei Zheng kneeling motionless under a tree, so he hurried over.
"Master, please get up quickly. You can't stand the cold now."
Pei Zheng let him help him up. His eyes were dim and unfocused. He had just managed to stand firm when he took another step forward.
Chengfeng had never seen him like this before, so he could only follow him closely.
I once thought that my master was the most cruel and heartless person in the world. He didn't care about anyone or anything, so he had no weaknesses. He would always pursue power and status, and would always be cold and tough.
But now, he was wrong...
The sky gradually darkened.
Pei Zheng walked very slowly and searched for most of the day. He deviated from the others and came to a slightly strange ancient pond.
Although it was freezing cold, the water in the ancient pond did not freeze and even emitted a faint heat.
Pei Zheng walked to the edge of the ancient pond and looked inside. The water was pitch black, reflecting his pale face and scarlet eyes.
He suddenly had a strong premonition that something was wrong with this ancient pond.
He lifted his foot and stepped into the ancient pond. The water was surprisingly warm. The warmth penetrated his limbs and bones, and even the wounds on his body didn't seem to hurt so much anymore.
He continued to walk in, the water covered his legs, waist, chest...
Chengfeng was very anxious seeing this and it looked like he was about to jump in as well.
But the water only reached Pei Zheng's chest. It turned out that the water in this ancient pond was only that deep.
"Master, we have searched this ancient pond carefully several times, but have not found any traces. Please come up quickly."
Pei Zheng's body froze, as if the last bit of hope in his heart was suddenly shattered.
He stood there for a long time without moving.
The soreness in his eyes could no longer be resisted, and it broke through the restriction and flowed out, dripping hotly into the pool of water, causing ripples.
Pei Zheng closed his eyes and felt as if all his strength had been drained away. His entire body was enveloped in heat, yet he felt as if he were in a cellar in the dead of winter, chilling his heart and bones.
The last bit of true energy in his body also disappeared completely. Without any support anymore, his body collapsed and was submerged in the dark pool of water.
The warm touch passed over the head, and all that met the eyes was a chaotic darkness. The blood in the heart stopped flowing, and the person in the pool slowly closed his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, the overwhelming blood color was no longer in front of him. Pei Zheng was lying on a warm bed, and the fire in the room was burning very brightly.
His body was covered with scars, from inside to outside, full of holes.
All the external injuries have been bandaged, and I can feel that I have regained some strength.
But the most deadly thing was the heart. It was as if someone had cut its flesh, broken its tendons, crushed its bones and blood, dug out the bloody heart, and thrown it into the snow to freeze.
Now his body lies here, but his soul has already fallen forever with the people on the cliff...
Seeing Pei Zheng waking up, Qi Bingzhi, who was sitting beside the bed, finally showed some joy. She had changed out of her red dress and put on a plain dress.
"My Lord, you are awake. How are you? Do you feel better? Is the fever gone?"
As he said that, Qi Bingzhi was about to reach out to touch Pei Zheng's forehead, but Pei Zheng stopped him in mid-air and held his wrist tightly.
"My Lord, what's wrong with you..."
Qi Bingzhi struggled twice, but her wrist was pinched even tighter, causing her so much pain that she almost cried.
Pei Zheng waved her hand away and sat up on the bed with great effort.
"roll."
Qi Bingzhi's tears suddenly welled up, "My Lord, I know you must be very sad now. I just want to comfort you. I don't mean anything else. I'm just worried about you..."
"I said, get out." Pei Zheng stared straight ahead, his thin lips were pale and his words were extremely cold.
Qi Bingzhi bit his lips tightly, and the scar on his palm opened again.
She didn't understand. The man was obviously dead, so why Pei Zheng still refused to even look at her. For him, she ignored her mother's objections and married him despite all the humiliation, just because she liked him.
"Sir, I, as the elder sister, am very sad about Changyi's matter. When he was alive, he suffered a lot of humiliation and injustice. My third sister was also ignorant and always had conflicts with Changyi. But Changyi said that you can't use a knife on your third sister no matter what. It's too disrespectful..."
Pei Zheng suddenly turned around and looked at Qi Bingzhi with a dark and complicated look in his eyes.
Qi Bingzhi thought he had heard it, and continued, "Fortunately, my third sister saved her life. Otherwise, even if Changyi was still alive, I'm afraid my father would have asked him to pay for his life. So his departure like this is a kind of relief."
Before she could finish her words, someone suddenly grabbed her neck.
Pei Zheng stared at her fiercely, "What did you say!"
Qi Bingzhi's breathing was not smooth, and his cheeks flushed slightly. "Chang Yi, he is already dead, sir. Even if you don't accept it, this is the fact..."
die
Did she dare to say he was dead
Pei Zhengyang threw her to the ground, then he started coughing violently, with a fishy and sweet taste rising up his throat.
He threw back the quilt, staggered off the bed, and walked up to Qi Bingzhi who had fallen to the ground.
"The facts? What are the facts? Did you see him fall off the cliff or did you see his dead body with your own eyes?"
Qi Bingzhi was slightly stunned and shook his head, "I, haven't seen it, but..."
"But what?" Pei Zheng wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "You dare to talk nonsense without even seeing it? I gave you face not because you are a princess, but because you are the queen's legitimate daughter. You'd better have some self-knowledge! If you dare to say such things again, I will punish you too!"
Tears kept falling from the corners of Qi Bingzhi's eyes. Every word Pei Zheng said pierced her heart. She had put in so much effort to be by his side, but he looked at her like this
"You just like that idiot so much?"
Qi Bingzhi suddenly smiled and said, "Then why did you force him to jump off the cliff?"
Pei Zheng's expression changed, he squatted down, and pinched Qi Bingzhi's chin hard.
"You dare, say it again!"
"It must be hard to watch someone you love so much fall into death without being able to do anything about it."
Qi Bingzhi looked at him, curling his lips, "Then do you know that he wasn't stupid before?"