Xie Wangzhi was startled, and her hand holding the needle misaligned, almost piercing the index finger that was holding the puppet. She paused, took a deep breath, and stopped sewing: "What about the prince? How is the situation outside now? Where are the soldiers guarding the city?"
"The prince is in Changsheng Palace..." The little maid was already scared, and she was bombarded with three questions in a row, which frightened her so much that she knelt on the ground and shook her head desperately, "Outside, outside, I don't know... I really don't know..."
"... Yeah." Xie Wangzhi responded, and hurriedly stood up. He took two steps and remembered something. He turned back at the door and said, "The things in the dressing box are what I brought from outside the palace. If the city is broken... you can take them yourself and find a way out."
After saying this, she didn't care about the reaction of the little palace maid behind her. She stood on tiptoe to pick up the lantern hanging on the side of the door, identified the direction, and ran all the way to the Changsheng Palace.
Even the maid who served tea knew about this. It was obvious that Li Qishen did not intend to hide it from anyone, or he could not hide it. Outside the city wall, the defenders and the rebels were fighting. The direction of Chunming Gate was full of flames. Daming Palace was backed by Longshouyuan, which was too high. The rebels would not come over for a while, but the people in the palace could not escape. The palace was in chaos. Xie Wangzhi ran over and did not see the palace servants patrolling with lanterns. Instead, he saw the little palace maids huddled together and crying at the foot of the wall.
The maids were younger than the one who served tea. They wore buns and their hairpins were hanging down diagonally from their hair because of crying. Xie Wangzhi couldn't help but think of himself when he was young. He was also like this when he encountered grievances. He had no one to talk to. Whether it was fear or resentment, he would shrink into the corner and turn into tears.
She paused and wanted to go forward and say something to comfort him, but after thinking it over, she turned her head away abruptly and continued walking forward.
What could she say? Chang'an was in turmoil, blood and bones were shed, and the entire empire was hanging on a thread. Once Chang'an was broken and the rebels took over, half of the hesitant Jiedushi would defect. By then, most of the nobles would be killed, and these girls from the common people would fall into the hands of thieves. The consolation she said now was untrustworthy, so it was better not to say anything.
Xie Wangzhi closed his eyes, quickened his pace, and went to the Hall of Eternal Life. It was completely different from the past when people came and went or the guards were strict. At this time, there was no one outside the emperor's bedroom. In May, the lush vegetation grew against the outer wall, swaying in the night wind, and the shadows of the branches and leaves were cast on the wall, as if countless ghosts who died in the palace came to visit, stretching out their withered hands towards the wall.
Another gust of wind came, and the whimpering sound of the wind poured into his ears. Xie Wang was startled and suddenly remembered the past.
It seemed to be the same six years ago. There seemed to be ghosts outside Qingning Palace. For a purse, she mustered up the courage to chase the black cat into the palace. She walked around the screen with a painting of flowers and the moon meeting. A young man in green clothes with a cold and beautiful appearance stood there, with tiny pieces of gold buried deep in his pupils.
She held back the sudden tears, sniffed, and walked quickly into the hall.
This time she didn't need to go around the screen. The person she was looking for was in the outer hall, kneeling upright, with a clean gun in front of him, the blade shining coldly like the moon. There were only two lights in the hall, the candlelight was dim, Li Qishen lowered his head slightly, his eyes half closed, his thick eyelashes drooping, his expression hidden in the lights and moonlight, like a cold and beautiful statue of a god, without sadness or joy, but as if compassionate.
Xie Wangzhi stood at the door for a while before she dared to get closer. She put down the lantern, walked to Li Qishen, knelt down like him, and called him softly, "Changsheng."
"Don't be afraid." Li Qishen didn't raise his head or eyes. "The Shuofang and Huihe coalition forces are on their way. Leave the enemy defense outside the city to General Huo. He can hold out until the reinforcements arrive."
Although he said this with certainty, Xie Wangzhi knew how many variables were involved. If he was really so sure, Li Qishen would not have sat here in person with a gun across his body.
But she didn't point it out, she just responded very lightly and smiled faintly: "Okay, I'll accompany you."
"No need. If the city is breached, the rebels will not stay and will definitely come here first." Li Qishen was rarely so cold and hard towards her, and his eyelashes did not even move. "Instead of waiting here with me, why not go see Shu'er."
"Little Princess?" Xie Wang was stunned.
"You'll find out when you go and see."
"…Okay." Seeing him like this, he would not give in. Xie Wangzhi had always believed in him. Now that it had come to this, she did not want to have a clingy and sobbing farewell. She stood up obediently, "Then I will go to the Eight Phoenix Palace to accompany the little princess. Come to think of it, she is still so young, she will be scared."
She turned around. Li Qishen had good hearing and heard the sound of the embroidered shoes rubbing against the stone bricks. His eyelashes trembled slightly, but he didn't say anything to keep her. No matter what the battle situation was tonight, whether Chang'an City could be defended, there was no need to be reluctant to leave at this moment, it would only add to the pain.
He closed his eyes: "Go ahead."
"But I have to tell you first, if General Huo's military luck fails and Chang'an City cannot be defended, I, who was born in the Xie family of Chang'an, probably won't be able to save my life." Xie Wangzhi didn't turn around, her tone was relaxed, even with a bit of the arrogance of a noble lady, as if she was casually acting coquettishly to her lover, "Even if I am lucky enough to survive the rebels, I will never live alone."
Li Qishen was startled, opened his eyes suddenly, and looked at Xie Wangzhi in surprise, but the girl had already picked up the lantern and walked out of the palace. Outside the door, the shadows of trees were looming, the moonlight was flowing all over the ground, and there was a faint smell of rust in the wind.
He stared outside for a long time, sighed softly, and closed his eyes again. His handsome face was as cold and hard as black iron or ice.
**
There was no one inside or outside the Changsheng Palace, so how could he expect that there would be someone guarding the Eight Phoenix Palace? Xie Wangzhi was prepared to see the shadows of trees all over the wall. When he stepped into the outer hall, he was stunned when he saw the female doctor: "You..."
"Greetings, my lady." The female doctor was not at all flustered, and she knelt down politely. "The palace servants waiting in the palace were scared and dispersed. I am a doctor. When I became your disciple, I knew that life and death are inevitable. There is nothing to be afraid of. I have to stay here to protect the little princess."
"The little princess is inside?" Xie Wangzhi quickly returned the greeting, "Can I go in and take a look?"
"Yes. The little princess slept for a while before, so it's okay for her to wake up now." The female doctor paused and said softly, "It's been hard for you to come here every day during this period. The little princess is very happy and smiles more than before. The little princess likes you very much, so let you accompany the little princess for the last time."
After hearing the first half of the sentence, Xie Wangzhi was eager to enter the inner hall. When the second half of the sentence came out, she was startled: "In the end?"
"...Yes." The doctor said, "I'm afraid the little princess... won't make it through the night."
She was not someone who would talk nonsense, and her medical skills were superb. Xie Wangzhi was shocked and almost fell to the ground. He took a while to stand up straight: "What's wrong with the little princess?"
"The little princess originally had lung disease. The imperial physician diagnosed that she might not live past five years old. She has survived until now only because of precious medicinal herbs." The female doctor lowered her eyes, feeling a little reluctant. "The weather has changed rapidly in the past few days. The little princess can't hold on any longer."
"But a few days ago..." Xie Wangzhi couldn't believe it, "I was talking to the little princess through the door, and I didn't hear her coughing..."
"The little princess was holding back. She was afraid that her mistress would worry, so she lowered her voice and spoke. After she finished speaking, she couldn't stop coughing, and all she coughed up was blood."
Xie Wangzhi remembered that when she was talking to Shu'er through the door, the voice behind the door was indeed very hoarse, and there were many pauses. She just thought it was because of the door, and Shu'er's throat was always uncomfortable, but she didn't know that this eight-year-old child was so patient, swallowing the cough and blood foam stuck in his throat, just to worry about someone he had known for only half a month.
She was the eldest daughter of the crown prince, and should have been a beautiful princess, but she had lung disease from birth, which plagued her from birth to death. Her father and mother knew that staying in Chang'an would mean death, but they didn't want her, and they didn't even think about the child when they got on the carriage to Shuzhou.
She was so young and so obedient, but she was about to die. She would not see the sunrise tomorrow, and she didn’t even know whether Chang’an City could be defended.
"… I understand. Thank you for your care." Xie Wangzhi closed his eyes and wiped away the tears that oozed from the corners of his eyes as if unintentionally. "I'll go see her."
The doctor responded, "Thank you for your hard work, madam."
Xie Wangzhi shook his head, said nothing more, and walked around the screen.
People with lung diseases cannot be exposed to the wind. The windows in the inner hall were closed, and the floor was covered with thick velvet carpets. There were incense burners on the two corners near the screen. The incense burners usually burned special medicinal incense, which made the inner hall full of smoke. But at this time, the palace servants either huddled in their rooms or fled around the Daming Palace. No one was there to serve the incense. The bronze beasts on the incense burners sat there in a daze, with no smoke coming out of their mouths and noses. Instead, they looked a little silly.
Xie Wangzhi smiled for some reason, walked to the couch, lifted the half-closed bed curtain, and hung it on the jade hook: "... Little Princess?"
She spoke in a very soft voice, fearing that Shu'er hadn't woken up yet. However, Shu'er was a light sleeper, and when she heard the voice, she immediately opened her eyes in a daze. She stared at Xie Wangzhi for a while, and suddenly raised her hand to rub her eyes: "Is this a dream..."
"No, I came to see you." Xie Wangzhi sat down beside the couch and looked down at Shu'er, "How do you feel now? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
Shu'er thought about it and shook her head: "It's not uncomfortable... I don't cough today."
"Are you sleepy?" Seeing that she was about to sit up, Xie Wangzhi did not stop her. He just helped the girl up and took a soft pillow to support Shu'er's waist.
"I'm not sleepy. I feel very comfortable... I've never felt so comfortable before. I didn't cough after taking medicine before, but I felt uncomfortable inside." Shu'er didn't quite understand why this happened, and couldn't describe where the discomfort was. She pressed her chest and said, "Now I don't feel uncomfortable at all, and my throat doesn't itch anymore."
Xie Wangzhi had read some medical books, and judging from where she pressed, he guessed that it was probably the lungs. Shu'er didn't understand what the doctor said before, but she did. This was not about comfort, but in the end, this place was rotten, and Shu'er finally didn't feel anything, but instead had a little final peace.
She couldn't help but feel even sadder, but she didn't show it on her face. She just touched Shu'er's paler face and nodded with a smile: "It seems that the little princess's illness is getting better, so she doesn't feel sad."
The author has something to say: I’m going to write someone to death again, I feel so good (.) It’s always the obedient children in the world who die early (Cangsang exhales smoke)
There is no second update today, because the semester is halfway through and I have to do homework (ntm) Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution during 2019-11-26 18:12:28~2019-11-27 16:09:26~
Thanks to the little angels who threw the grenades: Yu Hehe 1;
Thanks to the little angel who cast a mine: Daxi, I want to change my name 1;
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: 12 bottles of "This Love Is Long"; 6 bottles of "Bu Er"; 2 bottles of "Wu Yi Wu is Healthier";
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!