Chapter 141 - 140: Your Majesty, I Miss You So Much
Chapter 141: Chapter 140: Your Majesty, I Miss You So Much
Feeling the genuine warmth of the body in her arms, Ning Liuyu cried even harder.
Shi Changying stiffened, a trace of helplessness flashing across her face. Her hands hung at her sides, unsure of where to place them for a moment. She could feel the scalding tears hitting the hollow of her neck, making her heart tremble slightly.
A voice choked with sobs beside her ear, completely out of tune. "Your Majesty, I... I missed you so much."
Despite having a thousand things to say, it ultimately melted down to just these few words. Ning Liuyu had never expected to see her Majesty again, for the winter of that year had been a true nightmare—one that still haunted her heart to this day, refusing to fade.
Mingjing was located in Ningzhou, which sat in the central part of Jiuzhou. Snow wasn’t a rare occurrence, but a snowstorm of such magnitude was unprecedented. Red lanterns hung along both sides of the streets, and characters for "fortune" were pasted on the doors. The subjects were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the New Year.
By this time, the Empress had been marching into the Southern Region for nearly half a year. A few days prior, Mingjing received news that the army had reached the central part of the Southern Region, and seventeen principalities had already surrendered. The Empress established the Jiuzhou Prefecture in these areas, using it as a means to govern the foreign territories. As a result, the territory of Jiuzhou would expand even further.
Ever since the Empress was granted the title of Prince Jing at the age of thirteen due to her legendary strength, she had fought countless battles and had never tasted defeat. No one doubted that she would return in triumph, making this New Year bound to be exceptionally lively.
Wherever the sun and moon shine, it shall be Jiuzhou. Wherever the Jiang and other rivers flow, it shall be Huaxia.
These two sentences, engraved on a stone stele by Emperor Chengtian, became the faith of all subsequent dynasties. And they, perhaps, would be fortunate enough to witness this scene with their own eyes in their lifetime.
During the Empress’s campaign, the imperial court was overseen by a triumvirate: Grand Secretary Ye Yu, Hidden Guard Commander Zhuge Mingyue, and the State Preceptor, ensuring the smooth operation of government affairs. No other emperor would dare entrust such matters entirely to outsiders, essentially stripping themselves of power.
But Shi Yaoguang dared.
Ning Liuyu knew perfectly well how many people had tried to instigate rebellion among Ye Yu, Zhuge Mingyue, and the others over the past eight years. Yet, none had ever succeeded.
One morning before attending the imperial court, after staying up all night for Alchemy, she hurriedly changed into her red official uniform.
"Lord Ning, just came out of the pharmacy, didn’t you?" Nie Mingchu reached out and tapped her head. "There’s a lot of ash on your face. Wipe it off quickly, or Lord Zhuge will scold you for losing your decorum before the imperial court."
She glanced at Nie Mingchu and said with a smile, "Lord Nie should also carefully check for the blood of the injured before getting dressed."
Finally, after washing and changing, the two headed to Guanghe Hall.
To their surprise, the head of the civil servants, Grand Secretary Ye Yu, was absent today. The State Preceptor, who had never revealed their true face before them, was also nowhere to be seen.
Of the three, only Zhuge Mingyue remained. But both she and Nie Mingchu stared at Zhuge Mingyue’s hair in shock. "Lord Zhuge, your..."
"What’s wrong?" Following their gaze to a mirror, Zhuge Mingyue finally noticed her own hair. She came to a sudden realization and said in a faint, nonchalant tone, "Oh, it turned white."
Ning Liuyu suddenly recalled a line of poetry that seemed incredibly fitting for this moment: "Pitiable is the birth of white hair." What kind of event could cause a person’s hair to turn white overnight?
At that time, Ning Liuyu still didn’t know the answer, but her heart was filled with terror and an inexplicable unease, beating so hard it felt like it would leap out of her throat.
"I summoned you all today because there is something we must prepare for," Zhuge Mingyue said slowly, raising her eyes to look at them. "Her Majesty has passed away. The affairs of the state..."
Ning Liuyu didn’t hear a single word of what was said next. Only four words echoed in her mind: Her Majesty has passed away.
How could that be? Before every one of the Empress’s campaigns, Ning Liuyu and Nie Mingchu would give her a thorough physical examination to ensure there were no health issues whatsoever. Moreover, the Empress hailed from the Xuan Sect and possessed innate Divine Power. Who in the Southern Region could possibly be her match?
Ning Liuyu’s ears rang loudly, and she only managed to catch the words "Heavenly Thunder." She didn’t want to believe it, nor was she willing to accept that the Empress hadn’t even left a corpse behind.
With Shi Yaoguang gone like this, they couldn’t even bury her. They could only build a cenotaph in her honor. Overnight, the festive red was replaced by mourning white. This New Year was terrifyingly quiet.
Ning Liuyu lived in a daze for a while. By the time she finally recovered her senses, the era of "Taichu" had already passed. A new monarch ascended the throne, changing the era name to "Qingyun". She was the second Empress of the Xuan Dynasty, historically known as Emperor Qingyun of the Xuanlie Sect.
After that, Ning Liuyu continued to serve the Xuan Dynasty with all her heart, devoting herself to her country. But in her heart, there was only one King to whom she would surrender everything, even her life: Emperor Taichu, Shi Yaoguang.
If it hadn’t been for Empress Taichu, she would still be trapped in a remote, mountainous village in Cangzhou, working as an ordinary pharmacy apprentice. She might have died during one of her herb-gathering trips into the mountains, or lived a completely unremarkable life.
But on that day, someone dressed in red clothes and silver armor arrived on horseback, sword in hand. From then on, Jiuzhou gained a Medicine Girl. She had long since made up her mind to spend her entire life repaying her monarch’s grace. But the heavens were incomparably cruel, refusing to fulfill even such a small wish.
It wasn’t until today that she finally caught another glimpse of the daylight from four hundred years ago.
Tears completely blurred Ning Liuyu’s vision, yet the face before her remained incredibly clear, for it had long been etched into her mind. They were clearly two completely different faces, but at this moment, they overlapped perfectly.
"It’s me." Shi Changying paused and raised her hand to wipe away Ning Liuyu’s tears. "Why are you crying like this again?"
"Your Majesty..." Ning Liuyu choked on a breath, crying so hard she fainted.
Shi Changying frowned and quickly tapped several acupoints on Ning Liuyu’s body to ensure her heart meridians wouldn’t be blocked. She wasn’t a doctor; professional matters still needed to be handled by professionals.
At ten-thirty that night.
The darkness was silent, yet brightly illuminated by lights. The flood had washed away several mountain villas, necessitating reconstruction. The villagers had been temporarily evacuated to the nearest town, and construction work was proceeding through the night.
Among the crowd, one figure stood exceptionally tall and straight. Even wearing an ordinary coat, his superior aura couldn’t be hidden. The man had arrived with a construction team, offering much-needed assistance in their darkest hour and providing immense help to the local area. He also had his entourage distribute a large amount of relief supplies.
The young man standing next to Shaoyuan let out a soft exclamation of surprise.
Shaoyuan spoke up. "Wuxian."
He didn’t specify what the matter was, but Wuxian quickly caught on and replied in a low voice. "From the Mingjing Gu Family, Old Sir Gu’s youngest son, Gu Lan. Twenty-eight years old."
"Oh? The Mingjing Gu Family?" Shaoyuan raised an eyebrow.
Who was the first Mingjing Gu Family Member that had left an impression on him again? It seemed to be Gu Lingyuan, the boss of Xingyi Entertainment, and Lu Qingyuan’s direct superior.
Gu Qingjin suddenly turned his head.
SWISH!
Across a distance of ten meters, their gazes instantly collided.