Chapter 1457: 1452: Missing Brother Duiyu
Chapter 1457: Chapter 1452: Missing Brother Duiyu
“You are not guilty, just tell me the truth,” Su Yingxue helped her up and wiped away the tears on her cheeks.
From the first time she had met Yue Lian, she could feel that Yue Lian was a person with a resilient heart, yet tender to the bone, caring and considerate, especially her love for Zi Wei, which Su Yingxue had seen with her own eyes.
Now, she even had Zi Wei’s child.
Yue Xin had grown so much.
She knew there must be difficulties.
Yue Lian placed Yue Xin next to Zi Wei, instructing her, “Don’t make noise, let Daddy rest properly.”
Normally, Yue Xin spoke the most and was the most lively, but knowing that Zi Wei needed rest due to his severe injuries, her response to Yue Lian was very soft, merely nodding lightly, “Mm.”
Yue Lian stood with Su Yingxue under the eaves. She was about to kneel down again to ask for forgiveness when Su Yingxue helped her up, “Stand up and speak properly.”
No longer coy, Yue Lian spoke in a low voice, “My husband cannot leave the empress. His many years as an assassin before, cold and bloodthirsty, were changed by empress. She gave him a new life. When I married him, it was initially a transaction. I knew he was only comfortable staying by the empress’s side. After we returned to Lingnan, I thought that with time and my goodwill, he could live like an ordinary person…
But I watched him grow increasingly melancholy and haggard, losing his past brilliance. Even his eyes were empty and desolate. Being alive like that was worse than death, so I helped him return to your side, Your Majesty.”
Returning to Su Yingxue’s side was not an easy task. She sought Liu Yi to change appearances and even fabricated an identity from Silver Moon Pavilion, spending much effort.
However, when she saw Zi Wei beside Su Yingxue, his eyes gleaming again, she felt that all of it was worth it.
Su Yingxue took a deep breath, her heart filled with mixed emotions, unsure whether to call Yue Lian foolish or Zi Wei foolish.
She suddenly remembered Yue Xin, “When Zi Wei was seventeen, he asked me how to have children. Does he really not know that Yue Xin is his daughter?”
Yue Lian shook her head with a bitter smile, “He doesn’t know. He has long forgotten what happened that night. That night, after he returned from the imperial palace, he was so distraught he vomited blood. After that, he was depressed for a long time. He doesn’t understand affairs between men and women. I feared Yue Xin’s existence would make him even unhappier, so I never told him.”
“He treats Yue Xin differently. Haven’t you noticed?” Su Yingxue reminded her.
“Are you referring to the incident in the palace where he fought Prince Eight because of Yue Xin?” Yue Lian’s lips slightly pursed, “Perhaps because, by the empress’s side, he feels a responsibility to protect empress.”
“It has nothing to do with me. He truly wants to protect Yue Xin from his heart, even if he doesn’t know she is his daughter. He has his suspicions and has actively asked me. Since I took him from Silver Moon Pavilion, this is the first time he has asked on his own initiative and the first time he has protected someone without my orders. Yue Lian, you should tell him.”
Su Yingxue couldn’t quite grasp the state of things between Yue Lian and Zi Wei, but having known Zi Wei since he was seventeen, she could understand every bit of his behavior.
“Yes, I will find an opportunity to tell my husband, but Your Majesty…”
Yue Lian stepped back, bowing slightly in salute, “I implore Your Majesty to keep my husband by your side, and not let him be consumed by melancholy.”
She truly couldn’t endure watching Zi Wei close himself off, day by day, wasting away.
“If this were any other time, I would scold him severely, but now, with complex circumstances surrounding us and enemies lurking in the shadows near the emperor and me, I need reliable people to assist me. So… I ask for your help for a while longer, until I can expose and punish these hidden enemies,” Su Yingxue stepped forward to help Yue Lian up, her eyes sincere.
Yue Lian was immensely relieved, “Empress does not blame us, I thank Your Majesty on behalf of my husband!”
“Let’s not bother with these formalities for now. You should focus on taking care of Zi Wei and his injuries. I must also find out who was capable of injuring him so we can increase our vigilance,” Su Yingxue said with a serious expression.
Yue Lian saw Su Yingxue off, promising her that once Zi Wei woke up, she would immediately send him to report back to Su Yingxue.
Before Su Yingxue left, she had taken a Lingzhi mushroom grown beside the spirit spring from Medicine King Valley and given it to Yue Lian, suggesting it be boiled into medicine for Zi Wei, as it was remarkably effective in treating internal injuries.
Yue Lian immediately had someone prepare the medicine. She returned to Zi Wei’s bedside and saw Yue Xin still anxiously watching over him.
She looked at her with relief, “Hubby, you don’t need to worry anymore.”
Su Yingxue knew the truth but did not blame them.
“Shh! Mom, be quiet, don’t wake Daddy up.”
Yue Xin got up and covered Yue Lian’s mouth, then quietly whispered in her ear.
Normally, she spoke loudly and laughed heartily, but she only spoke softly when she was next to Zi Wei, fearing she might wake him while he was resting and recuperating.
She was too afraid of losing her father.
It was not easy… he had just come back to her!
Marquis of Martial South’s Manor.
Su Yingxue returned to see Su Miaoyan, initially thinking she would only be emotionally upset and demanding to see Xiao Yu upon awakening, but unexpectedly, she had fainted and vomited blood, and now lay unconscious in bed with a persistent high fever.
Su Yingxue lifted her sister’s clothes, placed cold handkerchiefs on her forehead, arms, and legs to cool her down, and had Little Ginseng check her brain again. Little Ginseng pursed his lips and crisply said, “Your sister is as fragile as a porcelain vase, easily shattered at the slightest touch. Though there is no internal bleeding, I recall that Rong Sheng mentioned her condition is related to her meridians, which is harder to cure than ordinary ailments. Only the Soul-Consuming Acupuncture Technique can alleviate some of her pain.”
But that was all it could do, merely alleviate some of the pain.
Su Yingxue took a deep breath, took out a needle, and applied the Soul-Consuming Acupuncture Technique to relieve some of Su Miaoyan’s symptoms. She was confused for two hours, then slowly regained consciousness.
The first thing she said when she woke up was, “Brother Yu… I want to see Brother Yu.”
Tears streamed down her face, her eyes full of tears showing her heart-breaking longing for Xiao Yu.
Madam Yin lay by her bedside, overwhelmed with guilt, “It’s all my fault. I should have watched over you more closely and not let anyone approach you.”
It was strange; she had been sleeping so deeply the night before. She had no idea if anyone had come in or if her daughter had heard something that caused her to wake up vomiting blood by the bed.
She was already overwhelmed with self-blame.
“Auntie, don’t be sad. With someone determined to come in, it’s not something you could have prevented. The Marquis of Martial South’s Manor is heavily guarded, and yet she still got in.”
Su Yingxue frowned, a surge of anger building inside her.
Su Hao had ordered an increase in the guards at the Marquis of Martial South’s Manor early this morning and was still conducting patrols everywhere. However, strangely enough, there was no sign of anyone having entered the manor, nor any unusual traces detected.