In the seventeenth year of Longfeng, in the middle of winter, rain and snow mixed together, washing the heaven and the earth.
The official road leading out of the imperial city of Zhenyang, which the government soldiers had worked hard to clear for many days, could barely accommodate some carriages and horses. There were continuous movements of teams in the city, as if families were moving.
The soldiers asked for a bowl of hot wine, held it with one hand under the creaking shack and stared at the troops in front of them.
“It’s sunset, why are there still people coming out? The Qiangian Station is far away. Are they planning to set up camp on the roadside?”
“I guess so, isn’t it the matter of Prince Rui’s heir that’s causing the fuss.. No, isn’t the person on the carriage the same as the He family that he was friends with before? He was transferred to Qianzhou, and he probably won’t be able to come back to the imperial city in this life.”
“Really? But Qianzhou…that’s not right. Qianzhou is close to the sea and rich. Even if he was transferred there, it’s not a bad idea”
“Isn’t this calamity because the son of the He family turned against the prince’s heir not long ago and confessed…”
“Shh, stop talking, people are coming.”
The carriage leisurely passed by, leaving ruts on the ground that seemed to cut off everything it went through.
At night, the He family’s team found a river bank near the water to rest.
After the old man and the old lady fell asleep, He Xu, the second young master of the He family, walked out of the tent and gathered around the campfire to look at the bamboo flute in his hand.
The old housekeeper asked from the side: “You still have to go on a journey tomorrow, why don’t you take a rest?”
He Xu said: “There is no hurry.”
The housekeeper looked at the thing in He Xu’s hand. He remembered that the bamboo flute was a gift from Song Jingyun, Prince Rui’s son, when he was alive. The two had been close friends since childhood, but unexpectedly they ended up going in opposite directions
The housekeeper: “Second Young Master…he, the prince’s heir..”
“He died as a guility minister, he is no longer the glorious Prince’s heir.” He Xu said, throwing the bamboo flute in his hand into the bonfire, “He himself failed to live up to expectations, I don’t want my whole family to end up like that with him…
It was late at night, and the wind and snow outside couldn’t be stopped by the flames, so He Xu had no choice but to go into the tent to sleep.
But since he defected to the third prince Xiao Rong, he has spent countless nights with nightmares.
Because his depraved conscience was being torn apart, he could only look at the figure standing in the darkness and accept his questioning.
“Who collaborated with the enemy treasonously and killed General An Hua?”
“It’s….” He hesitated, then answered uncontrollably: “..xiao Rong”
“Who used this matter to frame Prince Rui, causing the prince’s heir to die, and Prince Rui’s family to be wiped out?”
“It’s… Xiao Rong.
“Xiao Rong?”
“Yes, it’s him! He ordered me!”
Suddenly, He Xu heard a sneer, and the bone-chilling voice suddenly asked him again, “Then who killed the Princess consort An Nan? Throwing him and his body into the river, one corpse and two lives?!”
Hearing this, He Xu suddenly stopped talking. He shrank and tried to avoid it, muttering lightly: “He deserves it.”
Ding! Something suddenly fell to the ground. He Xu raised his eyes slightly and looked over, and found that it was a scabbard. The person who had just questioned him was running towards him through the darkness.
He pounced and pushed him down. He was on the ground unable to move, and the unsheathed dagger was pressed against his throat, threatening to take his life.
He Xu was startled and woke up from his sleep.
But when he opened his eyes, he didn’t know if he had fallen asleep. Otherwise, why was the dagger in the dream still on his throat, and why did the dead Song Jingyun appear in front of him?
“You…you…”
The person in front of him still had handsome features, but his whole person was shrouded in gloom, and he said “Do you think I’m dead?”
Hearing this, He Xu clearly realized how real this moment was
“You obviously..”
He Xu clearly heard the news of Prince Rui’s death coming from the imperial city. He watched with his own eyes as the officers and soldiers dragged Song Jingyun’s body out of the imperial city.
Prince Rui’s entire family was wiped out. Who could rescue people under the eyes of the emperor? Unless..
He Xu understood: “The An family’s certificate of pardon was obtained by Duke Zhenguo with his life, and An Nan was willing to use it to save you”
It’s a pity that Song Jingyun was alive now, but An Nan was separated from him.
Song Jingyun’s eyes were about to burst and he asked in a hissing voice: “Why?!”
He Xu only thought that he was asking why he betrayed him, and when the dagger cut through his flesh, he said: “You ask me? Ha – of course it’s because you didn’t live up to expectations, Song Jingyun! With a coward like you who only thinks about pleasure every day, how can you be the way out?!”
Song Jingyun put more force on his hand, and He Xu’s blood flowed from the side of his neck, and only a trace of red could be seen in the darkness.
“Song Jingyun! I advise you to let go,” He Xu pretended to be calm, “| also obeyed orders. You and I are brothers after all. You can understand, right? Spare my life now. When Xiao Rong chases you in the future, I’ll help you again..”
He Xu moved back and grabbed the blade hidden under the pillow
Song Jingyun did not let up, frames and frames, these were all the means by which Xiao Rong’s faction ultimately moved against him and the prince. He recognized that the successful were kings and the losers, bandits, but.
“Why did you kill An Nan?”
This was what Song Jingyun wanted to ask
He Xu was stunned for a moment, then answered in a matter-of-fact manner: “If I don’t kill him, should I wait until he gives birth to your son so they can take revenge?”
Song Jingyun directly pulled He Xu out of the tent. As he was pulling, he didn’t expect that this man had a backhand. He inserted a knife into his abdomen with a sideways movement.
Enduring the severe pain, Song Jingyun turned around, pushed He Xu down in the snow, and stabbed the dagger into his shoulder blade.
“You coveted An Nan, I should have killed you long ago.”
He Xu struggled in pain and screamed, looking at the blood everywhere and his parents lying in a pool of blood, he also clearly saw his final fate.
He did not deny that he killed An Nan because he did not want to commit himself to him, but who was Song Jingyun to question him?
“In the past, you treated your imperial concubine so harshly. You opposed him everywhere, You couldn’t stand him, why wouldn’t you let your brothers touch him? What? He saved you with a certificate of pardon , you were moved and now pretend to be affectionate? You…”
Before He Xu could finish his words, the dagger in Song Jingyun’s hand pierced his neck, and blood spurted out, covering his face and tears.
He Xu used the last of his strength to spit out the words: “You, also, don’t, think…
Song Jingyun watched the person in front of him die, then he stood up and pulled out the knife inserted in his abdomen.
Blood gurgled out, and the death soldiers around him tried to come up to help him, but were pushed away.
Speaking of which, these people were the ones An Nan had left in Zhenyang to support him.
If An Nan had taken these people with him, would he have died tragically? He should have found a place to stay now, and in two days… he will probably give birth.
He Xu was right in saying that he treated An Nan harshly in the past
He was dissatisfied with his aunt making a marriage proposal on his behalf,and forcefully asked the young master of Zhenguo’s family to be his concubine. He also took in several concubines in the two years after the marriage.
Later, when An Nan became pregnant, he reluctantly promoted him as a head wife
Prince Rui’s heir, who had always been suave and friendly, disliked An Nan. He always told others that he was an exquisite antique vase that was of no use, rigid and dull, Even if An Nan became pregnant later, he was still mean.
Later, An Nan’s eldest brother died in battle, and the prince and he were falsely accused of collaborating with the enemy and were imprisoned. He thought An Nan would hate him forever, but he was wrong.
When he saw the pregnant person who came to visit him, he realized that everything in the past was all his fault.
That jade-like face looked at him, and when he spoke to blame him, he was gentle: “I said you couldn’t let father come to Zhenyang, but you didn’t believe me”
Song Jingyun could only nod: “It’s my fault.”
“That’s how you are, you never believe me.”
Song Jingyun looked at An Nan’s belly and could only say in a hoarse voice: “”I killed your brother, but…I really didn’t collaborate with the enemy, An Nan, I didn’t…”
The person in front of him said calmly: “I know.”
Song Jingyun didn’t know what he was thinking at that moment. He just grabbed An Nan’s hand quite excitedly, grabbing everything he had left
An Nan said: “You would not do such a thing. You are not good at anything except treating me badly,. I know that.”
“I’m sorry.. An Nan… I’m sorry…
“But Song Jingyun, I am your first wife, why don’t you love me or trust me? What did I do wrong to make you so disgusted with me?”
Song Jingyun felt like his whole body had been cut open, and he knelt down in front of An Nan and begged for forgiveness
An Nan didn’t accept it, but he didn’t push him away either. He said, “Song Jingyun, I like flowers, and I know you don’t hate them either. How about we find a warm and quiet place and plant all kinds of flowers in the yard from now on? Okay? If we have a child, we can let him play in the garden..”
Song Jingyun even imagined such a scene countless times later. He wanted to live, wanted to hold An Nan and his child, and wanted to make up for everything
But when he came out of prison, he learned of An Nan’s death
Song Jingyun was sitting by the river, no longer bothering to press the bleeding wound with his hands. Ice and snow were falling, and his whole body was losing temperature, but warmth emerged in his heart at the thought of An Nan, “Wait for me…
T/N’s note: Hi guys! welcome to this new pit I just found. The schedule for this will be updated once I find a pace I can maintain most times. I’ll also be reading as I translate so I can’t give advanced info. I’ll appreciate it if you like and comment. Also if possible please rate and review on Novelupdates. Thanks😊
