Chapter 88: Acting together

In this moment, the absurdity in Shen Yanyi's mind was greater than the fear. In this short half a day, her mood had gone through far too many ups and downs. It was as if this life of hers wasn't hers, but rather having been controlled and threatened by multiple different people. Just a moment before, she'd been immersed in the despair of losing her life, and in the next moment, she'd been moved by another's forgiveness.

But now, this life could be counted as having returned to her.

Jiang Changbai's expression was one of hard to hide emotion as well. She gazed at Shen Yanyi, and in a flash, a complicated set of emotions welled up in her. It wasn't that she hadn't seen the dead before; but even if she were more cold-hearted, she wasn't willing to see the life of someone who'd followed by her for a dozen or so years gradually disappear before her. The grief and anger mingled in her eyes, but she only said lowly, "If We don't allow you to die, you won't be able to."

Shen Yanyi merely smiled; she could feel the strength of her body dripping drop by drop along with the blood leaving the wound on her abdomen. Shen Yanyi felt that her breathing was growing weaker and weaker, and gradually, she couldn't stand either, only able to lean against the wall and slide down, until she was sitting at the foot of the wall.

Shen Yanyi raised her head lightly, and used the last of her might to gaze firmly at Jiang Changbai. "This minister has never wished to obey you as much as I do now, but—but this minister knows, with my current condition, I'm afraid it'll be very hard for me to obey."

Though she was close to death, Shen Yanyi's tears seemed to have long since dried up, and she couldn't cry any further. She merely stared at Jiang Changbai, and in those eyes, the only emotion visible was relief. "Bixia, it was—it was this minister who made a mistake. This minister ought not to have obeyed others' slander and betrayed you. Ah, but this minister has sorrows as well, and I—I wasn't satisfied!

"Before, this minister felt that my ability wasn't below that of Xie-daren's, yet from youth, she'd always suppressed me. This minister wasn't satisfied, and felt that what she could do, this minister could do as well, and because of this envy, I did many foolish things. But you never blamed this minister, and she never blamed me either, still treating this minister as a confidant, and as a friend.

"At that time, this minister still thought to, later, loyally and faithfully work for you, and not have the slightest selfish desire any more."

The more she spoke, the more Shen Yanyi's voice grew hoarse, and she only continued after pausing a moment. "But this minister had overestimated herself, and was incited by the Princess Yu, and, muddleheaded and careless, worked for her.

"Ah, this minister was thinking of her mother; she said she had what this minister's mother had left behind, and even if this minister had felt things were more suspicious, it was very hard to not believe her. But this time, it's turned out well; this minister's about to pass soon, and when I'm in the underworld, I'll be able to see my mother.

"Actually, when this minister entered the Palace without permission today, it was while originally intending to kill the Princess Yu. This minister thought that, if she were to die, then no one would know of what happened before. It's just that mortal plans are far from immortal plans; I wasn't able to kill her, and actually, I've lost my own life. That's alright; all is meaningless when one dies, and this minister will never do anything foolish again."

"Shut up!" Jiang Changbai reprimanded harshly. "We have no energy to listen to this nonsense of yours; if you really want to say it, wait until this matter is over, and tell Us properly. What's the point of saying it so wretchedly here?"

She turned her head, not willing to look at Shen Yanyi anymore.

Shen Yanyi knew she was on the verge of death, and so didn't care any further about the so-called imperial command. She just wanted to say the things she had wanted but hadn't dared to these years, or perhaps the things that she hadn't managed to find a chance to say, and not carry them to the Yellow Springs in the underworld; only that sort of speech could be truly called regret.

So, she forced herself to speak, and mumbled in a weak voice, "The only fortune in this minister's life was being found by you; being able to exchange my life for yours now is a worthy death. Don't blame Jiaye, it was this minister who forced her to drink; she's far more loyal than this minister, so much so—so much so that today she ought not to have been on duty today. This minister did many things wrong, and I won't beg you to forgive me, only hope that when there's a reference to this matter some day, you can remember that this minister—that this life of this minister wasn't in vain."

Shen Yanyi's voice grew fainter and fainter, and the closed in space was filled with the light scent of blood.

"But if there's another life, this minister wouldn't be willing to be your subject again. If the heavens have eyes, give this minister a status equal to yours, to—to be…"

The sound ended suddenly there.

Shen Yanyi wanted to say that, if there was another life, she wanted to be good friends with Jiang Changbai for a lifetime, with equal statuses—friends where no one needed to look up to the other. It was just a pity she had no more chance to say it, and those eyes that had been staring firmly at Jiang Changbai lost their emotion in the same instant her voice ceased, only two caverns.

Jiang Changbai couldn't bear it in the end, and took a few steps to Shen Yanyi, and raised a hand to close her eyes.

"Go and take her out," Jiang Changbai ordered faintly.

Over with Chang Jiaye, she was still urging the horse to rush forward; she didn't have heavenly vision, and didn't know that Shen Yanyi, at this moment, had already passed; she only stubbornly leaned forward, striking the horse's flank with lash after lash. If the horse were to be a bit quicker, Jiang Changbai would be a bit safer; if the horse were to be a bit faster, the possibility fo Shen Yanyi earning a pardon was a bit higher.

Only once she'd rushed to the outside of the barracks did she feel that her hands and feet were icy cold, such that she almost didn't have the strength to tug at the horse's reins.

"Who is it!" the soldier guarding the gates shouted.

"An imperial edict!" Even though she was nearly falling off the back of the horse, Chang Jiaye still gathered up all her strength to call out the sentence. The soldier who was guarding the gates also rapidly recognised the Imperial Palace's imperial guard uniform that Chang Jiaye was wearing, and rapidly turned around to rush into the barracks and call for everyone.

Meng Daosheng, receiving the edict, turned pale with fright, her eyes wide. But she rapidly reined in her emotions, and raced towards the Imperial Palace with soldiers with the quickest of speed. Luckily, these barracks weren't too far from the capital, and rushing at full speed, it took only a bit more than an incense's time to reach the capital

The army physician in the barracks could tell Chang Jiaye's situation wasn't right with a single glance. Her face was wan, and her lips didn't have the faintest redness, and her entire figure was enveloped in the heavy scent of blood. Seeing her about to ride away, she hurriedly stopped her. "Where are you going?"

Chang Jiaye sat atop the horse, looking at the army physician from on high. "This official still has matters to attend to; move aside."

"You ought to get down!" the imperial physician said, her face tender and young; a reckless youth. She recalled her teacher's counsel firmly; she couldn't let a single patient leave with wounds. So, she blocked Chang Jiaye's horse, stubbornly unwilling to let her leave.

The words she spoke were stern and forthright. "Still trying to rush away with such heavy injuries—do you want to die?"

Chang Jiaye could hear the kindness in her words, but she also knew that matters were urgent, and she had no time to be tarried here by this army physician. So, she intentionally made her expression cold. "This official bears the imperial command; if her majesty's matters are delayed, not even nine heads will be enough to be beheaded. What do such small injuries matter—get up!"

When she finished speaking, she grabbed the reins tightly, leading the horse to leap over the army physician's head. Her mind was still worried about Jiang Changbai's orders; she needed to get to the Regent's residence as quickly as possible, and notify Song Juguang. Though she didn't understand why her majesty hadn't had her go inform the Regent before coming to the barracks in the outskirts of the city; after all, the Regent's residence was right in the middle of the capital, far closer than the barracks.

But her majesty doing so most certainly had her own reason, and even if she were more puzzled, Chang Jiaye wasn't willing to take the initiative to change the sequence. She obediently went first to the barracks, and only then turned around to return to the capital to find the Regent.

The sound of the hoofbeats grew quieter and quieter, and only the army physician remained in place. Her face was marred by the dust from the hooves of the horse beneath Chang Jiaye, and her face was clearly dirties.

"Hmph," the army physician said, indignantly. "When Meng-daren returns, I'll definitely have to press her about your origins!"

It was clearly the middle of summer, and though it was almost dusk, the sun in the heavens declining gradually, it was still hot. But for Chang Jiaye, sat tensely upon the horse, the temperature around her was growing lower and lower.

Chang Jiaye unconsciously tightened her hands, feeling her fingertips were frighteningly cold. But she didn't have the energy to pay this any mind, and only rushed towards the city.

The capital's city guards had long since joined the chaos before the Imperial Palace gates, and at this moment, the great city gates were wide open, without anyone daring to block them. But just when Chang Jiaye was rejoicing that this time she'd saved time, she heard a maid's voice respond coldly from the Regent's residence's door, "Wangjun's left; I don't know when she'll be back either."

Chang Jiaye was unwilling to give in, and she pressed, "This matter's most urgent; do you know where Wangjun is now?"

The maid's expression was a bit embarrassed. "Wangjun's whereabouts are unknown; us servants don't have the right to know where she is, either."

Hearing this, Chang Jiaye's entire figure stilled, and she looked at the maid, not saying anything for a while. The maid looked at her as well, but after a long while, she saw that she hadn't made any further motions, and she extended a hand to doubtfully pat her shoulder.

She couldn't have imagined that, with only such a light pat, Chang Jiaye would actually fall over in response. The maid extended a hand to her nose, not daring to believe it, and unexpectedly felt that she was already no longer breathing.

"Ah—" The sharp cry resonated to the heavens.

But at this moment, Song Juguang, whom Chang Jiaye hadn't been able to find even at death's door, was sitting in a high place, calmly watching the battle in the Palace.

It was just that, right now, she couldn't quite sit still.

Looking forward, the might of the rebel soldiers that were lead by Wu Lianyi gradually suppressed the might of the imperial guards originally in the Imperial Palace, and step by step, they advanced towards the Rear Court. Looking back, behind her was the chaos of the people, and not the slightest sign of reinforcements.

At this moment, Jiang Changbai was in the Rear Court, her position growing more and more dangerous. It was such that even Song Juguang could, from a distance, see the blood rising from the Rear Palace, and perhaps a conflict had already occurred.

The worry in her mind grew greater and greater, and Song Juguang could only close her eyes tightly, and do her utmost to repeat the warning that her Shizun had given her before leaving.

"You must absolutely not get involved in others' fixed tribulations, no matter who that person is, and no matter how close the relationship your relationship with them is. Each person has their own fixed, inevitable tribulations, and if they're resolved through a force other than their own, not only will they not be able to pass the tribulation, at worst, it'll bring about an even more severe disaster.

"Each person has their own fate, even more so those of import, whose lives are predetermined from early on. When you go this time, only watch from a distance with detachment, and absolutely do not get involved."

Her Shizun's words rang uninterrupted in her ears, yet Song Juguang's desire to go and help was beginning to grow restless. Finally, from behind her sounded a burst of hoofbeats, and when she turned to look carefully, it was Meng Daosheng, finally bringing along the soldiers.

The addition of new blood rapidly turned the state of the battle, and the rebel forces retreated again and again, growing fewer and fewer the more they fought. Song Juguang watched the state of the fighting, and felt that, even if she weren't to get involved, it wouldn't change the conclusion of the rebel forces' loss.

Only at this did she feel relief, and leap down, heading directly towards Wu Dongmu.

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