Chapter 155
Chapter 155: Fallen Flowers and Dead Bamboo - A Tale of Love's
Tragedy (Part 1)
"Qingqing, where are you going?"
Just as Si Cang Qing was about to leave with the two, a lazy voice suddenly rang out, and a person dressed in
a bright red wedding robe slowly walked over. Casually glancing at the two, Qi Shuangran's gaze fixed on
Si Cang Qing's face. He smiled and softly asked, "On our wedding night, what are you planning to do?"
"Shuang," Si Cang Qing called out softly, glancing at the person waiting there, "You go back to the palace first..."
"Qingqing," Qi Shuangran interrupted him, smiling as he stood before him, raising his hand to stroke his cheek,
and said, "What do you take me for?"
Slightly startled, Si Cang Qing looked back at him, puzzled.
"On our wedding night, you didn't even say hello, running around for someone else. What do you take me for?!
If Mo Qing Jue were dead, so be it, but if he's not..." Qi Shuangran smiled eerily, a bloodthirsty curve to his lips.
His hand slid down to Si Cang Qing's neck, gently gripping it. "I'd be happy to send him to the underworld!
Or... should I just kill you and be done with it?!"
Ignoring the slight pressure on his neck, Si Cang Qing quietly gazed into her smiling eyes. This calmness in
Qi Shuangran was chilling. After a long while, he gently pulled her hand away, drawing her into his arms, and
whispered, "Let's go back to the palace!"
Turning away, ignoring the two others, Si Cang Qing prepared to leave with Qi Shuangran.
The two ignored men watched in astonishment as they walked past. As their figures gradually disappeared into
the night, the man who had previously held Qiu Ping Tian hostage suddenly reacted. He leaped forward to block
Si Cang Qing's path, glaring at him with hatred. "Si Cang Qing, you are truly heartless! The Shadow Master has
suffered because of you, and now his life is hanging by a thread, and you actually..."
"Qinghan!" Another man caught up, interrupting Qinghan. Forcing himself to remain calm, he glanced at the
cold-faced Si Cang Qing, then suddenly knelt down with a thud. He said in a deep voice, "Please... go see the
Shadow Master... he really..."
Before he could finish speaking, a strong blast of cold air struck him. He narrowly dodged it, and when he
looked up, he saw Qinghan attacking Qi Shuangran. It turned out that it was Qi Shuangran who had just lashed
out with his whip.
Having already left Si Cang Qing's embrace, Qi Shuangran dodged Qinghan's attack with a swift movement.
Then, she spun around and lashed out with her whip. Her opponent, unable to dodge, was struck and fell to
the ground, coughing up blood and curling up on the ground, barely breathing. The person who had been kneeling,
seeing the situation was dire, instantly flew over, grabbed Qinghan, and retreated several feet before the second
wave of attacks arrived.
Holding her cold whip, Qi Shuangran smiled wickedly, glancing sideways at her opponent, and snorted, "An ant
trying to shake a tree, laughable and overestimating yourself! Today, I'll be kind enough to send you on your way,
so your master will have company on his journey to the Yellow Springs!"
“Your Majesty,” the man cried urgently as he supported the severely wounded, unconscious figure, “Do you truly
not care whether the Shadow Lord lives or dies?”
The man who had been standing by, watching impassively, cast only a cold glance his way. Then, with a swift
movement, he blocked Qi Shuangran’s attack. Si Cang Qing said in a calm voice, “Shuang, it’s getting late.
Return to the palace and rest.”
Qi Shuangran shot him a cold glare but said nothing. He simply withdrew his whip, forcefully shoved aside the
body blocking his path, and strode away with his head held high!
Seeing this, Si Cang Qing followed suit, leaving the other two behind.
“Only three days left,” he said despairingly as he watched Si Cang Qing’s indifferent back disappear into the
night. Speaking as if to himself in a very low voice, he added, “The Shadow Master is now in the Bamboo Garden
of Qinglin Town in the southern suburbs. He can hold on for no more than three days…”
________
Reclining comfortably on the couch, eating the fruit this person had peeled for him, Qi Shuangran narrowed his
eyes as he watched Si Cang Qing’s expressionless face and spoke lazily, “What? Still thinking about
Mo Qing Jue?”
Sitting beside Qi Shuangran, Si Cang Qing held the fruit in his hand to his lips but did not answer.
In truth, he was somewhat concerned about Mo Qing Jue’s condition. However, he also knew that if he hadn’t
returned with Qi Shuangran just now, he would likely have walked away for good. If that had happened, this time,
he might never have looked back.
As for Mo Qing Jue, Si Cang Qing hadn’t expected that he still couldn’t let go completely; even upon learning
that the other’s days were numbered, he wasn’t as indifferent as he’d initially imagined……
He had heard the last words Mo Qing Jue spoke under that tree.
He wanted to go see that person, and he wanted to save him.
However, Si Cang Qing was also well aware that even if he went there now, there was nothing he could do to
help…… Meanwhile, Qi Shuangran was pressing him harder and harder, so he had no choice but to return to the
palace first, while secretly dispatching men to Qinglin Town to gather intelligence. Once he had a clear picture
of the situation, he would decide what to do next.
After waiting for a response from this man for a long time, Qi Shuangran glared at him in annoyance. “You really
are so stiff and boring! I can’t be bothered with you. I’m going to sleep!”
Neither of them brought up the earlier unpleasantness again.
The night was still.
Si Cang Qing lay awake, staring at the deep red canopy, his thoughts drifting far away.
Suddenly, a dull ache shot through his abdomen. Si Cang Qing snapped back to reality and felt a thigh draped
across his body, rubbing against him rather restlessly. He lowered his gaze to the person sleeping soundly in his
arms, and his expression gradually softened.
This person's sleeping posture is really bad. ． ． ． ． ．
Just as he was thinking this, a punch came flying at him. Si Cang Qing narrowly dodged, grabbing his arm and
tucking it under his armpit, only then feeling slightly relieved. He leaned in and kissed the other's forehead before
slowly closing his eyes.
No one questioned the events that occurred on Si Cang Qing and Qi Shuangran's wedding night. Perhaps everyone
knew the truth, or perhaps they were all observing Si Cang Qing's reaction.
That day, just after court, Feng Xiang appeared from the shadows. After exchanging a few words with
Si Cang Qing, the two hurriedly left the palace.
Qiu Ping Tian paused, looking up at Feng Mo with a gentle smile. "I see. When will Qingdi return? Does
the Empress and the others know?"
"Your Highness, the Master said he'll return no later than tomorrow. The other Consorts also know..."
"I understand. You may leave."
Putting away the abacus, Qiu Ping Tian strolled leisurely outside the palace, gazing at the vibrant flowers in
the courtyard, and sighed softly... Qingdi, don't disappoint us again!
He could tolerate anyone's interference, but he couldn't feel even a shred of affection for that person! Not only
because Si Cang Qing had been hurt because of him, not only because he was the nemesis of his beloved, but also
because of deep-seated jealousy…
During those three months of panic and despair, the person least deserving of Si Cang Qing’s affection ended up
monopolizing all of his love and care. He made Si Cang Qing, a man so cold and heartless, fall in love with him
in such a short time, to the point where he simply couldn’t bring himself to let go of his feelings for him... ...
Otherwise, the moment Si Cang Qing regained his memory, given this man’s cold-hearted nature, he would have
killed that person without the slightest hesitation!
He, Qiu Ping Tian, was a merchant, a man who excelled at haggling over every detail. He had never possessed
the magnanimity to accept that someone he hated with every fiber of his being would share Si Cang Qing’s love.
His fingers unconsciously traced the small white jade abacus Si Cang Qing had given him, and Qiu Ping Tian
felt his mind growing increasingly chaotic. Ever since he had fallen in love with that supreme emperor, he had
found it difficult to maintain a calm and composed state of mind! But… it wasn’t just him. He was certain that if
Si Cang Qing insisted on keeping Mo Qing Jue by his side this time, the others wouldn’t tolerate it silently as
they had in the past!
Dismounting, two figures, one white and one in black, sped through the forest.
Si Cang Qing suddenly stopped in his tracks and asked calmly, “Here?”
“Yes, my lord.” Feng Xiang replied in a low voice, “A formation has been set up ahead.”
Nodding slightly, Si Cang Qing strode forward a few zhang before stopping again, staring in astonishment at
the lush bamboo grove before him, where vast patches of flowers had bloomed on the tips of the bamboo shoots.
Green bamboo flowers bloom only once in its lifetime; once it blooms, its roots rot and the bamboo dies.
Feng Xiang was puzzled. Following his master’s gaze, he furrowed his brow slightly, according to folk lore,
bamboo blossoms signified misfortune.
“What a pity…” A figure lay flat on the bamboo bed, quietly gazing at the intertwining branches and leaves, and
sighed softly, “The bamboo of Sishui is all about to die, isn’t it?”
His only reply was the crisp, faint rustling of the wind through the sparse bamboo.
So familiar... His vision blurred, and he suddenly remembered the 'home' he had lived in for over three months,
surrounded by a vast bamboo grove, and how the person there had lived up to his expectations, deeply enamored
with its tranquility.
In that instant, he regretted coming to the capital.
No matter how similar this bamboo grove was, it wasn't his true home. Only that secluded little village was his
dream paradise, their home. Even if it was a mirage he had created himself, the happiness they shared was real!
And so, bit by bit, his memories began to resurface.
He recalled the thrill he felt during that first month, night after night, as his fingers gently traced the features of
the sleeping face; he recalled the surprise he felt when that person first approached him after coming to their
senses; he recalled the satisfaction he felt as that person gradually yielded to him, until there was nowhere left to
retreat; he recalled the thrill of that person moving in and out of him on their wedding night; he recalled the bliss
of being silently pampered and cherished by that person……
Then his thoughts traced back to their very first encounter. When he saw that Crown Prince—proud in bearing,
ruthless and decisive—he suddenly felt an indescribable sense of awe and admiration; Then he recalled their
subsequent rivalry; when he realized that person could always thwart the traps he had painstakingly set, he felt,
for the first time, a desire to compete and a longing to draw closer; then he reminisced about their time together
during the southern campaign; when that person, enduring internal injuries, carried him on his back step by step
back to the camp, he felt for the first time that his own heart could beat.
And so, the memories of Mo Qing Jue, Qiang Qingmo, Wen, and even Ao blended together, intertwining and
overlapping; the chaotic images collided, so real yet so illusory, that he felt as if his entire being were about to
float away.
Then, within this “illusion,” he was delighted to see the face of the man who had long since consumed his every
thought—still as handsome and aloof as ever—and his once-dead heart suddenly came alive.
He smiled broadly and whispered, “Aqing…”
Standing frozen at the head of the bamboo bed, Si Cang Qing opened his mouth but ultimately couldn’t bring
himself to speak.
How could this person have changed so much in just two months?!
His heart felt like it was being squeezed, a dull ache, a slight pain. Si Cang Qing slowly knelt down, raising his
hand to touch this person's face, but it remained suspended in mid-air.
“Mo….”
At last, he called out softly.
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