Chapter 241

Ultimately, he still died in her hands. As he fed her medicine, he took a mouthful by mistake and was poisoned to death.

It was only that he knew that she had a death wish. All these years, every single meal that she had ate had been poisoned. She had consumed the antidote beforehand. However, her body had been ravaged by the countless types of queer poisons. She awaited his moment of carelessness, such that he would die.

The Tang Emperor died in the hands of the woman he loved most. Despite having guarded against her all his life, he was no match for her persistence and patience. However, he could not bear to kill her, leaving a final decree to chase her out of the palace, never to step in again.

The outsiders only knew about the deep love between the king and his queen. They did not know that the emperor had just wanted to protect his only son before he died. Alas, this secret was still made known to Zhan Ziyu by his sister. After Zhan Ziming’s failed assassination attempt on Li Ce, he brought Empress Dowager out of the temple and sneaked her into the palace, using her to kill Li Ce and the Tang Empire’s moment of prosperity.

Empress Dowager Yao had also committed suicide after hearing of Li Ce’s death. Chu Qiao did not know how she felt back then. Was it a feeling of elation and closure, having finally exacted her revenge? Or was it a feeling of helplessness and remorse, having made a huge mistake? She was a stubborn and extreme woman. Because of the events that happened back then, she killed the two men that loved her most in the world. Up until her last breath, would she still laugh at having finally attained some closure?

Perhaps not. After all, when she avenged her husband and son, she killed another husband and son. For a feud, she ruined another woman’s life.

After the death of Empress Dowager Yao, she was buried with the Xizong Emperor on Meishan. Back then, when they were alive, they constantly despised each other. They fought, plotted, and tried to assassinate each other, becoming entangled in a web of resentment all their lives. Ultimately, they were reunited in the cold imperial mausoleum with only each other as company for the rest of eternity, never to be separated again.

Chu Qiao did not know what happened back then, not did she understand why one’s feelings of hate could cause someone to be so scary. However, she thought to herself that sometimes, Empress Dowager Yao still had some feelings of motherly love for Li Ce. She still remembered that sunny afternoon when that old lady said to her as she frowned, “He fools around in the palace all day. Sigh, I’m… If you’re free, please dissuade him. After all, he’s the crown prince of Tang. He cannot be so playful anymore.”

Ultimately, with the death of the king of Luo, the last remnants of love were extinguished. She had been consumed by the demons in her heart, paying the price by losing her life.

The sound of something rustling started to echo out. The window was pushed open slightly by the wind, causing the curtains to sway, and waking Chu Qiao up from her state of deep thought. She turned around to see that Zhuge Yue had woken up and was leaning by the side of the bed. He was dressed in white and looked rejuvenated, the usual cold expression on his face replaced by that of peace and warmth.

As he saw her turn around, he waved his hand to signal her to come towards him. She walked over and poured a cup of tea for him as she asked, “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes,” he replied as he took a sip of tea. “If someone didn’t sneak into my room to sigh, I would have slept better.”

Chu Qiao blushed as she looked up at him. “Are you hungry?”

He nodded and said, “A little just now. I’m much better now.”

Chu Qiao stood up and remarked, “You’ve been asleep for one day and one night. Of course you’re hungry. I told the kitchen to prepare some food for you.”

“No need.” Zhuge Yue reached out his hand to hold her hand, guiding her to sit down beside him on the bed. “Keep me company for a little while.”

Chu Qiao smiled as she obliged.

“You’ve been in a daze for a long time. What were you thinking about just now?” Zhuge Yue held her hand and said naturally.

Chu Qiao shook her head and replied, “Some old things that are not important.”

Zhuge Yue smiled as he leaned by the front of the bed and looked at her from the side of his eye. “I have nothing to do anyway. Let’s listen to your thoughts.”

Chu Qiao blushed once again and tried to avoid the topic. “I told you it’s nothing important. There’s nothing much to say.”

“Oh?” Zhuge Yue replied with an exaggerated tone. “Is there really nothing much to say?”

As Chu Qiao was about to speak, Zhuge Yue suddenly leaned forward and planted his lips onto her lips. She started to feel a hot sensation as the hand around her waist tightened its grip on her. Her cold lips started to warm up as his tongue slid into her mouth. He squinted his eyes and looked at her with a deep look in his eyes. Zhuge Yue suddenly carried her up and pushed her on the bed with him on top. Chu Qiao exclaimed in surprise, but her voice was drowned out.

“That’s your lesson for not being obedient.”

Chu Qiao looked at him and brushed her hand against her slightly swollen lips. “That’s your way of punishment?”

“Not entirely.” Zhuge Yue laughed as his voice carried a tinge of arrogance. He looked up and continued, “There’s something else that’s more intense. Do you want to try?”

Chu Qiao squinted her eyes and looked at the cocky man in front of her. She leaned forward and looked at him seductively. Zhuge Yue was stunned. Before he had time to respond, she bit the area around his chin forcefully.

Zhuge Yue let out a grunt and used his hand to feel the area around his chin. Although there was no blood, a row of teeth marks had been left there.

“Hm, don’t think I’m scared of you!” Chu Qiao waved her fists in defiance as she proclaimed arrogantly.

Zhuge Yue flicked his wrists and replied, “Darned girl. You’ve become more wild these past few years. Looks like I’ll have to teach you a lesson then.”

Just as he was about to strike, Chu Qiao jumped out of his grasp and ran towards the door. “Am I a fool?” She proceeded to open the door.

“Aiyo!” Jingjing and the rest fell backwards into the room. As they scrambled to their feet, they blushed and waved awkwardly to the two of them.

Chu Qiao blushed as she looked at Jingjing and Pingan with a frown on her face. Yue Qi was also behind them. She hollered, “Yue Qi, you’re following their nonsense!”

“Hurhur, that’s… I was just passing by. I wanted to ask the both of you to eat, hurhur…” Yue Qi stood up and tried to proclaim his innocence, nodding as he walked towards the outside of the room. “Carry on, carry on.” He ran out of the room after finishing his words, leaving a parting message, “Master! Go for it!”

Jingjing ran over with a cheeky look and called out sweetly, “Brother-in-law!”

Zhuge Yue’s mood brightened up. He took out an exquisitely carved small dagger with a few red rubies carved onto it, and rewarded Jingjing for her efforts.

As Pingan saw the sight in front of him, he followed suit. As Zhuge Yue had nothing to gift him, he promised to give him a fine horse once they got back to Zhen Huang.

The two of them then chanted three times, “Long live Brother-in-law!”

Chu Qiao’s eyes were seething in anger as she realized that Zhuge Yue’s tactics of bribery were well-practised, which was unlike his usual character.

Dinner was prepared in a short time. As they were outdoors, and there were young children present, a casual feast was prepared. Everyone sat at the table together. Yue Qi and the others were a little reserved, while Jingjing, Pingan, and Meixiang were lively. He Xiao, having acquainted himself with Yue Qi and the rest over the last few days, was lively too. The atmosphere was joyful.

The sun set as they finished their meal. Yue Qi explained that they were at Cang Ridge, and they would reach Hu County in two days. Chu Qiao realized that they were nearing Zhen Huang. The evening winds were strong. Chu Qiao sat at the tail of the boat as she watched the sunset stain the river red.

Time had passed by in a flash. She had spent 14 years here. Her past life flashed in front of her just like a dream. She thought of the fact that she had been reborn into this life after she had died in her previous one. Would Li Ce continue his life in another world? What about Mister Wu and Lady Yu? Huanhuan and Xiaohe? Would they still meet each other and remember each other even after they had died?

She sat there as she wandered into deep thought. She looked up towards the sun, seemingly seeing Li Ce staring at her with his squinted eyes and saying, “Eat more meat. Your figure is undesirable.”

“What are you thinking about?” Zhuge Yue’s voice suddenly sounded out from behind her.

Chu Qiao turned back and looked at him. He was dressed in purple, with some words and patterns on his outfit. The seemingly normal clothes looked different on him, projecting a unique aura that only he could pull off. Chu Qiao looked at him with her eyes widened.

Zhuge Yue frowned and said with some uneasiness, “What are you looking at? You’re like a fool.” As he finished his sentence, he took his seat beside her.

As the waves formed around the boat, the birds flew across the red sky. The winds blew at their sleeves, causing them to flutter in the air like butterflies.

“Xing’er, why did you change your name to Chu Qiao?” Zhuge Yue asked.

Chu Qiao turned around and replied, “Because I’m not Jing Yue’er. My original name was Chu Qiao. I died before. After that… how do I put it… as all of you claim, my spirit took its place in Jing Yue’er’s body. After I escaped, I changed my name back.”

Zhuge Yue did not expect her to answer in this way as he was stunned. After a long while, he muttered, “What about the first time I saw you then?”

“I had just possessed her for a few days. I was about to escape.”

Zhuge Yue nodded and lowered his head, seemingly using all his effort to think about the credibility of her claims.

“Hey, don’t tell me you really believe this?” Chu Qiao was stunned as she had thought that her words were absurd. She remembered that she had told Yan Xun this once when they were young. He had thought that her brain had been damaged by a fever. Then, he proceeded to feed her a bowl of medicine. From then on, she had not mentioned this ever again.

“I believe you.”

“Ah?”

Zhuge Yue looked at her with a bizarre expression on his face as he frowned. “Why not? I investigated your background before. The servants had said that your character had changed after you returned from the human hunting session. I thought that you had been shocked then. Now that I see it, your explanation makes more sense.” Zhuge Yue nodded and accepted her explanation as he continued, “No wonder. I didn’t have your wit nor your ruthlessness when I was seven or eight years old. That’s because you weren’t seven or eight. Don’t tell me you were 70 or 80 when you died?”

Chu Qiao was unable to comprehend his logic as she remarked in disbelief, “I…I was 27.”

“27?” Zhuge Yue frowned and remarked unhappily, “That’s quite old already. Were you married? Did you have any children?”