VBNWDW - Chapter 136
Chapter 136
"Your Highness!"
"Run! Run that way!"
A blurry figure was hidden amidst the glint of blades and the light of fire. Someone shouted with all their might, their voice anxious and broken.
In the dream, Zhong Jueyu struggled to push forward, but her arm was held in a tight grip.
"Your Highness, General Ruan He wants you to leave at once!" the person yelled urgently, raising their hand to block another descending saber.
Zhong Jueyu desperately tried to look back, but she could only see Ruan He, now in different armor, leading a group of soldiers and charging in another direction. She was going to trade her own life for Zhong Jueyu's escape.
Though it was a dream, it was clear and logical. Aside from her and Luo Yueqing being mere nodding acquaintances, everything felt as if it had truly happened in reality.
On that day, she had been wounded by assassins sent by the Crown Prince. She had intended to recuperate at the temple, but unexpectedly, Great Chu tore up the treaty and sent troops to attack Great Liang again.
In the dream, the Crown Prince was not forced to lead the troops; instead, she was the one who, despite her injuries, led the army south.
"Your Highness, if you don't go now, it'll be too late! You can't betray General Ruan He's sacrifice!"
Seeing that she still refused to leave, the soldier roared, "Don't you want to avenge General Shigui anymore?!"
That roar struck Zhong Jueyu like a bolt of lightning, startling her awake. Her legs went weak as she remembered what had happened before.
Even though Great Chu's offensive was ferocious, Zhong Jueyu, who had rushed to the front, still managed to turn the tide, forcing a stalemate with Great Chu at the border.
This time, Great Chu's attack was extremely fierce. On one hand, it was for the so-called revenge for their prince; on the other, it was fueled by a conviction to redeem their previous shame. Coupled with the Great Chu emperor's unreserved support and Great Liang constantly holding her back, even Zhong Jueyu couldn't achieve a swift victory. The stalemate lasted for several months.
A few months was neither long nor short, and quite normal for a border war.
But His Majesty and the Crown Prince had long been suspicious of Zhong Jueyu. The longer the war dragged on, the more the two of them suspected that Zhong Jueyu was deliberately stalling, harboring treasonous intentions.
After all, Zhong Jueyu's performance the last time she led troops had been far too outstanding.
Thus, the Crown Prince suddenly arrived with an imperial edict and forcibly seized military authority from Zhong Jueyu's hands.
Changing commanders during wartime was a great taboo. Zhong Jueyu vehemently opposed it, but she could not defy the imperial edict and could only endure the humiliation. Then, the Crown Prince deliberately sent Li Shigui to scout an enemy trap. She was pursued to a cliff and forced to jump. To this day, not even her body had been found!
"Your Highness!"
The memory of this caused blood to rush to Zhong Jueyu's head. A sweet, metallic taste rose in her throat, instantly flooding her entire mouth.
But there was nothing she could do except watch as Ruan He stepped into a sea of blood for her sake.
Fine beads of sweat broke out continuously, covering her forehead and the ends of her hair. Her dry lips turned white, parting and closing as she formed silent shouts.
A sliver of white appeared on the horizon. The morning mist spread, and dewdrops gathered on the tips of leaves. The lingering chill of early spring was at its most biting, seeping into the room through the crack in the door.
Zhong Jueyu shuddered violently. Sweat soaked through the fabric beneath her as if it were water, drenching it in an instant.
At the same time, the person in her dream was pushed from the city wall. The whistling of the wind roared in Zhong Jueyu's ears. For the first time, she knew that the few seconds of a fall could feel so slow.
She heard her own brother, born of the same mother, turn around the very second after he pushed her from the city wall and order his men to flee. Just like in reality, he abandoned the entire city to become a deserter, ignobly saving his own skin.
The cries of children, the wails of soldiers, the defiant roars of the dying—they all cursed her for being a useless failure.
Zhong Jueyu thought she would die. After all, she could already feel her body turning ice-cold, as if she were submerged in the Yellow Springs.
"Zhong Jinyan!"
The person beside her pillow finally noticed something was wrong. Startled awake, she called out urgently, trying to wake her.
But when Zhong Jueyu opened her eyes, she was still in the dreamscape.
She had been saved. Although she had narrowly escaped with her life, her constitution had been damaged, leaving her with an ailment where her bones ached intensely whenever the weather turned cold.
The physician she found told her that if she were to find solace in nature and focus on recuperating, she might live longer, and her hidden injuries might slowly heal.
But Zhong Jueyu asked her if there was any medicine that could briefly return a person to their peak condition, just long enough to help her get her revenge.
Even if she only had two years of life left.
"Zhong Jinyan, wake up!"
Zhong Jueyu heard Luo Yueqing calling her, trying to pull her out of this dream, but this time, it was Zhong Jueyu herself who refused to break free. She was lucidly trapped in this dream.
She saw herself raise a long saber, cleave open the gates of the Capital, and overturn that so-called dragon throne. She looked down at her trembling Father Emperor, and behind her was the Capital that had not mourned her supposed death for even a moment.
That's right. Her beloved Father Emperor, upon hearing that his own son had pushed his sister from the city wall, not only felt no sadness but even showed a joyful expression, as if a great threat had been eliminated.
He even issued an edict, ordering his deserter son to sue for peace, handing over half of Great Liang.
"Jueyu, my daughter," the emperor, cowering on the floor, played his last emotional card, trying to appeal to her mercy.
But Zhong Jueyu laughed and casually tossed the Crown Prince's head beside him. She said, "Father Emperor, did you know that Imperial Brother was just like you a moment ago, calling my name over and over, repenting for his sins?"
The smile didn't reach her eyes. Her phoenix eyes, so similar to his yet so cold and sharp, no longer held their former warmth.
Zhong Tuming's face was filled with terror. Realizing the emotional appeal was useless, he shouted, "I'll abdicate the throne to you! I'll give you everything! Just don't kill me."
His answer was Zhong Jueyu's cold laugh and the sudden swing of her long saber. Blood splattered everywhere, staining the ground but sparing the dragon throne that represented supreme power.
The sweat-drenched bedding was chilled by a gust of wind, making her feel as if she had been plunged into an ice cellar.
Zhong Jueyu's breathing grew difficult, and she gasped for air in great gulps.
Outside the room, the sunlight grew brighter, dispelling the biting cold. Dewdrops left faint marks on the green leaves.
In the dream, Zhong Jueyu saw Luo Yueqing again. She struggled with all her might but was still unable to control the body of her dream self. So, she could only watch as the captured Luo Yueqing knelt before her.
The person in the dream only spared her, sending her away to another place. But her maternal clan and her husband's family were both noble houses that had schemed during the conflict between Great Liang and Chu. Even if she wanted to spare them, she could not grant them an easy pardon.
She saw the ashen-faced Luo Yueqing in her dream. Even though she was spared, she was like a walking corpse.
However, the Zhong Jueyu in the dream showed not a shred of pity. She even knew clearly that this reprieve was merely a postponement of Luo Yueqing's death.
What she wanted was not the throne, not the world.
Every time she saw Ruan He, her face disfigured and her vocal cords destroyed, she could only think of the surging sea of blood on that day, and of Li Shigui falling from the cliff.
How laughable. She had once devoted herself to Great Liang, only to end up with those around her either turning against her or leaving her. And now they wanted her to be a good monarch?
Laughable.
The voice in her ears grew clearer. The person in reality kept calling Zhong Jueyu's name, over and over.
But she was gradually losing herself, falling into this dream that she couldn't tell from reality. Cries, pleas for mercy, wails, and the ceaseless fall of blades.
Great Liang, Great Chu—the entire continent was mired in mountains of corpses and the chaos of war.
"Zhong Jinyan!"
Zhong Jueyu stood atop a mountain of corpses, her head tilted toward the sky. Her blood-soaked armor had long lost its original appearance. The long saber slipped from her palm, and her eyes were nothing but a dead, silent gray.
In just two short years, she had gone from the universally praised Grand Princess to a demon whose name alone could stop a child from crying.
"Zhong Jueyu!"
The voice rang out like the deafening toll of a bronze bell.
Zhong Jueyu's eyes flew open, and she sat bolt upright.
The thin nightclothes clung to her body. The white fabric, soaked through, had become semi-transparent. Sweat trickled down her skin. If someone were to say that Zhong Jueyu had just emerged from the water, no one would doubt it.
Zhong Jueyu gasped for breath, as if she had just escaped from hell.
Outside, the morning was beautiful. Sunlight scattered down, and birds flapped their wings and took flight, shaking the green branches and letting out melodious chirps. Farther away, servants were already up, the long bamboo brooms making a soft rustling sound as they swept across the ground.
"What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?" The person beside her was still just as anxious.
Zhong Jueyu finally recovered a little. She turned to look at Luo Yueqing but didn't speak. Her dark eyes were murky and suppressed, her expression uncharacteristically distant.
Luo Yueqing was full of concern. "What's the matter?" she asked again.
Zhong Jueyu pulled her arm. Luo Yueqing's hand, which had been resting on her forearm, was shaken off. The spot that had been under her palm instantly felt cool.
Luo Yueqing didn't mind, assuming she was just feeling hot from sweating so much.
She added, "What did you dream about? I've been calling you for a long time."
Her senses gradually returned, the thin layer of sweat sticking to her skin.
Zhong Jueyu opened her mouth. Her lips, stuck together, stung as they parted. "I had a bad dream," she said.
"What did you dream about?" Luo Yueqing wondered how she could comfort her and help her shake off the lingering effects of the nightmare.
But Zhong Jueyu shook her head. "I forgot."
"Ah?"
Zhong Jueyu turned her head, her gaze falling on the bedding. "I don't usually dream much," she said. "Whenever I do, I forget everything as soon as I wake up."
Luo Yueqing nodded. Just as she was about to say something, she saw Zhong Jueyu get out of bed. "Why is it so late? I have to leave quickly. It'll be impossible to get out once it's brighter."
With that, she grabbed her clothes from the side and began to put them on, looking to be in a great hurry.
Luo Yueqing could only explain, "I started calling you at the crack of dawn, but you wouldn't wake up."
Zhong Jueyu grunted in acknowledgment, then tied her belt and said, "I'm leaving now."
As the words fell, she was already walking away. Only when she turned to close the door did she cast a glance back. Perhaps the surroundings were too dark, but the emotion in her eyes was gloomy and obscure, like a pool of stagnant water.
With a soft thud, the door closed.
On the other side, the carriage was already waiting. Since there was no morning court today, the people inside were not in a rush, only occasionally lifting the curtain to peek outside.
Until a familiar figure approached.
"Your Highness!" Li Shigui called out first, then stopped abruptly, her voice tinged with surprise. "Your Highness, why do you look so pale?"
Normally, Zhong Jueyu's complexion was fair, but it was the healthy, lustrous white of porcelain. Now, it was a bloodless pallor, and she looked utterly wretched.
Ruan He, standing beside her, also frowned and asked in a low voice, "Your Highness, what's wrong?"
Zhong Jueyu's gaze was heavy. She didn't get into the carriage right away. Instead, she stared at them fixedly for a long moment before waving her hand. "It's nothing."
Her voice was a little weak, making her words sound completely unconvincing.
Ruan He and Li Shigui exchanged a worried glance. Countless speculations arose in their minds, the most likely of which was that Zhong Jueyu had argued with Luo Yueqing.
The carriage swayed for a moment, and then the curtain was lowered.
Li Shigui wanted to speak again but was interrupted. Zhong Jueyu, sitting in the middle, said directly, "What about those families I had you take note of before?"
Could they have argued over this matter?
Li Shigui quickly took out the notebook from before and handed it over. "It's right here. Not a single one is missing."
Zhong Jueyu nodded, took it, and flipped it open. She scanned the list of names from top to bottom, then paused on one of them.
"A pen," she said.
Li Shigui immediately handed her a portable charcoal pencil. These had been in use since the previous dynasty, made from relatively hard black charcoal ground into small, easy-to-write-with pieces. Although they were awkward to hold and tended to produce ugly handwriting, they had the advantage of being simple and convenient.
However, they were expensive to produce and banned from use in the imperial examinations, so only a very few people could use them, preventing them from becoming widespread.
Zhong Jueyu took the charcoal pencil and circled the name heavily.
"This person…" she began, but her voice trailed off, becoming so faint that the rest of her words were inaudible.
Ruan He and Li Shigui, waiting beside her, couldn't help but lean closer.
Li Shigui even spoke up directly, "Please speak, Your Highness!"
The veins on the hand gripping the pencil bulged. Zhong Jueyu opened her mouth, but then felt it was absurd. It was just a dream. Perhaps it was because of what happened yesterday that she dreamed of Luo Yueqing marrying one of them.
She put the pencil down, her expression softening for a moment before she immediately said, "Shigui, I need you to do something for me."
In her dream, she had a subordinate who had only started following her after she went on campaign. She had died blocking a blow for Zhong Jueyu. Before she died, she had grabbed her hand and said that if Her Highness ever had the chance, she should help take care of her younger sister. The two sisters' parents had died when they were young, and they had grown up relying on each other. If she were gone, she feared her sister would have no one to look after her.
Zhong Jueyu clutched the paper, recalling the address from her dream. "Go to the slums on the western outskirts of the city and find two people for me."
"Their surname is Lin. They are two sisters who lost their parents when they were young. They are six years apart, and the older one should have just turned eighteen now," Zhong Jueyu said, frowning as she tried to remember.
After all, it was something that happened in a dream, and only a few major events were clear. If she hadn't sent someone to look for this younger sister after returning to the Capital, only to be presented with a corpse that had been violated, she wouldn't have remembered it so vividly.
Li Shigui looked somewhat surprised, not understanding why Her Highness suddenly wanted to find someone, but she still agreed with a puzzled expression.
Just as she was about to turn and jump from the carriage, Zhong Jueyu spoke again. "From now on, you need not listen to anyone's orders but mine."
She enunciated each word clearly. "That includes His Majesty and the Crown Prince."
Li Shigui scratched her head and dazedly replied, "Yes."
Back in the carriage, Ruan He had already understood a great deal. She didn't ask any questions, simply handing a wrung-out towel to Zhong Jueyu.
Zhong Jueyu broke free from her daze and took it, wiping her face. She had left in such a hurry that she hadn't even washed up. Fortunately, Ruan He and the others had come prepared, with warm water, towels, and other things in the carriage.
As the warm towel covered her eyes, Zhong Jueyu suddenly let out a heavy breath. "What is the public opinion in the Capital now?"
Ruan He answered calmly, "We have sent people to spread the word. The rumor circulating in the Capital now is that the Luo Family harbors treasonous intentions."
Zhong Jueyu nodded, but still felt uneasy. "After I change my clothes, let's go to the taverns and teahouses to have a look."
Ruan He immediately replied, "Yes."
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