In the depths of those amber eyes, a childlike innocence and confusion emerged.
At that moment, he was dragged into the abyss by overwhelming pain.
Memories, once buried deep within like snow, suddenly became vivid in the raging wind.
Crimson tears fell one by one to the ground.
Trembling, Xie Bufeng reached out, pressing his fingers against Wen Qingci’s neck and wrist, searching for a pulse.
Nothing…
Beneath his touch, there was nothing.
…magnolia petals dancing like phosphorescent flames and bird-scare bells ringing under the eaves.
In the small courtyard of the Imperial Medical Bureau, a red clay stove still held a warm pot of flower tea.
On the day they first met, he had been forced to kneel.
Only Wen Qingci noticed the injury on his arm.
Homemade meals, delivered medicine.
It was the first time he realized that food served a purpose beyond nourishment.
The fireworks of the Tai Shu Palace, the snowy night in the small house….
Wen Qingci sat by the bedside, watching over him all night…
The snow continued to fall relentlessly.
Layer by layer, it covered Wen Qingci, obscuring his features.
The pain that had come too late now entangled the trembling youth. He wiped the snow from Wen Qingci’s face, desperate for help or even a gentle glance…
“Wen Qingci, my heart hurts so much, and… the wounds on my body are also hurting,” Xie Bufeng put his lips to Wen Qingci’s ear, as if trying to warm him with his body temperature, or as if complaining to him, “What should I do? You are the imperial physician, you must know what to do… right?”
He let go of his calmness, his pride, and the childish thoughts hidden deep in his heart that even he himself was not aware of – Xie Bufeng actually just wanted Wen Qingci to give in and let him coax him.
Xie Bufeng whimpered like a wounded little animal.
He tried his best to gently touch the person in his arms, hoping to get help, or maybe just a gentle glance would be enough…
But today, he understood the true nature of pain.
No one else would worry about him or be anxious by his side.
On this snowy night, at this moment when Wen Qingci was sleeping.
From then on, he was either a “monster” or the “Powerful” new emperor of the Wei Dynasty.
But no one would ever treat him as an ordinary boy who was just sick.
Crimson tears slid down his cheeks, falling onto Wen Qingci’s pale skin.
Desperate, the youth tried to wipe them away, only to realize that the body in his arms had already grown cold, merging with the snowy night.
The Hengxin Guard, who had launched a surprise attack, had been captured by soldiers.
One by one they fell to their knees in embarrassment.
Even Xie Bufeng’s most trusted deputy dared not disturb the youth at this moment.
Silence enveloped the chaotic battlefield within the Tai Shu Palace.
Xie Bufeng trembled, holding Wen Qingci tightly, repeating:
“You once called me ‘cruel and vengeful,’ said I’d retaliate for the slightest offense. Why, why did you save me?”
“Wasn’t I just a rabbit for your experiments? Why risk your life to save a mere rabbit?”
Strange pain shattered Xie Bufeng’s composure.
Only now did he realize that the honey Wen Qingci had fed him was not poison.
His trembling lips formed words:
“The ‘deal’ you mentioned—did you truly mean it, or did you guess my thoughts and devise a way to make me accept your kindness?”
Then, he burst into laughter, sadder than tears.
All the overlooked details from the past converged in that moment.
Wen Qingci had never intended to harm him.
Accustomed to being seen as a “immortal-faced demon,” Wen Qingci had even given up defending himself.
Xie Bufeng once breathed a sigh of relief because Wen Qingci treated him as a rabbit for drug testing.
Later, he refused to be just an ordinary rabbit in Wen Qingci’s eyes.
But now, when everything that was happening before his eyes and his heart clearly told Xie Bufeng that he was really more important and special than that rabbit, Xie Bufeng suddenly regretted it.
Xie Bufeng found that he would rather Wen Qingci was really like what he had said when he was angry before, a stone that could never be warmed up.
…That would be better than the current ending.
Lost and bewildered, pain still spreading through his body, Xie Bufeng felt as if invisible hands were tearing him apart.
The youth, raised in malice, had never truly understood or experienced love in his sixteen years of life.
In his heart, all the kindness and tenderness in this world have a purpose and cannot be obtained for free.
But everything that happened today, and the existence of Wen Qingci.
It made him realize that kindness and tenderness didn’t always come with strings attached.
As dawn approached, the chaotic night was but a fleeting moment in the grand expanse of time.
The heavily armored soldiers stood still, afraid to make a sound.
Unbeknownst to them, the snow had piled up into small hills on their armor.
…
Xie Zhaolin lay pinned, sprawled across the long steps, devoid of the majesty of an emperor. Covered in blood, he looked wretched and repulsive.
Realizing the battle was lost, Xie Zhaolin had gone mad, screaming without resistance.
At the moment of surrender, the Hengxin Guard had considered executing him to prove their sincerity.
But at the last second, someone intervened.
——Wouldn’t it be too easy for him to kill him with just one sword?
And so, Xie Zhaolin remained alive, though he might not fully comprehend what had just transpired.
Seeing Xie Bufeng’s distressed expression, Xie Zhaolin, still sprawled on the ground, chuckled softly.
A soldier stepped on his back, keeping him in check.
Xie Bufeng finally remembered this man.
He carefully picked up Wen Qingci, kissed him on the forehead with great cherishment, and then slowly walked towards this direction.
Xie Zhaolin paused, then slowly raised his head and looked at the young man.
Xie Bufeng looked down at him:
“Don’t you like bloodletting?”
“Then I will show my filial piety again and fulfill my father’s dying wish, okay?”
Xie Bufeng said this with a smile, but his voice was full of coldness.
Xie Zhaolin’s eyes widened instantly.
Even if he really fell insane, he could still rely on his instinct to feel the murderous intent rising from the young man.
“What are you going to do…”
Xie Zhaolin struggled to retreat, but was pinned down by the soldier who stepped on his back and he couldn’t move at all.
The young man smiled and said nonchalantly, “Take him to the round prison and let him bleed drop by drop. Experience it for yourself.”
The “Round Prison” of the Ministry of Justice was built in the previous dynasty.
The interior of the cell is a complete sphere with inner walls made of smooth stone. The person imprisoned here has one hand hanging from the ceiling and one foot barely touching the ground.
Not only were they unable to sleep, but they could only stand in the most tiring position.
What Xie Bufeng chose for him was a torture that could prolong the fear and pain of death.
Not to mention that Xie Zhaolin also suffers from hysteria.
For him, a place like the round prison was a double torture both mentally and physically.
“how dare you–“
“Xie Bufeng, how dare you do this!”
Xie Zhaolin’s eyes widened, and he screamed in pain and madness.
He seemed not to realize that he was no longer emperor.
The young man simply ignored his words and added as if he remembered something: “Remember to add some more water to the cell. I will go to see him in two days.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The heavy snow was still falling, but the wind had died down a lot.
The sounds of wind and fighting mixed together and made noise all night long, but now Xie Bufeng’s ears finally quieted down.
The fragrance of magnolia was blown to his side again.
Xie Bufeng rubbed Wen Qingci’s cold cheek gently like a little animal.
Then he carefully kissed him on the cheek, looking very gentle.
But when all this fell into the eyes of the people present, there was only horror.
After all, what Xie Bufeng was holding in his arms… was already just a corpse——
In the silence, the sounds outside the palace reached the young man’s ears without missing a single one.
“…Here it comes,” Yu Guanlin’s voice suddenly appeared not far away, “Please wait a moment, sir. My legs and feet can’t keep up!” He said breathlessly.
“Time waits for no one! Give me the medicine box, I’ll take it–“
“…Okay, okay,” the old physician said reluctantly, “Be gentle!”
After saying that, the outside of the yard suddenly became quiet.
It turned out that the wind and snow were so strong just now that everything seemed to be hidden under a thick white veil.
Those who stood farther away couldn’t discern the severity of Wen Qingci’s injuries.
From a distance, they witnessed someone falling heavily from mid-air, caught by the emperor himself. A soldier stationed at the edge of the open space hurriedly left to find the palace physician in the Tai Shu Palace.
The medical bureau was located on the outskirts of the palace and had been guarded by the loyal Hengxin Guards. When the soldier arrived, he found the night-duty physicians already dead, and the wounded beyond their help.
Just as he thought he would return empty-handed, he encountered Yu Guanlin at the entrance to the medical bureau.
Ah, Yu Guanlin! How could he have forgotten him?
Although not the night-duty physician, Yu Guanlin had attended the victory banquet last night. Due to the late hour and his advanced age, he chose to stay within the palace.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Yu Guanlin, who had spent decades working within the palace, knew many secrets. He immediately slipped into the Tai Shu Palace, finding a safe hiding spot.
After confirming that the entire palace was now under the control of Xie Bufeng’s forces, Yu Guanlin emerged and returned to the medical bureau to collect and organize his belongings.
However, just as he reached the entrance, the soldier brought him here without explanation.
…
The sounds from outside reached everyone’s ears. Xie Bufeng’s deputy glanced at him hesitantly, intending to dismiss Yu Guanlin. But before he could do so, the soldier dragged Yu Guanlin inside.
In the next moment, the Hengxin Guards, along with heavily armored soldiers, all turned their attention to him as he knelt on the ground.
Startled, Yu Guanlin stepped back. “Ah!”
Finally recalling his manners, he quickly straightened up and bowed to the figure on the raised platform.
—On the way here, the soldier had informed him that Xie Bufeng was now the emperor of the Wei Dynasty.
“Minister Yu Guanlin pays respects to Your Majesty. Long live the emperor!” After the formal greeting, Yu Guanlin couldn’t help but ask, “May I inquire if the person in Your Majesty’s arms is the injured individual?”
Despite Xie Bufeng’s desperate attempts to brush off the snowflakes from his body, the moon-white cloak that Wen Qingci often wore was still stained with snow. The wound had frozen, hidden beneath the cold white fabric.
After uttering those words, Yu Guanlin hesitated, and only then did he vaguely notice that Xie Bufeng’s face was also streaked with fresh blood, a vivid crimson.
And the open space remained eerily silent.
Everyone’s faces revealed no joy at the recent ascension to the throne.
What had happened?
Yu Guanlin sensed that things were different from what he had assumed.
At that moment, the soldier who had brought him here finally recognized the person in Xie Bufeng’s arms. “Is that… Wen Qingci?”
“What?” Yu Guanlin turned to look at the soldier, instinctively refuting, “Impossible! He wouldn’t have come here.”
The elderly physician seemed oblivious to the gravity of his words.
“What do you mean?” Xie Bufeng suddenly spoke. His voice, like a harsh, low whisper carried by the cold wind, had lost its youthful vigor overnight, replaced by profound weariness and trembling.
Yu Guanlin clenched his jaw, unable to speak, and hastily knelt down.
“I am asking you!” Xie Bufeng stepped closer.
Yu Guanlin realized he couldn’t discern Xie Bufeng’s emotions from his words.
“Your Majesty,” the trembling old physician stammered, staring at the snowy ground, “during the palace coup, I hid in a corner of the Tai Shu Palace and saw… I saw Physician Wen.”
Xie Bufeng gritted his teeth.
Yu Guanlin, who was a master in the palace, was also overwhelmed by his aura. He didn’t have time to think and blurted out everything: “I saw Physician Wen with my own eyes. He had already gotten rid of the Hengxin Guards. At that time, he was walking alone on the palace road and was about to leave the palace. He was near the palace wall. He must have wanted to leave the palace temporarily and hide.”
Yu Guanlin, who was hiding in the dark, saw Wen Qingci approach the palace wall with his own eyes.
At that moment, Wen Qingci could have easily escaped this chaotic place with a single leap.
Why would he run into the heart of turmoil?
Except for Wen Qingci leaving the palace, not to temporarily avoid the chaos, but to fake his own death and escape, everything else was what the old physician had personally witnessed.
He had merely stated the facts.
But in an instant, the young emperor’s composure shattered.
“What did you say—” Xie Bufeng clutched the lifeless body in his arms, kneeling heavily on the ground, pulling Yu Guanlin up by his collar. “You said Wen Qingci had broken free from the Hengxin Guards and reached the palace walls?!”
A surge of pain overwhelmed Xie Bufeng once more. He forgot how to breathe.
“Yes Yes–“
Xie Bufeng stared at Yu Guanlin’s eyes.
Suddenly he laughed out loud.
It was only then that Yu Guanlin discovered that the young man’s eyes had turned red without him noticing.
…The blood on his face was not from injuries, but from tears of blood.
An ominous premonition arose in Yu Guanlin’s heart.
He finally mustered up the courage to look into the young man’s arms.
“…”
Oh my god.
It was Wen Qingci. The lifeless person in Xie Bufeng’s arms was really Wen Qingci!
“Why is he back…” The old physician, who was completely stunned, couldn’t help but mutter to himself. He clearly saw Wen Qingci walking to the palace wall…
“Ha ha ha ha……”
If it weren’t for Yu Guanlin’s words, Xie Bufeng would have thought that Wen Qingci was brought all the way here by the Hengxin guards who were responsible for guarding him.
It turns out that it is not…
It turned out that he already had a way out.
In fact, Wen Qingci clearly had one foot on it.
But in the end, he turned back.
The person in his arms lay quietly in Xie Bufeng’s arms, as if he was sleeping soundly.
Xie Bufeng lowered his eyes in great sorrow and kissed the cinnabar mole on Wen Qingci’s forehead.
The young man’s lips were trembling slightly.
A tear of blood fell from the corner of his eye and hung on Wen Qingci’s thick eyelashes like crow feathers.
“Why……”
Why did Wen Qingci come back here?
——Because of himself, because he wanted to save himself from the beginning to the end.
This should have been a sweet answer.
But in that moment it turned into a sharp blade and cut Xie Bufeng’s heart in half.
Ml’s blade is supposed to be for cutting enemies, not onions….
Noooooo, esto es demaciado triste 😭😭