freenovelworld Chapter 341
Chapter 341
The wind stopped abruptly, and everything returned to calm. The two stood on opposite sides, their eyes meeting.
Changsheng remained calm throughout, as if the broken pieces on the ground were insignificant, showing no concern whatsoever, only a slight unease at the sight.
He looked away. "Does Your Highness have any further questions?"
When did your eyes fully recover?
He burst into laughter, his silvery laughter echoing through the Imperial Garden. He laughed until tears streamed down his face, his eyes moist and his long eyelashes glistening with tears. Perhaps he had lost himself in the moment, for he began to cough violently, almost coughing up his lungs. His face turned as pale as a sheet of rice paper soaked in water, becoming almost transparent, and he seemed to be suffering from a lingering illness.
Nalan Jingwen no longer embraced him with concern as before, but instead looked at him coldly, realizing that the person before her was no longer her Anian.
Changsheng finally stopped coughing, but his voice became hoarse, as if he had exhausted all his strength.
He looked up at Nalan Jingwen, his eyes red-rimmed, but a smile on his lips.
“I thought you would ask me why I helped Nangong Yu’an.”
Isn't the answer already obvious?
Nalan Jingwen asked in return.
When Nalan Yin discovered that Nangong Yu'an had a reclusive imperial advisor named He, who came from the Jade Hidden Pavilion outside the four kingdoms, an ancient reclusive family, Changsheng was that Imperial Advisor He, He Yongnian.
The Jade Hidden Pavilion forbids its members from participating in the struggles of the four kingdoms, but Changsheng defied the ban and instigated conflict, all in an attempt to seize control of the world. His purpose in helping Nangong Yu'an is quite clear, isn't it?
If she hadn't simultaneously received intelligence from the Heaven and Earth Pavilion and a telepathic message from Xue Qingheng, saying that the Crane National Preceptor beside Nangong Yu'an had disappeared without a trace but had appeared in Baiji territory, and that Xue Qingheng said that Changsheng had come to Baiji, she probably wouldn't have connected the two at all. This test actually confirmed her guess.
Changsheng seemed oblivious to the sarcasm in her words, and instead said, "My eyes were healed on the first day I arrived in Baiji."
"I still thank Your Highness for taking care of me during this time."
As he spoke, he propped himself up on the edge of the stone table and bowed slightly to her, but Nalan Jingwen only felt a sense of irony.
So when they met on the street that day, he had already seen Chi Chenyi beside him. He used that encounter to make her feel uneasy and guilty. Later, Chi Chenyi was also included in his plan. All of this was just to make him eliminate all obstacles around him and help him secure the throne.
At this moment, everything finally dissipated from the fog, exposed to the sunlight, leaving no room for avoidance, forcing everyone to confront the truth.
Nalan Jingwen stared quietly at the person in front of him, the emotions in his eyes unreadable even to Changsheng. The air grew increasingly heavy, almost suffocating.
After a long while, he heard a very faint sigh, like a withered leaf falling, leaving only disappointment and despair.
“Even if you hadn’t done those things, I would have already decided to help you.”
When he confessed his feelings to her that day and begged her not to leave him alone, he had already decided that since everything that followed didn't have to happen, why bother trying to snatch back something he already had?
The boy's pale fingertips trembled slightly, then slowly curled up. The smile on his face had vanished without him noticing, and his heart was cold and numb.
Nalan Jingwen concealed the disappointment in her eyes, turned and left. Changsheng watched her resolute back and said, "I will definitely obtain this world."
It sounded like he was making a vow, or was eager to prove something, or perhaps he wanted to hold on, but he didn't know what it was.
It's no longer important.
That person never lingered and disappeared from his world without hesitation.
……
After leaving the palace, it had gotten dark. Nalan Jingwen returned to the inn, but Aman was nowhere to be seen. He asked the servants and learned that she had already left the capital. She did not say where she was going, only that they would meet again if fate allowed.
Nalan Jingwen had no objection to this. Aman had always been free, and it was none of his business where she went. It was just that he had lost control of his emotions today and had accidentally hurt her. He had not yet apologized to her, so he could only wait until next time they met.
Upon returning to the inn, she ordered her men to pack their belongings and prepare to depart for Fengtian. No one expected her to set off tonight, but no one complained. They quickly finished packing and were ready to go.
As they boarded the carriage, a servant suddenly stepped forward and asked, "Your Highness, shall we still release those thousand prayer lanterns?"
Nalan Jingwen was slightly taken aback. Chi Chenyi, who was beside her, noticed that Nalan Jingwen was gripping her hand a little tighter and couldn't help but look at her.
"What sky lantern?"
Nalan Jingwen smiled and asked him, "Want to see?"
"Did Awen do this for me?"
"Hmm, would you like to see it just to make the beauty smile?"
"Of course I'll take a look."
Chi Chenyi stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, her soft hair entwining around his fingertips. The gloom in his heart was swept away. Nalan Jingwen tilted her head and placed a light kiss on his cheek, then turned and ordered, "Let it go. Since we've already done it, it would be a shame not to take a look."
"Yes."
Suddenly, thousands of sky lanterns rose into the dark, boundless night sky, turning the night sky a dim yellow, like stars dotting the darkness, sometimes bright and sometimes dim, swaying gracefully in the breeze, forming a magnificent picture.
People were so captivated by the magnificent scene that they went outside to admire it. Praises and laughter blended together as people began to clasp their hands together and make wishes.
I long for the return of my old friends, I wish my beloved to always be with me, and I wish for a long and healthy life, year after year.
Ten miles of lights illuminate the bustling city, but beneath the moon and before the lanterns, I cannot see you.
in the palace.
The discussions outside the hall kept drifting into the hall, and even though people were trying to keep their voices down, they could still be heard clearly.
"Look at all those sky lanterns!"
"How beautiful! I wonder who put these lights up; it must have cost a lot of money!"
"It's not a holiday recently, so was it some woman who released a sky lantern for her sweetheart?"
"One fell down over there, let's go pick it up quickly, and we can make a wish while we're at it!"
The palace attendant beside him frowned and looked outside the hall. He bowed to the person on the bed and said, "Your Majesty, this old servant will make them shut up right away."
The person on the bed slowly opened their eyes, their expression calm. "You can leave now."
The palace servant beside him was taken aback, but quickly obeyed and left. Changsheng sat up with some difficulty, silently looking at the tightly closed window. Then he got up, walked over, and opened the window. What came into view was a ten-mile stretch of brightly lit city, as brilliant as a starry river.
A cool breeze brushed his cheeks, ruffled the hair at his temples, and made his empty inner garment sway. He was oblivious, only looking up at the sky full of lanterns. The dim yellow light bathed his eyes, and even his pale face became gentle.
"Look, it looks like there's something written on this lamp."
"It really is! Look, look!"
"This says... Ah Nian, may you live a long and healthy life..."
Who is A-Nian?
Wow.
A crisp sound of something falling to the ground rang out abruptly. The person standing in the dim light stared blankly at the scattered fragments on the ground, without making a move. The carpet beneath his feet was stained deep red with blood, but he seemed oblivious, his expression numb.
The murmurs that person whispered in his ear as they held him kept echoing in his mind.
“Our Anian will definitely live to be a hundred years old.”
May you live to be a hundred years old.
— May you live a long and healthy life, Ah Nian.