Chapter 74: Luotian's Calamity 4

  "You should die, but not here." Huang Fu Ling said calmly.

  She was dazed for a moment, then immediately lowered her head to await his verdict. Since she came of age, she had already become his person. She was originally an orphan given by the empress as a personal maid, but he suddenly let her learn how to kill people.

  For him, she can do anything. She can get her hands bloody. She can lay hands on innocent women.

  She could hide in Yun Cloud for three whole years, or risk death and humiliation to secretly hide in Luo Tian for a whole year. What she feared most was disappointing him. What she feared most was making him think she was useless.

  What she fears most is that he no longer needs her.

  His unintentional smile can make her happy for a long time. Even if it means giving up her life, she won't shake her head.

  "Return to Empress's side again, then wait for an opportunity to kill Nan Gong Jin."

  "But... Nalan Xinnuo now knows my identity and is determined to get rid of me, he won't hesitate at all, as long as he has the chance, he will make his move."

  "Because she knows your identity, you don't need to hide anymore. She makes a move, and you can counterattack."

  Huang Pu Ling stood up and personally helped her up. "Moreover, I am also living in the palace now. I will secretly send someone to protect you. If you are in danger, I will appear in time."

  Hearing the words, his heart skipped a beat, and he lowered his head.

  Huang Pu Ling smiled lightly. "Moreover, now Nan Gong Yan can't stick together every day. Who knows, he might even sneak into the Lenovo Imperial Palace and throw himself into the net."

  He heard the words and understood his meaning. It seems that he used Nalan Xinnuo's name to make a move.

  Huang Pu Ling smiled softly. "Don't worry, in two days it will be the coronation ceremony. She won't have time for you anymore."

  The day after tomorrow is the grand ceremony of enthronement. Nalan Xianyu was tossed back and forth like a basketball by the palace maids in the empress dowager's palace and the seamstresses from the garment bureau, trying on all sorts of cumbersome and heavy ceremonial robes.

  Even Nan Gong Jin couldn't escape. The whole day, they tried on nearly ten sets of ceremonial robes. These ten sets of ceremonial robes were the ones they would be changing into on the day of the enthronement ceremony.

  Until the sun went down, those palace maids were still excited. Nan Gong Jin finally couldn't take it anymore and made an excuse that there was something in the imperial study room, leaving Nalan Xianuo behind to escape quickly. After being pressed by the last set of clothes and almost suffocating, Nalan Xianuo decisively threw down her sewing kit and refused to continue.

  "Spare the princess's life." Na Lan Xi Nuo was furious. The palace maids and eunuchs all knelt on the ground.

  "Who wants your life?" Nalan Xixi said angrily.

  "The princess calmed down." The palace maids were so frightened that they retreated one after another. The eunuchs had long dared not to speak.

  Nalan Xixi reluctantly said: "Take your clothes and leave quickly, I'll calm down."

  The palace maids hesitated for half a day, but still took the risk of not coming. The empress also gave an order that if they were even slightly negligent, letting Nalan Xinnuo's ceremonial attire be ill-fitting or making any mistakes during the grand ceremony, they would be beheaded.

  The empress rarely spoke out, but when she did, it was to order someone's execution. This frightened the palace maids so much that they naturally believed her and didn't dare to slack off.

  Nalan Xinnuo saw that they didn't move, and helplessly rubbed his forehead. Suddenly, an idea struck him. Nalan Xinnuo pulled out a long whip from his waist, lightly raised his wrist, and lashed the whip onto the ground, producing a startling sound.

  The palace maids saw the situation and screamed, throwing away the dresses in their hands and running out while rolling and crawling. Several small eunuchs were frightened to death. The tailors of the garment bureau did not know what had happened. Later, several eunuchs who ran out shouted at them: "Run quickly...the princess is going to kill people! Run..."

  Watching them with a serious expression, the tailor was also frightened and dropped everything in his hands and ran out.

  In an instant, the Crystal Palace was empty and deserted.

  Looking at the mess in the palace, Nalan Xinnuo couldn't help but laugh and cry. She called for the palace maid to clean up, only to find that the maid had already escaped for her life.

  Nalan Xixia couldn't help but feel extremely helpless. The palace was in a mess. She didn't want to stay any longer, so she turned around and left for the Imperial Flower Garden.

  It's already autumn. The imperial garden is desolate. The flowers have withered. Only a few tall trees are still shedding leaves.

  The eunuchs sweep every day without stopping, but they can't finish sweeping. As soon as they stop for a moment, the ground is covered again. If it weren't for the time when the emperor and empress would come out, they wouldn't bother to sweep at all.

  The autumn wind was mournful and desolate. Nalan Xiong gathered up the hem of his robe, his hands already icy cold. He was just thinking of going to the imperial study to take a look at Nan Gongyu when suddenly, a melody floated in on the breeze.

  Like autumn's chill. The sound of the guqin is intermittent. It seems that the person playing the guqin has also had their hands chilled by the autumn night, unable to play a smooth melody. I don't know what tune it is, but this intermittent playing somehow evokes a hint of sadness in the listener's heart.

  Nalan Xixi's zither sound went searching afar, but unexpectedly, though the zither sound seemed near when listened to, it was actually very far away.

  It's just that the person playing the piano has a deep inner strength, and can control the distance of the sound with their inner strength.

  After walking for a long time, I arrived at a courtyard. The leaves in the yard were falling and drifting onto the surface of the lake, causing ripples on the water. By the lake was a small pavilion, where a solitary figure with a clear and cold demeanor sat alone, holding a guqin (an ancient Chinese zither) and tuning its strings to test the sound.

  Nalan Xixun's eyes widened in astonishment.

  Dugu Cold's lone figure in the wheelchair entered her line of sight. The wheelchair looked like it had been worn out a bit. His legs were covered with a thick blanket. Both legs were still there, but... why was he sitting in a wheelchair?

  Dugu Han heard the breathing sound from this side, raised his head to look over, and met Nalan Xianyu's astonished gaze. His expression solidified.

  Seeing his icy face, Nalan Xianuo subconsciously turned to leave, but unexpectedly turned back and quickly walked towards the pavilion. Dugu Han lowered his head, as if he hadn't heard her approaching.

  He didn't lift his head. Not even a hint of movement. The handsome and cold face was as usual, with only the action of tuning strings paused in his hand.

  Nalan Xixiao walked closer to him, lifted the blanket off his legs, and saw that they were intact and undamaged. However, his right leg seemed to have no strength at all, as if it didn't belong to him, just dangling limply under the wheelchair.

  Nalan Xixi's eyes had unknowingly reddened. Dugu Han's fingers gently curled up.

  "Your leg..." Nalan Xixi's voice was trembling slightly.

  Du Guhan was silent for a moment, then calmly said: "Nothing's wrong."

  Nalan Xixi didn't dare to say what she was thinking. If it were like that, if it were because of her... What could she do? She already owed him so much. But she vaguely remembered that day when the ferocious beast almost crushed her with a single palm, and she couldn't dodge in time. It was he who pushed himself forward, and he was pressed under the beast's paw that weighed as heavy as a thousand catties.

  She vaguely remembers his silhouette when he left that day. A silhouette that could hardly stand upright.

  "Was it...that beast..." Nalan Xino's voice trembled, unlike himself.

  "Yes." Dugu Han didn't look at her, his voice cold and detached.

  Nalan Xixiao's heart suddenly ached.

  Her eyes were puffed up and bright red, but she still couldn't hold back the tears that kept falling. She bit her lower lip tightly, afraid of crying out loud. She was already disheveled enough and shouldn't show any more emotion.

  Even if he had done so much for her. Even if she still hadn't repaid him. Even if... such a magnificent man was unable to stand up again because of saving her, she couldn't have the slightest bit of softness in her heart.

  The heart moves then is love. She already doesn't have any extra heart to move for anyone else. Nor should she hurt for anyone else again.

  Nalan Xixi tried to calm herself down and attempted to change the subject. "It's getting late, what is the Crown Prince doing here?"

  "Waiting for you." Cold as him.

  Nalan Xixiao was taken aback, momentarily speechless. She hadn't expected him to be waiting for her, and even more so, she hadn't expected him to say it without hesitation - that he had been waiting for her. Her heart skipped a beat again.

  The crown prince smiled and said, "Let's just drop it." Nalan Xixi took a step back, deliberately keeping her distance from him.

  Dugu Han's eyes trembled slightly. "How has the princess been lately?"

  Nalan Xixi nodded her head. "Very well."

  Dugu Han's eyes suddenly dimmed. "Congratulations on your royal wedding."

  Nalan Xixi nodded. "Thank you."

  Suddenly, a gust of cold wind blew by. A withered leaf drifted down with the wind and landed on Du Gu's shoulder.

  Nalan Xixiao almost subconsciously walked over to him, brushing aside the fallen leaves for him. She didn't know why, but deep down in her heart, there was a kind of palpitation that she couldn't control, wanting to do something for him, wanting to be good to him.

  Suddenly, Nalan Xixi's hand felt a surge of heat. Dugu Han's hand covered hers, tightly grasping it.

  "Sorry. Follow me." A cold voice.

  This was the first time he had called her like this. He said: Follow me.

  Nalan Xixi was about to nod, almost willing to follow him and leave this place behind, as if she had lost her memory, as if she didn't remember that her heart already belonged to someone else. It was as if she had been reborn, and without hesitation, she would follow him to the ends of the earth.

  But she can't.

  She withdrew her hand, the back of which still retained some residual warmth. She had never known that a man as cold-blooded as him could have hands that were warm to the touch, and gentle enough to reach deep into her heart.

  He made such an unreasonable and impolite request to her for the first time.

  As he had expected, she refused without hesitation. Knowing that she would refuse, he still wanted to try his luck. But in his heart, there was always a voice asking what if... what if... what if she agreed?

  Du Guo Han suddenly smiled, like a snow lotus blooming on the Tian Shan mountains, proudly blooming in the endless snowy expanse, clear and cold, solitary and proud, neither humble nor arrogant, quietly blooming and withering in the sunlight, admiring its own beauty.

  He ridicules his own humble expectations.

  She has long been his woman. She had already given him her life. Her heart was already filled with him, not even leaving a corner for the poor.

  Dugu Cold. What else are you waiting for?

  Hope she still remembers your life-saving rescue. Hope she still remembers your selfless devotion. Hope she still remembers the first time you moved for her, or the heart that has been hurt.

  She doesn't remember anything. Not even gratitude. Let alone feeling moved.

  Dugu Han turned around, pressed the mechanism of his wheelchair and prepared to leave. Suddenly, two gusts of wind flashed in the distance. On top of the palace wall, more than a dozen figures quietly rushed towards them.

  Dugu Han continued to walk back and forth in the morning. He didn't make any sense.

  A dozen or so figures were all top-notch experts. They had already approached and drew their swords, charging at Narlan Xianuo who was empty-handed.