Chapter 90
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In the blink of an eye, a figure moved, and his body was forcefully pushed back several steps. As if a corner of the long-supported chest had collapsed, along with a dissipation of strength, it caused him to stumble to the ground.
The moment he collided with Jiang Yanchi, a howling cold wind stirred Jiang Yanchi’s flowing black hair, sending a strand flying, almost brushing Chu Xie’s face.
He watched helplessly as the child’s clearly defined fingers tightly gripped the rope.
Well, that’s enough.
Glancing at the sundial, it had been more than two hours and a half.
At least he managed to buy some time.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Chu Xie was about to leave when he heard Jiang Yanchi’s stern command, “Capture him!”
Soon, scattered guards climbed the long steps, bypassing Jiang Yanchi and rushing towards Chu Xie, whose face gradually paled.
Chu Xie looked back in shock, “Jiang Yanchi, you promised to let me go…”
“Do you believe everything I say?”
But he saw Jiang Yanchi firmly holding onto the rope, his eyes burning red but fixed in his direction, filled with overwhelming anger and stubbornness. He coldly imitated the tone he used moments ago, “Just trying to comfort you.”
The guards quickly captured all the hidden guards ambushing on the roof.
Soon, a few scattered guards also climbed the long steps, crossing Jiang Yanchi and rushing towards Chu Xie. His face turned a bit pale.
“Let you go? Where will you go? Go off into the sunset with Xu Chunmu? Chu Xie, forget it! Let me tell you, once you marry me, even if you die, you can only be buried by my side. Live in the same bed, die in the same grave!”
The wound in his abdomen tore open, fresh blood seeping through his clothes. Jiang Yanchi groaned in pain, and the rope in his hand almost slipped. Duan Se, just pulled up a bit, quickly slid back down. Commander Zhou, who followed, immediately reached out and grabbed the rope again.
With his hands free, he immediately turned around and grabbed Chu Xie, raging fury forcing the person against the stone parapet of the city wall. He pressed on his chest with one hand, suppressing his vital point with the other.
Half of his body hung over the wall, and the fear of falling instantly swept through his entire body.
His body almost involuntarily trembled.
“You don’t care about my life and death at all. That’s why, even when I’m seriously injured, you still have designs on my mother! What a cunning plan, killing two birds with one stone. You’ve retaliated against me and suppressed Su Mingan. Chu Xie, have you ever thought about how seriously injured I am? Have you ever thought that I might die… This is the second time, Chu Xie, how many times are you going to sacrifice me for that person? We’ve married under the heavens, shared the same bed, and even if I can’t give you everything you want, I’ve fought to get it for you. What gives you the right—”
Jiang Yanchi’s expression became somewhat grim, and a fiery red glint ignited in his eyes.
But gradually, it all turned into a watery sheen.
“Chu Xie… When you touched my mother, didn’t you ever think I would kill you?”
“Cough, cough, cough…” Chu Xie sensed the hand on his neck gradually tightening.
“Does Xu Chunmu also like you? Do you only show him your kind side? Has he seen you kill? Does he know how cruel you can be… Chu Xie, he likes all of you, right?”
“Isn’t that right?”
Jiang Yanchi smiled, and as he laughed, his eyes reddened in circles.
“Chu Xie, what do you like about him?”
“Kindness, simplicity, or indifference to fame and fortune?”
“Xu Chunmu is blessed from birth, with his grandfather protecting him. The northern territory is vast, the sky is high, and the emperor is far away, avoiding the endless filth and intrigue of the capital. Even if he does nothing, he’s still the lofty young Marquis Xu. He doesn’t seek fame and fortune, yet his grandfather places it all in front of him. He’s inherently simple, and you scheme for him.…”
“If I were a kind person, I would surely not have the fate to meet Lord Chu, Lord Zhangyin.”
Jiang Yanchi’s eyes showed a tear that seemed reluctant to fall, as if he didn’t want to appear too weak in front of Chu Xie at this moment. “I have not asked for much in my life. My mother’s life was a hard-fought battle for me, just like our relationship.”
The fresh blood from his waist and abdomen, with no hand to press it, quickly stained the ink-colored long robes with a dark hue. Both of them emitted an indelible scent of blood that the cold wind couldn’t dispel.
“You don’t have to like me.”
“But why do you keep hurting me over and over again?”
Pushing him down, the unconscious person reached out and grabbed his sleeve, “Don’t…”
His hand slowly released the tender neck.
“Don’t… portray yourself as so pitiful.” Chu Xie gasped slightly, seeing Jiang Yanchi’s solemn expression unchanged, “Your throne… isn’t it something I handed to you.”
“…You helped Su Mingan, forcing me to calculate and scheme. But do you still remember what you said before we got married?”
“You said… you would be my blade, helping me eliminate everything in this world that I deemed unworthy of living. Do you remember that?”
Chu Xie’s eye sockets gradually reddened.
Different from the emotionless tears shed earlier, his unwillingness and resentment were now so obvious.
“I…”
“Jiang Yanchi, I fought with my life to secure your position as the crown prince… In the end, it only benefits the Su surname.”
The emperor’s expression changed slightly, as if sensing that something was wrong.
Turning his gaze to the two figures standing below the city, Su Mingan and Zhao Lingqu.
“Zhao Lingqu is your uncle, and from the beginning, you never intended to transfer the command of the three hundred thousand troops to Xu Chunmu, did you?”
Jiang Yanchi’s eyes showed surprise, as if he understood something.
Suddenly, as if burning his hand, he let go of the hand that was placed on the person’s shoulder blades, stepped back two steps, and suddenly a lot of things rushed into his mind: Chu Xie’s implication that Zhao Lingqu was also a Yue Clan person, and moreover, a descendant of the Yue Clan royal family.
As for Su Mingan…
Before he could figure it out, he caught a glimpse of a faint bloodstain on his right hand.
His brows furrowed.
He had been using his left hand to press his abdomen, so how could his right hand get stained with blood?
Seemingly realizing that something was amiss, Chu Xie’s face had been unusually pale since just now. Even his neck felt as cold as ice, covered by a pitch-black long robe that did not fit his tall figure, obviously belonging to someone else.
Why was there blood on him?
Commander Zhou had just reached Duan Se’s hand and was pulling her up, and with a quick glance, he saw Jiang Yanchi letting go. Chu Xie’s half-body hanging outside seemed to lose strength and fell straight down. He couldn’t help but exclaim.
“Your Majesty!”
When Chu Xie turned over and fell outside, Jiang Yanchi’s pupils suddenly shrank. His heart plummeted as if it had been shot out of a bow, rushing forward like an arrow. He pressed most of his body against the cold stone wall, the sharp edge of which happened to press against the wound on his abdomen, barely grabbing the person’s small arm, “Ah Xie!”
With a pull, the abdominal wound completely ruptured. Cold sweat broke out on Jiang Yanchi’s forehead, immediately shouting to the guards behind him, “Quick, someone, catch him!”
But the change came too fast.
Before he could pull the person up, a red tassel flowing cloud spear came whistling through the air.
Su Mingan had been staring fixedly at the movement on the city tower. At first, when he saw the young emperor seeming to strangle Chu Xie, he sighed with relief. But when he saw the young emperor release him after a confrontation, he furrowed his brow again.
While guessing what the two would talk about, Zhao Lingqu behind him, seeing Duan Se rescued, couldn’t wait any longer. He grabbed the spear at his back and, seeing Chu Xie falling down from the tower with the young emperor still reluctant to let go of him, wanted to give him a quick and painless end.
Over Su Mingan, the flowing cloud spear swiftly flew forward like a shooting star.
The Grand Tutor’s face changed instantly. “Stop!”
If Jiang Yanchi hadn’t killed Chu Xie, this person should never be killed!
But this exclamation came too late. Su Mingan fell from his horse in shock, his gaze following the trajectory of the flowing cloud spear. Zhao Lingqu’s skills with the sword and spear were always accurate. Now that Chu Xie was being pulled up by Jiang Yanchi, there was no time to loosen the grip, but letting go would cause him to fall dozens of meters down the city wall, resulting in a bone-shattering impact.
No, he couldn’t save him.
Su Mingan thought so, immediately cursing Zhao Lingqu in his heart with a mix of resentment and regret: this fool!
How could Chu Xie die so clearly at his hands!
Commander Zhou also saw this sudden change, realizing that Jiang Yanchi had a wound in his waist and couldn’t pull Chu Xie up in time. If the spear deviated slightly, it might also injure the emperor. “Your Majesty, let go—”
But in the blink of an eye, the flowing cloud spear approached, its sharp tip gleaming with a cold light.
Indeed, Jiang Yanchi didn’t have time to pull Chu Xie up. Biting down on his teeth, he flipped over the city wall and fell down with him. Startled, Commander Zhou immediately released Duan Se, who had just been pulled back, but luckily, the guards behind him quickly caught Duan Se and stabilized her.
Jiang Yanchi didn’t follow Chu Xie in a complete free fall. Holding onto Chu Xie with his left hand and grabbing the crenelation of the city wall with his right, his fingertips trembled, rubbing against the stone and drawing blood.
The fierce wind carried snow, fluttering their robes.
Without the cover of the cloak, the thin wide sleeves hung down, revealing their bare skin.
Now, he saw the bloodstains that hadn’t coagulated on Chu Xie’s wrist and the two distinct whip marks on those jade-like fair arms.
Jiang Yanchi’s pupils suddenly contracted, thrown into confusion.
What was this?
Could it be…
That wrist was ice-cold, piercingly cold. He felt as if he had grabbed a gust of wind and snow.
As Chu Xie fell a few feet, now directly facing Jiang Yanchi, the spear was coming straight for him. He abruptly raised his eyes, and a ruthless gleam appeared in them, sweeping directly toward Zhao Lingqu in front of the carriage.
“Your Majesty!” Commander Zhou exclaimed in fear.
Su Mingan’s face changed abruptly. Just as Jiang Yanchi had flipped over the city wall and immediately shouted at Zhao Lingqu, “Get down—”
In a flash, he lifted his toes and accurately kicked the spear upward. The powerful force of the flowing cloud spear was reversed, thrown into the air, spun a few times, and then fell back. Using the force of the stone wall, he flipped and kicked the red tassel flowing cloud spear back.
Everything happened in just an instant.
Chu Xie, driven by that force, fiercely pierced towards the city wall. His chest trembled violently, unable to suppress the bloody sweetness rising in his throat.
At the same time, Zhao Lingqu, unable to dodge in time, was pierced through the chest by the rapidly approaching spear. Blood gushed out from the wound.
Su Mingan’s knees went weak. He immediately rushed to Zhao Lingqu, reaching out to press down on the gushing blood, and carried him back to the carriage, shouting, “Back to the mansion, back to the mansion! Quickly, quickly, summon the imperial physician!”
After the powerful blow just now, Jiang Yanchi’s left foot was completely paralyzed, devoid of sensation.
Commander Zhou smoothly pulled the two up. Jiang Yanchi embraced the person tightly, as if afraid he might fall.
After the recent turn of events, Jiang Yanchi’s left foot was severely swollen, and he stumbled and rolled to the side of the injured person. Just as he turned his head, the person vomited a mouthful of bright red blood onto him.
Coughing lightly after being splashed, he coughed twice.
In that instant, everything seemed to become incredibly silent. A familiar falcon hovered in the sky, but it circled for a long time without finding a place to land.
Jiang Yanchi untied his cloak and flipped up the sleeves of his hands. He indeed saw numerous wounds that had not yet healed.
Pulling open his collar, he felt a sticky dampness on his hands. Trembling, he followed the open collar down, and his gaze touched the bloodstains left by the brutal whipping, shaking like chaff.
What’s going on?
Who dared to interrogate him like this?
Jiang Yanchi dared not touch the areas around him anymore. Enduring the pain, he took off all his outer clothes and covered the cold body, then limped towards the base of the city tower while holding the person.
“Niang Niang, Niang Niang?” came the voices of a few forbidden guards nearby.
Commander Zhou drew his knife and cut the ropes on Duan Se’s hands. When he touched her neck to check for signs of life, he unexpectedly found that her body was warm.
Though she was unconscious, it seemed like she was carrying something in her arms, something bulging.
Commander Zhou hesitated for a moment, but eventually, he presumptuously reached into her abdomen and pulled out a delicately wrapped object.
“What is this?” Commander Zhou seemed to be seeing such a delicate thing for the first time.
Jiang Yanchi, with the corner of his eye, could just see the swaying tassels and the sparkling carved patterns in the wind. He tilted his head slightly to get a clearer view.
It was a golden silk warmer.
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