pappabearbooks Chapter 561 The Deepest Emotions in Xu Longxiang's Heart
Chapter 561 The Deepest Emotions in Xu Longxiang's Heart
Xu Longxiang didn't know how long he had been standing under that willow tree.
The night breeze rustled through the willow branches, and occasionally a few drooping branches brushed against his shoulder before falling back to their original positions.
He heard the distant sound of a drum, muffled and repetitive, like someone striking an invisible bell in the dark.
He didn't count how many times the drumbeats sounded, nor did he know when he stopped counting.
He simply stood there, his gaze fixed on the inn door that had already been closed.
He told himself it was time to go.
But his feet seemed to be nailed to the spot, and he couldn't take a single step.
He told himself that she would be alright.
She said she did it for a greater cause.
She said that she had feelings for him.
Those words, like leaves blown by the wind, swirled in his mind, but never quite reached the ground.
He looked at the tightly closed door, through which a faint candlelight shone, like a half-closed eye.
He suddenly remembered Jiang Qingxue.
He recalled the day he escorted Jiang Qingxue out of the northern border; she stood by the carriage and glanced back at him.
At that time, she was also wearing a moon-white dress, with the same posture and the same expression.
Calm and compliant, like a tree uprooted and transplanted into unfamiliar soil, neither struggling nor speaking.
He told himself at the time that it was for a greater cause.
He told himself that she would understand.
He told himself that once it was all over, he would bring her back and treat her well.
then,
He sent her to that magnificent cage, to the side of the person he hated to the core, and then in countless late nights, he would suddenly remember the one time she turned around and looked at him from beside the carriage.
There was no resentment or blame in that glance, only a light as calm as a stagnant pool, a light that he still dares not look closely at.
Xu Longxiang closed his eyes and shook his head forcefully, almost instinctively, as if trying to shake those images out of his mind.
But those images didn't disappear.
He simply pushed them deeper, to a place he couldn't see for the time being.
He opened his eyes, his gaze returning to the inn door.
He told himself that this time was different from the last.
This time, the Moon Goddess herself agreed; this time, she was doing it for our shared cause; this time, he was simply fulfilling her choice.
But after he said those words, he felt as if he was desperately trying to explain something.
Xu Longxiang didn't know if he could still tell himself "it's all worth it" without thinking about the price.
.....
Upstairs at the inn, Qin Mu pushed open the door, stepped aside to let Chen Ruoyao go in first, and then closed the door behind him.
The latch slid into the slot with a very soft "click".
The sound was exceptionally clear in the silent room, like an invisible lock that completely separated the inside from the outside.
Chen Ruoyao stood in the center of the room, raised her hand and took off the white jade mask. Moonlight leaked in through the cracks in the window, illuminating her face, which looked exactly like Yun Suxin's.
The corners of her mouth curved slightly, carrying a sense of relief as if she had finally let go of something.
She turned to look at Qin Mu, her voice a few decibels softer than before, as if she could finally speak without having to suppress her voice: "He followed us to the inn entrance and is still standing downstairs."
Qin Mu walked to the window, but didn't open it. He just listened to something through the thin window paper.
A moment later, he turned around, walked to the table, sat down, and poured himself a glass of iced tea: "Let him stand. He'll leave when he's had enough."
Chen Ruoyao sat down in the chair opposite him, her hands folded on her knees. Her posture was more relaxed than before, but she still maintained an unconscious dignity, as if she had become accustomed to not letting herself completely relax: "I think he probably won't be able to sleep tonight."
Qin Mu picked up his teacup, took a sip, and didn't reply.
Chen Ruoyao looked at him, remained silent for a moment, and then her voice softened: "Your Majesty, when do you think he will realize that he has been led astray by you all along?"
Qin Mu put down his teacup, looking at the water gently swirling within. "It's almost there. He hasn't fully realized it yet because he's still making excuses for himself. Once those excuses fall apart one by one, he'll look back and see how far he's come. Only then will he realize there's no turning back."
Chen Ruoyao lowered her head, her eyelashes trembling slightly in the candlelight.
She didn't ask any more questions, and just sat there quietly.
Downstairs, by the willow tree opposite the inn, Xu Longxiang finally moved.
He slowly, like someone whose joints had been rusted for a long time, turned around and walked back the way he came.
His pace was much slower than when he came, each step feeling like he was stepping on some unsteady ground, but he didn't stop or look back.
The coolness of the autumn night swept in from all directions, causing his dark python robe to flutter slightly.
In the distance came the sound of the watchman's drum, deep and muffled, one beat after another.
When he walked back to the gate of the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion, the guards saw him and immediately straightened their backs and saluted.
He didn't respond, didn't look at them, but simply walked straight through the gate, down the corridor, and back to his room.
He sat down on the edge of the bed without turning on the light.
Moonlight streamed in through the cracks in the window, spreading a small patch of silvery light across the floor. He sat at the edge of that light, head bowed, looking at his hands, which appeared slightly white in the darkness.
He sat there for a long time, so long that the moonlight moved from one end of the window to the other, so long that his breathing changed from rapid to even, and then from even to quiet.
He lowered his head, looking at his own hands, the hands that had once held swords, reins, and sent those around him away. Suddenly, they seemed somewhat unfamiliar.
His lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but the words lingered in his throat and never came out.
He felt that the images in his mind were like leaves blown by the wind, falling at his feet and accumulating more and more.
He didn't know which way to go so he wouldn't step on them.
All he knew was that he could no longer turn back.
.......
But let's rewind ten minutes.
Xu Fenghua did not sleep.
She sat on a chair by the window, the cup of tea in her hand long since cold.
She neither changed the drink nor drank it; she simply held it, as if searching for a reason to put her hands down.
She heard the door to the next room open and close, heard someone walk in, and heard the very soft "click" of the latch sliding into its slot.
She neither got up to look nor opened the window.
She just sat there, listening to the faint sounds seeping in through the crack in the door.
She didn't know how much time had passed when a cool breeze seeped in from outside the window, brushing against her fingertips that were holding the cup.
She turned her head and pushed open the window.
A night breeze swept in, ruffling the stray hairs at her temples.
She lowered her head, her gaze falling on the bluestone path below, illuminated by the moonlight.
Then her movements suddenly froze.