novelraw Chapter 1981, as 1
Chapter 1981, as 1
Chapter 1981 As One
“My little beauty, I will never go back on my promise.” Hong Tai stopped in his tracks. “Don’t be afraid, go and treat your wound first.”
Fang Zilan stopped in her tracks, her heart filled with mixed emotions, but she still stubbornly said, "I'm not afraid."
“Okay, I’m scared.” Hong Tai’s gaze fell on Fang Zilan’s bloodied and mangled shoulder. “Go, don’t let your friend worry.”
Fang Zilan gave a soft "hmm," turned around and walked back, letting Zhen Mi'er treat her wounds. Afterwards, she and Wan Jun, along with Mingxiang and Ashi, went down the mountain via a side path.
After Hong Tai finished arranging his men, he saw Fang Zilan and Hong He waiting not far behind him. "Alright, let's go down the mountain."
Fang Zilan remained unmoved, simply extending her hand. "Give me your hand."
Hong Tai smiled ambiguously and grabbed Fang Zilan's wrist. "What, little beauty, are you so inseparable from me?"
"The other hand," Fang Zilan said, grabbing Hong Tai's hand, which he was trying to hide behind his back, without regard for the fact that she had hurt him. "Since I hurt you, I naturally have to take responsibility."
She quickly treated Hong Tai's hand wound, saying, "Try not to get it wet for the next couple of days."
"Thank you, little beauty." Hong Tai grabbed Fang Zilan's wrist with his other hand. She tried to pull away, but considering the injury on his hand, she didn't shake him off.
“If Lord Su is willing to tell the truth, perhaps I can help you,” Fang Zilan tentatively said. “I once saw a woman surnamed Su in Linjia Village…”
Su Yun's pupils suddenly dilated and then contracted, and he blurted out, "Is Lord Fang's statement true?"
Fang Zilan did not answer, but stared at him intently. Only then did he realize his lapse in composure. Just as he was about to say something to explain, he heard her say, "Really?"
Su Yun said softly, "I volunteered to be the special envoy to the Southeast, indeed with ulterior motives; I wanted to take this opportunity to find someone. What did that woman surnamed Su say to Lord Fang?"
"She said that at the beginning of Emperor Ningshun's reign, Su Che, a member of the Su family, used the pretext of retiring to return to his hometown..." Fang Zilan deliberately dragged out her words, "to go to sea to search for the elixir of immortality. Did Lord Su know about this?"
"I know about this," Su Yun hurriedly replied. "Did Lord Fang see my cousin Yuexi?"
"Lord Su volunteered to be the special envoy to the Southeast, was it to find your cousin Yuexi's family?" Although it was a question, Fang Zilan spoke with absolute certainty. Before Su Yun could speak, she continued, "I met a woman in Linjia Village who was saved by Miss Su Yuexi. She said that before Miss Su Yuexi left, knowing that she had no hope of returning to her homeland, she gave her a jade pendant that she kept close to her body, hoping that she could bury it next to the Su family ancestral hall in the capital one day. However, that woman contracted the plague and was not long for life, so she entrusted the jade pendant to me."
After she finished speaking, she took out a jade pendant from her bosom. Su Yun stared intently at the jade pendant in her hand, "Sister Yuexi is in Penglai in the East Sea, she must be as graceful as an immortal..."
"That's what I originally wanted to tell you," Fang Zilan abruptly interrupted him, her voice deepening, "but after much thought, I still feel that it's unfair to Miss Su Yuexi and you." "What do you mean?" Su Yun asked, stunned. "What you just said, Lord Fang, isn't true?"
"The woman I saw in Linjia Village was Miss Su Yuexi herself." Fang Zilan placed the jade pendant on the table, took a deep breath, and said, "Every word I am about to say is the truth."
She recounted everything she had seen and heard in Linjia Village, including what Su Yuexi had told her. She deliberately omitted the cause of Xiahou Yan's death and the fishermen who were sent to Linjia Village, leaving everything else to Su Yun without any embellishment.
"That's the truth. Miss Su Yuexi has avenged her great grudge and has passed away." Fang Zilan looked at the wisps of tea smoke rising from the teacup and could only sigh.
Su Yun lowered her head, her eyes reddened, and her shoulders trembled as if she wanted to curl up into a ball.
"Besides me, Lin Jian, the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) who entered the village with me, also knows about this. If Lord Su doesn't believe me, I can accompany you to ask Lin Jian again..." Fang Zilan's words were interrupted by Su Yun's cold voice, "No need, I trust Lord Fang. This jade pendant, Sister Yuexi never allowed anyone else to touch it. Not even members of the Su family. If she hadn't died, she wouldn't..." His voice choked, and he didn't finish his sentence.
Fang Zilan pursed her lips. "Lord Su, please rest assured that for the sake of Miss Su Yuexi's final dignity and the reputation of the Su family, I will keep my mouth shut and not let more people know about this matter."
Su Yun didn't react at all; he didn't hear a single word Fang Zilan said afterward. He couldn't understand why someone as good as Sister Yuexi would suffer so much and ultimately end up self-immolating. Why?
"Lord Su?" Fang Zilan called out to him, only to hear him suddenly murmur, "The Su family has a daughter like a full moon, radiant and dazzling. At seven, she mastered music; at ten, she understood poetry and literature; and by the time she reached marriageable age, she was proficient in all forms of poetry, lyrics, and prose. The moon has its phases, but even though the full moon cannot hang forever, it should not... fall into the mire..."
He spoke each word with a heart full of sorrow, and by the time he finished speaking, tears were streaming down his face.
Fang Zilan's eyes reddened, unable to bear looking any longer. She turned her head away and said weakly, "Lord Su, please accept my condolences."
"Sister Yuexi..." Su Yun asked in a trembling voice, "Did she... have any last wishes?"
“She said she wanted to go home.” Fang Zilan tried her best to suppress her emotions, but her voice still carried a hint of bitterness. “She also asked me to bury the jade pendant next to the Su family ancestral hall in the capital. Actually, she was afraid that no one in this world would remember Su Yuexi anymore.”
“How could this be…” Su Yun reached out and slowly approached the jade pendant on the table. “After my eldest uncle’s family left the capital, my grandmother and the aunts and uncles would talk about Sister Yuexi during festivals. Every time they mentioned it, they would say that it would be so nice if Yuexi were still here. Until my grandmother passed away the year before last, she kept calling out Sister Yuexi’s name and refused to close her eyes…”
As he spoke, he carefully traced the jade-like color with his fingers, and sighed, "Life in this world is but a temporary sojourn; how can even a celestial abode amidst clouds and seas compare to the person I remain unchanged?"
"Lord Su..." Fang Zilan didn't know how to comfort him, feeling that anything she said would be in vain. Things had changed, and the hardships and twists of life were beyond words to explain.
After a long while, Su Yun calmed down a bit before speaking again: "Lord Fang, I have a favor to ask. Please give me this jade pendant, and I will take it back to the capital and place it in my Su family ancestral hall. Consider it a keepsake, is that alright?"
"Okay." Fang Zilan nodded slightly, and Su Yun held the jade pendant as if it were a precious treasure. "Sister Yuexi, once things are settled in the Southeast, I will take you home."