Xie Ming

On the day I hastily left the temple, my clothes were stained with blood and tears.

Xiao rushed to the scene to provide emergency care, but Yuzhen was completely unaware of this.

In the midst of the perilous escape, the red-wheeled carriage and horses hurriedly moved forward.

Inside the tent, Yuzhen was in excruciating abdominal pain. Her forehead and neck were already soaked with sweat, her face was pale, and she was extremely weak.

Consort An and her sister Dong Ruining were of one mind and were filled with anxiety. They tried their best to comfort her and pulled Yuzhen into their arms.

"pain"

"Sister Dong, it hurts so much!"

Yuzhen struggled on the verge of fainting, her mind hazy and tears streaming down her face. She leaned against Dong Ruining, murmuring weakly and groaning in pain.

"Okay, Yuzhen, be patient, be patient, don't go to sleep."

"It will pass soon, things will be alright. Once we get over this mountain, everything will be fine."

Consort An's eyes were red from crying, and she began to pray in vain, muttering incoherently.

"Savior from suffering, Guanyin Bodhisattva, I beg you, I beg you!"

"Yuzhen is gentle and virtuous, of pure character, and has never harmed anyone. Please save her, please save her!"

Why did my sister and I suffer this calamity?

"We're completely trapped!"

"Save us! Save us!"

I keep thinking about Dong Ruining, and I still can't let go of my resentment.

Hearing this, Yuzhen opened her eyes in confusion, heartbroken and sorrowful, her grief breaking through her defenses.

"Sister, Sister Dong!"

"never mind."

"Weaving palindromes is ultimately a calamity; there's no need for Heaven to question it."

"It's all our fate."

She murmured softly, her words exhausted, and then Yuzhen slowly closed her almond-shaped eyes. Two tears welled up in her eyes and, with a flutter of her eyelashes, fell onto the front of her blouse, soaking into the silk and never to be found again.

However, Dong Ruining, who is usually patient, became resilient at this critical moment.

She no longer cared about the trembling of the hairpin and tried her best to straighten her face.

"No, it shouldn't be like this, it can't be like this."

"Yuzhen, I'm not reconciled."

"If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place."

"What clan command, what emperor's words?"

“I, Dong Ruining, have never cared about it.”

"I shouldn't have entered the palace in the first place, to become that sickly woman."

"Ha, a life of wealth and luxury?"

"A life of luxury and prosperity leads to a thriving family and business."

"Why me of all people?"

"I regret it so much."

"If I had known from the beginning that this would happen, I should have agreed to it."

"Fly far away."

"I don't care about anything else."

"To travel the world with him would make this life worthwhile."

"It's better than dying in this desolate wilderness."

"I can not be reconciled."

Consort An, Dong Ruining, sniffled as she spoke, her sorrow unspeakable.

The palace was desolate and lonely. At the critical moment of life and death, he disregarded all unspeakable secrets and spoke his mind freely, expressing his feelings and regrets, and lamenting his own remorse.

"The bond between life and death is broad, tell it to your son. Hold your hand and grow old together with your son."

"Yuzhen, have you ever had someone you loved?!" Consort An asked inquiringly.

But Yuzhen was stunned when she heard the voice, and was speechless with sadness.

"Good sister, among those in the palace, you are the most trusted confidante."

"If it weren't for this critical moment, there are some things I would have kept to myself for the rest of my life."

"As the ancients often said, one can die without regrets."

"But who can really be so heartless? It's just saying things out of anger."

"I don't know if you've wronged anyone."

"But I have it."

"I"

With a death wish, he poured out his heart in one sentence.

Dong Ruining shed tears, murmuring incoherently. Overwhelmed with emotion, she found it difficult to speak and burst into sobs, cutting off her words. Seeing her like this, Yuzhen also sighed in sorrow.

The two women embraced each other, tears streaming down their faces, reminiscing about their last intimate moments together.

but!
Unexpected!

This final tearful farewell between the daughters was abruptly cut short by a shot fired from behind. Suddenly, an arrow struck, killing them instantly and bringing the situation to an abrupt halt.

"drive--"

Just as Zhu's carriage was speeding along the mountain road, and had just turned a sharp bend, suddenly, arrows, like fully drawn bows, whizzed up from behind.

One arrow, two arrows, missed their mark.

Just as the maidservant was leaning halfway off the road due to the pressure of the sharp turn, another arrow suddenly shot out from behind.

The arrow struck immediately, piercing the maid's heart.

The woman driving the carriage was in a panic and had no time to react before she fell off the carriage, her head tilted to the side.

"what--"

"Sister Yu!"

A maidservant, who was sitting hastily in the assistant's seat in front of the carriage, suddenly cried out in alarm.

In the blink of an eye, the driver died, falling and being thrown behind the carriage.

Only the young maid remained, clearly panicked, and she appeared to be even younger.

To save her life, she instinctively grabbed the reins and continued galloping forward, not daring to look back.

"Indahun Iujile!"

"Hahaha, we've caught up! We've caught up!"

“Ageji, that one you shot is yours.”

"I told you to shoot in my ass, what a pity!"

As the carriage approached, a loud, raucous curse rang out, and hooves thundered as four or five Jurchen soldiers appeared in an instant.

One of the riders at the front of the turn shouted loudly, cursing and mocking the brute who had shot the arrow.

Unexpectedly, the big-bellied barbarian who had hit the target with his bow didn't hesitate and immediately retorted.

"piss off!"

"I've been chasing him for ages, if I'm going to fuck him, I'll have to make sure he's wearing silk in the car."

"Yo—oh—"

"drive!"

"First come, first served! I'm not holding back, hahaha, ooh ooh—"

As he retorted, the bald, rat-tailed barbarian ducked down, and his horse immediately accelerated.

"drive--"

"Yay—"

A commotion erupted, dust billowed, and five enemy riders, shouting lewdly, charged forward, drawing ever closer to the imperial carriage.

Upon hearing the strange noises of the thieves, and at the same time, the maidservant at the front of the red-wheeled carriage not far in front of them was terrified and turned pale.

Her movements became distorted; she only frantically whipped the reins, completely lacking any knowledge of horsemanship.

He rushed himself to the limit, shouting and straining as he did it.

Thus, their already slow chariots could not keep up with the enemy cavalry, and now, with the two horses running side by side, the situation became even more chaotic.

The Jurchen soldiers, who were chasing and shouting, were getting closer.

Suddenly, the man who had just started cursing untied the rope binding his waist, and with a powerful swing of an iron grappling hook, he hurled it through the air!
Snapped!
Be firm!
In an instant, the grappling hook was thrown to the back door of the carriage.

The tip of the hook has several scratches, hooking tightly into the gap.

Before the vehicle in front could even understand what was happening, they heard a cracking sound as the wooden planks snapped.

Instantly, the rear panel of the carriage where Consort Hui and Consort An were located was forcibly pulled, and the horizontal panel flew off.

Suddenly, Yuzhen and Dong Ruining, who were standing nearby, were shocked.

Two exclamations rang out in unison. Before they could even react, the two sisters were thrown backward by the momentum and were about to fall off the vehicle.

At the moment of life and death, in the moment of resolute decision.

Dong Ruining was so anxious to protect Yuzhen that she couldn't think of anything else. Acting on instinct, she pushed Yuzhen back just before she was about to fall.

It was only in this one place that they exerted their strength and barely managed to save Yu-zhen's life.

When the weak Yuzhen regained her senses, she frantically gripped the window frame and looked back again.
Dong Ruining was beyond saving; she fell out in a sorry state, and was left further and further behind by the speeding carriages.
"Sister Dong—"

"no, do not want!"

"Sister Dong"

Soon, another sharp bend appeared ahead, and Dong Ruining's disheveled figure, falling unconscious, vanished from Yu Zhen's sight in an instant.

"what--"

"no no"

Overwhelmed with grief, Yuzhen seemed about to wail out her last breath, her heart breaking with unbearable pain. (End of Chapter)