Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The performance began in haste.

There was no fiddle, and I wore no stage makeup.

But the guests all knew that as long as Miss Hongxiu opened her mouth to sing, that spot would become the finest stage in Jiangling City.

Standing in the garden of the Prince’s Mansion, Xiao Qibai sat among the guests with his arm around Song Wanrong, while Pei Ren stood off to the side.

The garden was filled with clusters of crabapple blossoms-trees Xiao Qibai had once planted for me.

At this moment, he held Song Wanrong close, looking up to ask me, “Have you chosen your piece?”

I suddenly smiled.

“I have.”

I closed my eyes as the sun began to set, its final glow draping over me.

Slowly, I began to sing:

“In an instant, the seven emotions are all obscured; having seen through the bitterness, tears soak my robes.”

Song Wanrong’s expression changed immediately.

This was her birthday, and she had specifically demanded a cheerful, celebratory opera.

The moment I opened my mouth, she knew something was wrong.

Song Wanrong immediately tugged at Xiao Qibai’s sleeve, her eyes reddening. “Your Highness…”

However, for some reason, Xiao Qibai seemed completely oblivious this time. His gaze was fixed blankly on me.

Hongxiu the opera singer was the most captivating presence in all of Jiangling City.

The ethereal melody curled through the air. In the distance, beneath the setting sun, crows took flight and landed amidst the dusk:

“I once thought my life of wealth was cast in iron, yet who knew the fate of a life could be decided in a heartbeat.

“I remember when I, too, was willful and spoiled; today, I must believe in the past, however much I wish not to.

“This is a lesson from Heaven.

“It bids me gather my lingering resentment, cease my petulance, renew myself, and change my nature. I must stop pining for the flowing water of the past, turn back from the sea of bitterness, and realize the karmic cause early.”

It was hard to tell the dream from the opera.

This was my final song. Once it was finished, the person known as Liu Hongxiu would no longer exist in Jiangling City.

I poured every ounce of my strength into it, like a cuckoo weeping blood.

A red stain began to seep through my shoulder. Perhaps the cinnabar poison was too potent, or perhaps it had agitated the old wound I had received while shielding Xiao Qibai from a blade.

“Hongxiu!!”

Someone was calling my name.

I didn’t know who.

Perhaps it was Pei Ren, or perhaps it was Xiao Qibai.

Don’t call me.

I don’t want any of you.

Turning away, I picked up Heidou’s cold body and walked, step by step, into the night.