Chapter 59
Chapter 59
Curled in Fusheng’s arms, Shengsheng looked down at her plump little hands and felt like crying again.
A child’s emotions were far more sensitive than an adult’s. The instant the thought formed, tears began spilling on their own.
At the sound of her sniffles, Fusheng stopped and lowered his eyes.
“Why are you crying again?”
His voice held a trace of helplessness.
Shengsheng wiped her tears and answered in a milky little voice.
“This servant dun know.”
*I just want to cry…*
“Since Little Tail wants to cry so badly, shall we stop here until you finish? Then we can visit Dead Uncle.”
Fusheng tucked a tear-dampened lock of hair behind her ear.
Shengsheng blinked. “Why?”
“Because if Dead Uncle sees such a beautiful child crying in front of him, his heart will ache so badly that he may come back to life.”
Fusheng spoke very softly. His brow furrowed as though the possibility genuinely troubled him.
Shengsheng stared.
She was a child, not an idiot.
But Fusheng had called her beautiful!
The realization left her small mouth hanging open in disbelief.
Seeing that she had stopped crying, Fusheng resumed walking.
They crossed a long corridor and stopped before a door.
Calling it a door was generous.
Something had smashed an enormous hole through its center.
Fusheng stepped over the broken threshold. Beyond it, a long staircase climbed steeply upward.
A solitary chair rested at the very top.
From below, Shengsheng could just make out a figure seated upon it.
Fusheng saw it as well. Carrying her, he ascended.
As they drew closer, the person on the chair became clear.
It was a skeleton dressed in a torn gown that still retained traces of former magnificence.
Two bony hands lay folded together as though in prayer.
Heaven had plainly ignored those prayers.
A long spear pierced straight through the woman’s body.
Even its wooden shaft had rotted. Spear and corpse looked so fragile that the slightest touch might reduce both to ash.
Shengsheng raised her eyes toward Fusheng, hoping to read something in his expression.
All she could see was the clean line of his jaw.
Nothing else.
Fusheng approached the skeleton and regarded it in silence.
Shengsheng finally asked, “Weren’t we looking for an uncle?”
*That is obviously a woman’s skeleton.*
Fusheng stroked her curious little head.
His voice remained perfectly flat.
“The big spear is Uncle.”
Shengsheng stared at him in shock.
She did not understand, yet she was profoundly impressed.
Was Fusheng being stubborn?
He had to be.
Had he never known the dead person’s sex and simply begun making things up?
Fusheng reached out and pulled the chain from the skeleton’s neck.
A small silver key slid free.
Incredibly, after a century, it carried no trace of age. It looked exactly as it must have when new.
Fusheng examined it only once before casually slipping it into his sleeve, as though it hardly mattered.
Shengsheng knew better.
That key had been the true purpose of this journey.
She did not know how the two of them eventually escaped the ruin.
It was strange.
The moment Fusheng put away the key, a powerful drowsiness swallowed Shengsheng’s mind.
When she awoke again, she was inside a gently swaying carriage.
The incense was familiar.
The blanket beneath her, made from the fur of some unknown animal, was soft and comfortable. Shengsheng rubbed her cheek against it and narrowed her eyes in bliss.
“Awake?”
A familiar voice sounded ahead.
Shengsheng pushed herself up and looked toward him.
Fusheng had changed clothes at some point.
The frost-red trim at his collar and sleeves made his already lush beauty appear even more vivid. Reclining lazily against the cushioned couch, he resembled a male demon who fed upon human essence.
*I slept once, and somehow you became even more flamboyant…*
Fusheng was silent.
Supporting her tiny body with some difficulty, Shengsheng straightened the oversized clothing around her. She walked barefoot to Fusheng and bowed with the same propriety as before.
“This servant greets the Noble Conshort.”
She was far too small, and her words came out in a lisp. The mature gesture looked like a child imitating an adult’s manners.
It was undeniably amusing.
Fusheng burst out laughing without sparing her dignity.
*I knew it!*
Shengsheng puffed out her cheeks as she watched tears of laughter gather at the corners of his eyes.
Normally, she would never have made such an expression.
Her mind was too young now. She could not conceal anything.
When the little figure looked ready to cry again, Fusheng hurriedly restrained his laughter.
He coughed.
“Rise.”
Amusement still colored his voice.
Shengsheng stood gloomily and nearly stumbled. Fortunately, she managed to steady herself.
“Your Wadyship, where are we going?”
Fusheng kindly lifted her onto the couch.
As Shengsheng peered out the window, he noticed her tangled hair. On a sudden impulse, he began braiding it.
“We are returning to the Zhen Kingdom,” he answered carelessly.
Shengsheng whipped her head around.
The sudden pull at her scalp hurt. Tears instantly filled her eyes.
“Xiaoyu is still at the city lord’s residence.”
“Do not worry. I sent people to rescue her long ago.”
Only then did Shengsheng relax.
“Are we not returning directly to the Zhu Kingdom?”
Fusheng produced a ribbon from somewhere and tied a flawless bow at the end of her braid.
“My dear emperor remains in Zhen. As his ‘beloved consort,’ how could I return alone?”
Shengsheng breathed in relief.
*Wonderful. I hope all my possessions are still there. But… how has Xunlan Liu remained in Zhen for so many days?*
As though answering her thoughts, Fusheng continued.
“Officially, he wished to tour the Zhen Kingdom. In truth, a disguised double has been appearing in public for him. The real Xunlan Liu is currently confined to bed by illness.”
His tone was casual, omitting the bloodshed and turmoil the full affair must have contained.
Shengsheng abruptly understood.
Fusheng had probably arranged it.
But why delay Xunlan’s return to Zhu?
Had he done it so he could find her?
The thought appeared, then she rejected it.
More likely…
it was because of the key.