nashuaworldcup Chapter 137 The Final Struggle
Chapter 137 The Final Struggle
"boom--!!!"
Xu Fenghua trembled violently!
She suddenly raised her head, her eyes revealing undisguised shock and panic for the first time!
"Your Majesty... what did you say?"
Her voice trembled slightly, each word seeming to be forced out from her throat.
Qin Mu watched her lose her composure quietly, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.
"I say,"
He repeated, each word distinct and clear, "Xu Longxiang, your younger brother, the heir of the Northern Border King, has arrived in the capital."
He paused, then added:
"I saw him at the banquet tonight. He was wearing a python robe and performed the grand ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows, respectfully wishing me... great joy in taking a concubine."
Every word was like a red-hot branding iron, burning deeply into Xu Fenghua's heart!
She bit her lip hard until she tasted a slightly metallic, sweet flavor, which forced her to calm down.
Don't panic.
Do not panic.
The dragon and the elephant have arrived...
He actually came...
At this critical juncture, at this time when she least wanted him to appear...
Xu Fenghua's mind went blank for a moment, and countless thoughts rushed through her mind like a raging blizzard.
The candlelight in the Huaqing Palace bedroom flickered in Xu Fenghua's amber eyes, reflecting the last vestige of struggle deep within them.
She slowly turned around, her gaze falling on Qin Mu, who was leaning against the window.
He was dressed in a black imperial robe, with the heavy imperial crown removed. His long hair was loose, and his profile, half-lit and half-shadowed by the candlelight, exuded both imperial majesty and an unfathomable languor.
The night breeze seeped in through the slightly open window, fluttering the edges of his moon-white wide sleeves. The cloud patterns embroidered with silver thread on them seemed to come alive, flowing with a delicate and cool light.
"His Majesty,"
Xu Fenghua spoke, her voice softer than the night breeze, yet exceptionally clear, carrying a desperate, tentative tone.
"Is it really necessary for... Consort Xue to attend tomorrow's concubine selection ceremony with me?"
Even now, Xu Fenghua still wants to try her best to avoid being with Jiang Qingxue.
This might reduce the stimulation for Xu Longxiang.
Qin Mu did not turn around immediately, but instead withdrew his gaze from the deep night outside the window, turned his head slightly, and a smile appeared on his lips.
"Of course not."
His answer was concise and to the point, leaving no room for negotiation.
The sound broke through the silence of the bedchamber, shattering Xu Fenghua's last shred of hope.
Xu Fenghua's heart sank into an unfathomable ice cellar with those four words.
Looking at the almost playful smile on Qin Mu's face, she clearly realized that this was not a discussion, but an announcement.
Qin Mu not only had to complete this ceremony to humiliate the Xu family, but also had to push its effect to the extreme.
He wanted Xu Longxiang to witness firsthand how the two most important women in his life were brought into the harem by the same person on the same day and at the same ceremony.
A tremendous sense of powerlessness, accompanied by profound sorrow, instantly overwhelmed her.
It wasn't for the humiliation he was about to suffer, but for his younger brother, Xu Longxiang.
She could imagine the agonizing pain and devastation that would ensue when that image was presented to him.
She tried to lighten his load, even just a little bit, the weight that was about to crush him.
He sighed silently to himself, his breath carrying the chill of the northern winds and snow.
Xu Fenghua lowered her eyes, her long, thick eyelashes casting two trembling shadows on her snow-white cheeks.
When he looked up again, beneath the coldness and stubbornness in his eyes, a layer of resigned weariness surfaced.
"If Your Majesty insists on doing so,"
She spoke slowly, enunciating each word as if they were being squeezed out of her heart and lungs with great difficulty.
"Then I can only comply."
She paused, took a deep breath, as if to draw courage to continue the negotiations.
Then, she looked up and met Qin Mu's deep and unfathomable eyes again.
"But I have a request."
"Oh?"
Qin Mu finally turned around completely and strode towards her.
The hem of the dark robe brushed against the polished gold brick floor silently, yet it brought an invisible pressure.
"What request?" he asked, his tone carrying just the right amount of curiosity, as if he were genuinely considering it.
Xu Fenghua forced herself to straighten her already stiff and aching back, maintaining her final posture.
She knew that any weakness or breakdown at that moment would only make things worse.
"Your Majesty, please allow me," she said clearly, "to return home after the wedding ceremony."
"Go home?" Qin Mu repeated the two words, raising an eyebrow slightly, a hint of barely perceptible amusement flashing in his eyes.
"Yes," Xu Fenghua nodded, her voice trying to convey a reasonable sense of melancholy and longing.
"The Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion. Your Majesty... has not been back for many years. My father passed away early, and my younger brother has been stationed on the border for many years. The old scenes and objects in the mansion, and the old servants who watched me grow up... Your Majesty misses them very much."
She spoke with heartfelt sincerity, vividly portraying the longing for home of a woman far from her native land, whose fate was not her own.
Her eyes even reddened slightly at the corners, making her appear exceptionally fragile and touching in the candlelight.
But only she knows the true intention behind those words.
The Prince's Mansion was where she grew up, the foundation of the Xu family in the Qin Dynasty, and one of the key nodes for information exchange and secret communication.
If we could go back, even for a short stay, we might find an opportunity to pass on messages, contact our old comrades, or even turn the tide.
This was a glimmer of hope and a variable she sought in her desperate situation, for herself and for the North.
Qin Mu looked at her quietly for a moment, his eyes, which seemed to absorb all the light, carefully scanning her face.
"That's natural."
He spoke casually, as if he had agreed to a trivial favor.
"My beloved consort is homesick, which is only natural. I will accompany you then."
I'll go with you.
Five words, falling lightly, yet like five cold iron nails, instantly extinguished the faint spark of hope that had just risen in Xu Fenghua's heart.
He not only wanted her to go back, but also wanted to personally "accompany" her.
This means she is under constant surveillance, which means she has no chance to act in private.
Xu Fenghua's fingers tightened suddenly in her sleeve, her nails digging deep into her palms, sending a sharp pain through her, but it was far less intense than the shattering of her hopes.
But she couldn't show the slightest abnormality on her face.
She even slightly curved the corners of her mouth, squeezing out a concubine-like smile that was a mixture of gratitude and submissiveness.
"Yes," she slowly curtsied, performing a standard curtsy, her voice deliberately soft and submissive.
"Your Majesty, I am deeply grateful for your great kindness."
Qin Mu nodded in satisfaction, seemingly quite pleased with her "pragmatic" demeanor.
He moved closer and could almost smell her faint, refreshing fragrance, like plum blossoms after a snowfall.
"Oh, right."
He seemed to suddenly remember something, his tone still casual.
"There is one more thing. Empress Zhao Qingxue of Liyang seems quite curious about my beloved concubine. After the ceremony, she wishes to see you, and I have already granted her request."
Empress Liyang?
A warning bell rang in Xu Fenghua's mind.
That legendary empress who ascended the throne as a woman, purged eight princes in five years, and whose power shook the Eastern Continent? Why does she want to see me?
Was it merely out of curiosity about a "forced concubine"? Or... was it related to Xu Longxiang's secret contact with Li Yang?
Did Qin Mu know something and deliberately arrange this meeting as a test? Or does Empress Li Yang have other plans?
Countless questions flashed through her mind in an instant, but Xu Fenghua's face only showed a very quick and appropriate look of surprise and confusion before she regained her composure.
"Your Majesty the Empress of Liyang?" she repeated softly, her tone tinged with a hint of flattery and trepidation.
"Your Majesty, I am unworthy and unworthy... Since Your Majesty has agreed, I will naturally comply."
She lowered her head slightly, adopting a respectful listening posture, but in her mind she was already rapidly calculating the various situations she might face and how to deal with them when she met the empress she had never met before.
Qin Mu took in the fleeting, complex expression on her face, his smile deepening, but he said nothing more.
He reached out, his fingertips lightly brushing against a strand of her dark hair that fell over her shoulder, a gentle touch that carried an undeniable sense of possession.
"Alright,"
His tone shifted to a weary languor, as if the day's many tasks had left him exhausted.
"It's getting late, we should rest. We need to get up early to prepare for the ceremony tomorrow."
"Rest?" Xu Fenghua suddenly looked up, her pupils contracting slightly in surprise. "Your Majesty...is staying overnight? Here?"
Her voice trembled with disbelief, and despite her best efforts to suppress it, it still betrayed her inner resistance and panic.
According to etiquette, the emperor and his concubine should not sleep together on the eve of their wedding.
Moreover, this is Huaqing Palace, her nominal sleeping quarters, but also the place she least wants to be in the same room with him at this moment.
Qin Mu raised an eyebrow, seemingly amused by her reaction.
"What?" He leaned down slightly, closer to her face, his warm breath brushing against her cold earlobe, his voice low and ambiguous, "My beloved concubine, you don't welcome me?"
The distance was so close that Xu Feng could clearly see her pale reflection in his deep eyes and smell the imperial aura emanating from him, a mixture of ambergris and faint ink fragrance.
That aura was like an invisible shackle, binding her tightly.
She instinctively wanted to step back, but her feet seemed rooted to the spot.
Reason screamed at her: she couldn't resist, she couldn't provoke him, especially at this critical juncture.
"Of course not."
She forced a sound out of her throat, her throat terribly dry, and tried to force a shy expression onto her face.
"It's just... a bit sudden, and I wasn't prepared for it."
She spoke haltingly, her cheeks even flushing slightly, perfectly portraying the helplessness and nervousness of a concubine awaiting the emperor's bedchamber.
Qin Mu chuckled softly as he looked at her forced composure.
No preparation is needed.
Before he finished speaking, he swept his arm around her and easily lifted her up in his arms.
"Ah!" Xu Fenghua cried out softly, her body suddenly suspended in mid-air. Instinctively, fear made her reach out and wrap her arms around his neck.
The intimate gesture made her feel nauseous, but she had no other choice.
Qin Mu carried her and walked steadily toward the large and luxurious rosewood canopy bed.
The hem of her moon-white nightgown and her cascading long hair swayed and fell, creating an eerie contrast with her stiff limbs.
He gently placed her on the bed covered with bright yellow brocade.
The cool, silky feel of the brocade seeped through the thin nightgown, causing her to shiver involuntarily.
The candlelight was mostly blocked by the bed curtains, and the light inside the tent suddenly dimmed, leaving only a hazy and ambiguous glow.
Qin Mu's figure cast a heavy shadow above her, completely enveloping her.
Xu Fenghua lay on the bed, her eyes wide open, staring at the intricate and ornate embroidery patterns on the ceiling, but her pupils were empty and unfocused.
She could feel Qin Mu's fingers untying the ties of her nightgown, his movements unhurried and leisurely, with the patience and playfulness of unpacking a gift.
The neckline of her nightgown was pulled open, and the cool air touched the skin of her neck, causing a slight shiver to run through her.
She bit her lower lip hard, sealing all her screams, struggles, humiliation, and despair deep inside her throat.
Her fingernails dug deeper into her palm, the pain sharp, yet it kept her conscious to the last shred of her mind.
Do not move.
Can't cry.
They cannot show any genuine resistance.
She was like a delicate doll whose soul had been ripped out, stiffly enduring everything.
In her mind, however, the resolute yet pained face of her younger brother Xu Longxiang flashed uncontrollably, as did the vast snowfields of the North and the chess game she had secretly orchestrated for six years at Tingyu Villa in Jiangnan…
All the scheming, all the forbearance, all the sacrifices, ultimately led to this moment, to this dragon bed that represents endless humiliation.
My heart felt ice-cold, as if I had sunk to the bottom of the deepest icy lake in the North.
Despair, like ink, spread little by little, permeating every inch of my thoughts.
But she knew she had to live, she had to keep acting.
For the Xu family, for Longxiang, for that faint and distant hope of revenge and regaining freedom.
The curtains swayed gently, and the candlelight flickered.
Outside the bedchamber, the chirping of autumn insects was intermittent, which only made the silence inside the tent more palpable. The only sounds were the rustling of fabric and the suppressed, almost inaudible breathing.
Xu Fenghua slowly closed her eyes and turned her face inward.
A drop of cold liquid silently slid down from the corner of her eye, quickly disappearing into her hair and between her temples and the brocade pillow.
........