The Jin Kingdom, beyond the Great Wall, in the short span of a year, had unified the entire Northern Frontier with an overwhelming force. Then, a million Jin troops, like a surging flood, crossed the Great Wall and directly assaulted the capital city of Da Song, Bianliang.
Despite the fierce resistance from the soldiers and civilians within Bianliang, they could not withstand the might of the Jin army. In just three days, the defending imperial guards were annihilated. Jin soldiers poured into the city, commencing a brutal and devastating massacre. The frenzied slaughter raged from dawn till dusk, with black-clad, golden-armored Jin cavalry everywhere. Their swords, soaked in human blood, had turned a deep crimson, and their armor was splattered with bloodstains and torn flesh and bone fragments.
Amidst the wails of the massacred echoing throughout the city, Luo Yuan stepped onto the imperial avenue, slick with blood, navigated past piles of disheveled corpses, and pushed open the ajar red palace gate.
"Yang Ruo Ning!" his furious roar reverberated through the empty imperial palace. All the eunuchs and palace maids had long fled.
To see her alive, or her body if dead, was the sole belief that propelled him to lead the Jin army all the way here.
He searched like a madman, sleepless and relentless, almost tearing apart the entire palace, yet he could not find any trace of her.
Qing Ye, on the other hand, seemed to have lost his voice, refusing to speak no matter what.
"Your Majesty, please stop. If you continue, he will die…" Hui Niang, standing by, finally couldn't bear it and stepped forward, grabbing Luo Yuan to stop his fist from falling again.
His eyes red with bloodlust, he finally halted his actions. He cast a look of extreme disgust at Qing Ye, who had already fainted, then stood up unsteadily, breathing heavily. The skin on his knuckles had split, and blood dripped from his fingertips onto the floor, yet he felt no pain.
"Hmph, you think I won't find her just because you won't talk?" He grabbed a nearby iron pickaxe, swung it into the air, and then brought it down heavily, actually smashing a hole through the thick stone slab of the main hall. "I'll dig up this palace three feet deep if I have to, just to find her!"
"Your Majesty…" Hui Niang looked at the man before her, who seemed deranged, her eyes filled with worry. But she knew that without finding that woman, he would never stop.
At this moment, Hui Niang recalled a bright summer afternoon, the last time she met Yang Ruo Ning.
That day, as she walked through the courtyard back to her small dwelling, she encountered Yang Ruo Ning on the road, delivering goods to Fan Lou. She froze for a moment upon seeing Yang Ruo Ning, not expecting to meet her here.
She smiled slightly and nodded in greeting, "Miss Yang, it's been a long time. Congratulations on your marriage." Luo Yuan had already sought her out and informed her of his marriage to Yang Ruo Ning, entrusting her with the management of Fan Lou.
"Thank you," Yang Ruo Ning smiled sweetly, then hurried to leave.
Hui Niang saw her stop after a few steps, hesitate for a moment, then turn and walk back towards her.
Yang Ruo Ning said, "Hui Niang, there's something… I'd like to ask you to do…"
"Madame, please speak. I will do my best if I can help."
"It's just…" Yang Ruo Ning was very hesitant. She felt that doing this was perhaps unfair to Hui Niang; Hui Niang should start anew and find her own happiness. Yet, after much thought, she felt Hui Niang was the most trustworthy person. She thought for a moment, then finally spoke, "Hui Niang, if one day I am gone… Luo Yuan… could I entrust him to you…"
"Gone? Is Madame planning to travel far?" Yang Ruo Ning's strange request left Hui Niang utterly bewildered.
"Ah, no, it's just… never mind, it's nothing. It's just that Luo Yuan and I will be returning to You Zhou in a while, and I'll be entrusting Fan Lou to your care," Yang Ruo Ning changed her words.
Not until that sudden calamity that day, when Luo Yuan frantically rushed into the imperial palace to save her, but the situation was too dangerous, and Yang Ruo Ning within the palace was likely doomed, did Hui Niang understand Yang Ruo Ning's words from that afternoon. In her desperation, they had to knock Luo Yuan unconscious to escort him out of the capital amidst the chaos of flashing blades.
So, she had entrusted Luo Yuan to her because she had known all along that she would die!
Thinking of this, Hui Niang looked again at Luo Yuan, who was digging at the ground with the iron pickaxe in the main hall. For the past two years, Yang Ruo Ning's name had become an unspoken taboo, and no one dared mention her name in Luo Yuan's presence.
Suddenly, the sound of rustling footsteps came from outside the hall, and soon, a eunuch appeared. "Reporting to Your Majesty, Eunuch Xiao Gui Zi requests an audience."
Hui Niang impatiently waved her hand at him, urging him to leave quickly. This eunuch was truly lacking in tact, choosing such a moment to report such a trivial matter.
But the eunuch glanced at Hui Niang's expression and did not leave. He then cautiously whispered, "Eunuch Xiao Gui Zi says he has something important to report, concerning a girl surnamed Yang."
As soon as the words were spoken, a deathly silence fell upon the hall. Upon hearing that name, Hui Niang gasped. She immediately looked at Luo Yuan.
The raised iron pickaxe froze in mid-air. Luo Yuan seemed momentarily dazed.
That name, etched in his heart, had not been uttered in his presence for over two years. Now, hearing it suddenly, he faltered, as if thinking his ears were deceiving him.
Hui Niang saw his hesitation, knowing what he was thinking, and nodded at the eunuch, signaling him to quickly let Xiao Gui Zi in.
When the slender young eunuch timidly walked into the hall, Luo Yuan remembered him as the young eunuch by Qing Ye's side. A long time ago, he had been the messenger between Fan Lou and the imperial palace for Ruo Ning and Qing Ye.
"This servant greets Luo…" The young eunuch momentarily misspoke, startled by his own slip of the tongue. He trembled and fell to his knees, immediately prostrating himself to beg for forgiveness. "This servant spoke out of turn, this servant deserves to die."
"Where is she?"
"Replying to Your Majesty, Miss Yang… is not in the palace…" He looked up, glancing fearfully at Luo Yuan. "Your Majesty will not find Miss Yang in this palace."
"Then where is she?!" Luo Yuan roared.
Hui Niang saw the small eunuch trembling on the ground. Fearing he might be unable to explain clearly due to fear, she spoke, "Xiao Gui Zi, did you see anything that day?"
"Yes, at that time, Miss Yang and Your Majesty were here, in this very hall. This servant was waiting outside the hall, so I saw everything." As he spoke, he pointed to a corner by a window outside the hall. "This servant was right there."
Hui Niang said, "Then, please report truthfully to His Majesty what you heard and saw."
"This servant obeys."
The hall was incredibly quiet, with only Xiao Gui Zi's somewhat sharp voice echoing. At the end of his account, he said, "After a loud noise, I saw a bloodstain appear on Miss Yang's chest, and then Miss Yang fell… I saw him rush over in a panic, trying to staunch the blood gushing from her chest, but it was too late. Miss Yang had already breathed her last… However, the most miraculous thing was, I saw Miss Yang's body turn into countless flecks of gold powder, scattering in the air like fireworks, and disappearing completely in a moment."
"Turned into gold powder and disappeared… just like… she never existed…" Luo Yuan murmured. "In the end, I am still that little boy who could do nothing for you…"
He drove everyone away and locked himself in the hall for seven full days. When he finally emerged on the eighth day, he gave Qing Ye a white silk rope and poison.
Qing Ye chose the poison.
He watched expressionlessly as Qing Ye drank the poison, and saw the blood continuously flowing from his lips stain his white robe embroidered with golden dragons, just as Yang Ruo Ning had seen in the wormhole.
In a daze, he seemed to hear a woman's gentle sigh. Qing Ye looked past Luo Yuan's shoulder and saw a blurry figure standing in the dazzling white light behind him. He smiled, "...You finally came to see me..."