Yong Yaxuan stood in front of the raging fire. For the first time, he felt utterly helpless. It was as if a thousand ants were crawling inside his heart. The unrelenting fire tortured him as it showed no sign of subsiding.
In and out of the Forbidden Palace, palace servants rushed about with buckets of water. Even from a distance, Yong Yaxuan could feel the scorching heat wave.
The longer he waited, the slimmer his hope seemed. Finally, a royal guard emerged with a soot - blackened face to report, "Your Majesty, the Empress is not in the main hall."
Just then, he heard the distant sound of something collapsing. A sudden emptiness welled up in Yong Yaxuan's heart. As if realizing something, he roared, "Quick! Fetch Shadow Thirteen!"
Right! If she didn't live there, then surely no one had bothered to check on the place where she really lived?
Shadow Thirteen arrived promptly. Guided by him, Yong Yaxuan rushed to Ji Feiyu's actual residence. What he saw was the house already in ruins, engulfed by the sea of flames.
Could that earlier sound have come from here?
Yong Yaxuan dared not think about it.
"Call people over here! Hurry!"
Eunuch Li quickly went to gather help.
By the time the fire in the Forbidden Palace was extinguished, dawn had broken. Countless palace servants were so exhausted that they simply slumped to the ground to rest. Yong Yaxuan had stayed awake all night. Nothing was more painful than watching hope slip away bit by bit.
The once - glorious Forbidden Palace had now turned into a desolate ruin. All the wood had been burned to charcoal. After being doused with water, it was wet and still steaming. A foul stench permeated the entire area.
As soon as the fire died down, Yong Yaxuan couldn't wait to rush forward. He couldn't bear to wait for the imperial guards to clear the site.
He had to find her himself.
He began to rummage through the charred charcoal piece by piece, digging with his bare hands. The pungent smell made him retch, but he frowned and held it back.
"Your Majesty, you mustn't!" Eunuch Li climbed up as well, trying to pull him away.
Seeing him approach, Yong Yaxuan immediately roared, "Don't touch me!"
Eunuch Li shrank back in fear, tears streaming down his wrinkled face. "Your Majesty, you can't neglect your own well - being!"
But Yong Yaxuan ignored him and continued to dig deeper.
Although the open flames in the ruins had been extinguished, the remains were still warm. The deeper he dug, the hotter it got. But Yong Yaxuan didn't care. All he wanted was to find her quickly.
His hands were soon burned red and swollen. Blood oozed from under his fingernails. But he seemed like an insensible puppet, still digging forcefully. His eyes were bloodshot.
My dear, my dear, I'm coming.
Seeing this, Eunuch Li had no choice but to wipe away his tears and say, "Since Your Majesty is so determined, this old servant will help you."
Without hesitation, he climbed onto the ruins and started to dig alongside the emperor.
But the more Yong Yaxuan dug, the more afraid he became, and the less confident he felt.
Why had this happened? Just a few days ago, everything was fine. How could it have turned out like this? What on earth had he done?
Despair, pain, and self - reproach filled his heart. It was as if a huge boulder was pressing on his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.
All he wanted now was to dig through this pile of ruins as quickly as possible. At this moment, he so hoped that she wasn't inside or that she had never even come to the Forbidden Palace.
He didn't know how long he had been digging. The sky gradually darkened again after being bright. Dark clouds began to gather, and one or two raindrops fell. It was going to rain.
"Your Majesty, the weather is changing," Eunuch Li reminded him.
Yong Yaxuan's hands were covered in blood from digging. Hearing this, he just paused for a moment and then continued. Blisters had formed on his burned hands, but he didn't care. The blisters were soon rubbed open by the charcoal, and blood seeped out. But it was so difficult to find one or two people in such a large pile of ruins.
"I don't believe it," Yong Yaxuan said.
Eunuch Li watched with a heavy heart. "Your Majesty, why do you torture yourself like this..."
The raindrops grew larger and soon turned into a downpour.
Yong Yaxuan was completely soaked and filthy. The heavy rain made their digging even more difficult. Unable to contain himself, Yong Yaxuan burst into laughter in the rain. "What a cruel twist of fate! What's the use of this rain coming now?"
Eunuch Li stood beside Yong Yaxuan in the rain, sighing.
Yong Yaxuan wiped the rain from his face and continued to dig. By now, he had lost all hope.
Just when he was about to give up, he dug out a charred hand. The hand was so burned that it was barely recognizable.
Yong Yaxuan's heart clenched tightly, and a sharp pain shot through him.
"No, it can't be," he murmured softly. He started to dig faster, eager to uncover her whole body. Eunuch Li also came to help. After carefully clearing the debris for a long time, they finally unearthed a charred female body lying face - down on the ground.
Yong Yaxuan froze. He didn't dare to move anymore.
"Your Majesty..."
Yong Yaxuan's eyes welled up with tears again. His heart ached with each throb. He couldn't help but look around blankly, biting his lips. He had never felt so helpless before.
It shouldn't be her, he told himself. Then he stepped forward and gently turned the body over. With a tinkling sound, something fell from the body's chest to the ground. Yong Yaxuan looked down and felt a rush of blood to his head.
That something was none other than the love token between him and Ji Feiyu - the jade pendant that Ji Feiyu had loved the most. He had sent it to her through a maid before.
She had actually kept this jade close to her heart. Yong Yaxuan's heart ached dully. He realized that he had been wrong. He shouldn't have doubted her love for him.
Yong Yaxuan slowly picked up the jade pendant and examined it in his palm. The tassel of the pendant had been burned away, and the jade was slightly cracked. He could no longer hold back his emotions. He tightly hugged the charred body and let out a long, anguished howl, "Ah—"
At that moment, the rain was pouring down heavily. Everything was splashed with a hazy mist under its force. The raindrops hit Yong Yaxuan's face hard, as if mocking him. The sound of the rain shattered the usual silence of the Forbidden Palace. A cold wind blew slowly, leaving the place in a complete mess.
Yong Yaxuan couldn't remember how he got back. He was soaked from head to toe, his clothes in disarray, his eyes dull. Both his hands were covered in wounds, and the pain had numbed him. But what hurt him more was his heart, which felt empty and lost.
After he returned, he refused to see anyone. He neither ate nor drank and locked himself in his bedroom for three days.
During these three days, he found it hard to fall asleep. Every midnight, grief overwhelmed him. He yearned to see her one more time.
He had actually had the chance to visit her before, but he had chosen not to. He always thought that there would be plenty of time, that he could take things slowly with her. He never expected such a sudden and unexpected turn of events.
He couldn't help but ask himself: If he had entered the Forbidden Palace back then, would he have softened his heart and taken her out?
But there were no ifs in life.
He could never forgive himself. He personally lit the evidence that had sent Ji Feiyu to the Forbidden Palace - the hallucinogenic powder.
As the light smoke curled up, he finally closed his eyes.
In his dream, he seemed to see Ji Feiyu walking towards him with a charming smile. "Your Majesty, the weather is so nice today. Will you accompany me to Yunshan?"
"Sure," he reached out his hand to pull her, and she softly fell into his arms. A delicate fragrance filled his nostrils.
She raised her bright eyes and stared at him intently, with only him in her sight. But in a moment, she playfully got up from him and ran away. Her figure grew fainter and fainter as she ran.
His smile froze. He couldn't help but stretch out his hand. "My dear?"
The dream suddenly shattered, and he immediately slipped into another dream.
He found himself in front of the imperial study. Without knowing why, he pushed the door open. Inside, he saw a gentle and elegant man sitting there, painting a picture.
Hearing the sound, the man looked up and gave him a warm smile. It was Yong Chengxuan.