HomeAfter I Bloom Hundred Flowers DieChapter 562: Only Seeking to Rest Together

Chapter 562: Only Seeking to Rest Together

As two clear tears rolled down her cheeks, Ye Wantang set down her wine cup. Xiao Changtai was thunderstruck, staring at her intently. He desperately tried to move his fingers but couldn’t summon any strength, only able to call out to her in a trembling voice: “Wanwan…”

“A true man should have grand ambitions,” Ye Wantang’s lips curved in a faint smile. “This isn’t wrong in itself. The wrong… the wrong was only that Atai was born into the imperial family.”

For princes of the imperial family, aside from the legitimate heir, anyone who harbored ambitions inevitably faced bloody warfare. Yet the supreme throne was the most tempting pinnacle of power for any man.

How could ordinary families give birth to such treasonous thoughts? But he was born into the royal family, not far from that position of ruling all under heaven. His developing such thoughts was truly not his fault.

The only fault lay in her naivety, unable to see through to his wild ambitions hidden beneath his calm exterior.

“Wanwan, I was wrong, I was truly wrong…” Xiao Changtai had confessed and apologized to her countless times before, but only this time, his appearance – though not overtly grief-stricken but suffused with endless despair – showed Ye Wantang he was sincere.

But sincerity came too late.

Ye Wantang’s chest began to constrict painfully. The wine Shen Xihe had sent was naturally unpoisoned – she had prepared and added the poison herself.

Back when she learned of Gu Qingchi’s arrangements, she had felt regret and confusion. Today, she finally understood Gu Qingchi’s resolution and the release she sought. She wasn’t as strong as Gu Qingchi.

If she had possessed Gu Qingchi’s determination instead of foolishly holding onto hope time and again, trusting him, perhaps they wouldn’t have reached this irreversible point.

Sweat beaded on her forehead as Ye Wantang reached out with trembling hands, trying to reach Xiao Changtai across the table. Whether the poison acted too quickly or the distance was too great, she collapsed before touching him.

“Wanwan—” Xiao Changtai cried out in anguish, his heart feeling as if it would burst. He despised his weakened body that prevented him from reaching her.

Fallen across the table, Ye Wantang’s chest pain made her vision darken. Her gaze grew unfocused as she weakly curved her lips, murmuring faintly: “Heaven’s… will…”

“Wanwan… Wanwan… please don’t…” Xiao Changtai begged through his tears. He never imagined she would leave him this way, forcing him to watch helplessly as her eyes closed, too weak even to hold her in his arms.

“Atai!” Suddenly Ye Wantang found a burst of strength, her eyes bright with clarity. “This mortal world is too tempting, we can’t help but be drawn in by worldly desires. Since that’s so, let’s leave this place together, go somewhere else – just you and me, never to be parted again, alright?”

At this moment, Xiao Changtai would agree to anything. He nodded frantically, tears streaming down his face: “Yes, yes, yes, just the two of us. I’ll never think of anything else again, my eyes and heart will hold only you, only you!”

Having received her long-desired promise, Ye Wantang seemed instantly relieved. The light in her eyes suddenly scattered. She forced herself to look at him deeply one last time before her head fell to the side as she passed away. Though her face was pale and lifeless, her lips held a slight curve, departing peacefully and with a hint of satisfaction.

Xiao Changtai froze. His tears flowed uncontrollably, but he remained as if under a paralysis spell, silently weeping as he watched her, unable to make a sound like a wooden puppet drained of all vitality.

Shen Xihe stood outside the door. She had long guessed Ye Wantang’s plans but hadn’t intervened. In her mind appeared another person’s resolute embrace of death. Ye Wantang had nothing left to live for.

She used her death to awaken Xiao Changtai, while also protecting the Ye family. Without her and Xiao Changtai’s connection, those who had feuded with him would leave the Ye family alone. The Ye family members should also wake up and think carefully about their future.

Xiao Changtai sat woodenly, staring vacantly at Ye Wantang who looked as if in deep sleep. His mind was blank, his soul seemingly emptied in that instant. After an unknown time, as the drug’s effects wore off, he suddenly found his strength returning. He quickly tried to stand but stumbled. Crawling on hands and knees, he reached her and with trembling hands carefully gathered her barely-warm body into his arms, treating her as something precious. He neither wailed hysterically nor collapsed in grief, but simply held her in a daze.

Incense smoke curled through the room as the moon set in the west and the sun rose in the east. Only when the first ray of light entered the room did Xiao Changtai seem to regain his senses. His face was pale, his lips bloodless, even his skin peeling. He carefully laid down Ye Wantang’s cold body and meticulously arranged her appearance before picking her up and kicking open the door. The guards outside immediately raised their swords.

Xiao Changtai ignored them, speaking only in a hoarse, cold voice: “I want to see the Crown Princess.”

The guards remained highly alert, but Xiao Changtai stared straight ahead, unblinking, woodenly carrying Ye Wantang forward. Xiao Changfeng arrived at the news and saw Xiao Changtai, his eyes flickering.

The commotion quickly reached Shen Xihe, who had just risen and was having breakfast. She sent Zhenzhu to bring Xiao Changtai before her. When he appeared carrying Ye Wantang, she had just finished her meal.

“You wanted to see me?” Shen Xihe asked quietly.

“Yes.” Xiao Changtai still held Ye Wantang, his deathly gaze fixed on Shen Xihe. “I have some things to give you.”

At this point, anything Xiao Changtai could offer must be extraordinary, given his years of scheming. Instead of asking what it was, Shen Xihe asked: “What do you want in return?”

Xiao Changtai lowered his eyes to look at Ye Wantang in his arms, his gaze lingering and tender: “Burial together – choose a place of scenic beauty to bury us both, far from strife, with no need for anyone to sweep our graves or make offerings.”

He hadn’t given her what she wanted in life; he would give it to her in death.

It was his ambition and greed that had driven her to death. Only now did he realize that his repeated deceptions, his refusal to let her go, stemmed from his inability to live without her. Now that he had lost her and fallen into the hands of Xiao Huayong and his wife with no escape, rather than struggle futilely, he would calmly trade for his final wishes.

As she had said, when caught in the game, one must accept defeat. He had already made her despise him once; he didn’t want her to despise him again. He feared…

He feared that on the road to the Yellow Springs, she wouldn’t wait for him.

“Alright.” Shen Xihe had already planned to give Ye Wantang a proper burial.

Judging by Ye Wantang’s final actions, she would have wanted to be buried together with Xiao Changtai.

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