Chapter 395
Chu Ruoyan panted softly for a moment and said, "I want to go to the Huguo Temple to ask my cousin about her intentions. If she wants a divorce, I will naturally respect her decision."
Hearing that she still wanted to leave, Yan Zheng immediately furrowed his brows.
The little lady, however, smiled and leaned in to kiss the corner of his lips. "Have you forgotten? Before the empress crowning ceremony, the empress must go to the Huguo Temple to burn incense and pray for blessings."
Hearing this, the man's frustration finally subsided.
He nuzzled against her affectionately for a while and said, "The dates have been set. I will ascend the throne in three days, and your crowning ceremony will be held in ten days."
"In such a rush?"
"It's because I can't wait any longer." Yan Zheng gazed earnestly into her eyes. "A-Yan, I wish I could announce it to the whole world right now."
Chu Ruoyan felt a headache coming on at the thought of him wanting to add honorary titles for her, so she quickly claimed she was tired and slipped under the covers.
Yan Zheng watched her flustered silhouette, a smile tugging at his lips. He leaned over, kissed her shoulder, and said, "Go to sleep."
She had sweet dreams all night.
The next day, at the Huguo Temple.
Due to the monk Liaokong's fortune-telling and the incident of Old Madam Feng being buried alive, Chu Ruoyan did not like this place at all.
After simply offering incense, she went to Xue Ling's room.
When she arrived, Xue Ling was kneeling before the Buddha, reciting scriptures. The white cloth on her forehead had not been removed, and her face was pale and bloodless. Even so, she insisted on kneeling for a full two hours to finish reciting a set of rebirth sutras.
Chu Ruoyan waited quietly outside. Only after Xue Ling stood up did she walk in. "Cousin, I've come to see you."
Xue Ling turned her head. Upon seeing her swollen belly, her eyes stung with unshed tears. "Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress..."
Before she could bow down, she was supported. "Cousin, if you keep acting like this between us, I'm going to leave."
Xue Ling paused, a faint smile appearing on her pale face. "Alright. Today, there is only my cousin, not Her Majesty."
The two supported each other as they walked to the couch and sat down, chatting for quite a while.
Finally, Chu Ruoyan held her hand and asked, "Cousin, there's one more thing I want to ask your opinion on. What are your thoughts regarding Xie Zhizhou?"
At the mention of this name, Xue Ling's calm expression instantly shattered. She said in a trembling voice, "I will not see him again!"
It wasn't that she didn't want to, but that she wouldn't.
It was evident that she had long made up her mind.
Chu Ruoyan sighed inwardly and said, "Alright, I respect your decision. Do you want uncle to bring up the divorce, or should Yan Zheng issue an imperial decree?"
If it were the former, there would still be room for reconciliation, but if it were the latter...
Xue Ling swayed slightly, biting her lip without speaking.
Chan suddenly rushed in. "This is bad, Miss! The young master has come looking for you!"
Xue Ling instantly stood up to leave, but Xie Zhizhou arrived so quickly that he practically kicked aside the monks trying to stop him. "Get lost! No one is going to stop me today!"
After Yue Qianzhong stepped down, he was now the new Commander of the Wardens' Office of the Five Boroughs.
Barging in recklessly with his subordinates, he truly showed no regard for the gods and Buddhas filling the temple!
Chu Ruoyan frowned slightly and walked out. "Is that so? No one can stop Commander Xie?"
Xie Zhizhou froze upon seeing her, immediately dropping his weapon and kneeling. "Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress!"
His subordinates also hurriedly knelt and kowtowed. Chu Ruoyan glanced back; Xue Ling still hadn't turned around, so she said, "Commander Xie, my cousin doesn't want to see you."
Xie Zhizhou shuddered violently, then said in a deep voice, word by word, "If she won't see me, this subject will kneel here and wait until she does!"
A miserable laugh echoed from inside the room, followed by Xue Ling's exhausted voice. "Cousin Ruoyan, let him come over."
Chu Ruoyan stepped aside, and Xie Zhizhou eagerly rushed forward.
But just as he stepped onto the last stair, a shout came from inside: "Stop!"
Xie Zhizhou halted and hurriedly said, "Okay, okay, I won't come in. Ling-er, don't get angry, alright?"
Seeing this, Chu Ruoyan said, "Everyone, follow this palace out."
Soon, only the husband and wife were left in the courtyard, though one was inside the room and the other was outside the door.
Xue Ling took a deep breath and said, "Whatever you have to say, say it here."
Xie Zhizhou nodded vigorously. "Okay, Ling-er, listen to my explanation. The reason I was so heartless that day was because of the late Emperor..." He explained all his concerns at the time in detail. After hearing him out, Xue Ling nodded very calmly. "So to speak, you were doing it for my own good."
"I wouldn't dare say it was for your own good, but I wanted to keep you safe, Ling-er!"
"Keep me safe?" Xue Ling raised the corners of her lips in a mock smile. "Then when Liu Hui went into your room and you didn't tell me, was that also to keep me safe?"
Xie Zhizhou's expression changed drastically. "You knew?"
Xue Ling remained silent, then heard the man's agonized voice. "I'm sorry, Ling-er. I was drunk that night, which gave my grandmother an opportunity to take advantage of! But I can swear to the heavens that I absolutely did not touch a single finger of hers, otherwise, may I die without an heir and be struck by lightning!"
Xue Ling said faintly, "There's no need to swear. I just want to know why you didn't tell me."
Xie Zhizhou's face turned pale, and after a long while, he said hoarsely, "I was afraid that if you knew, you would overthink and suspect that I was colluding with my grandmother. Besides, when we came to the Huguo Temple last time, Master Liaokong also said that you have a very impatient temper, and keeping some things from you is for your own good..."
"But if you don't say anything, wouldn't I still suspect?" Xue Ling's voice suddenly rose, as if she could no longer hold back. "You didn't say anything about Liu Hui, and your dear grandmother made me watch with my own eyes as she entered your room and stayed the whole night! You didn't say anything about the late Emperor either, making me watch you put on a heartless act and get kicked out of the Earl's mansion like a stray dog! Do you know who I met after I got out? I met Liu Hui! She came back with a big belly, saying it was your child. How did you expect me to feel, what was I supposed to think? Xie Lang, I am not as smart as you think I am, I couldn't guess it!!"
That cry of "Xie Lang" was utterly heartbreaking. Xie Zhizhou felt a profound surge of grief and fell to his knees. "No, it's not your fault, I was wrong! Ling-er, I was wrong! I shouldn't have hidden things from you, I shouldn't have presumptuously explained nothing to you! Ling-er, please forgive me, just this once, just this once. I swear I will never do it again!"
Xue Ling covered her mouth, sobbing uncontrollably.
Once, just this once.
What light and easy words, yet it was because of this "once" that she lost her child!
"It's too late, Xie Lang. Do you remember the day you left, when I told you I had good news?" She raised her hand to rest on her lower abdomen, which was already empty, just like her heart. "I was pregnant, and the child is gone."
A few short words, shifting from joy to sorrow, from ultimate bliss to ultimate suffering.
Xie Zhizhou clutched his chest as if unable to breathe, and finally, with a heavy thud, collapsed headfirst onto the ground!
In the adjacent monk's room.
Listening to the words relayed by Nanny Zhou, Chu Ruoyan let out a long sigh. "Cousin already had no one to rely on in the Xie family; the only person she could trust was him. Yet he mistakenly believed that keeping things from her was for her own good. Through a series of misunderstandings, it has ultimately come to this."
Nanny Zhou nodded. "Therefore, husband and wife must communicate whatever is on their minds. Even if it cannot be brought up immediately, it must be explained as soon as possible. The human heart cannot withstand such torment..."
Chu Ruoyan was thoughtful. In truth, at the time, even if Xie Zhizhou didn't bring up the matter of Liu Hui, her cousin could have just asked directly.
It was just a pity that both of them had their own concerns and both thought they were acting for the other's benefit, ultimately causing them to miss each other entirely.
Just then, a chant of "Amitabha" came from outside the door, and the absolute last person she ever wanted to see walked in. "Benefactor Yun, the ways of heaven are cyclical. You have altered the destinies of others time and time again. Have you ever considered what kind of end awaits you?"