Scent Of Time

Chapter 61: The Grand Finale (1)

October 5th, at the end of the day.

Gao Yu exited the imperial study. When he reached the door, he felt uneasy and asked again to inquire, “Your Majesty, I’ll retire now.” 

A moment later, he heard a “hmm,” and Gao Yu saluted before walking out of the room and yelling at the door, “Withdraw! Be more careful in your movements.” 

“Yes.” Various answering voices rang out. A few moments later, only three people left outside the Imperial Study. Eunuch Gao arched his hand at the other two and said, “Chief Lin, Assistant Yang, I will take my leave first. I’ll trouble two of you.” 

Lin Jiang and Yang Yuan nodded, and Gao Yu ambled back. As Gao Yu walked out, he saw an eunuch standing with a lantern. Gao Yu’s heart warmed; this little brat was grateful and knew to wait for him. 

“Master, I will hold the lantern for you.” Song An nimbly took the lantern from Gao Yu’s hand. Gao Yu walked in front of him naturally. After a few steps, Song An couldn’t help but speak, “Master, what day is this fifth day anyway?” 

Gao Yu’s eyes glared at him. His always smiling face became serious and looked ghastly: “How many times have I told you not to ask what you shouldn’t and be careful with your head?” 

Song An shrunk his neck and smiled curtly, “Isn’t I act like this only in front of you? I know that you love me. That’s why I ask.” 

Gao Yu squinted at him momentarily and spoke again: “You only need to know that on the fifth day of every month, you should stay away from the imperial study. If you can’t suppress your curiosity, beware of the guards beheading you.” 

Song An’s eyes rolled, and he said no more. Gao Yu glanced back at the Imperial Study and sighed as he walked forward. After midnight, there were movements in the imperial study, and swords clashing came from the room. Zhong Xiwu sat in the room while Lin Jiang stood at his side. The two seemed to haven’t heard it and didn’t move a muscle. An oil lamp illuminated the study, and Zhong Xiwu held a few pages of thin paper packed with words, which seemed to be a letter. One could vaguely see the inscription, ‘Qin Yun respect.’ 

Zhong Xiwu looked very carefully. His fingertips gently rubbed over each word. He seemed to want to carve the words on this letter into his eyes. He read this letter for as long as the sounds of the fight outside. About half an hour later, Chen Yuan walked in with messy hair, lacked breath, and some injuries on his body. Only then did Zhong Xiwu raise his eyes, look at him, and ask, “How was it?” 

Chen Yuan knelt on one knee and said, “Replying to the Emperor. This time, he has passed a hundred moves. If this continues — Forgive my incompetence. I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop him.” 

Zhong Xiwu’s face didn’t fluctuate: “It’s fine. If you can’t do it, then let Lin Jiang do it. If he can’t do it, you guys will come together. I would like to see how long he can hold out.” 

Odd silence flooded the room. Chen Yuan spoke again: “Your Majesty, the first time he came here, he lost to me in just twenty moves. Less than a year later, I must go intensely to repel him. Continuing like this is akin to feeding the tiger. In my humble opinion, it is better to dispose of him early.” 

“Can’t kill him.” Zhong Xiwu spoke, but it didn’t seem like he was talking to Chen Yuan, “If I kill him …… she will resent me.” 

Vague and indistinct several ‘her,’ but no one asked a question. 

T/N: The author wrote ‘him,’ but I think it should be ‘her.’

Zhong Xiwu carefully closed the letter in his hand, his movement as gentle as a fragile porcelain. Then, he took a delicate box and put the letter in it. Together with this one, nearly thirty or forty pieces of paper loaded the box. Each piece of paper was flat and neat, without half a crease. After doing all this, Zhong Xiwu got up and walked towards his resting chamber. 

Two years have passed in the blink of an eye. Because life was easy and cozy, Hua Qian did not feel that time passed slowly. If she were to calculate according to the age of this body, she would be 21 years old this year. 

On the eve of the Lantern Festival, without differentiating gender, a group of young boys and girls crowded together to put the lanterns. At night, some girls pulled Hua Qian on the street, and together, they made lanterns by the river to make a wish. Hua Qian never believed in this, and she didn’t make lanterns; she just watched from the side. Suddenly, a hand holding a delicate lantern stretched out. Hua Qian turned her head to see that it was the young master of the Xu family. 

“I see that you forgot to make a lantern. I’ll give you mine.” Xu Ming said. 

Hua Qian smiled and didn’t take it, “I don’t believe in this, so it would be a waste to give me this lantern.” 

“Why don’t you believe in it?” Xu Ming asked curiously. 

Hua Qian smiled but didn’t answer, so Xu Ming carelessly sat beside her and said, “This is what my mother wants you to have.” 

Hua Qian froze and hurriedly smiled, “Then, I thank you. Your mother –” 

Xu Ming, however, suddenly laughed: “You’re so easy to deceive. How could my mother make these things at her age.” 

Hua Qian’s face instantly lost its color. Her mind was full of that sentence: “You are so easy to deceive.” It was an ordinary sentence, but it reminded her of the person who once said this sentence. 

Under the flickered lights, Xu Ming didn’t notice and was still flirting with her. An unhappy voice interjected and interrupted, “Xu Ming, we are all busy tying lanterns here. What are you doing sitting around and being lazy yourself?” 

It was Bai Luo. Xu Ming frowned and said, “Can you keep your voice down? Everyone in this street can hear your voice.” 

Bai Luo was unconvinced: “It’s not something shameful. What’s wrong with my voice being louder?” 

Xu Ming finally could not sit down, so they stood up and pinched each other. Childhood love always wants to go against each other. In this piece of bustling moments, Hua Qian felt that she could not melt in, so she left while no one noticed. 

After walking to a quieter alley, Hua Qian’s face was not better. She thought that as long as she did not think about it and did not hear any news, she could pretend not to care and forget. Hasn’t she passed the previous year like that? 

To save the Hua Family, she has honestly stayed in this town and never dared to think of contacting others because Hua Qian’s identity has long been dead in the fire. However, she stubbornly still used this name. Is she still hoping that there will be someone who can find this place? Would there be someone who never gave up looking for her? 

It turned out that even if you usually act strong and rational, you would also have self-deceptive expectations. Hua Xiang, Mrs. Hua, Qian Zhi, and Hua Rongzhou. At that time, she left in a hurry and didn’t have a chance to give Qian Zhi a wedding. She wondered how she and Nan Feng were doing. Also, Mrs. Hua. Would she resent her if she knew that she toppled the Hua Family? Mrs. Hua has terrible health. She wondered if she could accept this matter. 

There was also Hua Xiang. From the beginning to the end, he never blamed her. How sad was he when he heard the news of her self-immolation? His children didn’t have a good ending. Lastly, the one who happily said that if she didn’t come home, he would be back to find her —

She had tricked him into leaving and wrote a letter to Wu Shuomo to keep an eye on him. According to his character, he must be aggrieved to death. Her memories were like a pierced bucket, and the water inside leaked out bit by bit. 

Hua Qian walked alone along the alley. As she walked, she couldn’t help but squat down. Her chest hurt too much; it must be the aftermath of blocking the arrow. 

Every day, in this comfortable town, she pretended to be happy and carefree and believed in herself. Although the people here were friendly, they never spent that moment with Hua Qian. She couldn’t tell anyone her story and felt an invisible wall between them. She had no way to be close to them. So, is there a person, no matter who, who can come here to see her and not let her feel that those who have been by her side are forgetting her?

Outside the imperial study, the sword fight continued. That lad had come 26th times, so it had been more than two years. But this time, Hua Rongzhou finally stepped into the imperial study. He was carrying a sword and had countless wounds all over his body. Lying outside the door were two people, none other than Lin Jiang and Chen Yuan, even more seriously injured but still holding their breath. 

Zhong Xiwu slowly raised his eyes. It was the first time he had ever looked at this teenager squarely. He did not expect Hua Rongzhou to be able to hold out for so long. Not only did he persevere, but he also progressed rapidly. Even when the cold and bloodstained sword blade crossed Zhong Xiwu’s neck, he was still expressionless.

“Where did you hide her?” The voice belonging to a man rang out, no longer crisp and clear as a teenager, but instead, it was a bit low. 

“I told you, she’s dead.” 

The blade pressed deeper, and Zhong Xiwu’s neck had a shallow scratch. 

“I don’t believe you. You were the one who said that if I could defeat your guards, you would talk to me about her.” Hua Rongzhou gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and spoke. 

“Am I not talking to you about her now? Do you think that if she were still alive, I would let her leave my side?” Zhong Xiwu hooked up half the corner of his mouth, unable to hide his sarcasm. 

Hua Rongzhou’s hands trembled, and his brown eyes looked about to burn. One stood, the other sat, but their auras were similar. Eventually, Hua Rongzhou made a move to put away his sword and turned around. 

“Where are you going?” Zhong Xiwu frowned and spoke. 

“I’m going to find her.” Hua Rongzhou turned away. 

Zhong Xiwu’s gaze trembled, “You’re not going to kill me?” 

“Kill you …… She will be sad.” 

Zhong Xiwu’s fingers shrunk slightly, but he smiled coldly. “Where will you search for her?” 

“At worst, turn this world upside down. Even if you don’t say it, I may find her. Anyway, I have plenty of time.” Hua Rongzhou turned sideways. His tone was mocking, but he looked serious. 

“What if she’s dead? ” Zhong Xiwu asked rhetorically. 

Hua Rongzhou spoke with a beat in his step, “I originally had nothing, so I had nothing to lose.” 

“She drove you away in the first place. What if she doesn’t want to see you now?” Zhong Xiwu still inquired. 

Hua Rongzhou’s hand holding the sword trembled as he lowered his head. Surprisingly, his voice turned soft: “I only want to see her safe and sound with my eyes, even if it’s just for a glance. If she does not want to see me, I sneak a look and then never show up again.” Hua Rongzhou stood in the doorway for a while before Zhong Xiwu spoke, “Then you go find her ……” 

Hua Rongzhou looked back and saw Zhong Xiwu’s expressionless face. In the end, Hua Rongzhou said nothing, turned around, and plunged into the darkness. After about another hour, Lin Jiang slowly walked in. Zhong Xiwu was still sitting at his desk, not moving a muscle. 

“Your Majesty, I’m not doing a good job ……,” Lin Jiang knelt and asked for forgiveness. 

“It has nothing to do with you.” 

“But why did the Emperor tell …… him?” Lin Jiang was uneasy.

“Pass a message out to let Qin Yun come back. There is no need to send me a letter every five days to report on her because ……” Zhong Xiwu spoke, his tone full of relief, “Someone will guard her well, and she also waited for that person.” 

Zhong Xiwu got up and walked inside, taking out the box he had always regarded as a treasure. After opening it, he pulled out one of the letters and put it on the burning candle flame. When one letter after another turned into ashes, he also burned his deep love.