Untouchable Lovers

Chapter 130: Chapter 120 All are Heartless

Chu Yu stared intently at the ice and snow that would not melt away in his eyes, and after a long time, she slowly said, “You are a heartless person, indifferent to Moxiang’s life and death, but is what you said to me the truth?”

Who knows if he had ever said something to Moxiang in the past.

Now she stood right before him, and he could naturally say he cared, but if one day she were to meet with misfortune and be gone, would he, just as nonchalantly, coldly smile, and tell someone else, “I am truly a heartless person”?

Her heart contracted slightly, with a faint chill gathering slowly but steadfastly around her.

Her chest felt cold, yet Chu Yu’s complexion was utterly serene as she unblinkingly watched Rong Zhi’s eyes.

Rong Zhi’s expression did not change, and his movements remained steady. He was lying on the green stone platform, his posture the epitome of languidness, while his eyes were chilling and lonesome. He still smiled coldly and said, “Does the Princess wish to see me heartbroken over Moxiang? But Princess,” his tone was gentle and slow, yet the meaning behind his words was sharply pointed, “what use is my sorrow, my hatred? Whom should I regard as enemy, whom as foe? for what should I seek revenge? with what can I wash away the grudge?”

Chu Yu was shaken by his barrage of questions. Indeed, what use was his sorrow, what was to be done with his hatred? Liu Ziyue and Zong Yue were the ones who killed Moxiang, and she was one of the reasons as well. Did she really expect Rong Zhi to seek revenge on these people? Did her subconscious actually hope that Rong Zhi would resent her?

If he didn’t hate her, she would feel unresolved about Moxiang, but if he did harbor hatred toward her, she herself would be unhappy.

On one side, her feelings were unresolved; on the other, she was unhappy. How was she to have Rong Zhi choose?

Chu Yu stood there, dazed, silently muttering to herself: Indeed, she was the very person who had the least right to question him. Why had she not thrown herself forward to stop it at that time? Why was she so fear-stricken that she could not move, losing even the ability to speak?

If she had not been so useless, would this tragedy have occurred?

Noting the subtle changes in her expression, Rong Zhi suddenly smiled gently again, “I won’t do anything that’s futile, and I am also very stingy with unnecessary love and hatred.” He slowly stood up, his landing spot nearly pressed against Chu Yu. She looked up to see his chin and lips right in front of her and his neck’s graceful lines, but she felt utterly bewildered.

Rong Zhi took two steps back, turned around, and spoke faintly, “Princess, he who hesitates will be harmed. Those in power must wield a sword of life and death, with one edge against enemies and one edge facing themselves. Even if one is reluctant at heart, for a certain goal, some things should be discarded. If you cannot make that hard decision, it is best to leave this place of conflict soon.” To wish for kindness, to desire a high position, and to want to protect everyone—how could such great deals be so readily available?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ƝօνǤο.сο

Even Wang Yizhi and I can’t achieve that, let alone Chu Yu.

Wang Yizhi foresaw these matters early on, which is why he chose not to get involved in the pursuit of fame and fortune, happily indulging in pleasure, whereas I have delved too deep, the arrow is drawn and cannot be returned. I cannot and do not wish to go back.

In life, most things do not go as one wishes, and nothing is ever perfect. To gain something, one must lose something else; I’ve known this for a very long time.

Rong Zhi’s words seemed to hover in the air for a long time before entering Chu Yu’s ears, spinning around before settling in her mind. When Chu Yu grasped the meaning of his words, Rong Zhi’s figure had already disappeared, his whereabouts unknown.

Chu Yu did not seek him out. She stood where she was, then lingered a while longer, surrounded by the fragrance and solitude of the bamboo forest. The crystalline atmosphere cleansed her cluttered soul. After some time, she left Muxue Garden and headed quickly to Hidden Fragrance Garden.

Hidden Fragrance Garden was Moxiang’s residence in life, and now a cenotaph of his robes and hat stood there. Moxiang had died at the end of summer when the weather was extremely hot. Chu Yu worried that the body would decompose on the journey home, so she instructed people to bury him in the Princess Mansion at Shan Yin County.

Upon returning, Rong Zhi had someone organize Moxiang’s belongings, taking a set of his robes, socks, shoes, and frequently used items to erect the cenotaph in Hidden Fragrance Garden.

She had simply let Rong Zhi arrange it at first, but now, this cenotaph seemed to have become an object for Chu Yu to confide in.

Chu Yu stood in front of the grave, lit a section of spice an inch thick and a half foot long, and inserted it in front of the stele, letting the aroma intertwine with the smoke and dissipate. This faint and elusive fragrance reminded Chu Yu of the scene of burying Moxiang, the mesmerizingly beautiful person whose face was slightly twisted due to agony and shock, his lifeless body retaining only a faint trace of cold fragrance.

After waiting for the spice to burn out, Chu Yu slowly said, “This is the first time I’ve paid respects to you, and it’s probably the last. Moxiang, I am likely to fail you again. I wasn’t able to save you, nor can I avenge you. I owe you this, and you have the right to resent me, because this was my choice.” She would never return to this place again.

Having said that, she bowed deeply and then turned around to leave resolutely.

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The next day, when Chu Yu once again came to the Imperial Palace Gate, what she saw were still the splendid scenes, but her mindset seemed to have changed somewhat from before.

In the past, whenever she came here, she would feel somewhat nervous, but now, her heart had been forced into a sharp edge, making her grit her teeth and look ahead.

It was the time for the court to be dismissed, and Chu Yu saw Shen Qingzhi. She had always been somewhat afraid of this old General before, but now he seemed not to be so frightening. She merely gave Shen Qingzhi a cursory glance and then went on her way into the palace.

Shen Qingzhi’s brows furrowed slightly, but his nephew beside him tugged at him, “Uncle, don’t get angry with a woman. The Emperor’s favor towards you is at its peak, it is better to make friends with her at this time.”

Shen Qingzhi hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

As Chu Yu walked, she wondered why Shen Qingzhi, who clearly showed hostility, did not come forward to reprimand her. However, she quickly cast aside this minor doubt and continued on, then she saw Liu Ziyue whom she hadn’t seen for several days.

Liu Ziyue was dressed in dark black clothing, standing in the garden, wielding a bamboo whip to lash the running palace maids and eunuchs. The palace maids and eunuchs coordinated with his actions and, even though they were in pain, did not dare to run too fast. They could only run in circles, taking turns to be whipped by the little Emperor to his heart’s content.

Happy to be whipping people, Liu Ziyue felt his mood was greatly improved. Watching the people around him scream and show painful expressions, with stripes of green and red crisscrossing their faces and necks, he felt a genuinely hearty pleasure from within.

This was one of Liu Ziyue’s favorite games, and also one of the less harmful ones.

He lifted the bamboo whip again, but before it could fall, a fair and slender hand suddenly reached out from mid-air, precisely grabbing the middle of the whip. Liu Ziyue was furious, turned his head to see who was interrupting his fun, and saw it was Chu Yu.

“Ah, Sister?” His previously accumulated momentum dissipated instantly, and Liu Ziyue quickly dropped the whip, waving his hands to shoo away the palace maids and eunuchs like flies, then warmly took Chu Yu’s hand and carefully said, “Sister, you haven’t visited me for several days. Are you still angry with me?” Even he, with a heart of a wolf and lungs of a dog, felt the change in Chu Yu’s attitude towards him, which had started after Moxiang’s death.

Chu Yu smiled coldly, “How dare I be angry with the Emperor?”

Even though Chu Yu’s expression was cold, she was willing to talk to him, and today she had taken the initiative to find him. Liu Ziyue quietly breathed a sigh of relief and, holding her hand, said, “Sister, it was just a concubine after all. Now that she’s dead, she’s dead. Don’t be angry anymore.”

Chu Yu sighed, “Do you know that Moxiang actually died in vain? He did not eavesdrop on your conversation at all.” She told Liu Ziyue what she had seen after leaving the room that day.

Liu Ziyue blinked, seemingly unmoved and said, “Even if he did not hear my conversation, I still had to find an excuse to kill him.”

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Making up for the basic update I owed yesterday due to the injury~~

My hand has recovered a bit, though it still hurts a little, but it’s not as severe… That continuous burning sensation in my fingers, I think I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.

Once bitten, twice shy, I will never again cut chili peppers with bare hands~~~ (When I told a friend about this, she actually decided to experience the sensation herself with some chili paste someone had given her… I’m astonished, hats off to her.)

Additionally, I’ve received your heartfelt gestures (pig’s trotters)—thank you, ha~~