nucmednet Chapter 1112 Extra: Song Shenzhi and Nanyan (2)
Chapter 1112 Extra: Song Shenzhi and Nanyan (2)
As soon as Song Shenzhi said this, his heart suddenly shrank as if it had been burned by an iron.
Regret it!
He was actually more clear-headed than his mother and brother, because he was well versed in the Northern Wing Law and knew the weight of the cold blade hanging over his neck.
According to Article 19 of the "Punishment and Household Order," anyone sentenced to exile would be criminalized and permanently barred from marrying a legitimate spouse. Anyone who dared to marry or arrange a marriage with a legitimate spouse would be punished with 50 strokes of the cane and three years' imprisonment; the matchmaker would be punished with 40 strokes of the cane and have half of their property confiscated. Any marriage involving a legitimate spouse would be stripped of their citizenship and enslaved by the government; any children born would be permanently enslaved to the lower classes.
At this moment, the law was carved into a stone tablet in his mind, which fell down with a loud bang, crushing the absurd greed he had just had.
Who does he want to harm?
Without waiting for Nan Yan to reply, Song Shenzhi turned around abruptly and ran out of the house almost as if he was fleeing in panic.
He stood stiffly in the draft in the corridor, his chest heaving and an unspeakable bitterness rolling in his throat.
He tilted his head back, trying to suppress the surging emotions back into his eyes, but it only made his cheeks flush and his eyes burn.
There is only one almost humble thought left in my mind: How nice it would be if I could just be a wooden man with no heart or thoughts!
He would rather she didn't understand the words "I'll teach you every day" at all, the deep-seated thoughts that even he himself didn't dare to delve into.
But Nanyan...she just happened to understand. She slowly walked out of the room and stopped in the shadow under the eaves.
She didn't say anything, but just looked quietly at the young man in the corridor whose body was stiff but tall and thin.
The cold wind blew through the dead branches in the yard, ruffling his slightly messy hair and thin clothes.
His profile was as cold and hard as a knife in the dim light, and the taut lines of his lips and the tightly pursed corners of his lips revealed the turbulent waves surging in his heart.
The silence at that moment froze the wind blowing through the corridor.
In this suffocating silence, Nan Yan's heart was suddenly and violently hit.
Like the sudden beating of a drum in the depths of a deep valley... Nan Yan had always been dull and had always thought that she only felt sympathy for Song Shenzhi.
But she understood it almost instantly at this moment.
It turned out that the inexplicable pain and throbbing in my heart before, and the lingering sense of loss at his departing back, were all the result of this sweet yet confusing feeling called "heartbeat" that grew and spread in secret.
This feeling was so violent and brutal, like an invisible hand, tightly grasping the depths of her silent heart.
In the moment when everything was silent and time stood still, she suddenly captured the fresh and passionate emotions in the emptiness and heaviness.
She wanted to go crazy for this man regardless of everything. She wanted to hug this man in front of her and sink into oblivion with him, even if there was an abyss ahead.
It was as if I had picked up a dusty gem, and I was so happy.
Yes, if it weren't for the thick dust and mud, if it weren't for the ruthless overturning and damage of fate, such a piece of spiritual jade, which should have become a star that all living beings look up to, how could it have fallen to the mortal world, allowing a humble person like her to secretly pick it up in a deserted place and privately store this ray of warmth?
This was probably the closest distance she could ever get to such a handsome and dignified man in her humble life.
Nan Yan no longer hesitated, taking a deep look at Song Shenzhi's back as he stood in the wind. Then, she resolutely turned around and quickly left.
She made her decision and knew who to look for.
Nan Yan went straight to find Shi Anxia, raised her head, and her eyes were no longer confused. Instead, they were burning with a clear and bright light of desperation. She said straight to the point, "Madam, I want to marry Mr. Song. Is that okay?"
Shi Anxia was stunned. "Song Shenzhi? Or Song Xizhi?"
"Master Shenzhi." Nan Yan's voice was very soft, but it was like a stone thrown into a quiet lake, creating ripples.
Shi Anxia's gaze fell quietly on Nan Yan. "He is a registered prisoner, wearing the shackles. According to the law, the only people who can accompany him for the rest of his life are slaves registered with the government."
Nan Yan's face showed no trace of surprise or confusion. Having been by Madam's side for so many years, she knew the rules of this world, where family status was as vast as mountains and seas, and laws were as strict as iron.
She lowered her eyelids, her long eyelashes casting two faint shadows on her pale cheeks. Her voice was low and clear, "Madam, all of this... Nan Yan knows. Nan Yan... is willing to become a slave again for you, young master."
Shi Anxia completely exposed the bloody price paid, "Even so, your future children will be born into a life of slavery. Are you willing?"
This is like a moth flying into a flame!
The air seemed to freeze for a moment. Nan Yan's body shook imperceptibly, as if struck by an invisible hammer. The color drained from her face as she raised it in shock.
After a long moment, her tightly pursed lips finally moved with difficulty. Her voice was as light as flying catkins, yet it carried a strange, stubborn hoarseness. "Then, then we won't have children or raise them. Just... just the two of us, accompanying you... just like this is fine."
Shi Anxia stared at the clarity in Nan Yan's eyes that were a mixture of courage and pain, and felt an indescribable bitterness in her heart.
In her previous life, Nan Yan had come to her in the same way, begging for mercy. In the end, she had suffered such a tragic end.
In this life, Song Shenzhi was not bad. But people's hearts changed under different circumstances. Even the bright and clear-minded uncle and Emperor Zhaowu had taken the wrong path.
Song Shenzhi… An Xia hadn't had much contact with him at the time, so she didn't dare to make any rash conclusions. She only asked, "What if one day, God has mercy on you and your son Shenzhi is able to rise to prominence again, but he betrays you? Nan Yan, how will you cope with that?"
……
At the Song family, no one picked up their chopsticks at the dinner table.
Mrs. Song had just learned about the harshness of the criminal law and dared not mention marrying Nan Yan as her daughter-in-law. How could she bear to drag such a good girl into a trap?
Song Xizhi was unwilling to give in. "Brother, is there no other way?"
Song Shenzhi slowly shook his head, "From now on, don't mention this again. Letting Miss Nan Yan go will be a good deed."
Song Yuanjiu said, "My son is right. We shouldn't let such a good girl suffer with our family. She deserves a better life."
Mrs. Song covered her face and cried softly. She reached out and held Song Shenzhi's hand, unable to speak.
Song Shenzhi smiled with red eyes, "Mother, don't be sad, I'm fine."
Although he said it was okay, he tossed and turned all night long and couldn't sleep until dawn.
Song Shenzhi made up his mind and decided to thank Nan Yan and ask her not to come again in the future.
Not being able to see her is like a blunt knife cutting my flesh, painful. But seeing her is like tearing my heart out.
He is not afraid of pain.
He just didn't want to add another blade of despair that would cut into their bones to their deepest despair.
It would be better to just say goodbye. Let the pain only hurt him.
But Nan Yan didn't come that day.
Song Shenzhi felt a huge sense of emptiness in his heart.
The days that followed flowed slowly, as if their souls had been drained away. Dawn and dusk alternated, the grass withered and grew, and the leaves of the old ginkgo tree in the courtyard turned from green to yellow, then fell one by one, covering the stone steps.
Nan Yan never came back... Two months seemed as long as half a lifetime.
Song Shenzhi was secretly relieved at first, as he no longer had to face the torture that was so close yet so far away every day.
However, before he could truly relax his breath, a deeper and more empty sense of loss began to gnaw at his internal organs silently like a maggot on his tarsal bones.