nucmednet Chapter 341 They must still be alive
Chapter 341 They must still be alive
Yun Qing helped Hui Niang up, and said in a hoarse voice, "I am indeed their son. I only recently found out about this. You can't be blamed for what happened back then. You don't need to blame yourself."
He personally helped Hui Niang sit down, and asked her with a solemn expression, "Think back carefully again, before you fell into the water, did you see my parents? Where were they at the time? Were they alive or dead?" Yun Qing's voice was terribly hoarse.
Hui Niang desperately tried to recall: "The navy's ships were much bigger than our merchant ships. They rammed us directly... Our ship was blasted with a huge hole... The cabin caught fire, and the thick smoke made it impossible for me to open my eyes... I didn't know what to do, so I held Your Highness and hid on the ship... When the ship was about to fall apart... I searched everywhere for Miss... I saw a large group of men in black surrounding the Crown Prince and Miss at the bow of the ship. Later, the Crown Prince protected Miss and jumped into the sea... Then, I fell onto the deck and lost Your Highness... I also fell into the sea..."
From Hui Niang's fragmented memories, the final conclusion was that Crown Prince Shao Jun and Yuan Zhi jumped into the sea.
Silence. The only sound in the teahouse was breathing.
Ning Dechang suddenly broke the silence: "Your Highness, I led men to search the sea for three days and found many bodies, but not the masters that Hui Niang mentioned. Could they... not be dead!"
Hui Niang grabbed Ning Dechang's hand, her nails digging into his flesh. She nodded frantically, "Yes, Your Highness, Master is right. They're not dead, they must still be alive! I, a weak woman, was saved, and Miss, she has saved lives and accumulated so much merit, how could she die? They must still be alive... Crown Prince Shaojun is so powerful, he must have protected Miss and swam to some island, or perhaps they were rescued by fishermen..."
"They must still be alive!"
These seven words, like a thunderclap, exploded in the teahouse, and reverberated throughout Yun Qing's twenty years of life. The truth he had been investigating for so many years had finally surfaced today.
From the world-shocking "Crown Prince Shaojun's Witchcraft Case" to the heartbreaking suicide in the Eastern Palace!
Behind this lies a horrifying secret—a greedy emperor plots to use evil magic to swap souls and seize the young and healthy body of Crown Prince Shaojun, hoping to perpetuate his imperial throne.
He ruthlessly laid a trap, but in the end, all he got was a substitute who was willing to die.
He was willing to die for Shaojun, even at the cost of his own life! It was all because of his deep love for Yuan Zhi; he only wanted her to be happy and didn't want to see her suffer in her later years.
He could escape from the hellish Holy Land, so how could the Imperial Palace possibly confine him? He could have easily retreated and disappeared into the world.
But an unexpected event happened to Yun Qing.
Yun Qing could imagine that when Jiu You saw him as an infant, he must have thought that Shao Jun and Yuan Zhi were dead, which was why he fell into the hands of Emperor Yong An.
This is why Jiuyou took the Drunken Dream pills himself; only in this way could he protect Yunqing and ensure her safe growth.
After all, an adult soul cannot be trapped in the body of an infant who can do nothing; it must be nurtured until it is ready to be used.
Yun Qing looked out the window. The morning mist had dissipated, and the river was bathed in golden light as a cargo ship sailed into the vast distance.
His gaze followed the boat, across the river, over the horizon, and into the unseen, vast, and infinitely possible world.
Yun Qing slowly turned his head, something surging in his eyes. He glanced at everyone and looked at Ning Dechang: "Lord Ning!" he said, his voice already calm: "What happened today must not be revealed to anyone else."
Ning Dechang quickly bowed respectfully with his wife and children, saying, "I understand. This matter is of great importance and we will never let anyone else know about it."
Yun Qing helped Hui Niang up and looked directly into her swollen eyes: "Thank you for telling me all this. Whether they are alive or dead, you have not let my mother down."
Hui Niang burst into tears again, this time with a sense of relief.
Ning Dechang and his group eventually boarded the ship. As the passenger ship departed, Huiniang remained standing at the stern, gazing at Yun Qing until she became a tiny dot.
Ning Haochen stood beside Yun Qing and said softly, "Your Highness, my mother..."
“She gave me a great gift,” Yun Qing said, her gaze still following the departing ship: “It is more important than the country.”
On the way back to the government office, Yun Qing rode his horse slowly.
Outside Jiangzhou City, iron cavalry were engaged in battle, but inside the city, life remained prosperous. The smoke from the morning market, the morning reading in the school, and the clanging of the blacksmith's shop—this was the vibrant human world he had devoted his heart and soul to protecting.
He found himself at Jin Yuhe Embroidery Workshop again, where a crowd had gathered early in the morning. Today was the day to launch new products.
The two ladies, Zhou and Wang, were extremely busy in the shop, and many new people had joined. The only notable absence was the mistress of the house.
Yun Qing reined in his horse and looked towards the northern sky.
"Write it." He then spurred his horse and said, "Go back and write it. Today's content needs to be revised."
He wanted to tell her about what happened this morning, wondering if his Nuannuan shared his expectations.
He wanted to tell her that perhaps one day, they could not only stand side by side to see this land, but also—and have even more reunions.
Yun Qing spurred her horse and galloped toward the government office, the only sound the wind rushing past her ears!
----------------
On the way back to the government office, Yun Qing rode his horse slowly.
Outside Jiangzhou City, the gleaming armor of the approaching army still lingers! Inside the city, the long streets are still bustling with the sounds of daily life.
The smoke rising from the morning market, the children's voices ringing out in the school, and the steady clanging of metal from the blacksmith's shop—all of this is the noisy yet warm "human world" that he is doing his best to protect.
Before we knew it, the horses had gotten into the habit of stopping in front of the "Jin Yu He" embroidery workshop. Although it was morning, the workshop entrance was already bustling with activity; today was the day to launch new products.
Inside the shop, Madam Zhou and Madam Wang were so busy they barely touched the ground, weaving through the crowd and occasionally giving pointers to the new embroiderers.
The woman of the house was nowhere to be seen.
Mo Yu followed behind, knowing that her master was in a bad mood, and couldn't help but ask, "Master, are you writing a letter to Master Mu today?"
Yun Qing reined in his horse, looked up at the clouds drifting across the northern horizon, and after a moment, a faint smile appeared on his lips.
"Write it." He spurred his horse and flicked the reins. "I'll write it when we get back. The contents of today's letter... I'm afraid we'll have to revise them."
He couldn't wait to tell her about the "possibility" he had discovered that morning. The somber truth that had weighed on his heart for twenty years had unexpectedly given rise to a glimmer of hope—he wanted to know if his sweetheart's eyes would light up with the same light when she heard it, and if her heart would tremble slightly at the "possibility" he spoke of.
He wanted to tell her that perhaps in the near future, they would not only be able to enjoy the beautiful landscape together, but also witness a reunion that they dared not easily hope for...
Thinking of this, the emotions surging in his chest almost overflowed, like a dream, yet burning hotter than any dream. He gripped the reins tightly and suddenly spurred the horse's belly. The horse neighed and galloped towards the government office like an arrow released from a bow, leaving only the whistling wind that brushed past his ears and touched his heart, which was burning with hope.