Chapter 182: Epilogue
In the third year of Yuanqing, the Chu Kingdom was in decline. It made a treaty with the You Kingdom, and the Chu princess, Long, was sent as a hostage to the You Kingdom’s deep palace for seven years.
In the tenth year of Yuanqing, the You Kingdom unilaterally broke the treaty. Princess Long fled back to the Chu Kingdom and became the long princess, taking control of the royal family. After three years of diligent rule, her army was at the gates of the You Kingdom’s capital.
In the fourteenth year of Yuanqing, the You Kingdom’s capital was breached. The once-high and mighty Bai family of the You Kingdom were all executed on the day the city fell. The current head of the Bai family had only been crowned for three days before he was imprisoned. He was later summoned by the long princess of the Chu Kingdom and was brought to the court, where the two of them were alone.
Third Act—Epilogue.
A few lines of narration came from backstage. The stage was silent for a moment, and then the curtain slowly rose again.
Only two people were left on the silent stage.
The former hostage, the long princess of the Chu Kingdom, and the former king of the Bai family, who was now a prisoner.
Xia Qiange was dressed in a flamboyant red dress, her dark hair falling to her slender waist. Her dark hair and red dress contrasted with her jade-like bones and snow-white skin. Her peach-colored face and phoenix-like eyes, with their long, thick, and upturned eyeliner, gave her a charming and alluring look. Her face was cold, and she held the majesty and indifference of the most powerful person in the world. She looked down at the scarred former head of the Bai family, her former brother.
She followed the script, her emotions condensing in her eyes, and she sneered, “Brother, you look so pathetic now.”
Bai Fengyue, the second prince of the direct line of the Bai family, the one who was least interested in power, was pushed onto the throne at the moment of his family’s destruction, to be the last scapegoat before the Bai family disappeared into the long river of history, leaving the most absurd and ridiculous mark in the annals of history.
Su Yu looked up at Xia Qiange’s arrogant and fierce appearance. Her acting was not as bad as she had said. She had really acted out the long princess’s alluring and flamboyant… as if she were playing herself. He was suddenly in a daze, remembering that New Year’s Eve before he had died.
The last emperor before the fall of the Bai family was like a clean and elegant actor. His plain white makeup was a sickly white on his face. His loose and plain robe was a prison on his thin frame. The robe gently fell on the ferocious whip marks on his back, and the plain white cloth was stained with dried or fresh blood.
These days, the long princess would often go to the prison where Bai Fengyue was held late at night. At night… the painful, hoarse moans would be constant, making one’s bones chill.
He looked at the familiar court with a wooden expression, remembering the grand occasion of his enthronement. The dying country… the front line was retreating, yet they still tried to hold on to that last bit of pathetic face.
Bai Fengyue suddenly began to struggle. His wounds tore, and blood oozed out, dyeing his white clothes red. He struggled like a stray dog, but he still straightened his back and stood up.
“I’m just a puppet who was put on the throne before I died. Why… Ah Yue.”
“Don’t call me that. Do you want the king of the Bai family to be beheaded in the street now?”
Xia Qiange looked down at Su Yu. The boy’s clear eyes were dim, and the faint light in them was captivating. The emotion in his eyes was like a deep and clear pool that could not be melted, with a deep sadness.
Her heart was suddenly in turmoil. Whether in the play or in real life… that was the look she had been dreaming of.
Dim, dejected, lonely… she really loved the boy’s look of utter despair.
Her dark eyes would only ever hold him, only trust him. She was the boy’s only support… forever.
She couldn’t wait.
Xia Qiange forcefully reined in her surging emotions and continued to recite her lines according to the script.
“Do you have anything to say before you die? I’m in a good mood… so I’ll grant your wish.”
“Ah Yue, do you still remember the jujube tree in the teaching courtyard? After you left, I had it moved to the courtyard of my palace. I still have the long bamboo pole that you used to hit jujubes and catch butterflies with. I was thinking that if the two countries could make peace, and you came back one day…”
“Enough… you’re still so naive. I’m not the same Ah Yue who used to follow you around and babble all day. What I want is to control the court, to rule the world. In the future, no one in the world can make me wander and be displaced again. I’ve stained my hands with blood for this…”
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing rang out. A simple dagger slipped from her sleeve and fell to the cold floor of the court, its blade tempered with a dark green poison.
“There’s a spy in the prison. They want me to stab you with a dagger when I see you. This poison must be very strong. They say they are the remnants of the Bai family, but I think they are from the Long family of the Chu Kingdom. They don’t want a woman to be the emperor, so they are trying to sow discord and make me kill you.”
Su Yu recited a long passage of lines. The girl pursed her thin, bright red lips, which shone with a blood-like luster, and slowly overlapped with the image in his mind…
“That Xia Qiange is already dead. You killed her…”
Su Yu’s expression was desolate. He numbly recited one passage of lines after another, pushing the plot of the script forward.
Finally, he stared blankly as Xia Qiange, or the long princess, picked up the dagger on the floor and held it tightly in her palm, approaching him step by step.
Su Yu’s breathing quickened, but there was no escape. It seemed that the same past was about to be replayed in and out of the play…
The music for the climax of the play suddenly sounded from backstage, and the plot entered its final epilogue.
Xia Qiange threw away the dagger in her hand and recited the last line.
“You can go. The last emperor of the Bai family, Bai Fengyue, is dead. From now on, there is no one in the world named Bai Fengyue…”
“You… are free.”
…
In the fifteenth year of Yuanqing… the music, mixed with the final monologue, brought the story to an end.
The curtain slowly fell, and the image in the audience’s eyes froze on the white and red figures on the stage, as if time had stopped.
Xia Qiange recited the last sentence, as if a heavy burden had been lifted. She had never been in character for a single moment. She just felt that her beautiful boy should be free. For a moment, she couldn’t control her emotions, and a tear fell from the corner of her eye, smudging her heavy eyeshadow.
Su Yu silently looked at the dagger that had rolled to the side. The dazzling light surged in, and the light and shadow in front of him were in turmoil. The heavy stone in his heart was still heavy, and the uneasy illusion was now infinitely magnified.
He looked up and found that the girl was actually looking at him with tears in her eyes. Why would the girl cry for no reason? Was he still in a dream?
Su Yu, as if possessed, raised his hand, just as Bai Fengyue would have wiped away the clear tears from the corners of Ah Yue’s unrecognizable face. The moment Su Yu’s fingertips touched the girl’s long, narrow eyes, the curtain completely fell, announcing the end of the story.
His fingertips were cool and moist. Su Yu subconsciously wanted to pull his hand back, but it was grabbed by Xia Qiange. The cold touch spread along his skin, and he was so cold that his whole body was stiff.
Xia Qiange gently caressed the boy’s well-defined hand. Her hot gaze, under the bright red makeup, was frivolous and alluring. She looked at the boy’s panicked and helpless eyes, and a huge sense of pleasure and satisfaction exploded in her heart.
She curled her bright red lips and asked with a chuckle, “Su Yu…”
“Do you… like me?”
