Cang Lan Dao - Chapter 26.6

Chapter 26.6
This Servant Is Liu Xiniang

As Luo Wanqing entered the Inspection Department, in the backyard of the Third Prince’s residence, Li Guiyu was sitting in the corridor carving a wooden sculpture.

Three months ago, when he had just returned to Dongdu and moved to his residence, the Emperor pitied him and gave him countless pieces of gold and treasure, but he had put them all away. His royal residence was ordinary. The courtyard was full of naturally grown plants. He seemed to still live as a commoner, wearing plain clothes and sitting in the corridor while lowering his head to carve a small fox. The fox’s round head was lifelike and looked extremely cute. It was one of the skills he had learned in the past few years. He had learned many things, such as weaving grasshoppers that move, arranging a girl’s hair in a bun, drawing eyebrows, cooking, and even embroidery, riddles, and playing shuttlecock —
He has learned a lot of things to please a girl. Currently, there weren’t many things that he could do to calm his heart, and he would always carve something when he had nothing to do.

“Prince.” The guards who had returned a thousand miles from Lingnan were brought in and knelt on the ground to salute.

Li Guiyu carved the fox’s ears and said softly, “What are you doing here if you’re not protecting her in Lingnan?”

“Prince,” the guard hesitated, “halfway through the exile, the mountain collapsed, and the young lady …… is gone.”

When these words came out, the carving knife violently cut through the finger, blood fell to the wood, and the youth paused. He felt some pain but didn’t know where it was. He had made countless preparations, and he thought it would be excellent for her to die. There was too much pain in this human world, and staying here would be suffering.

If she died, she could stay by his side forever. But she chose to live. When she picked that dagger, even when she embraced and stabbed him, he rejoiced for a moment. Thus, he accepted that it was good for her to be alive. Even if they never saw each other again, she was in another place, alone, alive and well.

If she was in Lingnan, she could continue her medical practice, eat her favorite lychee, sleep every day, and eat her favorite pastries. She could still be happy and stay in this world. When he died, he would have someone give her a cup of poisonous wine, and they could reunite together in the Yellow Springs.

Very good.

He had figured it out, accepted it, and prepared for her living, but she died?

Li Guiyu wanted to laugh but felt that the corners of his mouth were inexplicably heavy. He could not laugh, lowered his head and wiped a handful of blood from the fox’s face, calmly inquired, “How was it confirmed?”

“This is Miss’s belongings.” The guard took out a blood-stained purse.

Li Guiyu turned, and his gaze landed on that purse. He instantly remembered that she was not good at embroidery. When she was young, Yao Zelan gave her assignments on women’s work, which he did for her. However, before the imprisonment, she secretly embroidered something every day. He didn’t care at that time, but he didn’t know why, at this moment, that image became exceptionally clear.

When she was stabbed in the finger by a needle, hissing in pain, she then looked up to see him standing in the window, hurriedly putting things behind, nervously looking at him. He remembered clearly.

The tip of his heart seemed to be stabbed by the needle, followed by many, densely packed his soft heart, so painful making him frown.

He stretched his hand and took the purse with mandarin ducks and the small word ‘Shao Yan’ in the corner. These two words were like sharp knives gouging out his heart. He was a bit annoyed by the pain, so he lowered his head, carefully tied the purse to his waist, stood up, and said, “Kill him.”

Hearing this, the guard on the ground revealed a look of horror and grabbed the corner of Li Guiyu’s coat, saying urgently, “Prince! I deserve to die. I beg you to spare my life! This subordinate will work hard in the future, this subordinate ……”

“You said you deserve to die,” Li Guiyu stood in the long corridor and said flatly, “Why do you still want to live?”

Li Guiyu turned back and looked at the guard seriously, “I asked you to keep a good eye on her. I want her to live, but you let her die?”

“It was a landslide ……”

“Then why are you alive?” Li Guiyu stared at him and raised his voice, “Since you couldn’t stop the landslide, and she’s dead, why are you alive?!”

The guard froze. At that moment, he did not know who Li Guiyu was talking about.

Li Guiyu pulled over the corner of his coat, held the carving knife, and turned towards the room. The carving knife carved into the palm of his hand, blood flowed all the way, but he didn’t notice. He only felt dense and overwhelming pain, almost suffocating him.

He didn’t know what was wrong. He didn’t understand what was happening, and after a long time, he finally uttered a sentence that calmed him down a bit, “Place the Princess Consort’s tablet in my room.”

As the words left his mouth, he finally felt comfortable. He suddenly remembered again and stopped, “No, you don’t need to prepare it. I’ll carve it myself.”

“Prince?!” The butler, who followed behind Li Guiyu, raised his eyes in shock and then busily said, “Prince, if anyone sees the tablet ……”

“Then kill anyone who sees it.” Li Guiyu calmly voiced out, turning back to look at the butler.

The butler froze and looked at the eyes of the person in front of him, who was so calm that it made people afraid, and listened to him say word by word, “Miss said that she wants to see me day and night lest she won’t be able to find out where I am. If she is not allowed to see me day and night, what if she can’t find me? She’s dead,” Li Guiyu tilted his head and said softly, “It’s time for her to return to me.”

The butler couldn’t say anything. He watched Li Guiyu turn around and walk into the door of the room that was the same as Miss Luo’s boudoir in Yangzhou and listened to his order, “Find her body back. She was my person when she was alive and entered my grave after she died. Even if only one hair is left, bring it back to me.”

“My Miss,” Li Guiyu, as if he was still the same guard who waited for his Miss to comb her hair back then, lifting the hem of his coat and sitting on his knees in front of the table of the outer room. He lowered his eyebrows and eyes. His breath was calm like a gentle Jiangnan youth, saying softly, “Always have to return to Shao Yan.’