To Hold One’s Joy

  Chapter 32 The Third Person

  Luo Sheng stared intently at the approaching person, and had already judged from the person's figure that it was a woman.

  Who would appear in this long-abandoned mansion in the dead of night?

  Luo Sheng tightened his grip on the dagger.

   What frightened her even more was that the man came straight to where she was.

   One step, two steps, three steps...

  The man was already so close that Luo Sheng had to raise his hand holding the dagger, ready to swing this iron-cut dagger at any time.

  When she was the princess of Qingyang, she learned to ride and shoot with fists and feet, which is what her father asked her to do.

   In the words of my father, it is not a bad thing to learn some kung fu to be close to me, at least I can rely on myself when I want to beat the county horse in the future, so as not to embarrass the servants.

  She has always been obedient, and she is not bad at riding and shooting.

   And Miss Luo obviously also practiced martial arts, regardless of her level, she is stronger than her in terms of physical condition alone.

  It's not surprising when you think about it, the girl who led a group of servants to cause trouble in the street should at least be able to throw a whip or something.

  Luo Sheng felt that a dagger was not safe. Considering that she didn't bring Miss Luo's long whip today, she bent down and picked up a stone.

  The man stopped a foot away from Luo Sheng, and suddenly knelt down.

  Luo Sheng narrowed his eyes.

  If she read correctly, the direction that person was facing was...the embroidered building.

  The man knocked his head a few times in the direction of the embroidery building, and then there was a rustling sound, which was very clear in this empty and dilapidated house.

  Luo Sheng took advantage of the moonlight to barely see the man undoing the bundle, but couldn't see what he took out.

  Until the familiar smell comes.

  It was the smell of burning paper that she had only smelled not long ago—a faint smell that could easily make one feel heavy.

   Just when Luo Sheng realized what the man was doing, the suppressed cry suddenly sounded.

  Luo Sheng held his breath all of a sudden.

  Today is the anniversary of the death of hundreds of people in the Zhennan Palace. At this time, she came to the Palace to burn paper money. She was sure that the people in front of her had a lot to do with the Palace, even survivors!

  Thinking of this possibility, Luo Sheng couldn't help being excited.

  Small whimpers floated along the wind, along with swirling paper money.

  The mischievous gray butterfly landed on Luo Sheng's black clothes, but it couldn't attract her attention.

  All her attention was given to the crying woman in front of her.

   "Princess, the servant girl has come to see you..."

  If Luo Sheng was struck by lightning, he would not be able to move at all.

  This voice...is Xiuyue!

  She has four big maids. When she left the cabinet, she took away Shufeng who was good at managing directors and Chaohua who was good at dressing up, and left Jiangxue who was outstanding in skills and Xiuyue who was a good cook to serve her mother and concubine.

  Twelve years ago tonight, Wei Qiang picked up her xipa and went to the front yard to toast. She sat on the side of the xipa and quietly waited for the groom to come back.

  The dragon and phoenix wedding candles with the thickness of children's arms were burning lively, and festive candles burst from time to time.

   But what she waited for was not Wei Qiang, but Jiang Xue who was covered in blood.

  Jiang Xue, who grew up with her since she was a child, was praised by the master who taught her boxing, and Jiang Xue, who was extremely talented, broke into the new house and fell in front of her. With her last breath, she brought the bad news of the Zhennan Palace to her.

   After waking up in Jinsha, Luo Sheng recalled this day countless times. Apart from heartache, there was also a tinge of gratitude.

  She is grateful to Jiangxue.

  If there was no news from Jiang Xue who desperately sent her, she would have bridal chamber with her new husband-in-law like all newlyweds, and become a fool who could not forgive herself even if she died.

  Jiangxue who reported the letter was dead, and Shufeng and Chaohua who were married to the Pingnan Palace could not survive. Unexpectedly, Xiuyue who stayed in the Zhennan Palace was alive!

  Luo Sheng's fingertips trembled slightly, and it took all his strength to resist the urge to step forward to recognize Xiuyue.

   For her, she just closed her eyes and opened them again, but for Xiuyue, twelve years have passed, and she even changed her body.

  At least now she can't recognize Xiuyue as the princess.

  The sobs in the wind became more and more sad, and those whispers floated into Luo Sheng's ears without falling into words.

"Jiangxue, you kill a thousand knives, why are you going to report to the princess, obviously the princess doesn't have to die... Wuwuwu, I can't blame you, I know the princess would rather die than stay in Pingnan Palace ..."

  Luo Sheng silently listened to Xiuyue's incoherent cries, and the corners of his eyes gradually became wet.

  The four maids who served her since she was a child all know her very well, so Jiang Xue rushed to report the news even though she knew she would seek her own death, and Xiuyue had thousands of complaints, but she couldn't complain.

  They all knew that death was kinder to her than life in that situation.

  She had taught them not to use self-righteous good to make decisions for others, and they did.

  The wind was a little strong, and the pile of burning paper burned quickly. Xiuyue sent stacks of paper money to the tongue of fire.

"Jiangxue, Shufeng, Chaohua, you all take good care of the princess below, and do my part of the errand for the time being, and I will go to see you when I hear about the little prince... Woooooo, the princess is too bitter I'm going to see her only when I have good news..."

  Luo Sheng, who was hiding behind a tree, could no longer breathe.

  What did she hear?

  Little prince—she heard correctly, Xiuyue was talking about the little prince!

   Could it be that her younger brother is still alive?

   This is impossible, the younger brother is the only son of the father, since the Zhennan Palace has suffered a catastrophe, how could he let him go.

  Luo Sheng had countless thoughts circling in his mind, and in the end, they all merged into one: She wants to recognize Xiuyue!

   Only by getting to know Xiuyue can she solve these doubts.

  Luo Sheng trembled with excitement whenever he thought of the possibility that his younger brother was still alive.

  The younger brother is the old son of his father and mother, and he encountered such a tragic disaster only a few days after he was born.

  Her younger brother doesn't even have a name yet, only a baby name of Bao'er.

  The moon in the sky hid in the clouds, and Xiuyue fell on the ground crying a little self-forgetfully.

  The wind blew Luo Sheng's hair, but she stood motionless behind the tree.

  A person's heart is too bitter, and he always has to cry to feel better.

  She won't go until Xiuyue has cried enough.

  As for her, she is not qualified to cry bitterly now, let alone feel comfortable.

  The paper money that had been burned to ashes was blown away by the wind, and the crying gradually died down.

  Luo Sheng was about to take a step, but his whole body tensed up.

  Besides her and Xiuyue, there was another person.

  It was a tall man in black, whose appearance was hard to see because his back was turned, but she could be sure that this man was outstanding.

  Who is this person? Could it be that he followed Xiuyue?

  Luo Sheng's thoughts changed sharply, and he saw the man in black approaching Xiuyue quietly, slashing at the back of Xiuyue's neck with a knife in his hand.

  At this moment, Luo Sheng didn't think about it any more, he raised a stone and threw it at the back of the man's head.

  Among the fire and light stones, the man whose head was hit by a stone fell down, Xiuyue who heard the movement suddenly turned around, covered her mouth and backed away repeatedly.

  Luo Sheng blinked, feeling lucky.

  She had an intuition that if she hadn't chosen the moment when the man made a move on Xiuyue, it would be hard to say who fell down.

  Luo Sheng bent down to help Xiuyue, and glanced at the man's face by the way.

  (end of this chapter)