Chapter 849: Chapter 849: Tears and Blood of Survival
He already knew that the great river was the Yangtze River—the place where she fell into the water.
Indeed, it’s dangerous. Downstream of Dangtu Town, the river is wide like the sea in the face of fierce waves and stormy winds. Even an adult would struggle to survive. How did his Little Concubine swim across...
And that book, Complete Collection of Encouragement-to-Learn Poems, which he once read as if it were just play, the skills of swimming, using slingshots, fetching bird eggs, setting traps to catch wild chickens, catching mountain rats, etc., turned out to be the survival skills born of her blood and tears during her escape.
Did she forget about those dangers, but subconsciously knew she must learn them to survive?
Was there a sense of urgency that compelled her to write them down, to teach their children...
His eyes slowly warmed up. He walked to the bedside and sat down. The Emperor gently caressed the person on the bed, leaning down to deeply kiss her brow.
"Little darling, if only I were stronger..."
If he had earlier cleansed the court inside and out, ruling the world sooner, getting rid of demons and monsters like Xue Ping and the Guo family, wouldn’t she have been spared from those sordid calamities?
Heart aching to the point of numbness, he carefully cradled her, showing rare vulnerability on his imperial face.
Unknowing and unaware, one does not understand the weight of emotion, thus fearing no loss.
Once emotions are known and understood, knowing love’s deep longing, one cannot bear to let go.
How could he, how would he, how could he bear never to see his Little Concubine’s smile again?
Cold is the height, not knowing the happiness within until experienced, once tasted, he would never willingly return to those lonely, desolate days.
What is dripping down, one drop, two drops, three drops...
For a long time, he softly spoke: "Little darling, don’t leave me alone, okay?"
Is it raining? Who is speaking?
A surge hit, and Xiao Lian Hua was gradually exhausted. She used all her strength to rise to the surface, looking at the gray sky.
With a muddled head, she tried hard to think, it wasn’t raining, yet why did she feel rain, warm rain that brought a hint of warmth to her numb face...
Who was saying she left him?
Did her parents leave her? She hadn’t left anyone; she was still trying to find Xiao Hua Mei.
She searched for a long time, diving into the water again and again, swimming over and over, continually being thrown underwater by the waves, struggling up each time, but where was Xiao Hua Mei, why couldn’t she find her...
Amid the surging waves, the wide and endless river gave her no respite; she refused to stop, feeling hopeless when she did, as if only she remained in the world, floating and sinking helplessly in the waves, without a glimmer of hope.
She hadn’t eaten for a long time; her stomach was too starved to feel. Her lips turned pale; her body was ice-cold, her limbs nearly numb with cold.
She was so insignificant; she couldn’t even save Xiao Hua Mei, couldn’t find anyone. How could she save her parents and brothers? Unbearable possibilities swirled in her mind...
"So tired... Father, Mother, where are you? Nannan is so tired, can’t hold on any longer..."
A hallucination appeared before her, seeing herself still at home, having made a mistake. Her mother was scolding her, her father anxiously standing aside, afraid to speak. Her second and third brothers knelt before her, shielding her. Her eldest brother came back from the academy, stepping through the door, four pairs of eyes looking over, as if seeing hope.
Another huge wave came, Xiao Lian Hua could not resist and sank underwater. In her fading consciousness, something else sank with her, washed by the waves to her side. She instinctively clung tightly to it, like holding onto a lifesaving log.
Consciousness sinking, a despairing call reached her:
"Little darling! Wake up, don’t leave me and the Imperial Son!"
Who was calling her, so familiar? Was she the little darling?
Leaving whom, who?
Yes, the voice reminded her, she still had to find Xiao Hua Mei, had to keep going.
She gritted her teeth, held tightly onto the thing against her, vaguely realizing it was a half-burnt mast. Confused, she thought, it was probably a mast burned partially and fell into the water, floating here unexpectedly.
Floating along with this piece of wood, she saved much energy by just holding on tightly.
Thinking this way, her eyelids slowly grew heavy...
Another "Little darling" echoed in her ear, louder than the earlier call.
She suddenly became somewhat alert, who kept yelling in her ear, making it impossible to sleep, feeling blocked inside.
Before she could think further, a sensation stirred in her belly, something was moving.
She jumped in fright, glancing around and found herself floating in mid-air, far from the river water. She saw a tiny silhouette clutching a half-charred floating log bobbing with the waves.
Wide-eyed, she was startled. Wasn’t that her?
What happened? Wasn’t she in the water looking for Xiao Hua Mei, had she died?
Ah, what should she do? Her mind muddled, if she died, how could she save her parents and brothers, find Xiao Hua Mei to help her return home, and also...
Also, what about Brother Zhao?
"Brother Zhao!"
Yes, she remembered, that familiar voice, it was Brother Zhao’s. These days, strange voices echoed from the sky—it was her Brother Zhao calling her...
But she wasn’t heading north, was she? She remembered clearly that she couldn’t find Xiao Hua Mei in the water, eventually exhausting herself and being swept by a wave. Then, she grabbed a log and held on fiercely.
Her consciousness bobbed with the waves, drinking a bellyful of water when she was about to collapse. She was swept near the shore clinging to the log, using the last shred of awareness to crawl onto the shore. She then saw an escort master...
Thinking this, she suddenly panicked. How did she know all this when it hadn’t happened yet...
Scenes flashed in her mind, she desperately tried to grasp them, causing her head to pound.
"It hurts..." Lian Hua murmured, furrowing her brows.
Suddenly, she sensed something, stopping to think, carefully feeling.
Rain fell again, this time like a storm, seemingly soaking her entire face, warm, and instinctively she licked it, salty, like the taste of her tears, bitter and harsh.
"Nannan, where does it hurt, tell your mother, is it a headache? Divine Doctor Huang, Nannan is hurting..."
"Let me see."
A voice heard—her mother’s. Her mother was crying!
She still had to save her parents and brothers, remembering Brother Zhao! Little Melon! This wasn’t seven years ago. She met many people, Nanny Qi, Sister Consort De, Xiao Jizi, Xiao Qing, Xiao Linzi...
The dream collapsed fiercely, abruptly a force tore at her soul, pulling her out instantly, the river gone, water gone.
Before plunging into complete darkness, she softly said: Sorry, Xiao Hua Mei, once again she hadn’t changed the outcome, she still had many things to do, many important people...
"There’s hope!"
Divine Doctor Huang shouted, his eyes gleaming.