Blind and Bereft

Chapter 78 | Golden Lotus

Jingrui blinked, and tears slid down her chin. Yuansong was walking straight to his doom, and he was becoming a scapegoat for her. Every inch of her combusted with the need to stop him, yet she was restrained back by his power.

Yuansong, in her form, walked towards Lingyue's horrid figure. He pulled out a blade from within his sleeves and held it up. "You killed Consort Chen, and you deserve to die for it!"

Lingyue's smile widened. "Now, now, my dear, don't be impulsive. Be like a good dog and come to me. If you drop that knife now, I will let you live."

Yuansong's eyes glinted with threat, and he didn't heed Lingyue's words as he launched straight at her. His cultivation flowed from his body, blowing a furious gust of wind against the trees.

Jingrui held her sleeves in front of her eyes as the wind cut into her skin. The sound of steel against steel clashed into the night. Biting her dried lips, she dared herself to look past the hedges.

Yuansong struggled to fight off Lingyue who held a bloodthirsty smile.

"Don't make me use more of my strength, dear. It is tiring," she said as she nonchalantly swung her blade. "I'll give you one last chance. Will you leave with me, or will you insist on being an untamable child like your sister? Just be my weapon, and we can work together."

Yuansong growled, and his blow grew sharper and more precise. "You will never get to use me, peacock. My beloved Zhanying doesn't love me anymore. No matter what you do with me, he won't give a shit!"

The Empress Dowager's brows raised. "Oh? The Prince no longer cares for you?"

Yuansong sneered. "Of course not. I just stabbed him, how would he love me?"

Fire flared in Lingyue's cold eyes. "So, the bastard prince doesn't care for you." Her smile faded. "In that case, I don't need to keep a disobedient dog like you alive."

With that the Empress Dowager's strikes grew violent. The leaves by the hedges blew with the wind, almost stripping the leaves barren. The water within the lotus ponds stirred splashes onto the grass. Soil and debris whirled up into the air, and Jingrui coughed hard, waving her hands to clear it.

Within the mess of chaos, she heard a sickening screech coming from the crazed Empress Dowager. "How dare you?"

Jingrui peered through the wind. Lingyue was standing in front of Yuansong, gripping onto her bleeding shoulder in pain. Her fists clenched, and her voice lowered, carrying with it a deep menace. "You have the audacity to hurt me, little maid."

Yuansong flexed his muscles, trying to stay tough even though he was intimidated by the Empress Dowager's dark eyes.

With that, they clashed once more, except that this time, the Empress Dowager was like a demon gone berserk. Each strike shot fire, each movement spit poisons. Yuansong winced at Lingyue's sudden increase of strength. The tip of her blade cut through Yuansong's hanfu, tearing the skin by his shoulder apart.

Jingrui's heart pounded in her chest.

Lingyue laughed at him, and in a flash, her blade sliced down again. Jingrui screamed, but she couldn't hear herself. The world suddenly spun, red filled her vision as Yuansong's left arm severed off. His sickening growl pierced into the night. Blood formed a pool, and limb rolled by his feet

Jingrui whimpered as tears swam in her eyes. "No." She shook her head, her voice coming out as air and silence. The one who should experience the pain was meant to be her, and the one who should deal with the mess was meant to be her. Yuansong was not supposed to get hurt because of her.