Yu ZiYuan fought with all her might. Wens were surrounding her out. Lotus Pier was blazing with fire, the purple nowhere to be seen. All of it seemed red, due to the fire or the blood.
Yu ZiYuan gritted her teeth and she slashed down her sword at another Wen cultivator. She was a strong cultivator, but she was enormously outnumbered. She was one woman, and they were an entire army.
Nearly whole of Lotus Pier had been massacred and only a few disciples were still standing in their sorry state, Yu ZiYuan included.
Suddenly came in another flock of purple hue from the sky. Yu ZiYuan gasped.
It was Jiang FengMian! He had come with his group of disciples that had gone with him.
Yu ZiYuan was surprised, she didn't think that man would return. Suddenly Wen ZhuLiu's arm flashed towards her.
"San-niang!"
With that the arms were pushed away vigorously by Jiang FengMian, shielding his wife. Yu ZiYuan stared at the unyielding back with her mouth agape. She never thought there would be a situation like this.
Jiang FengMian turned around and spoke in a tone of visible concern, checking Yu ZiYuan, "San-niang, are you okay?"
Yu ZiYuan managed to find her voice after a few seconds, "I am holding off I suppose."
Jiang FengMian's eyes widened, "You are fighting without Zidian? And the children...San-niang, are you injured too badly-"
On queue more Wen soldiers attacked them. Jiang FengMian slashed away the Wen soldier that was about to land his sword on Yu ZiYuan's back.
"There's no end to them." Jiang FengMian gritted his teeth. Yu ZiYuan spoke after coughing out blood, "We need to do what we can."
Although they knew it was impossible to defeat the Wen soldiers, they still had to hold them back from running towards their children.
Jaing FengMian and Yu ZiYuan fought back to back, fierce and strong.
Yu ZiYuan slashed another Wen soldier down as she grunted from her injuries.
"San-niang!"
Yu ZiYuan fell on her knees, her ribs had been stabbed a few times at this point, her arms were shaking, one of her legs bleeding profusely. Jiang FengMian picked her up, ignoring the wound that landed on his arm and stomach. Blood dyed his purple robes a deep violet colour.
Yu ZiYuan looked at him with hazy consciousness, and spoke, "FengMian...run-run away..."
Jiang FengMian widened his eyes, then his gaze held fire as he spoke, "I am not leaving you. We are escaping together."
With that he kissed the sweaty and bloody forehead of Yu ZiYuan softly. Yu ZiYuan's eyes widened slightly, as she did not have the strength to widen them more than she did. A blush creeped into her pale features, fortunately there was too much blood on her face for Jiang FengMian to notice.
Jiang FengMian smiled. But the next moment his expression turned ugly as he let out a pained grunt.
Someone had stabbed from behind.
It was Wen Chao.
He laughed, "Hahahhaha, Sect Leader Jiang, is that truly all you have got? So weak. How are you a sect leader? Oh that came out wrong. How were you a sect leader, huh?"
Yu ZiYuan asked in between the haze, "FengMian...what-"
Before she could speak any further she felt herself being dropped to the ground gently and saw blood gushing out of Jiang FengMian's stomach.
There was a sword impaled in him.
"San-n..ni...ang..." he coughed.
Yu ZiYuan panicked, "FengMian- you-"
Wen Chao spoke with a sneer, "I thought you both hated each other? Where is this sudden love coming from?"
Yu ZiYuan crawled towards her now knelt husband, the said husband caressed her face, his last breaths ragged.
Jiang FengMian knew he wouldn't survive, the wound was too deep and his intestines had been destroyed with it. He could feel his heart stopping to function.
With the last of his strength he mumbled, "ZiYuan...I love you so much...I wish...I could...give you the hairpin I repaired...You would look so beautiful in it...you are so... beautiful..."
Silence.
His eyes closed.
No more words.
Dead.
Jiang FengMian was dead.
Yu ZiYuan could not process what the man had just said.
I love you.
That's what he said.
What?
Suddenly a sharp kick landed on her back. Blood oozed out of the corners of her mouth and her nose.
It was Wang LingJiao.
She laughed, "Hah! Didn't I tell you that you would pay? Just a while ago, weren't you stepping on my hand? How does your own medicine taste to you?"
Yu ZiYuan gritted her teeth. She could feel that there was too much blood loss. She wouldn't survive.
But before death, she had to process one thing.
Love.
Her husband loved her.
But then-
Why did he bring Wei WuXian in their house?
Yu ZiYuan's breathing started to slow down with the increasing abuse of the Wens.
But her brain was running a thousand miles.
Why?
Why was it-
Suddenly she thought.
Wei ChangZe.
He was Jiang FengMian's sworn brother.
Was it because-
Yu ZiYuan suddenly didn't want to think anymore. She didn't dare to think anymore. She didn't dare to think of how her temper and brashness affected their children.
She never hated Wei WuXian. But she never could control her own emotions and hated that the person she called her husband couldn't see her the way she saw him.
Everytime she saw Wei WuXian, she was reminded of what she didn't have. And everytime she saw Jiang Cheng, she was reminded of what she did have.
But now?
Now what?
Now her husband, who she thought, only had eyes and love for CangSe SanRen, suddenly says,
"I love you."
Yu ZiYuan began to feel her meridians cool down. Her pride was big, but even she was a human.
Her pride was her demon, the thorn of her path.
In her last moments she choked with sobs.
If only...
If only she wasn't so...beastly...
If only she wasn't so horrible of a woman...of a mother...of a wife...
Wang LingJiao was right. She was a terrible mistress.
A terrible mistake.
Wei WuXian. She had hurt that child beyond believe just because of her own pain.
Jiang Cheng. He had been hurt countless times. Just because of her own ideals.
Jiang YanLi. She had gotten the nature of her father. She needed her parents, but still became a shade for her brothers, while hiding her own pain.
As she took her last breath, she thought one thing.
'If I could see them again, I wouldn't have been so harsh. I wouldn't have been so blinded by my pride and hatred. I wouldn't have been so foolish and stupid.
I would have given them the love they deserved."
With that, she took her last breath and died.
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Note: Purple hyacinth symbolises regret, sorrow, forgiveness and apologies.