Chapter 129: Xing Dairong is Dead

Chapter 129: Xing Dairong is Dead

At that moment, Cheng Yunshuo was drowning his sorrows in a pleasure house. The courtesans fluttered around him, but he kept them all at a distance, drinking alone in silence.

"Master, what's wrong? You promised to bring me to the brothel to see the world, but all you're doing is drinking away your sorrows!"

A clear voice spoke up.

"Or are you still thinking about that extraordinary woman at home?"

Cheng Yunshuo glanced at her, "You ought to go back! This isn't a place for someone like you!"

The people around chimed in, "A'Ruo, you've seen enough, go back now!"

"Once you're gone, the main event can begin!"

"You didn't understand what your master said!"

Amid the banter, A'Ruo blushed and glared at the crowd, "Hmph! There's nothing interesting here."

As she was being escorted out, she saw the mansion's servants arriving at the door.

"Please inform the young lord that an urgent matter has arisen at the mansion, and the young mistress requests his immediate return!"

Upon hearing this, A'Ruo immediately commanded, "Send these people away, please! My master is drinking through the night, and no one is to disturb him!"

The mansion's servants were dismissed and not allowed to enter.

Not long after they left, Cheng Yunshuo, who was drinking alone, suddenly felt a constriction in his chest. It was as if he sensed something, and his mind was instantly flooded with thoughts of Xing Dairong.

"Yunshuo, what's wrong again?"

"If you're really worried, why don't you go back and check?"

Hearing the people around him, Cheng Yunshuo paused, only asking the servants if anyone from the mansion had come.

Upon hearing that no one had come, he sat down, feeling both relieved and flustered.

If no one came looking for him, then nothing urgent had occurred, so it was fine to stay.

Besides, what would he go back for?

Was he supposed to apologize to Xing Dairong?

It was impossible now.

At most, he wouldn't divorce her.

He had no emotions left for her. Her presence annoyed him; being near her frustrated him. He couldn't talk to her like before, and they had nothing to discuss anymore.

Her work was something she didn't understand, and she didn't care about his ideas or interests. All she ever asked was if there were other women around him and who they were.

Thinking about it made Cheng Yunshuo annoyed again.

From start to finish, he and she were essentially people from entirely different worlds.

The gap between them was too great.

Only at the very first meeting did they have a point of intersection. From that day on, they grew farther apart every day.

Cheng Yunshuo didn’t understand Xing Dairong, and Xing Dairong didn’t understand him either.

They only loved each other madly at that moment of impact, with fierce and deep passion. But in the end, thousands of razor-sharp mountains stood between them.

That was the barrier between them.

With every step forward, the razors would cut their feet to the bone.

Falling in love was easy, but staying together was difficult indeed.

Cheng Yunshuo couldn’t understand it. He drank heavily, focusing on all of Xing Dairong’s flaws to quell the panic in his heart.

After all, Xing Dairong had called him a heartless man, a liar.

So he supposed he was.

The following day.

Cheng Yunshuo woke up from a hangover.

He went to the Prefectural Commandant Manor and absentmindedly performed his duties for the day, returning only in the evening to the marquis's estate.

As soon as he entered the estate, he sensed something amiss.

The servants all looked at him with complex expressions.

He didn’t return to his own courtyard but hesitated on the way to Yaoguang Pavilion because he feared passing by Yuerong Pavilion and seeing Xing Dairong again.

He was afraid that if he saw her, she would become hysterical, and they would end up quarreling again.

She was truly exasperating.

He went directly to Lu Lingyun’s courtyard instead.

But upon entering Lu Lingyun’s courtyard, he noticed even more changes.

Several nuns were in Lu Lingyun’s courtyard.

"Hold the Buddhist ritual for three days."

"Yes, young mistress."

"What ritual?"

Cheng Yunshuo's voice rang out as he stepped into the room.

Lu Lingyun, seeing the exhausted look on Cheng Yunshuo's face, felt a little more disappointed in him. "The Crown Prince has returned."

At that moment, shrill cries of children echoed from inside the room.

Little Wei and Xiaoqin hurriedly carried two children out.

These are the twins Xing Dairong gave birth to yesterday, a pair of twins, a boy and a girl.

Unfortunately, despite having given birth at full term, these two babies were even smaller than young Master Bing'an. Especially the little daughter, who was stillborn yesterday.

The slightly older son was also extremely weak, like a little kitten. Lu Lingyun watched over the two children all night and managed to keep them alive with great difficulty.

"Gently, gently," Lu Lingyun gently cooed, taking the children into her arms and beginning to soothe them, one on her left and one on her right.

When Cheng Yunshuo saw the newborns, he was startled, and his eyes filled with surprise. "She gave birth to these twins," he said.

"Yes, Concubine Xing gave birth to a pair of dragon-phoenix twins," Lu Lingyun said coldly.

His eyes showed joy even more intense than when Xiaobing'an was born. He couldn't help but step forward, intending to hold the babies.

Lu Lingyun dodged out of the way. "Don't hold them, Your Highness. These children are very weak and need good care."

Cheng Yunshuo stopped himself from trying to hold the babies. Indeed, his eyes confirmed their fragility; they were as fragile as kittens, even more so than Bing'an.

"What about Concubine Xing?" he finally asked.

Lu Lingyun looked up and met his gaze. "Concubine Xing is dead."

At that moment, the servants also came in to report.

"Young Lady, the coffin has been made overnight."

"Should Concubine Xing's remains be placed in the coffin or left in the Buddha Hall?"

Cheng Yunshuo was so startled he stood frozen on the spot.

Lu Lingyun looked at him. "Your Highness, you must decide."

She called out to Cheng Yunshuo several times in a row, but he didn't respond. When she called out to him one last time, Cheng Yunshuo blurted out a single sentence.

"Good that she's dead!"

And with that, he immediately ran off.

"Your Highness, where are you going?"

Cheng Yunshuo went to a pleasure house.

And he stayed there for three days.

At first, Lu Lingyun sent people to look for him several times, but there was no response. Eventually, she had no choice but to take care of things herself.

The nuns performed the rituals for three days, and when it was time to place Xing Dairong into the coffin, Cheng Yunshuo didn't come. When it was time for the burial, he still didn't come.

Cheng Yunshuo spent his days in the pleasure house, not even attending to his duties, completely abandoning himself to debauchery, becoming the heartless scoundrel he was accused of being.

Lu Lingyun became tired of looking for him. Together with the other concubines in the mansion, she supervised Xing Dairong's burial and placed her spirit tablet in the Buddha Hall.

To everyone's surprise, Qiu Ling, who had once fiercely competed with Xing Dairong, was the one crying the hardest.

She even gave her a golden hairpin as a burial offering.

After returning to the manor, she voluntarily went to the Buddhist hall to chant scriptures for Xing Dairong for a month.

Lu Lingyun agreed to all of this.

She didn't have much energy to deal with other matters, as she had received letters from Lady Qin and the old Lord Marquis.

They had just completed their mourning at the Marquis of Qin's residence and would soon be returning to the capital.

On this trip, they were also bringing a young lady.