If not for the sound of water droplets and stones being knocked, I would have thought I had lost consciousness.
Wait, stone knocking?
I became alert, trying to discern the direction of the sound and asked, “Who? Is anyone there?”
No answer, but the knocking grew louder and faster. I determined it was coming from ahead and dragged my leg toward it. After a while, I touched a hard stone wall, realizing the sound was from the other side.
“Who?”
The knocking stopped, replaced by a faint female voice. “Ayao…”
“Yunqiao?!” I recognized the voice and felt a surge of joy. “Is that you?”
“It’s me…” She paused. “How did you…”
“I came for disaster relief. I heard you hadn’t returned, so I came looking for you. Who would have thought we’d encounter an aftershock? An Jin and I fell down. But I brought people with me; they’ll rescue us soon!”
“That’s… good.” She seemed to speak with difficulty. “Otherwise, I’d have implicated you…”
“Don’t talk nonsense,” I sighed with relief. “Are you hurt? How badly?”
“Ayao, I’m sorry about before,” she sighed. “There’s something… I’m afraid I must trouble you with.”
“What is it?”
“Take care of the imperial consort and Afu.”
“Yunqiao, hold on,” I urged, anxious and unable to see her situation. “People who can save us are coming soon. Hold on.”
The imperial consort and Afu are waiting for you to return. Don’t you want to see Xia Zhiyuan again?”
Yunqiao took a long time to respond, her voice weak but calm. “He’s right beside me.”
I felt a surge of dread. “He…”
“He can finally be quiet, not thinking about anything,” she said tenderly. “Though we did not share a bed in life, sharing a tomb in death is not bad.”
“What are you talking about?” Xia Zhiyuan was likely dead, but I couldn’t let Yunqiao give up hope. “If you go like this, what will the imperial consort do? What will Afu think? He’ll believe his mother abandoned him for a man! You’re being irresponsible—do you want your child to hate you?”
She didn’t respond.
“Say something!” I clawed at the stone wall in desperation. “You’re weak! Are you even worthy of being a Jiang family daughter? For a man—”
