” After saying this, I felt somewhat calmer. I closed my eyes, holding his arm. ”Ayao.” When I heard this voice, I thought it was a hallucination. Only when he held my hand did I realize he had truly awakened. ”Ayao, don’t be afraid,” he patted my hand. Just as I was surprised, I heard sounds from above. ”Your Majesty!” A voice nearby sounded like a heavenly melody. “Your Majesty, are you down there?” … I thought we had been down there for several hours, but we were only there for less than half an hour. When the aftershock began and An Jin jumped down with me, rescue was already nearly there. They watched An Jin follow me into the crevice. The tremor lasted only a short time. Once everything was calm, they immediately found ropes to rescue us. An Jin and I were pulled up, and another group was rescuing Jiang Yunqiao. An Jin had a horrific wound as if pierced by a tree branch, but his life was not in danger. I only had a broken right leg. Yunqiao and Xia Zhiyuan were carried out. They were pressed under a stone slab, hands tightly clasped, without breath but still warm. The accompanying doctor said Xia Zhiyuan died slightly earlier, Yunqiao a bit later, both within half an hour. If I’m not mistaken, they had been trapped in the crevice for several days and hadn’t died. The previous aftershock caused the stone slab to fall, taking their lives. “
If we could have rescued her earlier, perhaps this tragedy would never have occurred. Yunqiao’s eyes were closed, her expression frozen at the moment of departure, half sorrowful, half joyful, perhaps representing her heart.
Returning to Rao City, I executed the city official, but this did not ease my mood. After An Jin’s injuries improved, I took the imperial consort and Afu, along with Yunqiao and Xia Zhiyuan’s remains, back to Feng Zhu.
Upon hearing the news, the Emperor locked himself in his royal chambers for three days and nights, emerging looking ten years older. He never mentioned dealing with An Jin again and even delegated most political affairs to me.
