Rebirth and Rewriting Fate

Inside the Prince's Mansion.

Zhu Ling held the gauze to stop Yun Chu's bleeding, but the bleeding continued. "What should I do? What should I do? I can't stop the bleeding!" she cried out.

Nan Rao wiped Yun Chu's sweat and changed her water from time to time, feeling heartbroken and speechless.

Yun Chu lay there quietly, her eyes closed, her long eyelashes casting faint shadows beneath her eyelids. Her face was pale, almost translucent, like the first snow of early winter, pure and fragile. A few strands of hair on her forehead were slightly damp with sweat, clinging to her skin and emphasizing her weakness and helplessness. A faint melancholy enveloped the room, even the air seemed heavy and slow.

Basins of bloody water were carried out of the room, and Ping An and Xu Li stood under the eaves waiting anxiously.

An elderly doctor, who appeared to be highly skilled, lifted the curtain and entered. He looked at the person on the bed and quickly began to administer acupuncture.

"Uncle, how is she?" Gu Ruoxiao asked.

"You're really acting recklessly. How can you be unharmed after an arrow pierced your shoulder?" Doctor Wei scolded.

He then glanced sideways at his nephew, "Fortunately, she's not in any immediate danger." Old Wei paused, "Is she the one you made me rush back to?"

"The poison in her body?" Gu Ruoxiao asked hesitantly.

There is no solution.

Gu Ruoxiao's eyes widened.

“However, I can try to study it,” Old Wei said, stroking his beard.

When Yun Chu woke up, it was two days later. When she opened her eyes, she saw Zhu Ling and Nan Rao lying by her bedside. She gently woke them up, saying, "Why are you sleeping here? Go back to bed."

"Miss, you're awake." The crybaby Zhu Ling started crying again.

With tears in her eyes, Nan Rao said, "I'll go get the doctor."

Upon learning that she was currently in the Prince's residence, Yun Chu was taken aback. Zhu Ling explained that the Prince had said the Fourth Prince had not yet been apprehended, and it was very dangerous outside. Luo Yan had also come to ask for Yun Chu's return, wanting to take her away, but Cheng Feng retorted with a single sentence: "Where is there any safer place than the Prince's residence?" Besides, with Doctor Wei in charge at the Prince's residence, Luo Yan didn't dwell on it.

"Never mind, saving my life is the most important thing right now," Yun Chu thought.

However, since Yun Chu woke up, it's become much easier for Luo Yan to enter the Prince's mansion than before. He doesn't come every day, though, but rather every two or three days, mostly to check on Yun Chu. Fortunately, with the renowned physician Wei at the mansion, Luo Yan is at ease.

Gu Ruoxiao arrived on the day Yun Chu woke up.

He sat in the chair in front of the bed, and both of them remained silent.

Gu Ruoxiao spoke up, "That day, that arrow..."

“I know,” Yun Chu interrupted Gu Ruoxiao.

"The Fourth Prince has not been captured yet."

"Ah."

"I will send people to continue the investigation."

"it is good."

Later, Gu Ruoxiao was busy with political affairs and rarely came to the courtyard. But for some reason, whenever Gu Ruoxiao entered the mansion, the guards, whether they were open or hidden, would greet him with "Your Highness is back!" At first, Gu Ruoxiao was puzzled by this, but later he just went along with it. He guessed that it must have been Feng Xing who instigated it.

Zhu Ling secretly inquired about it and told Yun Chu. It was Ping An, that kid. He'd only been here a few days and was already all over Feng Xing, even becoming familiar with the guards in the manor. Yun Chu smiled helplessly. So, in the following days, although Gu Ruoxiao didn't appear, there were still people in the manor keeping in touch with her.

As autumn faded into winter, the weather grew increasingly cool, with days of incessant, drizzling rain that was both cold and freezing. Even the sky seemed unusually gloomy in this season, with low-hanging, gray clouds that appeared to press down on people, weighing heavily on their spirits. That morning, Luo Yan braved the rain to enter the palace. His clothes were soaked through, and before he could even straighten them, he rushed to find Yun Chu.

"Yun Chu!"

"Luo Yan, you're all wet. Nan Rao, quickly get a towel," Yun Chu called out.

"The Fourth Prince has been found. He's dead," Luo Yan said, looking at Yun Chu.

"What did you say?" Yun Chu's eyes flashed with disbelief and a hint of doubt.

“This morning, a citizen reported that a male corpse had been found at the river's outlet. Because seven or eight days had passed, his face was completely disfigured from being submerged in water. After examination, the coroner found an arrow wound on his shoulder and arm, and two knife wounds on his abdomen, which matched the symptoms of the Fourth Prince, thus confirming that it was the Fourth Prince,” Luo Yan explained.

"He's dead? No, that's impossible. How could he have died so easily?" Yun Chu murmured to herself, stunned.

"Yun Chu? Yun Chu!" Luo Yan called out, frowning.

Just then, a voice came from the courtyard: "The Prince is back!"

Upon hearing this, Yun Chu rushed out. "Yun Chu!" Luo Yan reached out to grab her, but missed, and hurriedly chased after her.

Yun Chu stumbled and ran, wanting to find that person and get to the bottom of things; she seemed to only trust that person.

As soon as Gu Ruoxiao stepped into the connecting corridor and shook off the rain, she saw someone rushing towards her.

The newcomer grabbed his arm tightly and asked, "Gu Chengjie is dead?"

Gu Ruoxiao saw in her eyes a mixture of trepidation, anticipation, fear, and resolve. He looked up and saw Luo Yan following closely around the corner.

"The government office did receive a corpse this morning. The coroner's examination showed everything was correct, and the government office has just submitted a memorial announcing the death," Gu Ruoxiao said.

"He...is he really dead?" Yun Chu released Gu Ruoxiao's hand, her eyes vacant, and mumbled before turning back into the courtyard.

"Yun Chu?" Luo Yan called out worriedly, but Yun Chu seemed not to hear him.

"Your Highness, I must go to the palace to report to His Majesty. Yun Chu, she...?" Luo Yan gestured.

Gu Ruoxiao nodded knowingly.

After returning to her room, Yun Chu slept for a while. The rain was still drizzling outside, so she got up and stood under the eaves.

"You don't believe Gu Chengjie is dead?" Gu Ruoxiao appeared beside him at some point.

Yun Chu did not answer.

"Why?" he demanded.

Yun Chu looked up at the sky. "A few days ago, I went to a temple and drew a fortune stick. The stick said: 'Double calamities, an endless struggle for life.' In my past life, I killed him, and we perished together. In this life, I killed him again. But I'm still alive, how could he possibly be dead?" She looked up at the sky. "Endless struggle for life!"

Since being reborn, Yun Chu has had a particular fondness for gazing at the sky, as if the sky could give her some kind of omens. However, the sky is often overcast with dark clouds, and clear skies are rare.

"You believe in this?" Gu Ruoxiao asked, frowning.

“How could I not believe it?” Yun Chu retorted.

“Yun Chu, many things are different now,” Gu Ruoxiao emphasized.

Yun Chu remained silent, remembering what the master had said: one should not be greedy or forceful in past or present lives.

The fine drizzle sounded like the sky was weeping. He and she stood side by side watching the rain fall and disappear, merging into patches of water.

It was getting dark, but the rain still hadn't stopped.

“Your Highness, now that Gu Chengjie is dead, I should go home. I will leave tomorrow. Thank you for your care these past few days,” Yun Chu said, bowing.

Gu Ruoxiao looked at her, and after a moment said, "Okay, but you have to come with me somewhere first."