Song in the Clouds c29

Yun Zhong Ge Chapter 29: Soaring Together Through This Life

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Liu Fu Ling had already sat in front of Yun Ge’s pallet for more than two hours. Yu An caught on to his majesty’s intention to stay by her side and hesitated before forcing himself to utter the words. “Your majesty, in another two hours, dawn will break, there will be state affairs to attend to once dawn breaks; please try to rest for a while, your servants will watch over Miss Yun.”

Watch over? Liu Fu Ling raised his eyes to Yu An.

When they met his gaze, a whole group of eunuchs were so scared they kowtowed furiously; cold sweat broke out on Yu An’s brow as he said “Your majesty, your servant was not conscientious enough, please punish me.” Liu Shun hastily added “This has nothing to do with master; it was due to your servant’s incompetency, falling into the guard’s trap, thereby failing to protect Miss Yun. Your servant is willing to face death.” Liu Fu Ling asked lightly. “Mo Cha, Fu Yu, are they alive?” Yu An quickly replied “Fu Yu was seriously injured, Mo Cha only sustained light injures, both are still unconscious but their lives aren’t in danger. Once they wake up, your servant will make sure to punish them severely.” Liu Fu Ling looked at the sea of eunuchs kneeling before him, suddenly feeling tired. “All of you have knelt for a whole night, go back to rest!”

Liu Shun was stunned, what did his majesty mean? Was his majesty not going to punish them?

Liu Fu Ling waved “All of you, retreat!” All the eunuchs quickly retreated from the hall with their heads bowed. Soon, the hall was completely empty, with only Yu An remaining. Yu An stammered “Your majesty, your servant will surely protect Miss Yun properly in the future, this thing will never happen again.” Liu Fu Ling stared at Yun Ge, his question directed to Yu An as much as it was directed to himself, “Even if we manage to protect her for a while, can this protection last forever? All the palace guards belong to them; can you guarantee that there will be no trace of negligence in the future? And those palace maids that hide in the shadows, can you defend her from all of them?”

Yu An was speechless, such a question…. He couldn’t even answer this if the question was directed at his majesty’s safety, let alone Yun Ge’s? After all, there were only a limited number of eunuchs around, his foremost priority was the safety of his majesty’s, he could only allocate a certain amount of manpower to Yun Ge. Yu An looked at Yun Ge, suddenly realizing that her fate was already sealed and it was only a matter of time; his heart ached with pain and pity, but couldn’t think of a way to save her.

Liu Fu Ling smiled and shook his head, indeed it was as Meng Jue said - he could keep her but not protect her. He sighed “You may go! I would like to be alone with Yun Ge. Also, once Yun Ge wakes up, she will surely ask after Mo Cha and Fu Yu, so don’t punish them, this matter ends here.” When Yu An caught Liu Fu Ling’s expression, he didn’t dare to make further objections, quietly leaving the hall. Liu Fu Ling sat on the floor, his one hand holding Yun Ge’s, tracing the heart line on her palm back and forth. He could not let such an ‘accident’ happen again; not every ‘accident’ would result in her luckily escaping with her life. If Yun Ge……… because of him……

When he witnessed Yun Ge falling with his own eyes, despair and hopelessness threatened to overwhelm him. His hand gripped hers tightly, as if trying to remind himself that she was safe.

How could he truly prevent such ‘accidents’ from ever happening again?

There were two paths he could take: the first was to get rid of Huo Guang, but this couldn’t be accomplished in a short period of time, this was a long drawn battle of wits; if he wasn’t careful, he could put the whole dynasty in peril, destabilizing the state and his people. The second was…. was to let Yun Ge leave, let her leave the palace that she never belonged to, leave the turbulence that was Chang An. He should give her freedom, shouldn’t he? She was born to be enjoying the vast heavens and earth, not suited for the bloodthirsty palace, full of plots in every corner.

However, since they met again, since they slapped their palms together to seal their pact, she was his one and only. So many years of waiting had passed, even a seed the size of a grain would have grown into a big, towering tree, let alone his longing for her? She had already taken root in his heart, her roots sunk in, deep and tangled.

If he wanted to pull her out, his whole heart might just be taken out along with her. Who can tell him, how does one part with his own heart?

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[2] The word 服侍means to wait upon, to care for. It is also a double entendre, and can take on a sexual connotation.

Chapter end