Love Lock

Chapter 361 Never to be released
The Empress has passed away. Everyone thought that His Majesty the Emperor, grieving the loss of his beloved, would be furious, would massacre the Imperial Hospital, would be devastated, and would break down in madness...

However, to everyone's surprise,

Zhao Zun was unusually quiet. He stood there, his back to everyone, facing the desk, one hand pressed tightly against the unfolded handkerchief and the note that would decide his fate.

His shoulders twitched almost imperceptibly, as if all his strength had been drained away in an instant.

Inside the hall, cries for mercy, sobs, and the wails of infants mingled together, like a cauldron of boiling water. Yet, he felt as if he were in another silent world.

A long, long time passed...

Amidst the chaos and despair, Zhao Zun turned around very slowly.

His face showed no expected thunderous rage, no heart-wrenching grief, and not even... any obvious expression.

It was an extreme calm, a calmness that was almost eerie, as if all emotions had been completely erased the moment he glanced at the note, leaving only a desolate stillness.

His gaze swept blankly over the kneeling imperial physicians, trembling like leaves, then over his grief-stricken mother and sister, finally settling on the quiet, sleeping figure on the phoenix bed.

His lips moved, letting out a barely audible sigh, as if he were utterly exhausted.

Then, he raised his hand, his movements somewhat stiff, and spoke in a hoarse but unusually calm voice, breaking the suffocating noise.

"Let's all go out!"

Everyone was stunned, almost thinking they had misheard.

Zhao Zun repeated himself, his voice not loud, but carrying an unquestionable imperial majesty: "Everyone... get out."

The imperial physicians were overjoyed, yet incredulous. They exchanged glances and scrambled out of the bedchamber, fearing that if they were even a step too late, the grieving emperor would change his mind.

The Empress Dowager looked at her son with teary eyes and called out worriedly, "Zun'er... don't be too sad... take care of your health..." She looked at her son's distraught appearance, as if his soul had gone with the Empress, and her heart ached as if it were being torn apart.

Zhao Ling'er choked up as she said, "Brother..."

Zhao Zun didn't look at them; his gaze remained fixed on Han Lei. He simply waved his hand again, his tone weary and almost pleading: "Mother, Ling'er... you should go out too. Let me... keep her company alone."

The Empress Dowager looked at the handkerchief he was clutching tightly in his hand, and at his pale face. In the end, she could only sigh heavily, wipe away her tears, and, supported by Zhao Ling'er, leave the inner room, turning back every few steps. She then had the palace door gently closed.

The heavy palace doors shut out all outside sounds.

In the vast bedroom, only Zhao Zun and Han Lei, who seemed to be fast asleep on the bed, were left in an instant.

The charcoal fire continued to crackle, illuminating his lonely, upright figure, which seemed to have suddenly become a little hunched over.

He walked slowly and heavily to the bedside, like a marionette.

He slowly sat on the edge of the bed, reached out, and used his fingertips to trace Han Lei's cold eyebrows, nose, and lips with extreme gentleness... His movements were careful, filled with endless longing and despair.

Then, he leaned down, gently pressed his forehead against Han Lei's lifeless forehead, and closed his eyes.

A drop of scalding liquid finally slipped uncontrollably from the corner of his tightly closed eye, dripping onto Han Lei's pale cheek, leaving a fleeting wet mark.

Zhao Zun clutched the handkerchief tightly, as if holding the last wisp of duckweed in the world. Inside were the remains of the love lock and the note that read "When fate ends, we part ways." The handkerchief hurt his palm, but it was nothing compared to the pain in his heart.

"When fate ends... then we part?" He murmured softly, as if in a dream, his voice carrying a deep-seated pain and... a stubborn refusal to accept his fate, "Girl... I don't believe... I don't believe our fate has ended like this..."

"You promised to stay with me for a lifetime... A lifetime is so long, how could you... leave first?"

A tear fell onto Han Lei's forehead. Zhao Zun gently wiped it away with his finger and sniffed, "No matter where you go, whether it's to heaven or hell... I will definitely find a way... to bring you back."

In the empty bedchamber, only the emperor's deep and unwavering vows remained, echoing slowly in the warm air, lingering around the seemingly departed soul.

He didn't believe it.

These two simple words, like a faint spark ignited in a desolate wasteland, sustained his soul, which was on the verge of shattering.

He couldn't believe Han Lei was gone just like that, because he and their child were here.

He didn't believe that a mere note could determine the end of their relationship.

Han Lei is special, coming from a world he cannot understand. Han Lei's appearance was a miracle in itself, so how could her departure be so simple?
Is this "when the bond ends, the relationship dissipates" the way of Heaven, or some rule he has yet to comprehend?

If the mysterious "Love Lock" can determine Han Lei's fate, and even coincidentally shielded her from an arrow when she was assassinated, does it also contain a last glimmer of hope to keep her alive? Even if it's just a fragment, does it still retain some kind of power?

Zhao Zun suddenly opened his eyes, the lifeless desolation in them replaced by an almost obsessive light.

He carefully unfolded the brocade handkerchief, and the tiny fragments of jade gleamed with a cold and fragile luster under the solar-powered light.

He gazed at her for a moment, then very solemnly gathered the handkerchief back together, his movements as gentle as if he were touching a fragile dream. He placed the handkerchief on Han Lei's cool and calm chest.

That place, where he once nestled and listened to his own heartbeat, is now only a terrifying silence.

“Girl…” He leaned down, placing his hands on either side of Han Lei, enveloping her in his shadow. His voice was deep, filled with unprecedented earnestness and pleading, “Girl, come back… Do you hear me? I won’t let you go.”

"The love token is here, our keepsake is here... It's broken, but you have to come back. We promised to be together for life, how could you break your promise?"

He called out "Girl" over and over again, but this intimate term that belonged only to him seemed to sink into the sea without causing the slightest ripple.

He stared intently at Han Lei's face, hoping that her long eyelashes would flutter, that her bloodless lips would move slightly, or even just a slight curling of her fingertips.

No!

Nothing at all!

Han Lei lay there quietly, her face serene, as if she were simply immersed in a dream she didn't want to wake up from, isolated from all the sounds and expectations of the outside world.

The handkerchief on her chest lay silently, its fragments neither emitting the strange brilliance he had hoped for, nor reassembling. Now, they were merely inanimate objects, coldly reminding him of the cruelty of reality.

The hall was eerily quiet; time slipped away slowly amidst silent calls and desperate waiting.

The flames in the charcoal brazier occasionally crackled, scattering sparks that reflected on his face, which gradually shifted from anticipation to deeper anguish.

That spark ignited by disbelief, faced with absolute silence, seemed to flicker, about to be swallowed by endless darkness.

Just as he was about to be completely engulfed by the deathly silence, a very faint knocking sound rang out, yet it was exceptionally clear in the stillness.

"Keep going! Keep going! Keep going!"

"Your Majesty." It was the voice of the chief eunuch, Li Zhongxin, coming with utmost caution through the heavy palace doors. "Lord Hua Tianyou and Aunt Li from the textile factory are requesting an audience outside the palace... saying they have come to apologize to Your Majesty."

Please excuse me?

These two words were like a cold needle, piercing Zhao Zun's dream.

His unfocused gaze slowly refocused, shifting from Han Lei's face to the tightly closed palace door.

The apology... was for the assassination attempt at the textile factory.

Yes, there are still things outside that he needs to settle, and there are people who have harmed Han Lei that he needs to deal with.

His girl is lying here. How can those who caused all this live in peace?

Zhao Zun slowly straightened up.

The moment he stood up, all the emotions he showed on his face—whether grief, stubbornness, or the urgency of his calls—receded like the tide, covered by an extreme calm.

This calm was more chilling than the previous stillness, like the frozen surface of the sea after a storm, beneath which lay an undercurrent powerful enough to devour everything.

He gazed deeply at the person on the bed, his eyes filled with complex and unreadable emotions—a mixture of longing, reluctance, and a chilling determination.

Zhao Zun walked to the door but did not open it immediately. Instead, he spoke in a deep but unusually steady voice to Li Zhongxin outside the door, his voice not loud but carrying absolute authority: "Issue my decree: without my order, no one is allowed to approach the Empress's bedchamber, let alone move the Empress's body in the slightest. Anyone who disobeys will be executed."

"Your servant obeys the decree," Li Zhongxin hurriedly replied, his voice trembling.

Zhao Zun then reached out and slowly pulled open the heavy palace door. The palace servants and imperial physicians waiting outside knelt down, their heads bowed low, not daring to look directly at the emperor's face.

He didn't look at anyone, just waved his hand and said, "You can all leave now!" Then he walked out, gently closing the door behind him, as if afraid of disturbing the sleeping person inside.

The imperial physicians finally breathed a sigh of relief. After kneeling and kowtowing in respect, they quickly picked up their medicine boxes and retreated in one swift motion, their steps hurried. They seemed afraid that if they stayed any longer, His Majesty would change his mind.

Zhao Zun still didn't look at them, but instead looked up at the snowflakes falling from the sky. He felt as if a piece of his heart had been ripped out, leaving him empty and aching so much that he could barely stand up straight. In a daze, the scene of Han Lei rescuing him in the Beiguan Mountain Valley involuntarily surfaced in his mind. He suddenly trembled, only to realize that two years ago today was the very day he met Han Lei.

Exactly two years!

Could it be that his fate with Han Lei, aided by the Love Lock, was only destined to last two short years?
Two years? What kind of fate is this?
No, he doesn't believe it!
Thinking of this, he felt as if he had a goal to look forward to again.

He took a deep breath, straightened his back, and strode towards the front hall, his back as upright as a pine tree. If it weren't for his excessively pale face and the lingering crimson in his eyes, one would almost think that the scene of losing his beloved and nearly collapsing had never happened.

The atmosphere inside the Imperial Study was so heavy it seemed to drip water.

Hua Tianyou and Li Sao knelt on the cold gold brick floor, their hearts filled with fear and self-reproach.

They only knew that the Empress had been assassinated at the textile factory and that His Majesty was furious, but they were unaware that just moments before, a cataclysmic event had occurred at Weiyang Palace.

"Your Majesty," Hua Tianyou said, his head touching the ground, his voice heavy with grief, "I have failed Your Majesty's grace and mismanaged the factory, allowing assassins to infiltrate and disturb Your Majesty's presence. I deserve to die! I beg Your Majesty to punish me!"

Li Sao also prostrated herself on the ground, choking back tears, and said, "I am guilty. It was because I failed to check properly that the wicked thief with malicious intentions was able to sneak in, causing Your Highness to be frightened... I deserve to die a thousand deaths for this crime!"

They thought that what awaited them was the emperor's raging fury, or even that they would be dragged out and executed immediately.

However, Zhao Zun, behind the imperial desk, merely lowered his eyes, his gaze fixed on a point in the void, his fingers unconsciously stroking the jade thumb ring on his thumb.

Hearing their apologies, his face remained completely expressionless; he didn't even lift his eyelids. His calm demeanor was unsettling.

Zhao Zun knew that neither of them intended to harm Han Lei. If they did, they would have had ample opportunity in Cangzhou. Moreover, if Han Lei's departure fulfilled the prophecy on the note inside the Love Lock, then even if she wasn't assassinated at the textile factory, the Love Lock would have found other ways to make her leave.

After a long while, just when Hua Tianyou and Li Sao's hearts were about to sink to the bottom, Zhao Zun finally spoke slowly, his voice flat and without any inflection: "Get up, both of you! This is not your fault."

Both of them were stunned, almost thinking they had misheard.

Hua Tianyou raised his head and said urgently, "Your Majesty, this matter was caused by our negligence. If we had not been careless and failed to thoroughly investigate the background and identity of each female worker, the assassin would never have had the opportunity! We deserve our punishment, Your Majesty..."

"It's pointless to talk about this now," Zhao Zun interrupted him, his voice still calm, yet carrying an indifference that seemed to see through everything, and a bottomless weariness.

Hua Tianyou was puzzled. How could it be meaningless? If they had been more careful, the tragedy might have been avoided.

He opened his mouth, wanting to apologize again: "Your Majesty, if it were us..."

Zhao Zun shook his head blankly, raised his eyes, and his empty gaze finally fell on them. He said clearly, word by word, "The Empress has passed away."

These words were like a thunderclap exploding above their heads!

Hua Tianyou and Li Sao froze on the spot, their faces turning deathly pale in an instant.

He died...passed away?

That sweet-smiling Empress who led them to improve looms, establish factories, and wholeheartedly work for the people's livelihood... just like that... gone? And His Majesty actually said it's not their fault?
The immense shock and the overwhelming sense of guilt that followed engulfed them like a tsunami.

Hua Tianyou swayed and almost collapsed to the ground, while Li Sao knelt down, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty deserves to die! You deserve to die!" Hua Tianyou kowtowed heavily, his forehead instantly turning bruised. "It was your Majesty who killed the Empress! Your Majesty's death is an unforgivable crime!"

Sister Li also cried out, "I am guilty! I have failed Your Majesty's trust!"

"As for the textile factory," Zhao Zun seemed oblivious to their breakdown, stating in that eerily calm tone, "the Imperial Guards have taken over and are rigorously investigating everyone's identity and background, is that right?"

"Yes!" Hua Tianyou nodded heavily with tears in his eyes. "When we entered the palace, the Imperial Guards were already conducting a thorough search."

With tears blurring her vision, Sister Li suddenly remembered something upon hearing this and hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, I remember now! There was another person who came with that crippled female worker who attempted the assassin! Her name was Zhao Qiao'er! One of them had a leg disability, and the other... the other had a hand disability. They were recruited together!"

"Zhao Qiao'er?"

On the throne, Zhao Zun's half-closed eyes suddenly opened, no longer empty and lifeless, but instantly filled with a chilling and murderous intent! It was as if a sleeping beast had finally opened its scarlet eyes.

Princess Chang Le! Zhao Qiao'er!

They both had grudges against his maid, and now the two of them have actually gotten together.

It seems that simply having Lin Yuanshan divorce Zhao Qiao'er and imprisoning Princess Chang Le on the mountain for two months as a minor punishment was too lenient! The two of them did not learn their lesson.

His leniency emboldened them to escalate their actions, daring to collude and infiltrate the textile factory to carry out assassinations!

it is good!very good!

A violent, destructive urge surged wildly in his chest, desperately needing an outlet.

At this moment, those who directly caused the tragedy have run right into his knife.

Without the slightest hesitation, or even raising his voice, he simply called out in a chillingly cold tone, "Pockmarked."

The guard commander, Ma Zi, entered in response and knelt on one knee: "Your Majesty!"

"Immediately take men to the textile factory and arrest Zhao Qiao'er, who has a hand disability." Zhao Zun's voice was devoid of any emotional fluctuation, yet it carried a chilling decisiveness. "Then, follow the clues and imprison everyone connected to Princess Chang Le and Zhao Qiao'er, regardless of their relationship to them."

He didn't know what role Zhao Qiao'er played in the assassination, but he couldn't care less.

He paused, then added a final sentence, like a final judgment: "All of you, without question, shall never be released from the Heavenly Prison without my order."

They must never be released!

This is even more despairing than being beheaded, as it means they will be trapped in that dark and sunless dungeon, unable to live or die, until they rot into mud!

Since they won't learn to be good, let them go to the prison to learn how to be human!

Ma Zi's heart skipped a beat, sensing the almost tangible killing intent and chilling coldness in His Majesty's words. He dared not be negligent in the slightest and immediately clasped his hands in a fist and said, "This humble general obeys the order!"

He immediately stood up and left quickly, the clatter of his armor sounding particularly jarring in the quiet imperial study.

Zhao Zun's gaze returned to Hua Tianyou and Li Sao, who were kneeling on the ground. The cold killing intent subsided slightly, but it still lacked warmth.

"You may all go back," he said calmly. "The textile factory... cannot be allowed to fall into disarray; it is the Empress's life's work. You should continue doing what you are supposed to do, and take good care of it for me and for the Empress."

Hua Tianyou and Li Sao were in a state of utter confusion, overwhelmed with grief and guilt. Hearing that His Majesty not only did not punish them but also continued to entrust them with such an important business, they felt even more conflicted.

They could only choke back tears and kowtow, saying, "Your Majesty and Your Highness... we obey your decree and will do our utmost to live up to your expectations."

The two struggled to their feet, staggering as they prepared to leave. Overwhelmed by grief and guilt, they could barely stand upright.

Just as they were about to leave the Imperial Study, Zhao Zun suddenly spoke again: "May Heaven bless you."

Hua Tianyou paused, then quickly turned around: "Does Your Majesty have any further instructions?"

Zhao Zun walked over, paused for a moment as if considering his words, and then said, "You have been in the capital for a long time and have extensive connections. Recruit some skilled craftsmen for me... who are good at repairing jade artifacts. The best craftsmen are needed, no matter the cost."

Repairing jade artifacts?

Hua Tianyou was taken aback, and a question arose in his mind.

Shouldn't His Majesty be immersed in immense grief at this moment? Why the sudden search for jade repair craftsmen? What important object is being repaired?

He subconsciously made a connection to something, but dared not think about it too deeply.

But whatever the reason, he would carry out any order His Majesty gave him without hesitation, perhaps as the only way he could slightly alleviate his guilt.

He immediately bowed and solemnly replied, "Your Majesty, I obey! I will go back and do it immediately, and I will find the best jade repairman in the land for Your Majesty!"

Zhao Zun nodded almost imperceptibly, said nothing more, and simply waved wearily.

Hua Tianyou and Li Sao bowed and left the Imperial Study. Only when they stepped outside the hall and were hit by the biting cold wind did they realize that their backs were already soaked with cold sweat.

They glanced back at the brightly lit yet deathly silent palace, exchanged a look, and saw endless sorrow and heaviness in each other's eyes.

His Majesty's unusual calm was more unsettling to them than any outburst of rage. What turbulent undercurrents lay hidden beneath that calm?
And recruiting jade craftsmen—

Hua Tianyou's vague guess gradually became clearer, yet it felt utterly absurd, even... carrying a chilling madness.

Thank you Zizhu for the donation, and thank you everyone for your support! It's getting cold, remember to wear more clothes.