Silent Lover (The Silent Concubine) - Chap 134

Chapter 134 – Giving Everything

“Yu, Yu’er…”

Jun Xuanxiao panicked as he saw Shen Yu’s blood staining his clothes. He felt something slipping out of his control…

Shen Yu’s lips had turned blackish-blue. This was clearly not a symptom of the Gu King poison, but rather a lethal toxin.

Before coming here, Shen Yu had taken a deadly poison known as Wu Jin Pill, which kills upon contact with blood.

“Yu’er! What have you done? Tell me…”

Jun Xuanxiao frantically checked him over. Always in control, he suddenly found himself at a loss. His chest surged with emotions, causing unbearable pain in his organs.

Shen Yu’s mouth foamed with blood. His expression was vacant, but he firmly held onto a jade box and shoved it into Jun Xuanxiao’s hand.

“I don’t want it! I just want you to live!” Jun Xuanxiao refused to take it, but Shen Yu gripped him tightly with his last bit of strength.

Shen Yu’s consciousness was fading. This is what you’ve always wanted. How can you say you don’t want it without even looking?

I went through so much trouble in the palace for this…

Shen Yu’s breath grew weaker, but his grip on the jade box remained firm. When Jun Xuanxiao finally opened the box with trembling hands, his entire being felt like it exploded with a rush of blood to his head.

Inside lay a little finger, the blood still fresh.

The key to the Chu King’s tomb was the unique bone of a Chu family descendant!

“Yu… Yu’er…”

Jun Xuanxiao was filled with unprecedented fear. His voice trembled, and his whole body shook. He grabbed Shen Yu’s left hand but didn’t dare to remove the bandage, afraid of what he might see or think.

“Why? Why did you do this to me?”

Jun Xuanxiao’s eyes turned red. His heart was being torn apart by the horrifying sight. His voice was hoarse and desperate.

Why?

Shen Yu’s eyes moved slightly. Because I love you. Even though you tormented, abandoned, and used me, I still loved you. But you never believed anyone could love you enough to give their life. You schemed endlessly but never said a word. If you had asked, I would have given everything for you.

Shen Yu wanted to mock Jun Xuanxiao in sign language, wishing him eternal rule. Using the life of a mute slave to get something even the emperor couldn’t obtain was worth it. But he was too exhausted…

So this would have to do. Seeing the look of endless regret on Jun Xuanxiao’s twisted face just before dying made it worth it.

Forgive me, I cannot die alongside you. I hate you, but I cannot forget you. I only wish to remain separated by life and death.

Shen Yu’s once starry eyes were now covered by a gray shadow, losing all their light.

“Yu’er, you can’t… I don’t want anything else. You’re not allowed to die…”

Jun Xuanxiao’s last thread of sanity snapped. He mumbled incoherently, pressing his face against Shen Yu’s. He was terrified that if he let go, Shen Yu would leave him forever.

Jun Xuanxiao’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. Tears rolled down his resolute face as he held Shen Yu tightly, unable to stop his life from slipping away.

His chest felt like it would explode. The veins on his forehead bulged as dignity, power, and status all shattered in the face of loss.

He finally understood what it meant to be heartbroken. Not everything in this world could be controlled by him. People cried the same way, whether they could speak or not. The grief was just as deep and unforgettable…

…

In the previous dynasty, Chu Taizu was a genius with both literary and military skills. He conquered vast territories, three times the size of the current Dajing.

The Chu royal family produced many talented individuals over generations, creating an unprecedented golden age. They excelled in military strategy, Confucianism, music, chess, mechanics, engineering, and medicine. The Chu dynasty flourished and shone brightly.

But extreme prosperity leads to decline. The Chu family, proud and arrogant, prohibited marriage with outsiders. A hereditary heart disease spread among them, limiting their lifespan to no more than thirty-five years. Even the medical experts among them were helpless.

People believed this was divine punishment for their excessive strength. The Chu dynasty fell as their talented descendants dwindled, unable to support the vast empire, leading to its eventual overthrow.

Unwilling to hand over their achievements, the Chu family destroyed their texts on military strategy and medicine, burying the rest in the secluded Junshan Tomb, sealing it with iron and bronze. They left a branch of the family to guard it.

As dynasties changed, the Chu family’s strict no intermarriage rule faded into history. The Dajing dynasty, coveting the treasures of the Junshan Tomb, hunted down the remaining Chu descendants to discover its location. No one knew the tomb had sunk to the bottom of Yunmengze Lake.

Jun Xuanxiao, with his grand ambitions, had always dreamed of establishing a dynasty as glorious as the Chu’s…

But as he finally obtained the “key” in the jade box, he lost the most important thing. His heart was left with an endless void. He sat in a daze on the steps, unaware of the doctors coming and going.

Only then did he realize that some things, no matter how strong or powerful one is, cannot be regained.