jdhmnovel Chapter 374 His Last Words
Chapter 374 His Last Words
It was early winter, and it got dark earlier than usual. The last rays of the setting sun lingered in the study, casting their final light.
Shi Shu's life seemed to vanish along with the light.
He suddenly began to breathe very rapidly, and his clothes were stained red with blood. He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something to Gu Zhanghua.
But it couldn't make a sound.
Holding Shishu in his arms, Gu Zhanghua watched the light in his eyes gradually fade away, his heart filled with grief, and he couldn't help but burst into tears again.
"Shishu... let's not talk about it anymore, let's not talk about it anymore..."
At that moment, Shi Shu reached out and tightly grasped Gu Zhanghua's hand, tears streaming down her face, and uttered her last murmur.
“Your Highness! I won’t be able to stay with you or protect you anymore… I feel that everything is fine now… I’ve been very happy these past few years… And Chunlan…”
Shi Shu's voice grew weaker and weaker, and Gu Zhanghua could barely hear what he was trying to say, but Gu Zhanghua knew that Shi Shu was worried about Chunlan.
"Don't worry... the Princess and I will take good care of Chunlan..."
Upon hearing Gu Zhanghua's words, Shishu suddenly let out a long breath, her body went limp, and she collapsed into Gu Zhanghua's arms, smiling gently as she closed her eyes.
"Shishu! Shishu! Wake up, Shishu!"
No matter how Gu Zhanghua called out to her or shook Shi Shu's body, Shi Shu remained motionless.
Gu Zhanghua hugged Shishu and burst into tears.
No one in the mansion knew what had happened; they could only faintly hear the prince's heart-wrenching cries coming from the study.
Without the permission of the prince and princess, none of them dared to approach the study; they could only observe from a distance.
The same applies to Huang Shuo and Tian Xueyan.
Tian Xueyan was worried and nudged Huang Shuo's arm beside her.
"Why don't you go check on her? After all, Xuan'er is in the study; she won't be in any danger, will she?"
“If Xuan’er needs anything, she will ask me for help. If she doesn’t, let’s not bother them.”
Huang Shuo turned around and looked at the crowd surrounding him.
"Everyone, go back and do what you need to do. Don't crowd around here. If the Prince and Princess need your help, they will come and call you."
Everyone agreed with Huang Shuo's point and dispersed.
Only Chunlan continued to gaze longingly towards the study.
"Shishu is in the study... I clearly saw him go in, why hasn't he come out yet? Also, why is the Prince crying? What happened?"
Chunlan's voice trembled involuntarily. She had long noticed that Shishu was acting strangely, but she didn't know why.
Tian Xueyan stepped forward, took Chunlan's arm, and whispered words of advice.
“Let’s go back first. There’s no point in waiting here. I’ll have Brother Huang come and check on things as soon as possible, and he’ll let you know immediately if there’s any news.”
Upon hearing Tian Xueyan's words, Chunlan turned back several times before leaving with the others.
It was late at night, but candlelight still flickered in the study of the Prince Xian's residence.
Shi Shu lay quietly on the soft couch, the dagger in her chest already pulled out, still stained with blood, and placed on a tray beside her.
Shi Shu was naked from the waist up, with gauze wrapped around her chest, and was so quiet that she seemed to have stopped breathing.
Sitting next to Shi Shu, Gu Zhanghua could only check Shi Shu's breathing from time to time to make sure that Shi Shu was still alive.
At the table to the side, Little Fairy Doctor was washing the bloodstains off her hands with water from a basin.
Zhao Xuan walked to Little Fairy Doctor's side, tugged at her sleeve, and whispered:
"Sister, did you know something beforehand?"
Little Fairy Doctor glanced back at Shi Shu lying on the soft couch, nodded gently to Zhao Xuan, picked up a towel to dry her hands, and recalled a scene in the Northern Army.
"Last time in the Northern Army, Shishu was seriously injured, and I treated him. That night, just like tonight, there was no wind, and everything was quiet... Suddenly, Shishu started talking nonsense while he was unconscious, and he looked very frightened. I rushed over to check on him and happened to hear him say a few words in a broken voice..."
"What?"
Zhao Xuan quickly pressed for details, and she saw that Gu Zhanghua also turned his head to look at Little Fairy Doctor, clearly indicating that Gu Zhanghua knew nothing about this matter.
Little Fairy Doctor continued to reminisce.
"He said His Highness couldn't die, that there was still hope, and begged that the rescuer spare him. Now I think he probably called him 'Uncle' back then, and that he wasn't a prince, just a little beggar..."
Zhao Xuan frowned, deep in thought.
"In that case, the timing makes sense. It was just as his uncle ordered him to assassinate Xiao Wu while Xia and Yue were at war, but Xiao Wu happened to go to the Northern Army, and Shi Shu went with him."
"That's probably it. I was completely confused when I heard it, but I always felt like he was hiding something, so I paid more attention to him. Since returning to Liyang, I've noticed that he's acting more and more strangely. He often sits in a daze and sometimes even secretly wipes away tears..."
“I understand. A few nights ago, you were deliberately monitoring Shishu, and that’s how you discovered that a strange man had sneaked into Shishu’s room. The two of you seemed to be plotting something, which is why you panicked today when you didn’t see Shishu and asked me where she was.”
Little Fairy Doctor shook her head with a wry smile.
"I really can't be sure either. After all, Shishu is not only our friend, but also like a brother. We've been through thick and thin together, and we've been through life and death together on the northern battlefield. I really don't want to think the worst of him, but I have to be wary!"
"So you did this on purpose, didn't you?!"
Gu Zhanghua suddenly stood up, grabbed Xiao Yixian, and strode out of the study. Facing Xiao Yixian, he could not hide his anger.
"You deliberately didn't go to save Shishu immediately because you wanted to get his innermost thoughts out of him. You don't care about his life at all!"
Zhao Xuan hurriedly chased after him. Hearing Gu Zhanghua questioning Little Fairy Doctor without regard for the consequences, she was displeased and pulled Gu Zhanghua away.
"What's wrong with you?! Do you really want a spy from the Chen Kingdom by your side? What's wrong with knowing the whole story? What gives you the right to question Little Fairy Doctor's decision? She's doing this for your own good!"
"I don't need it!" Gu Zhanghua waved his arms. "I believe in Shishu. He would never hurt me! You simply don't understand the feelings between Shishu and me!"
"Ah!"
Since the two met again after ten years, since they realized their feelings for each other, and finally overcame all difficulties to become husband and wife, Gu Zhanghua has never said a harsh word to Zhao Xuan.
At this moment, for the sake of Shi Shu, Gu Zhanghua unusually gave Zhao Xuan a cold look and spoke without restraint, which made Zhao Xuan so angry that she almost couldn't breathe.
"I don't understand your relationship with Shishu? Fine, then tell me, what kind of relationship do you two have? If you had to choose between me and Shishu, you would definitely choose Shishu, right? Am I right? From now on, you can live with Shishu and grow old together. I'm not going to keep up!"
"You! You're being completely unreasonable and utterly nonsensical!"
Gu Zhanghua, his face flushed and neck red, pointed at Zhao Xuan and began to accuse her repeatedly.
The situation took a sudden turn for the worse, leaving Little Fairy Doctor completely dumbfounded.
Wasn't Xiao Wu just complaining about himself? Did he deliberately not treat Shi Shu immediately?
How did it suddenly turn into Xuan'er wanting to break up with Xiao Wu?
Xiao Wu wants to grow old with Shi Shu.