She Died at His Hands
"Did your mother remarry later?"
"No, she didn't. Never."
The Linen-Clad Girl propped her face up with one hand and let out a wistful sigh. "Mother wanted to wait for him her whole life, but unfortunately, her whole life wasn't very long."
"That year, a massive flash flood struck the Small City, leaving many families homeless. Mother had always been softhearted and kind, so she opened the family's granary to help the refugees."
"After the floods and Plague passed, the Small City survived. Mother caught an illness, held on for a few years, and then passed away."
"She wrote that letter from her sickbed. So the person on the other end wouldn't notice, she spent the last stretch of her life writing those few hundred words."
Luo Ziwei took another sip of the cold tea on the table, her face expressionless.
"Mother said the person in Chang'an City had a hard life. Her own life had ended in a hurry, too, so she hoped I wouldn't follow in their footsteps."
"I shouldn't take Ye's surname, or Lu's. It was fine to take Grandma's surname, Luo. If one day I found something I liked, then I could choose whatever surname I wanted."
"People only get one life. Being happy is what matters most."
In the end, the Miss from the Small City and the scholar never got the lives they wanted.
The scholar hadn't been as fixated on pursuing fame and rank as his father. He'd left that prosperous Capital, which had never belonged to him, at an early age.
The Miss from the Small City had never left that little place in her whole life. They had both believed the other would live well, while accepting a life that wasn't quite so good for themselves.
The rumble of carriage wheels came from downstairs.
Through the fine drizzle, the caravan set out once more for Luoyang.
The youth and the girl were put in one of the caravan's carriages. It rocked and swayed as it joined the road beside the inn.
But before leaving the inn, the kindhearted old merchant had made a point of seeking out Gu Baishui, who was helping to feed the horses.
The two stood beneath the eaves, their corners fluttering in the wind, and chatted about something the old merchant had suddenly remembered.
"I suddenly remembered last night what that general I told you about was called." The old merchant's face was flushed with good health as he broke into a hearty grin.
"I think his name was Li Shiyi. He was a great-grandson of the Imperial Family."
The Green-Robed Youth, who had finished feeding the horses nearby, suddenly froze. His face turned pale, and his lips moved a few times, but no sound came out.
The old merchant noticed nothing and continued on his own. "And according to what I've heard, he had a younger sister when he was a child. But she died before coming of age, so there aren't many records of her in Luoyang City."
"She died?"
"She did."
The wheels rumbled on beneath them. The two young people sat facing each other on either side of the carriage, speechless.
Gu Baishui said nothing. He only watched the Linen-Clad Girl in silence.
Luo Ziwei paid no attention to his gaze, intent on the Fruits and Pastries in front of her.
"What happened to them afterward?"
The Linen-Clad Girl's arm paused. Her fingertips, holding a piece of fresh fruit, twitched.
After a moment of silence, Gu Baishui asked, "What happened to Li Shiyi and Li Xu later? How did their story turn out?"
Luo Ziwei's eyelids stirred. She gave Gu Baishui a strange look. "What do you want to know?"
"I want to know what happened afterward."
Gu Baishui's expression was flat. "At first, you told me the Transmigrator you knew was Li Shiyi, but from beginning to end, I never heard anything particularly unusual or special about him."
"His younger sister, Li Xu, on the other hand, was extraordinarily talented and brilliant. She fits Second Senior Brother's description of those Transmigrators far better."
The carriage fell silent for quite a while. The Linen-Clad Girl lifted her head and chewed the Rice Cake in her mouth with a blank, flavorless expression.
Gu Baishui's expression remained calm. "But I heard she died later, at the youngest and most beautiful time in a person's life."
The rain fell softly, and the carriage rocked.
After a long silence, the Linen-Clad Girl smiled soundlessly. Her smile was weary, and carried a strange sadness.
"Yes, she died."
"A-Xu has been dead for a long time. I miss her so much... I miss her so much."
The Linen-Clad Girl wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her chin on them, murmuring to herself with a dazed look in her eyes.
Gu Baishui watched the Little Beggar curled up into a ball and silently furrowed his brow. Then he tentatively asked, "Did she die of an illness?"
Luo Ziwei was silent for a long while. She nodded, then shook her head.
"Everyone says she died of an illness, but I've never believed that."
"Why?" Gu Baishui asked.
"Because A-Xu was healthy and cheerful. She always took good care of herself. She wouldn't get sick or make other people worry."
Luo Ziwei paused. A complicated emotion flickered in her eyes. "So I think A-Xu was murdered."
"It's a premonition, a gut feeling. I have no proof, but my instincts have always been right."
Gu Baishui asked again, "But you also said A-Xu was an exceptionally gifted genius. By rights, no one should have been able to hurt her so easily."
Luo Ziwei nodded. "That's right."
Gu Baishui furrowed his brow. "Then who do you think A-Xu died at the hands of?"
This time, the Linen-Clad Girl didn't take long to think. She barely hesitated before parting her lips and calmly saying:
"That year, Li Shiyi fell ill. His father and mother had both gone to Chang'an City, and there was no one in Luoyang to look after him."
"A-Xu wrote many letters, but in the end, she was still worried about his illness. She secretly slipped out of Weiyang Palace and returned alone to the outskirts of Luoyang City."
"She met someone at her family's estate. And then, she died amid the Willow Catkins filling the skies over Luoyang City."
Gu Baishui narrowed his eyes. "Who did she meet?"
"..."
"Li Shiyi."
The Little Beggar smiled soundlessly, sorrow surging in her eyes like a tide.
"He killed his only younger sister with his own hands, that bookworm he kept bringing up and complaining about all the time."
"Look, what a sad story."
--
The Tang Kingdom Calendar year 356 was the fourth year since A-Xu had left Luoyang.
Many terrible things happened across the continent.
White-Robed Sorcerers were always hurrying around the Star-Picking Pavilion in Chang'an City, their faces grave as they held Compasses and observed the celestial phenomena and stars.
Ancient Aristocratic Clans shut themselves away, sealing off their mountains and withdrawing into Great Marsh Mountain.
The ancestors of many ancient kingdoms passed away, and grief spread across the continent.
But the most shocking event on the continent was that Li Shiyi's grandfather, the Grand Progenitor of the Tang Kingdom, had walked alone into the depths of the Cloud and Mist Mountain Range-and had never been heard from again.
Old Du said it was a sign, meaning that the decaying old era was gradually passing.
Only after passing through Desolate, Ruined Fields could flourishing wildflowers bloom.
It was just that this time, it had come too suddenly, as though the world had passed from brilliant stars into a wasteland overnight.