Chapter 953: The Young Empress (86)

Grabbing the nearest servant, Tang Nuoyue immediately asked where Tang Guo had gone.

In the end, she found her in the imperial garden.

Tang Guo was sitting there, quietly watching Jing Cheng practice his sword. Only then did Tang Nuoyue finally let out a breath of relief, a smile appearing in her eyes.

"You're still here… that's good."

"Your Majesty, shall we go over?" a palace maid asked.

"No," Tang Nuoyue replied softly. "Don't disturb them."

The day after ascending the throne, after court had ended, Tang Nuoyue instinctively went to the imperial garden.

Yet the familiar figures were nowhere to be found.

Unable to suppress her unease, she asked why Tang Guo wasn't there today.

"This servant does not know," the maid answered quietly.

Anxiety immediately gripped Tang Nuoyue. She hurried toward Tang Guo's palace.

Just as she reached the entrance, she saw the Chief Eunuch walking out, his eyes red.

Her heart skipped violently.

"Where's my sister?"

"Her Majesty… she has departed."

The Chief Eunuch finally broke down. Tears streamed uncontrollably from his eyes.

All of them had thought she was joking.

None of them had expected that she would simply leave when she said she would, without the slightest hesitation.

After arranging everything, she had truly let go and departed.

Tang Nuoyue felt dizzy.

She rushed inside, only to find Jing Cheng seated beside Tang Guo.

Tang Guo lay there silently, devoid of all breath.

All the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy surrounded her, and only quiet sighs filled the room.

Tears also flowed down Tang Nuoyue's face.

She, too, had thought it was all a joke.

She had thought the Empress simply wanted to relax, wanted to travel and enjoy herself.

She had never imagined that when Tang Guo said her days were numbered, she had truly meant it.

Everything felt like a dream.

Yesterday, she had been alive and well.

How had she departed today?

"Announce it to the world," Tang Nuoyue said sorrowfully.

Standing to one side, she didn't know what else to say.

Jing Cheng's expression remained calm. It was impossible to tell whether he was grieving or not, but Tang Nuoyue knew that he must be.

"Did she leave any words for me?" she asked.

Jing Cheng lifted his head and answered softly, "She told you to govern Western Saint Kingdom well. She also said to guard against Qi Kingdom and to station troops along the border between the two nations, lest war break out."

"If she said so, then something must happen."

Tang Nuoyue smiled bitterly.

Who exactly was the reincarnated one?

"Anything else?"

Jing Cheng shook his head lightly.

"No."

Tang Nuoyue stood there for a while before preparing to leave.

There were too many things waiting for her. She didn't even have time to grieve.

Since Tang Guo had entrusted Western Saint Kingdom to her, then she would spend the rest of her life protecting it.

Even if she could never compare to Tang Guo, she would at least ensure that Western Saint Kingdom remained peaceful and prosperous.

"Wait."

"What is it?"

Jing Cheng looked up and smiled.

"I can't be separated from her. I hope that in the future, we can be buried together."

"That's something far in the future," Tang Nuoyue said. "There's no hurry."

Jing Cheng smiled.

"I'm just mentioning it in advance. Your Majesty, please tell those who arrange her burial to leave a place for me. Otherwise, there might not be room when the time comes."

Tang Nuoyue didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

She merely nodded in agreement.

She thought Jing Cheng simply wanted to remind her to reserve a place for him.

She never imagined that no sooner had she turned around than news of Jing Cheng's death reached her.

Rushing back once more, she found Jing Cheng lying peacefully beside Tang Guo.

Her mind went blank.

Faced with these two stubborn people, she truly had no way to deal with them.

"Perhaps I owed you in a previous life," she muttered sadly. "Fine, fine. I'll bury the two of you together, alright?"

As she turned away, she quietly wiped away the tears sliding down her cheeks with her sleeve.

The moment she stepped outside, she saw Shan Ge waiting there.

With a sigh, she said softly,

"Jing Cheng followed my sister in death."