Nan Zhiyun knelt before him, her hands still clutching Yu Jingchen's sleeves: "Your Majesty, I have suffered many injuries. Can I atone for my sins with those injuries, with my irreversible appearance? Can I exchange them for Your Majesty's mercy? Your Majesty, can you have even a shred of pity for me? Just pity me and let me go, please?"

"Even if we're not evenly matched, consider this a debt I owe Your Majesty. I will spend the rest of my life repenting and praying for Your Majesty, only asking for your forgiveness for my youthful wishful thinking and blind ignorance. Your Majesty..." Nan Zhiyun felt she truly couldn't bear it anymore. During her time with the Empress Dowager, her mindset seemed to be changing. She was willing to give up; she no longer wanted to cling to this. She was wrong...

Yu Jingchen felt somewhat numb. He was completely helpless with Nan Zhiyun; he couldn't force her, nor could he bear to let her go...

In the end, Yu Jingchen sighed softly, then bent down and helped the person up.

"Get up first..." Yu Jingchen's voice was hoarse, full of helplessness.

"Your Majesty, I beg you, I beg you," Nan Zhiyun pleaded, unwilling to get up.

Yu Jingchen had no choice but to squat down as well. Looking into Nan Zhiyun's eyes, he suddenly felt a surge of complex emotions. Those eyes used to be so clear, without any impurities, always sparkling with starlight, as if they held an entire starry sky, and always smiling…

But now, the light seems to be going out, leaving behind emptiness, numbness, despair, pain, and humiliation. The stars have stopped shining, and all that remains is the pitch-black night.

"I cannot agree to your request, nor will I agree to your request..." Yu Jingchen still did not budge. Even though his tone was very soft, Nan Zhiyun still felt that his words weighed a ton, as if they were the last straw that broke the camel's back.

"Does Your Majesty insist on my death? Or worse than death? Because I was born into the Nan family, and because I have fallen in love with Your Majesty, am I now an unpardonable sinner?"

“But… Your Majesty, I feel very fortunate to be born into the Nan family. If I hadn’t entered the palace, I might have been the luckiest person in the world,” Nan Zhiyun said.

"So... do you regret entering the palace now?" Yu Jingchen asked her.

“I regret it, I really regret it… I shouldn’t have entered the palace, I shouldn’t have ignored my father and the Empress Dowager’s advice, and I shouldn’t have fallen for His Majesty… My greatest tragedy is that I’ve trapped myself in this palace. In here, I can no longer laugh, and I can no longer do as I please as before…” Nan Zhiyun continued.

With each word she spoke, Yu Jingchen felt as if a knife was being slashed through his heart, the pain excruciating. Because she said… she regretted it. In her previous life, she had also said she regretted it, but he hadn't seemed to care much. This time, when she said she regretted it, it felt like a piercing, heart-wrenching wound.

"What's done is done, so there's no turning back. And... Nan Zhiyun, I can assure you, I won't let you be like before. So, are you still willing to try again?" Yu Jingchen asked, a mixture of anticipation and...fear rising within him. He was afraid of hearing an answer he didn't want to hear...

"Your Majesty, I only had courage once. After I risked my life, I was injured and could no longer run. I just want to heal my wounds. The doll is broken. It's good that it can be patched up and forgotten. That way, I won't be toyed with anymore..." Nan Zhiyun's eyes were serious.