As evening approached, the sun had just set, and a magnificent sunset painted the entire sky.

The afterglow illuminated every corner of Yong'an City, as if gilding this city riddled with holes with a layer of golden light.

It was still early, but almost every household in the city was staying indoors, and the wide, flat streets were deserted, with only a few patrolling soldiers passing by occasionally.

The faces of those officers and soldiers were filled with indifference and numbness.

Anyone suspected of being suspicious, or anyone they disliked, was inevitably beaten up by these soldiers and then thrown into jail.

Zhou Lin had only been in power for a few days, and the people of the city were filled with fear; the streets and alleys were deserted...

The area east of the city was bustling with activity, where 100,000 Rouran soldiers were stationed.

Today is the wedding day of the Rouran prince. The Imperial Household Department sent wine and meat by carriage early in the morning to properly serve these foreign soldiers.

Laughter, whistles, and drunken soldiers singing incomprehensible folk songs filled the air.

Their outrageous behavior in Yong'an City over the past few days has only fueled their enthusiasm. Perhaps if they drink a little more, these Rouran people will treat Yong'an as their city of enslavement...

By nightfall, they were completely drunk and couldn't tell which way was which.

Inside the imperial city, Zhou Lin and Yelü Shulie were also drinking to their hearts' content.

Zhou Lin was not a stingy person. With a wave of his hand, he immediately gave the entire Southern Frontier as a wedding gift to Yelü Shulie.

Southern Xinjiang has always been the territory of Northern Liang, a land that Su Lin and his soldiers swore to defend to the death. Now, however, it has been casually given away to a foreign tribe by Regent Zhou Lin.

Selling out their territory to appease foreign tribes—this was unprecedented in the history of Northern Liang for hundreds of years.

...

Since ancient times, it has been human nature to reciprocate gifts.

While accepting the congratulatory gift, Yelü Shulie also promised Zhou Lin that after enjoying the tenderness and affection of his new wife, he would lead his troops to attack Suzhou and take down Xiao Heye's stronghold in one fell swoop.

The two chatted happily back and forth.

It seems they all got what they wanted.

However, Zhou Lin was cunning.

His willingness to agree was solely driven by his desire to leverage the Rouran's military strength to destroy Xiao Heye's power, whether in Yong'an or Gusu. Zhou Lin didn't want to leave any potential threats behind.

As for the southern border, Zhou Lin thought... once he had secured his position and sorted out the affairs of the court, he could slowly take it back after the ceasefire agreement between the two countries expired.

...

Before we knew it, it was getting late.

After Su Tiyue entered the palace, she was taken by Eunuch Huang to a newly built palace to wait for her.

It was near Wenhui Pavilion, and it should have been the temporary residence that Zhou Lin arranged for the Rouran prince.

Bright red is everywhere inside the house.

These festive colors seemed somewhat out of place with Su Tiyue's current mood.

At this moment, Su Tiyue was leaning against the window, staring blankly into the distance.

Liu Wan brought over a bowl of sweet porridge and placed it on the table: "Your Highness, please have something to fill your stomach. Someone from the Imperial Household Department just sent word that the Rouran prince and the king are still drinking in the main hall and may not be able to come over for a while."

"Um."

Su Tiyue did not turn her head, her eyes still fixed on the pitch-black scenery outside, her heart unmoved.

At this moment, she wasn't thinking about the Rouran prince at all.

Instead... Xiao Heye...

She had seen him just a few days ago, but now Su Tiyue was already missing him again.

The dungeon was such a terrible place, and Xiao Heye had offended many people in the past. Now that he was in trouble, those people probably wished he would die in that damp and cold place.

For some reason, Su Tiyue remembered what Xiao Heye had said at Qiushui Residence that day.

When he tasted meat again, Su Tiyue asked him what it tasted like, but Xiao Heye only said one word: bitter.

Perhaps from the time he was forced to leave the palace at the age of six or seven, his life was filled with nothing but suffering.

It's bitter, but... it's more than just bitter...

Xiao He is fiercely independent and never yields. Even when he is injured and on the verge of death, he never cries out in pain.

So when he brought up those unbearable past events with Su Tiyue, he only spoke of bitterness, not pain.

Su Tiyue could probably guess how Xiao Heye got to his current position.

He was demoted at the age of six or seven and then sent to the top of the Nine Heavens Snow Mountain, where he spent several years in freezing cold before the mountain collapsed.

When he was a teenager, he and Hanzhou went through many hardships to beg their way from the snow-capped mountains to Suzhou.

In Suzhou, Xiao Heye met the young Su Tiyue.

Then he was adopted by Pei Fu, the head of the Eastern Depot, as his godson...

Pei Fu was no kind person; he was insidious and ruthless, and he subjected Xiao Heye and Han Zhou to years of whipping and torture...

Later, under Pei Fu's careful tutelage, Xiao Heye became a demon feared by everyone in the world.

Thinking of this, Su Tiyue's eyes welled up with tears, and her heart ached terribly.

Suddenly, a cool breeze swept in, stirring the red curtains by the window.

It sways back and forth.

"Liu Wan..."

Su Tiyue suddenly spoke up.

"Master, Liu Wan is here..."

"I'm so unwilling to accept this..." She buried her face in her arms, her brows furrowed, her voice hoarse and sorrowful.

The small, thin figure leaned against the windowsill, swaying precariously, as if about to shatter.

She was really unwilling to accept it.

She was unwilling to separate from Xiao Heye like this, and even more unwilling to marry a Rouran man in such a muddled way.

Su Tiyue only knew that.

Before he met her, Xiao Heye's life was already bitter enough.

Now that we know his feelings, should we make him experience the pain of loss again?

She was unwilling to accept it, and she couldn't bear to do it.

so……

“Master…” Liu Wan choked up, realizing that Su Tiyue’s words were filled with resentment… Tears streamed down her face.

"I haven't even cried, but you're already crying?" Su Tiyue looked up at Liu Wan. "Where's Qingwu?"

Liu Wan replied, "They're guarding outside."

Su Tiyue: "Let her in, I have something to say to you."

"Um."

While Liu Wan went to call Qing Wu, Su Tiyue raised her hand and closed the window.

She looked around, then got up and closed all the windows of the room tightly.