After all, I come from a humble background and am utterly unworthy of your lofty and magnificent Empress.

If it weren't for your father and mother's strong encouragement, we would never have been able to come together.

But I have truly tried my best, with all my knowledge and energy, to change myself.

I tried my best to please you, but you never gave me even the most basic trust and respect.

Now you're asking me if I still love you? Do you think I dare to love you again? Don't you think this question is incredibly stupid and ridiculous?

"I still can't understand what I did wrong, what I did that you're so unhappy with! That you hate me so much? You're even willing to kill me!"

"You think I covet your throne? That I murdered your family? To be honest, if I really had such thoughts, the Yintian Dynasty would never have reached that level!"

"And what did my sincere efforts get me in return?"

The entire Immortal Martial Continent is laughing at me, saying I'm nothing more than Empress Yu Xiyan's dog.

Even if it really is a dog, wagging its tail should be enough to win some affection from its owner, right?

So what did I get in return? Besides your indifference, heartlessness, disgust, and hatred, what else? You're worse than a dog!

Answer me, Yu Xiyan, what did I get in return for risking my life for you and for the empire?

As the saying goes, the most ruthless place is the imperial family, but I believe that even a worldly emperor, when faced with someone useful, will put on a show of dissatisfaction, right?

But you're too lazy to even act!

Even if you despise me to the extreme, you shouldn't involve the soldiers of the Po Jun Mansion who fought for the Great Yin Dynasty!

Over the years, don't you know how many glorious military achievements the Po Jun Mansion has made for the Great Yin Dynasty?

But have you ever held a victory celebration banquet for them, inspected their military bearing, or even offered condolences to the families of the fallen heroes?

Do you think those cold gold and silver are what the soldiers want?

You're wrong. All they want is the personal approval of the Empress of the Great Yin Dynasty, and the honor and dignity that belong to soldiers!

Because of your inexplicable hatred for me, you haven't even acknowledged the honors that rightfully belong to them.

Who are they? The army of the Great Yin! For the Great Yin Empire, for the people of Great Yin, for you! Empress Yu Xiyan! Willing to die on the battlefield!

You shouldn't impose your prejudice against me on these soldiers who risked their lives for us. Do you know how many hearts you've broken?

Yu Xiyan was so shocked that she was speechless.

Every single thing Shen Zhao said was a true account of his experience, without any embellishment.

While she took Shen Zhao's sacrifices for granted, she relentlessly belittled and smeared him behind his back.

Unbeknownst to her, she had hurt such a good man so badly.

It turns out he wasn't unaware of the pain; he simply chose to endure it silently, bearing all the harm he had inflicted on himself alone, until it finally crushed him completely.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't know I hurt you so deeply."

But Shen Zhao, I really, really beg you to give me a chance to make amends, please?

I will be good to you for the rest of my life! I really will never hurt you again.

"I'm sorry, I never needed your compensation." Shen Zhao took a deep breath. "I only ask that this absurdly flawed and tragic relationship between us come to an end."

Actually, Raymond Lam was absolutely right when he said something: "We're just not meant to be together. Getting together will only cause us to torment each other."

In this life, you will be Empress Yintian, and I will be a wandering knight-errant. We will keep to ourselves and treat each other as strangers!

You finally have the right to pursue happiness, and no one will stop you anymore. I just hope that the person you spend the rest of your life with will never be me!

"No, I don't want to!" Yu Xiyan shook her head repeatedly. "Shen Zhao, I know you hate me, and I don't expect you to forgive me right away."

Please, just one more time, trust me. I promise I won't hurt you again. I'll make it up to you tenfold, a hundredfold, a thousandfold. Please, don't reject me, okay?

You're making me really scared, I'm really scared. You've never spoken to me like this before.

"Come back to me, okay? I'll fulfill my duties as a wife, give you the tenderness you deserve, and never let you suffer any more grievances."

In the past, Shen Zhao's heart would have melted at the sight of Yu Xiyan's pitiful appearance.

But Shen Zhao now only felt extremely ironic, even disgusted.

He didn't want to know why Yu Xiyan had become like this after her rebirth. He might have been interested before, but now...

None of that matters anymore.

"Yu Xiyan, you remember this: you can hurt me again and again, and manipulate me, all because I once truly loved you."

Only when you truly love someone will you give them the power to hurt you.

But if this love disappears, what do you think you can use to bind me?

"Now that we're all back, let's live our lives to the fullest. You are the ruler of Dayin, and there are still many things to deal with. Don't waste any more time here."

As your former husband in name only, I can offer you one last piece of advice: accepting someone else's sacrifices doesn't mean you're incompetent.

While accepting kindness appropriately, we should also know how to reciprocate; this is the prerequisite for mutual trust.

That's all I have to say. May we never have anything to do with each other again in this life. Take care of each other, and goodbye forever.

After saying that, Shen Zhao left without looking back.

"Shen Zhao! Don't go! I'm telling you, I won't let you go. You are my husband, and you will be forever!"

Yu Xiyan grabbed Shen Zhao's wrist, trying to salvage everything she was about to lose.

"let go!"

With a sharp shout, Shen Zhao flung Yu Xiyan's hand away without a second thought.

At the same time, a silver-gray bracelet attached to his wrist fell to the ground, but he didn't even bother to look at it and left immediately.

"In this life, I will prove my love for you with my actions!"

"You must wait for me, I will make you willingly come back to me!"

"Please don't leave me, Shen Zhao, my husband! Please don't leave me! I was wrong, I really know I was wrong!"

Yu Xiyan gripped the bracelet tightly, shouted at Chen Zhao's back, and tears instantly wet her delicate cheeks.

Unfortunately, Shen Zhao didn't even have the desire to stop, and soon disappeared from Yu Xiyan's sight.