Chapter 80 I Can Win Him Back Better Than Him

Pei Xiaoyun suddenly opened her eyes and flicked her fingers twice.

It was incredibly incredible, yet it stirred his heart to the extreme.

She actually... was willing to come?

He was already able to barely sit up, wearing a dark coat, and leaned against the headboard, his pale lips parted: "Let her in quickly."

A moment later, the door opened and closed, and a slender figure slowly entered.

Mingying wore a plain white dress, her hair half-tied up, her face fair and clean. Standing by the window, bathed in the light and shadow, she was surrounded by a bright halo of light and shadow, like a blooming white lotus.

Pei Xiaoyun stared blankly, his thoughts momentarily frozen, wishing he could stay in this painting with her forever, never to wake up again.

His gaze gradually fell on her eyebrows and eyes, but her still cold eyes were like a knife, piercing through this beautiful picture.

His voice was hoarse: "I originally thought you wouldn't come."

Mingying's words were flat and emotionless: "Now Langzhou is full of your people. You sent someone to find me. If I don't come, what do you intend to do to me and my brother?"

Upon hearing her words, Pei Xiaoyun's eyes gradually dimmed.

In her heart, he had always been a despicable and shameless person.

He didn't want to force her into anything, or for them to grow to hate each other further, which was something he absolutely didn't want to see.

“You have misunderstood me.” He looked at her gently and patiently. “I did not force you to come. If you had not come today, I would not have done anything to you or your brother.”

"Alright, then I'm off." Ming turned around decisively without any hesitation, her skirt billowing in the light and leaving a fleeting shadow.

"Don't go."

Pei Xiaoyun's throat tightened, and she immediately spoke up. This shout actually made her stop in her tracks.

Seeing her hesitation, his eyes lit up; she was indeed wavering deep down.

She had killed him, and he had shielded Shen Mingshu from a fatal blow.

It's all the same life, whether you choose to live or die.

Seeing that she was willing to stay for him for a moment, all the pain in his body vanished. "Since you're already here, can you stay with me... talk to me for a bit?"

He was begging her not to turn around.

He no longer wanted to refer to himself as "朕" (Zhen, the imperial "I") in front of her; the word was cold and impersonal, as if it created a barrier between them.

There was no difference between them.

Mingying sighed: "There's really nothing to say to you."

“We’ve been together for so many years, I remember everything,” Pei Xiaoyun interrupted her.

His voice was louder than hers, as if he could speak quickly so that she wouldn't refuse him.

They were truly together for the longest time, through love and hate, infatuation and entanglement, for eight long years.

Over the past eight years, he has seen her as naive, stubborn, and ruthless. She could have remained forever in her innocent and pure state, but it was he who, while belittling her sincerity, urged her to hate him, leading to the current situation.

"Do you remember? In Yangzhou that year, you came to the government office to pick me up in the heavy snow with an umbrella. On the way there, you slipped and fell in the snow and scraped your knee."

That was the Yangzhou prefect making things difficult for him, making him search through files of an old case from decades ago. He spent the whole day in the county government's file room, unaware that it was snowing heavily outside the window.

When he heard from his servant that his family had come to fetch him, he knew it was her.

He walked out of the archives and saw her standing in the snow, petite and wearing a plain red dress, her face red from the cold, holding an umbrella and hugging another one in her arms.

He went over and saw that her clothes were wet, so he asked her if she had fallen.

She nodded and said it didn't hurt, but her walking posture was strange. When they returned to the mansion, he picked her up and lifted her skirt to see that her knees were swollen.

Born into a prestigious family, he remained proud even in his impoverished state. This was the first time he had ever taken the medicine bottle and applied it to her.

As he spoke each word, Mingying slowly clenched her fist, as if recalling something extremely unpleasant, and her face flushed.

"The next day, you were playing with snowballs by yourself in the snow. I said it was cold and asked you to come in, but you didn't want to. Instead, you wrapped a snowball in it and threw it at me."

Ignoring her reaction, Pei Xiaoyun continued recounting those past events, her eyes reddening slightly.

Back then, she was still a spoiled, childlike girl. Seeing how much he doted on her, she dared to take advantage of his affection and become arrogant. When he applied medicine to her, she dared to throw snowballs at him the next day.

He wasn't angry; he just let her do as she pleased.

If only we could go back to that time, he would definitely cherish her.

"Don't you find it ridiculous to say these things now?" Mingying's voice was deep.

That year felt like a lifetime ago to her.

Her heart had gone through countless ups and downs, dying many times, and was now indifferent to everyone.

Pei Xiaoyun said blankly, "You don't know. I thought you were gone for two years, and I spent them thinking about these things. Those scenes kept running through my mind day and night. Even now, I remember every single day and night of those three years in Yangzhou clearly."

Those three years were the most difficult days of his life. He was stigmatized and, as a lowly official, anyone could trample on him. Therefore, he schemed and plotted to climb the ranks, focusing only on power and ignoring many other things.

He was the one who erased that unbearable memory, and he was also the one who picked it up again and cherished it carefully.

Because those were the years when she loved him the most.

"I regret it." For the first time, he said earnestly in front of her, "It's too late for me to regret it now. I only hope that I can make it up to you in some way."

Born into a prestigious family, he was arrogant and cold-hearted. However, after being betrayed, he was filled with hatred and his only thought was to seize power and avenge his family.

They even believed that there was no true sincerity in the world, only self-interest and entertainment.

But her true feelings were right in front of him all along, but he didn't understand or see them. So he let her down and abused her, thinking that she wouldn't feel pain or get tired.

He only regretted it when she was in so much pain and exhausted that she could no longer bear it.

Mingying felt only peace in her heart. Hating someone is exhausting; it's better to forget them.

"I don't need your compensation. Let's let each other go."

“You don’t love Lin Xian, do you?” Pei Xiaoyun ignored her words and suddenly said in a frenzy, “There’s nothing I don’t know.”

He knew everything; he found out that Lin Xian wasn't dead, she just had amnesia.

She left Lin Xian in the Northwest, but never told him about her past.

If she truly loved him, they should have been together long ago, not like this.

She was afraid, afraid to face Lin Xian.

Running away out of guilt is not love; being willing to do anything to win back someone out of guilt is true love.

Mingying lowered her eyelids, her fingernails digging into her palms, leaving clear marks.

She didn't answer him. After a long while, she said softly, "Stop deceiving yourself. Who I love and what I do are none of your business."

Pei Xiaoyun gave a hoarse, cold laugh, emphasizing her words: "Everything he did for you, I can do for you too. I can do it even better than him. Whatever you want, I can give you."

"You love me. Even though you killed me, it cannot be denied that you have only ever loved me and never loved him in your life."

He was the only one who could win her love.

Love and hate are both on her mind, poured into her heart and soul, and only he can receive these emotions from her.

"Enough, stop talking." Mingying's voice suddenly became sharp, and her eyes were red.

Pei Xiaoyun stared intently at her face. Her delicate eyebrows were furrowed in anger. The more agitated she was, the more it showed that she cared. And caring meant that she hadn't completely abandoned the past.

If hatred has suppressed love, then he will come to quell her hatred.

“I know a way. There is a kind of herb in Xizhou that can be made into pills that can prolong life. No matter how hard it is to find, I will find it for your brother so that he can live a good life and atone for my sins.”

His eyes were slightly red, and he said urgently, "Lin Xian lost a finger for you, and I can return it to him."

After speaking, he actually took out a dagger from under his pillow, unsheathed it, and brandished the gleaming blade, about to stab it into his own palm.

A sharp white light flashed before her eyes, and Mingying trembled. She closed her eyes and cursed him angrily, "Pei Xiaoyun, you madman!"

Pei Xiaoyun seemed to have thought of something, stopped what she was doing, and looked at her: "Yes, it's your turn to take action to relieve your hatred. Even if you want to stab me again, I will have no regrets."

He beckoned to her, handed her the knife, and said with a hint of seduction, "Aying, come here."

He observed her reaction; would she really take action?

He didn't believe that she could bring herself to hurt him after he saved Shen Mingshu and suffered such serious injuries.

If she could bring herself to do it, she wouldn't have echoed his wisdom in the clinic and among the people; if she could bring herself to do it, she probably wouldn't be standing here talking to him today.

"Why are you forcing me? I was so close to leaving you forever." Mingying's defenses finally crumbled.

The first time, she ran away for three years before meeting him; the second time, she ran away for two years before he found her again.

"I don't love you anymore, and I don't have the energy to hate you. I just want to go somewhere without you and spend the rest of my life there."

“I won’t go back to Beijing with you. I don’t want to go anywhere. I’ll stay in the Northwest.”

“That’s alright.” Pei Xiaoyun’s chest heaved violently as he immediately replied, “I won’t force you to come back with me. Once this campaign against the bandits is a great victory and the Northwest is at peace, I will come to the Northwest to be with you.”

Her promise not to leave was already her biggest concession. As long as he was by her side, he would always have a chance to win her back.

He had sat on the throne and enjoyed the taste of power, but perhaps he had had enough, and power was no longer so appealing.

From now on, he will do everything he can to fulfill her wishes, as long as she agrees.

"I'm leaving." Mingying didn't respond to him, turning her eyes away. "Don't send your people to look for me again."

“Okay.” Pei Xiaoyun nodded in surprise, feeling overjoyed at her concession.

Mingying closed the door and vigorously wiped the moisture from the corner of her eyes, making the skin red.

It was as if what she had just shed in front of him was the thing she hated most, and now that she had achieved her goal, she could hardly bear it.

She really wanted to take the knife, but reason told her that she couldn't kill him. If she stabbed him again, they would be entangled in an endless struggle.

However, she would not sit idly by and be imprisoned by him invisibly any longer.

Her eyes gleamed coldly. He wanted to repay her, so she would make him repay her, let him taste what it felt like to have done something to her.

In the following days, Pei Xiaoyun's injuries gradually improved, and he was able to sit at his desk and draw a map of the marching route.

The Wuhuan Kingdom suffered a crushing defeat this time and retreated to its own territory to recuperate. Therefore, they had ample time to deploy their troops. This time, he was determined to break through their borders in one fell swoop and give her and her people a peaceful northwest.

At the same time, he did not forget his promise to Mingying, and he immediately sent people to Xizhou to find the rare herbs that could prolong life.

This is what he owes Shen Mingshu. Shen Mingshu is the person Mingying values ​​most. Only by mending this rift can he and Mingying have even a one in ten thousand chance of getting back together.

"No matter what method you use or how much gold and silver you spend, you must find it for me."

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Author's Note: Pei Gou is deceiving himself again. [doge emoji]