The king who lost his country

Xie Lang missed her so much, and Zhao Lingying was willing to risk her life for her promise. She lived in the wistful sighs of her master, Lady Sun, and in the stories of "Long Live the Emperor" and "Live as Long as Heaven" given to her by Marquis Dingyuan, Li Mingyuan.

He, however, had absolutely no memory of her.

Even so, A-Qiu still felt waves of pain throbbing in her chest, a premonition of impending separation and endless sorrow.

It seemed to be a pain and regret hidden deep within the body, concealed in the blood.

The candlelight flickered, and Shangguan Yanxiu stood before the bed curtains, removing the hairpins, crowns, and pearl ornaments from her hair one by one.

She casually tossed aside the phoenix hairpin with its many tassels without a second thought, without the slightest hesitation.

After removing all her hair ornaments, her long hair cascaded down like a waterfall, making her figure appear even more beautiful and slender.

A Qiu tried to call out to her, but realized he couldn't make a sound.

Next came the changing of clothes. Even though only her figure could be vaguely seen through the curtain, it was clear that she was taking off her heavy and complicated empress's everyday clothes and finally changing into a simple, light, and unburdened plain dress.

After doing all this, Yanxiu paused for a moment, as if hesitating.

In the end, she still picked up a hairpin and put it in her hair.

The style of that hairpin, even when viewed through the curtain, appeared heavy and unadorned, quite unlike the elaborate and exquisite phoenix hairpin she had previously removed.

Even from a distance, Ah Qiu felt that the face looked somewhat familiar and very warm.

Is Yanxiu going to bed?

But A-Qiu suddenly felt something was amiss. Even though she had never lived in the palace of the imperial concubines, she could imagine that before the Empress went to bed, the removal of her jewelry and clothes would be done by a large number of palace servants. Why would Yan-Xiu be allowed to do all of this herself?

Moreover, apart from her and Yanxiu, there was no one else in the hall at this moment. Just by listening to the sounds, it was clear that even the palace servants on night duty were not there.

As she was lost in thought, she saw Yanxiu's slender figure walking straight to her bedside.

At this moment, her lighthearted mood seemed to vanish instantly. Every step she took towards the bedside was extremely slow, as if weighed down by an infinite weight.

A-Qiu's heart was in her throat. For some reason, she felt extremely nervous.

Come to think of it, although she had dreamed of Yanxiu more than once, and she was already a familiar face in her dreams, upon reflection, she seemed to have never seen Yanxiu's face in her dreams.

In other words, she didn't actually know what Yanxiu looked like.

But she knew everything about Yanxiu. Yanxiu's posture, her voice, her tone—everything Yanxiu did touched her heart.

She even thought Yanxiu might be the most beautiful person she had ever seen in the world, although in reality, they had never met.

A Qiu subconsciously held her breath, waiting for Yan Xiu to lift the bed curtains and reveal her true face.

Seeing Yanxiu standing by the bed, she slowly raised a hand and reached for the plain white gauze curtain.

A-Qiu could no longer say anything and could only wait with wide eyes.

The hand hovered in mid-air, seemingly trembling slightly, but ultimately did not touch the curtain.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment, and in A-Qiu's mind, it felt as if a lifetime had passed.

Through wind and rain, through the changing seasons, through sunshine and snow.

She suddenly heard sobbing.

The sound started as a suppressed sob, then grew louder and louder, and finally turned into a heart-wrenching cry.

The person outside the curtain was trembling, weeping silently.

A Qiu was filled with confusion.

She didn't know why Yanxiu was crying, but she couldn't say a word to comfort her.

She heard Yanxiu suppress his emotions and say in a low voice, "It's not that I'm hardening my heart to abandon you, it's just that half my life is over, and I find that I still want to live for myself one more time. If you weren't... the only heir of this dynasty, I would have taken you with me."

As A-Qiu listened to her confession, all he felt was a boundless emptiness in his heart.

It felt like a dull ache, but within that dull ache, there seemed to be a hint of joy.

She didn't know where Ah Xiu was going. But in her dream, it felt like she had known Ah Xiu for half a lifetime. She could always sense that Ah Xiu in her dream didn't seem happy.

Whether she was a young girl writing poems in her boudoir or a lonely woman in the palace, Ah Xiu was always melancholy.

She didn't know what decision Ah Xiu had made, but she could hear the determination and courage in her voice.

No matter how painful this decision was, she hoped that Ah Xiu could live for herself for once, instead of existing alone in the palace as the Empress Shangguan of Da Huan, letting her youthful beauty fade away.

I don't know if we will ever meet again in this life.

"But you must believe that you will always be in my heart."

For some reason, upon hearing this, A-Qiu felt a sudden, sharp pain in her heart, and almost had the urge to cry out.

Is this what it means to be so close yet so far, never to meet again in this lifetime?

She could clearly feel that every word the woman opposite her spoke contained heartbreaking sorrow and tenderness.

She tried, and tried even harder, to open her eyes wide, wanting to see the face behind the curtain clearly.

That was her childhood friend, someone she would dream about, someone who had been with her in another world.

But the raised hand ultimately did not lift the bed curtains.

Shangguan Yanxiu covered her face, turned around resolutely, and staggered out of the room.

Tears welled up and suddenly blurred A-Qiu's vision.

All she knew was that she was in tears.

Suddenly a dull, heavy sound came from outside, followed by the sound of a candlestick overturning and household items crashing to the ground.

Heavy breathing echoed outside the palace gates, growing louder as it approached.

There was a sound of heavy objects dragging on the ground; the sound was extremely familiar.

The heavy, animal-like panting and the sound of heavy objects dragging on the ground sounded so familiar.

A familiar object flashed through A Qiu's mind.

That was the Ancestral Dragon Sword that Xie Lang had seen before, over seven feet long, with golden patterns and a dazzling light.

Her heart suddenly clenched.

Ah Xiu is still outside. Ah Xiu doesn't know martial arts.

She was so anxious that she broke out in a cold sweat, but no matter what she did, she couldn't get up.

A burst of golden light flashed, and even through the curtains, one could feel the overwhelming killing intent sweeping in.

With a deafening crash, the outer screen shattered into pieces. The Ancestral Dragon Sword, radiating a golden light, was now embedded in front of her bed.

If it were just half a foot closer, it would be stuck into her body.

At this moment, A Qiu was so shocked that he didn't know what to do.

Yanxiu's figure reappeared before his eyes. She blocked his way, but he was forced to retreat step by step towards the bed.

She screamed, "You can't hurt her! She's your own flesh and blood!"

A tall, imposing man with disheveled hair loomed menacingly before the palace gates. His steps were unsteady, yet he exuded an imposing aura as he relentlessly approached Yanxiu.

But Ah Qiu could tell from his physique that it wasn't Xie Lang.

A dull, cold snort sounded, and he said, "If she were my flesh and blood, where would you be going right now?"

These two sentences seem unrelated, but Yanxiu was speechless when asked them. She could only tremble, yet she still risked her life to protect the bedside with all her might.

The man said coldly, "You're leaving anyway, why bother with her? The moment you leave, I'll kill her, and what can you do about it?"

Shangguan Yanxiu was initially speechless, but was eventually provoked and shouted angrily, "Sima Yan, you are indeed a beast!"

Only now did A Qiu realize that the disheveled man wielding the Ancestral Dragon Sword was none other than Sima Yan, the last emperor of the Great Huan Dynasty. No wonder, the Emperor's Sword could only be wielded by the Emperor; she should have realized it sooner.

Therefore, he was also Yanxiu's husband.

A Qiu's mind uncontrollably drifted to the last emperor mentioned in historical records and by the mouths of previous palace servants.

"Debauched and immoral" is the most common assessment of him.

During his reign, the Music Bureau flourished to over ten thousand members, divided into ten sections, and the Tangli Pavilion attracted countless beautiful women from various countries. In the early part of his reign, he was supported by the talented and capable Grand Secretary Shangguan Jin, who, with his "green robe and sword, conquered the Jiangnan region," and won a great victory in crossing the Yangtze River. However, in the last few years, especially after Shangguan Jin's retirement, the atmosphere in the court deteriorated. Flatterers formed cliques, deceiving superiors and subordinates. By the time Hengzhou rebelled and the navy sailed downstream to Jianzhang Palace, there was no one left in the court who could be of any use.

The Former Huan were not destroyed by the southward advance of the Hu horses, but were directly destroyed by the incompetent ruler's neglect of state affairs and the infighting among treacherous officials.

A Qiu never expected that he would see this legendary, doomed king in person at this moment.

Upon hearing Yan Xiu's words, Sima Yan threw his head back and laughed loudly, shaking the dust off the beams. After a moment, he said fiercely, "I may be a beast, but how much better are you?"

He pressed forward relentlessly, his voice filled with resentment: "The mother of the nation, a renowned socialite, the most famous talented woman of the Shangguan family, yet she dares to elope from the palace for a man! Shangguan Yanxiu, though I am not a good emperor, I have never considered abandoning the responsibilities the Sima family has entrusted to me. No matter how unwilling I am, no matter how dissolute I may be, I have never thought of abandoning all of this. But you, you have utterly discarded the dignity of the royal family and the aristocracy, corrupting it beyond recognition!"

This almost earth-shattering news left A-Qiu speechless with astonishment.

Yanxiu's plan to escape from the palace tonight was actually to do so secretly.

And it was all for a man.

At this thought, even Ah Qiu's back was covered in cold sweat.

Yanxiu's audacity is extraordinary. Even for ordinary noblewomen, eloping without the watchful eyes of numerous servants is unimaginable. Yanxiu, as the mother of the nation, who has never experienced the hardships of life, actually believes she can easily escape the palace walls with only a maid and a servant. This is truly overconfident.

At this moment, Shangguan Yanxiu seemed to have made up her mind. She straightened her back, regaining her calm and composed demeanor, but still stood firmly by the bedside, saying calmly, "Since entering the palace, I have been practically imprisoned. Except for major celebrations where I must appear before my subjects, or when foreign envoys like General Li visit, Da Huan no longer needs me, this empress in name only. If you need an empress, just appoint one from among your beauties; I believe Uncle Thirteen will not object."

A Qiu had heard Shangguan Yuqi mention her thirteenth uncle, and Yan Xiu was Shangguan Yuqi's aunt, so the thirteenth uncle Yan Xiu mentioned was Shangguan Jin.

She paused for a moment, then continued, "As for the Shangguan family, what kind of person is my thirteenth uncle? He is insightful and magnanimous, and he would never use national affairs to make things difficult for a junior like me. I have already married once in accordance with the family's wishes, and the result is obvious to all. The Shangguan family will not refuse me. As for the thoughts of other members of the gentry, I cannot and do not want to care."

She said calmly, "Your Majesty indulges in banquets and pleasures every day, building palaces and collecting beauties. Aren't there many people from the gentry who have impeached you? Yet you still do as you please."

Sima Yan listened, growing angrier with each word, his breathing becoming increasingly heavy. Every word Shangguan Yanxiu uttered struck at his weak points, leaving him with no way to refute.

He said in a hoarse voice, "So, you have no choice but to leave?"