Chapter 2: A Big Bunch of Bad Peach Blossoms
When Yaye walked into the study, Beichen was concentrating on reading a book.
She thought that last month, everything in Elysian had finally gotten back on track, and she could finally relax and have a good rest - but now it seems that this is not the case at all.
The scene before him was the most common scene he had seen in the past two years - she had been seizing every second to learn political tactics, cramming all the knowledge and academic knowledge of Senagard, desperately trying to understand the ethnic groups and their habits and customs living on every map of every country, and studying the animals and plants that live in various terrains. It was as if she wanted to pour the entire national library into her head.
Yaye restrained her breath. Beichen didn't notice that the Dark Seed had walked up to her due to his stealth ability. She continued to turn the pages of the book intently, frowning occasionally and writing on it with a pen. The expression on her face was cold and solemn.
This was the royal side of her that had been separated from her after she founded Elysion.
Yaye breathed a sigh of relief silently.
Compared to two years ago, she has become much more mature and outstanding. Not only has her way of thinking become more sharp and decisive under Xiaoying's training, but her appearance has also become more mature and charming. Sometimes, a small action she makes unintentionally will carry a vague and ambiguous hint - probably because she is no longer a girl who knows nothing. This can be attributed to Heihuo and Sujie.
She has become more and more dazzling. Wherever she goes, she will receive looks of admiration, longing, and even love. Although she herself seems not to notice it at all, for several people around her, the sense of crisis has reached such a high level that even Xifeng, who is a taciturn person, can't help but express his feelings to her.
But even so, she was only a 21-year-old woman who had just reached adulthood - no, according to Senagade's calculation method (one year and seventeen months), she was only - ridiculously, only 15 years old.
Yaye suddenly felt that it was too idealistic to let her bear such a heavy burden as a matter of course. Although he thought at that time that she had so many people around her, including himself, to support and protect her, she shouldn't be too tired - but now it seems that this is not the case at all.
No matter how strong they are, or how reliable their backing is, when the critical moment comes, it can only be her, and must be her, who stands out and walks in the front. No one can replace her - because she has become the heart of this country.
——It was these people who worked together to push her onto this platform from which she could not retreat.
Yaye's heart moved, and soft, sour anger and self-blame surged into his heart, and he couldn't help but smack his lips.
Hearing the voice, Beichen looked up sharply. When he saw Yaye standing in front of the desk, the indifference he had when he entered the imperial state instantly peeled off and melted away like ice and snow encountering the sun.
"Ya Ye!!"
Just like a child who has been playing in the mud and sees his parents coming to pick him up, Beichen dropped his book without hesitation, jumped up from the desk, ran to the child, and looked him up and down.
"What are you looking at? We're not going to war. Do you think I, Lord Yaye, can't even handle such a small matter?"
Yaye brought her into his arms and tightened his arms around her waist boldly yet gently.
Beichen's face instantly turned red, and he struggled slightly:
"Uh, it's just that I haven't seen Yaye for almost two weeks. I miss him a little bit, that's all. It's not that I don't trust Yaye."
Yaye glared at her, and she immediately shrank her neck. Then she was carried to the sofa by Yaye like a chicken - or rather, she sat in his arms.
"Ya, Yaye...that..."
Beichen seemed to be not used to this ambiguous attitude - although Yaye had always taken advantage of her as he pleased for so long, she was still a little uncomfortable with it.
"Did the drug addiction kick in while I was gone?"
"Yes, there was one time, but it might be thanks to the spirit crystal that Lingdiel gave me. Now the attacks are not as terrible as they were at the beginning. I can get through it if I endure it."
Yaye nodded, then narrowed his eyes and started to get to the point.
"I heard that you rejected Xifeng?"
“…”
Hearing the faint questioning in Yaye's words, Beichen stopped struggling and lowered his head.
"Xifeng is a very thin-skinned guy. You hurt him this time."
“Huh?!”
Beichen looked up and stared in surprise, while Yaye slapped the back of her head a little weakly.
"You stupid Matcha, didn't you notice?!"
"Because he's been avoiding me since the day before yesterday... But when I passed by the Imperial Guards camp today, I saw him training Imperial Guard candidates. He didn't seem to be unusual..."
"Yeah, I just doubled the training volume for those stupid guys and added a lot of weird training methods."
“…”
Beichen's mouth twitched.
"If you really don't like him, then order him to find another woman to sharpen his blade. Otherwise, he won't be in good enough shape to handle the violent iron ghost on Moonquake Night."
Beichen's heart twitched inexplicably:
"No, I just..."
"Don't bring Xiang Ying out."
Yaye interrupted Beichen and stared at her blood-red eyes, with a hint of displeasure and complaint in his eyes.
"Xifeng is a fool to accept this excuse, but I'm tired of it. You'd better see clearly who has been supporting you, protecting you, and giving you warmth and happiness for the past two and a half years. It's us, not that coward who escaped at the last minute!"
“…No, don’t say that to Xiangying…!”
Beichen protested weakly, his hand unconsciously grabbing Yaye's collar.
"Our patience is limited. If you're not interested, we won't humiliate ourselves. If you say something clear, we'll leave immediately. If you're interested, then don't delay and use Xiang Ying as a shield. After all, you still can't get over that hurdle, right? Make no mistake, you're now Yaxiu Tuling, the Wasteland Queen of Senagard, not Xiang Beichen of Feinheim! Don't bring your ideas here! Since you're not interested in us, then don't provoke us!"
"No! It's not a shield. I'm afraid Xiang Ying can't..."
"Can't accept it? What right does he have to choose whether to accept it or not? If he's gone for a few months, I can choose to forgive him; if he's gone for a year, I'll forgive him as long as he comes back; but he's been gone for two and a half years! And he's lying on the ground sleeping soundly. Each of us is wasting every ounce of our life energy working for this newly established country, and you don't want to think about our feelings, but think about his first?"
"Stop talking!"
Beichen's voice suddenly became louder. He broke free from Yaye's arms, jumped off the sofa, and walked to the door.
"I didn't mean to hurt you... That's not what I meant, but... Forget it, let me be quiet for a while, Yaye."
Then he left without listening to Yaye's answer.
Yaye remained sitting on the sofa for a few seconds, sneered, stood up, and chased in the direction Beichen left.
That's not the case.
It's not like what you said, Yaye. Beichen cried bitterly in his heart.
Just like you said, you have been with me for the past two years, and what is imprinted in my mind is your voice, your smile.
When I was tired, it was Heihuai and Sujie who played messy jokes to relax me; when I was at a loss, it was Xiaopeng who showed me the way by hiding his concern in a sarcastic tone; when I was lost, it was Atlas's frank and lovely comfort and Xifeng's cold words that encouraged me to cheer up; when I was tired of reading, Yinyue would take Longyun and Naraka to invite me to the arena for competition; if I needed something, as long as I asked for it, I would definitely see Yagad handing it to me with a serious look the next day; if I encountered any difficulties, it was you, Yaye, who would always easily wake me up with a few words.
Two years, thirty-four months, which is almost three years in Earth time.
For three years, no matter whether I am happy or sad, busy or leisurely, in such a fulfilling and colorful day, all the traces around me are occupied by your figures. Sometimes I even have to rely on drug addiction to suddenly realize that I haven't thought of Xiangying for a long time.
How could I forget.
Xiang Ying is the most special one. ...How can I just accept his absence?
It is because you are becoming more and more important that I have to repeat Xiang Ying's name over and over again and force myself not to forget him.
I don't want to give up on you, but I just can't accept myself enjoying being surrounded by you so comfortably.
"Beichen?"
A deep male voice interrupted Beichen's thoughts. Beichen came back to her senses suddenly and found that she seemed to have been sitting on the large hollow window in the corridor of the bedroom for a long time. Gu Yinyue stood in front of her at some point, and at the end of the corridor, Yaye was leaning against a pillar with his arms folded across his chest, looking at her with a half-smile and a gloomy look in his eyes.
"Beichen, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?"
Gu Yinyue spoke with a concerned look in his eyes and reached out to touch her forehead, as if to check her temperature.
"No, nothing." Beichen smiled guiltily, "What does Yinyue want to talk to me about?"
"Well, I want to apply..."
"Ginyue. Don't ever use the word apply with me."
Perhaps because she had just been scolded by Yaye, Beichen was a little sensitive to Gu Yinyue's wording. She immediately softened her voice and interrupted Gu Yinyue.
Gu Yinyue was stunned for a second, then pursed his lips and nodded:
"I want to leave Elysien for a while and go back to Youyu."
"……What?"
Beichen's heartbeat suddenly quickened, and all kinds of bad guesses instantly flooded into his mind.
Yin Yue is leaving?
Did he no longer want to stay in Elysien? Was he tired of the new kingdom's affairs? Or did he just dislike the wild and dangerous environment here?
No... Could it be... Could it be that her rejection of Xifeng chilled their hearts?
So Yin Yue...
"You...you want to leave?!"
Beichen anxiously grabbed Gu Yinyue's sleeve, his voice trembling noticeably and his eyes reddened.
——It's ridiculous that the queen, who couldn't shed a tear even because of the addiction to the Blood Epiphyllum Dew and the backlash brought by the Fallen Dark Seed, suddenly became as fragile as a child when facing the departure of an important person.
"You can tell me what I did wrong! I will try my best to change. Xifeng and I are not like that! You..."
Don’t go, I have already regarded you as a part of my life!
Beichen's reaction was so big that Gu Yinyue was a little surprised. Even Yaye beside him raised his eyebrows in surprise:
...Why, was he wrong?
Seeing this, although Gu Yinyue didn't know why Beichen was so excited, he still reached out and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry, I'm just leaving temporarily. I want to bring my mother here."
“…Eh? M-Mother?!”
Gu Yinyue seldom talked about himself, because when he talked about Youyu, his expression would become very lost, so Beichen never dared to ask about his family situation - it seemed that his mother still lived in Youyu.
"Yes. Elysion has settled down, and we can take her over. This is you..." After looking at Beichen's expression for a few seconds, Gu Yinyue smiled with a doting look and changed the subject, "This is our country. I believe she will live more comfortably here."
"You... aren't you leaving?"
Beichen murmured the question in disbelief, while Gu Yinyue raised his eyebrows in disbelief.
"Why should I leave? This 'home' is what so many of us have worked so hard to build, isn't it?"
"Hmm!"
Beichen pouted a little aggrievedly and reached out to hug Gu Yinyue tightly.
"It's all my fault. I was wrong. I'm a rotten person, a stinky pickle, and a slug... I love you guys the most... I just hope Yin Yue doesn't leave. Mmm!"
However, faced with this kind of intimate and coquettish behavior, the ascetic monk Gu Yinyue seemed a little at a loss. His face flushed, his hands in the air, not knowing where to put them, and he began to speak incoherently:
"Bei, Beichen... Men and women shouldn't touch each other!... This... I don't, it's not that I don't want to, I'm saying... if you, you're interested... no, why not wait until my mother comes and then... propose to her..."
Upon hearing this, Beichen and Yaye, who was watching from afar, felt their legs go weak at the same time and almost slipped to the ground!
Propose marriage! ?
Seeing Gu Yinyue blushing and turning his head away to avoid Beichen's gaze, Beichen stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say. Was this to mean that she was going to take the betrothal gifts, speak well of Gu Yinyue's mother, and marry this tall, strong, and honest man?!
The image that appeared in his mind was like a 100,000-volt [beep] Nine-Day Divine Thunder like Pikachu descending to the world. Beichen could only twitch his lips to interrupt his delusion.
“I-I’m leaving!!”
As if a young girl accidentally confessed her love to her secret crush, the cool ascetic monk peeled Beichen from his arms with an awkward look on his face, then turned around and left quickly.
"Wow, wow, do you have to be so innocent?"
A figure walked out from the corner of the corridor on the other side - it was Li Ye.
Li Ye is currently serving as the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Imperial Palace. She basically decides the allocation and work arrangements of the palace's guards and maids, as well as Beichen's itinerary and visiting plans (sometimes Xiao Ying would also intervene). Beichen had signed a contract with her before, but later, because she often heard the meaningless bickering of Hei Huo Su Jie and Xi Feng through the telepathic communication channel, she was fed up and terminated the contract, leaving Beichen depressed for several days like an abandoned puppy. However, she did not leave because of this. Instead, she happily stayed there and even took on the important position out of loyalty.
Originally, no one would feel comfortable handing over the position of Minister of the Interior, a position that has close contact with the king, to Li Ye, who was known as the "traitor". But then one day, Xiao Ying and Yagad told everyone in a private meeting about Li Ye's past that they had investigated, and everyone felt relieved. After all, it would be more appropriate to hand over personal matters to someone of the same sex.
As time went by, Li Ye became a familiar face to everyone - but on the other hand, because of her chaotic style, the men around Beichen were also afraid that Beichen would be led astray by her. So every time she put on a dignified smile and started saying some perverted and fierce words, the group of people would immediately start making jokes and then take Beichen away.
Of course, this is all off topic.
At this moment, Li Ye was playing with a strand of hair in her hand and walked up to Beichen with a gentle smile on her face. At the same time, she stretched out her hand and rubbed Beichen's face with her palm.
"With such a great figure and such a pure heart, how did you manage to catch such a beauty? Give her to me, please."
"No way." Beichen's face was twisted and distorted by her rubbing, and he uttered a vague sound, "Li Ye is a pervert who abandons his lover after having sex with him. I won't let you bully Yin Yue. Besides, your type is obviously the slender and beautiful young man. I saw you abducting Tuancao from the Short Sword Division of the Night Cavalry a few days ago!"
"whispering sound."
After being exposed, Li Ye let go of his hand with a bit of boredom and rolled his eyes.
"You have no taste. Just because you have a good figure doesn't mean you can't dominate in bed, you big M! No wonder you always get squeezed and twisted by them. Look at what kind of people you like! You're useless!"
Li Ye glared and pouted in frustration, while taking out a bunch of colorful document cards from the storage space and stuffing them into Beichen's hands.
"Now, let's get down to business! I could stop it a few months ago, but now I can't. You have to handle it yourself!"
"What?"
Beichen looked down at the piece of paper in his arms in confusion, and then his face turned pale.
"Marriage alliance!?"
As Beichen wailed, Yaye immediately rushed to the two of them, grabbed a handful of the papyrus in Beichen's arms, took a look at it, then bared his blood-sucking fangs and uttered a curse word:
“I [BEEP!]!”
Not to mention that royal families and nobles from more than a dozen countries have requested marriage alliances, even many nobles from other countries who have recently immigrated are asking Beichen to find a husband as soon as possible. Judging from the number, it seems that this request from the outside world has been going on for a long time!
Beichen looked at Li Ye for help with tears in his eyes:
"What should I do? I don't want to get married!"
But Li Ye was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling:
"Ah, speaking of which, last month and this week, Arcadia and the Giron Empire sent two large groups of handsome men respectively. The ones from Arcadia are all pretty, delicate and tender-skinned. I don't think you like them, so if you don't want them, just give them to me. The ones from the Giron Empire, you must like, all of them are burly, with broad shoulders and strong backs. The size of the Armstrong swivel cannon is probably quite—"
"Li Ye, go somewhere cool and have fun!"
Yaye roared angrily and grabbed Beichen by the collar.
"Don't tell me you really can't get rid of these guys! You have one week to deal with them, or you'll be eating my Throat Severing Zephyr's explosive bombs and Atlas's Protoss cannons, you bastard!"
Then he dragged Beichen away angrily.
But Li Ye was not frightened by Ya Ye. Instead, he continued to shout at the backs of the two people:
"But the young prince of the Valentine Empire and the Duke of Panatu arrived in the capital yesterday afternoon and today at noon. I don't have the dignity to stop them. Queen Yaxiu is so lucky! The young prince of Valentine is a beautiful boy who was raised on honey. Hahahaha!"
Beichen followed Yaye forward with a green face:
"I, I, I... Is it really better for me to ask Yin Yue's mother for marriage?"
Yaye stopped and Beichen failed to brake in time and bumped into his back.
Then the white-haired Fallen Dark Race turned around, revealing his sharp teeth in a sinister smile, which frightened Beichen so much that his hair almost stood on end.
"Aside from Gu Yinyue, Glenshe, Redis, and Rui, do you dare to marry any other human male?"
"Wait, the last three have big problems, especially Rui!"
Yaye snorted, looked away and turned his head away.
"Gu Yinyue is good. He will definitely give you a child with excellent qualities. That way, at least you won't have to worry about not having offspring."
“…”
Beichen was stunned for a few seconds, then came back to his senses.
Is that so... Even a free-spirited warrior like Yaye still cares about the fact that he cannot produce offspring with humans.
Born in the Star Mine and died in the Tomb of Weapons, they, except the Gemini, were unable to enjoy family affection, but they actually did yearn for this kind of love.
As if sensing the pain in Beichen's eyes, Yaye coughed lightly and changed the subject.
"Do you know that the position of the first combat weapon has changed hands?"
"Yeah, I heard from Xiaopeng that it's a weapon of Elysion nationality... I'm a little curious how he showed up."
Yaye pondered for a while and suddenly gave a strange smile.
"My subordinates told me that they are heading towards the capital and are temporarily staying in the settlement in Panlong Gorge. Should we go and take a look? You haven't left the palace in a while, right? Have you got any rust on your skills?"
"My skills won't rust. I practice every day!" Beichen clenched his fist. "But Li Ye said that Valentine's prince—ah."
She understood. Yaye wanted her to hide for a while to escape those messy proposals!
"Okay, let's go now! Tonight!"
Maybe it was because he was a little bored after staying at home for so long, Beichen suddenly became excited:
"I'll go inform everyone, Yaye, get ready!"
So, that night, Beichen, Heihuo Sujie, Atlas, Xifeng and Yayeshen left the palace unnoticed under the protection of Yagad. It was not until the next day when Li Ye was ready to come and see the fun that he discovered that Beichen's bedroom was empty, with only a note on the bed.
"Dear Li Ye: I'm going to the Grand Canyon to meet the new number one warrior! Please don't miss me! Those handsome men are given to Li Ye, please accept them without hesitation! You will definitely help me make up a perfect excuse, right? I believe you!
──Ash."
The handwriting on the note didn't look like Beichen's. It looked more like Heihuo had written it while playing. The handwriting was sloppy and contained a hint of mockery, which made Li Ye's veins pop out.
"You're such a good fellow, Yaxiu Tuling, you've gone so far to hide from peach blossoms!"
Fan Guzhang crumpled the paper in his hand and laughed through gritted teeth.
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