Mei Zhixuan flicked his sleeves, still stubbornly insisting, "I don't care. As long as I trample them all under my feet and make them bow down to me, I will be the only king in this spiritual realm, and no one can stop me from doing anything! The harm and humiliation they once inflicted on me, I will soon make them repay a thousandfold."
"Soon... Your Highness, do you mean that you have already..." Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuan Yue was instantly stunned.
She then began to carefully examine Mei Zhixuan from head to toe, and after a long while, her gaze lingered on his seemingly confident face.
Just now, in a moment of reflection, I belatedly realized that the person in front of me had changed since returning from Beilie.
Seeing the strange look in Xuan Yuan Yue's eyes, Mei Zhi Xuan realized that he had said something inappropriate. He immediately looked away from Xuan Yuan Yue's face and turned to hide in the dark night outside the window, trying to conceal his true feelings.
Xuan Yuan Yue found it hard to believe, yet her intuition was so certain.
Staring blankly at his retreating figure for a moment, she could only manage a breathy inquiry: "Could it be, could it be that Your Highness has really, really found her?"
Upon hearing this, Mei Zhixuan's heart skipped a beat, but he pretended to be clueless and continued, "What are you looking for? What are you talking about? I don't understand!"
The more he pretended to be confused, the more certain Xuan Yuan Yue became.
Just then, a gust of bleak autumn wind blew in through the window, causing the candlelight on the desk to flicker on and off.
A chill swept over her, and she tightened the pinkish-purple coat she was wearing, a wave of sorrow washing over her.
Things have already come to this point, and I never expected that Mei Zhixuan would still be trying to keep it from her.
After much deliberation, Xuan Yuan Yue gritted her teeth and finally decided to break through the thin veil of secrecy that had always existed between them, a veil they both knew about.
She composed herself, then slowly walked to the desk and sat down. She picked up her calligraphy and paintings expressing her longing for her homeland and looked at them for a while before saying, "What Yue'er is talking about is the powerful force of the guardians of Western Qin. Has Your Highness already found that force and obtained it?"
As expected, the room fell silent after Xuan Yuan Yue said this, and Mei Zhi Xuan did not deny it at all.
"Hmph..." Upon seeing this, Xuan Yuan Yue let out a cold snort that sounded like self-mockery.
She looked up at Mei Zhixuan's guilty-looking back and asked, "Does Your Highness think that Yue'er was unaware that Your Highness's true intention was to extract the secrets of the guardians of Western Qin from Yue'er before agreeing to the marriage alliance?"
"I……"
At this moment, Mei Zhixuan truly couldn't say the word "no".
Seeing that he didn't even offer a perfunctory reply, Xuan Yuan Yue's heart instantly turned ice-cold.
She slowly rose and walked to the candlelight by the desk. Picking up a sharp pair of scissors, she trimmed the excess wick as she recalled, "Initially, your Dongning Kingdom refused the marriage alliance, but then you suddenly appeared before my Uncle Qin alone and personally agreed to it. Uncle Qin knew long ago that although you were from the Dongning royal family, you were not valued by the old ruler of Dongning. He also discovered that although you appeared to be indifferent to worldly affairs, you had always been ambitious, so he knew that you must have made some arrangements. When I married into Dongning, Uncle Qin had already guessed your intentions."
"Since you've already guessed it, why did you still marry me? Why put yourself in such a dilemma?" Mei Zhixuan asked in a deep voice, his hands behind his back.
"Why?" Xuan Yuan Yue smiled coldly and asked.
As the candle wick burned down, the room became much brighter, and Xuan Yuan Yue gently put down the scissors in her hand.
She turned back and approached Mei Zhixuan's lonely figure, stopping to gaze at him intently for a long time. She frowned and softly said, "Her hairpins are disheveled, her phoenix hairpins hang loosely. Her hairpins and hairpins hang limply, her pillow is askew. The moon sets behind the jade screen, the water clock drips softly. We've told you everything, both mortal and celestial, only our two hearts know. Autumn day, fallen petals fill our hair. Whose young man is that on the road, so dashing? I intend to marry him, for life. Even if I am heartlessly abandoned, I will not be ashamed."
Upon hearing this, Mei Zhixuan turned around and looked at Xuan Yuan Yue's red eyes, his heart breaking.
He strode forward, reached out and pulled her into his arms, lowered his head and planted a deep kiss on her forehead, then rested his smooth chin on her forehead, holding her tightly and saying affectionately, "Yue'er..."
A familiar hug and a heartfelt call caused tears that had been welling up in Xuan Yuan Yue's eyes to instantly stream down her cheeks.
"Please, Your Highness, listen to Yue'er just this once, just this once. For the rest of my life, Yue'er will listen to Your Highness in everything else, okay?" Xuan Yuan Yue nestled against Mei Zhi Xuan's broad chest, still trying to persuade him.
Seeing that he remained silent, Xuan Yuan Yue continued, "Your Highness, even if you defeat anyone, you can never defeat Qin Huang Shu. To fight a losing battle against a powerful enemy, to act rashly, Your Highness will inevitably lose. A war will separate countless couples by death, shatter countless families, and leave countless innocent children without loved ones, destined for a life of loneliness..."
At this moment, Mei Zhixuan was deeply moved. He had never known that Xuan Yuan Yue's feelings for him had always been so pure.
No matter what Xuanyuan Yue said at this moment, he didn't want to pay attention to anything. He just wanted to hold her tightly like this and feel her warmth.
Suddenly, Xuan Yuan Yue seemed to understand something again, and murmured to herself, "Mother once said that the guardians of Western Qin only obey the true Son of Heaven of Western Qin. But Father has been on the throne for many years, and Western Qin has suffered many disasters. All the forces in the court have long since sided with Uncle Qin. Yue'er has thought about it again and again. Could it be that the rumors in the palace for many years say that Father took the position that should have belonged to Uncle Qin, and that's why he was unable to receive the protection of the guardians?"
Xuan Yuan Yue continued talking to herself, growing increasingly astonished: "Legend has it that the Guardian and the Emperor of Western Qin share a telepathic connection. If that's the case, the Guardian must have sensed this secret as well. So, all these years, the Guardian hasn't disappeared; she must have been supporting Uncle Qin from somewhere. Could it be that Uncle Qin has already secretly found the Guardian but hasn't reported it to the court?"
Upon realizing this, she suddenly understood, her brows furrowing even more deeply. She abruptly broke free from Mei Zhixuan's embrace and anxiously asked, "Your Highness, where did the guardian you found come from? Who exactly is she? Where is she now? According to my mother, she is a woman of extraordinary beauty and mystery!"
However, Mei Zhixuan gently placed one hand on Xuan Yuan Yue's shoulder and affectionately wiped her straight and beautiful nose with his other hand, saying, "Yue'er, don't worry about me for the rest of your life. For you and Hai'er, I swear, I will live well."
"If Your Highness truly cares for me and Hai'er, then please give up..."
Xuan Yuan Yue seemed determined to persist, insisting that Mei Zhi Xuan compromise and withdraw from the war. However, Mei Zhi Xuan suddenly reached out two fingers and gently covered her warm, excited red lips: "Shh..."
His eyes were filled with a dreamy look, mixed with many indescribable emotions. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Yue'er, be good. Don't say anything more. It's late outside. Let's go back to our room and rest!"
Xuan Yuan Yue, who instantly understood the deep longing in his words, blushed and instinctively looked away from his tender eyes, saying, "Your Highness must be tired from traveling all day. Please go back to your room and rest. I haven't seen Hai'er for a long time and I'm really worried about her. I'd better go and see her myself to put my mind at ease."
Mei Zhixuan reluctantly agreed, "Alright, then come back and rest early."
Xuan Yuan Yue said softly, "Mm."
After Mei Zhixuan finished speaking, he strode towards the door of the study.
Xuanyuan Yue sat back down at her desk, muttering to herself with concern, "Your Highness, has he really found the guardian of Western Qin?"
The words had barely left his mouth when he immediately denied them: "That's impossible. His Highness couldn't possibly have snatched such an important person from Uncle Qin."
A gust of wind swept by, and she turned her gaze to the flickering candlelight.
After the night breeze passed, watching the fleeting light bursting forth from the flickering candle flames, she recalled for a moment and then guessed, "If His Highness has truly found the Guardian, could it be that I'm wrong, or perhaps Uncle Qin has never encountered the Guardian before?"
What is the truth behind all of this? She asked herself.
Completely baffled, perhaps it's time to contact the Qin Emperor, whom she both respects and fears.
Since the end of the Northwest War, she had secretly learned from her mother that Qin Huangshu had contracted a serious illness on the battlefield and was now bedridden. She didn't know how he was doing now.
So much time has passed, and I wonder if Uncle Qin has found even the slightest bit of information about Yi Shangyun, that poor girl.
However, the thought of Yi Shangyun once again stretched her thoughts mercilessly, making her nostalgic for the carefree days in her motherland.
In a corner of the room, the cool moonlight from outside the window had quietly seeped in, shining on the cold, empty floor, making it appear so desolate, just like her mood at that moment.
However, when I looked up at the night sky outside the window, the stars surrounding the bright moon hanging high in the sky seemed even more brilliant and dazzling.
She felt that the bustling scene before her was both out of place and quite realistic.
Just because you're sad doesn't mean the whole world has to cry with you.
"Yun'er, where are you? Do you know that all those happy times we had together will never come again in this life?"
As she spoke, she let out a long sigh, withdrew her gaze, slowly stood up, and walked out of the study.
This night is destined to be sleepless.
On the same night, on Azure Island not far from the palace, a major event was quietly taking place...
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