Seeing that Yi Sanshao had suddenly appeared in front of him and had also come to the front of Yishangyun Gate, Tuoba Ze stopped in his tracks.
After thinking for a moment, he spoke first: "That child..."
He paused for a moment, seemingly wanting to say something, then continued, "Is everything settled?"
Young Master Yi glared at him dismissively, thinking of the suffering Yunqi had endured, how she had almost lost her life, and how she would never be a mother again in this lifetime.
As a woman, how deeply she must have been hurt!
Unable to contain his anger any longer, he stepped forward, grabbed Tuoba Ze by the collar, and brought his hand to Tuoba Ze's nose.
He gritted his teeth and angrily warned them, "All of this is because of you two brothers. Sooner or later, I will make you pay double for the harm you have done to the girl."
"I didn't expect this either..."
Unexpectedly, this time, Tuoba Ze did not resist at all, as if he wanted to explain something.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, he thought to himself, what's the point of saying all this now?
It's clear now that nothing can be done to salvage the situation, so I'll stop explaining.
In short, things have developed to this point.
For Yi Shangyun, she lost her only chance to be a mother.
With him, she lost more than just her only blood relative in this world.
So, in the end, what exactly did he and Yi Shangyun each lose...?
Which is less important?
Which is more important?
However, his initial intention was simply to have her stay and atone for her sins; it was merely an excuse from the beginning.
But how did things develop to this point?
Without the child, and without the leverage to keep her here, how could he continue to keep her by his side?
Just then, filled with rage, Young Master Yi suddenly shoved him away forcefully.
Caught off guard, he stumbled back several steps before regaining his footing.
But Young Master Yi gave him no time to calm down, and continued angrily, "Not to mention that everything Tuoba Hong did for the girl was entirely of his own free will. If he hadn't gone too far and offered himself up, how could that dog emperor have captured her and taken her to the palace as a hostage to blackmail her and imprison her?"
He paused, then continued, "If you insist on blaming the girl for Tuoba Hong's death, then that child is enough to repay all your debts now. Since you already know you can't protect her, then from now on, don't bother her anymore. This time, no matter what, I'm taking the girl away, and no one can stop me!"
Upon hearing this, Tuoba Ze suddenly realized what was happening and looked in surprise at Yi Sanshao's incredibly determined face.
"snort……"
All that could be heard was Young Master Yi giving him a disdainful snort before turning and walking inside.
Watching his figure gradually disappear, Tuoba Ze suddenly felt a mix of emotions.
In the blink of an eye, he transformed back into his former lonely and cold self.
After standing alone in the cold wind at the door for a long time, he suddenly murmured a sound.
"I'm sorry, none of this was my intention. I never meant to hurt you, but I don't know... how things turned out this way. You won't forgive me anymore, will you?"
It's unclear how long Tuoba Ze lingered in front of the clinic, lost in thought, or how he managed to return to his tent in such a daze. He downed several jars of wine by himself.
Even when he was completely drunk, he somehow remembered something else.
So he picked up three more jars of wine and, swaying unsteadily, arrived at Tuoba Hong's tombstone.
During the heavy snow season, all things lie dormant.
Snow-capped peaks stand tall, and ancient pines are upright, their branches covered with frost.
After a heavy snowfall, the snow kissed the blue sky, the mist swirled around the forest, and the mountains rose one after another.
Herds of cattle and sheep graze on the snow-covered grasslands, creating a breathtaking winter scene.
In a daze, we were not far apart.
Before Tuoba Ze's eyes appeared two galloping horses side by side, and two handsome young men.
They were waving their whips together in high spirits, their free and unrestrained cheers carrying far, far away in the wind.
Only when the boy sped past him side by side did he realize that it was actually a younger version of himself, along with Tuoba Hong.
Suddenly, his eyes filled with tears of emotion, and he anxiously reached out to grab Tuoba Hong's horse reins, but he couldn't grab anything.
He lowered his head, looking at his empty hands with a puzzled expression.
When they looked up again, the boy and the white horse had vanished from sight.
Upon waking up, I realized that everything was just a memory.
Only on those two cold tombstones in front of him were carved his deepest, unknown memories and longings.
So he curled the corners of his mouth into a slight smile.
He placed the wine he had brought in front of the two tombstones, then picked up the last jar and clinked it together with Tuoba Hong's jar.
Immediately afterwards, he drank most of the jar by himself.
He started talking to himself, albeit intermittently.
"How about it?"
"Finally reunited with that old man, are you completely satisfied now?"
After saying that, he laughed loudly, as if mocking himself, then took another big gulp of wine and continued talking.
"you say……"
"Did I really do something wrong?"
"if……"
"If only I hadn't insisted on leaving her here..."
"Yes or no……"
"Would that mean the child wouldn't have died...?"
"But why should I leave her here?"
“I know perfectly well that, both her body and her heart, she belongs only to Prince Qin, Xuanyuan Han…”
"With the country destroyed and the family ruined, I should hate her to the bone and tear her to pieces."
"But why do I feel like..."
Clearly, he still doesn't dare to admit his true feelings.
"You say this woman is both stupid and dumb."
"How could I have fallen for a woman like that..."
After a long silence, Tuoba Ze looked down and carefully surveyed his surroundings. Finally, he sighed deeply and spoke again.
“You’ve seen it all here these days, haven’t you? Whether it’s day or night, rain or snow, wind or frost, she’s like the brightest light and warmth on this grassland, illuminating every corner of it.”
"But……"
"Soon, I'm going to lose her again."
"This time, I really have no other options..."
"you say……"
"When exactly did I start to become like this? How did I end up like this?"
"The person I am now is the person I used to hate the most."
"what do I do?"
What should I do with her?
He stared intently at the tombstone in front of him as he spoke.
Suddenly, his tone became agitated again.
"you tell me."
"Tell me, what should I do?!"
"You useless coward, why did you try to escape all this by dying?"
"Do you think that once you're dead, that dog emperor will no longer be able to control her?"
"From beginning to end, you have remained exactly the same as before, never changing."
“Over the years, if it weren’t for me, you and that old man would have been devoured by those vampire uncles long ago. Do you think you can make them submit forever just because of your womanly compassion?”
"What a pipe dream!"
"Utterly stupid!"
They were saying the most hurtful things, but tears were clearly welling up in their eyes.
However, whenever he thought of Yi Shangyun, his heart softened instantly.
"you……"
"And haven't you always been secretly loving her with your own life?"
"But if I cannot become the true master of this grassland, how can I protect her?"
"Yesterday it was that damned emperor? Today it's the renowned physician's hall? What will it be tomorrow and the day after?"
After pausing for a moment, Tuoba Ze seemed to have made a silent decision in his heart, clenching his fists tightly.
"No……"
"I absolutely will not allow it..."
"I will never let myself repeat your mistakes..."
"This grassland will eventually return to my hands."
"I will definitely take back everything that originally belonged to me, and even more."
"You just stay here and watch!"
"I will prove to you that this grassland will ultimately belong to me!"
At that moment, not far away.
After the heavy snow, herders drove their horses across the snow-covered plains. The horses seemed to be imbued with celestial energy, and the grasslands once again witnessed the magnificent sight of horses galloping through the snow...
Hearing the thunderous roar of ten thousand horses, Tuoba Ze smiled with great satisfaction.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang.
He fell heavily to the ground, becoming one with the earth, his eyes closed, unconscious.
Meanwhile, in the Cloud Clinic.
Suddenly, a voice filled with surprise and excitement rang out from Young Master Yi.
"Girl, you really agree?"
Although she was heartbroken at losing her child, she didn't have much time to grieve, because she couldn't break her promise to Dingxiang.
So, Yi Shangyun nodded solemnly: "Yes, I promise you, I will leave here with you."
Seemingly hesitant, she thought for a moment and then said, "But... I haven't figured out how to tell the Crown Prince about this yet."
Upon hearing this, Young Master Yi's face suddenly darkened, and he rebuked her: "Don't you know that all of this is because of him? Why do you still care about his thoughts?"
Yi Shangyun said, "Third Young Master, please don't say that. It's all my own fault for being weak. I can't blame anyone else."
Looking at Yi Shangyun, who was still leaning weakly against the bed, Young Master Yi said with heartache, "I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I couldn't protect you, and that's why you suffered so much. I never expected this..."
Before he could finish speaking, Yi Shangyun interrupted him, saying, "What's past is past. It's just that I wasn't meant to be with that child. You can't blame me!"
Young Master Yi was clearly helpless against her kindness, so he said dismissively, "You don't need to pay attention to him. I'll talk to him about this."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun became somewhat worried about the relationship between the two and instructed him, "Third Young Master, the First Prince is no longer the First Prince he used to be. You must speak to him properly!"
Young Master Yi said, "I know what I'm doing. You should get ready. There's no time to lose. Let's take advantage of the clear weather these next few days and set off early tomorrow morning."
"Hmm," Yi Shangyun thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
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