Xuanyuan Han clenched his fists, glancing sideways at the back of Tuoba Ze galloping away in the thick white fog before him. He thought to himself, "So this is why you refuse to acknowledge me. It turns out that's why."
He paused, then his dark, deep eyes suddenly fixed on something, followed by a soft, enigmatic laugh at the corner of his lips: "Hehe..."
The laughter abruptly stopped, followed by a belated, self-deprecating exclamation: "Uh-le..."
After a moment's thought, he added, "I have completely forgotten that what I said in the Northern Lie Kingdom, 'Wu Le,' means 'cloud'..."
After speaking, under the astonished gazes of all the soldiers surrounding him, who were now speechless with disbelief at Tuoba Ze's humiliating words, Xuanyuan Han slowly turned around.
With each step, time seemed to rewind in my mind, back to their first meeting and every single moment from then until now.
The first time, in the woods at the foot of Baicaogu Mountain in Xiqin, on a dark and windy night, he and his men were inadvertently caught in a trap while chasing several suspected spies from an enemy country. In the end, he managed to defeat all the spies on his own, but he was seriously injured and could hardly walk.
Just when things were at a critical juncture, she appeared as if she had fallen from the sky.
For some reason, he inexplicably entrusted his life to a stranger for the first time, and perhaps it was from that moment that she entered his eyes and his heart...
She appeared so frail and delicate, yet she was filled with a magical strength and courage that he could never have imagined later on.
As if it were her nature, she could still extend a helping hand to every stranger, even those she had no connection with, even if they were just strangers she encountered on the street...
Even her father, who had never given her a second glance since childhood—no, he wasn't even her biological father—was someone she was willing to grovel and endure all kinds of humiliation in the Western Qin palace to help him escape punishment.
Later, she even nearly lost her life for the sake of the prince and princess. Fortunately, she finally obtained a magical herb, which prevented her from developing a chronic illness.
Yet, because of an unrelated old man's concern for his daughter-in-law, he once again finds himself in a predicament, getting caught up in layers of conspiracies.
Finally, after their reunion, Xiaolong and his wife made vows of eternal love, promising never to be separated again in this life or for all eternity. He was ready to give his all to protect her, cherish her, and love her.
But he never expected that fate would play such a cruel trick on him; she would turn out to be the daughter of the missing guardian's descendant.
Her mother, in order to protect him, risked her life and fell off a cliff with her unborn child.
He never imagined that the descendant of the missing guardian would one day return, only to become the Empress of Dongning Kingdom.
Since she was now the noble legitimate princess of Dongning Kingdom, she should have lived a life of luxury and carefree happiness, cherished and protected like a most dazzling pearl by a man of noble status.
But now, burdened by another identity, he must bear an even heavier mission in the future...
It was her! So, they had known each other even before she was born...
But what should he do next?
How can he protect her? How can he prevent her from suffering such cruel and heartless harm?
Lost in thought, he returned to the table inside the tent and sat down silently, clenching his fists so tightly they cracked: "Tuoba Ze, how dare you touch my woman! One day, I will make you pay a heavy price for this..."
Everything from the past, whether sweet or bitter, churned in his mind. He murmured, "Yun'er, where are you? We've passed each other by time and time again. Even if I made a mistake, I shouldn't have hesitated for you even a little bit. But in your heart, am I really such a person who doesn't keep his promises? Or... have you always doubted my feelings for you?"
The longing was too long, and the more he thought about it, the more restless and helpless he felt, as if his heart was about to break: "Do you know? In this life and in all future lives, there will be no one else in my heart but you, not even... I would not trade the whole world for you."
...
After an unknown amount of time, Xuanyuan Han was still sitting alone in the tent, deeply lost in his own thoughts and regrets, when he suddenly heard Cheng Liang's hurried and excited footsteps as he entered and said, "Your Highness, good news, really good news."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan did not look up, but instead took a deep breath and blinked his cold eyes twice.
Cheng Liang seemed to have already sensed his thoughts, so he suppressed his smile and continued to report: "Your Highness would never have guessed that, according to the prisoners who followed Tuoba Ze, the old king of Beilie suddenly passed away a few days ago. It is clear that the indecisive second prince Tuoba Hong rushed back to the heartland overnight, he must have gone back to attend the funeral upon hearing the news."
Upon hearing this news, Xuan Yuanhan was genuinely startled, and his eyes narrowed.
Cheng Liang continued joyfully, "Tuoba Ze's consistent violent and autocratic style, especially his actions this time where he didn't hesitate to sacrifice the lives of his own people, have already been widely known among the surrendered generals of Beilie. It's outrageous and has greatly alienated the people. Therefore, our army has already launched a full-scale attack from all directions into the heartland as planned. This time, by turning the tables on Tuoba Ze, our army has completely crushed his power. I believe this war will soon be over."
Unexpectedly, Xuanyuan Han did not show the emotion that Cheng Liang had expected. So, with an embarrassed expression, he thought for a moment and slowly said, his smile fading, "Your Highness, will that Tuoba Ze really tell us where Miss Yi is?"
Xuanyuan Han remained silent, only slowly raising his eyes to stare intently at the direction Tuoba Ze had left outside the tent, as if he was still filled with anticipation.
Just then, a series of increasingly clear hoofbeats came from beside them.
Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Han immediately got up and rushed out of the tent in three quick steps. When he looked outside, he saw that it was indeed the same fast horse that Tuoba Ze had just ridden away.
He stepped forward and grabbed the reins, only to find that the saddle was empty except for a small brocade pouch. He couldn't wait to tear it off and open it, and there it was—the seven-colored gold and jade bracelet that he knew all too well.
Cheng Liang hurriedly snatched the small brocade pouch from his other hand, turning it inside out. Finding nothing else inside, he crumpled it into a ball and angrily cursed, "That despicable, shameless Northern Fierce dog, he truly has no credibility whatsoever!"
Xuanyuan Han clutched the jade bracelet tightly to his heart, murmuring, "Yun'er, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I was careless and made you suffer so much pain that you shouldn't have to endure..."
Cheng Liang, standing to the side, watched and listened with a furrowed brow, his heart breaking...
After a long while, once Xuanyuan Han had composed himself, he ordered his generals to break camp and march straight into the heart of the enemy territory...
Soon, Yi Shangyun traveled day and night, eagerly anticipating his arrival at the Western Qin army camp where Xuan Yuanhan had previously been stationed.
From the heartland, along her journey to the Western Qin army camp, everywhere she went, there were rumors that the eldest prince of the Northern Lie Kingdom, Tuoba Ze, was inhuman and powerless to resist the Western Qin army. He disregarded the safety of his millions of people and poisoned the water sources with a peerless poison called "Water Spirit," intending to kill the King of Western Qin and thus completely defeat the Western Qin army.
She was extremely anxious and kept on her way without stopping for a moment.
When she finally arrived at the main tent, travel-worn and exhausted, she was stunned to see the billowing smoke rising from the entire camp, the abandoned armor and weapons, and the mess everywhere.
She reined in her horse and stared blankly at what she saw for a moment. Then, shaking her head, she muttered incredulously to herself, "How could this be? Impossible, impossible..."
After a moment's thought, she said anxiously, "Your Highness, Your Highness, His Highness..."
As he spoke, he stumbled off his horse and rushed into Xuanyuan Han's tent, which was now completely empty.
He stood at the doorway, looking around in shock, when suddenly he felt dizzy and his vision went black. He quickly reached out to hold onto the door frame, trying his best to stay upright. Finally, his gaze settled on a spot on the ground, and he slowly walked over and knelt down in front of it.
In an instant, tears blurred her vision, and her hands trembled violently uncontrollably as she picked up the fragments of armor from the familiar face she had seen not long ago in this same spot, now burned beyond recognition.
Although she was unwilling to believe it, the various signs and facts before her eyes were undoubtedly cruelly destroying her inner resolve inch by inch.
She pressed the fragments of armor she had picked up to her chest, sobbing uncontrollably with tears streaming down her face, "Your Highness, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, Yun'er is late! Yun'er is late!"
As they parted, Tuoba Hong's words echoed in her ears. At that moment, she was filled with regret: "Your Highness, Yun'er shouldn't have doubted Your Highness's feelings for her, shouldn't have felt inferior and retreated, and even more so, shouldn't have left Your Highness and so easily believed the words of the Princess Consort of Qin."
She clutched the armor fragments tightly, as if trying to preserve the last vestige of warmth he left behind.
Her heart ached more and more: "Yun'er was wrong, Yun'er was terribly wrong, which caused Your Highness to lose your life in vain. Yun'er knows that if Your Highness hadn't disbelieved Yun'er's death, you would never have suddenly raised an army against Bei Lie at this time. Yun'er is insignificant, her death is not worth regretting, but Your Highness is the King of Qin for the people of Xi Qin. Yun'er is a sinner, Yun'er is a sinner for the entire Xi Qin Kingdom, for the entire world, Yun'er, Yun'er..."
My emotions were so intense that I could hardly breathe, and all words suddenly seemed pale and powerless at this moment.
After a long while, she suddenly rose slowly, disheartened, and walked out of the tent with faltering steps, looking utterly dejected.
Before anyone knew it, the wind and rain had already begun to rise and fall, dispersing the mist and haze that lingered in the vast天地 (heaven and earth).
She still clung tightly to the piece of armor, staggering aimlessly through the rain.
Suddenly, she stopped and slowly raised her head to look up at the sky above, letting the torrential rain relentlessly wash over her thin face.
Until, along with the boundless longing and regret that had already silently spread in her heart, it drowned out the last glimmer of light at the end of the sky.
Her vision suddenly blurred, and as the rain poured down, she gradually lost the strength to support her tired and injured body, and she began to sway.
Just as she was about to fall to the ground...
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