Amidst the distant green hills and the misty waters, wisps of cloud float as thin as cicada wings.
As dusk falls, mist rises from the river, creating a scene resembling a fairyland.
Suddenly, a lone small boat appeared in the distance, causing ripples to spread across the once calm river surface.
The man in white stood tall at the bow of the boat, his hands behind his back, gazing at the mountains in the distance.
At the stern, an old man in a blue robe was slowly rowing, the green hills and clear waters reflected on the river.
Although the boat was somewhat dilapidated, resembling an old man full of vicissitudes, it perfectly reflected the scene before us.
This river seems to keep the noisy world far away.
There is a world of its own in these mountains and rivers.
In the seemingly still air, the old boatman's voice suddenly rang out: "Young master, what are you looking at so intently all this way? What is there to see in this remote and impoverished place?"
The man in white blinked upon hearing this, then took a breath, as if finally coming to his senses, and slowly said, "When I was little, I could never understand why my father could sit quietly on the grassland for an entire day. Now that I'm older, I've gradually come to understand that everything I see is a memory, everything I think about is the past, and everything I see is regret."
Hearing such desolate and lonely words, the old boatman said in bewilderment, "Judging from your outstanding appearance and dignified bearing, you must be a man of great wealth and honor. You are in the prime of your life, full of vigor and ambition, so why would you say such sad and pessimistic things? Your father is still alive, and he probably wouldn't want to see you so worried, young master?"
Upon hearing this, the man in white seemed to remember something, frowned slightly, and fell silent, as if he had once again become lost in his own deep thoughts.
The old boatman seemed to realize that he had said something wrong, and dared not ask any more questions, so he quickly shut up.
Meanwhile, inside the cabin, a beautiful young woman dressed in a light blue gauze dress lay quietly, deeply immersed in her own dream...
It was a new world filled with towering buildings and bustling traffic.
Amidst the myriad lights of the city, through the glass window, a woman wrapped in a purple bathrobe sits on a sofa, lost in thought.
Her hair, still damp from her bath, fell loosely over her shoulders. She had crimson lips and skin as white as snow, but her eyes held a deep melancholy.
He suddenly stood up, swayed twice, and then fell back down.
Meanwhile, in another world, on a night of torrential rain, a woman slowly opened her long-dormant eyes as a seven-colored phoenix appeared in the sky.
Suddenly, various unfamiliar voices rang out around her.
But if these voices sound unfamiliar, they come from her father, mother, aunt, half-siblings, and a maid who has been with her since childhood and is like a sister to her.
In this light, it seems that they shouldn't have been so unfamiliar with each other.
But why did she always feel that among these people, there wasn't a single one she knew?
The camera angle kept changing...
"What is destined to be yours will be yours, and what is not, you cannot force. Cause and effect, reincarnation, a hundred-life covenant, flowers bloom and wither, since it has come, make the best of it."
"The true dragon emerges from the sea, the spiritual realm is unified, the phoenix rises from the ashes, reborn from the flames, life is death, and death is life."
"Who are you? Who are you all! Who are you people..."
"Your Highness, Your Highness, please forgive me, please forgive Yun'er..."
"No... Wei Mingxuan... No, he's not you, and you're not him. I only want you, I only want you for all eternity. Come back, please come back to my side..."
The white-clad man at the bow of the ship seemed to sense that the woman was in the midst of a deep nightmare, so he turned around, moved back into the cabin, and sat down beside her, lifting the corner of his robe.
Clearly unaware of what the woman was babbling about, but noticing the beads of sweat on her forehead, he took out a clean white handkerchief he always carried and gently wiped them away.
Just then, the woman suddenly opened her eyes and woke up.
After carefully examining the face for a while, the woman exclaimed in surprise, "You are...you are...the Second Prince? You are the Second Prince! You're alive! You're really alive! This is wonderful!"
Upon hearing this, the man stopped what he was doing in mid-air, his mind also suddenly paused. It had been far too long since anyone had called him "Second Prince," so long that he himself had almost forgotten that he once held such a noble status, second only to the emperor.
Upon realizing this, he withdrew his hand, but seemed to no longer dare to meet her gaze. He simply said in a cool tone of resistance, "What second prince? The country has long been destroyed, and the former second prince is long dead."
However, after seeing his appearance clearly and hearing these extremely disheartening words, the woman became even more determined and said, "No, you are the second prince of the Northern Lie Kingdom, Tuoba Hong. Even if you were reduced to ashes, I would still recognize you as the second prince."
Perhaps out of disappointment, or perhaps because he had nothing more to say, and unable to conceal his past which he could never erase, the man had no choice but to get up and return to the bow of the boat.
He gazed at the calm water before him, but his heart was filled with ripples. He tried to regain the peace he had finally achieved, but found it difficult to do so.
Seeing the man leave, the woman looked up at the small space above her head and felt herself swaying. She slowly sat up and realized that she was in a small boat.
So she got up and headed to the bow of the boat, just then the old man's joyful voice came from the stern: "The girl has finally woken up!"
The woman, head bowed and carefully lifting her skirt, was about to step out of the cabin when she heard the sound. She turned around and smiled at him, about to speak, when the white-clad man at the bow heard the old man's voice. He quickly turned around and, seeing the woman coming out, reached out to support her to prevent her from falling.
"Thank you!" The woman followed closely behind to the bow of the boat. Only after the man made sure she was safe did he turn back to continue looking at the distant green mountains before him.
The woman stood behind him, silently facing his back, which still looked upright but extremely lonely, for a long time.
Finally, he slowly spoke, "I'm sorry, I only found out later that all of this was because of me."
The man was completely unaware of this, and said in a deep voice, "How can this be your fault? It's all my fault. I blame myself for not listening to my father, for not doing what a prince should do, for not protecting that grassland for him."
When he spoke of his painful past, even though a long time had passed, the man's voice still trembled slightly.
Upon hearing this, the woman stepped forward and, her emotions suddenly becoming somewhat anxious, explained, "No, you don't understand. It's all my fault. If it weren't for me going to the grasslands, His Highness the Prince of Qin... he wouldn't have caught up with us so quickly. Perhaps, the Northwest War wouldn't have come so soon."
Upon hearing all this, the man's gaze suddenly froze, and he realized what was going on, silently thinking to himself, "So that's how it is!"
But upon closer reflection, it was only through her brother's despicable means that she developed a misunderstanding of the Prince of Qin, which led to her heartbreak and eventual entrapment in Bei Lie. Therefore, ultimately, she cannot be entirely blamed for all of this.
The long-standing conflict between the Northern Lie and Western Qin borders is like an iceberg that has stood for millennia, not formed overnight, let alone because of a woman. Therefore, the war in the Northwest was bound to happen sooner or later. Not only would it be a war in the Northwest, but the entire Lingkong region would soon be unified by the sage.
Thinking of this, he, who was now able to calmly see through the ways of the world, slowly turned around and looked into the woman's eyes, saying to her calmly, "This is not your fault, and you do not need to blame yourself."
For a moment, the woman couldn't think of anything else to say or do. She quickly stepped forward, reached out and grasped the man's arm, and repeatedly apologized with heartfelt sincerity, saying, "But I don't know what else I can do for you? What must I do for you to make up for the unforgivable mistake I've made? All along, I've felt truly guilty. In the end, I still haven't fulfilled the promise I made to the old king."
But when his father was mentioned, the man was still filled with guilt, even though he had never really thought of becoming the ruler of the country.
But standing before him now was the only woman he had ever loved in his life. So, he finally suppressed the unbearable inner conflict and forced a smile as he said to her, "Alright, all the rights and wrongs are in the past. The most important thing is that we both continue to live well."
As the man spoke, he placed one of his strong, large hands on the woman's hand, comforting her.
Fearing she would continue on this heavy topic, the man quickly changed the subject, asking, "By the way, I heard you say a lot of strange things in your sleep. Among them, you mentioned someone named Wei Mingxuan. I wonder who this Wei Mingxuan is?"
Upon hearing this, the woman slowly released her hands from the man's arm, turned away, frowned, and pondered for a while, but had no memory of it.
"Wei Mingxuan...did I really mention this person?" the woman repeated, but couldn't find a trace of him in her mind.
The man nodded at him with great certainty.
After a moment of contemplation, the woman gazed thoughtfully at the scenery before her and suddenly said slowly, "Second Prince, do you believe in past lives and reincarnation?"
The man asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"
The woman hesitated slightly before saying, "Actually, I always felt..."
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