Chapter 138 Fate has made me break my promise to you.
Things began to unfold as she had predicted.
Immediately afterwards, Yu Nie heard Xiao Chengyan say, "I oversimplified everything and overlooked too many things."
These words were spoken by Xiao Chengyan with his back to the three of them.
His expression and tone both carried the bitterness of his past innocence: "I once told myself that because I have half the blood of the Beiye royal family flowing in my veins, and I am related to the Zhao family guards, the emperor is my cousin, and my maternal grandmother treated me as her own son."
"With this blood relation, we won't necessarily end up fighting each other to the death."
Halfway through his speech, he suddenly smiled and said, "But the reality has brought me to my senses."
Then, he turned back, uttering harsh words but his eyes always held a sense of sorrow.
"Someone made it clear to me that in the face of supreme power and the ambition to unify the world, so-called blood ties are as thin as paper and can be torn apart with a single puncture."
Xiao Chengyan's eyes held a clarity that came after all illusions had been shed, even tinged with a resolute madness.
"As long as the world is divided into North and South, and as long as there are two emperors living side by side, war will never stop. If we don't fight today, we will fight tomorrow. If this generation doesn't fight, the next generation will."
"It's laughable, really. I used to place my hopes on such a vague and unrealistic relationship." He took a step forward. "But now I understand that either we, the Southern Yin, prepare our troops and one day march north to conquer the Central Plains, or we wait for the iron hooves of the Northern Ye to trample our borders and burn the Xiao clan's ancestral temple to the ground."
Gu Xiangzhi and Huan Xun showed no outward reaction to Xiao Chengyan's lengthy speech.
In the past, Gu Xiangzhi's family was once a criminal in the Southern Yin Dynasty. His family was slandered by villains. Although someone later exonerated his family, the die was cast and the deceased family members could not return.
He has no pity for the Southern Yin royal family or his former country. If the royal family hadn't listened to slander, he wouldn't be in this state today.
The royal family's subsequent realization was worthless to him, not even a penny.
As for Huan Xun, although he did not have such a grudge against the Xiao family, in terms of wanting to destroy Nan Yin, he was perhaps even more determined than Zhao Yunfu.
"There is no third way... Qiqi..."
After a pause, Xiao Chengyan took a deep breath and said, "Nanyin is my home. I can't... I can't continue to cling to unrealistic fantasies and let Nanyin's future fall into an abyss of no return."
"On the path to unifying the world, any peace talks that do not align with the current timing will become a deadly poison."
When he finished speaking, he seemed to be filled with endless exhaustion.
Yu Nie lowered her eyes. Every word Xiao Chengyan said was correct.
What puzzled her was that his change was too sudden. Just a few days ago, he insisted on negotiations. What had happened in the past few days to make him have such a realization?
However, the answer to this question was soon found in Han Jie's words.
After Xiao Chengyan finished speaking, he gritted his teeth and said, "The princess only wants us in Nan Yin to give up the Northern Expedition, but actually it's so that the Zhao family emperor can free up his hands and not be tied up on both sides, right?"
Yu Nie was taken aback: "I didn't think that way, I just..."
"Princess, stop spouting those high-sounding platitudes." Han Jie was indignant, his expression as if he had been greatly deceived: "You are a member of the Zhao family. If you ask our prince to stop the Northern Expedition, the biggest beneficiary will be your Zhao family."
"Why don't you ever tell my prince that Bei Ye has always harbored plans to march south? Once the northern frontier is pacified and the chronic problems of the aristocratic clans are resolved, Zhao Yunfu will immediately lead his troops south to unify the world."
Han Jie's hand creaked as he said, "Princess, you've been mediating this for so long, don't tell me you didn't know about it."
Han Jie stated his confident answer: "In reality, you are simply a pawn sent by Zhao Yunfu to buy time for your Beiye, right?"
A bitter feeling of being deeply misunderstood welled up in her heart, and for a moment she was speechless.
Han Jie's words made perfect sense to anyone.
Standing beside her, Huan Xun looked displeased after hearing Han Jie's words. He took a half-step with an imposing air, reminding the other party: "Attendant Han, you'd better know who you're talking to. The knife in my hand doesn't discriminate."
Han Jie also had a fiery temper, and he seemed poised to confront Huan Xun head-on.
He had barely taken a step when Xiao Chengyan scolded him and told him to step back.
This rebuke, besides telling Han Jie to say less, also meant that they didn't want him to die here.
He knew very well that in terms of skill and swordsmanship, ten Han Jies wouldn't be enough to defeat Huan Xun.
Yu Nie looked at Xiao Chengyan.
In the silence of their eye contact, she realized that her current identity was ultimately that of the Zhao family, a bloodline that was an indelible mark on her face.
What is said and what is done naturally carries a preconceived stance.
But she couldn't utter a single word about uprooting this corrupt dynasty and establishing a new one.
Perhaps revealing a bit of her true identity would dispel their concerns about her speaking up for Beiye.
Thinking this through, she made up her mind and raised her eyes: "What Attendant Han said is reasonable. From your perspective, such doubt is perfectly justified. After all, I bear the name 'Zhao Huayan' and have the blood of the Zhao family flowing through my veins..."
She paused slightly, and Han Jie frowned, wanting to see how she could possibly argue her way out of this.
Then, in a calm tone, she dropped a bombshell: "But what if I'm not the real Zhao Huayan?"
The moment the words were spoken, the room fell silent.
Gu Xiangzhi and Huan Xun did not react much.
Unaware of the truth, Xiao Chengyan and Han Jie's expressions froze instantly, turning into astonishment.
She didn't give them time to process this shocking truth, and immediately revealed her true identity as a Taoist priest, how she met Zhao Huayan, and how she became a substitute princess.
During this process, she did not say that it was Gu Xiang who tied her up, but only said that when a guard named Bai Zhiwei captured the real Zhao Huayan, he used her as a substitute.
She said, "Therefore, please believe me, there is absolutely no way that I would stop the Northern Expedition for the sake of Zhao Yunfu or the Zhao royal family of Beiye, to buy any time for them."
She looked at Xiao Chengyan one last time, took a few steps forward, and said earnestly, "Your Highness, the Northern Expedition concerns countless lives and the fate of the world. I urge Your Highness to reconsider and continue the peace talks."
This matter was so shocking that Xiao Chengyan found it difficult to accept the truth. However, based on her attitude towards Langxi and Ahui, he believed that what she said was true.
Based solely on her status as a benefactor, she wouldn't have been so heartbroken back then; that kind of feeling can only be experienced by someone who grew up with you.
She tried to persuade him further: "I am more unwilling than anyone to see the world suffer. I know how much ordinary people suffer."
Hearing her words, Xiao Chengyan remained silent for several breaths, while the sounds of the Imperial Horse Stables patrolling could be heard from outside from time to time.
She awaited his reply.
Han Jie snorted coldly after hearing these words, clearly unconvinced: "Clever words and flattering words, how do you know that the princess isn't using a self-inflicted injury ruse?"
"Enough." After a long silence, Xiao Chengyan finally spoke, his voice hoarse: "Step back."
These words were clearly meant for Han Jie, who reluctantly accepted the order and retreated.
A moment later, his gaze shifted to her, briefly forgetting Huan Xun again, and then casually glancing at Gu Xiangzhi.
He laughed dejectedly, and sighed, "Even you... are not the real Zhao family princess. In this world, truth and falsehood are intertwined, and what can we be sure of?"
His gaze lingered on her face for a moment.
“I heard you,” he continued. “I believe what you said is true.”
These words ignited hope in Yu Nie's heart.
Then, he said in an almost tragic tone, "I am no longer able to continue the peace talks."
"Now that things have come to this, let all the rights and wrongs, all the grudges, go to the battlefield, let the swords speak, and let victory or defeat determine the fate of the world."
He looked at Yu Nie one last time, his eyes gentle, and forced a smile: "I'm sorry, Qiqi... I can no longer keep the promise I made to you before."
He paused for a moment, then said, "Whether you are Zhao Huayan or not, it doesn't matter to me. It's just that I'm a man who breaks his promises. I don't expect you to remember me in the future."
Xiao Chengyan: "But please... don't hate me."
Even from a few steps away, Yu Nie could see the desolation on his face.
After he finished speaking, he stopped looking at anyone, turned around, and left behind only a lonely figure.
He waved his hand and said, "Gentlemen, it's late, please go back."
After saying that, he instructed Han Jie, who was standing beside him, "Show the guest out."
His attitude was firm, and Yu Nie wanted to go forward and say something more, but in the end she held back.
She was convinced that Xiao Chengyan was the glimmer of hope they had planted within the opposing camp in this intricate game of chess.
However, she felt a sense of desolation at this moment.
Perhaps she overestimated it.
As a prince of Nan Yin, Xiao Chengyan is the heir to the Xiao royal bloodline. He may be able to oppose specific strategies and argue with Xiao Daozun, but in the end, the blood of the Nan Yin royal family flows in his veins.
How could he truly betray his country and his own surname when it comes to matters concerning the fate of the nation?
Personal beliefs are often fragile and easily shattered in the face of national interests and the greater good of the country. Perhaps she was oversimplifying things.
Moreover, his choice now is less a betrayal and more a reflection of his fate and responsibility.
Since everything is fate, what else can she ask for?
She gazed at his retreating figure for a long time, then gave up and turned to leave.
＊
After leaving the Siyi Residence, Gu Xiangzhi did not travel with them. He was stopped halfway by an urgent matter at the Imperial Horse Administration and turned to leave.
The streets were bustling with people and brightly lit.
The long street was bustling with people, and the lights were on everywhere. The taverns and restaurants on both sides were full of people, some playing drinking games, others listening to music and storytelling, creating a lively atmosphere.
The bustling atmosphere here is a world apart from the quiet and desolate area near Siyi Residence.
The two figures walked side by side through the bustling crowd. Yu Nie hung his head, looking preoccupied.
Seeing her so distracted, Huan Xun's eyes flickered, and he asked meaningfully, "What are your plans next? Are you still going to send him back to Nan Yin?"
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