Yuan Ye's mind went blank for a moment.
"Where are you going? I'm here. Where else do you want to go?"
Jiang Tian sighed and looked at Yuan Ye: "I can't stay here unless you want to see me die."
Yuan Ye's face turned pale: "What are you saying?!"
"I can't have children, and my background is fabricated. Apart from myself, nothing about me is real. What good will staying here do for you?"
“When you needed me, whether you wanted to drive me away or make me disappear, I desperately tried to stay and help you. But things are different now. You have ascended the throne and become the emperor. You will write the great chapter of history. I no longer need to help you. Those who are virtuous will find many helpers. You have many people around you who can serve you.”
"I have to go now."
Jiang Tian spoke softly, a faint smile playing on her lips.
Yuan Ye was unable to utter a single word.
He had finally secured his empire, but Jiang Tian wanted to leave, and he couldn't accept it.
"You can't leave, the antidote is in my hands..."
His tone was hurried.
"Whether you give me the antidote or not doesn't matter. To me, living for ten years or living for one year doesn't make much difference. I've done everything I wanted to do, I've repaid your kindness, and I've saved my uncle. Now it's time for me to live for myself."
Yuan Ye trembled all over, staring intently at Jiang Tian: "You lied to me again..."
She clearly said she would stay with him, but she broke her promise again.
“I didn’t lie to you. This time I genuinely want to help you and I genuinely want you to rise to the top. To be honest, I lied to my uncle. I told him I wanted to be empress so he would do his best to help you. Actually, I don’t want to be anything. I just want to find a small town to spend the rest of my life in.”
"On Lantern Festival, I'm so tired..."
The calmer her tone, the more intense Yuan Ye's inner pain became.
"You stay here. You don't need to worry about anything. I'll have others do it. You just need to stay with me."
Jiang Tian habitually stroked his face, a faint smile playing on her lips: "I can't stay, because I don't want to lose the only affection we have left."
"Actually, there are some things I haven't told you because I know you wouldn't accept them. You are a benevolent emperor who cares about the country and its people, and I am very gratified by that. But you cannot be my husband."
Yuan Ye felt as if she had been struck hard by someone.
"I spent years becoming the mistress of the Duke's mansion, serving him tirelessly, and in the end, I almost lost my life. From that moment on, I finally woke up. Rather than living in a place where I have to scheme at every turn, and having to cower like an ant just to survive, I'd rather die a quick death. I know you won't treat me badly. If I choose to stay, you will definitely give me a high position. But if I have to choose, I choose freedom."
Yuan Ye's eyes were deep and cold.
“If I live in the harem, I will never have true freedom in this life. I cannot have children, so you will definitely have other women bear your children. At that time, there will definitely be other women in the palace besides me. As long as there are other people, our feelings will only be worn away little by little. The affection between you and me does not need anyone else, but you will definitely have to let others into the palace in order to continue the lineage... The contradictions are too many to be resolved in a few words. I do not want to be a sinner, occupying you and making the country unstable.”
Jiang Tian straightened his collar and said softly, "Just let me go."
Her words were somewhat tactful, but Yuan Ye understood them.
To be fair, Jiang Tian's concerns were not unfounded.
He is the emperor of a country; he cannot act recklessly for the sake of a woman.
He went to great lengths to preserve the Yuan family's empire, defeating so many people. It's impossible for him to give up the empire he fought so hard for to someone else's child for Jiang Tian's sake.
But Jiang Tian cannot give birth.
During this period, he consulted countless famous doctors, and Chen Ziming's words were true; Jiang Tian really could not have children.
By Yuan Ye's generation, he was the only one left in the Yuan family.
If he had no other children, the dynasty would inevitably have to change its name.
Such consequences are not something he can bear alone, nor will the officials agree to them.
Given the choice between power and a woman, the answer is obvious.
Jiang Tian is right; he could certainly force her to stay.
Can feelings really remain unchanged?
If he finds another woman, even if he doesn't change his mind, won't others have their own agendas?
Once inside the harem, everyone has their own agenda.
Without any backing, Jiang Tian will only become a thorn in their side.
Yuan Ye stared intently at Jiang Tian, opened his mouth, but found that he couldn't utter a single word.
Jiang Tian continued to stroke his face. Her hands were warm and soft, and every time Yuan Ye came, he could feel her tolerance and tenderness towards him.
But today, these hands are saying their final goodbye to him.
"Our relationship ends here. I am still me, and you are still you. Can you really bear to let me enter the harem and engage in a bloodless battle with other women for years? Even if I win in the end, will our relationship still remain the same?"
"You let other women have your children and you don't show them any affection at all? People have hearts, and you and I grew up together through spending time together. You're a kind person, and you wouldn't really treat other women as tools for procreation; that wouldn't be fair to them. But if you still care about me and are kind to them, I'll just feel disgusted."
Yuan Ye's heart skipped a beat.
He realized that he couldn't refute a single word Jiang Tian said.
Because what she said was true.
The women who could enter the imperial harem must have been the most outstanding among the wealthy, and there might even have been power struggles behind them.
If he were to bring them into the palace, he couldn't possibly neglect any of them.
If he really spoils her, he and Jiang Tian will never be able to go back to how things were.
“Yuan Ye, I am no longer young. You have experienced countless battles and have long since shed your former arrogance. You are already mature and should understand that nothing in this world will revolve around you. If you trap me in the harem, how am I supposed to cope? I can stay for you and become one of your many concubines, and you can pamper me and make me your favorite. We can even talk about anything like this now. But I cannot spend years trying to please you and be an actress.”
"The person I love is you right now, not you with a group of concubines. When things really change, are you sure you won't regret it?"
An unsolvable problem.
If Jiang Tian were to leave now, Yuan Ye would be in immense pain.
But if they forcibly keep her here, Jiang Tian will surely suffer.
Yuan Ye was no stranger to the chaos in the imperial harem; she had witnessed countless people killing without shedding blood for their own benefit.
Once on that battlefield, Jiang Tian was no longer in control of her own destiny.
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