Inside the princess's bedchamber, time seemed to stand still. Xiao Mingyu's scalding tears soaked through the fabric of Shen Wensong's clothes. Her desperate cries and embraces were like a red-hot iron, fiercely piercing through his frozen heart.
Does he like her?
This belated, thunderous realization, carrying with it all the previously deliberately ignored palpitations, restlessness, worries, and excruciating bitterness, surged forth like a burst dam, instantly shattering his proud self-control. He turned stiffly, the moonlight tracing his cold, hard profile, yet one etched with turbulent emotions. Those eyes, always sharp as a hawk's, now brimming with bewilderment, struggle, and a burning intensity bursting forth, locked onto the tear-streaked figure in his arms.
All words seem pale and superfluous.
He suddenly lowered his head and, with an almost ferocious, desperate force, fiercely seized her slightly parted, tear-stained, soft lips!
"Ugh!" Xiao Mingyu's crying stopped abruptly, her eyes widening in shock, her mind blank. This was not any of the reactions she had expected! There was no tender comfort, no apologetic whispers, only a kiss mixed with the strong smell of alcohol, a chilling aura, and a kind of almost desperate, scalding, and predatory force! Domineering, awkward, and chaotic, yet it carried a resolute determination to destroy everything, instantly draining all her strength and ability to think.
She instinctively tried to push him away, her hands bracing against his firm chest, but it was like an ant trying to shake a tree. His arms wrapped tightly around her waist like iron hoops, pressing her even closer to him, as if he wanted to crush her and integrate her into his very bones. His breath was unfamiliar, his own, carrying the smell of alcohol and a chilling, rusty scent, conquering and brooking no refusal.
After the initial shock and resistance subsided, a massive, overwhelming joy and bittersweetness suddenly seized Xiao Mingyu! He finally... responded! No longer a cold duty, no longer a distant rejection! This rough, chaotic, even painful kiss declared his feelings more clearly than any sweet words—he cared! He cared madly!
Tears welled up again, but no longer tears of grievance. She gave up resisting, and even began to respond to him clumsily, with a kind of desperate passion. Her hands climbed up his broad back, tightly grasping the taut muscles beneath his tight-fitting clothes, and she tilted her head back, accepting and responding to this belated, storm-like plunder and confirmation.
How long it lasted, until both of them were breathless and their lungs were empty of oxygen, Shen Wensong abruptly released her. His chest heaved violently, his breathing heavy, his forehead pressed against hers, his deep eyes churning with lingering passion and a near-exhausted fear. He looked at her swollen, kissed lips and her teary eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing, his voice hoarse as if grinding sand:
“Xiao Mingyu…” This was the first time he had called her name so solemnly while he was sober. “I… Shen Wensong, a mere soldier, my only ambition in this life is to guard the border and die on the battlefield. I cannot give you the prosperity and comfort of the capital, nor the tenderness of being together day and night. You…” He paused, his eyes sharp and honest, with an almost cruel clarity, “Have you thought it through? If you are unwilling to come with me to that bitter and cold place, then today… let’s pretend nothing happened.”
There were no sweet words, no vows of eternal love, only the naked reality and the most difficult choices. He laid bare his future, his destiny, and all he could give—that desolate yet passionate frontier—before her without reservation.
Xiao Mingyu's heart pounded like a drum, her cheeks burned, and the lingering pain and heat of his breath still touched her lips. Looking into his eyes, so close yet filled with seriousness and a sense of impending judgment, she didn't hesitate for a moment, but with an almost tragic pride, and replied decisively:
“Shen Wensong, listen carefully! The one I, Xiao Mingyu, love is the young general who saved me from danger in Jiangnan! The one who risked his life to grab me on the edge of a cliff! The one who is devoted to his country and stands tall and upright!” Her eyes shone with a light brighter than the stars. “So what if the border is bitterly cold? So what if I die on the battlefield? Wherever you are, that is my home! I, Xiao Mingyu, am willing!”
The word "willing" resonated powerfully, like the clinking of metal against metal, echoing for a long time in the quiet palace.
Shen Wensong stared intently at her, at the unwavering determination and resolute resolve in her eyes. A tremendous, indescribable surge of heat rushed to his head, coursing through his entire body. All his worries, all his barriers, crumbled in that instant. He tightened his arms around her, pulling her even closer, as if trying to meld her into his very bones. His voice was deep and solemn, carrying a sense of settled peace and an undeniable promise:
"Very well! Xiao Mingyu, remember your words today! I will report to my parents and request their permission for our marriage! For the rest of my life, the border where Shen Wensong guards will be your home, Xiao Mingyu!" He lowered his head and placed a deeply precious, vow-filled kiss on her smooth forehead. The cool moonlight streaming in through the window elongated the shadows of the two embracing figures, like a still frame of a painting.
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