"This belongs to the Queen," Zhong Mingwei said slowly, looking at He Chengzhi's suddenly frozen face. Zhong Mingwei said slowly again, "You said there are so many wonderful things in this world. I really can't imagine that the Queen has a Guanyin pendant that is exactly the same as your sister's."
He Chengzhi was speechless. He looked at the white jade Guanyin in his hand, and then at Zhong Mingwei's calm face. Finally, his eyes fell on the white jade Guanyin again. He turned it over and over, and the more he looked, the paler his face became, and the more frightened he became. Finally, he raised his head and asked in panic and surprise: "Your Majesty. Is the Empress really from Ningguta? I remember that the Empress is... the same age as my sister. And... and the last time in front of the imperial study, I saw that the Empress was somewhat similar to my mother. Your Majesty. Is there... is there actually a connection?"
He Chengzhi knew what the consequences would be after he asked this question, but he had to ask. Facing this white jade Guanyin, the scene of separation from his younger sister fifteen years ago came to his mind vividly. The crying of his younger sister was right beside his ears, and this crying had tortured him for years, so today, facing this white jade Guanyin, how could he not ask?
"The queen is undoubtedly from Ningguta," Zhong Mingwei said slowly. He looked at He Chengzhi's anxious face and didn't know how to say what he had prepared. He took a deep breath and finally calmed down. Then he continued, "Chengzhi, you have to remember that your sister passed away fifteen years ago." As he spoke, Zhong Mingwei reached out and gently patted He Chengzhi's hand that was tightly holding the white jade Guanyin, and said in a deep voice, "This pendant is similar to the one you gave to your sister that year, so you should keep it and just treat it as a thought."
"Your Majesty, you must have known something, right?" He Chengzhi grasped Zhong Mingwei's hand, staring at him without blinking with a pair of bloodshot eyes. His chest was heaving violently, and every word he spoke was trembling, "The Queen, is she... is she..."
"Tomorrow is the ceremony to crown the queen," Zhong Mingwei also looked at He Chengzhi, letting him hold his hand with such great force. He looked into those bloodshot eyes and said in a deep voice, "Chengzhi, no matter what the queen's background was in the past, no matter how complicated her life experience was, from now on, she can only be my queen," Zhong Mingwei paused, looking at He Chengzhi's dull face, he couldn't help but sighed, and said, "Chengzhi, I spent fifteen years to finally turn over this page, and I will never allow anyone to turn it over again, do you understand?"
The hand that was tightly holding Zhong Mingwei suddenly lost its strength and slid down. He Chengzhi collapsed on the ground like a pile of mud. His face was pressed against the ground. Zhong Mingwei couldn't see his expression, but he could feel that he was crying. Zhong Mingwei couldn't bear to look at him any longer. Just as he was about to look away, he saw He Chengzhi sitting up again, staring at Zhong Mingwei with a pair of tearful tiger eyes: "Will you promise to treat her well for the rest of her life?"
"I promise," Zhong Mingwei said as he stood up, walked to He Chengzhi, knelt down in front of him, kowtowed, and said solemnly word by word, "I, Zhong Mingwei, swear to you with my head and the fate of the Great Zhou that I will do my best to protect and love the queen, and be loyal to her for the rest of my life, and have no concubines in the six palaces. If you break this oath, Mingwei will be punished by heaven and die a miserable death, and the Great Zhou will fall into the hands of a foreigner!"
After saying this, neither of them spoke any more. They just knelt facing each other. He Chengzhi looked at Zhong Mingwei, and Zhong Mingwei also looked at He Chengzhi, as if they both wanted to find a sense of reassurance in each other's eyes.
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