Chapter 167 Unloved by Father, Uncared For by Mother
The commotion inside the hall and Yuwen Che's suppressed, furious roar clearly reached the inner chamber. Su Luoxue's heart tightened. Without thinking, she lifted her skirt and rushed out, Fuling anxiously following behind, afraid she would trip. "Your Highness, please slow down!"
"Ache! What happened?" She saw the mess on the ground at a glance, and her heart clenched instantly.
Hearing her voice, Yuwen Che turned around abruptly, his terrifying ferocity subsiding slightly the moment he saw her. He rushed to her, pulling her tightly into his arms without a word, his embrace so tight she could barely breathe. "A-Che, what's wrong?"
Upon seeing this, Fuling and Li Dehai immediately signaled all the palace servants to quietly and quickly retreat, and gently closed the palace door.
"Xue'er..." He buried his face in the crook of her neck, his voice muffled, with a rare, almost fragile tremor, "Hold me... just hold me like this..."
Su Luoxue was taken aback by his previously unseen vulnerability. She glanced around at the chaos, her heart filled with doubt and uncertainty.
But her movements were incredibly gentle yet firm. She hugged him back, patting his back lightly with one hand, as if comforting a frightened child, and softly replied, "A-Che, I'm here, I'm here. It's alright, it's alright..."
Yuwen Che took a deep breath in her arms, raised his head, his eyes red-rimmed, and stared intently into her eyes with an almost obsessive desire for confirmation, his voice hoarse:
"Xue'er... tell me, you love me, don't you? You only love me?"
"Tell me, okay?"
Without the slightest hesitation, Su Luoxue cupped his face, looked into his uneasy eyes, and spoke each word clearly and solemnly:
"Yes, Yuwen Che, I love you. From beginning to end, I only love you."
Her tone was gentle yet incredibly firm, as if stating an age-old truth: "Even if you are not surnamed Yuwen, not the emperor of this Great Zhou, even if you are just an ordinary villager in the mountains."
"What I, Su Luoxue, love is still you as a person, simply you. It has nothing to do with your surname, nothing to do with your status, simply because... you are you."
Su Luoxue gently stroked his tense back and asked softly, "Ache, what's wrong? Please tell me?"
Yuwen Che didn't answer immediately, but simply held her tightly, burying his face even deeper into her shoulder. After a moment, Su Luoxue felt a cool, damp sensation on her neck.
She was slightly taken aback, then gently cupped his face and saw a single tear silently slide down his reddened eyes.
He looked at her with red eyes, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of his lips, his voice hoarse and broken:
"But... I suddenly find it ridiculous."
“I have always known that after Hao’er was born, my biological mother… wanted to emulate Empress Lü. She felt that I was in the way of her regency and even… had murderous intentions towards me.”
He took a deep breath, his eyes filled with a deeper pain and desolation, as if some belief that had sustained him was crumbling:
"And now... I know that my good father never treated me as his son."
"In his eyes, I am nothing more than a useful pawn... a pawn to carry out his true heir—my fourth brother Yuwen Hong—in his conquests and clearing of obstacles."
He looked at her, his eyes so vulnerable, like those of a child abandoned by the whole world: "Xue'er, tell me... should I... have never been born into this world?"
Looking into the unfathomable pain and self-abandonment in his eyes, Su Luoxue felt a sharp pang in her heart, as if her heart were being violently gripped, and tears instantly welled up. She cupped his face tightly in her hands, making him look at her, her voice choked with sobs but utterly clear:
"Ah Che! No! That's not how it is!"
She shook her head vigorously, tears streaming down her face. "Look at me! I love you! In this palace, there is me, Cheng'an, Ning'er, and Hao'er. We all love you! The millions of people of the Great Zhou respect and love you because you are the one who has given them a peaceful life!"
Her tone grew increasingly firm, carrying a force that seemed intent on pulling him back from the abyss of despair: "The Great Zhou Dynasty's current peace, prosperity, and stability are not due to some vague destiny, but because of you! It is thanks to your tireless efforts and dedication, Yuwen Che, that it has achieved this!"
She raised her hand and gently wiped away the tears on his face, looking at him intently: "That's not your fault, A-Che. It was the late emperor's fault! He was biased, he was selfish, he didn't deserve to be a good father! It has nothing to do with you! You are good, you are really good..."
She hugged him tightly again, as if trying to dispel the chill emanating from him with her own body heat. Her voice was choked with sobs but unusually gentle: "A-Che... don't be like this... it hurts me, seeing you like this hurts my heart so much... you still have me, we still have the children, we all need you, you can't fall..."
Yuwen Che hugged her tightly, burying his face in her fragrant hair, drawing strength from the only source of warmth and peace he could find in the world.
Su Luoxue's voice was soft yet firm, echoing in his ears again and again, like the most effective comfort: "Ache...did you hear that? The Great Zhou needs you, the people of the world need you. And I...I can't live without you either."
"And Hao'er, Cheng'an, Ning'er, we all love you deeply and need you. You have never been alone; you have the love of all of us."
Yuwen Che closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, the vulnerability and confusion he felt had been forcibly suppressed. He tightened his arms around her, as if he wanted to absorb all her strength and love into his own body.
"I know." His voice was still a little hoarse, but it had regained its composure. "Xue'er, thank you."
He loosened his grip on her slightly, looking down at her tear-filled face, which was etched with worry and love.
He raised his hand and carefully wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes with his fingertips, solemnly promising, word by word:
"For you, for the children, for this empire you claim needs me... I will persevere."
His gaze regained its sharpness and depth; all weakness had vanished, leaving only undeniable power.
"Anyone who tries to destroy all of this, whoever they may be, I will never let them go."
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