Xie Lingqin smiled, then suddenly said with a bitter smile, "Liu Yunzhou, if one day the army comes to the gates of the city, will you betray Beirong?"
"Throughout my life, I, Liu Yunzhou, have only been loyal to all living beings under heaven, all creatures, and all common people."
The cold wind blew away the man's generous and unwavering words.
"good."
Xie Lingqin's "good" was a mix of relief and a sigh. She raised her hand and, despite her pale face, patted Liu Yunzhou's shoulder firmly. "Liu Yunzhou, I cannot predict the future. Remember, be loyal to what you uphold and persist in what you believe in."
"You, be careful."
The wind ruffled the surrounding grass, and Xie Lingqin and Tridacna's figures finally disappeared on the horizon ahead.
"Let's go." Consort Shu looked at Liu Yunzhou, her tone revealing a hint of something unsettling.
"Your Majesty, why are you helping Xie Lingqin? You are the Emperor's Noble Consort. Helping her is harming yourself."
"If I told you that the Crown Prince asked me to do this favor, would you believe me?"
Consort Shu looked at Liu Yunzhou intently.
Liu Yunzhou's eyes darkened, and he was extremely disbelieving. "Your Highness said that the Crown Prince asked you to help cover Xie Lingqin's escape from the city?"
"See, even you find it unbelievable, which further proves that he has done a very good job these past few days."
"No, he's clearly the Crown Prince..."
"I don't know." Consort Shu shook her head, stopping Liu Yunzhou from continuing, a faint sadness hanging in her slender phoenix eyes. "I only know that the Crown Prince's heart is too deep, it turns out..."
Consort Shu turned around and looked towards the city gate, where the thick white clouds seemed to stretch out even more vast and boundless.
"So, when he helped me in the palace that day, he foresaw this day..."
"Let's go back to the city. Just say that I'm tired and don't want to walk anymore. By the time Qi Rufeng comes to his senses, he won't be able to catch up with me."
...
At this moment, at the highest point of the city gate, in that dark corner, those eyes, that person, finally moved slightly, then turned around, his figure flashed, and he landed in an alley, heading straight for the Crown Prince's residence.
"Yu Wenyao."
Behind him, Yu Qingyi called out to him.
"She has safely left the city."
“I know.” Yu Qingyi stepped forward. “I just don’t understand. Since you have already subdued the Emperor at the Imperial Mausoleum and destroyed that puppet and that silver needle, there is nothing left to restrain the Emperor. You could have taken the opportunity to ascend the throne and kept Xie Lingqin to explain the situation. Why… did you not do that?”
"What use is this position to me without her?"
Yuwen Yao stopped and turned around, his deep, cold phoenix eyes gently looking at Yu Qingyi. "Some things, she will know one day; some memories, she will awaken. She will not forgive me. After all, what I did to her was far more than just poisoning her. Since that's the case, it's better to let her open her heart and grow up without any burden, to... forget me."
Yuwen Yao practically chewed out the last three words.
It was light, yet so heavy that it made his heart ache.
"So, you're just going to ignore everything?" Yu Qingyi asked, somewhat annoyed. "I heard that the Emperor has returned to the palace safely."
"Yu Qingyi, the world is vast, but all I want now is for her to live. I once thought I had done enough, that I would marry her properly. I love her, I love her so much, I'm so afraid, so afraid of losing her… I despicably threatened Xu Yiran with the antidote, arrogantly building a safe haven for her, naively believing the Emperor wouldn't discover her true identity, that we would marry, that we would have children, so many children. She wanted me to be Emperor, so I would be Emperor; she wanted a peaceful and prosperous world, so I would give her one. Even if this life is tormented by lies, I only want her to be happy, but…"
Yuwen Yao's voice suddenly stopped, and a gentle mist lingered in his deep, dark eyes.
The wind blew, and night fell.
Yu Qingyi clearly saw a tear slide down the Crown Prince's angular face.
"A silent gourd..."
"You know everything about her and me. Even if you didn't know before, you've come to understand clearly these days that what exists between us isn't just a blood feud, but an insurmountable chasm, forever..."
Yuwen Yao suddenly raised his hand, his long, slender fingers touching the corner of his lips, where tears were wet and salty. "I don't drink, I dare not drink. For so many years, I've been afraid of accidentally revealing that secret. After falling in love with her, I dared not utter the word 'alcohol' so easily, because back then, I was the one who started it all, it was me..."
"A silent gourd..."
"If I weren't surnamed Yuwen, if I hadn't acted impulsively back then..."
As the wind blew, Yuwen Yao's figure disappeared from the spot.
However, the dampness that had just fallen on the withered leaves did not dry up quickly.
Under the moonlight, it was so cold, yet it lingered in people's hearts, causing them to feel pain.
Yu Qingyi moved and picked up the not-too-yellow withered leaf.
You silent devil, your love is too humble.
A touch of sadness crept into Yu Qingyi's usually carefree and unrestrained brows. He looked at the sky, dark clouds swirling in his eyes, and his face fell into a state of confusion.
This place appears peaceful on the outside, but in reality, it was already riddled with holes and finally cracked.
The building is about to collapse.
Chaos is brewing.
...
The Imperial Palace.
The Imperial Study.
The Emperor looked down at Yuwen Yao, and in his deep eyes, there was truly no trace of fatherly affection left.
"Okay, okay."
After saying "good" three times in a row, the emperor finally stood up. "Crown Prince, good Crown Prince, you may not want the throne, but I want to give it to you now."
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