Li Langxuan pursed his lips and touched his nose as if to cover up his misunderstanding: "I understand, thank you for your guidance, Your Excellency."
Shang Yunlan stopped talking and continued playing chess with himself. For a moment, the only sound in the large hall was the soft clatter of the chess pieces against the board.
Li Langxuan didn't linger. As soon as he left, Shang Yunlan looked up at the couplet hanging at the entrance of the hall.
When falsehood is taken for truth, even truth becomes falsehood; when nothingness is taken for existence, even existence becomes nothingness.
Shang Yunlan seemed to have thought of something, and smiled slightly as she looked at the chess game that had just been completed, murmuring, "It is indeed difficult to tell the truth... but you will always slip up eventually."
...
Shuzhou.
Shang Shaoyan sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the sleeping Qiao Xiuyu, his mind in turmoil.
Anyone faced with such sincere affection—unless they have a personality flaw—would be deeply moved. Shang Shaoyan couldn't help but feel flustered, and once again examined his feelings for Qiao Xiuyu.
Like? Of course. Love? Not quite.
Her attitude towards Qiao Xiuyu was not very good, but Qiao Xiuyu reciprocated with his sincerity. Even someone as mentally strong as Shang Shaoyan couldn't help but feel guilty and uneasy.
Especially since the two are naturally opposed in their positions, Qiao Xiuyu, though sometimes has a peculiar way of thinking, is also very perceptive and could not possibly be unaware of Shang Shaoyan's ambition—he just couldn't have imagined that Shang Shaoyan was going to do something so earth-shattering.
Shang Shaoyan thought silently that Qiao Xiuyu didn't really understand her; she wasn't as good as she seemed.
She was a con artist and an ambitious woman. Although she was mostly adorable, Qiao Xiuyu never saw her dirty side.
She suddenly felt a little sad.
Shang Shaoyan got up, intending to leave, but was unexpectedly pulled by Qiao Xiuyu's sleeve. She turned around in surprise and saw that the latter was half-opening her eyes, clearly very sleepy, but forcing herself to stay awake: "An'an, don't go, okay?"
Shang Shaoyan chuckled. She gently brushed Qiao Xiuyu's hand off her sleeve, and in the instant Qiao Xiuyu's eyes dimmed, she loosely grasped his hand.
She blinked and smiled, "I'm not leaving. I'll stay here with you. You can sleep well and don't be so worried."
Qiao Xiuyu nodded quietly, then closed her eyes in peace.
Shang Shaoyan propped his chin up with his other free hand, carefully looking at Qiao Xiuyu's sleeping face. Suddenly, he heard Qiao Xiuyu speak softly: "An'an, was the three-year period you mentioned the day you left Shengjing true?"
Shang Shaoyan paused, she wanted to coax him with "Of course it's true", but she couldn't bring herself to say it.
Qiao Xiuyu opened her eyes, stared intently at Shang Shaoyan, and a gentle smile bloomed on her beautiful face: "Don't be embarrassed, I know you're just trying to comfort me."
Shang Shaoyan remained silent. Suddenly, she felt an impulse, like a raging fire, crackling and screaming, wanting to tell Qiao Xiuyu all her plans. But when she thought of his identity as a prince of Northern Zhou, a bucket of ice water fell from the sky and extinguished the fire.
A hint of a smile appeared in Qiao Xiuyu's eyes: "Why aren't you saying anything?"
Shang Shaoyan snapped out of her reverie. She, who always managed a forced smile, found herself unable to manage one. She pursed her lips, tucked the blanket around Qiao Xiuyu, and abruptly changed the subject: "You must have had a hard journey. It's all my fault for not writing to you sooner, making you worry unnecessarily..."
Qiao Xiuyu was silent for a moment, then grasped Shang Shaoyan's hand and sighed, "An'an, you may not understand what I'm thinking."
Shang Shaoyan was stunned, somewhat puzzled as to why Qiao Xiuyu suddenly said that.
Qiao Xiuyu smiled, sat up, and gently embraced Shang Shaoyan. Shang Shaoyan was momentarily stunned, but then she felt his embrace was so warm and carried a faint fragrance of tea. She couldn't help but wrap her arms around Qiao Xiuyu's waist and obediently lean into his arms.
Qiao Xiuyu gently rubbed her chin against Shang Shaoyan's head, speaking with particular affection: "I first saw you at Old Madam Xie's pastry shop. At the time, I only thought you were really handsome. You asked me to be your musician, and I agreed. At the time, I only thought that since you were a county princess from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, I might be able to find out a lot of information..."
He paused for a moment, then chuckled softly, "Who knew that as we spent more and more time together, I found you to be more and more special, so I started to observe you. I know you like peach blossom hairpins, and you like pastries with beautiful colors and delicate shapes; when you're unhappy, you puff out your cheeks, and when you're happy, your naturally affectionate phoenix eyes sparkle. Later, I learned that you like reading, especially military books; you know martial arts, and you're highly skilled in them."
“An’an… I can guess a bit of what you’re planning, but I don’t care about it as much as you think. Do you remember how I was always on the move when I was a child? I’ve seen all the hardships of the world since I was a child. I’ve fought with beggars just for half a cold bun; I’ve also been beaten bloody by those so-called noble people just because I didn’t move out of their way in time… I’ve long since lost faith in those people.”
A storm raged in Shang Shaoyan's heart. She was so shocked that she looked up abruptly, only to accidentally meet Qiao Xiuyu's gentle eyes.
She wanted to say something, but fell silent when she heard about Qiao Xiuyu's past experiences.
Shang Shaoyan suddenly tightened his grip around Qiao Xiuyu's waist. She felt a pang of heartache, but said nothing, only casually, "I don't understand what you're talking about."
Qiao Xiuyu hugged Shang Shaoyan and whispered, "Whether you understand or not, I'll just say what I want to say. An'an, I was born into an imperial family, but I grew up in the martial world. When I was eight, my father and mother found me and took me back. I thought I could finally have a home. But my father never even glanced at me, and my mother was busy vying for favor. Only my brother and I were the closest. He was poisoned and his health was very poor. The imperial physician predicted that he wouldn't live past twenty-five. I was so healthy, yet he always treated me like a pitiful little thing and always protected me... He always said that his dream was to venture into the martial world. He didn't want the throne or imperial power. He just wanted to see this beautiful land."
At this point, he sighed softly: "An'an, do what you want to do. I will forget what I said today as soon as I turn my back—but I want to ask you, don't hide from me, don't stay away from me."
"Will you like me a little?"
That last sentence even carried a hint of humble pleading.
Shang Shaoyan listened silently, and when he came to his senses, he was suddenly surprised to find that there were two lines of tears on his face.
She thought for a moment, then gently broke free from Qiao Xiuyu's embrace.
Qiao Xiuyu stiffened, a huge sense of loss swirling in her heart, almost making her faint, before she suddenly relaxed: "It's okay, I..."
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