V2C128

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Is it possible that she was unhappy about this marriage?

The Governor of Yecheng, Bai Fenglin, is the best of the young men of this generation of the Six Clans, he is handsome and elegant, knows how to read and write, has a noble background, and is probably to become the future White King. To marry him would be a dream come true for all the noble maidens of the Six Clans, and rightfully so. Yet why is the Princess still so unhappy?

Could it be that… she was still thinking about that shark who had been away for such a long time and was nowhere to be found? However, what Grandma Sheng didn’t know was that Zhu Yan was thinking of another shark in that moment.

“Nana,” seeing Grandma Sheng’s approaching shadow in the waters of the pond, she turned her head and questioned the old woman, “Is there any news of that little brat?”

Grandma Sheng was stunned for a moment, “Which little brat?”

“Sumo!” Zhu Yan stomped her foot, “No one had been able to get news about him, I am so anxious.”

Grandma Sheng secretly sighed with relief, shook her head and said, “No news has reached us from Yecheng’s housekeeper yet, I’m afraid they still don’t know his whereabouts.”

“How can this be happening?” Zhu Yan couldn’t help but feel a little agitated, and her tone changed, “It’s been a month and a half! I’ve released so many flying cranes out these days, and none of them have brought back any news – why don’t I just take myself a quick trip to Yecheng to look up for him?”

“That won’t do!” Grandma Sheng was startled and hastily tried desperately to dissuade her, “You’ve just returned from your last journey, and you’re about to get married, how can you still wander around?”

“Isn’t there still some time left before the big wedding?” She tapped her foot, apprehensive, “In case something happens to that little brat, I…”

“Alas, young princess, even if you go, what can you do? In terms of being acquainted with Yecheng, the housekeeper is a hundred times better than you. If he can’t even find him, it would be a waste of time for you to go.” Grandma Sheng tried her best to dissuade Zhu Yan from this idea, “Besides, the Crown Prince is coming to the residence tomorrow, you can’t afford to cause any more trouble!”

“What?” Zhu Yan was taken aback, “The Crown Prince? What is he… coming to the Palace for?”

“Heaven’s grace is mighty. The big wedding is approaching, and the Crown Prince is coming to bestow gifts by order of the Emperor.” Grandma Sheng wanted to sound lively to make Zhu Yan happy, but she didn’t realize that every word she uttered was piercing her heart, “It is said that for this big wedding, the Bei Mian Emperor has rewarded an entire collection of one hundred pieces of precious treasures from the state treasury, and the Crown Prince is to personally deliver the courtesy gift list to the residence as a token of his benevolence towards the Red Clan.”

“Is that so?” Zhu Yan shuddered, while her face went a little ashen.

He… he was coming for her? Or was it in the guise of the Crown Prince, coming to offer her hand in marriage?

After parting at Jiuyi Mountain, what she had in mind was to never see each other again – from then on, she would go far away, hide alone in some different corner of the world and lick her wounds, silently waiting for life to fade away.

But she discovered she was so wrong: it was impossible for her to never see him again.

Because he will own every inch of Yunhuang, she will live her entire life in his shadow: watching him coming to give her hand in marriage, watching him ascend to the throne, watching his big Royal wedding… every single news from him will reach her ears, yet she will only be able to watch, unable to utter a single word.

The distance between them will be just a stone’s throw away, but they will end their lives far away from each other. So, this is what their end looks like.

Until Grandma Sheng left, Zhu Yan was still staring blankly at the pool of water in the garden, sitting there in a daze the entire afternoon, not even realizing that the sky was getting dark and the new moon was rising, and that someone had quietly appeared behind her.

A breeze started to blow around her. A white dress reflected in the pool, swaying faintly in the waves of light.

“Master… Master?!” Zhu Yan involuntarily exclaimed in shock, turning back instantly.

Shi Ying was indeed standing in the darkness of the night, watching her in silence, frowning slightly. His white dress was shimmering in the moonlight, like a dream. He replaced the gorgeous and elaborate gowns of the palace on this occasion and wore only a simple white robe. For a while, he appeared to have reverted to his former appearance as a cultivator of the Jiuyi Mountain, except for his eyes, which appeared to be so distant and troubled that they were no longer as bright and clear as they used to be.

Zhu Yan jumped to her feet and took a step forward, but then held back with great difficulty. She did her best to calm herself down and looked at the other person, although her voice was still shaking a little uncontrollably, “Aren’t you… supposed to come tomorrow?”

“I came to ask you a question.” He finally opened his mouth, “If I wait until tomorrow, it will be too late.”

Zhu Yan’s heart skipped a beat, and for a moment countless speculations swept through her mind, “What… is the matter?”

“You…” Shi Ying looked at her, and his eyes wavered slightly – although they had not seen each other for only a few days, she had obviously lost weight again, her plump cheeks had become sunk, her lower jaw was pointed, and even her dazzling bright eyes looked unusually wide. He wavered, shifting his gaze away from her and focusing on the remaining lilies in the pond, then spoke in a whisper: “Are you marrying Bai Fenglin willingly?… or was your father pressuring you?”

“…” Zhu Yan shuddered, her lips moved, but she couldn’t say a word.

So, he deliberately came here just to ask her these words? But what was she supposed to say? Of course, she was unwilling to marry Bai Fenglin, yet she was doing it willingly – how could one explain such complicated predicament in one or two words?

Besides, what could she even say? Say that she had participated in the rebellion of the Restoration Army, that the Red Clan had shielded the leader of the Restoration Army, and that the Grand Master of Kongsang had used this to force her to agree to a marriage between the two clans? The Grand Master was his mentor and now the backbone of his succession, so what would be the consequences of her claiming such a thing?

Countless words came to the surface of her tongue, but they would remain frozen, and in the end, not a single word could be spoken.

“Just tell the truth,” he looked at her expression and frowned, “you don’t have to be so afraid of me.”

“…” She visibly shuddered, but not because of fear. Zhu Yan plucked up the courage to look up at him, however his pupils as dark as the night, impossible to reach their bottom were gazing straight at her; she just glanced at them and her heart jolted, her head tingled like an electric shock, and her heart started to pound furiously in her chest.

“Say it, stop guessing about how to best answer, just tell the truth.” He caught her troubled expression but mistook it for something else, “I promised I will never use mind reading on you again. So, you must tell me exactly what you think.”

“Father… he didn’t force me.” She finally spoke out half-heartedly.

Shi Ying’s eyes wavered for a moment, as if a bolt of lightning swept through them, and returned to their unparalleled darkness. He remained silent for a moment before letting out a bitter laugh, “Indeed, you did it willingly. Otherwise, with your temper and skills, who could force you?”

“I…” Zhu Yan’s heart instantly froze and tried to argue with something, but then stopped.

“If you regret it, or have the slightest reluctance, please speak to me now,” Although it was a last attempt to obtain an answer, Shi Ying’s voice remained calm, “Don’t make it sound like that time in Susa Haru, when the situation turned out to be so desperate that you tried to run away from the marriage.”

“It won’t happen!” As if irritated by his words, she clenched her fists and exclaimed, “I promised my father that I would never mess up again!”

The wind of the twilight made his white clothes flutter slightly, but his entire body was as still as an ancient well, except for his eyes, which were extremely bright that one could almost see the depths of his soul when gazing into them. Although Zhu Yan knew that Master had always kept his promises and would not use his mind-reading skills on her anymore, at this moment, she was still trembling at the thought of being seen through.

However, he paused for a long time only to sigh, “You really do seem to have changed a little… Ah-Yan. Will you really do as you’re told from now on and never mess around again?”

“Yes,” she shook for a moment, trying her best to maintain her composure, “Didn’t you teach me a lesson back then, in Susa Haru? As the Princess of the Red Clan, since I am always protected by my people, clothed and fed, and enjoy the blessings of being above all others, it is only right that I should do my duty by getting involved in such things as the family alliance marriage…”

As she spoke, her voice became softer and softer, finally stopping.

Shi Ying was listening in silence, a bitter smile passing through his eyes – yes, these were the words he personally said when he was lecturing her, but now that they were coming out of her mouth as intended, they appeared to sting with an almost bitter irony. She resented him back then, but now that she had grown up, understood and learned to think about the bigger picture, shouldn’t he be impressed by this?

“Since you’re so determined, then so be it.” After a long time, he finally opened his mouth, “I… am also relieved.”

“Mhm.” She lowered her head and her voice went really soft, “Thank you so much for your concern, Master.”

That name Master caused him to shake slightly, and suddenly he properly corrected her, “In the future, you should stop calling me Master, you were never an official disciple of the Jiuyi Divine Temple. Now you should address me as His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince – and after a while, you shall address me as Your Imperial Majesty.”

“…” She froze for a moment, not knowing how to reply.

Instead, he no longer looked at her, waved his sleeves and turned away, leaving behind only a few faint words: “Well, you can go back to rest early… when I come to the Red King’s residence tomorrow, you don’t have to come out to greet me.”

Shi Ying lifted his hand. A fluttering sound came from the sky and a snow-white bird approached from the depths of the greenery. Shi Ying leapt onto the Chongming’s back, and his eyes held a myriad of complex emotions, but ultimately melted into silence.

“Live your life as you see fit from now on.” Shi Ying looked back at her one last time, his eyes turning gentle as he sighed almost indistinctly, “Goodbye, Ah-Yan.”

As Zhu Yan watched him turning away, a great pain engulfed her heart, but she could not utter a word.

“Wait, I have one more question to ask…” In the moment of his departure, Zhu Yan suddenly remembered that there was something else she needed to ask, the whereabouts of Shi Yu, but it was already too late – the Chongming Divine Bird unfolded its wings and flew away, turning in an instant into a tiny little speck in the twilight.

Where is Shi Yu? Where did he go? Is he already dead? Was it you to do it?

She wanted to ask these questions for Xueying, but she didn’t get to do it after all.

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