V2C145

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“I…” Zhu Yan blurted out, yet she paused just before she finished her sentence.

Bound by the severe precepts of the Jiuyi Sect, although she had studied in the mountains from an early age, there had never been a formal ceremony of admittance between her and Shi Ying, and even the Temple’s roster had never included her name next to him as Master and Disciple, and no one in the outside world knew about it – at her father’s request, she never even dared to mention their relationship to the outsiders. To this day, she still wondered if she should mention this to Xue Ying.

It was such a long time ago, an incredibly long-lasting bond, but in the end, she was even unable to talk about it with anyone.

Xue Ying looked at her best friend’s subtle display of emotions and came to a sudden realization, “You really know him?”

“…” Zhu Yan kept silent, and her face turned white.

“No wonder you’re so nervous… so you’re angry with me because of this?” Xue Ying froze for a moment and smiled bitterly, “Harming him? Don’t you think a bit too highly of me? A person like him can be harmed by someone like me?”

Zhu Yan froze for a moment and blurted out, “That is also true!”

Yes, what kind of person was her Master? How could he be so easily fooled by Xue Ying when he was so highly skilled and had such an insight into everything?

“I was thinking, the Crown Prince has a clear understanding of what is going on…” Xue Ying held up the jade pendant and lowered her head, “He obviously knows everything, yet he still took the initiative to propose this marriage betrothal.”

“What? It was him who took the initiative?” Zhu Yan’s entire body shook and faltered, “Impossible!”

“Yeah, I don’t understand why he would do that either. Obviously, he could have had a better choice,” Xue Ying murmured thoughtfully, “Alas, Ah-Yan, I know you must be angry with me. But I can’t help it… I really don’t have any other way out. If it weren’t for…”

While she was speaking, she suddenly felt a pain in her hand, as the jade pendant had been snatched away with a swift rough motion.

“No! You absolutely cannot do this!” Zhu Yan clutched the jade pendant, and her eyes appeared to be burning with a fiery intensity, “Xue Ying, you cannot in good conscience marry someone you don’t like at all and sacrifice your own life!”

“I…” Xue Ying sighed long and hard before her face turning pale as she murmured, lost in thought, “I can’t help it!”

“In the end, what is the reason behind all this?” Zhu Yan was really unable to understand, “What do you mean there is no other way?”

Xue Ying became silent and finally, as if she wanted to take a difficult decision, she gritted her teeth and whispered, “Because… because I already have one.”

“Hmm?” Zhu Yan didn’t seem to realize what she was talking about and looked puzzled for a moment, “What does that mean? What do you have?”

“I’m having a baby!” Xue Ying’s voice was thin and slightly trembling as she lowered her eyes to caress her belly, with a sad and tender look on her face, “I… I have no other way.”

“What?!” Zhu Yan almost jumped up in shock and took a step back, inspecting her best friend and murmuring incredulously, “When did this… this happen? It can’t be! You’re having his baby already?”

While speaking, she took another look at Xue Ying’s little tummy – although the bulge was not obvious, it did not match her slim body shape, she was indeed two to three months pregnant. At that moment, Zhu Yan’s face turned white, and she felt a surge of anger rising from the bottom of her heart as she turned around, intending to scramble out of the door.

Xue Ying hastily pulled her back, “No! It’s Shi Yu’s baby!”

“Shi Yu?” Zhu Yan was stunned and halted her figure, which was about to scurry out the door, and the expression on her face shifted from wild anger to surprise, then from surprise to embarrassment and confusion as she sat down again in dejection and muttered, “Huh? Is it… Shi Yu’s posthumous son?”

“Mhm.” Xue Ying lowered her head, tears gradually filling her eyes, “That time, we secretly arranged to sneak out for a fun trip to Yecheng, we lived together all the way, he pestered me every day, insisting… that I really couldn’t resist him, so…”

“Okay, okay, I understand.” Zhu Yan’s mind drifted away, and was unsure whether her breath was a sigh of relief or a sinking heart, she suddenly stuttered in dismay, “You are also too inconsiderate! How could you let that boy’s flowery words seduce you into his bed like that? To get pregnant before you are married, in case your father finds out, he will definitely…”

At this point, she suddenly froze: yes! The White King first betrothed Xue Ying to the Purple King’s brother-in-law, and later consented to the marriage, apparently not knowing that she was pregnant either – otherwise, no matter how bold he was, he wouldn’t have dared to betroth his daughter, who was carrying Shi Yu’s child, to Shi Ying!

“If Shi Yu was still alive, even if I were pregnant, Father would only be overjoyed and urge us to marry quickly – so I wasn’t worried about playing around at that point,” Xue Ying whispered, but her eyes were full of despair as she choked out a sob,” But who would have thought that it would come to this? Shi Yu is no longer here, I have privately asked someone to go to Consort Qing, I have written several letters, but there has been no response. I really don’t know what else to do.”

Zhu Yan stomped her foot, “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I didn’t dare to tell anyone.” Xue Ying glanced at her best friend, and a mixture of shame and gratitude passed through her eyes, “I didn’t dare to tell Father, nor did I dare to tell Mother Consort… This child is Shi Yu’s only surviving son, and his status is special, I was afraid that once someone discovered it, I would…”

Zhu Yan froze for a moment, and her heart couldn’t help but wince.

Yes, Xue Ying couldn’t trust her after all. She was worried that she would reveal the secret and threaten the life of the child in her womb, which was why she had never mentioned it.

If Shi Yu was still Crown Prince, the child in her womb would be the heir to Yunhuang. But now that the situation has taken a turn for the worse, and the White King has decided to support Shi Ying and become an enemy of the Green King, the child in her belly will undoubtedly become a hidden danger – if her father finds out, he will probably force his daughter to have an abortion to avoid the trouble. There was a reason why Xue Ying was so afraid.

Zhu Yan remained in a daze for quite a while before suddenly asking, “Did Shi Ying… knew about the child when he appointed you?”

“He knew everything.” Xue Ying whispered softly, with a bizarre expression on her face, and murmured, “He said that as long as I agreed to be the Crown Princess, he would protect us from any harm, both mother and child.”

“What?” Zhu Yan was stunned, completely unable to understand the situation for a moment, “He’s not going insane, is he?”

“I also think this is too incredible.” Xue Ying paused for a moment, as if not knowing how to answer, and could only reveal a helpless bitter smile, “But what’s the use even if I don’t believe it? If I don’t agree to marry him, I will have to be forced by my father to marry that old man… When the matter will get exposed, I will still become a dead body with two souls.”

After a pause, as if exhausting her greatest courage, she whispered, “There’s no chance of surviving anyway, I… I might as well take this chance.”

“…” Zhu Yan fell silent, only to experience too many pieces of information being crammed into her brain at once, feeling a bit chaotic for a while, thinking ahead, but only understanding one thing, and looking at her best friend, she murmured, “So, you really are willing?”

“Yes, I am voluntarily getting married to Shi Ying. There is no other way for me to escape.” Xue Ying smiled bitterly and looked at her best friend, “Ah-Yan, I’m not as capable as you are to venture out into the world alone and not be afraid of anything. Other than accepting my fate, I don’t know what else I can do.”

“How could there be no other way?” Zhu Yan looked at her best friend’s pale and haggard face, and a feverish feeling rose up in her heart, “Regardless of anything else, I only have this question: do you really want this child?”

“Of course!” Xue Ying answered without a second thought, with a bright light in her eyes and a choked sob, “If it wasn’t for this child, why would I still be alive? This is Shi Yu’s only flesh and blood!”

“Good!” Zhu Yan rarely saw such a determined look in her soft, tender best friend’s eyes and said with emotion, “I can take you away from the Imperial Capital, and provide you with money, find you a place to live, and settle you down for the rest of your life! Why did you have to bury yourself and marry my Master under false pretenses? Didn’t you hate him so much for killing Shi Yu?”

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