My heart trembled once again, “Do you really like me that much?”
Qi Chenxuan spoke word by word, as if making a promise, looking seriously into my eyes: “Of the waters of the Weak River, I only wish to drink one ladle!”
“Okay, I promise to stay!”
For this sentence, I’m willing to gamble once more. Even if I lose completely, I’ll accept it…
Qi Chenxuan suddenly grabbed my hand and said, “Let’s go!”
“Where?” I immediately asked.
Qi Chenxuan said resolutely, “We don’t need to wait three days later. Let’s go tell Father Emperor our decision right now!”
“But…”
I looked hesitant, “Father Emperor probably won’t agree, right?”
“No matter whether he agrees or not, I’ve made up my mind. Today, I’ll explain everything no matter what!”
I suddenly discovered that when he’s serious, he’s even more attractive than when he was arrogant and self-absorbed…
“What if I wants you to give up the position of Crown Prince? Would your attitude still be this resolute?”
The Emperor’s voice suddenly sounded from behind, clearly with a hint of displeasure.
Both I and Qi Chenxuan were startled and quickly turned around, seeing the Emperor standing under a tree nearby, his face dark. Qi Chenxuan hurried to explain, “Father Emperor, we don’t need to…”
“Enough!”
Before he could finish, the Emperor coldly interrupted, “I just want you to answer, are you willing to give up the position of Crown Prince for her?”
Qi Chenxuan paused, then frowned, glanced at me, and then answered resolutely, “Yes! If Father Emperor insists on marrying into the Jing Yue Kingdom, I’m willing to give up the position of Crown Prince!”
I thought the Emperor would be furious, but unexpectedly, he didn’t get angry and instead laughed, “Good, good, good. Worthy of being my son, your devotion is no less than my love for your mother back then!”
Qi Chenxuan slightly relaxed and laughed, “This is called ‘like father, like son’!”
The Emperor then turned around and said to someone behind the tree, “National Master, you’ve seen that the Crown Prince is only devoted out of love and has no disrespect towards the Jing Yue Kingdom. Can we reconsider the marriage alliance?”
A figure walked out from behind the tree, none other than Lan Qiye who was supposed to have left. He raised his lips and laughed loudly, “Haha… I just wanted to test the feelings between the Crown Prince and the Side Consort. After all, our Jing Yue Kingdom’s Holy Maiden is talented in both literature and martial arts, with beauty and talent.
People wanting to marry her could line up for a street. She doesn’t need to be married so reluctantly!
The Emperor then asked, “The National Master won’t cause tension between the two countries because of this, right?”
“Of course!”
Lan Qiye smiled and nodded, “I came this time for the peace of both countries. How could I cause a war for no reason?”
“What about the marriage alliance?” The Emperor couldn’t help but ask.
Lan Qiye looked at me and said, “I suddenly have a very good suggestion. I wonder if the Emperor and the Prince will agree?”
The Emperor looked at him suspiciously, “National Master, please speak directly.”
Lan Qiye hooked his lips with a subtle smile, “I want to adopt the Crown Prince’s Side Consort as my sworn sister, and use the Jing Yue Kingdom’s Princess as the Crown Prince’s wife. Wouldn’t this be equivalent to a marriage alliance?”
What? I was suddenly stunned by this dramatically changing scene, beginning to not understand the situation…
Before I could fully react, I heard the Emperor immediately agree, “Good, we’ll do as the National Master says. Chenxuan, Moli, quickly come and thank the National Master for his generosity!”
“
Although Qi Chenxuan was unwilling to bow to him, he could only temporarily set aside his pride and said, “The National Master’s kindness today, Qi Chenxuan will remember in his heart!”
With a belly full of doubts, I could only follow and say, “Thank you, National Master!”
Lan Qiye raised an eyebrow and smiled to correct me, “Wrong. You should call me Elder Brother!”
I bit my lip, struggled for a moment, then reluctantly called out, “Yes, Elder Brother!”
By this point, the marriage alliance matter was finally resolved. Later, when I asked Lan Qiye why he did this, he just mysteriously smiled and said, “If you want to know the answer, wait until you fulfill your promise!”
What promise?
Of course, the journey to Jing Yue…
Three days later, Lan Qiye set off to return to Jing Yue Kingdom. On the same day, the Emperor summoned civil and military officials to announce his abdication to Qi Chenxuan and then left behind all his officials and secretly slipped out of the palace with the Empress to travel in the mountains.
Qi Chenxuan faced a series of succession ceremonies, busy day and night. After successfully ascending the throne, his first act was to issue an imperial decree, establishing Yan Ximo as empress and abolishing the triennial selection system.
However, no one expected that at the coronation ceremony, the main protagonist would actually be missing…
“Where is she?”
A roar erupted from the royal study, causing birds and beasts to scatter across the entire imperial palace. Palace maids and eunuchs knelt trembling everywhere.
The three maids serving her were the first to bear the brunt of the blame. “How did you take care of her? Why don’t you even know where she went?”
“Re-reply, Your Majesty, Madam… she left a note and ran away!” The three maids, already timid, were so frightened by his shout that they could barely respond.
“Left a note and ran away?”
Qi Chenxuan stared incredulously at the three maids: “Why? I… No! I have already made her empress. What could she possibly be dissatisfied with?”
“We… we don’t know!”
The three maids were on the verge of tears, their bodies shaking uncontrollably…
Blue Qi Ye persistently asked, “Memory loss and forgetting some things is normal, but if after losing memory, even one’s personality completely changes, isn’t that strange?”
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes and replied, “What’s so strange about that? I just saved your life. How well can you understand me? Perhaps what you saw back then wasn’t my true personality?”
“Maybe!”
That guy suddenly gave up questioning and smiled relievedly, “In any case, I’m glad to see you’re doing well!”
I finally understood, “So you did all this completely to repay the life-saving grace I showed you back then?”
“Hmm!”
“
Blue Qi Ye nodded and smiled, “By the way, to help you and your spouse reunite, I’ve already sent someone to deliver a letter. It should be received in the next couple of days…”
Before Blue Qi Ye could finish speaking, I almost bounced up from the ground, glaring at him fiercely, “What ‘you’? Running away is the priority! I really don’t understand you ancient men, all of you are so annoying!”
“Ancient men?”
Behind me, Blue Qi Ye’s puzzled voice rang out clearly, but I had no time to care, only hoping to escape before that guy could catch me. My love had just set sail, and I didn’t want to sink into the sea before even leaving port…
But who was that vague figure in the distance, and why did it feel increasingly familiar as it approached? By the time I fully saw the person’s appearance, it was too late to turn around. I heard Qi Chen Xuan’s furious voice ring out clearly: “Damn woman, where do you think you’re running?”
Damn it!
Why does it always end like this? Why do I keep running, only to fall into the trap every time? Could it be that in this life, we are destined to be entangled, unable to escape…
(End)
