Shen Xihe tilted her head back and silently took a slow, deep breath. Long before he went to seek her out, he had already accepted this cruel reality. Hearing it now still brought a deep, suffocating pain, yet it seemed not unbearable.
"Do you know how I came to know of this abandoned place?" Xiao Huayong suddenly asked.
Shen Xihe gently shook her head.
"The first time I came to the hunting grounds, I was six years old." Xiao Huayong's eyes grew distant, his thoughts drifting far away. "I was riding a small pony, chasing game with my guards. At some point, the guards around me disappeared, leaving me alone. I turned to go back but encountered a tiger."
The tiger lunged at him. He rolled off his horse and narrowly escaped. Perhaps because the horse served as prey, the tiger didn't pursue him, but he didn't dare let his guard down. The path down was blocked, so he could only climb upward, hoping to reach higher ground to call for help.
He had run halfway up when he heard the tiger's roar. Without time to think, he desperately scrambled higher. Not long after, he spotted the tiger's figure. By then, he wasn't far from this place. The stone crevice leading here was extremely narrow—too tight for the tiger to enter—and thus he escaped with his life.
"How could the Crown Prince have been lost?" Shen Xihe frowned.
"Even among our ancestors, there were emperors who were lost. I am merely a Crown Prince; losing me is not uncommon." Xiao Huayong smiled lightly, as if it were of no consequence. "I dared not leave this place and gathered everything edible."
To stave off hunger, he deliberately dripped blood at the entrance of the stone crevice, using himself as bait to lure wild beasts. When one attacked and got stuck in the narrow gap, he used a dagger hidden in his boot to stab it to death, dismember it, and drag the pieces inside.
He drank the beast's blood to quench his thirst and ate raw meat to fill his belly.
"I waited three days, but no one came to find me. Later, observing the wind direction, I tore my robes, bit my finger to write a message in blood, and let the fabric pieces fly downward. Countless pieces were cast, until finally one was seen by my guard commander, who came to rescue me. That was seven days later."
The Crown Prince has six guard units, each commanding three to five squads of soldiers. Aside from Your Majesty, he possesses the largest personal guard.
"The Crown Prince is exceptionally wise and resourceful." Shen Xihe couldn't help but admire him.
At the tender age of six, he remained calm in the face of danger, resilient in adversity, and unyielding in his will to survive.
How many six-year-old children would dare to travel alone, let alone endure the desolate valley, surrounded by wild beasts, at the edge of a cliff?
"When I returned to the palace, all the guards who had accompanied me on the hunt and gotten separated with me were already dead." Xiao Huayong's tone was placid, without a trace of resentment or pain as he recalled these events. "From that moment, I knew that those around me were blades that could take my life at any time. I began to learn how to distinguish friend from foe, to neither trust nor rely on others lightly."
"Now, no one can deceive the Crown Prince." This was the price of growth and strength.
With a light laugh, Xiao Huayong turned his head and gazed deeply into Shen Xihe's eyes. "It is for this reason that I no longer trust others lightly. But why is it that you, Princess, do not believe in romantic love between men and women?"
So, he had shared his childhood story out of curiosity about her disbelief in romantic love.
Shen Xihe did not hesitate. "The world is unjust."
Xiao Huayong was slightly taken aback, as if he didn't understand.
"Men can have one wife and multiple concubines, while women must devote themselves to one person for life." Shen Xihe explained. "I do not understand—if one's heart is truly given, how can they accept others? And if the heart is not given, why force women to offer their devotion?"
"Princess... is this why you do not believe in romantic love?" Xiao Huayong suddenly laughed.For some reason, his mood lifted. He had thought she distrusted romantic love alone because she had once been hurt by it...
Shen Xihe was puzzled by his laughter: "What part of my words is laughable?"
"Is the Junzhu unaware of the Pan-Yang devotion?" Xiao Huayong asked, starlight shimmering in his eyes, tenderness hidden within.
Pan An, the most renowned man of the Western Jin Dynasty, was betrothed to his wife at twelve. They loved each other for life—he took no concubines while alive and remarried no one after her death.
He devoted all his loyalty and deep affection to his childhood sweetheart wife, a tale passed down through the ages as the "Pan-Yang devotion."
"In a thousand years of history, there is only this one example. It is precisely because too many infatuated women aspire to the Pan-Yang devotion that they spend their lives trapped in elusive love, wasting their years. One must understand that a Pan Anren appears only once in a millennium. Even if one is fortunate enough to encounter a gentleman like Pan Anren, one may not necessarily be a Yang Rongji. When different people meet, they forge different outcomes."
"The Junzhu speaks wisely—when different people meet, they forge different outcomes." Xiao Huayong gazed deeply at Shen Xihe. "I possess the heart of Pan Anren. Would the Junzhu be willing to reciprocate with the sentiment of Yang Rongji?"
Caught off guard by this sudden confession, Shen Xihe was stunned. She showed no trace of emotion or fluctuation, only studying Xiao Huayong with a peculiar look.
"Why does the Junzhu look at me so?" Xiao Huayong had anticipated various reactions from Shen Xihe, but not this one.
"Your Highness should not be someone entangled in romantic sentiments," Shen Xihe stated bluntly. "A man with lofty ambitions, a mind full of strategies, and soaring aspirations would not be confined by worldly affections."
Throughout history, those with great ambitions disdained petty romantic entanglements and naturally had no use for so-called deep affection. Women were merely condiments—nice to have but not essential. Why would they bother expending effort on women?
"Your Highness is of the imperial clan, while Pan Anren was from the scholar-official class. The constraints of the imperial family differ from those of the scholar-officials."
In a thousand years of imperial dynasties, there has never been an emperor with only one woman. Even Emperor Wen of Sui and Empress Dugu, though they had no children with other women, did not mean he had only Empress Dugu—they were merely unnamed and without status.
"Junzhu, whether a man can achieve something depends on whether he is willing, not whether he is able." Xiao Huayong said. "Whether a beauty can make a hero bow depends on whether the beauty is worthy—and this beauty is not about appearance. The Junzhu's beauty, to me, surpasses the magnificence of mountains and rivers."
"Junzhu, I am an extremely discerning person. Had I not met you, I would likely have lived as you imagined—sober, wielding the power of the realm; drunk, reclining on the knees of beauties. Countless beauties, not because I am frivolous, but because none could enter my heart, leaving me free to follow my whims."
"I believe many past heroes were like this. Their lack of deep affection was not because they were blinded by lofty ambitions, but because they were fortunate to have not yet met someone who could capture their heart—as I have been fortunate to meet you, Junzhu."
"Your Highness, the most fickle thing in this world is the human heart." Shen Xihe remained calm, her patience unwavering.
Not only had Xiao Huayong just saved her, but she also admired and respected someone like him. Setting aside romantic feelings, Xiao Huayong was, in her heart, a towering figure of a generation—a majestic hero she looked up to. She did not wish to see such a glorious and lofty image shattered.
"The human heart is easily changed..." Xiao Huayong nodded lightly and chuckled. "That is merely an excuse for those who lack self-control and self-awareness."
Before Shen Xihe could speak, Xiao Huayong continued: "Since childhood, my resolve has been firm. What I desire, I will not rest until I achieve. The person I have set my heart on will not change, even if dynasties fall, years pass, or the stars shift in the sky."I know my words today cannot convince you, so I ask you to observe my future actions.
I do not seek your belief today, nor do I ask for your emotional response. I only beg your permission to spend my remaining life proving this: the rising sun and eternal moon pale in comparison to the depth of my devotion to you.
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