In the Dai Prince Manor, Xiao Changtian was escorted back to his residence. He rushed straight to the main chamber and saw his princess consort, Li Yanyan, sitting upright before the dressing table, painting her nails with a vermilion polish that was glaringly bright and blood-like.
"Leave us." With a frosty expression, Xiao Changtian dismissed everyone.
Li Yanyan was the fallen princess of Xiliang. All the attendants around her were from the prince's household; she had long lost her personal maids. These servants obediently paid their respects and withdrew silently without a sound.
Li Yanyan remained with her head lowered, letting out an almost imperceptible chuckle.
Xiao Changtian strode forward, looming over her, his eyes suppressing a storm of emotions: "You have immense audacity! How dare you use my name to collude with Yu Zao in grave robbing and tomb excavation!"
Li Yanyan glanced at him, tilting her head slightly, a seductive charm flickering in the corners of her eyes: "Rest assured, Yu Zao has no evidence. Even if His Majesty orders an investigation, it won't lead back to you. All you need to do is proclaim your innocence, and this matter will eventually blow over."
"Why are you amassing so much ill-gotten wealth? What do you intend to do?" Xiao Changtian slammed his palm on the dressing table, suppressing his fury as he pressed for an answer.
Her red lips curved into a radiant smile as Li Yanyan replied, "Must you even ask what I want, Your Highness?"
A sharp pain pierced Xiao Changtian's heart. He gazed at her, his eyes gradually reddening, filled not only with anger but also profound sorrow.
He had trusted her so deeply that he never guarded against her, allowing her to easily obtain his seal and ensnare Yu Zao. Little did Yu Zao know that the one he served was not the Dai Prince he had always believed, but the Princess Consort of Dai!
The smile at the corner of her lips fading slightly, Li Yanyan turned back to face the dressing mirror. Staring at her reflection, she suddenly felt a wave of disgust. She closed her eyes briefly, and when she reopened them, they were utterly indifferent: "I told you back then that my heart holds only hatred. I warned you not to seek my hand in marriage, or you would surely regret it."
"I thought... I believed there was affection between us. I thought that one day you would let go of the resentment for your homeland. It was the tide of history, unstoppable by anyone." Xiao Changtian spoke, tears glistening in his eyes. "A strong nation conquering a weak one, unifying the realm—it is following the mandate of heaven." If Xiliang had been the powerful one, it would be my soul lamenting the fall of my kingdom now."
"Unfortunately, it is I whose kingdom fell." Li Yanyan picked up an ivory comb and gently smoothed a strand of hair falling over her chest. She stared expressionlessly at her reflection, refusing to allow herself any softness. "I am not Gu Qingzhi, not one of your noble ladies of the Celestial Dynasty. I lack such magnanimity and cannot comprehend grand schemes or heavenly mandates. All I know is that I am the princess of Xiliang, the treasure my Father held in the palm of his hand.
And your father destroyed my kingdom, killed my father—this enmity allows no coexistence under the same sky."
Just as she had once shouted to the Youning Emperor: "If you do not kill me today, one day you will live to regret it."
"Do you think, among all the princesses of Xiliang, why were you the one allowed to live?" Xiao Changtian's voice was weak and faint, as ethereal as mist scattered by the wind.
"Hahahahaha..." Li Yanyan suddenly burst into unrestrained laughter, tears welling in her eyes. She raised a hand to gently wipe away the teardrops at the corners of her eyes. "Should I thank you? Thank you for pleading with His Majesty to spare my life? For making me a pawn in His Majesty's display of mercy and pacification toward Xiliang, so that the Xiliang royal family would despise my cowardice for not having the courage to die for my principles?"With that, she abruptly stood up, her glistening eyes brimming with strength and hatred: "If I could, I would beg you to have let me follow Father to the fate of Xiliang back then. By keeping me alive to satisfy your selfish desires, you've condemned me to live every day in agony and hatred. Xiao Changtian, I will never be grateful to you—I even detest you, detest you for letting me live."
The tangible hatred in her eyes pierced Xiao Changtian's heart like a sharp sword. Unable to bear it, he staggered back several steps, knocking over a clothes rack before barely steadying himself. The stinging pain at the corners of his eyes could no longer be suppressed—tears fell as he clutched his chest, forcibly swallowing back the metallic taste of blood rising in his throat.
His unprecedented disheveled state reflected in her vision, Li Yanyan turned her face away.
"So... so... you've been wishing for death all along..." Xiao Changtian wiped the tear stains from his face. "I was wrong..."
Li Yanyan gripped the ivory comb in her hand so tightly her fingertips nearly snapped it in two.
Lowering his gaze, Xiao Changtian asked distantly, "Who have you conspired with?"
Where had those funds been transferred? Li Yanyan alone couldn't have executed everything so meticulously, even with his seal.
"None of your concern," Li Yanyan replied coldly.
Xiao Changtian remained bowed for a long time before closing his eyes in anguish, his lips curling in self-mockery. "Right... it's my incompetence... You should have chosen someone better..."
With that, he strode out of the main room. The moment he stepped outside, he nearly stumbled on the stone steps. His personal guard rushed to support him, but he pushed everyone away and ran to the backyard, where he slumped onto a stone bench.
Like a soulless puppet, he only snapped back to awareness when snowflakes began drifting down at some unknown hour.
Raising his eyes to the swirling snow, he remembered that night ten years ago—also amid such heavy snowfall—when the Kingdom of Xiliang fell, its royal family captured, and all male descendants executed.
He had rushed to the Hall of Bright Governance and knelt before Your Majesty, pleading for Li Yanyan's life. They had known each other since childhood—though it wasn't romantic feelings back then, he simply couldn't bear to see her die.
"Third Son, nothing in this world is ever obtained merely by asking," the tall, young emperor told him.
The teenage Xiao Changtian was no ignorant child. Having lived in the deep palace for ten years, he pressed his forehead hard against the icy floor. "Your son is willing to exchange his life for hers."
"You would seek death for a princess of a fallen kingdom?" A flicker of anger crossed the emperor's face.
"Your son dares not. This body and life were bestowed by my parents—how could I be unfilial?" Xiao Changtian hurriedly explained. "I beg Your Majesty to spare the Xiliang royal family. Henceforth, I will obey Your Majesty in all things, remaining loyal to You and to whomever Your Majesty entrusts your heart."
He had sold his life to Your Majesty, vowing to become Your Majesty's blade—a sword that strikes without question, severing heads upon command.
Amid the frozen landscape, under eaves adorned with flowing lanterns, he saw the disappointment on Your Majesty's face.
In the end, Your Majesty spared Li Yanyan's life and halted the executions of the remaining Xiliang royals. He never knew whether it was to pacify Xiliang or because Your Majesty had felt a shred of paternal affection for him. All these years, Your Majesty had never demanded anything of him. He lived quietly, avoiding conflict, being an obedient prince and prince.
From reluctance to concern, he gradually fell for her, wanting to give everything to ensure her well-being. When marriageable age arrived, he defied his mother, threatening his own life until she finally consented to let him marry Li Yanyan.All these years, though husband and wife had shared a bed but dreamed different dreams, he had never once regretted his choices. Yet now, regret washed over him. He did not regret his actions over the years, only that in his youth he had failed to understand her—never realizing that what she sought was unyielding righteousness, and that his own selfishness had condemned her to a decade of sorrowful existence.
"Wrong, wrong... In the end, it was I who was wrong..."
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