...
...
After the burial of Song Miyao.
Xu Xing stayed in the Biyuan Mountain Cave Mansion for half a day before finally making up his mind to return to Fengxi Country to see Zhao Yunniang one last ti.
Perhaps he would ask... whether she would walk the Immortal Journey or not.
Wielding the sword to sever the bonds of love.
In the world, even if one can see the pros and cons clearly, one can still hardly escape from the word "love".
Back then, due to the corruption scandal of Taipu Temple, he was locked up in prison, where he t Zhao Yunniang, a Qingguan from the Wangyue Building sent by Han Sui...
It seems that there wasn't much affection between the two of them during these forty years.
As equals in marriage...
Supporting each other with affection...
The two had been a well-behaved couple.
"South Garden's Lost Love, and the deep affection of the past swords. The lie I created eventually deceived even myself..."
「In Shenjing, atop the Watchtower in the Palace City.」
Xu Xing looked towards Kunhua Palace and shook his head. With a long sigh, he turned into a beam of Escaping Light and hurried over.
This ti, he didn't use the technique to conceal his presence.
"Is... Your Majesty here?"
In the main hall, behind a screen in the inner room, Zhao Yunniang was half-reclining on the Phoenix Couch to rest. When the sound of Xu Xing's footsteps reached her ears, she guessed who it was.
"I hope Your Majesty will forgive , but this concubine's beauty has faded, and it is inconvenient for to welco Your Majesty properly..."
For the first ti in over forty years of marriage, Zhao Yunniang made such a trivial request to Xu Xing. It was an act of profound humility.
Given her status as a Qingguan, she felt it was already a great honor to be matched with Xu Xing. Therefore, she never dared to ask anything of him, fearing accusations of insatiable greed.
"I grant your request."
Xu Xing stood outside the screen. With his eyesight, he could pierce the screen's obstruction without resorting to spells and see his wife inside—her hair silver, already in the twilight of her life.
He waved his hand, and all the palace maids in the inner hall of Kunhua Palace withdrew.
At this mont, the vast Kunhua Palace was left to the Emperor and Empress alone.
In the quiet palace chamber, Xu Xing paced, keeping a slight distance from Zhao Yunniang. "You can make requests of . The Immortal Path—Zhang'er wants to walk it, he pleaded with ... I didn't agree. But if you ask, I might not refuse. The bond between us is far greater than my fatherly affection for Zhang'er..."
As he spoke these last few words, his voice grew louder, his tone slightly rushed.
His inner turmoil was fully revealed in these words.
Xu Xing knew why Zhao Yunniang had remained so reticent, never asking him for a single thing.
To know when to advance and when to retreat... behind such wisdom lay a bitter past.
The devotion between the Emperor and Empress, so envied by the world, was rely a fabricated display. The common folk might not know, but Zhao Yunniang, the woman by his side, knew it all too clearly.
"If this concubine were to do so, Your Majesty would likely look down on . Even if there were gracious bestowals, they would be tinged with heartlessness..."
With the screen separating them, and emboldened by her age and having made her first request, Zhao Yunniang spoke with increasing candor, as if no one else were present.
She pulled off the thin blanket covering her legs. Old age had made her susceptible to the cold; her legs would tremble violently as soon as the weather turned chilly. She got off the bed, walked to the dressing table, sat on the round stool, and ticulously examined her reflection.
Traces of her forr beauty were still discernible.
She pulled open the drawer beneath the dressing table and took out a small box. Opening it revealed a dazzling array of jewelry.
Phoenix Hairpins, Jade Hairpins, floral adornnts...
Once she aged, wearing such vibrant jewelry would draw private ridicule, so she had long since sealed away these old treasures.
"That Your Majesty ca to see this concubine again today, and said such words, fills this concubine with contentnt..."
"This concubine wishes to say sothing that may displease Your Majesty. When this concubine was sent by Lord Han to bear Your Majesty a child, during those nearly two months of intimacy, this concubine felt no affection for Your Majesty."
"But..."
Zhao Yunniang recalled her flight to Southern Jiangxi Lonely Boat City. "After Your Majesty beca king and was willing to seek out, this concubine then developed so feelings for Your Majesty. Later... later... let us not speak of it..."
She shook her head.
It had, from the start, been a rushed and ill-fated union.
The prison cell, the red cloth canopy... She had been delivered to Xu Xing like a piece of property.
Even though many twists and turns followed, and she, a humble Zhangtairen, beca the empress of a nation.
Yet, she and Xu Xing were never childhood sweethearts, nor were they bound by a matchmaker's introduction or parental decree...
If she had, as Xu Xing implied, demanded more from him, then Xu Xing, her husband, would undoubtedly have looked down on her for it.
She, who had painstakingly regained her self-respect, how could she allow the man she shared her life with to belittle her?
Thus, this silence had endured until the twilight of her years.
Xu Xing closed his eyes, a pang of sadness gripping his heart. "If there were another chance, I fear you and I would still arrive at today's outco..."
No matter how clearly one perceives the world, no matter how deeply one understands everything, such matters are unavoidable.
Previously, he had been cold towards Zhao Yunniang and their son. This was because, from the very beginning, although Zhao Yunniang was under Han Sui's orders to bear his child, she had also been tasked with his assassination. The Musk Dragon Powder poison she administered had nearly killed him on several occasions.
It was only after his release from the prison cell, his rise to power through secession, and the founding of his nation, that Zhao Yunniang's quiet, unassuming nature, her lack of contention, finally stirred a flicker of affection in him for this, his first wife.
After all, humans are not like grass and trees; how can one be entirely without feelings?
If he were given another chance to choose his fate, he thought, he and Zhao Yunniang would still reach this sa point...
Even those who stand high above all are still played by the hands of fate.
"This ti, since I am here, Yunniang, you have a choice..."
A teardrop slid down Xu Xing's cheek. He opened his eyes, his voice gentle yet firm.
The Immortal Path is not inherently a path of heartlessness.
Before, he had decided to abandon Zhao Yunniang and their son because taking them with him to seek immortality would bring more harm than good.
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