Sang Luo froze. She hadn’t expected Yan to return.
’Then again, it makes sense. The wards on the underground palace were triggered, so of course he’d rush back imdiately. It’s sad, really. I wrote him a letter when he left a few days ago, but I still haven’t received a reply. The treatnt for a stand-in and the real thing truly is different.’
"Little Luo." Yan’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he sounded a little nervous.
Sang Luo, by contrast, was very calm. "Has the Divine Venerable decided on an explanation for ?"
"You... you know everything." His voice was strained.
’What was there left to be unclear about?’
The two tis Yan had slept with her.
The first ti, induced by visions from the Seductive dicine, he had mistaken her for the deceased Princess of the Red Fox Clan.
The second ti, she was wearing his fiancée’s clothes, which made him think of his ill-fated beloved again. Only then did he feel that kind of desire for her, using her as an outlet for his emotions and misplaced affection.
Sang Luo felt that Yan was also quite pitiful and tragic. Even knowing his fiancée was long gone, he was willing to sink into a false dream to make up for past regrets.
She had long had a premonition. Sotis Yan treated her with polite respect, gentle but distant; other tis, he would show a trace of lingering affection. But when he looked at her, it was as if he was looking through her at soone else...
Yan admitted it.
"At the ti, I thought she had co back. I mistook you for her..."
"The Divine Venerable is well aware that the Red Fox Clan Princess is long gone. Isn’t that a rather poor excuse?"
"I thought it was just a dream. In years past, I’ve dread of her more than once, so that ti..."
Sang Luo nodded, cutting him off. "I understand."
’It would be a lie to say it didn’t hurt at all. There was a tightness in Sang Luo’s chest. After being so intimate with Yan, it was impossible to say she didn’t care. But they had spent too little ti together for her to have developed any deep feelings for him. Still, for him to admit to her face that she was just a substitute for the Red Fox Clan Princess... Anyone in her shoes would be furious!’
"I will pack my things and leave Qingqiu today. I won’t be a bother to you anymore, Lord Divine Venerate."
For the first ti, Sang Luo saw a clear shift in his emotions. Yan’s breath caught, and he strode over to her, staring intently into her eyes. His gaze held a mix of attachnt and reluctance to let her go...
Sang Luo once again slled the faint, pleasant scent of herbs on him, a scent she’d grown fond of. ’At this mont,’ she couldn’t help but think, ’perhaps Yan does have so feelings for . Or maybe, he just doesn’t want to let go of the substitute he finally found.’
In the end, he did not ask her to stay. He said softly,
"I’m sorry."
"There’s nothing to be sorry for. You’ve helped a great deal, Lord Divine Venerate. Besides, I was the one who sched against you first, taking such a huge advantage of you. I’m afraid I’ll never be able to repay you in this lifeti." Sang Luo shook her head and said in a low voice, "It’s just that... my heart feels heavy."
Yan’s eyes wavered, and he raised a hand, wanting to stroke her face. Sang Luo turned her head slightly and took two steps back, evading his touch.
Yan’s long, elegant hand froze in mid-air.
Sang Luo looked up and gave him a dazzling, brilliant smile. Yan was stunned all over again.
She smiled mischievously. "Do I really look that much like the Princess of the Red Fox Clan?"
Yan snapped back to his senses and shook his head with a bitter smile. "Your personality is very different from hers. She was doted on and spoiled from a young age, and was often willful and arrogant. You are wonderful; you don’t need to be compared to her... I’m sorry, Little Luo. I was wrong."
"No matter how terrible the Princess’s personality was, you still loved her desperately, Lord Divine Venerate."
Yan was silent.
Sang Luo asked with a smile, "And what about , Lord Divine Venerate? Have you ever liked , even a little? Truly liked ?"
Yan did not give her an answer. Perhaps even he himself did not know.
After Sang Luo left the Divine Venerable Mansion, the old village chief, Xu, ca over.
He saw the Lord Divine Venerate standing outside the gate like a weathered stone, gazing into the distance for who knows how long. But the path ahead was long empty.
Xu glanced into the courtyard. It was empty and desolate, without a single soul in sight.
"Has the noble female Sang Luo left?"
"Mm." Yan’s fox-like eyes blinked slowly. They stung from the wind.
Xu sighed. "Ah! This old servant is getting old and muddled. My mind isn’t clear anymore."
’At first, he had truly thought Sang Luo and Yan just had a normal master-apprentice relationship. But the more he mulled it over, the more sothing felt off. Then he rembered Sang Luo’s painting and the questions she had asked later... Even if he was an old fool, he had figured out so of the reasons. Now, seeing the Lord Divine Venerate’s reaction, he naturally understood everything.’
’Even he, an outsider, could see that the Divine Venerable had feelings for her.’
’It was just that the Divine Venerable had trapped himself all these years and was unwilling to move on.’
Yan said forlornly, "I’ve betrayed Wan’er..."
His low, hoarse voice held a trace of pain, but even more, confusion.
Xu sighed softly. "You and the Princess never completed your wedding ceremony, nor do you have a partner’s mark. How can you speak of betrayal? So many years have passed. It is ti for you to let go."
"..."
He advised, "You have mourned for the Princess for a full one hundred thousand years, trapping the first half of your life in this sorrow. If the Princess knew of this from the underworld, she would surely want you to move on, to stop wallowing in the past, and to cherish the new person by your side."
"Miss Sang Luo is truly wonderful. She is intelligent and kind-hearted, worthy of your love and trust, my lord."
Yan closed his eyes.
’A full one hundred thousand years. For him, it had been a very, very long ti. He had grown old, and many things from back then were slowly fading from mory... The person in his mories was also becoming more and more blurred with ti...’
’But the image of Sang Luo in his heart was becoming clearer and more vivid...’
’He no longer understood his own heart.’
Xu said,
"Your past love is gone. My lord, you should open your heart again and accept a new love."
"If you’ve missed the blazing sun, don’t miss the bright moon as well."
...
「anwhile, after leaving Qingqiu, Sang Luo made a stop at the nearest palace—the Phoenix Palace.」
’She wanted to ask Fei Yuan if he knew of a place called the Wu Lian Domain.’
’That flashy bird had gone off to who-knows-where and still hadn’t returned.’
’Besides him, the oldest was Minos.’
’Sigh. Sang Luo used to be a little disdainful of how old they were, but when push ca to shove, she had to rely on these ancient, worldly-wise old-tirs.’
「The Holy Palace.」
Minos was in the garden, looking after the children.
After he finished his duties at court each day, he spent most of his ti looking after the children.
The two children, Little Apple and Little Rose, also loved to play in the garden, running and flying about, catching butterflies, and weaving flower wreaths. They were completely carefree.
Her other Beast Husbands all had sothing of a strict father in them, dedicating themselves to cultivating their children’s abilities, so of them to a harsh degree.
’Every ti Sang Luo ca over, she saw Minos playing with the children in the garden. She had never once seen him making them study their lessons!’
’The two kids weren’t old, but they weren’t exactly toddlers anymore, either. Plus, they were bright and precocious. Yet Minos still hadn’t chosen a tutor for them. He was spoiling them too much!’
’A doting father raises a spoiled child~’
"Luoluo, you’re here." Minos was making a vanilla cake for the two children. He had just finished piping a few small flowers on it when he saw her arrive, and a faint smile appeared on his gentle, handso face.
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