Repeatedly broken branches

Ye Wanwan knelt before him, unable to suppress the fear in her heart. She couldn't even remember what she had done. She clutched Zhou Tingxi's clothes and said hysterically.

"I was wrong, but I truly love you, Tingxi. We have a child now. Can you forgive me for everything that happened before? I will change, I promise!"

Zhou Tingxi stopped talking, as if saying another word would make him feel utterly disgusted.

A short while later, Ye Wanwan suddenly turned pale, clutched her stomach, and curled up on the ground. The doctor next to her immediately took her pulse.

"General, the Second Madam has had a miscarriage and things may not be going well."

Zhou Tingxi didn't even glance at her, saying dismissively, "Take her down and save her life. As for the child, he's dispensable. If we can save him, we will; if not, then forget it. He probably doesn't need a mother like that." He simply couldn't feel any affection for this child; he shouldn't have come in the first place.

The doctor, being sensible, and Ye Wanwan's personal maid, Jing'er, took her away.

Zhou Tingxi had been watching over Xia Yunzhi all afternoon, and none of them had eaten a single bite. He sent Xiao Shao to eat, leaving him to watch over Xia Yunzhi alone.

Right now, the room is quiet, and only the two of them are there.

Looking at Xia Yunzhi lying there, his heart ached. Her face was so pale, her face so thin, and her lips were so white that even lip rouge couldn't hide it. Her skin was as white as snow, but in this light, it looked almost sickly.

He didn't know, he hated himself for not knowing. She had done so much for him, how could he be such a fool and not know anything at all?

Although they didn't grow up together, they were childhood playmates before Zhou Tingxi went to the desert. He liked her, and she liked him too.

The mother was moody and often blamed Zhou Tingxi for the father's death, even though Zhou Tingxi hadn't done anything wrong.

He has been afraid of water since childhood because when he was young, his mother missed his father and had nowhere to vent her feelings, so she pressed little Zhou Tingxi into a water vat until he was almost drowning and had swallowed a lot of water before his mother would let him go.

My mother often said that I was a bastard and that my father was no better, abandoning us long ago.

You might as well just die, then I can remarry. Why don't you just die?

He would wake up from nightmares, dreaming that his mother was holding him and crying, and he would say, "I'm sorry, Mother, I'm sorry, I shouldn't be alive."

A school was set up in the palace, and his mother sent him there. At first, he was very shy and no one paid attention to him because he was the only one without a father.

Deng Yizhi and Xia Yunzhi were the most popular. Deng Yizhi had the best calligraphy, so everyone liked him. He was polite and approachable. Xia Yunzhi was the emperor's most beloved little princess, so everyone liked her too.

Then there's Yin Fu'an. Yin Fu'an is shrewd and resourceful, and he's also the son of a high-ranking official. These three are the most popular among the academic officials.

Yin Fu'an was a few years older than them, probably around seven or eight years old at the time, while they were only five or six.

Yin Fu'an played with them like an older brother.

Although Deng Yizhi is not talkative, he is a very good person.

They flew kites together and stole osmanthus wine brewed by Consort Chen.

He lay drunk on the ground.

The boys and girls each had their own secrets.

Xiao Fu'an asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up? What kind of person do you want to find as a partner?"

Xiao Yunzhi glanced at Xiao Tingxi and said softly, "I want to be a fairy and then marry the most powerful hero in the world."

From that moment on, a deep seed was planted in Xiao Tingxi's heart.

He wants to be a great hero.

Xiao Yi said, "I want to be a teacher. I like gentle and delicate women so that I can protect them."

Xiao Fu'an said, "I...I want to be a king."

Then everyone looked at Xiao Tingxi.

After thinking for a moment, Xiao Tingxi said, "I want to be a great hero and then marry a fairy!"

"Ew~" Xiao Fu'an and Xiao Yizhi said disdainfully at the same time.

Xiao Fu'an suggested, "Since you both have such similar ideas, why don't we organize a wedding for you?"

"Yes, yes, I want to be the bride!" Xiao Yunzhi cheered!

Then, they made a flower wreath for Xiao Yunzhi and a grass wreath for Xiao Tingxi.

Xiao Fu'an and Xiao Yizhi are the elders, and they are imitating the adults.

"Worship heaven and earth!"

"Two thanks to the high hall!"

"Couple greetings!"

"Send to the bridal chamber!"

The three of them lifted Xiao Yunzhi high, like carrying a bridal sedan chair. Xiao Tingxi dragged her head, Xiao Fu'an dragged her head, and Xiao Yizhi dragged her feet.

They sang all the way as they ran happily within the palace walls, and the palace servants passing by hurriedly called out, "Gentlemen, please don't hurt the princess."

They ran as fast as they could, as if they hadn't heard a thing.

Xiao Yunzhi would often steal snacks from the Imperial Dining Hall for Xiao Tingxi, including lily cakes, osmanthus sugar, lotus seed balls, osmanthus cake, and pine nut and jujube paste cake.

Xiao Tingxi loves osmanthus cake the most; he says he likes the fragrance of osmanthus.

Xiao Yunzhi would always ask, "Did your mother hit you again? Let me see..."

Then she would lift up Xiao Tingxi's sleeve to check his injuries and bring medicine to apply to him.

Later, they all grew up. When Zhou Tingxi was fifteen, he had mastered martial arts. Yin Fu'an was still as smart as he was when he was a child and was already able to attend court to discuss politics. Deng Yizhi was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. Xia Yunzhi was still the same as she was when she was a child, except that she had a playmate named Ye Wanwan by her side.

From that moment on, Deng Yizhi began to notice her. He could not forget that on Xia Yunzhi's birthday, Ye Wanwan appeared in a pink dress. She was petite and graceful, and smiled at him with a delicate and charming demeanor, just like the gentle woman he had imagined.

But her gaze never left Zhou Tingxi, who was full of youthful vigor.

Zhou Tingxi became very fond of bullying Xia Yunzhi, always teasing her. But he only had eyes for Xia Yunzhi. In class, while the teacher was teaching, he was only focused on looking at Xia Yunzhi and never listened properly.

Then came five years of guarding the desert.

As they parted, Xia Yunzhi took out a roughly stitched sachet from her bosom. It was embroidered with an osmanthus tree and two little rabbits under the tree.

It was her and Zhou Tingxi.

Xia Yunzhi asked, "When can you come back?"

"It will probably be a long time... Can you wait? If you can't, then don't wait."

With tears in her eyes, Xia Yunzhi said, "I can do it. My father has promised to let us get engaged. I will come to the desert to find you then."

Zhou Tingxi smiled and said, "Alright, you must behave well and not be willful. Listen to His Majesty, eat lots and lots of food, and write to me often. I will reply when I receive your letters!"

Xia Yunzhi asked, "Is the desert very harsh? I heard from my nanny that there is no water in the desert, so you won't be afraid, and you won't be afraid of falling into the water!"

Zhou Tingxi said dejectedly, "But the desert isn't home, what should we do?"

Xia Yunzhi pointed to the two little rabbits on the sachet and said with a smile in her eyes, "You can look at this. Look, the big one is you, and the small one is me. We're eating grass under the osmanthus tree..."

Five years passed since they parted. The biting cold wind of the desert had long since dispelled Zhou Tingxi's youthful spirit. He gradually matured and became a majestic young general.

Suddenly, Zhou Tingxi frantically searched for something until he found a small, tiny sachet under the bed, covered in a layer of dust, embroidered with two little rabbits. He carefully clutched it to his chest.

The young general, who was seen as a towering figure and indomitable spirit by everyone, shed tears.

Xia Yunzhi still hadn't woken up; perhaps the medicine hadn't taken effect yet.

That night, Zhou Tingxi sat by her bedside and told her about his childhood.

He sighed, "If only we had never separated, if only we had stayed together for those five years in the desert, perhaps we would be married and have children by now. But now, you will never forgive me."

He gently stroked Xia Yunzhi's face with his fingers, feeling her cool breath through his fingertips.

Zhou Tingxi leaned forward slightly and gently placed a kiss on her smooth forehead. He dared not touch further down, knowing full well that he was not worthy.

In fact, on their wedding night, he did not kill her father.

He stopped the murderous Yin Fu'an and advised, "Let's stop now, there's still time."

Yin Fu'an remained unmoved, gritting his teeth as he said, "He killed my father, why should I let him go? What about my father? Did he deserve to die?"

Yin Fu'an had gone mad. He laughed wildly, drew his sword, and charged into the inner palace.

Zhou Tingxi couldn't stop him, much less those elite troops.

That night was incredibly long. When Zhou Tingxi stepped into the palace, he found corpses strewn everywhere. Those once familiar faces, those joyful laughs, all shattered and vanished in that instant.