Senior brother is so awesome!

When Zhong Zhichen returned to his palace that evening, Qin Yuechan was rocking the bed, looking at the peacefully sleeping face. Her stunningly beautiful face radiated a soft glow, and her gaze softened the heart.

"Asleep?" He tiptoed forward, put his arm around her shoulder, and asked softly.

"Ah."

"What did you do today?" he asked, turning his head to the side, a subtle glint in his narrow eyes.

Qin Yuechan raised her head, neither sad nor happy, "I took Anran to play in the Imperial Garden for a while and we ran into Prince Yunting."

Zhong Zhichen's gaze was deep and unreadable. He stared intently into her shimmering eyes and smiled brightly, "Anran has palace maids to take care of her. Have dinner with me."

"it is good."

Inside the magnificent palace, a table laden with delicacies adorned with gold lacquer was set out, and the two sat facing each other.

The palace maids withdrew, and the room became much quieter. Qin Yuechan silently picked up a plate of green vegetables with her chopsticks and ate them delicately. Zhong Zhichen held a jade cup in his hand, the clear wine reflecting the bright golden light in the room.

Everything seemed harmonious, but in reality, one person was calm yet anxious, while the other was serene yet felt utterly hopeless.

"If you're heartbroken, why not say it?"

He broke the silence and asked in a deep voice. He knew from the message from the secret guards that he could no longer hide it, but he was also relieved. After all, the past could not be returned to. Now he would treat her even better.

Qin Yuechan paused slightly, then said calmly, "There's no point in saying more."

"I can explain."

“No, you don’t need to say anything.” She raised her head. “I don’t believe you have no feelings for me at all. Besides, now that Anran is here, I only ask that he grows up safely. I don’t ask for anything else.”

Her soft, charming voice sounded as gentle as water, but only she knew that it was actually a block of ice.

Hearing her say that, Zhong Zhichen didn't feel relaxed at all. His thin lips trembled slightly, and he finally lowered his eyes and drank the wine in his glass in one gulp.

As the moon first appeared on the branches, Ruo'er appeared in the room like a wisp of green smoke, a smug smile on her狰狞 face, as if mocking her failure, mocking her being manipulated, deceived, and used.

"It's time to put an end to everything."

For three whole months, Qin Yuechan stayed at home, listening to Fu Ying say that Xuanwu Kingdom was starting to stir again and a great battle was imminent.

She chuckled, looking at Fuying, dressed in black, and Qing'er standing beside her, "It's time to hold your wedding."

Both were surprised, yet overjoyed beyond words. Fuying held Qing'er's hand as he had when they were children. Their hands, calloused from years of wielding swords, were now joined in marriage, a perfect union in their lifetime.

They were always by her side anyway, so even if they got married, it wouldn't interfere with anything, and it would also create a beautiful story. Why not?

There was no grand wedding, and their parents had already passed away, so Qin Yuechan shamelessly acted as the elder, personally putting a bright red veil on Qing'er's head. She watched enviously as Fuying led Qing'er away from the bridal chamber, her smile turning into bitterness.

She's never worn a red wedding dress before; she looks so beautiful.

The entire palace was filled with joy because of Fuying and Qing'er's marriage. However, the next day, their master disappeared without a trace. Little Anran, who was neither crying nor making a fuss, held a letter in his hand and left it for the newlyweds, asking them to take Anran out of the palace and never set foot in the palace or in the affairs of the country again, as long as he grew up healthy.

The letter ended without a signature, containing only the words, "Farewell."

Xuanwu Kingdom.

Inside the dark golden palace, a strangely shaped bronze beast held a candlestick in its hand. In the closed hall, a breeze from an unknown source caused the candlelight to flicker slightly.

A figure dressed in black robes stood gracefully in the center of the hall. Her back was slender and beautiful. A black hat covered her head, obscuring her face, but a pair of lustrous red lips were visible below. Their perfect shape was captivating, and the skin on her snow-white chin touched the hearts of those in the hall.

"You've finally come."

Above the main hall, on the nine-dragon throne, sat a man in imperial robes, his sharp eyes looking down at the slender figure, a slight smile playing on his thin lips.

The woman lifted her black hat, revealing a stunningly beautiful face beneath. Her watery eyes were filled with hatred that had been etched into her being over time. She looked at the man with disdain and laughed, "A dignified ancient god-emperor has actually stooped to borrowing someone else's body."

"Heh, for three hundred years, only you have spoken to me in such a manner."

The woman's beautiful eyes instantly turned icy as she stared directly into the man's eyes. "Hmph, if it weren't for the fact that I wanted to see your soul scatter before my own eyes, I wouldn't even want to look at you once."

"I know you hate me, but a man should rule the world; how can he care about personal feelings between men and women!"

"Enough!" With a loud shout, the woman said with a cold look in her eyes, "I was so stupid, clearing obstacles for you time and time again, only to end up dying a violent death! Xuanyuan Qingcang, don't even think about coming back to life. Do you really think those six people will do as you wish?"

A bitter smile appeared on the man's lips. "Ruo'er, I killed you because I was afraid you would be humiliated!"

"Haha!" She laughed, as if it were the funniest joke in the world, clutching her stomach and laughing until tears almost streamed down her face. "Xuanyuan Qingcang, for your ambition to unify the world, you've sent me to other men's beds time and time again. I don't even know how many times I've been humiliated?"

Her tearful accusation caused the man a moment of heartache, but in an instant, he regained his innate ruthlessness and domineering aura, as if he were the only one worthy of the world!

"Three hundred years have passed. Whether you hate me or love me, the world will soon be back in my hands, and you will be my empress!"

The woman's smile widened, her beautiful eyes filled with mockery, yet also with certainty. "This vow has long been ruined by others!"

As she spoke, she slowly took out a scroll from her sleeve. The scroll, which was as long as her arm, was wrapped in a layer of golden silk. The embroidered patterns on it shimmered in the candlelight. Upon closer inspection, however, it was discovered that they were not ordinary embroidery patterns, but rather strange and unusual symbols.

The man was shocked, his handsome face growing even colder and more sinister. He spat out his words through clenched teeth, each one a sharp, piercing rebuke: "Is our relationship truly beyond repair?"

She laughed sweetly, just like in that encounter three hundred years ago, in that time they spent together, her beauty was breathtaking, but the resolute intent in her voice was chilling, a despair of utter surrender to death. Yet, for her, perhaps it was a release...

The moment the scroll was opened, Qin Yuechan saw a burst of golden light in the void, like the first light when heaven and earth were first separated. It was intense and warm, and her body felt like it was being torn apart. Her eyes were pierced so hard that she couldn't open them. The light illuminated the entire hall as if it were daytime!

In a daze, it seemed as if a man and a woman were walking on a broad road paved with golden light. She saw the intense resentment on the man's face, yet he had no choice but to submit to the pull of the golden light. The woman turned around, her face exactly like Qin Yuechan's, covered with hideous, protruding scars, but she was indeed smiling, a genuine smile from the bottom of her heart.

Shanshan, please take good care of yourself.

In an instant, tears welled up in her eyes. She suddenly realized that Ruo'er's heart was filled with unwavering love for Xuan Yuan Qingcang, a love that had been building up for three hundred years. If the feelings that had been building up for three hundred years were hatred, it would be more accurate to say that they were love. If it weren't true love, why would she have agreed to his requests time and time again, willing to sacrifice her body and even her life for him to unify the world? Perhaps from the very beginning, she never intended to have a good ending. Even if she wasn't killed by Xuan Yuan Qingcang himself on the city wall of Chi Chen Kingdom, even if she could live to unify the world, she would no longer be pure. Her ending would definitely be to leave him and die at the hands of the person she loved most. That would actually be the best ending for her.

No wonder Ruo'er in her dreams always told her to escape from those six men, because when they merged together they became Xuanyuan Qingcang. Later, when there was no way to escape, Ruo'er taught her to seize power and become emperor. Later still, she chose to die rather than live a life of dishonor.

Images of Ruo'er and Xuan Yuan Qingcang flashed before her eyes at lightning speed. To her surprise, she discovered that Xuan Yuan Qingcang's face was exactly the same as Zhong Zhichen's. However, from beginning to end, he had never shown any affection for Ruo'er. As an emperor, all he saw was overwhelming power struggles and the vast empire.

Finally, the dust settled. Qin Yuechan looked as if she had just finished watching a tragic movie, tears streaming down her face, it was hard to tell whether they were from crying or laughing.

After Xuanyuan Qingcang's spirit left Qin Muhan's body, he fell into a coma. She walked up to the Nine Dragon Throne, which was majestic and filled with a desire for power that could destroy the world. No wonder everyone wanted to seize the position of the ruler of the world. Once you have such a thought, you can never get rid of it and will spend your whole life working hard for it.

Her small hands stroked Qin Muhan's handsome yet deathly pale face. A dark mark on his forehead proved that Xuan Yuan Qingcang had once existed. She carefully traced his eyes, nose, mouth, and red lips, then smiled bitterly. Two years of living and working together, sharing joys and sorrows, had ended up in such a state.

Thinking of the six people far away, she put her hand back into her sleeve, looked at the gradually brightening dawn sky, and sighed silently.

Who wronged whom in the end?

As she prepared to leave the main hall, a figure in white stood abruptly outside the door, blocking her way. Qin Yuechan looked up and saw that the otherworldly air about him was so familiar. His long hair was flowing in the morning breeze, and although he was over forty, there was not a trace of age in him. His eyes, which seemed to see through everything, were as if shrouded in a layer of mist, making it impossible for anyone to fathom what lay behind that mist.

"Master, long time no see."

Ye Xianqing always had a smile on his face, like a bodhisattva in a temple. Unfortunately, Qin Yuechan would never think that it was a kind smile again.

"As expected of your master's good disciple, you have rid your master of that lingering ghost. I have been tormented by him for decades. It is truly gratifying to see you get rid of it."

Qin Yuechan raised her beautiful eyes, looking at the person who raised this body, without a trace of warmth. "It's only right to do something for my master." Then, her tone suddenly turned sharp. "However, in this way, the fourteen years of nurturing will be even."

Ye Xianqing nodded unhurriedly, a confident air always playing on his lips. "I've repaid the debt of raising me, but what about the debt of giving me life?"

"What did you say?"

“I said, I am not only your teacher, but also your biological father.”

Like a thunderclap from a clear sky, Qin Yuechan's heart was stirred up quite a bit, no matter how hard she tried to suppress it. After a long while, she slowly smiled and said, "What a huge circle."

Invited into the princess's magnificent palace, which was like a cage, she learned from the arrival of the graceful middle-aged woman that Sister Yun was Qin Yuechan's biological mother, whose original name was Wu Rouyun. She had been a concubine of the emperor of Xuanyuan Kingdom, and Ye Xianqing had served as the Grand Preceptor of Xuanyuan Kingdom.

After Zhong Chengxiang's wife gave birth to Zhong Zhichen, she was framed for treason and her entire family was executed. Naturally, Zhong Zhichen was taken in as a disciple by Ye Xianqing, who later paved the way for him to become regent of the Xuanyuan Kingdom.

Later, the concubine surnamed Wu became pregnant, and the emperor was overjoyed. However, a month later, a fire burned down the concubine's palace, killing both her and her unborn child.

This concubine was later known as Sister Yun. The child in her womb was an illegitimate daughter conceived by Ye Xianqing. Afterwards, Ye Xianqing resigned from his position as Grand Preceptor and returned to Sanqing Mountain to take on disciples and establish his own sect.

Of course, Sister Yun wasn't mute; she was just trying to cover it up.

After learning the whole story, she finally understood why she could always sense a motherly feeling in Sister Yun. Although she had never felt what a mother was in her past and present lives, blood is thicker than water, and the connection of bloodlines is always an inexplicable miracle.

Qin Yuechan was trapped in the princess's palace, and Aunt Yun would spend the whole day there, cooking for her or sewing clothes for her by hand. She understood Aunt Yun's intentions; she was just humbly begging her daughter to call her "mother." However, she just couldn't bring herself to say it. Although Aunt Yun was innocent, and she wouldn't have transmigrated here if it weren't for her, fate had its own way of telling, and there were no "what ifs."

Her news was kept well hidden until the bloody, betrayal-filled war was about to break out, at which point she began to see the signs. But by then, her heart was numb. If there was any soft spot left, it was for her innocent child, that soft little baby, who was safe and sound.

Sometimes, in the dead of night, she would hear the cries of a baby in her ears. The sound was so familiar that it always tore at her heart. But when she thought that the separation from her child would allow him to escape the noise, she felt it was all worth it.

In the tranquil palace, amidst the chaos of the world, Qin Yuechan smelled the pungent stench of blood in the air. Gazing at the still boundless blue sky, her eyes welled up with crimson tears.

After suffering from loss of appetite, low mood, and excessive thinking for half a month, she finally fainted in the corridor outside the palace. When she woke up, she was not surprised to see Zhong Zhichen's tense and worried face. In an instant, a faint hope ignited in her heart, which had been ashen.

"Chan'er..." Zhong Zhichen called out her name in surprise, but he didn't know how to continue. He could only look at her with the pain that could not be hidden in his eyes, and his cold face showed an undeniable haggardness.

Qin Yuechan reached out and stroked his stubble-covered chin, forcing a pale smile: "I am terrified to see you, yet I have no choice but to, so I resorted to this desperate measure."

Even if Ye Xianqing didn't spread the news of her hunger strike and serious illness, there must be his spies in Xuanwu Kingdom. So she chose to faint in a corridor where everyone could see her, in order to ensure that she could stop his sharp and indestructible blade before disaster struck. Fortunately, she succeeded.

---Aside---

Ugh, I didn't fall asleep until after 3 AM last night, and I've been feeling groggy all day...