“Xier, don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you. Besides, I have already drunk the poisonous wine. I will soon die. I just want to have a nice talk with you.”

“What do you want to say?”

“I have always known that you want to kill me.”

“You know it?”

“I also know that you have arranged a prostitute to sleep with me every night. You only come back early in the morning.”

“Then why do you still...?”

“I didn’t touch her. I also arranged someone to play my role and sleep with her to finish your big show.”

“What? Why do you do so?”

“To make you relieved! More importantly, to make you happy! However, I don’t want to touch any other women after I meet you. Therefore, I could only hire someone to play my role.”

“Hai, you...”

“Actually, I have always known everything.”

“You...you are such a fool.”

“Yeah, I’m a fool, and I am willing to be one. I also know you irritated Princess Consort on purpose and forced her to make up her mind to poison us. You even gave her the poison.”

“You know the wine was poisonous?”

“Yes, I know.”

“Then you still drank it when you’ve known the wine was poisonous. Aren’t you committing suicide?”

“Yes. I am committing suicide—because I owe you this!”

“Hai, I’m not worth it.”

“It’s me who wants to give you my life. It has nothing to do with you. Ruxin, don’t feel guilty. You can think that I’ve lived long enough.”

“Hai... I...”

Yun Hai put his index finger on Ruxin’s mouth, stopping her from saying words that made her feel uncomfortable.

“Ten years ago, the Kingdom of Yun attacked the Kingdom of Shui. I was the leader. I opened the gate of your kingdom, the Kingdom of Shui. Back then, I caught you, a little kid, and gave you to my brother.”

“I have known it.”

“There was one thing you didn’t know. On the hunting field four years ago, I had fallen in love with you, a young girl. Well, I also didn’t expect such a thing would happen. At that time, you were in a white mourning dress. You were pure and weak, but your eyes were full of love for Kong Yue. It was a kind of true feeling that we had never had as royals. In fact, for me, I would die for such a pure feeling.”

“Stop it. When those people killed Yue, they had also killed that simple, naive princess. Princess Xi has disappeared. Only Shui Yinzhu who lives for revenge is still alive.”

“Yeah, I wish you were still that little princess. Unfortunately, she is no longer here.”

“Hai.”

Ruxin was affected by the past again, and she was emotionally unstable. Yun Hai noticed it and spoke immediately as he always felt pitiful for her. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t mention the unpleasant incident. Let’s change the topic.”

“Then Hai, can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“Why do you look so similar to Kong Yue?”

“My mother was the princess of the Kingdom of Kong. She was Kong Yue’s father’s sister. Technically, I am Kong Yue's cousin."

“Then have you met Yue before?”

“No, Kong Yue’s father had many children. His mother was just a concubine. I have only met a few children given birth by his wife. Xier, what’s the story between you and Kong Yue?”

“Yue... Yue... was the servant girl Xuan Zhi had arranged for me. He disguised as a female to sneak into the palace. In those days, Yue made me so happy and kept me away from all the pressure and pain silently. He bore them all by himself.”

“You love him very much.” Yun Hai always knew she loved Kong Yue. He couldn’t help stating the fact. In the meantime, he was jealous of the dead man Kong Yue. He was dead, but he still occupied her heart.

“Yes. I love him very much. If I don’t need to live for revenge, I will die with him.”

“Xier, you still have a long life to live. Except for revenge, I hope you can find other things to make you happy.”

“A dead heart will never come back to life.”

“Xier.” Yun Hai suddenly didn’t know how to continue the conversation. The Yuns were the executioners who had killed her lover. He decided to change the topic back to Kong Yue again. “The first and only time I saw Kong Yue was on the hunting field that year when you pulled off his black mask. I didn’t expect to meet a cousin who looked so similar to me.”

“Yeah, you remind me of him a lot.”

“I also feel sorry about the death of Kong Yue. However, I am also a member of the Yuns, and I can’t possibly save him. I have my own difficulties in those situations, including the incident of conquering the Kingdom of Shui back then. I never thought that my brother would not spare your mother. I always feel guilty for you over the years. Now I can pay you back, and it makes me feel much better.”

“Why are you telling me this now? Why are you so good to me? Why are you so foolish? How can I face you...” Ruxin’s tears flowed down out of her control.

“Xier, I commit suicide, and it has nothing to do with you. I know I don’t deserve to call you Yinzhu. I only hope my death can calm down your anger.” He didn’t want to see her crying, so he reached out to wipe the tears on Ruxin’s face.

“Well...only when the Empire of Yun disappears, the hatred in my heart can be removed! Hai...”

“Then you must be careful of the people surnamed Yun. No one from the Yuns is simple, especially Yun Su. If you can stay away from him, you must stay as far as you can.”

“I know, thank you, Hai. But I will never go easy on Yun Su.”

Ruxin clenched her fists. The hatred for Yun Su made her frown. Yun Hai knew that he was going to die, but he still opened Ruxin’s fists gently and held them in his hands. She didn’t refuse his touch for the first time.

Staring at his affectionate eyes, Ruxin asked, “Hai, can you tell me the truth? At that time, the Kingdom of Shui was not worse than the Kingdom of Yun. Why was it destroyed? How did you open the gate of the Kingdom of Shui?”

“Back then, Meng Xi fled to the Kingdom of Shui to marry the King there. It was when my brother changed. He began to conquer the four kingdoms. Your kingdom was defeated mainly because of Fang Li.”

“Brother Li?”

“Yes, your Brother Li. I contacted him. He cooperated with us and opened the gate of your kingdom. He was also a little kid at that time, and no one would take precautions against him.”

“Why did he do it?”

“He had a very close relationship with my brother. My brother asked me to contact him.”

“What happened back then? Why did my mother escape to the Kingdom of Shui?”

“I mostly heard of it from my brother. I didn’t know the details, and I only knew that Meng Xi’s hometown was the Kingdom of Yun. She and my brother once loved each other. A lot of things had happened between them. Fang Li must know about the specific things. Maybe you should go ask him.”

“What? Brother Li... no... Fang Li is still alive?”

“Yes. After the war, he surrendered to the Kingdom of Yun and changed his name to Lan Li. He is now Lord Xiaoyao.”

“Xier, I don’t want to lie to you. You are not strong enough now. Do you think those remnant forces of the Kingdom of Xuan can kill the elites of the Empire of Yun?”

“One will never know it without trying. How do you know I am supported by the Kingdom of Xuan?”

“Of course I know! Yun Su also knows it. You disappeared with Yun Zhi, and it was so obvious... Well, now I should call him Xuan Zhi. I also know that he has been protecting you stealthily, even right now. Xier, don’t you wonder why he hasn’t shown up yet?”

“What happens to Zhi? Don’t hurt him!”

“Xier, I am not Yun Su. I will never hurt the person you care about. He’s okay. I ask my men to stop him so that we can have a nice talk for the last time.”

“Hai.”

“Xier, I still have a lot of things to say... I want to talk to you... It’s a pity... It is too late... I... sincerely...suggest you...to stop your revenge.” Holding Ruxin’s hand, Yun Hai spat out blood. The blood was dark red. He was about to die, but he was still holding on to talk to her, “Xier, have you...ever liked me... for a little bit...not because of...Kong Yue...?”

Ruxin looked at him and didn’t know how to answer. Her affection for him was totally because of Kong Yue, and she had treated him as Kong Yue’s shadow. However, at this moment, she decided to let him go with peace of mind. She didn’t dare to look at him and said yes with guilt.

Yun Hai was not a fool. However, he was willing to believe it if she was willing to lie to him. At least the tears she shed for him were real. He was willing to spend a few months with this woman at the cost of his life. Gazing at her, Yun Hai gradually closed his eyes and fell into Ruxin’s arms. In the last moment of his life, his eyes were filled with satisfaction.

Ruxin didn’t push away the man in her arms. She kept crying. Her heart had lost its temperature since long ago, but this time it still hurt.

Ruxin put down Yun Hai’s body gently after Yun Hai’s body started to get cold. His confidential guards let go of Xuan Zhi and went to clean up. Xuan Zhi came up to Ruxin immediately. The woman wiped away the traces of tears on her face and prepared to leave the mansion of Lord Yi.

A confidential guard couldn’t help but say, “Miss Ruxin, I hope you can go to the lord’s study room.” He knew that Yun Hai didn’t want her to go there because he didn’t want her to feel too guilty. However, as an insignificant confidential guard, he felt worthless for the lord’s dedication.

Ruxin nodded. Xuan Zhi took her to Yun Hai’s study room. The moment she opened the study room, she froze. Her portraits were everywhere. There were portraits of her wearing a mourning dress on the hunting field. Some portraits were her in different clothes every day during these months. Although the clothes were all white, different subtle expressions of the women were captured well in the portraits. How many portraits of her had he painted? Thousands or tens of thousands? She was everywhere in this room, and his deep affection for her was shown from every portrait. Now Ruxin cried again. She didn’t love this man, but he treated her so sincerely. A while later, Ruxin stopped crying, and her eyes became cold and ruthless again. She left the mansion of Lord Yi forever.

It’s a big pity that Feng City had lost a good ruler. Fortunately, Princess Consort Yi did not treat the people of Feng City badly. For ordinary people, they didn’t mind who their leader was if they could live a peaceful life.

Many years later, no one expected the change of dynasties would affect Feng City because the uprising of the remnant forces of the Kingdom of Xuan began in this place. Of course, only Lord Yi’s family was involved. It had nothing to do with the common people. One important reason for it was the rumors of Princess Consort Yi killing her husband.

Princess Consort Yi had a bad reputation, and she escaped back to Huaiyang City. Accidentally, she was separated from her two children. It was said that on the way back to Huaiyang City, Princess Consort Yi met a bandit. This bandit was driven to revolt only because of the current situation. He treated her very well. He always did what she wanted and spoiled her, making her willing to remarry and bear his children. Without the title of Princess Consort, she lived a simple life. The bandit was a rough man. They went through chaotic times. Finally, she met her daughter and was forgiven by the her. Princess Consort Yi had a happy life. Sometimes people were the happiest when they found the most suitable things for themselves. The greatest happiness might just be living a simple life.

The little girl Yun Youyun had a much tougher experience than her mother. When she was separated from her mother, she had just become a teenager in her prime. She had experienced too many twists and turns in this troubled world with her cousin. They fell in love but once were separated. They managed to stick together with each other in life and death. Fortunately, they were still together in the end, which was a happy ending.

Of course, the above things were another story that happened much later...

...

Lord Yi from Feng City, Yun Hai, suddenly fell ill and died, leaving his spouse and two children behind. The singer Ruxin also disappeared. Many people said that Princess Consort Yi was jealous of Ruxin’s beauty, so she planned to poison Ruxin. However, Lord Yi drank the poison by accident and was killed. Ruxin loved Lord Yi so much. After Lord Yi died, Ruxin also committed suicide. This became a romantic tragedy about a pitiful couple, but no one knew the truth.

“Wu Nian, where shall we go next?” A handsome and righteous man with elegant and calm eyes asked as he looked at a young master in front of him.

The young master looked even more beautiful than ordinary women. He was pure and enchanting in white. He wore a hairpin with a simple pearl on his head. This man did not answer the other man’s question. Instead, he took the initiative to hold his hand and walked forward. The people on the road felt strange and looked at them. No matter how enchanting they were, it’s still strange to see the two men holding hands on the street...

In the vernacular, Ruxin’s name meant a genuine heart. However, she was instead a heartless woman.