After hanging up Mr. Yun's call.
Cecilia Gu threw herself into Charles Yin’s arms and burst into tears.
Charles Yin held Cecilia by the waist, gently stroking her head, letting her cry her heart out.
Cecilia herself didn’t even know why she could cry so much. There was an inexplicable grief and indignation in her chest.
Clearly, there was nothing left to make her feel so angry and sad, right?
She’d already escaped the Gu family with Jane Xiao, and made her feelings clear to Charles Yin.
So why did her heart still feel so suffocated?
Charles Yin lowered his head and gently kissed Cecilia’s forehead. His long, narrow eyes lifted sharply, full of challenge as he stared at the painting hanging on the west wall.
Zixiao Yun!
Is there really such mysterious stuff in this world?
Cecilia cried herself to sleep in Charles Yin’s arms.
Seeing Cecilia fall asleep while clutching his waist, Charles Yin couldn’t help but laugh softly. He carefully carried her outside, covered her with his own jacket, and let her nap in the sunlight.
Tear stains still lingered on Cecilia’s cheeks, glimmering with a special sheen in the sunlight.
Charles Yin gently brushed Cecilia’s cheek with his fingers. Her eyelashes were long and distinct, delicate as a fan.
So, when his little mole cried herself to sleep, she looked so fragile...
Unlike Charles Yin’s peaceful composure, Cecilia dreamed of that woman who had once lived recklessly on the battlefield, undefeated with her spear.
In that moment, she felt as if she were that woman.
She lived as her, in a time filled with blood and passion.
From childhood mischief to the stirrings of first love as a young woman, she fell for a dangerous, exceptionally skilled man.
Before they could join hands, war broke out.
The man who led the Qing soldiers into the pass, who ravaged the lands of the Ming Dynasty, actually claimed to have fallen in love with her.
How ridiculous!
How could enemies who would never coexist talk about love?
Her heart had long belonged to that dangerous, alluring man.
That prince was cunning indeed. He found out that the man she loved was a renowned scholar who wrote a famous history book, and also a young general in the resistance.
The prince slaughtered his entire family, and he alone escaped the flames, whereabouts unknown.
From that moment, her love died with that man. All she wanted was revenge!
She gathered the remaining soldiers and rallied countless local forces, assembling tens of thousands of warriors to continue their desperate resistance.
That damned prince set a trap for her, luring her away.
She believed the rumors, convinced that the man she loved was still alive. In a moment of rashness, she went to look for him. But her soldiers thought she’d been kidnapped, and in their attempt to rescue her, they fell right into the prince’s trap and were all captured.
The prince used the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers to threaten her. What choice did she have but to compromise?
Those soldiers trusted her so much, putting their lives in her hands. How could she betray that trust?
Helpless, she could only agree to the prince’s demands—lay down her arms, lead her people in surrender, and remove her armor, never to fight again.
On her wedding day, the long street was lined with her kneeling soldiers.
Hearing their tearful pleas for her to stay, her heart felt as if it were being cut by a knife.
Suddenly, a horse charged through the crowd.
He’s here!
“Zixiao, don’t marry him! Come with me!” The man had returned.
But it was too late. Everything... was too late...
She smiled and shook her head, slowly turned around, took the token of love he’d given her from her pocket, and tossed it back to him.
In this life, in this world, you and I—our love and loyalty are severed.
After today, I’ll be a princess consort of the Qing Dynasty.
After today, you’ll be a subject of the Qing Dynasty.
This is all I can do for you.
Don’t let my sacrifice be in vain.
If my sacrifice can bring you peace, save the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers, and preserve the Yun family’s hundred-year legacy...
...then what does it matter if I’m the only one who has to be sacrificed?
Beauty and bones, in the end, are just fleeting clouds.
How laughable, how pitiful—me, Zixiao Yun, still have to rely on this face to save you all.
She turned and left, and behind her came his desperate voice: “Zixiao, I won’t let you down in this life. In the next life, I’ll find you! Zixiao, when you reincarnate, that will be the day I search for you! Zixiao, listen carefully—next life, I’ll spend my whole life treating you well! Next life, even if I have to search all of heaven and earth, you will be my woman! Next life, next life, let’s never miss each other again!”
She closed her eyes, and two clear tears fell slowly.
A relieved smile appeared on her lips, and she softly replied, “Alright, I’ll wait for you in our next life. If you can find me, I’ll marry you.”
After saying this, she leapt onto her horse, whipped it hard, and the sound of hooves buried all her longing, all her obsession, all her beliefs in this life.
A cry came from behind: “General Qi!”
She didn’t look back—she couldn’t.
She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to control herself, afraid she’d want to go with him...
The next day, she learned that after she left, he stabbed himself in the chest.
He used his blood to pave the way for her wedding.
In the next life, I’ll wait for you.
Years passed by like a dream.
She lay on her sickbed, barely clinging to life.
The man who had forcibly married her, eyes red with emotion, asked, "Zixiao, in this life, I’ve never let you down. Even though you never gave me a son or daughter, I never took another consort. Today, I just want to ask you one thing: did you ever love me?"
She looked up at the man before her. In his pale blue eyes, there was deep pain and repression.
Yes, he must have been suffering for a long time, right?
He would actually ask such a question.
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How should she answer?
She married him, and he really treated her well.
Fine clothes and food, a grand mansion—endless glory.
As a prince, he had no other concubines or attendants besides her.
By all rights, shouldn’t she have felt happy?
But why did she still feel so unwilling?
She sighed softly and answered, "I may never be able to answer that question in this life. Maybe, in the next life, I’ll give you my answer."
"Zixiao!" The prince gripped her fingers, his lips trembling, but he couldn’t say a word.
"Prince, it’s time for me to go. In this life, I have many regrets. I hope in the next life, I can make up for them. Thank you for everything." After saying this, she closed her eyes and finished her brief life.
Charles Yin felt the person in his arms move and quickly looked down.
Cecilia Gu slowly opened her eyes, but started crying even harder.
"What’s wrong?" Charles Yin gently wiped away Cecilia’s tears. "Why are you still crying?"
"Charles, I dreamed about her. In my dream, I was Zixiao Yun, I lived her whole life. Now I finally understand why she protected Yuanshan Village—because the man she loved was from Yuanshan Village." Cecilia sobbed uncontrollably. "They protected each other. That man protected the Yun family, and she protected Yuanshan Village."
Zixiao Yun, she spent her whole life on the battlefield, and won the love of two men.