Chapter 63
“Alright,” Xie Yao subconsciously replied.
Yuli’s mind was in a mess. The moment she saw Xie Yao, she wanted to cry.
Seeing her tearful eyes, all his previous plans turned into helplessness. He held her hand tightly and led her away from the Duke’s Residence.
After getting into the carriage, Yuli was almost exhausted.
Xie Yao held her in his arms. The impulse to take her back to the palace and lock her up became stronger and stronger. He suppressed it several times and did not give the order to leave for a long time.
“I’m so hungry. Let’s go home and eat,” Yuli said, leaning on his shoulder.
Xie Yao let out a heavy breath and ordered to go back to the Xie Residence.
Yuli leaned against him, half of her body in his arms. She sensed that his embrace was sometimes tight, sometimes loose, and his palm was trembling slightly. Yuli pulled herself out of her shock.
She looked up at him. “Why did you tell me in this way?”
Xie Yao’s face was pale, and he said nothing.
Tears welled up in Yuli’s eyes. “Are you afraid that I will despise you after I know?”
He still didn’t speak.
Yuli’s tears fell one by one.
Xie Yao’s heart was shattered. He had imagined her many, many reactions, but he had never thought that she would cry.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice dry and hoarse. He didn’t even dare to touch her.
Yuli threw herself into his arms and held him tightly, but her tears did not stop.
She was scared. Xie Yao desperately wanted to push her away, go back and cut Xie Chunlan into a thousand pieces, then burn her to ashes, and completely erase her from the world.
Yuli said in a muffled voice from his arms, “Is everything she said true?”
“No,” Xie Yao immediately denied. “She looks down on me and hates me. Of course, she would slander me.”
Yuli paused, then looked up at him. His face was paler than ever before, and his expression was so complex that it seemed about to shatter.
Yuli wiped away her tears and looked at him fixedly. “No. She is jealous of you.”
Yuli caressed his face. “She is jealous that you were born of a lower status than her, but you have more backbone than her. She is jealous that you have no one to love you, but you are more self-respecting and self-reliant than her. She is even more jealous that you have no one to help you, but you are now in a high position above tens of thousands of people. She is even jealous of your looks.”
Seeing his expression gradually stabilize, Yuli also smiled through her tears. “Do you know what my strongest thought was just now when I heard her finish?”
Xie Yao shook his head blankly.
“I was thinking, when I saved you in Xihe County, why didn’t I treat you better,” Yuli said, caressing his face. “I should have wiped you, changed you into clean clothes, bought you a soft quilt, invited the best doctor in the county, and spent time with you, talking to you more…”
Her lips were sealed, and Yuli could no longer speak.
Xie Yao held her lips, gently biting, licking, sucking, and devouring.
Yuli responded to him, holding his face. Her fingers touched a slight wetness, and her fingertips were scorching hot and numb.
She wanted to open her eyes to look at him but was held down, her palms covering her eyes.
The fierce kiss gradually became gentle and long. After a long time, Xie Yao lay by her ear and whispered in her ear, “Yuli, call me Mingyan.”
Yuli turned her head and saw that his eyes were closed, as if he were smiling.
“Mingyan,” she called out.
“I knew long ago that I was worthy of these words,” he opened his eyes, which were full of an arrogant flamboyance. “I was born to be a child of heaven.”
The bitterness in Yuli’s eyes suddenly disappeared.
Xie Yao kissed her again, with a force that crushed everything, as if to tear her apart and devour her.
His palms also touched her recklessly. Her clothes loosened, became messy, and fell.
The carriage swayed. Yuli’s whole body went limp, but her mind was still alert. She pushed his face.
“In the carriage…” Yuli’s eyes were full of resistance.
Xie Yao looked down at her for a long time. She was still a little uneasy, and his expression was not as simple as before. He pressed her heavily into his arms, adjusted his breathing, and said with a slightly hoarse and trembling voice, “It’s a good thing I have you, Yuli.”
Yuli paused and patted his back. “Don’t worry, your life will get better and better in the future.”
Xie Yao: “Mm, as long as you are here.”
*
Mingyue Residence.
After the meal, Xie Yao stayed.
Yuli had Jingyu and Xiyun go to rest. Only she and Xie Yao were left in the room.
Yuli didn’t say much. Her mind was in a mess. She wanted to talk to him about his past that she had just heard, but she didn’t know how to begin.
She knew in her heart that that seventh sister was mentally unstable, and what she had said was only what she cared about from her side. The whole picture of Xie Yao was not as she had said. And she still knew nothing about his feelings for these experiences.
Her gaze would sometimes stare at Xie Yao, and sometimes move away. Xie Yao naturally noticed.
“Go and rest for a while,” Xie Yao said.
Yuli: “I can’t sleep.”
Her face was a little pale, and the look in her eyes was still complex.
Xie Yao suddenly stood up and picked her up.
Yuli let out a soft cry. He carried her to the bedchamber and placed her on the bed.
“I’ll accompany you,” he said, and lay down beside her.
Yuli turned on her side and held him, and also held his hand. In her own room, the familiar scent and body heat enveloped her. Yuli was silent for a while, and her heart calmed down a little.
Xie Yao gently caressed her shoulder and sensed that she still couldn’t fall asleep.
Her eyes were open, and she was thinking carefully. She said softly, “Do you still think that what I did was too cruel?”
Yuli’s spirits sharpened. She subconsciously denied it. “No. They were the ones who hurt you first.”
Xie Yao paused, but his hand patting her did not stop. “I have also felt guilty for this.”
He sighed softly.
Yuli’s fingers tightened.
Xie Yao lowered his eyes to look at her side profile, his eyes rolled several times, and he said, “But if I hadn’t used such a method, I would have been the one to die. Not to mention my mother’s lover. If he couldn’t kill me, he would probably have tortured me until I was crippled.”
With just this one sentence, Yuli began to tremble.
Xie Yao acted as if he hadn’t noticed and continued, “My father was weak and incompetent and would not have been able to kill us. He was forced by the head of the Xie clan. At that time, it was when the Xie clan was seeking the trust of the Eastern Palace and was plotting for the position of prime minister. That was why they had to purge the people of the Xie clan. My father was too absurd and was the first to bear the brunt.”
Xie Yao paused. Yuli asked, “Was it your grandfather who had him do it?”
Yuli got it at once. Xie Yao’s lips curled slightly, then quickly returned to calm. He said in a low voice, “It was him. Later, when I returned to the capital, I found my father and went to see my grandfather, pretending not to know about this matter. At that time, it was when the political struggle between the Eastern Palace and Prince Zheng was at its most intense. I used my prestige in the army and my martial arts as a bargaining chip and got the opportunity to return to the Xie family.”
He had already made up his mind to kill his grandfather, not when he returned to the Xie family, but at the age of ten, when he had stabbed his father, and his father, in his desire to live, had said, “It was not I who wanted to kill you, but my father who could not tolerate you…”
At that time, he had resolved that he would kill him in this life.
“You were clearly very outstanding, but he still looked down on you, right?” Yuli asked softly.
Xie Yao sighed softly. “In their eyes, my birth was a mistake, and I was not worthy of their trust. But I have never looked down on myself.”
Yuli: “Yes, a person’s birth does not determine anything. Man can conquer nature, and heaven helps those who help themselves.”
Xie Yao skipped over the extremely dark political struggle and smiled. “So I met you at my most difficult time. It was heaven helping me.”
Yuli felt that he was jumping too quickly, but this was indeed the question she was most concerned about.
“Actually, I didn’t do anything,” Yuli said. She had previously thought, how could he, because of her lukewarm three-day stay, want to forcibly marry her and keep her by his side? It turned out that such care was a luxury to him.
Xie Yao said softly, “At that time, both the Crown Prince and the Xie family’s people were hunting me down. All my shadow guards were dead. Only Song He was with me. When we reached Xihe County, he was also injured.”
“He put me down and did not come back for two days,” he chuckled. “I thought I was going to die there.”
Yuli clenched her fingers.
Xie Yao lifted her up a little and pressed his forehead against hers. “Yuli. I am not holding on to you because I lack love. That seventh sister had tried every means to care for me. Although I had never experienced it, my instincts made me unable to let down my guard. And I knew in my heart that her closeness was because of the child-of-heaven appearance I showed. In the end, anyone would admire such a me. But you are different.”
Xie Yao kissed her forehead. “Your kindness comes from the bottom of your heart and does not change because of the other person’s status, or even their good or evil. At that time, many people passed by me. Some avoided me, and some threw stones at me. Only you extended a helping hand to me.”
“Actually, at that time, I had also seen you and had walked away without a glance.”
“Even so, you still saved me,” Xie Yao said, looking at her. She knew her own weakness and had hesitated, but in the end, she had chosen to be brave, which showed that her kindness was more precious than any treasure in the world.
Yuli still didn’t feel that she had been very good to him. She had not paid any cost.
“In any case, it was my instinct to love you and want you,” Xie Yao said. “After marrying you, it has been further proven how good my judgment is.”
Yuli smiled. She was not very good to him, but she herself was indeed not bad.
Yuli finally smiled. Xie Yao let out a breath and put her back in his arms.
“And then?” Yuli asked again.
“After that, it was a smooth journey to the present,” Xie Yao’s voice was warm and thick, with a faint smile. “All the hardships are over. With you by my side, the future will be a bright and smooth road.”
Yuli looked up at him. His eyes were lowered to meet hers, and the smile in them was gentle.
Yuli also smiled, lay in his arms, and thought about the future. She foresaw many possible difficulties, but with him by her side, she would surely be able to get through them.
Yuli listened to his steady and powerful heartbeat. Drowsiness came over her, and she fell asleep.
After a long time, Xie Yao gently moved her away. She was not sleeping very soundly, and he patted her shoulder and back.
After she had fallen asleep again, he went out.
Without a moment’s delay, he left Mingyue Residence, turned to the stables in the backyard, took Yexiao, mounted his horse, and galloped to the Imperial Palace.
In Zichen Hall, Cui Chengbi’s brow was almost knitted together.
After waiting for these two hours, it was as if he had aged ten years.
The sound of horse’s hooves reached outside the hall. Not long after, his master appeared at the door. Cui Chengbi quickly stood up to welcome him.
Xie Yao raised his hand to stop him.
The people in the hall withdrew in the blink of an eye. Xie Yao took his seat. Cui Chengbi, regardless of etiquette, stepped forward.
He said urgently, “The Shenwu Army led by Du Ling cannot get out of the grassland. The Rouran have launched a large-scale invasion of the border and have already taken two passes.”
Saying this, he took out a secret report and presented it to Xie Yao.
Xie Yao’s brow did not move, and his expression was as steady as Mount Tai.
He opened it and looked, then looked at Cui Chengbi.
Cui Chengbi looked back eagerly. “Your Highness, please lead the expedition in person.”
“You once said that I could create a prosperous age unprecedented in ten thousand generations.”
Cui Chengbi nodded heavily.
“But the two words ‘ten thousand generations’ are an exaggeration.”
Cui Chengbi looked embarrassed. Why was he still holding onto this at this time?
Xie Yao chuckled. “I would like to make these two words a reality.”
Cui Chengbi was overjoyed, and his smile was so wide that his gums were showing. “Then…”
“I naturally have to lay a solid foundation.”
Xie Yao explained his plan to Cui Chengbi in a few words. Cui Chengbi was slightly surprised, and a trace of fear instinctively flashed through him. He looked up without a trace.
The young man’s expression was inscrutable. He was no longer as cold and imposing as when he had first ascended the throne. The majesty around him had faded a little, and his expression was still as inscrutable as a dark sea, but it had a hint of light, which made one inexplicably convinced, and there was also an indescribable admiration.
Cui Chengbi’s heart was surging. With his planning, this matter would surely succeed.
After Cui Chengbi had taken his order, he immediately left.
Xie Yao stood up and went out of the hall, mounted Yexiao again, and rode to the Danfeng Gate, where he stopped.
He went up to the city wall alone.
With Zhuque Street as the axis, the one hundred and eighteen wards were arranged neatly like a chessboard. The vast capital was so large that one couldn’t see the end. The commoners and officials in it were countless, and the demons and monsters were also countless.
Outside the capital, there were also countless distant and unseen living beings.
But this world was now in his grasp.
The previous intention to retreat was swept away. Yuli was right. He had risen from a humble position to a high position above tens of thousands of people. It was all earned by himself.
Among those who fought for power and profit, who did not have their hands stained with blood? Those so-called clean ones had all fallen in their own pool of blood.
He had stayed until the end, so he was naturally stained with more.
Naturally, he was also the strongest.
It was just that when he faced Yuli’s pure gaze, he had had doubts.
The only one in this world who could make him feel humble was her.
Now that she knew his past, she did not look down on him, nor did she pity him. She affirmed him and felt sorry for him.
Xie Yao looked down on the huge city, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly.
He was indeed the strongest.