Chapter 435: Departure

Chapter 435: Flight

In that brief moment, Xin You experienced the pain of being cut to the core, feeling as if she were dying.

Amidst her shattered rationality, that bone-deep familiar voice said, "Your subject has never harbored such intentions, but I also refuse to be used as leverage against Ah You—"

"Ahh—" Xin You let out a heart-wrenching scream.

To everyone else, it seemed like a desperate, unbecoming cry. But in reality, it was an instinctive act to save He Qingxiao before she could think rationally.

The sharp blade poised to slice through He Qingxiao's neck paused, followed by his frantic shout, "Ah You!"

Xin You gripped the dagger, pointing it at her own throat.

Then came the alarmed cries of Emperor Xingyuan and Princess Royale Zhaoyang, "Ah You!"

Xin You's eyes were bloodshot, glaring fiercely at Emperor Xingyuan.

"Do you think imperial power can control everything?" she demanded harshly, her voice trembling from the fear of nearly losing her beloved, yet her hand holding the dagger remained steady, leaving no doubt that she would slit her own delicate throat in an instant.

"If so, King Qing would grow into the upright and capable heir you desire. Prince Xiu would bide his time, accepting defeat and living as a leisurely prince. I would stay as the princess of Xia, and even Mother wouldn't leave, remaining your empress forever!"

Xin You spat out each word, growing more sarcastic and enraged with every sentence.

She couldn't help but feel furious.

She had lost so many loved ones; why must she lose the one she still had?

Blessed with extraordinary abilities, she had saved countless lives since childhood. They say saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda, yet why did all the good deeds she had done not bring her beloved peace and happiness?

Xin You glanced at He Qingxiao, her eyes filled with resolve and grievance.

He Qingxiao's heart was shaken to its core, and he could no longer consider the setting as he pleaded, "Ah You, please don't hurt yourself, I beg you."

Xin You countered, "Then what were you about to do just now?"

He Qingxiao clutched the dark handle of his sword tightly, a tear rolling down from the corner of his eye.

They say a man does not shed tears lightly, but with the resolve to die, after having the chance to speak to the woman he loved, some emotions could no longer be contained.

Xin You's gaze slowly shifted away from his face, turning to Emperor Xingyuan: "Your imperial power cannot control He Qingxiao's heart; he would rather die than become a chain that binds me. And you, are you satisfied watching your loyal minister, who has risked his life for you, forced to take his own life?"

Emperor Xingyuan's lips trembled, unable to form words.

"You can force him to die," Xin You's hand holding the dagger moved, and her skin was cut, blood droplets seeping out, stark against her snow-white neck. "Or you can force me to die!"

"Ah You, Ah You, calm down!" Emperor Xingyuan lost his usual composure, urgently explaining, "I didn't mean it like that—"

"Brother!" Princess Royale Zhaoyang could no longer bear to listen, angrily interrupting Emperor Xingyuan, "At this moment, you still talk nonsense. Do you have to wait until Ah You dies before you regret it for the rest of your life?"

A tear slid down Princess Royale Zhaoyang's cheek: "You said you wouldn't make the same mistake again after losing Sister-in-law. But have you thought about how, in the years she was away from the palace, she saw many beautiful sights, tasted many delicious foods, and raised a smart and sensible daughter? You lost her company, but she had many happy moments. Brother, don't you understand that only when Sister-in-law died did you truly lose her?"

They all lost her.

Princess Royale Zhaoyang's tears flowed more fiercely, and she asked in a hoarse voice, "Do you want to truly lose Ah You too?"

Each word of accusation, each character like a knife, cut through the festering wound in Emperor Xingyuan's heart.

It was a wound he thought had healed, but in reality, it was still festering and rotten.

He resented his wife's sudden departure, her lack of understanding of his predicament, and regretted not keeping the promise he made at their wedding. He was even more heartbroken over her death.

These complex emotions accumulated bit by bit, drop by drop, in his heart, forming an obsession.

He wanted to keep Ah You by his side.

Not just for the bond of father and daughter, not just because of Ah You's insights that surpassed those of others, but also to soothe the wound in his heart.

Keeping Ah You seemed to erase the pain of being abandoned by his wife twenty years ago.

When he met Xinxin after a hundred years, he could tell her: I am not so inadequate; our daughter loves me and is willing to stay with me always.

But this humble, childish desire, he could not share with anyone, not even the deepest part of his own heart.

He preferred to use his imperial authority and paternal power to make her obey, masking his vulnerability and failure.

"Brother, wake up!" Princess Royale Zhaoyang shouted.

Emperor Xingyuan's gaze shifted from Princess Royale Zhaoyang to He Qingxiao, then to Xin You.

His sister's disappointed eyes, his minister's indifferent reaction, and his daughter's determined expression.

He blinked, struggling to speak: "Ah You, I will let you go."

He raised his voice, as if to prevent himself from changing his mind: "I will let you go."

The guards who had come with him and the soldiers of the capital's garrison remained silent, listening quietly.

Xin You finally heard the words she had been waiting for.

But her feelings at this moment were not joy, but numbness.

Her threat of death was both a gamble and not a gamble.

To save He Qingxiao, to save herself, she had no real chance of winning; the only hope for a turnaround was to bet on his conscience, if he still had any.

But she was not bluffing; she was determined to face death.

She did not value her life lightly, but if she watched He Qingxiao kill himself for her, she could not live on alone.

It seemed she had won the bet.

But when it came to using death as a form of resistance, whether she won or lost, there was only sorrow left.

"Go, go wherever you wish," Emperor Xingyuan waved his hand, shedding the cold, unfeeling armor of an emperor, revealing the disappointment and weariness of many men approaching old age.

Xin You pressed her lips together and did not respond, instead looking at Princess Royale Zhaoyang.

"Aunt, thank you for all your care. I'm leaving now."

Tears welled in Princess Royale Zhaoyang's eyes as she smiled at her, "Ah You, take care of yourself."

She did not say that she should come back to visit whenever she missed her aunt.

She thought Ah You might never want to return to this place again.

Xin You nodded, then met He Qingxiao's gaze, addressing him as she did when they first met: "Lord He, please take care of yourself."

If they had never met, he would not have suffered so much because of her.

"I will." He Qingxiao promised solemnly.

Xin You raised her hand to wipe the corner of her eye and gently tugged on the reins, turning her horse.

The horse had only taken a few steps when a voice called out from behind: "Wait!"

Xin You slowly turned her head to look at the person calling her.

Emperor Xingyuan stared at He Qingxiao with a heavy gaze. "You should go as well."

He Qingxiao's expression showed surprise, but he quickly composed himself and bowed to Emperor Xingyuan. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

With a nudge to his horse's flank, he galloped without hesitation toward Xin You.