Midnight, in the military tent.
An hour had passed.
Because the bed was destroyed by Qin Qingluo’s blow, Chen Yi had no choice but to lay the mattress directly on the ground.
After their intimacy, everything felt like a distant world. The proud, towering woman now lay dazed beside him, responding faintly to Chen Yi’s tender caresses.
Smoothing her disheveled ponytail, Chen Yi lay down and gently embraced this fiery mare.
She didn’t look at him, her gaze falling onto empty space.
Chen Yi, however, observed her for a long while before murmuring softly in the dim candlelight:
"What’s the scenery in the Southern Border like?"
This was not a clever attempt at conversation, and naturally garnered no response. Even if it were clever, Qin Qingluo would still remain indifferent.
Chen Yi went on as if talking to himself:
"I’ve never been there, but I’ve heard people say the Southern Border is infested with miasma and savages everywhere. But Aunt Zhu once told those scholars were lying, that the scenery there is beautiful, even better than in Jiangnan."
At the ntion of Aunt Zhu, Qin Qingluo stirred slightly.
But she still offered no reply.
Chen Yi wasn’t bothered. After all, she’d been thoroughly invaded, and it was only natural if she threw a little tantrum. More importantly, she wasn’t resisting now, still sharing the sa space with him.
Taking a deep breath, he continued:
"Qingluo... Aunt Zhu used to talk with about the Southern Border all the ti and often urged to visit. But what she spoke of most was always you..."
He affectionately called her na, but she showed no reaction. Yet, upon the ntion of Zhu E, she hoarsely muttered:
"You’re not qualified to call her Aunt..."
Chen Yi instinctively retorted:
"Would you believe that with just one word from , she would no longer be your Aunt?"
Qin Qingluo’s lips stiffened, her cheeks streaked with dried tear stains.
Feeling the sorrow of the person in his arms, Chen Yi hesitated, his regret surfacing as he softly replied:
"Forget it, I won’t say anything like that again."
The towering woman seed not to hear him, treating it as crocodile tears.
Chen Yi didn’t mind; though he was holding her, her tall fra made it seem as if he were nestled in her embrace instead.
"Whenever Aunt Zhu ntioned you, she was always full of joy. She really cares about you. Apart from , no one else could make her betray you..."
"...I know." When he brought up Zhu E, though unwillingly, Qin Qingluo responded with a faint trace of acknowledgnt.
Chen Yi continued, "She told stories about your childhood."
Qin Qingluo froze montarily, her lips curving into a bitter smile.
"You were already very tall at a young age. By seven or eight, you could stand shoulder to shoulder with teenagers of fifteen or sixteen. She said your ancestors had married royalty from Tianzhu, only to find out they were the reincarnation of the golden-winged bird—a chilling tale. She said it was frightening. Do you think it’s scary?"
"...Not scary."
Chen Yi wanted so sort of response and carelessly ntioned Zhu E. Qin Qingluo, her head bowed, gave sporadic replies.
"You were tall even as a child. Few servant girls could keep up with you, so you practiced your swordplay instead. Among the theater troupe raised by the Prince Mansion, you didn’t listen to Peony Pavilion or The West Chamber, but rather Yang’s Female Generals and Hua Mulan."
"..."
"You were incredible. I wasn’t nearly as skilled as a child and never even thought about honing my martial arts. I simply let the days pass idly until... I ca to Great Yu." Chen Yi hinted at things beyond this world.
But Qin Qingluo showed little interest, nor could she discern his aning.
She was unwilling to engage much with Chen Yi, especially with his bastard growing inside her—a child she would have to birth and... care for...
For this reason, Chen Yi paid no mind to her slight resistance. The price paid by the female Prince had already been steep enough.
"You said you have no teachers in swordsmanship. Then from now on, I’ll count myself as your sword ntor. As for your spear technique, once I journey to the Southern Border, you can teach there. By then..."
Chen Yi originally wanted to jest about a round and chubby girl rushing to embrace him, but as he was about to ntion their daughter, he stopped himself in ti, pretending indifference as he casually said:
"Aunt Zhu will see our mutual harmony and won’t make things difficult."
"...Impossible!"
She enunciated each word, her speech tinged with anger at the picture Chen Yi painted.
Chen Yi responded with a faint smile, extending his hand to gently touch her abdon.
The mighty figure stiffened, her eyes filled with despair, motionless as though her acupuncture points had been sealed.
While she braced herself for an impending humiliation, Chen Yi instead murmured gently:
"Hungry?"
"What?" She was taken aback.
"I hear a faint rumbling sound," Chen Yi remarked compassionately. "It’s already so late; you should eat sothing."
Qin Qingluo lowered her warrior-like yet despondent brows, refusing to look at him. Still, her abdon emitted subtle "rumbling" sounds. Her cheeks did not flush, nor did her expression change much.
Chen Yi bent his knees, lifted himself up, and quickly donned his clothes, chuckling lightly:
"Let prepare so food for you."
The towering woman remained unresponsive, lying motionless on the mattress as though disengaged.
Chen Yi hurriedly left, as if worried she’d go hungry for too long.
After a while, he returned in swift steps, one palm tightly closed, its contents obscured by the night.
Qin Qingluo didn’t even glance at him, still lying on the ground.
Chen Yi placed the food on the table and approached to gently help her up. She didn’t resist and let herself be led to the chairs by the table.
As she lowered her gaze and caught sight of the food, her eyes widened slightly.
It was osmanthus cake.
When she was young, Zhu E often made osmanthus cake for her. As she grew older, Zhu E stopped making it, and Qin Qingluo never had the heart to ask.
Chen Yi nudged the plate of osmanthus cake forward and gently said:
"I learned this from Aunt Zhu and managed to get so candied osmanthus from her to make it. I brought it over for you.
It was supposed to be a farewell gift, but eating it now is just fine too."
With that, he placed a pair of chopsticks into Qin Qingluo’s palm, while his other hand remained hidden beneath the table.
Qin Qingluo hesitated for a long ti. Under Chen Yi’s gaze, she finally began to move the chopsticks.
She carefully picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and brought it to her lips, her face flickering under the lamplight.
Chen Yi, who had made the osmanthus cake, knew its sweetness. But he didn’t know what Qin Qingluo tasted, so he tried to observe her closely. Yet just as he was about to see, the lamp’s fla flickered and died.
Chen Yi couldn’t see her expression and said nothing, quietly accompanying her as she ate piece by piece of osmanthus cake.
Qin Qingluo ate silently and slowly—a rare sight for the usually commanding Prince of Annan. Whether she was savoring Zhu E’s candied osmanthus or Chen Yi’s craftsmanship was unclear.
After she had finished, Chen Yi took a cloth to wipe her lips, then sighed lightly:
"Why push yourself so hard, to the point of losing control? Without that incident, the rest would never have happened."
Qin Qingluo recalled sothing and raised her eyes to fix her gaze on him.
Chen Yi, perplexed, went on: "I always thought you would know when to stop. But you didn’t. You must have realized there was sothing wrong with the radiance of the glass light, but you felt no fear. That’s because the glass light itself promised you immortality and immunity from disaster. Given the choice, you broke through. Tell —what did you see during your loss of control?"
Qin Qingluo lowered her gaze for a long ti before finally replying:
"A single white flower. That’s all."
Seeing her unwillingness to elaborate, Chen Yi didn’t press further, nor did he question whether she might be lying. He rely continued:
"At that ti, I told you I didn’t want to treat you this way. That wasn’t a lie. But you insisted on trying to kill ."
Qin Qingluo remained silent, no trace of regret in her expression.
Chen Yi spoke as though to himself:
"But actually, when you wanted to kill , I was relieved."
"Why?" she unexpectedly asked.
Chen Yi extended a hand toward her, stopping in front.
"Because, as I said, if you didn’t try to kill , I wouldn’t have had any reason to seek you out."
His hand slowly opened, revealing sothing in his palm.
"After we part this ti, I’ll miss seeing you."
His palm unfurled, revealing a wild white mountain chrysanthemum, swaying gently in the absence of wind.
But under the vast and tangled night,
She could not see it, nor did she wish to.
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