When I got home, it was already dark.

After Yunxiang left, I did not leave, but turned around and walked back and forth, walking slowly along the river. I stepped into the water several times because I was careless. In the end, the corners of my skirt were so wet that I couldn't twist it, my shoes and socks were wet. I dragged my cold ankles, and I pushed the door and went home.

The staff in the yard seemed to have increased a lot, and even the staff around me who protected my home were obviously doubled.

I naturally knew what this arrangement meant, but I just smiled faintly in my heart.

As soon as I pushed the door, I saw a lonely lamp like a bean on the table in the middle of the room.

The candlelight swayed with the wind suddenly opening and pouring in. The clearly extinguished candlelight reflected the handsome face, and even the expression on the face seemed a little dim and unclear, making people unable to see his joy and anger clearly.

I stood at the door, stunned for a moment, and then said softly: "You haven't fallen asleep yet?"

Pei Yuanxiu held the table, as if he wanted to stand up, but when I saw his difficulty, I immediately went over and grabbed his arm: "Don't stand up, be careful of the wound."

He smiled, sat back, looked at me and said, "I'm waiting for you to come back."

"You should have a break early."

As I said this, I did not help him back to the bed. Pei Yuanxiu seemed to have no intention of going to bed and rest, but sat back. I also sat opposite the table and poured myself a cup of tea. After drinking the warm tea, my body that had been cold and warmed up a little.

He was looking at me as he looked up.

"where have you been?"

"Go to the river and walk."

"Have you walked for so long?"

"Go for a walk."

"Let's go? I'm afraid that you will go to Yangzhou when you leave." He said and laughed, and a smile on the corner of his mouth made a lot of things that had never been said to him in his faint smile.

Looking at his smile like this, I thought about it and spoke.

"I want to say something to you."

"I have something I want to tell you."

The two of them spoke at the same time. I was stunned for a moment and saw his eyes froze, but before I could react, I heard him say, "You talk first."

At this time, I was a little hesitant.

I spoke at the same time as him, but I didn't know what he was going to say. I even had some doubts whether he should be asked to say it first.

At this moment, the two of them were so close that they were just an ordinary conversation, but suddenly it seemed to turn into a gamble, betting on happiness for a lifetime and this beautiful country.

I was in a daze for a while, and the candlelight in front of me seemed to sway with my uncertainty. It seemed that the ripples in the river I saw today also reminded me of the decision I finally made.

No matter what his decision is, what I want to do will not change for others.

Thinking of this, I took a deep breath and said solemnly: "Can you give up Yangzhou?"

His eyes flashed with the candlelight.

He seemed to have not reacted, or maybe he hadn't thought about what to say, but at this moment of silence, I spoke again and said word by word: "Then, I will cross the river with you."

“…!”

His eyes widened.

I looked at the shock in his eyes through the flashing candlelight, and calmed as usual: "Okay?"

...

This time, it was silent for a long time.

I couldn't hear his breath or his heartbeat. Only the sound of the wind blew in my ears. After a while, I realized in a daze that it was not the sound of the wind, but the sound of my own blood flowing.

It turned out that my heartbeat was so violent that it seemed to burst out from my heart.

The pain and depression made me feel a little uncomfortable, but no matter how uncomfortable I felt, I didn't change my face and didn't even have any disorder in my breathing. I just looked at him like this.

I've already made this bet!

It took me a long time to finally see his pale lips trembling slightly, and he opened his mouth, but there was no sound for a while. It was not until he coughed lightly that his throat was broken.

"You said, you are willing-"

“…”

"You are not—after—?"

I smiled faintly: "Did Lao Yao tell you that I regret it?"

He was speechless for a moment, just looking at me, but his eyes were full of caution, as if he was worried that his eyes would be heavier, which would crush this moment.

"I do regret it, but regret does not mean that I will break my promise." I looked at him and said seriously: "Even if I am a woman, I understand the truth that no one can make a promise. I will not easily take back my promise."

He seemed to be unable to believe his ears, looked at me at a loss, then looked at his hands, and after a while, he raised his head, looked at me with anticipation, and said softly: "You are really willing to follow me?"

"Um."

When I heard this word, I clearly saw that my eyes were filled with endless joy.

For a moment, it seemed that the winter night also turned into spring.

Seeing him like this, I smiled, but there was a hint of sourness in my smile, not sure whether it was for myself or for him.

After laughing, I said softly: "Yuan Xiu, tell me, what would you do if I really regret it?"

“…”

"Will you make me regret it?"

“…”

He looked at me calmly, and for a long time, his eyes were gentle, but he didn't say a word.

Under his gentle gaze, I felt a little clear in my heart.

In fact, even if I don’t ask, I understand—as he said to me before, as long as I say “no”, he wouldn’t do anything to me, but that night, he never let me speak the word “no”.

And now, even if I really regret it, he will not let my path change anyway.

Because to me, he never planned to look back.

Thinking of this, a little desolation surged in my heart for someone. I smiled faintly, and he smiled too.

Then, I said, "But I still have something to discuss with you."

"you say."

"I hope you can give up Yangzhou."

“…Is this a condition?”

"No, this is hope."

There was still a gloomy look on the corners of his eyes, but his expression became clear and solemn. He pondered for a while and said softly: "Why?"

I said, "Actually, what I hope more is that you can give up Jiangnan, give up those weapons, give up those powers, give up - all the ties you once had as the prince."

“…”

I saw his eyes cold, and I smiled bitterly in my heart, and said, "But I know this is impossible when I am in a different place. I have always seen the relationship between you and the emperor very clearly. Letting you give up Jiangnan is tantamount to letting the emperor take your life."

Speaking of this, I smiled faintly: "Since I can't regret it, then of course I don't want to be a widow."

His eyes flashed, as if he was about to laugh, but he didn't dare to act rashly, just looking at me like this.

"But-" I looked into his smiling eyes and said seriously: "If you have Yangzhou in hand, you will be destined to have one more battle with the emperor."

More likely, more than one battle.

When we just heard about the rebellion of the six provinces in Jiangnan and the attitude of Yangzhou Prefecture was ambiguous, we had already seen through this layout. The reason why he did not let Yangzhou openly escape from the rule of the court was that Yangzhou was like a nail that penetrated the body of the Celestial Empire. Advancing could rely on Yangzhou to attack the Central Plains, and retreating could rely on the Yangtze River to defend the south.

Yangzhou is for the purpose of attacking existence.

Listening to my words, he remained silent until this time when he raised his head and looked at me with a burning look: "Qingying, who is your hope for?"

For whom?

Seeing the uneasy light flashing in his eyes, I immediately understood.

Although he has always been so calm, how could a person's heart be so calm? How could he really care about nothing? Even if he is like him, he will have worries and uneasiness. What's more, when I got news from Yangzhou today, I suddenly asked to cross the river with him. How could he have no idea?

I smiled and said, "Are you worried that my hope is for someone?"

“…”

"Because he has arrived in Yangzhou, I want you to give up Yangzhou; because he has arrived, I want to cross the river with you."

"..." He looked at me silently, and after a while, he slowly said: "Qingying, I know I shouldn't ask, because - your heart is not on me. But because of this, I can't ignore it."

There is no way not to care.

When I heard these words, I was obviously just a very light tone, but it made me tremble inexplicably.

In a trance, I remembered what Nangong Lizhu once said. She said that she had always felt that Pei Yuanxiu was a person without feelings. His joys, anger, sorrow, and happiness were always like a layer of gauze in front of him. I could never see what he was thinking. It was just on their wedding night, when she heard Pei Yuanxiu shouting my name from the drunken Pei Yuanxiu and saying that she wanted to give me happiness, she suddenly felt that this person was so real.

At that moment, she felt as if I could empathize with it at this moment.

He said he had no choice but to care.

Even if he can calmly say that I don’t love him, even if he can still calmly hope that I will give him a chance to grow at the critical moment of life and death, in fact, he is not as calm as he seems. He will have urgent expectations, he will have worries, and things that he can’t let go.

He had no choice but to care. Who did I put forward the hope for him now?

I laughed instead.

Looking at my faint smile, he was a little stunned and seemed to be at a loss. I looked into his eyes and said seriously: "Do you still remember what I said to you when I left Jiangnan?"

"…If you were the only one within ten steps, would you want me to take another ten steps?"

I shook my head gently.

"War together, the people are displaced, and corpses are everywhere, so the people are so innocent."

“…”

"I'm not asking for anyone."

“…”

"I am here to ask you for everyone who may be ravaged by war."

“…”

"The Yuan Xiu, eliminating a war is equivalent to saving thousands of people from water and fire. It is a greater merit than building a billion-level pagoda."

He didn't speak silently. From his dark and dull eyes, I couldn't see clearly what he was thinking. I could only say to him in a gentler voice: "You said, I hope I can raise your seed, but I don't know whether this seed can grow and how it can grow. But I think, if you can cultivate these merits, God will not let you down. Maybe this seed will grow and stay together for a longer time after it grows."

He was silent for a long time and repeated: "Do you want me to give up Yangzhou and return to Jiangnan?"

"right."

I nodded and looked at him anxiously: "You have occupied the Yangtze River chasm. The emperor did not dare to move you casually before. It is precisely because of this best natural barrier. Besides, the court has always avoided three points in your naval camp. If you retreat to the south of the Yangtze River, it is difficult for him to fight, and he dare not fight easily; don't go north again, okay?"

From ancient times to the present, there have been many examples. Apart from a river, there are two completely independent regimes. Although this may be suspected of splitting the Celestial Empire, compared to war, compared to the slaughter of their brothers, and compared to the war, I still hope to keep the peace in front of me.

If in the future, there are more gentle ways to unify the north and south and create the prosperous era that Pei Yuanhao and Pei Yuanfeng expected, it will naturally be the icing on the cake, but at the moment, I just hope not to make things worse.

Pei Yuanxiu fell silent.

He was silent just now, listening to me, but now he was thinking about the silence.

I could even see the fierce light colliding in his eyes through the swaying candlelight.

The two of them met like this. I don’t know how long it took. The night was dark and the cold air was soaring. My fingertips were already cold. I subconsciously raised them up and put them on the candlelight. When I felt a little warmth, Pei Yuanxiu raised his head and looked at me.

"Qingying."

"…!" I also looked at him nervously.

"I promise to return to Jinling."

"Really?!" I was overjoyed and subconsciously grabbed his sleeve: "You really promised me?"

"Yeah." He nodded. Compared to my ecstasy, although he smiled, he still had a calmness: "However, who can guarantee what he wants to do in Yangzhou when he goes south?"

“…”

I was stunned, and my hand holding his sleeve also released.

Yes, who knows what he is going to do next?

Killing all Pei Yuanxiu in Yangzhou Prefecture and promulgated a new doctrine. This is his beginning, what will he do next?

Wen Fengxi also followed him south. Is a general going south just to open the city gate?

Just as the uneasiness surged in my heart became more and more intense, Pei Yuanxiu said: "Actually, you want to see him too, don't you?"

I nodded subconsciously, and suddenly I felt that this sentence was wrong again, and looked at him in shock: "What?"

"I just said, I have something I want to tell you."

“…What’s the matter?”

"Just today, I've sent someone to post him."

“…”

"Three days later, Wangjiangting."

“…”
Chapter completed!