The most difficult place in the Southern Kingdom, atop a small island on a cliff.
"Waa—"
A child's cry rang out, and a male infant arrived in this world.
"Princess, Princess Royal, you've given birth, you've given birth!"
The maid carried the male infant and placed him before Ti Le, crying like a child herself. "We've suffered so much, and finally, we've given birth to the child. Princess, this is wonderful!"
To give birth to this child, Ti Le had nearly exhausted half her life.
However, at this moment, seeing the child cry incessantly, Ti Le was extremely annoyed. "Send him away, send him back to the Great Yue Dynasty, to his father. I never want to see him again."
"Princess Royal?!"
The maid looked at Ti Le's pain and then at the crying infant in her arms, feeling even more distressed. "This child should never have been born into this world. Send him back to his father. Then I will live here until I am old."
"Alas... Princess, why must you do this?"
The maid awkwardly soothed the male infant in her arms. "Actually... Princess Royal has already announced to the outside world that you are dead. No one will come looking for you! This desolate island is too remote, with only two households. Living here, you will likely suffer too much."
"It doesn't matter."
Ti Le turned her head away, no longer looking at the male infant who was still crying incessantly. "This is all my fault. If... if I hadn't been so headstrong, I wouldn't have ended up like this. I want to stay here, dedicating the rest of my life to the memory of Qian Shan."
"Qian Shan, my Qian Shan!"
Facing the surging waves below the cliff, Ti Le's tears finally couldn't help but flow.
She remembered the first time she saw Qian Shan, and her heart was already set on him.
—
It was when their Southern Kingdom was at its most powerful.
Although the Southern Kingdom was not large, it occupied a vast sea area and had developed a very convenient maritime route.
From the Southern Kingdom, one could even reach the continent of the Northern Ocean and exchange with the northerners for things this continent had never seen.
Even things the Great Yue Dynasty, the most powerful on the continent, did not possess. Thus, the Southern Kingdom developed rapidly in those years through navigation and trade.
It also gave them the ability to contend with the Great Yue Dynasty, which had always "suppressed" them.
In those years, the Southern Kingdom indeed performed well.
They forced the Great Yue Dynasty to retreat again and again. Finally, the Emperor of the Great Yue Dynasty was even willing to send a hostage to the Southern Kingdom to ensure peace and friendship between the two countries, and to guarantee that the Great Yue Dynasty would not proactively attack the Southern Kingdom!
On the day this news spread throughout the Southern Kingdom, the entire nation was filled with joy.
Because, for so many years in the past, as a vassal state of the Great Yue Dynasty, the Southern Kingdom had only sent princesses for marriage alliances to the Great Yue Dynasty. This was the first time the Great Yue Dynasty was actually sending a hostage to maintain peace between the two countries!
The hearts of the Southern Kingdom's people swelled with pride in an instant.
However, within the Southern Kingdom's court, many people were dissatisfied with this matter.
Because they believed that the Southern Kingdom's national strength was now strong, while the Great Yue Dynasty was "on the decline."
Why not take advantage of such a good opportunity to attack the Great Yue in one fell swoop, forcing the Great Yue Dynasty to cede more land to the Southern Kingdom?!
Even if their momentum continued to rise, they might even be able to "devour" the entire Great Yue Dynasty directly.
At that time, the entire world would be ruled by the Southern Kingdom!
Although there were dissenting opinions in the court, in the end, those who prioritized "peace" were in the majority, and they agreed to the Great Yue Dynasty sending a hostage.
They also put forward their own conditions: this hostage must be the emperor's most beloved child, excluding the Crown Prince of the Great Yue Dynasty, and not a child the emperor disregarded.
Therefore, the Emperor of the Great Yue Dynasty could only send the then young Prince Chang, Mu Chang Xi, to the Southern Kingdom.
On the day Mu Chang Xi arrived in the Southern Kingdom, a welcoming banquet was held for the sake of peace between the two countries.
It was at that banquet that Ti Le first met "Mu Chang Xi."
Although Ti Le had the status of a princess in the Southern Kingdom, because she was born to a slave, her position was not very high.
Unlike princesses born of the main wife, who were bound by strict rules.
She could see that the seemingly thin and frail Prince Chang appeared very reserved.
And he didn't seem to know how to handle the "enthusiasm" of the people of the Southern Kingdom.
The ministers who brought him also seemed rather simple-minded.
Throughout the feast, people kept toasting them. They should have avoided it a little.
But they didn't know how, and instead, they drank glass after glass.
Some people mocked them, while others admired their drinking capacity.
Regardless of what others said, they just smiled and remained silent. Even the young Prince Chang appeared exceptionally shy.
In fact, the wine in the Southern Kingdom was not as strong as the wine in the Great Yue Dynasty, but drinking too much could still have a significant effect.
Many people were waiting to see them make fools of themselves, watching them drink glass after glass.
Even Ti Le's mother joined in the fun, toasted them with two cups of wine, and then ran back, her face flushed, smiling and saying to those beside her, "The men of the Great Yue Dynasty are truly gentle!"
Yes, even the young Ti Le knew that the men of the Great Yue Dynasty were truly gentle.
Compared to the people here, they were exceedingly gentle.
The people of the Southern Kingdom did not seem to like their disposition.
Ti Le, however, liked it very much. So, after the banquet ended, she ran towards that Prince Chang.
She blocked Prince Chang's path and smiled at him, "We are of similar age, so we will be good friends from now on! Follow me, and I promise no one will bully you!"
"Okay."
The boy before her smiled, and from that moment on, Ti Le knew that the gentlest person should look like him.
From that day on, Prince Chang truly became even better to Ti Le.
They often played together.
Prince Chang was somewhat silent, while Ti Le was very talkative.
She was very interested in matters of the Great Yue Dynasty, but whenever she asked Mu Chang Xi, he would remain silent. He only said that compared to the Southern Kingdom, the Great Yue Dynasty was more restrictive. On the contrary, he felt quite free in the Southern Kingdom.
Ti Le thought that he would come to like the Southern Kingdom more and more.
Ideally, he would stay in the Southern Kingdom for a lifetime!
However, soon, things began to go wrong.
Ti Le felt that she had broken her promise.
Because she had failed to protect Mu Chang Xi, and she had not expected that someone would actually come to bully Mu Chang Xi, the hostage from the Great Yue Dynasty.
But from that day on, the bullying of Mu Chang Xi did not stop.
Even Ti Le could see that it was instigated by someone.
Those who wanted to attack the Great Yue Dynasty sent people to bully Mu Chang Xi; they even wanted to kill Mu Chang Xi!
And Ti Le?
She was mocked for being the child of a female slave. Even with the title of princess, she couldn't always protect Mu Chang Xi.