"No, I..." General Yuan was eager to explain, but he didn't know how. Should he say he saw the person he once had feelings for become unattainable?
Xue Zining's gaze flickered, and she offered the handkerchief again.
General Yuan reached out and took it, wiping his face haphazardly. Her lingering fragrance remained on the cloth.
"Why didn't you go for a drink?" Xue Zining asked.
Upon hearing this, Yuan Zhao smiled bitterly in his heart, "I thought I'd go after practicing my sword."
Silence fell between them for a moment.
Xue Zining raised her eyes to the sky, where a bright moon hung, clear and luminous.
Yuan Zhao looked at the girl's profile and couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, is something on your mind?"
Xue Zining neither denied nor confirmed.
Yuan Zhao thought of the recent news he had received from Huang Ze and wanted to comfort her, "Your Majesty, everything will get better."
"Yes, everything will get better." Xue Zining looked up at him and said slowly.
The girl's eyes were too bright, like the moon in the night sky. Yuan Zhao averted his gaze, ignoring the unusual flutter in his heart.
"General Yuan, will we still be friends in the future?"
Yuan Zhao was startled. He turned his head, and the girl smiled at him, "Will our status change affect it?"
Although she was smiling, he sensed the seriousness in her expression.
Suddenly, the ripple in his heart gradually subsided. He stepped forward with a solemn expression and said, "No, it will be the same as before."
"Good," Xue Zining nodded.
"What are you two talking about? You seem so happy?" a tall figure slowly walked in.
Xue Zining looked up at the newcomer and walked towards him. He extended his hand, and she naturally placed hers in it.
It was so natural, as if they had known each other for many years.
Yuan Zhao took a step back, looking at the figure emerging from the shadows.
The man was tall and slender, clad in a white jade brocade robe that was particularly striking under the moonlight.
His face was refined and handsome, and his eyes shone like stars, dazzlingly bright.
The girl beside him was incomparably beautiful. The two of them together looked so well-matched.
Yuan Zhao took another step back and bowed, "Your subordinate pays respects to Your Highness."
"Rise!" Yan Zhao said calmly, raising his hand.
"Weren't you drinking with Old General Yuan? Why did you come out?" Xue Zining asked.
Yan Zhao leaned closer to her shoulder and said in a low voice, "I wanted to see who you were talking to. As expected, it's a man."
Xue Zining pursed her lips and couldn't help but smile, reaching out to pinch his arm.
"It hurts..." Yan Zhao looked at her, his voice a charming, somewhat coquettish whisper.
Xue Zining pinched him again. This handsome man was truly a disaster.
Yuan Zhao lowered his eyes. At that moment, he knew what it was like to be with the person you loved.
She had never been this close to him.
"General Yuan, the old general is looking for you..." Yan Zhao suddenly said to Yuan Zhao.
"Your subordinate takes his leave!" Yuan Zhao left.
Now, only the two of them remained in the bamboo grove, their figures entwined in the moonlight.
Xue Zining pushed Yan Zhao away, annoyed, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
Yan Zhao blinked his bright eyes, "Ning'er, what are you talking about? I don't understand."
Xue Zining snorted and said, "You deliberately came here to let Yuan Zhao see how intimate we are."
Yan Zhao sighed upon hearing this and walked forward to take her hand, his smile gone as he said seriously, "You know Yuan Zhao likes you."
Xue Zining turned her face away and after a moment said, "I have some idea."
"How can I pretend to be oblivious to someone coveting my wife?"
"Yan Zhao, who is your wife?" Xue Zining pulled her hand away.
Yan Zhao stepped forward again and held her hand. On his refined and handsome face was a seriousness he had never shown before. His eyes, like brilliant stars, shone with unparalleled radiance. At this moment, the world around them lost its color, and his gaze held only her. "Xue Zining, I, Xue Jingyun, offer this world as my betrothal gift, and my promise to cherish you alone from the vastness of the world. I wish to spend every day with you until we grow old together."
Xue Zining's body trembled. She looked at him for a long time before saying, "Am I at a disadvantage? I could have had a harem of beautiful women."
"Xue Zining..." Yan Zhao called her name through gritted teeth for the first time.
Xue Zining smiled, "Yan Zhao, what you say now are just empty promises. I want something tangible."
"On your capping ceremony, I will bring the betrothal gifts to escort you."
"Alright!" Xue Zining did not refuse. When you like someone, you don't need all those detours.
Yuan Zhao arrived at Old General Yuan's tent and walked in, saying, "General, you were looking for me?"
Old General Yuan looked at the sweat still on the young man's face and sighed, "Yuan Zhao, sit down."
Yuan Zhao sat down, "General, please speak your mind. I can bear it."
Old General Yuan looked at him and said, "Yuan Zhao, you are not my grandson."
Yuan Zhao shot up from his seat and looked at Old General Yuan with a stiff tone, "Grandfather, this joke is not funny."
"Have I ever joked with you?" Old General Yuan looked at him seriously.
Yuan Zhao narrowed his eyes, "Grandfather, what exactly do you want to say?"
"I will say it," a voice came from outside. As the voice faded, someone lifted the curtain and walked in.
Upon seeing the newcomer, Yuan Zhao stood up to pay his respects, but Yan Zhao stopped him, "From now on, you need not salute me."
Yuan Zhao frowned, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, what do you mean by that?"
"Yuan Zhao, you are my full-blooded imperial brother."
Yuan Zhao trembled, stepping back several paces, shaking his head, "No... impossible..."
"Yuan Zhao, what His Highness says is true. Years ago, the aunt beside the Empress swapped her child with the Empress's newborn first prince."
Upon hearing this, Yuan Zhao looked at Old General Yuan helplessly, "Grandfather, if you don't acknowledge your grandson, I have nothing to say. But who would believe these absurd words? I am only sixteen this year."
Old General Yuan stepped forward, grabbed his shoulder, and suddenly a piercing pain shot through his body, "Grandfather... what are you doing?"
Yuan Zhao felt as if thousands of ants were devouring his body, causing him to sweat profusely from the pain.
After the pain subsided, he felt as if his bones were being opened.
He looked down and saw his hands growing larger.
Finally, his clothes became much too small for him.
"Old General Yuan's bone-shrinking skill is truly exquisite," Yan Zhao couldn't help but exclaim.
Bone-shrinking skill? Yuan Zhao stood up and realized he was as tall as the Crown Prince.
"Imperial Brother," Yan Zhao said slowly.
Yuan Zhao stumbled back a step and ran out.
Old General Yuan watched the figure run out, feeling a pang of reluctance, but he did not follow. "Your Highness, I have handed over the person intact."
Yan Zhao bowed respectfully, "Thank you, General, for taking care of my imperial brother all these years."