"Your Highness, why bother with what others think? Just do what you want to do."
Han Xiwen was stunned. Looking at An Ning, he realized how clear the eyes of the maiden holding the child were, like the spring water he chanced upon in his childhood, clear to the very bottom.
It was as if all impurities could be purified at this moment.
He smiled. Han Xiwen was quite different from Han Xixia. If there was a similarity, it was their skin tone, both bronzed. Otherwise, they were probably quite different.
Furthermore, An Ning had never seen Han Xiwen smile, but now that he did, An Ning was truly astonished.
Han Xiwen was not as rugged as Han Xixia. Upon closer inspection, he possessed a certain handsomeness, and this smile highlighted his handsomeness.
However, this smile was heart-wrenching in An Ning's eyes.
Han Xiwen looked into the distance and said slowly, "I never expected that the one to comfort me would be you. How ridiculous this world is."
He was comforted by his captive.
Yet, he truly cherished this comfort.
"Do you know, my birth mother's status was very low. I grew up in the shadow of my many siblings. It was because my mother was brought from outside the palace by Father King when he had too much to drink and was forced to share his bed. That night, my mother conceived me and gave birth to me. But Father King paid no attention to our existence."
As Han Xiwen spoke, his expression was filled with unprecedented sorrow. "Until I was ten years old, I had never seen my Father King. It was only later, when my mother accidentally fell into a well, that Father King noticed and realized he had a son like me."
"Prince Xiwen, your birth cannot be decided, but you can decide what path you will take in the future."
Upon hearing this, Han Xiwen let out a low chuckle. He raised his eyes, but there was no hint of a smile in them. "Princess An Ning, it is clear that you have been well protected by Emperor An. The path I take is not something I can decide. If I could decide, I would not be here today."
"Tearing up the treaty? Invading Huangze, is that your path?" An Ning said coldly.
Han Xiwen smiled and shook his head. "Princess An Ning, you accuse me of invading Huangze, but have you forgotten that Han Xixia, whom you consider a wise ruler, also invaded Xueguo?"
An Ning trembled. At that moment, she was unable to refute him because Han Xiwen was telling the truth. Han Xixia had harassed Xueling Pass, and it was only after Han Xixia signed a non-aggression and trade treaty with Xueguo that the matter was finally resolved.
Han Xiwen's smile faded, and he said, "This is our fate. We must show Father King that we are still useful, that we can still fight. Only then will Father King value us. Do you find it pathetic?"
An Ning remained silent, not knowing what to say.
Han Xiwen turned his head, his tone filled with an unspeakable sorrow. "You may go..."
An Ning was taken aback. "You... you're letting me go?"
Han Xiwen did not turn back. "If you don't leave now, and I change my mind, you won't be able to leave at all."
An Ning frowned slightly and said, "Thank you!"
She left with Wu Zhengdao in her arms.
Han Xiwen turned back to look at the departing figure, smiling foolishly, then shaking his head with an inexplicable loneliness.
"Your Highness, by letting Princess An Ning go, you have lost the hostage to threaten the Seventh Prince." A soldier behind him said resentfully.
"Does this prince need a woman to achieve his imperial throne?" Han Xiwen raised his eyebrows and looked at the soldier coldly.
The soldier trembled and quickly knelt. "This subordinate was narrow-minded. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
"Let this not happen again. Set off." Han Xiwen walked towards his warhorse ahead.
After a few steps, Han Xiwen's gaze furrowed. He suddenly turned his horse around and, while heading in a certain direction, told the remaining soldiers, "Set up camp here and wait for me to return."
An Ning never expected that she would be targeted for capture even in the wilderness.
She used her outer garment to tightly secure Wu Zhengdao behind her. Wu Zhengdao seemed to sense danger, not crying or making a fuss.
She reached out and patted Wu Zhengdao behind her. "Zhengdao, don't be afraid!"
"Sister, Zhengdao isn't afraid!" Wu Zhengdao replied in a childish voice.
An Ning drew a soft whip from her waist. Her rudimentary martial arts, learned from Mo Yuan, could finally be put to use.
At this moment, she could only rely on herself. Mo Yuan had been sent to investigate Xue Jingyun's whereabouts.
Looking at the dozen or so black-clad figures before her, An Ning couldn't help but bite her lower lip. They were really willing to pay such a price. Was their intention to capture her?
"Who sent you? Do you want my life?" An Ning asked.
But no one answered her.
The black-clad figures answered her with an attack.
Her soft whip clashed with the attacking figures. After a few rounds, An Ning sustained injuries. It was then that she began to regret not having learned properly from Mo Yuan, to avoid such a predicament today.
Unable to fight them off, An Ning could only retreat repeatedly, eventually finding herself at the edge of a cliff. Was this her fate?
The black-clad figures pressed closer. An Ning's lower lip was bitten until it bled, the blood flowing into her mouth, tasting salty. "Zhengdao, are you scared?" she asked Wu Zhengdao behind her.
"With Sister here, Zhengdao isn't afraid," was the childish reply.
"Alright, if we don't survive today, Zhengdao, don't blame Sister."
After speaking, An Ning looked at the black-clad figures and gave a cold laugh. "I would rather die than be captured by you."
Saying this, she leaped into the cliff behind her.
Han Xiwen, who was rushing on horseback, happened to witness the figure leaping into the abyss.
His heart trembled. He seemed to see that dark night, his mother holding his head and softly saying, "Xiwen, your destiny should not be like this. You should enjoy the treatment of royalty like your imperial brothers. Unfortunately, your mother is useless. Your mother's status is humble and cannot give you much, but your mother will use her life to exchange for your prosperity."
At that time, he did not understand what his mother was going to do. Until his mother pushed him away and jumped into the dry well behind them, he realized that his mother had used her life to gain his father king's attention and acknowledge his princely status.
But what his mother didn't know was that he would have gladly given up this status to have his mother live.
"Ah..." Han Xiwen clutched his head, his eyes now blood-red. It was these people who had forced those he cared about.
"Die, all of you die!"
Only when the blood of the last black-clad figure splattered on his face, the warm liquid trickling into his mouth, did he regain his senses.
Seeing the corpses scattered on the ground, he stood there stunned.
But he could not attend to these matters. He hurried to the edge of the cliff and shouted, "An Ning, An Ning..."
His voice echoed from below, but there was no response.
After a long while, he stood up, his gaze filled with an unprecedented sorrow. It was all because he was too late.
Mother, he had watched her jump into the dry well with his own eyes. Was that person also going to leave him?
"So I am a person who brings misfortune. Everyone who gets close to me will die?"