An Ning trembled all over, "You... are you Xue Zining?"
"Yes, are you surprised?"
An Ning shook her head, "No... no, I just feel it's a bit abrupt. I thought we should have met on a different occasion."
"Your name is An Ning?"
"Yes..." An Ning replied.
"An Ning, I believe someone has already told you about you and me."
"Yes, I am merely the vessel for your soul," An Ning said slowly.
"No, you are me, and I am you..."
An Ning trembled all over, "I... I am you?"
"Yes."
"How is that possible?" An Ning shook her head.
"You are just my next life. An Ning, you are a complete person. It's just that someone in a past life used forbidden techniques to imprison my soul, making my soul undying and indestructible."
"Yan Zhao?" An Ning couldn't think of anyone who could do such a thing, other than Yan Zhao.
"It was him. So, don't hate him. In the past life, he and I missed too much. After I died, he activated the forbidden technique, allowing me to live another life. But forbidden techniques always have an end, and the soul body becomes unstable, so the soul will continue to enter the next body, and so on."
"Then why don't I have your memories this time?" An Ning asked.
The young woman seemed to be smiling; she could feel it. "This time, I hope you can live your own life. Don't remember past events, not even hate or love. Feel it all yourself, because I am tired..."
An Ning was stunned. She looked at the sleeping girl and said in a low voice, "But do you know? That person has been waiting for you to return."
"I know. An Ning, you will take care of him for me, won't you?"
"No, he is waiting for you, Xue Zining, not me, An Ning."
"An Ning?"
"I will return my soul to you, and then you will be you again," An Ning said.
"An Ning, are you willing?"
An Ning was startled, and after a long while, she said, "Is it useful to be unwilling? This body can no longer bear this soul, Xue Zining. My body will show it. By then, perhaps neither of us will be here."
The young woman said no more.
An Ning said slowly, "If that day comes, take my share and love him well."
After speaking, she turned and walked back the way she came.
Suddenly, An Ning opened her eyes. When she saw the familiar surroundings, she knew she had returned.
Suddenly, there was a noisy commotion outside, and the cry of an infant. At the cry, she trembled all over. Without even waiting to put on her outer clothes, she ran out and saw Wu Zhengdao kneeling before someone.
She slowly turned her head and saw a woman lying on the ground. Her face was pale and bloodless, her eyes wide open, and blood was seeping from the corners of her mouth. She was still breathing.
She quickly stepped forward, "Madame Wu, Madame Wu..."
Madame Wu looked at her and smiled, "I... I'm sorry..."
An Ning shook her head, "Don't say sorry. Hold on, I'll take you to a doctor."
Madame Wu shook her head, "It's... it's too late..."
As An Ning spoke, Madame Wu's gaze fell upon the dagger deeply embedded in her chest.
"Madame Wu, you..."
"Your Highness, Zhengdao implores... implores you. Tell... tell the general that I have no regrets being his wife in this life... I have no regrets..."
Madame Wu extended her hands and gripped her arm tightly, with great force.
An Ning nodded, "I promise you."
Madame Wu smiled, looking at Wu Zhengdao beside her, seemingly with all her strength, "Don't cry. You... you are a child of the Wu family. A child of the Wu family... Don't... don't cry..."
The hands gripping her arm suddenly loosened. An Ning watched as Madame Wu closed her eyes, tears flowing down.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't protect you..." she cried.
Two soldiers came to pull Madame Wu's body. An Ning looked up at them and said angrily, "Let go, don't touch her..."
One soldier heard her and said coldly, "Princess An Ning, she attempted to assassinate our Highness. She deserves to be dismembered."
An Ning heard this and said coldly, "Wasn't it you who first committed beastly acts against her? Ultimately, it is your own doing, you deserve it..."
"You..."
An Ning gently laid Madame Wu's body down, in front of Madame Wu. She stepped towards the two soldiers, looking down at them, her expression serene, her gaze as cold as frost, "Your Highness's management of his subordinates is not strict. His assassination is well-deserved."
"Presumptuous," the soldier roared, pointing at An Ning.
An Ning sneered, "What? Do you intend to use force against this Princess? Let me tell you, I am not Madame Wu. Try to touch me?"
The young woman's clear eyes were as cold as a deep autumn night, chilling to the bone.
A chill emanated from the depths of her heart, spreading throughout her body.
A powerful force pressed upon the people before her.
Even the seasoned soldiers who had experienced killing and seen battlefields could not help but be intimidated by such a gaze.
It was a nobility that transcended all others.
It was the power possessed only by royalty.
A monarch holding the power of life and death.
"Are you still not withdrawing?" someone slowly emerged from the tent.
An Ning looked at the newcomer. His face was somewhat pale, his expression cold.
"Your Highness Prince Xi Wen, your men should be disciplined," An Ning said coldly.
Han Xi Wen smiled, a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Princess An Ning, it was your person who assassinated me. Why is the villain crying foul first?"
An Ning raised an eyebrow, her gaze filled with a faint chill. "Prince Xi Wen, speaking of which, if your subordinates couldn't control themselves, you wouldn't be in this situation today, would you? It's all your own doing."
"You..." Han Xi Wen found the young woman before him to be surprisingly sharp-tongued.
"Now that Madame Wu is dead, it's one for one," An Ning said coldly.
"How can a mere woman be compared to our Highness?" the soldier behind Han Xi Wen protested.
An Ning nodded, "You are right, Madame Wu cannot be compared to your Highness. After all, Madame Wu is dead, and your Highness is still standing here. It should be that your Highness also dies for it to be considered one for one."
"How dare you..." the soldier was utterly enraged.
Han Xi Wen waved his hand, "Issue an order. No one is to mention today's events, or face military justice."
"Your Highness..."
"This is a military order," Han Xi Wen said coldly.
The soldiers reluctantly stepped down, casting icy glares at An Ning as they left.
An Ning did not flinch, meeting the soldiers' gazes. The soldiers were momentarily stunned, then snorted and left.
An Ning bent down, picked up Madame Wu, and said to Wu Zhengdao, "Get up and come with me."
Wu Zhengdao crawled up and followed her to a spot not far away. She began to dig the earth with her hands. After several hours, she finally excavated a place deep enough to bury Madame Wu.
She placed Madame Wu inside and covered her with earth bit by bit. "I'm sorry, I can only bury you here temporarily. General Wu will personally take you home later."
"Zhengdao, kowtow three times to your mother. Your mother was a remarkable person."
Wu Zhengdao, with tears streaming down his face, kowtowed three times. An Ning then stood up, picked up Wu Zhengdao, and turned to leave.
Madame Wu, rest assured, I will fulfill your dying wish.