Chapter 1: The two lovers stay together and return home (1)
Yinyin left, embarking on her final journey with a heart full of hope. At the same time, Zhou Cheng and others also embarked on the journey back home. Only Zhao Ziyan and his army were left. Feng Qinghan and Guisha had left at some point in time, and no one knew where they had gone.
On the hill facing the sea, Ling Menghan stood on the hill and looked into the distance. She did not go to see him off because for her there was no need to see anyone off. Zhao Ziyan quietly walked to her side, stood side by side with her, and also looked into the distance.
For a long while, both of them were silent and no one spoke. Finally, Zhao Ziyin first withdrew his gaze and glanced at Ling Menghan beside him. Her left arm was exposed with some white cloth wrapped around it. Zhao Ziyin knew very well how that was caused, but he couldn't tell what he felt in his heart. Then he moved his gaze to Ling Menghan's face. Her face was as calm as still water and her expression was calm. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking.
Zhao Ziyin turned his gaze to the distance again and said calmly: "Thank you."
Hearing this, Ling Menghan turned her head slightly, looked at Zhao Ziyin, then turned her gaze back and said: "Don't thank me, I didn't do this because of you."
"I know." Zhao Ziyu answered indifferently, as if he was answering something that had nothing to do with him.
After this sentence, both of them fell silent. Perhaps it should be said that this topic was a bit heavy for them.
After a while, Zhao Ziyin broke the silence again and said: "Do you hate him?"
"Why should you hate?" Ling Menghan asked back, her tone surprisingly calm, because she knew who Zhao Ziyan was referring to.
"So what about the princess?" Zhao Ziyan asked again.
Ling Menghan remained silent. Sometimes silence is the best answer. Zhao Ziyin knew her silence very well, but there were some things that did not need to be made clear. For example, although she was his wife, he still let her have someone else in her heart, because he already knew that true love could not be forced. Thinking of this, he spoke: "The King of Han has signed a permanent peace agreement, not only with Zhou, but also with our Zhao. If you want, you can return to Han."
Ling Menghan remained indifferent, as if she didn't hear it.
Seeing Ling Menghan didn't respond, Zhao Ziyin added: "This is also what he meant. If leaving you in Zhao is cruel to you, then you can go back anytime you want, and Zhao will never stop you."
Hearing this, Ling Menghan's eyes showed a hint of hesitation, then she stopped and subconsciously tightened her hands in front of her.
A gust of cold wind blew by, and Ling Menghan's body trembled slightly, perhaps because of the cold wind. Zhao Ziyin exhaled softly and then took off his cloak and put it on Ling Menghan. This action startled Ling Menghan. She looked up suddenly and met that familiar yet unfamiliar face. Deep in Zhao Ziyin's eyes, there was a touch of love that was hard to conceal. For a moment, Ling Menghan was stunned.
"It's windy, be careful not to catch a cold." Zhao Ziyan's hand stayed on Ling Menghan's shoulder for a moment before withdrawing it, and then he softly explained his behavior.
A warm current rose from her heart, and the warmth from the cloak on her shoulders made Ling Menghan feel a warmth she had never felt before. She suddenly had an illusion that Zhao Ziyin's gaze on her was so gentle? Has he ever seen such a gaze before?
"I will be returning home with the army tomorrow. What are your plans?"
The implication was that Zhao Ziyan would respect Ling Menghan's choice. After all, the war had just ended. Although the casualties of the Han State were not as great as those of the Zhou State, the consequences of the war were still devastating. Even though the Zhao State had won victory after victory and looked so glorious on the surface, the burden behind it was heavy. If it were not for Zhao Ziheng, the Zhao State would have perished long ago.
Ling Menghan couldn't answer for a moment, because from the moment Zhao Ziyan put the cloak on her, her heart was shaken. While feeling sad about her life, she rekindled a glimmer of new hope for the future?
Although it was only a few short sentences, Zhao Ziyin felt that it was a bit too much for Ling Menghan. Maybe he shouldn't push her so hard? He sighed again.
"In fact, you should hate the princess. She did nothing wrong. It's just that too many things happened to her. Not only her, but they all went through too much. Even so, they still couldn't be together as they wished. They tried so hard, but God teased them again and again. Everyone has the right to be happy, right? Some people can get it easily, but they went through so much hardship but still couldn't be together."
Zhao Ziyin mistakenly thought that Ling Menghan was looking at him like that because she cared about the matter between Zhao Ziheng and Yinyin, so he explained.
It would have been fine if she hadn't said anything. Once she said it, Ling Menghan suddenly became sober. She turned her head away, not looking at the eyes that shook her dusty heart. Anger rose spontaneously. She was not angry with herself, nor with Zhao Ziyin, but with Zhao Ziyin for speaking for Yinyin . She couldn't understand why everyone had to speak for Yinyin? Was she really so charming that everyone revolved around her? Not only Zhao Ziheng and Feng Qinghan, but now even Zhao Ziyin? Ling Menghan didn't dare to think any further.
“Don’t talk about this anymore. As the king of a country, he actually failed to fulfill his duties as a king just for a woman. Another princess of a country actually has been hanging around various men for a long time. What right does such a person have to be forgiven? Should we say that these two people are the same kind of people, or should we say that they are attracted to each other because of their differences? Ha, it turns out that nothing is impossible in this world, there are only willingness and unwillingness.” Ling Menghan sneered. She didn’t know whether she should mock them or laugh at herself, or was it mainly because that person was the first person she fell in love with?
"You don't understand. If you really understood them, you wouldn't say that. I also had doubts from the very beginning, thinking that the princess was not worth his efforts at all, even though what happened to her was too cruel. But when I really got in touch with her, I found that they had some similarities. I believe this is also the reason why they got together, and that's why they are still tied together after going through so many events. She is everything to him and his life. Only when she exists will he think about holding on. Otherwise, I can't think of any reason why a person could go to that extent and willingly become a slave to war for a person." Thinking back to all that Zhao Ziheng had done and all he had sacrificed, Zhao Ziyu still found it difficult to understand. No matter how much that person was worth his efforts, he would not completely sacrifice himself.
