Fate is always a wonderful thing. Just like Qiao never thought he would see the girl from the Lantern Festival again.
But the next day, when he went to the banquet of the Dongsheng royal family, Emperor Helian clapped his hands. Immediately afterwards, a team of court dancers walked in. The woman standing in the middle was extremely beautiful, with bright eyes and white teeth. Every frown and smile seemed to captivate everyone's souls.
And she was the girl from the Lantern Festival.
It was only then that Qiao learned that she was the princess he had come here to propose marriage to.
The joy at that moment was indescribable. He felt as if he was the favorite of God.
During the dance, Princess Shangyang naturally saw him at the banquet. She couldn't help but widen her eyes and kept winking, asking with her expressions how he was here. Then she quickly guessed that he was the prince of the Southern Neighboring Country.
Their story began like this. In fact, there weren't any particularly sensational events. It was just that the princes from the Southern Neighboring Country and the Western Region Country stayed in the palace for a few months.
Qiao had no interest in the affairs in the palace, so he would often run out of the palace. And he would often meet Princess Shangyang, who also came out of the palace.
At that time, he was still a somewhat shy young man. When facing the woman he fell in love with at first sight, he was a bit reserved. But he still did his best to please her with all his true feelings.
"Hey! I've noticed that you, the prince of the Southern Neighboring Country, are really a fool!"
This was a sentence that Princess Shangyang often said to him. After hearing it, he would smile, lower his head and scratch it. Then he would reply, "You're so beautiful that I dare not look at you."
"You... are really a fool!"
The woman in front of him gave a coquettishly angry laugh and then turned around and ran away.
But what he didn't know at that time was that Princess Shangyang had already fallen in love with him. And she had quietly told her elder brothers in the Western Region that she had taken a fancy to him.
However, things often don't go as people wish. At that time, the situation was turbulent. The Helian family's kingdom was not yet completely stable. Especially in the western border area, the turmoil was even more serious. The only way to solve this problem was to try to have a good relationship with the Western Region Country. Only when the two countries jointly suppressed the border turmoil could the Helian family's kingdom be stable.
So after much weighing, Emperor Helian at that time decided to betroth his younger sister to the eldest prince of the Western Region Country, who had also come to propose marriage.
When Princess Shangyang learned this news, she immediately rushed to the Qianqing Palace to plead with her elder brother. But no one let her in. So she returned to her own palace dejectedly.
At that time, only her fourth elder brother, Helian Gang, was willing to help her. But her fourth elder brother was not good at contending for power. Now he had no influence in the court, and the emperor didn't receive him either. So he could only give up for the time being.
Just when she was about to give up and accept her fate, Qiao came. With red eyes, he asked her if she would just leave with him. But how could she do that? That would be equivalent to betraying her mother - country. If she did so, she would be a princess without a country from then on.
So she could only shake her head and say, "Qiao, let's meet again if we're fated."
But both of them knew that this sentence meant that they would never see each other again in this lifetime.
At that moment, Qiao's eyes immediately turned completely red. Then he asked in a pleading voice, "Do you have no feelings for me?"
"What if I have feelings? Can we fight against fate? We're not fated. I can't betray my elder brother!" Princess Shangyang replied hoarsely.
"Since you can't betray your elder brother, can you betray me?" he asked with a cold laugh and helplessness. His heart was already half - cold.
But the woman in front of him turned her head. Although she was already in tears, she still gritted her teeth and pretended to be nonchalant as she said, "We've never loved each other. So how can there be betrayal?"
After saying that, she was about to leave with a flick of her sleeve, but was suddenly called out by the man behind her.
"Wait!"
As Qiao spoke, he took off the jade pendant from his waist and placed it on the stone steps in front of him. Then he added, "I don't believe there are no feelings between us. If one day you miss me, come back to me with this jade pendant."
After saying that, he turned around and left.
Shangyang, who was still standing there, didn't turn around until she could no longer hear the sound of the person behind her. The jade pendant on the stone steps in front of her still glistened. She squatted down and held the jade pendant in her palm.
"Qiao..."
The woman cried bitterly. The warmth of her palm couldn't warm the cold jade in her hand...
Time passed. Now, Princess Shangyang was no longer the young girl she used to be. But if she were to make the choice again, she would still choose to sacrifice her personal feelings to fulfill the Helian royal family.
At that time, the border was too chaotic. If they didn't get rid of the troublemakers, her elder brother's kingdom would never be stable, and there would never be the prosperous and peaceful era as it was now.
Thinking of this, she curled her lips and gave a bitter smile. She thought that her first half of life was full of ups and downs, almost like a story in a script. But she didn't regret any of the choices she had made.
While she was lost in thought, there came a rustling sound of footsteps not far away. She turned around warily and saw Helian Qi walking into the yard.
"Aunt?" the visitor called out after approaching.
Princess Shangyang heaved a sigh of relief after seeing who it was. Then she asked, "Why are you here so late?"
As she spoke, she kicked the soil beside her feet, picked up the wooden box and walked into the small pavilion.
Helian Qi didn't ask much after seeing her actions. Instead, he asked in return, "I should ask you, Aunt. Why are you still here so late?"
"I just miss an old acquaintance, so I came here to get an old thing," she replied with a smile.
But in the next moment, she noticed the melancholy between the man's eyebrows in front of her. She also thought that he wasn't in any concubine's palace so late. Could it be that he had encountered some difficulties?
Thinking of this, she continued to ask, "Your Majesty, have you encountered any worries? I'm your aunt after all. I'm capable of listening."
After hearing this, Helian Qi frowned even tighter. He seemed to be hesitating whether he should say it or not. But then he sat on the stool and said word by word, "I've fallen in love with a woman, but I always make her get hurt. I don't know if I should let her go."
He thought of the days when the woman had stayed by his side. He always said that he would protect her well, but she still got hurt all over. Even now, she was still getting hurt.
So he began to doubt himself. He didn't dare to see her anymore, and was even more afraid of seeing her loving eyes...
Hearing this, Princess Shangyang immediately realized that the woman he was talking about was Dongfang Yi.