After listening to the story told by Feng Tingyun, Bai Xisong couldn't calm down for a long time.
He stared blankly at the emperor sitting in front of him. He never expected that beneath that extremely calm face, there was such deep affection hidden. And his white hair was also due to that reason.
As the saying goes, excessive passion shortens one's lifespan. It was because he had Ximin in his heart and regarded Ximin as everything in his life that he was completely disheartened after learning of Ximin's death.
Hearing that Bai Xisong didn't say a word for a long time, Feng Tingyun slightly raised the corners of his lips and smiled. "What? Isn't this story exciting enough?"
Bai Xisong came back to his senses and quickly replied, "Of course not."
"I just didn't expect..."
When Feng Tingyun left Yanyun, Bai Xisong was only twelve years old. He had heard people talk about this crown prince of Yanyun since he was a child, and he had always admired him.
A man born blind finally defeated everyone and ascended to the throne, which was enough to become a god in the hearts of all the good men in Yanyun.
But the legends about this crown prince of Yanyun were only limited to this. There was no trace of Ximin in those stories, so naturally no one knew.
"No wonder Your Majesty is unwilling to compromise. It turns out it's for this reason. Before, I always thought Your Majesty did this because of Princess Changhuan."
"Changhuan?" Feng Tingyun laughed softly and shook his head. "I only have brother - sister feelings for her. Helping her like this is because I don't want her to be like Ximin, who clearly had feelings in her heart and clearly missed someone, but couldn't be with the one she truly loved because of her status."
At first in the State of Yu, he was willing to save Song Yixuan because Ximin hoped that he would become a divine doctor who could save the world before she died.
Later, by Song Yihuan, Song Yixuan, and Qi Lei's side, he felt the family affection he had never experienced in Yanyun.
Qi Lei's illness reminded him of Ximin, who suddenly got a serious illness back then. He thought for a long time before deciding to return to Yanyun to get the medicine.
After that, learning that there was love between Song Yihuan and Ji Lingchuan, their experiences once again reminded him of him and Ximin back then.
All those so - called status gaps were the most illusory things in the world, which further strengthened his determination to return to Yanyun.
"But Your Majesty," Bai Xisong said. "It's really too hard for you to bear it alone. Besides, you always have to find an heir. Otherwise, to whom should this vast Yanyun be handed over in the future?"
Feng Tingyun gently stroked the wooden staff placed beside him. "You don't have to worry about this. I've already found the next heir for myself."
"Alright, I've already told you the biggest secret about me. Commander Bai, in the future, you have to block those court officials outside for me. Don't let them bother me anymore, okay?"
Bai Xisong was a bit speechless. Could it be that His Majesty told him all these just to find someone to take the blame for himself?
Forget it. Who asked him to be a loyal official?
On the third day of the eighth lunar month in the third year of the Liwangxi era in Yanyun, Bai Xisong led three thousand Sparrow Feather Guards to pick up Princess Changhuan from the State of Yu and her husband, Ji Lingchuan, the great general who protected the State of Yu, at the border.
"Commander Bai, long time no see." Song Yihuan and Ji Lingchuan rode on the same horse and greeted Bai Xisong with a bright smile.
Bai Xisong led all the soldiers behind him to kneel on one knee. "Your subject welcomes the princess back to Yanyun!"
The sound was so loud that it reached the sky. Song Yihuan said with a smile, "Alright, all of you get up."
After a short rest, Bai Xisong led people to escort Song Yihuan and Ji Lingchuan towards the imperial capital of Yanyun.
He prepared a carriage for Song Yihuan, but she refused to take it. Instead, she rode a horse and followed beside Bai Xisong, carefully asking about Feng Tingyun's recent situation.
"Has the king been in good health recently?"
"Has he married a wife and given me one or two little nephews?"
Bai Xisong could answer the previous questions, but when Song Yihuan asked this question, he paused and couldn't help sighing.
Song Yihuan noticed something was wrong. She frowned and said, "What's wrong? Why does Commander Bai look like this?"
Bai Xisong just shook his head and didn't talk further.
Song Yihuan was concerned about this matter. When they stayed at the posthouse at night, she took Ji Lingchuan with her, knocked on Bai Xisong's door, and waved the wine jug in her hand. "Commander Bai, care to have a chat?"
Bai Xisong knew why she came. He sighed and let the two of them in.
Under the influence of the wine, Bai Xisong told Song Yihuan about Feng Tingyun's recent strange behavior and also told her the story that Feng Tingyun had told him.
After hearing the story, Song Yihuan, like Bai Xisong, was silent for a long time.
It was a long while before she found her voice.
"No wonder he showed such an expression when I mentioned his white hair back then."
Love could be light or heavy.
One didn't have to be afraid of lovers being separated from each other because there would always be a day when they met again. But if one was separated from the one they loved by death, there would be no room for change.
When she returned to her room, Song Yihuan turned around and hugged Ji Lingchuan.
She tightly wrapped her arms around Ji Lingchuan's waist, leaned her face against his chest, and silently shed tears while listening to his steady heartbeat.
Ji Lingchuan gently patted her back and softened his voice. "I'm here."
The words "I'm here" represented everything. Song Yihuan knew that he understood her.
"I'm sorry," she said hoarsely, expressing the apology she had owed for many years. "I shouldn't have been so willful back then, jumped off the cliff, and hidden it from you for so many years."
Over the years, they had always avoided talking about the matter of her faking her death by falling off the cliff. He never asked her why she designed all that to leave, and she never mentioned it either. She thought that after he found her, that matter was over.
It was not until today, after learning about Feng Tingyun's experience, that she suddenly realized that this thorn had always been hidden in their hearts.
Ji Lingchuan instinctively hugged her tightly. "At that time, I even wished I could jump off that cliff with you."
"I thought that if you died, I must find your body and be buried with you. Fortunately, no matter how I searched, I couldn't find you. So I believed that you must still be alive, still in this world, waiting for me to find you."
Before going to sleep, Song Yihuan put her hands together in front of her chest and silently prayed in her heart, facing the direction of the imperial capital of Yanyun.
God of the Vermilion Bird, my elder brother, Yun Tingfeng, the king of Yanyun, first incarnated as the "Carefree Divine Doctor" to save the dying and heal the wounded. After returning to the throne, he stopped a fierce war. He has accumulated great merits. If you have spirits in the sky, please let my elder brother fulfill his wishes in this life.
What responded to her was the gentle night wind, like a pair of soft hands gently caressing her cheeks.
On the fifteenth day of the ninth lunar month in the third year of the Wangxi era, Song Yihuan and Ji Lingchuan finally arrived at the imperial capital of Yanyun.
After getting the news, Feng Tingyun waited to greet them outside the imperial capital early.
From afar, he heard two horses galloping towards him, and the familiar voice of Song Yihuan came to his ears. "Brother King! Huan'er is back!"
His heart warmed. When the people came in front of him, he reached out his hand towards Song Yihuan. "Princess Changhuan, welcome home."