Wei Huai mourned in agony, as if he had ripped open his entire heart for Qixue to see. Every confession poured out like scalding hot blood, splashing across Qixue’s heart and making him feel the depth of his love and pain, so much so that even his divine soul trembled.
Qixue couldn’t help but feel heartbroken. He gently caressed Wei Huai’s handsome face and murmured, “I had no idea you loved me this deeply… I’m sorry, Seventh Brother. This isn’t fair. It’s my fault for letting you down.”
He drew closer to Wei Huai, stood on tiptoe, and lightly kissed his cheek. “I’m truly sorry.”
Wei Huai froze, his reddened eyes suddenly lighting up. Just as he reached out to embrace Qixue, Qixue stepped back, widening the distance between them.
“But the world doesn’t have so much fairness to offer.”
Qixue said sadly, “The ways of the world have never been fair. You were born into nobility, a child of a great clan, while I was born as a weak little rabbit. Whether it was survival or cultivation, I had to put in a thousand times more effort than others.”
“The young master of the Spirit Fox Clan was gifted and transformed into human form after just ten years of cultivation, while it took me a full hundred years. Tell me, is that fair?”
“The Third Prince hunted me down like prey. His arrow pierced my hind leg, and I nearly had my throat slit and my skin peeled off, yet I had no ability to save myself or seek revenge. Tell me, was that fair?”
“I know I’ve wronged you, but I was powerless. It’s not that I don’t like you—I do—but I love His Majesty more. I came down the mountain to repay His Majesty for saving my life. Without him, even if I had survived, I wouldn’t have left my homeland or met you. Shouldn’t I favor His Majesty?”
“If you seek fairness, then fairness has an order to it. His Majesty loved me first, and I love him. He knew me first and saved my life. For fairness’s sake, I should be with him—otherwise, it would be unfair to him.”
From start to finish, Qixue’s tone was sorrowful and gentle, even filled with pity for Wei Huai. In this soft, tender way, he pushed him into the abyss.
“I like you, Seventh Brother, but you can’t compare to His Majesty. You’ll always come after him.”
“That’s the fairness you wanted.”
It was no worse than being pierced by ten thousand arrows.
Wei Huai’s face turned ashen. After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice scraped raw like gravel, hoarse and broken. “So the scar on your leg was from that arrow wound back then. The Third Prince shot it, nearly taking your life, while His Majesty saved you?”
Qixue replied, “That’s right. His Majesty was only three years old that year. He carried the injured me back and cared for me for a month.”
“His childhood name is A’Man, so he named me ‘Yuan Yuan,’ meaning complete reunion. My heart’s desire is to reunite with His Majesty. I came down the mountain to see him and repay his kindness.”
“Ha… haha…”
Wei Huai’s throat vibrated with a low laugh, but tears streamed down his face as he laughed.
“You’re right. You should favor His Majesty. What can I compare to him with? I’m inferior to him in every way, yet I delusionally wanted the same love from you. What was I thinking?”
He had lost, lost utterly and completely.
Just moments ago, he had wondered where he fell short of Helan Ji. In appearance, they were equals; in power, he was only slightly behind—one man below the emperor, above all others. He commanded the world’s military might, with immense prestige in both court and common folk. If he harbored rebellious thoughts, changing the throne would be no difficult feat.
He could offer wealth and glory.
He could even offer a promise of one lifetime, one world, one pair—Helan Ji, as emperor, might expand his harem later, but he would not. In this life, Qixue was his only one; he would never waver.
Helan Ji suffered from witchcraft backlash, his life nearing its end, while he, as a non-human, had a long lifespan and could accompany Qixue forever.
He had accounted for every aspect—except Helan Ji’s true heart. He had naturally assumed Helan Ji and Qixue had only recently met, that Helan Ji lusted after Qixue’s beauty. He never imagined their bond ran far deeper than his own with Qixue.
Yet he still couldn’t accept it.
Why wasn’t it him who saved A Xue?
A Xue loved His Majesty because of the life-saving grace—wouldn’t it be the same if it were him?
His Majesty could save him, so could he. He had been at that hunt too, just not as lucky as His Majesty to encounter A Xue.
Why was His Majesty so fortunate?
Wei Huai wept tears of blood, wiped away the traces with his hand, and asked Qixue with a heart full of resentment, “If it had been me who saved you back then, would the one you favored today be me instead of His Majesty?”
Qixue sighed softly. “You still don’t understand…”
At that moment, a eunuch’s loud announcement came from outside the hall: “His Majesty arrives!”
“His Majesty is here?”
Qixue startled and quickly pushed Wei Huai. “It won’t look good if His Majesty sees you here. Hide first.”
Wei Huai’s expression darkened. “Hide? What do you take me for, your illicit lover?”
“It’s not quite that…” Qixue glanced at him. “A former illicit lover.”
And he had to add “former.”
Wei Huai’s heart was already cut like by a knife, but this made him laugh in anger. He stood motionless.
Qixue picked up the eunuch’s clothes from the floor and tossed them into Wei Huai’s arms. “Hurry and hide!”
Wei Huai clutched the clothes and gave him a deep look. “Do you believe His Majesty already knows I’m here? Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come so quickly.”
“Less talk, more action. Hide in the back room.” Qixue urged.
Wei Huai fell silent but obeyed Qixue’s words, donned the clothes, and entered the back chamber.
Qixue hastily stashed away the wound medicine, pushed open the hall doors, and stepped out, just in time to meet the approaching Helan Ji.
He immediately flashed a sweet smile and hugged Helan Ji’s arm. “Your Majesty, you’ve come to find me?”
Helan Ji took Qixue’s hand and kissed his rosy cheek. “I’ve come to see Yuan Yuan.”
Qixue beamed and was about to lead Helan Ji into the main hall when Helan Ji instead pulled him toward the side hall, causing Qixue’s heart to sink instantly.
He realized Wei Huai was right—His Majesty knew.
Though His Majesty already knew he had a former lover, he didn’t know it was his best friend. What would His Majesty’s reaction be? Would he be angry? Upset? He mustn’t let it harm his health.
When it came to Helan Ji, Qixue’s emotions were entirely different. His intense nervousness and worry transmitted to Helan Ji, who squeezed his hand and comforted him in a low voice, “Don’t be afraid.”
They entered the side hall hand in hand. Helan Ji said calmly, “Come out, Wei Huai.”
Wei Huai emerged from the back room, dressed in eunuch garb.
His gaze fell on Helan Ji and Qixue, both in solemn, magnificent court robes, looking perfectly matched like a divine couple.
And him? Even without these clothes, he was a thorough joke. Since His Majesty arrived, A Xue hadn’t glanced at him once—his eyes and heart were all for His Majesty, with no thought left for him.
Wei Huai smiled bitterly, lowered his head, and saluted Helan Ji. “This subject pays respects to Your Majesty.”
Helan Ji accepted the salute and said indifferently, “You’ve only just returned to the palace and missed the Noble Consort’s enfeoffment ceremony. It’s understandable that you didn’t recognize Qi Guifei. I pardon your breach of etiquette.”
He then turned to Qixue. “Beloved consort, this is my right-hand man, the Great General of Great Yong, Wei Huai. The Great General is invincible in battle, unmatched under heaven—a great hero in the hearts of Great Yong’s people. Come, pay respects to the Great General.”
Qixue’s heart trembled slightly, but he unhesitatingly followed Helan Ji’s words and performed the bow of a palace consort to Wei Huai. “A Xue pays respects to the Great General.”
He bowed gracefully and elegantly, yet it pierced Wei Huai’s heart like a dagger, wounding him to the point of numbness.
After Qixue finished bowing, Helan Ji personally helped him up, his gaze shifting to Wei Huai. “The Great General should also pay respects to my Noble Consort.”
Wei Huai’s throat felt crushed by a thousand-jin boulder, each word a torment. “I… I cannot…”
Pain filled his eyes as he explained to Helan Ji, “Your Majesty, he is my wife A Xue. You granted our marriage and officiated our wedding. You know how deeply I love him. I cannot—”
“Wei Huai, pay respects to the Noble Consort.” Helan Ji interrupted coldly, repeating the command.
Wei Huai’s face changed. In disbelief, he asked, “Your Majesty, knowing A Xue is my wife, do you still intend to contend with me for him? You are the supreme ruler of the realm—within your domain, all are your subjects. Whatever person you desire, you can have. Why seize my wife?”
Helan Ji said, “I know nothing of your wife. I only know Yuan Yuan is my wife. Yuan Yuan, tell him yourself—who is your husband?”
“My husband is, of course, Your Majesty.”
Qixue answered without hesitation, nestling into Helan Ji’s embrace. “All past matters are like clouds and smoke, no longer important. Only Your Majesty is the husband I love.”
His tone was coquettish, his expression adorable, his heart brimming with love for Helan Ji.
As for Wei Huai, he wasn’t without fondness, but compared to Helan Ji, it amounted to nothing. In Qixue’s heart, no one could compare to Helan Ji.
Nothing mattered more than Helan Ji’s feelings. To spare him even a hint of sorrow, Qixue ruthlessly denied his entire past with Wei Huai, even knowing it would wound him deeply.
Yes, he had wronged Wei Huai, and he pitied him—but that was all.
He would absolutely, positively never harm His Majesty in the slightest, even if it meant hurting everyone else in the world.
Qixue’s blatant favoritism toward Helan Ji hammered down on Wei Huai like a heavy blow, making him feel the agony of being shattered to pieces.
Wei Huai’s heart ached so fiercely he could barely breathe, nearly losing his reason. In utter torment, he demanded, “You love Helan Ji so much just because he saved your life? Does that mean you’d love anyone who saved you?!”
“That’s why I say you don’t understand.”
Qixue said softly, “Earlier, you asked if I would love you the same if you had saved me that day. But Seventh Brother, you’re taking too much for granted. If it had truly been you that day, would you have saved me?”
“In the midst of a hunt, risking offending the Third Prince just to save a little rabbit that was mere prey—aside from His Majesty, who would do such a thing?”
“If it were you, Seventh Brother, you would have skinned me even more efficiently and complained that I was too scrawny, not even enough for a pair of gloves.”
“You would only have killed me…”
By the end, his voice was a faint murmur, and Wei Huai could no longer hear.
His vision blurred, ears rang violently. The sky spun, the earth spun, forming a massive vortex at whose center was Qixue.
A Xue…
A Xue…
His A Xue.
He…
With a “rip,” as if his heart meridian snapped, Wei Huai spat out a mouthful of blood.
The blood trickled down his jaw, droplets falling to the floor. In their glow, Qixue’s face reflected.
It was his heart’s blood, his cinnabar mole.
And the forbidden pain etched into his very bones.
