“I was just asking casually, but you reacted so strongly. Could it be that you still have feelings for my elder aunt?”
Leng Mingye’s helpless expression made Wan Qing smirk. Though she was well aware of his feelings for her and all he had done, the absurdity of his past with her elder aunt still left a sour taste in her mouth. She glanced at him coolly before teasingly adding, “After all, she was once your beloved, wasn’t she?”
“Heaven knows, your elder aunt has been gone for years, and now she’s your father’s official consort. How could you even suggest—”
The little minx’s probing question, paired with the playful glint in her eyes, inexplicably flustered him. Though the memory of the departed beauty lingered in his heart all these years, he knew full well that there was no future between them. She was gone, and yet, after finally confessing his feelings to Wan Qing, she doubted him. The thought stung, and he couldn’t help but grumble in frustration.
“See? I was just joking. Look how nervous you got. I know—if you didn’t truly care, you wouldn’t have sacrificed so much for me, right?”
Wan Qing couldn’t help but laugh at his flustered attempts to explain. This man was too easy to tease—just a casual question, and he wore such an expression.
Never mind that her elder aunt had been dead for nearly two decades. Even if she were alive, she had been the wife of the Celestial Ascendancy King. Whatever lingering feelings Leng Mingye might have had were futile.
Still, his earnest devotion to her—Wan Qing refused to believe it was merely an extension of his past affections. Yet, seeing him so worked up, she couldn’t resist chuckling. When he finally relaxed at her words, she playfully leaned against him, admiring his flawless profile before mischievously reaching up to pinch his cheek.
Relieved that she understood and wasn’t pressing the matter further, Leng Mingye still winced at the pinch—her fingers were soft, but the gesture was sharp. He caught her wrist, pulling her into his arms with a sigh.
“That hurts, you little imp. Your elder aunt has been gone for nearly twenty years. Even if she were still here, do you really think anything could happen between us? What we had was in the past—I knew it was over the moment she married into the Celestial Ascendancy. I gave up so much for her, sacrificed everything, but I don’t regret any of it. You might resent me for it, Qing’er, but believe me—I spent my whole life living for others. Now, I only want to live for myself. I want to stay by your side and give you my whole heart. Because you’re the one who’s been true to me, unwavering.”
“You’d better remember that,” she said with a smirk. “But tell me—if I had abandoned you when you lost your inner strength, would you have hated me? Would you have given up on us?”
Though his expression carried a trace of nostalgia—and something painfully tender—Wan Qing still teased him with a pointed question.
“You little devil,” he sighed. “I wouldn’t have hated you. But if you had left me then… I don’t know what I would’ve done. Maybe I would’ve lost myself entirely. Enough of these gloomy thoughts. Later, when we return to the palace, we’ll meet your father, your grandfather, and your brother. What do you think they’ll say about… us?”
Her playful persistence, so typical of women in love, left him exasperated yet fond. He chuckled, recalling the despair he had felt back then—how close he had come to losing all hope.
Wan Qing merely smiled, reaching up to tap his nose before smoothly changing the subject. “What about us? What’s there to say?”
Her feigned ignorance, paired with the mischievous glint in her eyes, made him sigh. “You little minx. Of course, I mean our marriage. Unless… you still plan to marry that Xie Shaojun?”
Her silence, broken only by a coy shake of her head, made him tense. “Well, why not? At least he had the decency to propose. You, on the other hand, haven’t shown half as much sincerity—”
His lack of formal proposal, despite his obvious devotion, irked her. Though she knew he trusted her completely, she couldn’t resist teasing him.
“So it’s because I haven’t officially asked?” He smirked, pulling her closer. “If you dare refuse me, just see how I’ll punish you. Qing’er, will you marry me?”
His lips brushed her cheek, and she flushed, her playful defiance melting under his gaze.
“No sincerity, and a bit too forceful. I’ll have to think about it,” she retorted, though her lips twitched with suppressed amusement.
“You—what more do you want? I’ve given you countless treasures, even jewelry. Have you forgotten the things I bought for you at the Linglong Pavilion auction? And how is this forceful? I’m asking for your opinion—”
His mock indignation only made her laugh harder. The man who had once been so aloof, so untouchable, was now pouting like a child.
“Fine, you did give me jewelry, but you asked for the Silver Frost Blossom back after the auction. As for sincerity… we’ll see how you behave from now on. But I do have a question for you—and you’d better answer honestly.”
Pushing back from his embrace, her expression turned serious as she recalled their first meeting—how he had been a figure of absolute authority, life and death at his whim. Who would’ve thought that the man she once feared would one day stand by her side, sharing not just battles but also his heart?
The memory of how she had schemed and hidden, terrified he’d discover her identity over the Silver Frost Blossom, made her glare at him. But when he simply smiled and kissed her again, pulling her close, she suddenly pushed him away, her gaze solemn.
“There’s something I need to ask you—and you’d better tell me the truth.”
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