There are some things that Xiao Huayong can understand even without Shen Xihe explaining them clearly.
His heart ached so much that he felt numb and couldn't feel the pain.
Shen Xihe looked at Xiao Huayong like this, without any guilt or discomfort. Her clear eyes met Xiao Huayong's sad eyes without blinking or avoiding, "Your Highness, you and I are of the same background. I only ask you, if you and I were in each other's shoes, would you believe me? Would you be willing to sacrifice your loved ones and give everything to bet on a true heart and never change your mind?"
"I… "
Xiao Huayong really wanted to answer her loudly: He will!
But looking into her eyes that were too penetrating, he was too ashamed to say these two words.
Between them lies the imperial power, the ruler and his subjects, and the supreme and noble throne.
If he were Shen Xihe, he would probably... be like her. When facing someone he felt he could not handle, the best way would be to fight him openly and honestly. Even if he died, it would be an honor. This could be considered the greatest respect for the opponent.
She didn't want to marry him because she didn't want to be hypocritical with him, didn't want to be the person who was most defensive with him, and didn't want to put on a show in front of him.
"So, you chose not to let down the place where you grew up, not to let down your father and brothers, not to let down the people who respect you, but to let down me alone." Xiao Huayong gave a smile that was uglier than crying.
"Your Highness, this is my only choice." Shen Xihe bowed straightly.
"Shen Xihe, do you know how much I hate you right now?" Xiao Huayong staggered back two steps, and steadying himself by supporting himself on the table with one hand, "I like your calmness, wisdom, and broad-mindedness. But now I hate your calmness, wisdom, and broad-mindedness.
How I wish you were an ordinary girl, innocent and naive, young and beautiful, so that you wouldn't have to analyze all the pros and cons so thoroughly, and use what you think are the most sincere words to turn them into knives to cut my heart?"
Shen Xihe faced his rebuke and pain calmly.
"I hate myself even more. In order to survive, I tried hard to make myself stronger, strong enough that no one could harm me easily and control my fate. But I never thought that one day the person I loved would reject me thousands of miles away just because of this. Hahahahahahaha..."
Xiao Huayong laughed sadly and wildly, his laughter was filled with unrelieved pain. As he laughed, tears actually slid down his cheeks, which stunned Shen Xihe.
The man in front of her was so powerful. He had the ability to rule the world and should be invincible. In her opinion, he should be a tearless man, but he cried.
"If you were not this Shen Xihe, how could I fall in love with you? If I didn't have the ability I have today, how could I have lived until now? Is this what they call fate?" He gradually restrained all his emotions, and his dark pupils were just as they were when she first saw them, with silver light condensed and brilliance hidden deep, like a deep abyss or an ocean.
"I want to marry you. If you don't believe that there is no such thing as a love that will last forever, I will prove it to you." He was sharp, strong and firm. "You can be on guard against me. Yoyo, listen to me. I can tolerate you being unmoved by me for the rest of your life. I can accept you hiding a dagger under your pillow at any time and taking my life. But I will never allow you to marry someone else while I am alive, even if he is heartless."