Chapter 473

As Ning Wanshuang mentioned her wasted true love, Xiao Jingheng was struck with a sense of bewilderment.

He recalled his former self, how he had yearned so desperately for love and to be loved, yet in the end, all he sought was unfulfilled.

He let out a bitter laugh and sighed, "In this life, people constantly pursue love and self-actualization. If one cannot be attained, they become even more fixated on grasping the other.

From a young age, I craved love but never received it, so I focused all my thoughts on becoming an heir apparent, a wise ruler. I wanted everyone in this world to bow before me, I... didn't want to be looked down upon anymore."

He gazed out the window,

watching as the fresh rain dyed the deep red walls the color of blood, suddenly feeling as though it was a surging sea of blood that would drown and submerge him.

Palace maidens often said, "Once you enter the palace gates, it's as deep as the sea," confining their entire lives within these four walls.

But he, at the center of the vortex of power, was he not also trapped within it?

In the end, the imperial authority he had pursued his entire life was merely exchanging one prison for another.

And this prison was commonly known as desire.

Xiao Jingheng said in a melancholic tone, "My birth mother was jealous and overbearing, she slaughtered the concubines and imperial heirs, causing the Former Emperor to despise and execute her.

The Former Emperor rejected my mother, and by extension, me, as he did not favor me.

I still remember when I was nine years old, accompanying the Former Emperor to the autumn hunt. I fell from my horse and broke my right leg, the pain was excruciating. But the Former Emperor merely glanced at me from his saddle, coldly remarking 'useless' before personally leading my Fourth Brother and the others on the hunt."

"The unexpected was that I met you. You showed me that I was still worthy of being wholeheartedly loved. It's just a pity that by then, I had no path of return. Your father and brothers knew the secret of how I attained the throne, so they had to die..."

"It was too late... everything was too late..." Xiao Jingheng shook his head in anguish. Suddenly, he tightly grasped Ning Wanshuang's hand and asked in a pleading tone he had never used before, "If there is a next life, and I am born into an ordinary family, would you still be willing to..."

He left the rest unspoken, too embarrassed to voice it.

Ning Wanshuang merely gazed at him silently, watching as he coughed up blood, went mad, and smiled.

"I know I have wronged you terribly, and you no longer wish to have anything to do with me. In this life, I have brought you suffering, and my stubborn pursuit has amounted to nothing but a dream..."

He lowered his head, his gaze fixed on the ink jade ring adorning his right thumb,

the only gift the Former Emperor had given him, and a piece of jewelry he had never removed for over a decade.

Now, Xiao Jingheng gently caressed the ring.

His movements slowed bit by bit, his breathing calmed inch by inch, as if he had simply fallen asleep.

It was only when he became completely still that Ning Wanshuang leaned down and rested her head on his chest.

The familiar, powerful heartbeat from before was now eerily silent.

She slowly closed her eyes as tears flowed uncontrollably, murmuring a disconnected phrase,

"Wanshuang... is willing."