xymnovel Chapter 562 Your Highness, you chose this path, so you must continue walking it.
Chapter 562 Your Highness, you chose this path, so you must continue walking it.
Xu Longxiang.
He stood by the willow tree opposite the inn, his dark python robe fluttering slightly in the night breeze.
He didn't look up, nor did he gaze at any window.
He just stood there, like a tree bent by the wind but not broken.
Xu Fenghua's fingers gripped the window frame tightly, her knuckles turning white.
Her heart suddenly started racing, as fast as a drum being struck.
She almost thought she was seeing things, but she recognized the figure all too well.
Even across the distance, through the darkness of night, and through so many days she dared not count, she could still recognize him at first glance.
She subconsciously took half a step back, as if afraid of being seen by him, or perhaps afraid of being seen by him.
She didn't know why she was backing away, or what she was hiding from.
She clearly had so much to say to him, but it was as if something was blocking her, and not a single word could slip out.
She looked at the figure downstairs, at his quiet posture standing by the willow tree, and at his occasional lowered head.
She recalled that many years ago, when he was very young, he was also being punished by his father by standing in the yard like this.
He didn't argue, he didn't beg for mercy, he just stood there, waiting for the wind to pass, for time to pass, and for him to learn to stand firm on his own.
But she hadn't seen him like that in a long time.
The man she met was the commander-in-chief sitting on a high platform overlooking the vast army, the Prince of Zhenbei who stood up after the martial arts tournament and declared himself the best in the world.
She looked down at the figure below, the night wind blowing in and ruffling the stray hairs at her temples.
She wanted to call out to him; the two words had already slipped into her throat, but she never managed to utter them.
She couldn't explain why she didn't shout. Was it because she was afraid he would see her like this, or because she was afraid of seeing him look up when he heard her voice?
She bit her lip, leaving a faint teeth mark on it.
She saw Xu Longxiang downstairs slowly turn around and walk back the way he came.
My pace was much slower than when I came, as if each step was on some unsteady ground.
He walked past the willow tree, past the lantern that had been lit again, and into the depths of the night.
The moonlight cast his shadow long, long on the bluestone path.
Only after that dark figure completely disappeared at the end of the street did Xu Fenghua slowly loosen her grip on the window frame.
She lowered her head and looked at her hands, her fingertips still trembling slightly.
She slowly sat back down in her chair, placing her palms on her slightly protruding belly.
The moonlight is still shining through the window, the night breeze is still blowing, and the streets and alleys are still quiet.
But she no longer looked out the window.
........
When Xu Longxiang left his room, it was already late at night.
As he walked through the corridor, the guards still stood up straight and saluted, but he did not nod in response as usual, nor did he glance at them.
He kept his head down, his steps unsteady, as if he were walking on cotton, each step carrying a floating sensation that he himself was unaware of.
The guards exchanged a glance, then lowered their heads, asking and saying nothing.
Xu Longxiang walked through the corridor and across the courtyard.
The moonlight cast his shadow long, long on the bluestone path.
He finally stopped in front of Zhenyue Hall.
The candlelight in Zhenyue Hall was still burning, and the warm yellow light leaked out from the carved window frames, spreading a small patch of warm light on the stone steps in front of the door.
He stood at the edge of that halo of light, as if hesitating whether to step in.
Then he pushed open the door.
Fan Li sat on a chair to the side of the long table, with a cup of tea beside him. The tea had already cooled down, and it was clear that it had been sitting there for a long time.
He heard the door open, looked up, and his gaze fell on Xu Longxiang.
He didn't speak.
He just sat there quietly, as if waiting for someone he already knew would come back.
Xu Longxiang walked to the chair opposite the long table and slowly sat down.
He didn't look at Fan Li; his gaze was fixed on the cold teacup.
The candlelight flickered on his profile, casting a half-light, half-shadow on his somewhat pale face.
He was silent for a moment, then spoke, his voice lower than before, as if something was stuck in his throat: "She... went to see him."
When he said those words, he paused for a moment, as if to confirm whether he had really said them.
Fan Li did not ask "who she is" or "who he is".
He just sat there quietly, like a tree that had stood on the shore for many years, not urging, not urging.
He picked up the now-cold teacup in front of him, took a sip, and then put it down: "Your Highness, you don't look well."
Xu Longxiang's fingers curled slightly on his knee, then relaxed.
He lowered his head, his gaze fixed on his hands as if looking at something unfamiliar: "I took her there."
When he uttered those three words, even he could feel the barely suppressed bitterness in his voice.
Fan Li's gaze lingered on his face for a moment, but she didn't reply.
Xu Longxiang continued, speaking a few beats faster than before, as if he were rushing to finish something: "She went for the greater cause. She knows we need Zhao San's strength. She said she made this decision for our common goal. She said she knows what she's doing."
After he finished speaking, he fell silent.
The candle flame flickered gently inside the lampshade, bursting into a tiny spark with a very soft "crackling" sound.
Fan Li looked at his profile, saw his fingers clenching and unclenching, and saw his gaze fixed on a point without focus, as if searching for something that could settle him down.
He waited a moment before speaking: "Your Highness, were you telling me what you just said, or were you telling yourself?"
Xu Longxiang's body suddenly stopped.
He sat there, like someone whose name had been suddenly called, not yet having had time to think of how to answer.
He was silent for a long time.
So long that the candlelight flickered again, so long that the moonlight outside the window shifted an inch.
Then he looked up at Fan Li, his voice even softer than before, as if he had finally given an answer that he himself wasn't sure was true: "Both."
After he said those two words, he felt as if they were smoke blown away by the wind, and he hadn't grasped anything.
His gaze fell on Fan Li's face, which was half-lit and half-shadowed by the candlelight, as if he were looking for a foothold to settle down.
Fan Li did not avoid his gaze. He simply sat there quietly, like a tree that had stood in the wind for many years: "Your Highness, this is the path you chose yourself. All this old minister can do is stand behind you and watch you walk it to the end."
He paused, then softened his voice: "But this old minister also wishes to ask—are you walking steadily?"
Xu Longxiang did not answer.
He just sat there, head down, as if listening to a question he himself couldn't answer.
The candlelight burned quietly beside him, illuminating his hands, which hung at his knees, for a moment before dimming again.
His gaze fell on his slightly pale hands, and it was unclear what he was thinking or who he was thinking about.