Jinting Han people

Xiu Hua's confession caught Liu Xian completely off guard. To the best of his knowledge, Liu Xian had never harbored any romantic feelings for Xiu Hua.

Whether in the past or present, he has always regarded Xiuhua as an innocent princess, even after she has been married.

This is not hard to understand; Xiu Hua's childhood was smooth sailing. Born into the imperial family, she was protected by her parents and brothers from a young age, witnessing only the pampering of princes and concubines, and hearing only the flattery of servants. Such a person was destined to be detached from the hardships of life. She might not be malicious, but she was certainly quite willful. Therefore, Liu Xian never imagined he would have any connection with Xiu Hua.

When Wang Cui fell in love with the princess in his early years and wanted to become her husband, Liu Xian even advised him that the princess and Wang Cui were not a good match.

The reason he said this, in the sense of putting himself in others' shoes, was because he thought this way: he didn't want to be subservient in his marital relationship, nor did he want to have too much involvement with the Sima family.

But fate is a strange thing. Fifteen-year-old Liu Xian could not have foreseen that at twenty-eight, he would be deeply intertwined with the struggles of the Sima clan. Nor could he have imagined that he had already captured the heart of a princess.

The Liu Xian of today, of course, no longer harbored the idea of ​​keeping Xiu Hua at a distance. But in his eyes, Xiu Hua was no longer the Princess of Yingchuan whom he needed to treat with utmost care. She was simply the sister of his deceased friend Sima Wei, and the wife of his good friend Wang Cui, nothing more. She was someone he needed to take care of, but not someone very important.

Unexpectedly, one day, Xiu Hua would hug him and cry.

But Xiu Hua's lament was not without reason. Ever since Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan, fell seriously ill in his later years, she watched her world decline day by day, its pillars crumbling one by one, from indestructible to precarious, and finally to a state of utter despair. She truly felt a sense of impending doom and utter hopelessness.

Was all the love and care I received in the past a lie? Is a person's life destined to end in destruction?
The girl instinctively didn't want to face these difficult choices, so she placed all her hopes for life on Liu Xian, someone she didn't have much interaction with but who frequently appeared in her life.

Perhaps it's because this person seems unwavering, perhaps it's because this person is incredibly audacious, or perhaps it's because this person is gentle and kind...

In short, in Sima Xiuhua's imagination, Liu Xian played various heroic roles. Therefore, she admired and looked up to him. Unbeknownst to her, over the years, Liu Xian had become Xiuhua's only spiritual pillar.

But just now, after overhearing the conversation, she discovered two Liu Xians.

One is Liu Xian, as described by Sun Xiu. He is hypocritical, gloomy, two-faced, and unscrupulous. Deception and murder are his means of survival.

One is Liu Xian, whom Liu Xian described. Just as she had imagined, he was as stubborn as a stone, yet as bright as a flame. He longed for smiles and wanted to bring smiles to more people.

Which one is the real Liu Xian? Liu Xian's choice seems to suggest that he can only become the Liu Xian that Sun Xiu speaks of.

Thinking of this, Xiu Hua felt her blood freeze. Today, she couldn't accept Liu Xian's choice, so she finally couldn't control her impulses of the past few days, and in a ridiculous act, she hugged him and made this incomprehensible confession.

Feeling the warmth of Liu Xian's body, she then confessed her feelings to him, saying, "Will you take me with you?"

"No matter what you've done before, as long as you take me away, we'll definitely get away from all this trouble and go to a peaceful corner where we can live a quiet and peaceful life. No one can threaten you, and every day will be happy."

Liu Xian's first reaction was, of course, astonishment, but he was immediately filled with sympathy.

For a woman to utter such shocking and unconventional words, disregarding societal norms, indicates her unhappiness with life. This is not surprising; the Sima family's excessive fratricide would certainly cause distress.

So when he turned around, his first words to Xiu Hua were: "Your Highness, have you been unhappy lately?"

These words brought Xiu Hua to tears; it had been far too long since anyone had asked her that question. She was instantly transported back to over a decade ago, to the time she stood before Sima Wei, and burst into tears without restraint or regard for her image.

After a long while, she calmed down and sobbed, "Ever since my fifth brother left... I've been...very unhappy."

Liu Xian asked again, "Your Highness, when...did you fall in love with me?"

This direct question made Xiu Hua a little embarrassed, but she still said, "That time at Jingu Garden, you were dressed in black and went to kidnap someone... I remembered you..."

This greatly surprised Liu Xian. He hadn't expected that Xiu Hua had seen through this matter of life and death so early on.

Then she said, "But I didn't recognize you at the time... It was only when you led your troops in a bloody battle in front of the palace that I became certain that the man in black was you."

"Later... when my fifth brother's affair came to light, everyone scattered like birds and beasts. My husband's family was unwilling to help him. Only you... were willing to stay with my fifth brother until the very end. That's when I realized that I love you!"

“I have been following your progress ever since you were demoted to Kansai. Ten years have passed, and I know every single one of your achievements and victories by heart!”

Hearing this, Liu Xian gave a wry smile. He had never imagined that, besides A'Luo, there was another woman in Luoyang who was so devoted to him. It was truly unbelievable, but upon reflection, he realized that his entanglement with the Sima family was indeed too deep to be explained in a few words.

But now the problem is, how should I deal with this princess's love?

Liu Xian asked the princess, "Your Highness, do you really understand me?"

Xiu Hua had just been immersed in the joy of pouring out her heart, but upon hearing these words, her face turned deathly pale. She could tell, of course, that Liu Xian's words contained little affection, especially compared to her deeply loving husband; the difference was particularly striking.

This made her blush. She hesitated, but refused to give up. She stammered, "I just want you to understand me."

Liu Xian said, "Of course I'm willing to understand Your Highness, but this is different from love."

"This isn't the first time Your Highness has met me, but to be honest, until Your Highness spoke just now, I thought Your Highness was very happy."

The princess felt ashamed and saddened, and she asked, "Why?"

“Of course it’s because Your Highness has a loving husband. Hongyuan is my good friend, and I know he genuinely loves Your Highness and will do everything in his power to protect you.” “But I don’t like him!” Xiuhua retorted angrily. “It’s true that Hongyuan likes me, but so what? He’s dull and slow-witted, completely oblivious to what I want, and he can’t be the kind of person I like. He is indeed very, very good, but so what? I just don’t like him!”

At this point, she couldn't help but rebuke Sima Yan and Sima Wei:

“Father said he loved me, but did he really care about my feelings? Fifth brother was a liar too! He said he would always take care of me, but when he came back that time, he never came to see me until he died! My demands are not high, I don’t care about gold and silver! I just want someone to really care about me, is that wrong?”

The princess began to sob again in an instant. Then, she did something extremely bold: she actually waved her hand to take off her clothes, determined to display her delicate and voluptuous body to Liu Xian without reservation.

Liu Xian disregarded the proper boundaries between men and women and hurriedly got up to hold her down. However, he was still injured on his shoulder, and any sudden movement caused a sharp pain, which made him fall to the ground, his face showing pain and weakness.

Xiu Hua then seemed to snap out of her daze, remembering that Liu Xian was still injured. She stopped what she was doing, helped Liu Xian back to the bed, checked his wounds, and quickly changed the herbal medicine. Then she sat down in front of the bed and silently wiped away her tears with the back of her fair hand.

Liu Xian said softly, "Don't cry, Your Highness, what's there to shed tears about?"

At this point, Liu Xian couldn't help but laugh, as if something very funny had happened.

The laughter displeased Xiu Hua again. She scolded, "A woman uses the most despicable means to win your favor, and in the end she still fails. Is that funny?"

Liu Xian nodded first, then shook his head and said, "Your Highness is both right and wrong."

“I am indeed happy, but not because of this.”

"What is that?"

"I was just thinking about Sun Xiu. He had just scolded me, saying I had no real friends and that no one would ever stand by me. But he never imagined that as soon as he left, I would have someone who would be willing to live and die with me. Just thinking about that made me so happy that I couldn't help but laugh out loud."

The princess then remembered the reason for her confession; she had been so excited that she had almost forgotten all about Sun Xiu. This made her even more depressed. She didn't know what was there to cherish in this world. Her family had killed each other in the past and would kill each other again in the future, but she was powerless to stop it.

Liu Xian stared at Xiu Hua, thinking: The princess is indeed still an innocent girl. For both reason and emotion, I must help Hong Yuan and enlighten her.

So he asked again, "Your Highness, do you understand love?"

Princess Yingchuan felt the question was somewhat insulting, but out of genuine concern, she still put on a listening expression.

Liu Xian said, "Your Highness, you just said that you don't ask for much, but you are actually very wrong. The hardest thing to get in this world is the love of others."

"Because love is intangible and people's hearts are fickle, you may like someone today and hate them tomorrow. Back then, Emperor Wu of Han said he would keep his beloved in a golden house, but what happened? In just a few years, Empress Chen had to spend a fortune to buy a poem in order to win back Emperor Wu's heart. So we say that true love is rare, and only love that transcends the fickleness of people's hearts can be true love."

"But in this world, too many people have the illusion that their momentary impulse is forever. In reality, love is carefully nurtured; it is not an emotional outburst. There are four words: mutual love and mutual understanding. Understanding is not only about comprehending, but also about tolerance and rationality."

"No lover is perfect. A happy life is never about doing whatever you want. It's about accepting the other person's imperfections, combining your imperfections with theirs to become a whole. That's what a happy life is."

"Your Highness, you don't love me. You just haven't figured out how to live your life. You fantasize that I'm a magic cure that can change your life. But I can't do that. If you want to live happily, you have to rely on yourself."

Xiu Hua was bewildered. She had never thought about it this way before, and couldn't help but mutter to herself, "Myself?"

“Yes, it’s you,” Liu Xian encouraged. “You need to learn to temper your mind, first learn to love the people around you. Love your husband, your children. If there are things about them that you’re not satisfied with, try to change them, and at the same time accept them. They can’t live without you, isn’t that enough to prove your importance?”

"You are still a princess of the country. You can love those who have no food or clothing and help them to fill their stomachs and keep warm; love those who have no place to live and help them to shelter from the wind and rain; love those who have been separated from their families and help them to reunite. At that time, many people will remember your name, care about your feelings, and cherish your love. Won't they care about you just as you want?"

“I’m not making this up; it happened, it’s a real thing. You should know that His Highness the King of Chu did just that, and he gained a shrine for it. To this day, he is still remembered.”

"Fate may be unfair, but it has indeed given us opportunities. Only by loving others first can we receive love in return. If Your Highness only seeks to take, then the unhappiness in your heart will probably never change."

Hearing this, Xiu Hua finally broke into a smile through her tears; Liu Xian had successfully dispelled her sadness. She turned to look at Liu Xian, though tears still lingered in the corners of her eyes and her voice still trembled with sobs, it was clear that she was feeling much better.
“Sun Xiu is right, Liu Huaichong, you are indeed a person who is better at empty talk.”

"I was actually worried about you, thinking you would change. It seems I was just worrying unnecessarily."

Liu Xian smiled and said, "If Your Highness has anything that is not going well, I am always willing to have a long talk with you."

Both of them had a premonition that this was the beginning of a wonderful friendship. From that moment on, Xiu Hua regarded Liu Xian as an older brother, just like Sima Wei, and Liu Xian was willing to take Sima Wei's place and regard Xiu Hua as a younger sister.

But at the moment, Liu Xian clearly has other things to consider.

Sima Xiuhua had probably already guessed that Liu Xian definitely didn't intend to obey Sun Xiu's orders and had only been feigning compliance. She couldn't help but feel worried and asked:
“Sun Xiu’s power is so great that even the Shamen and the Demon Queen are no match for him. Once he truly takes power, he will definitely target you. What are you planning to do?”

Although Liu Xian was still injured, he felt more energetic than ever before. After two consecutive conversations, all his confusion and doubts disappeared. He laughed and said, "I plan to follow in the footsteps of my great-grandfather."

"Huh?" Xiu Hua didn't understand.

"Haha, I'm getting ready to run away." (End of Chapter)