It turned out he had been picked up by Xiao Ye and hidden away for so many years.
The Empress clutched the painting in her hand, her suppressed emotions overflowing like a river.
With a melancholic tone and a tenderness she couldn't express, she asked, "Did you also feel like me?"
Yes, you should have felt like me, in love in our youth.
That year, the peach blossoms bloomed brilliantly, and she, beneath the tree, watched the young man practice his sword.
However, the young man faded with time, becoming blurry in the Empress's memory.
On the back of the painting, she discovered a line of small characters.
The handwriting was strong and vigorous, penned by Xiao Ye.
"Daring to love the Princess - Mu Qinglan."
With just one glance, she was heartbroken.
The fragmented memories pieced themselves together, and the Empress wished she could return to the moment of their first meeting.
"Xiao Ye..."
The Empress was wracked with pain, her entire body trembling in despair.
"I hurt so much, I regret pushing you so far away."
"You endured in the court for so long, not just for the dynasty, but for me too, right?"
So, you wanted to protect my empire.
You went to the front lines to fight without hesitation.
Only now do I realize why you did it.
Perhaps when I actively approached you, you knew of this killing intent, yet you had no regrets.
The Empress gripped the painting with all her might and picked up the brush from the desk.
She added a name next to her beloved.
It was Xiao Ye.
Every stroke caused her heartbreak, for the Empress knew clearly that she was the one who had pushed Xiao Ye to his death.
For this throne, and to keep loyal subjects.
She suddenly burst into laughter, "Foolish... so incredibly foolish..."
Suddenly.
As the Empress wrote the last stroke of Xiao Ye's name, her emotions reached their breaking point.
Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. What madness and pain would cause one to spit blood from a broken heart?
"It must not be stained, it must not stain Prime Minister Xiao."
The Empress became flustered and quickly wiped the painting clean.
More and more blood flowed, and the Empress's vision blurred.
In a daze, she seemed to see the painting move; it was her most loyal minister Xiao.
The Empress was greatly excited and rushed to say, "Are you here to take me away?"
A loud bang echoed from the study.
It turned out the Empress had collapsed.
The last thing she saw was a group of palace staff in a state of panic.
They continuously called out her name.
But...
She didn't want to wake up anymore!
She wanted to go find Prime Minister Xiao, to return to the time when he taught her literature and martial arts...
The Empress fell into a deep slumber, the pearly tears in her eyes never falling.
Cold.
The biting wind seemed to seep into her bones.
Mu Qinglan opened her eyes in a daze and saw Xiao Ye's face.
She widened her eyes in disbelief, joyfully exclaiming, "Prime Minister Xiao, I see you..."
"Mu Qinglan, what are you talking about?"
Xiao Ye looked at Mu Qinglan coldly, seeing the bewilderment in her eyes.
Xiao Ye's low, icy voice pulled Mu Qinglan back to her senses!
She raised her hand to her face, finding it cold and dry from tears.
Xiao Ye's tall figure stood before Mu Qinglan, dark energy threatening to engulf her.
"Have you woken from the illusion?"
She felt a slight suffocation, and Mu Qinglan's mind became instantly clear.
Mu Qinglan saw that she was still in the abyss, surrounded by the figures of Red Ghosts.
"Xiao Ye, was everything that just happened an illusion?"
Xiao Ye gave her a cold smile. "What do you think?"
Mu Qinglan knew it wasn't. All her experiences were moments of reincarnation.
It was the truth she had never realized, her betrayal of Xiao Ye.
Mu Qinglan struggled to open her mouth, unable to utter a word.
Tears of pain streamed down her face as she looked up at Xiao Ye's indifferent expression.
"In reincarnation... in reincarnation, I thought you were a treacherous minister and eliminated you through any means necessary."
"I didn't know of your sacrifices for me; I didn't know, Xiao Ye, that you sacrificed your life for the dynasty."
"It was I who failed to see clearly, and it was I who pushed you to your death for power."
An indescribable sorrow lingered within Mu Qinglan's body, a pain that threatened to suffocate her.
Her eyes were bloodshot, about to bleed. All the domineering killing intent vanished.
"What have I done? What have I done on Blue Star..."
Mu Qinglan thought of everything she had done, even on Blue Star she had wanted to eliminate Xiao Ye.
Her body curled up and trembled, the pain making it impossible to breathe.
Xiao Ye stood before Mu Qinglan, calmly watching her regret and pain.
"Xiao Ye... I'm sorry... truly sorry..."
Mu Qinglan looked up at Xiao Ye, tears of blood and pain welling in her eyes.
Xiao Ye remained silent. He calmly said, "Mu Qinglan, you don't need to apologize. You should maintain your arrogance and continue to regard me as your greatest enemy!"
"You are not my enemy, Xiao Ye, you are not my enemy..."
Mu Qinglan's voice was confused with pain, still caught in the torment of the illusion.
She repeatedly stated he wasn't an enemy, though he was the man she should have cherished most.
Seeing Mu Qinglan lost in a state of breakdown, Xiao Ye glanced at the system's phantom task bar.
Mu Qinglan's body convulsed with unbearable pain.
The progress bar was almost full!
Ninety-eight percent...
Ninety-nine.
One hundred!
[Whitewashing Rating: SSS]
Mental Power +50
Soul Strength +50
An unprecedentedly abundant power surged into Xiao Ye's body from all directions.
The system transmitted the power, congratulating Xiao Ye, "Host, I didn't expect you to actually complete the mission! I thought it had failed!"
Xiao Ye heard the system's excited rambling, but he remained very calm.
Through these few whitewashing attempts, Xiao Ye found that the ratings were truly useful.
The rewards feedbacked to Xiao Ye were beyond imagination this time.
The nearby Red Ghost chief, who had considered escaping,
Suddenly, he saw Xiao Ye close his eyes, his aura continuously ascending.
The chief's body froze as if in a still frame; he didn't dare to flee.
The Red Ghosts cried out under the oppression of this terrifying power!
They didn't dare to stay in their den and frantically scrambled out.
However, as the space seemed to distort, absorbed by Xiao Ye's power!
The Red Ghosts collapsed to the ground, suffocating. They were going mad with pain.
After an unknown amount of time,
Xiao Ye finished absorbing all the power and heard the system's voice, "Host, through this mission, you have broken free from the villain setting."
Broken free from the villain setting?
This meant he was no longer controlled by the Heavenly Dao's rules?
Xiao Ye thought he would still have to deal with the last one, Tan Yueya, but this time the reward rating had elevated him to a new level.
He looked at his arm, infused with terrifying power, and Xiao Ye had no idea how strong he had become.
It was beyond divinity!
As long as Xiao Ye wished to destroy the abyss, it would be an effortless task.