"You don't need to answer. It was inappropriate of me to ask such a question."
Yun Xi had given up on getting an answer from Qi Rong.
Because such hidden feelings were too dangerous whether Qi Rong admitted them or not.
She had been thoughtless to so openly voice her doubts.
"I've never thought about becoming the emperor," Qi Rong said seriously after a moment's hesitation. "Do you want me to be the emperor?"
Yun Xi hadn't expected Qi Rong to answer, but when faced with his counter - question, she instinctively shook her head without a second thought.
She didn't know why she didn't want Qi Rong to be the emperor. She only knew that the path would surely be full of thorns and extremely perilous.
But hearing Qi Rong say that he had never thought about becoming the emperor made her wonder, "Then why... "
Yun Xi didn't finish her sentence, but Qi Rong already understood what was on her mind.
His eyes were solemn, and a layer of hostility welled up in the depths of his pupils.
"I just want those people to pay the price they deserve!"
His beloved elder brother had died in a foreign land, and his respected parents had died in humiliation!
The reason he had survived and bided his time until now was to kill his enemies with his own hands and console the souls of the deceased!
Looking at Qi Rong's extremely cold face due to anger, Yun Xi felt a dull ache in her heart.
She knew that beneath this surging hatred lay Qi Rong's deepest pain!
This pain would not fade with the passage of time. Instead, because he couldn't kill his enemies with his own hands, he suffered. At the same time, this pain had always supported him, allowing him to endure humiliation and wait for the opportunity to fight back when facing his sworn enemies!
Seeing the hatred in Qi Rong's eyes while his hands still didn't forget to peel grapes for her, Yun Xi couldn't help but reach out and place her fair finger on the back of his broad hand.
"Don't peel anymore. I'm already full."
Looking at that slender, white little hand, Qi Rong's eyes darkened. He turned his hand over and held Yun Xi's hand firmly in his palm.
The next moment, he lifted the back of her hand and gently kissed it.
Qi Rong's intimate gesture made Yun Xi blush, but she didn't pull her hand away.
Thinking about Qi Rong's future, Yun Xi felt mixed emotions and couldn't help but sigh, "Have you ever thought about what you'll do after you succeed in avenging your enemies? And what about the Liu Kingdom?"
The reason the common people could live and work in peace and enjoy prosperity now was that the former Emperor Gaozu had quelled the regional disputes and established the current Liu Kingdom.
The emperor of the Liu Kingdom was like the heart of the whole country. He not only held supreme power but also, as the monarch, protected the peace and lives of the common people from the suffering of war and displacement!
If Qi Rong wanted to avenge his enemies, he would surely pull Qi Hong off the throne, and even the entire royal family would have to undergo a major reform!
The stability of the royal power was even related to the stability of the national regime. Once there was a problem with the central power, the Liu Kingdom would be like a flock of dragons without a leader and might fall into the danger of falling apart at any time!
Not to mention that the Li Kingdom in the north was eyeing covetously, and there were rampant pirates in the south. Without the centralized power of the royal family, the various regions of the Liu Kingdom might proclaim themselves kings and act independently.
They might even start a series of wars in order to seize territory.
In the end, the ones who would be hurt would surely be the common people at the bottom of society!
These were very real and thorny problems. She didn't know what Qi Rong's plans were, or if he had even considered these issues.
Meeting Yun Xi's worried gaze, Qi Rong didn't seem to care. He smiled at her and said with longing in his voice, "By then, I'll take you to travel around the world and see all the mountains and seas. If we're tired, we'll find a place you like to settle down. Then we'll have a few children like you. After we pass away, we'll let our descendants bury us together..."
Yun Xi had thought that a capable person like Qi Rong would have ambitions even if he didn't become the emperor.
However, listening to Qi Rong's words, Yun Xi suddenly had a sense of overlapping time and space.
It made her think of the time when they were being chased by hired killers bought by the Jiang family on their way to her mother's tomb - sweeping. Two waves of killers had almost cost Qi Rong his life.
She had carried his body on her back in the snowstorm, gritted her teeth, staggered, and walked with difficulty for a long time before finally finding a hunter's house and fainting.
During the days they stayed at the hunter's house, Qi Rong had once said that he would take her to roam the world or live in seclusion as a mountain couple.
At that time, she had deliberately scoffed because of shyness. However, in the past year, she had always remembered what Qi Rong had said to her at that time.
Even when she later felt that the relationship between her and Qi Rong was drifting apart, she had more than once imagined that if they hadn't returned to the capital at that time but really roamed the world.
Would they be very happy now?
"If there's no emperor, what will happen to the Liu Kingdom? And are you willing to let go of the foundation laid by your ancestors of the Qi family in vain?"
Yun Xi's dark, ink - like eyes stared intently at Qi Rong.
She wanted to see hesitation on his face, but there was none.
"Isn't there still Qi Yu? Since he wants to be the emperor, let him do it," Qi Rong said casually. The throne held no appeal to him at all.
Moreover, the foundation of the ancestors had never been what he valued.
"Are you really okay with him being the emperor?"
Hearing Qi Rong's words, it was Yun Xi who showed a surprised expression.
Qi Rong tightened his grip on Yun Xi's hand. There was a hint of jealousy in his tone as he counter - questioned Yun Xi, "Do you think I'll kill them all?"
The "them" he referred to naturally included the Crown Prince Qi Yu and others.
The wrongdoer should bear the blame. From the very beginning, his targets had only been the Emperor Qi Hong and the Empress Dowager, as well as the Li and Lin families who had planned and carried out that palace coup...
As for the Crown Prince Qi Yu and the Eighth Princess Qi Wan'er, as long as they didn't interfere with his plan, he didn't intend to harm them.
Even if Qi Yu ascended the throne, he had no objection.
"No," Yun Xi shook her head and voiced her worry. "Aren't you afraid that after you succeed in avenging your enemies, Qi Yu will be unfavorable to you after he ascends the throne?"
As the saying goes, tit for tat will never end.
For a crime like Qi Hong's of killing his elder brother and father, even if he was lingered a thousand times, Yun Xi wouldn't feel sorry for him.
But even such a vicious person was the biological father of the Crown Prince Qi Yu. There was no guarantee that Qi Yu wouldn't avenge his father.
By then, wouldn't Qi Rong be in great danger?!
Qi Rong had thought that Yun Xi was worried that Qi Yu would be killed by him and had felt jealous. But now, hearing that Yun Xi was worried about him, his unpleasant mood disappeared.
A smile curled up on Qi Rong's lips, and he said proudly, "If he wants to deal with me, he has to see if he has the ability!"
In his heart, Qi Yu was just a little boy who always hesitated and was always bound by emotions. If he didn't get rid of these shortcomings, he would be hard - pressed to achieve great things in the future.
He didn't even take such a weak enemy seriously!