That woman was none other than An Yun, who would become well - known later.
At that time, the An family still held some power and influence. As the young lady of the An family, An Yun was well - versed in etiquette.
The first encounter with that woman left such a deep impression on Xia Yan that he tossed and turned in his inn bed after returning. However, he didn't take it too seriously, nor did he have the thought of going to the An family to propose marriage. That first meeting had merely sparked a little admiration for the woman with extraordinary beauty.
But Xia Yan never expected that they would meet again.
The second encounter took place on the lake. Xia Yan was on a large official boat. Since he loved traveling and enjoying the scenery, he naturally wouldn't miss the lake - touring and flower - viewing event on the third day of the third lunar month in the Hailing Kingdom.
On that day, he first heard the sound of the zither. Just as he closed his eyes to listen carefully, the music suddenly stopped, and the sound of an argument followed.
Xia Yan wanted to go to the cabin on the other side to take a look. But before he could reach there, he heard a splash. Then someone shouted, "Miss An has fallen into the water!"
At that moment, Xia Yan didn't even know who An Yun was. He jumped into the water. After rescuing the woman, he found that she was exactly the "Fairy of Hundred Flowers" he had seen at the Flower - Searching Festival.
After An Yun spat out a lot of water, she regained consciousness. The first person she saw was Xia Yan.
As time went on, the two developed a growing fondness for each other. During this period, Xia Yan was invited by An Yun to stay at the An family for a while.
Later, a letter came from the Hailing Kingdom, saying that his father was seriously ill. Xia Yan had to rush back in a hurry. Before leaving, he promised An Yun that he would surely come back to see her.
Although they didn't make a private pledge of marriage, An Yun had already fallen deeply in love with Xia Yan.
But who could have known that after Xia Yan returned to the Hailing Kingdom, there was no more news from him.
The An family also suffered a catastrophe. The queen of the current king first suffered from excruciating headaches. Then, a treacherous official reported that it was because Qin Anxin had been cursed by witchcraft. Coincidentally, the soldiers sent by the queen to search indeed found a voodoo doll and some witchcraft items targeting her in the An family's rooms.
This discovery led to the entire An family being thrown into prison. By the first autumn, all of them, except An Yun, were beheaded.
Since An Yun had once been the "Fairy of Hundred Flowers" and the people of the Cangwu Kingdom regarded the "Fairy of Hundred Flowers" as a divine being, according to public opinion and with the intercession of Princess Gu Qingqing of the dynasty at that time, An Yun was spared from death. Later, Gu Qingqing also helped An Yun avoid the punishment of having her face tattooed and specially took her in as a maid in her palace.
An Yun waited in the prison for a long time, but in the end, she got nothing. She thought Xia Yan would come to pick her up, but he didn't. Not even a single letter reached her after he left.
Just when An Yun truly lost hope, the prince of the Hailing Kingdom came to the Cangwu Kingdom to discuss state affairs, aiming to strengthen the friendship between the two countries and jointly promote prosperity.
Xia Yan remembered that the weather was fine that day. He was walking on the grand avenue of the palace in his dark - cyan official robe. After signing some agreements with the king, he was invited to attend the lantern festival in the evening.
The lantern festival held in the palace was extremely grand. It was also at this lantern festival that Xia Yan met Gu Qingqing, the mistress of the palace in the Cangwu Kingdom.
At that time, Gu Qingqing was not happy. Her willow - leaf - like eyebrows were slightly frowned, and her eyes were looking into the distance, as if filled with the entire starry night sky. He was standing far away and couldn't see her clearly. It was only when he heard the queen call her Qingqing that he realized she was the well - known Princess Qingqing of the Cangwu Kingdom.
She turned around and gave a charming smile. It was that smile. With just one look at her, Xia Yan was already captivated. From that moment on, Xia Yan finally understood what it meant by "love at first sight".
He wanted to step forward and talk to such a woman. But then, a surprised voice came from behind him: "Brother Xia."
Xia Yan stopped in his tracks. He turned around, and there was An Yun. At that time, An Yun was wearing a maid's uniform. Her eyes were no longer as pure as before, and her skin was not as fair either.
However, Xia Yan could recognize that it was An Yun. An Yun was overjoyed to see Xia Yan. She stepped forward and said directly, "Brother Xia, you've come back to find me. I knew you would surely come back for me."
As she said this, An Yun stepped forward and tightly hugged Xia Yan. Since it was already late and there were many people around, no one noticed this scene.
Xia Yan originally wanted to push An Yun away, but when he felt An Yun quietly sobbing in his arms, he gave up. He gently patted her on the back.
An Yun looked up with tear - filled eyes and asked him, "Brother Xia, why did you come so late?"
"I heard that something had happened to the An family, so I rushed over. But they said the An family had been completely wiped out, so I returned to the Hailing Kingdom. Recently, there have been important matters between the two countries, so I've come to the Cangwu Kingdom."
An Yun asked, "You're from the Hailing Kingdom?"
"A prince?"
Xia Yan nodded. At that moment, An Yun was completely satisfied. It turned out that Brother Xia had come back to look for her before.
But what An Yun didn't know was that from the moment Xia Yan saw Gu Qingqing, there was no longer any place for An Yun in his heart.
Later, since there were still many matters to be finalized after the signing of the agreements, it just happened to suit Xia Yan's wishes. He then stayed in the palace openly. During this period, he kept going to Princess Gu Qingqing's mansion.
However, at that time, Gu Qingqing didn't pay any attention to the handsome Xia Yan. In Xia Yan's eyes, she always seemed to be looking at the starry sky in the east, as if waiting for someone, but that person never appeared.
Zhao Shuning opened his eyes. "Are you saying that Gu Qingqing never liked you?"
Since the spiritual power Xia Yan brought contained the memories of An Yun, Xia Qingyan, and Xia Yan himself, what they could feel and what they could see of the past was more comprehensive and detailed.
Xia Yan nodded.
Zhao Shuning said, "Your Highness, you've let down two women."
Xia Yan lowered his head. His eyes were full of pain and regret. "I know. So Heaven has punished me in the following days. First, it was Qingqing, then Xiaoyun, and now my child. They've all suffered because of me."
Zhao Shuning sighed helplessly and shook his head.
This was not the time to judge who was right and who was wrong. Before Xia Qingyan fell into a coma, she had asked her father to bring this to her. There must be a reason. What Zhao Shuning should do now was to quietly watch how this story that had spanned more than thirty years had turned into such a tragic situation.