Even after all these years, Xia Yan still couldn't forget the shock he felt when he first heard the news.
In the grand hall of the palace, the king himself gave his approval for the marriage.
From then on, Gu Qingqing seemed to become a completely different person towards Xia Yan.
Xia Yan was also allowed to visit the princess's mansion freely. However, every time he went there, it was always An Yun who received him, which made him feel a bit uncomfortable.
Because of the preparations for the far - off marriage of the princess of Cangwu Kingdom, Xia Yan stayed in Cangwu for about half a month.
Later, with a magnificent bridal procession and blossoming peach blossoms along the way, Gu Qingqing got married.
An Yun, as the dowry maid, also went to Hailing Kingdom with her.
Most men in Hailing Kingdom were infatuated, and many families had only one wife.
Before Xia Yan consummated his marriage with Gu Qingqing, An Yun came to him.
"My lord, when will you fulfill the promise you made to me?"
At this time, they were in Hailing Kingdom. Since An Yun was the maid who came with Gu Qingqing as a dowry, she followed the local custom and addressed Xia Yan as "my lord".
Xia Yan was completely focused on Gu Qingqing and had no time to deal with An Yun.
He said, "Xiaoyun, you once said that you wouldn't ask me to marry you for the time being."
"My lord, do you want to go back on your word?"
Xia Yan sighed.
Then he said earnestly, "Xiaoyun, look, I already have Qingqing now. You are her maid, and we can see each other every day. I promise that you will never be wronged in this mansion."
"I just want to know, my lord, when you say this, do you not want An Yun anymore? Do you want to break your promise to me after you've got the princess?"
Xia Yan's eyes dodged.
He did have this intention.
Although he felt a bit sorry for An Yun, he didn't want to let Gu Qingqing down even more.
"I'm sorry, Xiaoyun."
Xia Yan broke free from An Yun's hand and quickly ran into the bridal chamber.
The sound of the door slamming shut was extremely harsh to An Yun's ears.
Outside the room, An Yun suddenly laughed. But there was a lot of resentment in her eyes.
She stared fixedly at the door.
When the door closed, the last bit of kindness in her heart was completely killed.
"My lord, you will regret this—"
After saying this, An Yun turned around and walked into the darkness. Her figure disappeared from sight.
As for Xia Yan, when he thought he could finally have Gu Qingqing completely, he was shocked.
Because on their wedding night, when they were snuggling close to each other, the name she murmured was someone else's.
The moment he heard that name, Zhao Shuning felt as if his blood had frozen.
Because the name Gu Qingqing murmured was Ye Xingchen.
Ye Xingchen?
How could it be Ye Xingchen?
It was impossible.
Ye Xingchen was his younger brother. Zhao Shuning remembered clearly all the little things between her and her younger brother when they were kids, and she could still recall the general situation.
It seemed that about five hundred years later, his younger brother was still just a child.
So, how could he appear at this time?
Zhao Shuning's strong reaction made Xia Yan can't help but ask, "Miss Luo, do you know this Ye Xingchen?"
Zhao Shuning asked, "What's the relationship between Ye Xingchen and Gu Qingqing?"
Xia Yan sighed and said, "Ye Xingchen is Qingqing's son. But you probably don't know him because he died when he was only one month old."
"Died?"
"Yes."
Zhao Shuning became even more suspicious. "That's not right. How do you know Ye Xingchen is Gu Qingqing's son? And why does her son have the surname Ye instead of..."
"Instead of Xia, right?"
Zhao Shuning nodded.
"Miss Luo, if you read on, you'll know."
On the wedding night, which should have been a moment of joy and reunion, Xia Yan roared in the middle of the night. Then, he abandoned the bride on the bed and ran out of the bridal chamber.
Xia Yan had never told anyone about this.
The reason for his loss of composure was that Gu Qingqing was not a virgin.
Xia Yan was extremely angry.
The woman he had been longing for and had used all means to get, in the end, had been with someone else first.
After that night, Xia Yan used all the means at his disposal and finally learned the truth.
It turned out that before he met Gu Qingqing, she had traveled in the martial arts world for three years.
Gu Qingqing could practice spiritual power since she was a child. She always wanted to help the weak and was especially in awe of the heroes in the martial arts world.
At that time, Ye Feng of Qianji Sha was the most famous.
Gu Qingqing spent a lot of effort to join Qianji Sha as an outer - sect disciple, which gave her a chance to get close to Ye Feng.
"So, what you mean is..."
Did Xia Yan mean that Ye Xingchen was the child of Gu Qingqing and Ye Feng?
This... Wasn't it a bit too absurd?
Although his grandfather always looked like a young man, with his appearance staying in his twenties.
But... If Ye Feng really got together with Gu Qingqing, why didn't he make their relationship public?
And Gu Qingqing was only a few years older than Ye Qingluan.
"Yes, that's what I think, and the fact is indeed so. Otherwise, why would the child she gave birth to have the surname 'Ye'?"
Zhao Shuning didn't refute. She didn't have the right to either.
No wonder when they were in Cangwu Kingdom, he said that Gu Hanxun was entrusted to him by an old acquaintance and asked him to take good care of him. That's why he became Gu Hanxun's teacher.
But now that he thought about it, it was also quite absurd.
Ye Feng was an elder of Qianji Sha. He could take in as many disciples as he wanted. Why did he have to stand against the powerful Qin family for Gu Hanxun?
His grandfather's personality wouldn't cause such trouble for Qianji Sha.
Moreover, Gu Hanxun had imprisoned him for ten years, but in the end, he just let it go and didn't pursue it anymore.
His grandfather's mind seemed a bit too generous in this matter.
Now it seemed that if what Xia Yan said was true, everything could be explained.
Because of what happened back then, Ye Feng felt guilty towards Gu Qingqing.
He felt guilty about Gu Qingqing's death, so he did his best to take care of her nephew.
He could easily forgive the ten - year imprisonment because there was unspeakable remorse and a past hidden in his heart.
"What about Gu Hanxun?"
Zhao Shuning had a bold guess.
Was Gu Hanxun the Ye Xingchen in Gu Qingqing's mouth?
"No, Gu Hanxun is indeed the son of Concubine Xiao and the king of Cangwu. Qingqing is just his aunt."
"Even the name Hanxun was given by Qingqing. Because her son died on a snowy winter night. In a way, Gu Hanxun is just a sustenance for Gu Qingqing's love for Ye Xingchen."
So, that's why Gu Qingqing doted on Gu Hanxun so much?
Zhao Shuning was a bit distracted, but she could only continue to read.