"Mu Yan, when I grow up, I will take you as my wife and will love you with all of my heart..."
"Just you wait for me, okay…?"
"But Imperial Father said that the princess' fate is to marry a king…"
"Then I will attain that position... I'll diligently train in martial arts and accomplish great things. At that time, the Emperor will bestow me the title of King, and I'll be able to marry you …"
As the beads of water started to fell down one after another onto her cheeks, these images of a young Xiao Yuxuan proposing to her in a mountain top flashed back from Duan Mu Yan's memories. "You promised me..."
Duan Mu Yan ran away with all her might. She had promised her life to Xiao Yuxuan, so how could she marry another man… No... In this life, she would only marry Xiao Yuxuan…
Just as Duan Mu Yan arrived in front of the imperial study and about to open the door, she heard voices inside the room, and one of the voices was her mother! She frooze, her heartbeats felt like it will be stopping soon. She silently eavesdropped from the outside, a trace of hope flashed past her eyes.
"Your Majesty … You clearly know how Mu Yan loves Yuxuan and not Jin Feng! How are you so cruel to send her to Jin Feng...
If it wasn't for Mu Yan, she, Ling Ziyan, would never thought of stepping into this imperial study, nor would she have come beg to Duan Chen. There was too much misunderstanding between them to be unraveled—they couldn't even stand each other's presence in one room.
Duan Chen turned around and glared at the woman kowtowing in front of him, an ice-cold glint of light flickering in his eyes.
"Cruel?! Ling Ziyan! Do you know what cruelty is?! Back then, if you had not used underhanded tricks behind my back, and maligned Yu Die in front of the Empress Dowager, everything would be perfect! My children with her wouldn't be renounced by Mother! It was unspeakable of you! How could you betray the woman I love and my children! Now, who is cruel here?! Huh!" Duan Chen's deep voice contained a bone-biting coldness as he viciously stared at the deathly pale Ling Ziyan on the ground, not moving in the slightest.
"Even though... I tried to say it a hundred times which you never listen... But today, for Mu Yan's sake … I will say it again...
"Nonsense! Do you think I will believe your lies! Because of you, Qin Yu Die was not allowed to enter the palace, and would never put to rest in the Royal Tomb! Ling Ziyan! You are so vicious … Since you've made me experience this tremendous heartbreak, I'll make you taste it a thousand folds! Hmp! You are right... Mu Yan likes Xiao Yuxuan, and Jin Feng has already a wife... I am aware of that.... But I won't give you the least of happiness, Ling Ziyan! Your daughter will be a concubine! And your son, don't even dream of him becoming the Crown Prince!" spatting every word. "I, Duan Chen, have more than one son…" Duan Chen's cold eyes stared fiercely at Ling Ziyan. At this moment, he was like an Asura from hell, slowly devouring Ling Ziyan's life force.
"You… Duan Chen! You are worst than a beast! You actually dare push your daughter into the pit of fire!?! How could you be this heartless towards your own daughter...
Duan Chen's eyes turned cold as he suddenly raised his palm, wanting to slam it onto Ling Ziyan's face, but at that critical moment, Duan Mu Yan suddenly rushed in and blocked the upcoming onslaught, forcefully receiving the palm strike!
Traces of red appeared on the corner of her mouth. Duan Mu Yan pursed her lips.
"Mu Yan greets Royal Father… Mother brazenly talked back to Royal Father… I hope Royal father will forgive Mother considering she is ill… Let us not pursue this matter anymore…" Tears welling up in her eyes, stubbornly refusing to fall. Duan Mu Yan's heart seemed to be roped tightly by a thousand threads. The sudden surge of inconsolable extreme emotions in her heart and mind caused her to feel void, hollow.
If she hadn't heard it with her own ears, Duan Mu Yan would never have known that in the heart of her royal father, she was just a tool for revenge against his wife. Her heart had never felt this so much pain of betrayal before.
"Mu Yan?! You...
"Mother!" Du Muyan turned around and hugged her mother tightly. Even though her heart was in agonising pain seeing her mother in this state, she tried hard not to shed a tear because she knew that the moment she cried out, her mother would be even more heartbroken. She was too ill, she couldn't withstand the slightest bit of stimulation.
"Mu Yan... Mother has let you down... I am sorry...
"Mother!!" Du Mu Yan anxiously called on her mother, waking her up. She bit her tongue trying to hold the tears threatening to leave her eyes. "Please, call the Imperial Physician! Quickly, send word to the imperial physician…!" Within the door, the guard looked at Duan Chen with cowering eyes and stood by, trembling!
Looking at the unperturbed guards and the dying Imperial Mother in her arms, Duan Mu Yan clenched her shaking fist in a desperate battle against the grief. She turned around and stared straight at her royal father, no trace of emotion.
"Father... To whom do you want your daughter to marry? I am willing to do whatever Father wants... I wont refuse, I will listen... Just save Mother. I implore imperial father…" Her unfeeling voice perturbed the Emperor and he stared back at her daughter. Duan Mu Yan refused to look away, even as her lips started to tremble and her shoulder heaved with emotion, she was unwilling to backdown. This cause unease to the Emperor.
"Are all of you blind? Can't you see that Consort Li is unconscious?! What were you still standing there in a daze for? Hurry up and look for the royal physician!" Shouting at the guard outside the door. "And you, hurry up and bring her back to her palace!" Duan Chen bellowed at the guards.
After the guard carried Consort Li away, Duan Mu Yan saluted according to the palace's rules before turning around and chased after her mother.
A trace of strangeness flashed within Duan Chen's heart as he watched the lonely figure leave.
The moment Du Mu Yan stepped out of the room, she couldn't hold it in anymore. The pain came out like an uproar from her throat in the form of silent scream. The tears flowed down without restraint. Her heart felt as if it was being forcefully pulled out from her body. Her Royal father really intended her to marry someone she doesn't love and worst of all, to be a mere concubine. She was her father's daughter, a princess... Why would a father wished something less for his own daughter?
Du Mu Yan's tears fell with the bitter wind, but the cool air and her frozen cheeks were gone unnoticed. She was numbed all over, her heart, her mind, and her soul. Her messy hair danced along with the wind, obscuring her already blurred vision, and her mind fighting to comprehend what was happening. How could she face Xiao Yuxuan, how would she face Xiao Jin Feng, and how would she face her unknown future path?