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"Little girl, it's only been a few years since I've seen you, and I never expected you to be a mother now."
The words were meant to be tender, but coming from King Qin, they felt utterly cold.
Realizing that his tone was off, he said weakly in explanation, "I've been on the frontier for so long, that's just how I've become. No other meaning intended."
Every battle was an ordeal of life and death, and with all the hidden dangers ever-present, over time he had grown accustomed to hiding his emotions. Put simply, his face was always stern, and now changing that habit seemed quite difficult.
Chen Yiling's heart winced slightly, "I know these years must have been very hard for you."
Many in the palace eyed him with ill intent, and had he not turned into what he was now, he very likely would have died under some sinister plot.
"Being alive is good enough."
King Qin said this indifferently, but those four words were all the more poignant for it.