novelraw Chapter 1457 - 1541: Wait for Me to Return
Chapter 1457 - 1541: Wait for Me to Return
She foolishly pressed her forehead, which was exactly the spot he had kissed before.
"You, you..." She probably never dreamed she would get a response, yet he laughed freely, grasping her hand for another kiss.
"It’s decided then, if the day comes you reach womanhood and I still haven’t found a wife, we’ll pair up."
She asked in a daze, "Rea-really, really?" She was actually stammering, looking so cute—it was the first time he had seen her like this.
He chuckled lightly, "Do you think it’s true?"
He was accustomed to teasing people.
During his interactions with Baowei, he never forgot the other task entrusted to him by Mother Xiao. On one hand, he was passionately involved with Baowei, and on the other, he engaged with the Eighth Princess. He was a completely different person in front of the Eighth Princess.
In front of the Eighth Princess, his brows always carried a touch of melancholy, a sorrowful demeanor that she adored. Though she showed her affection for him, he politely declined, yet in his heart, he longed for that little jester.
His heart leaned towards her, as if people had scales inside them, his already tilted towards the jester’s side.
After she confessed her feelings to him, their interactions became natural and harmonious. Later, Ah Lian and the others said that during those days, he felt as if he was floating while walking, his mood lifted entirely because of her.
However, the border warfare intensified as she was only fourteen, a year away from reaching adulthood.
"I have to go to battle!"
She said, "Wait for me, when I finish this fight, I’ll go to the Ninth Princess and ask her to arrange our marriage!"
This wasn’t the first time a woman desired him, but it was the happiest he had ever been.
He thought if he truly ended up with her, making her his wife, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
"Alright, I’ll wait for you to return, and then we’ll get married!"
He never liked making promises lightly, yet he made such a heavy vow.
On the day she followed the Ninth Princess to battle, he stood on the city tower and watched her leave from afar. He knew from that day on it would be a long time before they met again; he had no idea how long the war would last.
And after she left, he realized he wasn’t prepared for the separation.
It turned out not just her, accustomed to his company—she would feel panicked if she couldn’t see him. He was the same, often recalling her silly face when midnight dreams returned, the days seemed to grow harder.
The border was far from the capital, yet they kept corresponding, for a whole year.
And when a year later disaster struck, the Xiao family was imprisoned for treason, with Mother Xiao and the servants executed.
Another year passed.
Far away at the border, Dong Baowei and the Ninth Princess returned triumphant, yet everything had changed. He shed his red attire and appeared in white beside the Eighth Princess. He still remembered the anger and disbelief in her eyes.
He no longer engaged her in lively, free conversations, meeting her concern and inquiries with just a faint smile.
She returned victorious, yet a month after her return, the Ten Miles of Red Makeup festivities sounded with drums, and the Qinghe who once amused her disappeared, replaced by the Qinghe Zhengjun of the Eighth Princess.
After his grand wedding, he heard from Ah Lian about her retiring to the countryside, learned that she was afflicted by Gu Poison. No matter how indifferent he seemed to outsiders, he still cared for her in his heart.
Until there was no trace of her left in the world.
Unlike when she was fighting outside; though they couldn’t meet, he knew where she was, and the Hidden Guard placed by her side faithfully reported her every move to him.