He was right, the entanglement between them was too deep, so deep that she couldn’t forget even if she wanted to.
Even if she could turn her head and run away without looking back, she would inevitably still think of him.
If she hadn’t been haunted by thoughts during the day, she probably wouldn’t have dreamed of her past life again after so many years.
Evidently, her rare words of affection were very well-received by Lu Ziyuan.
"Really?" His slightly squinting eyes softened, but his tone still carried skepticism.
"Of course it’s true," Xie Wanqing said solemnly, "Didn’t I just say it? Even if you hadn’t come looking for me, I was planning to return to the Capital in a few days."
Lu Ziyuan gave a faint "oh" and just looked at her with a smile.
Xie Wanqing felt inexplicably guilty under his gaze.
Indeed, such a statement was too coincidental, so it was understandable that he would be doubtful.
But what she said was true.
"Whether you believe it or not, I really didn’t lie to you," Xie Wanqing sniffed and said honestly, "I really hadn’t thought about returning to the Capital, but... last night I had a dream."
The word ’dream’ held special significance between them, both fully aware of it.
Upon hearing this, Lu Ziyuan’s whole body turned rigid.
The girl in his arms continued, "I dreamed of everything that happened after I died."
Thinking of that person’s fate in the dream, Xie Wanqing’s nose tingled with emotion.
She encircled his stiff waist, pressed her face against his neck, cautiously kissed it, and said sadly, "Lu Ziyuan, why are you so foolish..."
Becoming an Emperor with the world in his hands, what kind of woman could he not have?
No matter how much he loved her, with time’s healing, he would eventually be fine.
Why did he have to be so foolish to seek death?
Lu Ziyuan appeared somewhat dazed.
She had actually dreamed of the five years he lived alone in the past life.
So, she had witnessed his sickly madness firsthand.
She knew he was not a hero defending the nation, nor a wise ruler who loved the people like his own children.
He was merely a war machine that regarded human lives as worthless, razed cities, and seized land.
A lunatic who committed countless atrocities and evil deeds.
He massacred not only outsiders but also showed no mercy to his own subjects.
The court was full of countless civil and military officials, but if anyone displeased him, whether loyal or treacherous, he would kill them with a wave of his hand.
He was a real madman...
His cruelest, most ruthless side had been exposed to the girl he loved, and Lu Ziyuan’s face gradually turned pale.
Xie Wanqing had no idea what was in his mind; she was still immersed in the tragedy of the dream, and the hand encircling his waist tightened affectionately.
"I’m afraid you’ll run to the battlefield and seek your own death like in the past life, so when I woke up, I decided to return to the Capital to find you,"
She choked on her words, her voice tinged with hoarseness, "Even in those two years when you pestered me the most and made me hate you the most, I never wanted you to die."
The cold, arrogant young man, strong and invincible, full of pride, how could he die?
But he really did die right before her eyes.
An arrow pierced his heart.
Remembering that scene, Xie Wanqing’s chest suddenly ached, and she opened her mouth to bite hard on the side of his neck.
Her sharp teeth broke the skin, and Lu Ziyuan’s breath trembled slightly. Then, his hand slowly lifted to caress the back of the girl’s head in his arms.
Xie Wanqing held onto the piece of flesh, grinding for a long time, and finally gently licked the blood that had overflowed, then she let go.
Looking at the bite mark she had left, she asked, "Does it hurt?"
Lu Ziyuan gulped slightly and responded with a low "mm."
Very enticing.
But Xie Wanqing had just been thoroughly tormented by him and, at this moment, would not be easily swayed.