The one who was accustomed to killing, having slaughtered numerous cities, and indifferent to being called a tyrant, now cares about his reputation in matters of men and women.
Xie Wanqing found it amusing. She looked at him with a gentle gaze and said, "It would have been better if you had cared about this earlier."
As her words fell, the smile on Lu Ziyuan’s lips stiffened.
He stuffed a piece of orange into her mouth and said, "I was too arrogant."
Xie Wanqing softly murmured an acknowledgment and slowly swallowed the piece of orange.
It was the first time they spoke of the past with such tranquility.
At this moment, Xie Wanqing’s mind was filled with thoughts of their past lives.
She pursed her lips and said, "Did you really think of taking a concubine back then? Liu Manrou was just a pawn meant for me to accept this prematurely..."
"No, I never thought of taking a concubine," Lu Ziyuan said. "From beginning to end, I only wanted you. If I had ever wavered, I had countless chances, before and after."
At sixteen, he led troops, constantly eliminating bandits and investigating cases throughout Da Han.
Countless officials offered beauties to him; if he wished, he could have had many.
"Oh," Xie Wanqing looked at him, a smile playing on her lips, "Then what about the great progeny of the Lu Family?"
"...Isn’t that why I have you? Anyway, I never thought about anyone else," Lu Ziyuan remembered what he had said in the past. He pursed his lips and said, "Back then, in youthful arrogance, feeling cornered by you, I uttered some nonsense you shouldn’t take seriously. Those were not heartfelt words."
He set down the tangerine in hand, wiped his fingers with a cloth, then clasped hers, bitterly smiling, "I realized my mistake long ago. Truly."
For that, he paid a sufficient price.
"Alright then," Xie Wanqing didn’t press further, but instead picked up the previous topic, "Since you don’t intend for me to change names, how will you explain my resurrection and childbirth?"
"Resurrection is easy to explain; just say you were saved by fishermen that day. As for Ran’er..."
Thinking about their son, Lu Ziyuan had a smile at the corner of his lips, "Of course, the Empress was deeply in love with me, willing to risk everything to give birth for me, albeit with injuries that required recovery in Jiangnan’s town. Now, her health has greatly improved, and she must return to the palace."
The deep affection between the Emperor and Empress would undoubtedly be sung through the ages.
In fact, it was indeed just as Lu Ziyuan mentioned.
Even while they were on the road, rumors had spread in the Capital City that the Empress hadn’t died, having lived in Jiangnan these years, now personally welcomed back by the Emperor.
It created a grand spectacle for Xie Wanqing’s reappearance.
The official explanation was that she was in frail health post-childbirth, recuperating at a mountain villa in Jiangnan. This, the Emperor knew, the Xie family knew, and several ministers knew.
Therefore, their Emperor didn’t go as far as to marry a position, because the Empress wasn’t dead.
Moreover, she had birthed a Prince.
As the legitimate and eldest, Da Han would have successors.
As for why she was alive, but the ceremonial conferment involved the Emperor holding a tablet, given Lu Ziyuan’s current influence, none in the court dared question.
Whatever he said was the truth.
Either way, it was a great joyous occasion.
With the Emperor and Empress being loving and harmonious, and having an established Little Prince.
Henceforth, Lu Ziyuan’s sharp sword had found its sheath.
With a wife, children, and a warm bed, surely his thirst for blood would lessen, wouldn’t it?
Everyone thought so.
To Xie Wanqing’s unexpected reappearance, they were both surprised and delighted.