The horse-drawn carriage moved slowly forward in the cold wind, the snow on the road had been swept to both sides, and the wheels creaked as they rolled over the scattered snow.

  The person in the carriage, Yue Mo, anxiously closed the curtains, afraid that the cold wind blowing in would hit Meili's body. Having just finished her month of confinement after childbirth, she really shouldn't have gone out on such a cold day.

  Meili's icy hands were actually wet with beads of sweat, she... was very scared!

  To welcome the triumphant generals, Chengde City is more lively and busy than usual, with firecrackers going off from time to time, and many people braving the cold to decorate the city with lanterns and streamers.

  When the carriage turned into the small road leading to General Tuha's tomb, it seemed to have entered another world. There were no red lanterns or colorful canopies, only a sea of white flags fluttering in the wind. Yonghe had already been posthumously promoted to First-Class Defender General, and the Emperor had specially decreed that he be given a grand funeral with upgraded rituals.

  Meili got off the bus outside the gate and was startled by the black and white colors, her heart felt like a frozen ice cube that had been shattered, numb and stiff.

  The body of Yonghe had just been brought back, placed in a huge coffin, and quietly laid out in the mourning hall. As if Madame Fu had fainted several times when she cried, by the time Meili came in, she saw her sitting calmly in front of the coffin burning paper money.

  Mei Li thought she would rush over to scold and beat her, but now she can deeply understand the pain of losing a child. At that moment, she was worried that her child would leave her, and that fear and pain had penetrated deep into her bones. She could understand if Yu Rongjun made any move towards her... Even, she hoped Yu Rongjun could scold and beat her to her heart's content, although she also knew that no matter how much she was beaten, it couldn't make up for the debt she owed Yonghe.

  However, Yu Fu Jin merely looked at her with a dazed expression in his eyes and didn't say anything.

  Kneeling in front of the coffin, weeping and knocking her head, Mei Li's tears flowed freely as her sense of guilt became so strong that it drove her to despair! She was a person with unforgivable sins in Yong He's eyes!

  If it weren't for her, he could have married a daughter-in-law who would have pleased his parents, if it weren't for her, this harmonious family would have gone to Fujian and Zhejiang to take office, he... could have strolled with his loving wife in the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan, living a peaceful and happy life.

  It's all her!

  His parents suffered the pain of losing their child, he died in cold Mongolia with a grievance!

  No! Such a young and handsome man should not be lying in this dark, cold coffin! He was just over twenty years old, his life had just begun to unfold its brilliant colors! It's all because of her... All that's left for this originally happy family is sorrow, only death!

  She knelt on the cold brick floor, without the strength to get up.

  Yonghe, he just left like that, how is she supposed to face her guilt for the rest of her life?!

  "Get up." Yu Fu's voice was calm to the point of being almost hollow, and in the empty mourning hall where only the two of them were present, it even carried a faint echo.

  Meili was almost prostrate on the ground, crying. She also knew that this appearance was ugly, but she had no way to help it. She only had such strength left now. She was in too much pain and despair, and besides weeping like this before his spirit and confessing her guilt... there was no other way.

  "I hated you." Yu Jing looked at the ashes of the paper money in the fire pit, her tone flat. "But I was also overjoyed when Yonghe made his mark on the battlefield, proud beyond measure that he became a general. And I secretly congratulated him on his success this time. If Yonghe hadn't died...I now..." She couldn't continue, and instead smiled bitterly. "So, I don't hate you anymore. Life and death, honor and shame are all fate's will. You don't have to be too hard on yourself either. Yonghe is gone, and nothing else matters to me."

  Meili listened silently, astonished by Ying Ruo's calmness in the face of death, until she said her last sentence... Her beloved son was already dead, and she didn't even bother to hate her.

  She felt the piercing pain even more desperately, and it was meaningless for her to apologize to Yonghe's parents after taking her own life in front of him! Her mistakes could not be made up for, unless Yonghe came back to life, otherwise her grief, her apology, and her despair were all meaningless.

  "You... " Yu Rongjin stopped in her tracks, a glimmer of desperate hope flashing across the bottom of her eyes. "Can you tell me, is that child Yonghe's?"

  Meili Hong, who was kneeling on the ground, shuddered as if she had been electrocuted. She knew that not only Jingxuan suspected her, but many people were also gossiping about it. Now, even Yonghe's mother had come to ask her for confirmation!

  She didn't speak up, not because of the humiliation, but because she couldn't bear to say the truth.

  She saw him not speaking, and responded with a bitter smile, the last hope also disappeared. "Actually I knew, but I still don't give up! I really wish this child is Yonghe's......" Tears flowed down in the faint smile, "Even if there was a thread of doubt, my own son I know, he would run back to find you regardless of everything... perhaps, he wouldn't die."

  Meili's face was chilled by tears. If it were true, as Ying Ruo said, she would rather bear any guilt, and she would rather this child be Yonghe's!

  But...

  She's completely fallen! Fate has made her lose everything! Yonghe is dead, and Jingxuan refuses to acknowledge this child. As she answers Fu Jin's questions, she becomes more and more terrified, as if she senses that contempt and rumors will accompany her child for a lifetime!

  The servant outside the door reported very hastily, probably because the guest came in too quickly. The greeting "Qing... Qing Wang Ye ji xiang..." had not yet fallen when the tall and slender figure had already walked into the main hall.

  As expected, a complex expression flashed in Madame Fu's eyes, how could she not hate him?!

  Meili heard him coming and remained motionless, kneeling down. He was just annoyed that she came to pay respects to Yonghe, hitting her and scolding her, or making a big scene in the mourning hall, she didn't want to bother with him. How else could he hurt her, anyway.

  Jingxuan's cloak was removed at the door, and he only wore a thin black mourning attire. He had lost weight since returning from the Mongolian front, his originally fair skin turned into a dark bronze color. He stood beside Mei Li in silence, looking at Yonghe's coffin, his handsome face without expression looked particularly stern in the dimly lit mourning hall with its black and white intersecting patterns.

  Meili felt a cold gust of wind brush past his ears, his exquisite clothes were frozen stiff, and when he knelt down, his body made a very clear rustling sound. He knelt down! In front of Yonghe Ling, he actually knelt down?!

  She was so shocked that she fell sideways from the cushion, and had to support herself with both hands on the ground. The cold stone bricks made her arms even more numb.

  He didn't say anything, his eyes seemed even darker than usual, after three kowtows, he didn't get up, turned to the already stunned Ying Ruo Fu Jin and bowed his head again.

  Mei Li's eyes were about to burst, tears streaming down her face. In a very short moment, she felt that he was just as guilty and remorseful as she was. He... must not have expected Yonghe to die in the war either.

  He finished knocking his head and stood up neatly and decisively. With ease, he picked her up from the ground with just one move.

  She was dragged out of the mourning hall by him, stumbling and staggering. He stopped in his tracks, released her arm, and without his support, she swayed and almost fell over.

  The white snow reflected the sunlight, which was dazzling to the eyes, and set off his black clothes as unusually somber.

  He didn't look at her, "Go back!" he ordered briefly.

  She was too weak to react.

  He stood stiffly in the cold wind, silent for a moment, and finally half-turned to pull her frozen hand, slowing his pace as they walked out.

  What else can he do?

  He knew she was coming, he couldn't help but rush to meet her. If possible, he never wanted to face the corpse of Yonghe again in his lifetime. No way! Just like now... He couldn't bear to hate her, couldn't bear to blame her, and couldn't care about dignity and pride, he still had to take her back.

  "Cheng Yi's tomb..." He spoke in a low voice, but due to the wind, she heard it clearly, "was chosen on the outskirts of Chengde, and Zhi Qing's remains were also transported from the capital."

  Her numb hands trembled slightly.

  "The weather is warmer, I'll take you to see them."

  He felt a sense of sympathy for her, she was in pain because of loss, and so was he! In the past... she and he, Cheng Yi and Qiu Xing, those happy and unhappy years of youth, had thought to have been long forgotten, but now they were as clear as yesterday.

  Her eyes stung, two people who couldn't be together in life, finally able to rest together after death. Perhaps their love was prolonged by death. What about her and Jingxuan?

  Yes, she also remembered the days when...remembered that although she was defeated and in pain, she still chased after his shadow with a sweet heart.

  A suffocating feeling in her chest, all the emotions pent up inside her suddenly surged forth. She let out a loud cry and spat out a mouthful of bright red blood onto the snowy ground.

  "Meili!" He exclaimed in shock, supporting her limp body.

  The carriage returning to the palace was bumpy due to its speed, and Mei Li was softly held in his arms. She was desperate to the point of giving up on her life, her body... The hardships she had endured, the hardships she would endure, finally crushed her, and she suddenly thought of selfishly letting go!

  She refused to think about the baby in the quilt, she was tired, so tired that her bones were all mushy, she really couldn't support it anymore.

  "Meili... you can't die... don't die..." He whispered softly in her ear, as if to himself, he was scared, really scared. Countless times he thought it would be better for her to just die, but when she really wanted to give up and leave, he realized... he couldn't let her go!

  Yonghe is gone, and he didn't even leave her with any capital to threaten her!

  As long as she doesn't give up, whoever is on her mind, her indifference, her resentment... he acknowledges it all, he endures it all!

  That mouthful of blood, which gushed out from her pale body, had splashed into his heart! He didn't know when she had already been deeply embedded in his heart. She died, and he would no longer be the proud and aloof Prince Qing.

  "You're dead, that child... I'll personally send him down to accompany you."

  He coldly gritted his teeth, only he himself knew how helpless and pathetic it was to play all his cards... As long as she didn't let go, no matter why she didn't let go... it's all good!