Chapter Forty-One: Heartbreaking Reunion (Part Two)

"Ming Tian, An Luo, you should go... I don't want to see you anymore..."

With those words, Xiao Xinzhu turned away, her back facing Ming Tian. Though she made no sound, it was clear to see her frail shoulders trembling gently.

Even without seeing her face, Ming Tian knew she was crying.

"I have already been chosen as the Crown Princess."

Xiao Xinzhu seemed to be suppressing her sobs, forcing her voice to sound calm and indifferent.

"I know," Ming Tian replied. "That's why I sneaked into your palace—to see you once more."

Standing by, An Luo finally shed his usual foolishness and interjected at just the right moment.

"That's right, Your Highness. Brother Ming Tian has suffered so much on his journey—bandit ambushes, the wrongful imprisonment by Governor Yu, and he even risked offending the great Lord Xiao Yaoguang, all just to find you. You can't become the Crown Princess! Brother Ming Tian is truly the one who should be your husband."

At these words, the princess turned her head slightly. "An Luo, you were so annoyed with Ming Tian when you first left camp, but now you protect him so fiercely. I can tell you must have been through much together. But do you realize that what you're saying is treason?"

"I understand, Your Highness."

Despite the weight of this accusation, An Luo stood firm, boldly continuing, "But ever since Emperor Qiming ascended the throne, our Di tribe's annual tributes have only increased. The Crown Prince Xiao Baojuan is brutal and lawless, and now he wants to marry you. This is simply intolerable! Your Highness, do you truly wish to become the Crown Princess? You carry half the blood of the Di tribe as well!"

"I know! I don't want this either!"

Xiao Xinzhu could no longer restrain herself. She turned around and screamed hysterically, "But if I don't comply, what will become of the Di tribe? Ming Tian was the consort I chose, the only one who recognized me. You think it doesn't hurt me to break off our engagement?"

At this point, the beautiful white-haired woman could bear it no longer. She covered her face and wept bitterly, her sobs a lament against fate itself—resentful, yet utterly powerless.

Ming Tian watched this scene, seeing the woman he believed in break down before him, and as a man, he felt deeply ashamed.

He was a man—even if he had never loved before, he still had his pride.

Watching the woman he loved cry with her face in her hands, it felt as if his heart were being torn apart.

"Brother Ming Tian, say something! You're always so eloquent—say something now! The princess is crying!"

An Luo, seeing her tears, could not bear it and in desperation shook Ming Tian's sleeve.

But the words would not come...

After a brief silence, Ming Tian stepped forward until he was standing right in front of Xiao Xinzhu, so close that he could almost touch her.

She looked up at Ming Tian, still unsure what he intended to do.

Ming Tian gazed at her, eyes already tinged with red, now made even redder by his tears. Her tears fell like gentle rain.

His emotions broke free.

He lifted his hand and wiped away her tears, feeling the warmth on his thumb. Ming Tian bent down, drawing closer to her peerless face.

An Luo was so stunned by the scene that his jaw dropped as if it had become dislocated.

Ming Tian leaned down, one arm wrapping around Xiao Xinzhu's willow-slim waist, the other cupping her delicate face. He lowered his head and kissed her, sealing her trembling lips with his own.

In that instant, Xiao Xinzhu felt her mind go blank!

Her ingrained sense of chastity made her struggle desperately, her hands pounding against Ming Tian's chest, her feet kicking at his thighs.

But how could such a kiss, charged with overwhelming emotion, be resisted? Her opposition was utterly futile.

Earlier she had managed to push him away once, but now Ming Tian would not let her go. Though her blows hurt, he held her tightly, refusing to give her the slightest chance to escape.

Soon, her resistance weakened, overwhelmed by the tidal wave of Ming Tian's feelings and her own recent despair.

At last, Xiao Xinzhu could not resist herself. She closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face, and embraced Ming Tian in return. Her lips parted, inexperienced, yet pouring all her sorrow and love into the kiss.

They kissed with such fervor that they seemed as entwined as coiled serpents, inseparable.

In that moment, Ming Tian's feelings transcended to new heights.

When their lips finally parted, the passion of their kiss left a thin strand of saliva between them, reluctant to break.

Xiao Xinzhu wept again, for this kiss might be the last beautiful memory she would ever have.

Xiao Baojuan, lost in debauchery and neglecting affairs of state, was notorious throughout the land. If he ascended the throne, he would surely become a tyrant. To be his Crown Princess would be to become his plaything, discarded like a mouse when he tired of her, left to perish in some forgotten corner.

Such was the future awaiting Xiao Xinzhu. Whether Emperor Qiming recovered or passed away, it was only a matter of time.

Now, this kiss would be, she felt, the only beauty she would ever know in her life.

Ming Tian understood her thoughts, knew exactly what she was thinking.

Holding Xiao Xinzhu in his arms, for the first time since arriving in this accursed world, a flame stirred within him—the same spirit he had only ever felt once before, in his previous life, before he began his career.

Integrity!

"Xinzhu, listen to me."

He took a deep breath, forced back his tears, and did not cry. At the moment when the woman he loved was most vulnerable, he must not cry. What she needed from him was strength—a man's strength.

"I don't care about royal rules or accusations of treason. You are mine. You chose me, and I chose you. So I will marry you—this is only right and just!"

"Be it the Emperor or the Crown Prince, I have kissed you now—your honor belongs to me. So I will save you! My name is Ming Tian, which means 'tomorrow,' and I will be your tomorrow. Just wait here in the palace for me to take you away!"

"The woman I love is the most beautiful in all the land, and when you marry me, you must look your best. So you mustn't cry—if you cry and mar your beauty, will you take responsibility? Remember, you are my woman, and only mine! Whoever makes my woman cry will pay the price! Do you understand?"

His words were overbearing, almost unreasonable, even fantastical. Ming Tian blurted them out in a rush, feeling as though he must be mad, declaring a challenge to the Emperor and Crown Prince right in front of the princess.

But it no longer mattered. If he could not risk everything for his beloved, what right did he have to claim he loved her at all?

Faced with Ming Tian's bold declaration, Xiao Xinzhu stared at him in disbelief. "Why... why would you go to such lengths for me? I'm just a monster afflicted with the pale sickness—why?"

By 'pale sickness' she meant albinism. In ancient times, those with albinism were often seen as monsters, and most people had no idea what caused the condition.

Although even fools like Gongsun Yuan might recoil in fear, within the palace, albinism was far more common than among the commoners, and the royal family's standards of beauty could accept it. This was why Xiao Baojuan found the Princess of Jiangmen beautiful.

"Why? Isn't it obvious?" Ming Tian smiled, lifting the right corner of his mouth with confidence. "Because I love you."

Those simple words shattered every last defense in Xiao Xinzhu's heart.

In her tear-filled eyes, there now shone a conquered tenderness.

"But... how can you stand against the Emperor? And even if, by some miracle, we escape, the Di tribe will surely face destruction. What will you do?"

"That is not for you to worry about. Your people will survive, and I will never let you marry the Crown Prince!"

Ming Tian gently stroked her soft cheek, giving her all the tenderness he could offer. "I will give you the perfect answer. So trust me, and wait for me—will you?"

With these simple words, Xiao Xinzhu was lost.

In that instant, after all her despair, Xiao Xinzhu finally realized she had found her true home.

She reached for him, her slender hand clasping the back of his head, and pulled him down.

Their lips met once more.

Savoring one last moment of tenderness, they parted again. Ming Tian saw the change in her gaze—it was no longer filled with sorrow, but with absolute trust in him.

"Ming Tian! You said it—you'll save me and the Di tribe. I'll wait for you, right here! If you fail..."

"If I fail, may I have a son without manhood, and if he does, let it be a twisted one. How's that for a curse?" Ming Tian half-joked.

At this, Xiao Xinzhu couldn't help but laugh, her gloomy countenance brightening once more, as beautiful as she had been in Sumen Town.

She extended her pinky, smiling sweetly, and asked Ming Tian to make a promise.

That smile could topple a kingdom.

"Save me, marry me, it's a promise!"

"Yes."

Hooking his pinky with hers, Ming Tian made a vow that would change the course of his destiny.

In the night sky, the clouds parted, and silvery moonlight fell like gauze over Ming Tian and Xiao Xinzhu.

It seemed that even the stars and the bright moon bore witness to this moment that would define their lives.

"It's a promise!"