The Tyrant's Beloved Empress

54

The youth hung his head low. He was filled with regrets for not remembering the past.

He kept his eyes down and explained dejectedly, "I fell into the water when I was ten and had a high fever. After that, I lost part of my memories. I didn't mean to forget..."

An Chang Qing was deeply aggrieved. Such a precious past and yet, he could not remember, leaving only Xiao Zhige to carry out that promise from many years ago. An Chang Qing was stricken with guilt, feeling like he had left the nine-year old Xiao Zhige behind.

In this life, they had managed to clear this up but what about the previous life?

He had never given a serious thought as to why even though they had never met, Xiao Zhige had always been particular towards him. From marrying him into the Wang Manor to making him his Empress despite the vigorous injunctions from the court, Xiao Zhige had been determined to give him a position that no one could trample upon.

In the many years they were apart, Xiao Zhige had fulfilled their promise but to An Chang Qing, it could be considered a non-existent past and he had heartlessly swatted away his husband's outstretched hand.

And so, they had lived with one person keeping quiet and the other keeping away, missing out on each other and eventually, met a miserable ending.

An Chang Qing felt a throbbing pain in his heart. Like a spider's web, it gradually spread and he had to clench his hands to relieve the pain.

As An Chang Qing was drowning in guilt from his ignorance of his previous life, a large and warm hand gently fell on his head and began stroking.

"It's ok, I remember everything. Whatever you want to know, I'll tell you," Xiao Zhige said softly.

In truth, there was not much to tell. The hunting expedition lasted no more than 15 days and the two had only spent 10 days together. As two unfavored children, there were no fancy toys to play with or activities to attend to so they had stayed in Xiao Zhige's room to share desserts and tell each other stories they had heard from their mothers.

Happy times did not last long but it had been enough to soothe the soul.

For Xiao Zhige, that had been the last 15 peaceful days of his life. After his mother's death, he struggled alone in a soul-crushing environment and after countless taxing endeavors, he had come to miss the simple and peaceful days.

Chang Zai Cang used to express disdain over his passiveness. "You're the Northern Warlord, when have you ever been such a coward? If you really like him, then go and bring him back. An Zhi Ke wouldn't dare to refuse. After all, he doesn't even like this son."

Chang Zai Cang's words sounded simple but it weighed heavily in Xiao Zhige's mind.

After many years apart, he had become the rumored blood-thirsty and tyrannical Northern Warlord while, although unfavored, An Chang Qing had remained pure and innocent.

He had dearly missed their time together but had also been fully aware that growing up, each would have their own share of experiences and even the closest of friends would have to go their separate ways. Furthermore, they had only been together for half a month and An Chang Qing had already clearly forgotten about this period of time.

Xiao Zhige did not want to destroy the peaceful memories he had had with An Chang Qing so he could only watch him from afar, giving him a helping hand whenever he could. If it weren't for the Empress trying to interfere with his marriage as he came of age, Xiao Zhige would not have impulsively given in to his obsession and asked the Empress Dowager for permission to marry An Chang Qing.