When Han Yan heard these words, she immediately broke free from the embrace and spat out in disgust, glaring at the person before her. Who else could it be but Zhuo Qi? He stood there with his arms crossed, wearing an ambiguous smile: “Don’t be so fierce. Weren’t you quite passionate just now?”
Han Yan, caught off guard by his sudden smile, had already been dissatisfied and responded irritably: “Why are you here?”
Zhuo Qi smiled and said, “The weather is nice today, so I thought I’d come up the mountain for a stroll. Who knew I’d run into you? This must be fate.” Not a single word of truth came from this man’s mouth. Han Yan, who despised Ai Lin Na, now extended that hatred to Zhuo Qi as well. She curved her eyes into a smile and said sweetly: “That makes sense, but noble Prince of Xi Rong, your country has already lost the war. Why are you still staying in Da Zong, looking so happy? Could it be that you, like your sister, are here for a political marriage?”
Zhuo Qi’s expression changed. Han Yan’s words were too merciless, literally rubbing salt in his wounds. The mockery in her words would be unbearable even for an ordinary person, let alone for this proud Prince of Xi Rong. Immediately, his jade-colored eyes turned as sinister as a wolf’s, glaring fiercely at Han Yan.
Han Yan wasn’t afraid of him at all, but she noticed that Ji Lan and Shu Hong were nowhere to be seen, presumably led away by this Xi Rong Prince. She turned to face the lake, clenching her fists. The hairpin Fu Yun Xi had given her had fallen into the lake. What should she do now?
Han Yan had her back to Zhuo Qi, staring intently at the lake. Seeing her ignore him, Zhuo Qi suddenly smiled, his anger dissipating as he slowly walked to her side and said, “Ai Lin Na is about to become the Xuan Qing Princess. Little girl, do you want to leave with me?”
Han Yan hadn’t heard Zhuo Qi’s provocative words at all. Following her gaze, Zhuo Qi asked curiously, “What are you looking at?”
Han Yan turned to face him and said coldly, “You made me drop my hairpin into the lake.”
Zhuo Qi smiled dismissively: “Is that all? It’s just a hairpin. I’ll compensate you with another one later. Xi Rong produces beautiful jade…”
Before he could finish, Han Yan cut him off with “I don’t want it.” Zhuo Qi felt a flash of anger but watched as Han Yan crouched down and futilely reached into the lake with one hand.
Zhuo Qi became interested and crouched beside her: “It’s just a hairpin. If it’s lost, it’s lost. What are you still looking for?”
Han Yan ignored him, feeling an indescribable sadness in her heart. That hairpin was given to her by Fu Yun Xi, and for some reason, she always felt it held great significance. Many times, holding the hairpin Fu Yun Xi gave her was like having Fu Yun Xi beside her, giving her endless courage to face whatever might come. Now this Xi Rong Princess had appeared out of nowhere and changed everything. A rift had formed between them, and this hairpin had sunk to the bottom of the lake, unfindable. Did this mean that her relationship with Fu Yun Xi was beyond salvation?
Seeing Han Yan’s sorrowful expression, Zhuo Qi seemed to understand something and slowly said, “He gave this to you?”
Han Yan didn’t respond. After thinking for a moment, she walked to another spot and found a long dead branch to stir the water with. She wanted to dive in herself to retrieve it, but with Zhuo Qi here, how could she expose herself in front of a strange man? Thinking of this, she became even more annoyed with Zhuo Qi. Why was he like this, constantly hovering around her? Did he have nothing better to do all day?
Seeing her actions, Zhuo Qi said displeasedly, “Little girl, how about I give you another hairpin? Just forget about that one.”
Han Yan ignored him, persistently stirring the water while keeping her eyes fixed on the lake, never looking at Zhuo Qi again. Zhuo Qi’s expression suddenly turned sinister: “He’s about to marry Ai Lin Na as his princess. Why do you still care about him so much? You and he have no relationship anymore!” He practically spat out these last words through gritted teeth. Even he didn’t know why, but seeing Han Yan’s emotions toward Fu Yun Xi made him extremely angry. Jealousy grew wild in his heart. He had always been proud and arrogant, and when he realized he meant less to Han Yan than that man, a sense of humiliation arose.
“That’s enough,” Han Yan suddenly spoke, her tone icier than ever before. With Zhuo Qi, she had always maintained a policy of respectful distance, staying as far away as possible and preferably having no involvement at all. Therefore, she had previously dismissed Zhuo Qi’s words as meaningless chatter. But when he said “You and he have no relationship anymore,” the pain in her heart magnified infinitely. Could she have no relationship with Fu Yun Xi? She spoke each word deliberately: “Whether I have any relationship with anyone is none of your business. Doesn’t Your Highness think you’re overstepping?”
Zhuo Qi’s wolf-like jade eyes locked onto her as he said grimly, “Do you like him that much?”
Han Yan had decided to cut off his thoughts and said, “I don’t like him.” Seeing Zhuo Qi’s expression relax and about to smile, she continued, “I love him.” As expected, Zhuo Qi’s expression instantly froze his gaze at Han Yan suggesting he might strangle her the next moment.
Han Yan smiled slightly: “Is it wrong to love someone? No matter how noble Your Highness is, human emotions cannot be controlled, can they? Otherwise, why would the Princess scheme so desperately to marry into the Prince’s mansion? If Your Highness can understand your sister, don’t tell me you can’t understand me. That would be the joke of the century.” Her lips curved into a mocking smile. Zhuo Qi noticed that whenever Han Yan got angry, her tone became mocking and light. The more casually she spoke, the sharper her words cut into people’s hearts. In these few short sentences, Zhuo Qi had never felt such discomfort in his life. This bare woman always managed to anger him so easily.
“Even though he’s going to marry Ai Lin Na, you don’t hate him? You still love him?” he asked through gritted teeth.
“Without love, where would hate come from?” Han Yan said. “Love and hate don’t conflict, do they? Even if I truly hate him, it’s because I love him. If we’re talking about hate, I hate those who covet others’ belongings more. No matter how good someone else’s things are, they belong to others. Taking them makes you a thief.”
Her words carried deep meaning, openly calling Ai Lin Na a thief of another’s husband, while implicitly criticizing the Xi Rong people for coveting Da Zong and instigating conflicts, behavior truly beneath contempt.
“You…” Zhuo Qi’s face changed. He could tolerate her speaking about him and Ai Lin Na, but Han Yan repeatedly bringing up all of Xi Rong, especially with words that couldn’t be refuted, was too much. This girl was truly sharp-tongued; he couldn’t get the better of her. His face turned ashen: “So what? Your hairpin has already fallen into the lake. What do you plan to do about it?”