A large hand caught her wrist. “It’s me.”
The door swung shut behind them, and Gong Xinyue looked up at the man now standing so close to her.
“You… why are you here?”
“Why didn’t you show up on time?” Long Yi gripped her shoulders, his dark eyes clouded with both exhaustion and reproach.
Gong Xinyue stared at him unblinking, biting down lightly on her lower lip.
“Didn’t I leave you a note saying I couldn’t get away for now? Why did you still come after me?”
Once Feng Jiu’er learned that Feng Jin wanted Noble Consort Ya to kill Feng Qiongcang, she had given Gong Xinyue the order to retreat.
Noble Consort Ya was certainly no match for Feng Qiongcang, and it would be too dangerous for Gong Xinyue to stay.
To ensure she could get out safely, Feng Jiu’er had sent word to Long Yi, telling him to slip into the palace to meet her.
War had broken out on all sides, and the palace’s defenses were nowhere near what they used to be, but as long as Feng Qiongcang still remained within the palace walls, it would not be easy for Gong Xinyue to escape.
Tonight had originally been the night Long Yi and Gong Xinyue had agreed to leave together, but Gong Xinyue had missed the appointment.
She had left him a message and assumed he would already have left the palace — she never expected he would actually come to Yaxiang Palace.
“Miss Jiu’er asked me to take you away.” Long Yi’s expression was very grim.
Gong Xinyue tried to pull free with all her strength, but couldn’t break his hold.
“I need to take Noble Consort Ya to find Feng Jin — by then I might even be able to gather intelligence on Feng Jin’s military situation.”
“Long Yi, I know Jiu’er is worried about me and told you to take me away, but I’ve only just managed to earn Noble Consort Ya’s trust. If I leave now, wouldn’t all my effort be wasted?”
“If you don’t leave, you’ll be in danger.” Long Yi pressed Gong Xinyue back against the door. “Come with me, there’s still time.”
This was the first time Gong Xinyue had ever been this close to a man, and even her breathing grew unsteady.
“Brother Long Yi, I… I really can’t leave. You go, it’s too late for me.”
Long Yi not only refused to let go, he pulled her into his arms, wrapping an arm around her waist.
“Since Miss Jiu’er has promised you to me, from this moment on you are my wife, and nothing will change that!”
Gong Xinyue’s hands, pressed against Long Yi’s chest, trembled, and her heart felt as though something had struck it hard.
No one had ever spoken to her like this before, and she had never once felt the urge to marry.
But Gong Xinyue couldn’t deny that, in this moment, she felt herself wavering.
A person’s life lasted only a few short decades — should she too seek out a man to grow old with, to share a long and quiet life?
“Brother Long Yi.” Gong Xinyue pressed her lips together tightly, unsure how to respond.
He was willing to risk everything for her, and she was moved, but she truly could not leave.
She didn’t know how valuable her intelligence would prove to Jiu’er, nor whether she would even survive to leave the palace tonight.
But she didn’t want to give up — everyone else was fighting hard, she couldn’t back down now.
“With the great battle at hand, matters of the heart can perhaps wait until…”
Her lips were sealed shut. Gong Xinyue’s round eyes flew open wide, and she clutched desperately at Long Yi’s robe.
Long Yi closed his eyes and moved his lips slightly against hers.
Gong Xinyue’s soft lips pressed thin, her whole body stiff as though frozen in ice, and yet burning hot — a heat she had never felt before.
At some point, she let go of the fabric in her hands and reached up to embrace his broad back, closing her eyes and answering with her heart.
The small room grew warmer and warmer, until both of them, breathless, finally pulled apart.
“Wait for me, will you?” Gong Xinyue traced her fingers over Long Yi’s handsome face. “You’ll protect yourself, you’ll stay safe, won’t you?”
Long Yi drew a deep breath and pulled her tightly into his embrace.
“I’ll wait for you, my whole life!”