Chapter 534: I'm Sorry

The thought, like a muffled thunderclap, left her mind blank for a moment.

No, she doesn't believe it!

"Fu Hanxiu, answer me!"

"I'm sorry..." Fu Hanxiu's eyes dimmed gradually.

He lowered his face slightly, daring not to look at Ye Qingran's expression at that moment.

Ye Qingran stood stunned in place.

He said "I'm sorry..."

What does this mean?

Does he really have another woman?

Just thinking of Fu Hanxiu and another woman tangled in bed made Ye Qingran feel as if a huge hand were clutching her throat, suffocating her.

Ye Qingran's prolonged silence made Fu Hanxiu raise his head anxiously.

"Ran Er..."

Her reaction landed in Fu Hanxiu's eyes, causing his heart to sink suddenly.

Although he already knew she minded, seeing her reaction with his own eyes still pierced his heart.

Ye Qingran kept shaking her head lightly.

She hoped everything she had just heard was an illusion!

Fu Hanxiu, overwhelmed with guilt, reached out to grab her hand, but she dodged and even stepped back a few paces.

Fu Hanxiu's movement froze there.

She despised his touch.

This realization made Fu Hanxiu's heart ache to the point of breathlessness.

Fu San had never gone far, standing properly outside the Courtyard, keeping watch.

At that moment, he also heard a sound coming from the Courtyard; listening closely, his complexion changed abruptly.

Miss Ye still learned of that incident.

His expression grew very solemn.

He also heard what Ye Qingran said that day. He knew Ye Qingran was a person who preferred quality over quantity; the man she wanted had to be chaste.

Originally, Your Majesty fit her requirements well.

Because, for these years, Your Majesty had not had a single woman by his side.

Except for that night at Guoshi Fu, that utterly shameless Female Lecherous Thief!

Thinking of that Female Lecherous Thief made Fu San's blood boil, his inner fury blazing.

If that Female Lecherous Thief caused Your Majesty and Miss Ye to miss each other, he would scour the entire continent to capture her and tear her to pieces!

Fu San, angry yet anxious, waited...

"Ran Er, listen to my explanation, that matter..."

Ye Qingran didn't want to listen.

She covered her ears.

Regardless of the truth, it was an undeniable fact that Fu Hanxiu had taken that woman.

Yes.

She admitted she was pretentious, admitted she was meticulous.

But everyone has their own preferences and aversions.

She simply couldn't accept that the man she liked was sleeping with another woman!

"Please don't say it...! I don't want to hear!"

Ye Qingran's voice trembled.

At this moment, she truly didn't know what to do.

She loved Fu Hanxiu deeply, seeing him as the partner for a lifetime.

But when she, full of joy, planned to give herself to him, he told her he had been with another woman.

How could she accept that?

"Fu Hanxiu, leave, I don't want to see you right now!"

Breathing heavily, Ye Qingran pointed outside; the calmer her tone, the more she crumbled.

"Ran Er, could you..." forgive me just once?

The tears slipping from Ye Qingran's eyes prevented Fu Hanxiu from uttering the rest.

A heart, filled entirely with guilt.

"You go!" Ye Qingran truly didn't know how to face him.

She needed to be alone, quietly, to sort her thoughts.

"Fine, I'm leaving..."

Fu Hanxiu gave her a deep glance, turned, his back filled with loneliness and desolation.

Fu Hanxiu took three steps, looking back each time; Ye Qingran kept her head down, her slender shoulders trembling lightly.

The night was like water, a cool breeze blowing gently.

A patch of black clouds drifted with the wind, completely covering the hooked new moon.

The sky's endless darkness mirrored their hearts at that moment.

After a while, footsteps grew louder, coming from afar to near.

Ye Qingran saw a pair of feet stop in front of her.

She lifted her head and saw the newcomer's appearance clearly.

"Fu San?"

Ye Qingran wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes with her hand.

"Why did you come?"

Fu San pressed his lips together, his two hands clenched at his sides, as if suppressing something.

"Miss Ye, could you not abandon Your Majesty?"

His tone was pleading, his demeanor humble.

Ye Qingran's gaze flickered, the pain in her eyes obvious.

She had never thought of abandoning Fu Hanxiu.

She loved him so much that she intended to give herself to him and spend her life with him.

The reason she wept was that her man had been touched by another, and she could not accept it at once.

At this moment, she also did not know how to face Fu Hanxiu.

She needed time to think properly.

Seeing that Ye Qingran did not agree, Fu San Yi hurried and knelt down directly.

"Miss Ye, I beg you!"

"Fu San, what are you doing? Stand up and speak!"

"No, Miss Ye, will you listen to me finish what I have to say?"

Fu San shook his head forcefully, refusing to stand up no matter what, and Ye Qingran could do nothing about him.

"Fine, then speak."

"Miss Ye, Your Majesty is a cold‑hearted person. I've been by Your Majesty's side for so many years and have never seen Your Majesty take interest in any woman. You are the first, and will be the last."

"After meeting you, Your Majesty changed as if a different person, reacting to your emotional shifts; he became angry, jealous, longing…"

"Perhaps you still don't know, but to Your Majesty, you are his entire life, even more important than his own life!"

Fu San spoke a litany of praises about Fu Hanxiu.

Though somewhat exaggerated, every sentence came from the heart.

He had witnessed with his own eyes that Your Majesty, once a cold and even cold‑blooded person, after meeting Ye Qingran, became warm, with all emotions and desires.

Ye Qingran felt very uneasy after hearing it.

She did not doubt Fu San's words.

Because she could feel his affection through her interactions with Fu Hanxiu.

Fu Hanxiu's love for her was no less than her love for Fu Hanxiu.

Yet, hearing this at this moment made her feel burdened.

"Miss Ye, all these years Your Majesty has kept himself pure, never having another woman by his side!"

"Keeping himself pure?"

"No other woman?"

Ye Qingran sneered, "But he admitted with his own mouth that he has another woman."

Ye Qingran's voice was a little hoarse.

Every word that came out of her throat was unusually difficult.

Fu San's eyes flashed with a dark light.

After a long silence, he reluctantly admitted, "Yes, Your Majesty once had a woman!"

Whenever he thought of the Female Lecherous Thief who defiled his family's Your Majesty, Fu San trembled with anger.

Especially when he thought that she was still at large, his anger became uncontrollable.

Ye Qingran's heart suddenly surged with pain, as if a myriad of arrows pierced her heart.

Fu San said that Fu Hanxiu had once had a woman.

"Do you know who that woman is…"

Ye Qingran wanted to know who that woman was.

What kind of woman could make the exceptionally steadfast Fu Hanxiu lose himself?

But she regretted after asking halfway.

"I don't know who she is!"

Fu San shook his head, his expression tinged with clenched teeth.

Ye Qingran didn't find it strange either.

Although Fu San was a subordinate of Fu Hanxiu, it didn't mean he knew everything about Fu Hanxiu.

"However, Miss Ye, you must believe that Your Majesty's involvement with that woman was not voluntary, but… forced!"

A wave of shame rose to his heart.

Fu San felt extremely ashamed.

The lofty Emperor Sovereign, at the pinnacle of the contest for the throne, was slept with by a Female Lecherous Thief, an undeniable disgrace.

And for us subordinates, failing to protect Your Majesty is an even greater disgrace!

"Forced?"

Ye Qingran was startled.

"What does that mean?"

Fu San thought for a moment; since he came to ask Ye Qingran to forgive Your Majesty, he should not hide anything.

Since she already knew about Your Majesty and the Female Lecherous Thief, it would be better to explain everything clearly.

Perhaps Miss Ye, upon learning that Your Majesty did not intend to take that woman but was forced to have relations with her, softened her heart and forgave him?

"It's like this…"

Fu San, clenching his teeth, gave a concise account of the incident that occurred that night about a year ago in Guoshi Fu of Xiliang City.

After listening, Ye Qingran said: "......"