Chapter 171: If I am to take a wife, the only person I want to marry is you

Ling Xue wanted to say more, but was stopped by a look from Ling Zhen.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, please stop here; we shall meet again tomorrow." After saying this, Ling Zhen took her sister and boarded the carriage.

Dongfang Qi immediately turned his head to search for Lin Qingyue.

Although there were many shadows of people behind him, Lin Qingyue remained the most eye-catching presence.

She stood under the palace corridor pillar, still holding a white jade wine pot in her hand.

The palace lanterns under the eaves swayed slightly in the night breeze, causing her beautiful features to become somewhat hazy amidst the flickering light and shadow.

She raised the wine pot, intending to finish the last bit of wine, but was caught off guard when a large hand snatched it away.

Lin Qingyue frowned at him: "Dongfang Qi, why are you snatching my wine?"

Dongfang Qi said: "You cannot drink any more."

The drunken tantrum she threw last time was still fresh in his memory. If she were to say something treasonous again here in the Imperial Palace, it would truly be troublesome.

Lin Qingyue understood his implication and laughed: "Don't worry, I haven't had too much today. It's just this one pot of wine. The palace nectar really does taste better than the wine outside. When the party was breaking up, I saw there was a little left in the pot, so I just brought it along, adhering to the principle of not wasting."

She waved her hand: "The people have all dispersed, and I should be going back too."

Dongfang Qi was still a bit worried: "Let me see you off."

Lin Qingyue asked: "Afraid I'll get lost?"

Dongfang Qi said: "Afraid that if your wine-induced excitement flares up, you'll fly onto some rooftop again and spout wild nonsense!"

If you were to hug someone else and cry or act lovey-dovey again, that would be even worse!

Lin Qingyue did not refuse, allowing Dongfang Qi to accompany her all the way out.

"I really haven't had too much. Give the wine pot back to me; there's still a mouthful left inside, it can't be wasted."

Dongfang Qi raised the wine pot, his gaze sweeping over the faint pink lipstick mark on the rim, and he tilted his head back, swallowing the remaining wine along with her lipstick into his belly.

As his Adam's apple bobbed, he casually tossed the empty pot behind him, his voice, laced with the scent of wine, low and hoarse:

"It's not wasted now."

Lin Qingyue: "..."

"Lin Qingyue."

Dongfang Qi rarely addressed her by her full name; Lin Qingyue was a bit surprised by this sudden call.

"What?"

When she raised her eyes, he happened to turn around to look at her.

Their eyes met; there was a hint of confusion in hers, while his eyes hid an unfathomable depth of affection.

Behind them, the palace buildings were lit as bright as day, and he stood on the plaza in front of the palace gate.

In his pitch-black eyes, there was not a shred of greed for power, only her figure, which had long since been engraved into his gaze.

"Lin Qingyue, why did you help me out of that predicament at the palace banquet just now? In that situation, with your intelligence, you should have known to protect yourself. You did indeed do that at first, but why did you speak up to help me later?"

"Why?" Lin Qingyue smiled.

"Because I could see you didn't like that Princess of Feng Kingdom, because you are my disciple, because we have a good relationship, and because you have helped me before too."

She listed many reasons in one breath, but these were not what Dongfang Qi wanted to hear.

"Is that all?"

Lin Qingyue was a bit surprised: "Are so many reasons not enough?"

Dongfang Qi took a step forward, and thus the distance between them closed silently.

"Lin Qingyue, do you know why I am unwilling to let you be my master?"

Lin Qingyue's face darkened: "Are you trying to go back on your word? After learning my skills, you want to kick me away?"

Dongfang Qi was so frustrated he almost spat out a mouthful of blood:

"Because once the master-disciple status is set, the relationship between you and me can never change! I finally managed to break that damn sister-in-law relationship with you! How could I possibly let myself be shackled by another layer?"

"Lin Qingyue, don't play dumb; I don't believe you can't see my feelings for you."

Forced by his scorching gaze, Lin Qingyue turned away, her voice cold: "I think you've had too much to drink; you should go back and have some hangover soup."

Dongfang Qi gripped her shoulders and turned her around, not allowing her to avoid his gaze, wanting to take in her expression at this moment.

"If I am to take a wife, the only person I want to marry is you—Lin Qingyue!"

There was a hint of aggression in his eyes, but when she looked up at him, only tenderness remained.

He looked at her tenderly and poured out his heart: "I have thought about this for a long time, and I have endured for a long time. I have never been able to be sure of your feelings, and I dared not rashly reveal my own heart."

"But tonight, I saw different emotions in your eyes. You stood up for me, and you worried for me."

"You have me in your heart too, don't you?"

His features were truly handsome, sometimes cold, sometimes gentle, looking exactly like her master, and also exactly like A Zhuo.

Yet, he was neither of them.

In her previous life, after Lin Qingyue fell into the demonic path, she became headstrong and arrogant. She acted only on her own whims, which was why she treated A Zhuo as a substitute for her master.

She thought she could alleviate her own loneliness, but in the end, she disgraced her master and hurt A Zhuo as well.

In this life, she had never thought about romance.

Even though Dongfang Qi's features resembled them, she always kept herself rational.

She did not want to make him the second A Zhuo, to suffer the pain A Zhuo once endured.

So at this moment, she pulled his hands off her shoulders and took a step back to widen the distance between them.

"We can be master and disciple, colleagues, or friends, but we can never be lovers."

Dongfang Qi asked unwillingly: "Why?"

Lin Qingyue smiled, light and carefree: "Because my heart already belongs to another."

"Who?" he asked urgently, his heart tightening.

"A person already dead," she replied.

Dongfang Qi was slightly surprised, yet he continued to press: "Since they are already dead, why can you not let go?"

"Because I cannot let go," Lin Qingyue said with an indifferent tone, yet it revealed a layer of sorrow that could not be dissolved.

"No matter how long ago he died, no matter the past life, present life, or lives to come, even if my body dies and my Dao vanishes, I still cannot let go."

Dongfang Qi had initially thought that those were words she had deliberately fabricated, but her gaze was so sorrowful that it did not look like a pretense at all.

He recalled again the way she had wept and called out for her master after she had gotten drunk that time.

"So that person, is it your master?" Dongfang Qi gave a silent, bitter smile. "That day when you were drunk, you mistook me for your master. How... did he die?"

"He was killed by a bad person, but I have already avenged him," Lin Qingyue said simply. It was just that the events of the past had been carved into the depths of her soul, following her like a shadow.

Dongfang Qi's emotions were difficult to calm; he very much wanted to cast aside his gentlemanly demeanor, embrace her regardless of everything, and tell her:

Even if your heart belongs to another, even if you cannot accept me, I will never let go!

But... when he caught a glimpse of the sorrow hidden deep within her eyes that she could not conceal no matter what;

When he saw her indifferent smile and the way she feigned ease;

That bit of impulse turned into a heart-piercing pain; how could he still bear to force her?

To truly love someone is, even if one's own heart has already shattered into dust, to be unable to bear letting her feel even the slightest bit of difficulty.