"So, you once hated me?"

Chen Yi asked, though he already knew the answer.

The An family's lineage had been destroyed by the Western Jin Chen family. The Empress intended to make him a blade, to make the world believe he was one of the Western Jin Chen family. Because of this, she too once hated him as if he were truly one of the Western Jin Chen family.

The Empress turned her face aside, her gaze drifting elsewhere, and spoke slowly:

"I am in my thirties now, childless beneath my knees, except for you, Yi'er. How could I possibly hate you anymore? Even the Tushan Clan doesn't hate you, do they?"

Perhaps intentionally, perhaps unintentionally, she had acted in ways to resemble the Tushan Clan... Chen Yi pondered for a good while before replying:

"I know the feeling of hating someone.

That feeling is intense,

that feeling... nothing you do could ever compensate for it."

Such is the nature of hatred. When Chen Yi once hated Yin Tingxue, he had envisioned crushing her heart inch by inch, humiliating her bit by bit, breaking her dignity entirely, leaving her forever as a lowly concubine. Blades and swords were merely the easiest tools to settle the scores of vengeance.

He understood such emotions and how deeply they could reach.

"I never truly hated you,"

the Empress said suddenly.

Chen Yi looked at her in surprise, even though he knew the answer.

She had once hated him, that much was certain.

But later, in the Tushan Underground Palace, whether it was Chen Yi's sacrificial ritual at the Heavenly Altar or the remnants of maternal bond, these softened the woman's heart. In her eyes, Chen Yi gradually separated from the Western Jin Chen family. She even wanted to bestow upon him the surname An.

From beginning to end, Chen Yi's identity had never changed; what had changed was the Empress's perspective.

"You think, perhaps, that all I've done for you was merely to mend your spirit."

This time, the Empress no longer referred to herself as "I" using royal speech, but instead simply said:

"And yet... I do not hate you, not anymore. Why would I need to meticulously mend your spirit?

I only hate the Western Jin Chen family."

"That deeply?" Chen Yi asked.

"So deeply. I've recited Buddhist scriptures for many years, yet I've never been able to release that hate. The sutras say that the past is already past, that much is true. But..." The Empress shook her head with a faint smile, gently brushing her hand over the Buddhist scripture. "But though the past has passed, the hate remains behind."

Chen Yi could not fathom how much room hatred occupied within this woman's heart, but he understood the depths that such hatred could reach.

He too had hated others, hated Yin Tingxue, hated Yin Weiyin, and had harbored many dark thoughts. Even when Yin Tingxue was wholly obedient, he had often forced her compliance under the guise of propriety. With Yin Weiyin, it was even more severe: he severed her Longevity Bridge, plundered her spiritual cultivation. Though outwardly it was because of her disobedience, at its core, was it not vengeance and cruelty? Yet now he no longer hated, and going forward, he would not hate again.

Precisely because the Empress's hatred ran so deep, all her concessions were built upon the foundation of not wavering from her plans, not wavering from that hate.

Chen Yi felt a wistful contemplation; for the first time, he entered the inner world of this woman.

"Since we harbor no true hatred between us, then you surely know that I treat you with sincerity."

The Empress softened her voice,

"Once you return, change your surname. Whether you wish to live as a wealthy lord or serve as a loyal minister, you can do as you please. If you and Ruo Shu's first child take the surname Chen, it'd be fine too—it might bring her some comfort. As for the daughters of the Prince of Xiang and Prince of Jing, they shall both be granted titles of Commandery Princesses; your descendants will inherit the titles indefinitely. When that time comes, your mansion will be filled with joy and prosperity, bustling with children and grandchildren. After I grow old, I can join your household and enjoy familial bliss."

The Empress's tone was light, carefully crafting his future. She continued brushing her hand over the "King of Marvelous Color's Sutra" resting on the tea table.

Chen Yi did not respond. He only listened silently, taking her words fully to heart.

The Empress observed him closely; he appeared to be wavering.

She gently pushed the embroidered box forward and lifted the lid.

Chen Yi turned his gaze to look.

It was neither some rare Heavenly Material nor an extraordinary Magic Treasure. It was merely an ordinary jade pendant, upon which a single character "Yi" was sculpted in seal script.

"Does it look nice?" the Empress murmured as she stroked the box. "I had the best jade carver from the imperial kiln craft it."

Chen Yi froze for a moment, staring at the warm-toned Hetian jade, without saying a word.

The Empress picked up the pendant and leaned closer,

"Let me put it on you."

Chen Yi remained motionless, and soon the pendant was hanging around his neck. Her gaze roamed up and down, admiring it for quite some time.

In the dim light, Chen Yi glanced sideways at the Empress; amidst the swirling mist and smoke, she appeared as if she were the ethereal summit of a remote mountain—moving yet ungraspable. She was immensely beautiful, as he had always known, but the past encounters in Jingren Palace had veiled her in the imposing aura of imperial authority.

But things were different now. At this moment, Chen Yi noticed her slightly reddened eyes for the first time. It seemed... she had cried the previous night.

"The New Year has come. Peaceful and joyful—you must be peaceful and joyful..."

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