Hu Xiaotian said, "The Prince of Zhou is your full brother. His fate is still unknown in Western Sichuan, but he must care about you." Hu Xiaotian paused, then added, "And there's me!"
Long Xiyue squeezed her beautiful eyes shut and covered her cherry lips. Only with great difficulty did she rein in her emotions. "You should go," she said, her voice trembling.
"I have one more thing to say!"
"Say it!"
Hu Xiaotian said, "Since you have no power to decide your own fate, let me decide it for you. I swear I won't let them marry you off to Great Yong. I'll take you away, and we'll leave this cage of an Imperial Palace together."
Long Xiyue's beautiful eyes flew open. Through the haze of tears, they shone with incredulous astonishment. Hu Xiaotian's words were not merely outrageously bold-they were treasonous.
Hu Xiaotian said, "I came here to tell you this: if you won't leave me, I won't abandon you!"
Long Xiyue stared at Hu Xiaotian in astonishment, but his burning gaze softened her heart. A warmth she had never known enveloped her innermost feelings. Yet reality dragged her back into the cold, desolate atmosphere. She said softly, "You and I are merely duckweed brought together by chance. From now on, we would do better to accept our separate fates."
Hu Xiaotian said nothing more. He rose and walked toward the door. Behind him, Long Xiyue extinguished the light. Only after she heard the door close did she collapse limply into her chair.
Hu Xiaotian had only just fallen asleep after returning to the Palace Gardens Bureau when a commotion sounded outside. He hurriedly sat up, and the urgent voices of Xiao Zhuozi and Shi Xuedong rang out. "Eunuch Hu, something terrible has happened!"
Hu Xiaotian quickly dressed