This time, upon learning that her elder brother had died, he had come to see her at once. She could feel how much the Son of Heaven valued and favored her.
"My talents and beauty are meager. With Your Majesty showing me such tender care and deep affection, how could I not offer you my true heart?"
Zhen Mi leaned against Liu Xie's chest, her voice soft and gentle.
"Even if everyone under heaven treats Your Majesty with false affection, I never will. I will remain by your side forever."
Liu Xie embraced Zhen Mi, his face full of emotion. "No one has ever said such things to me before... With you beside me, even if Yuan Shao seeks to steal my throne, I will have no fear!"
Zhen Mi was both moved and shocked. "Yuan Shao harbors such a wolf's ambition?"
She had never expected Yuan Shao to covet the imperial throne.
Even Dong Zhuo in his day had not dared entertain such a thought.
Liu Xie nodded gravely. "The brothers Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao both harbor treacherous intentions. They are jackals from the same den. There is no need to speak of Yuan Shu's usurpation and proclamation of himself as emperor. Yuan Shao appears loyal, but is in fact brimming with ambition. Even if he has no ambition to become emperor now, who can say what the future holds?"
"But once his power grows and he occupies half the realm, I fear he will seize the throne from my hands and force me to abdicate in his favor."
At this, grief appeared on Liu Xie's face, and his tears fell on cue.
"Now the warlords hold their separate territories, and the realm is torn apart. Though I am the Son of Heaven, I can do nothing. I