If there is another life

Yu Huatian left the imperial palace, boarded the carriage that had been waiting at the palace gates, and returned straight to the West Depot.

Perhaps because he had only visited Cining Palace yesterday, Consort Wan did not send anyone to summon him to the palace to serve as her "tool" again today. The Commander's Residence was quiet.

Passing the training grounds, Yu Huatian saw Ma Jinliang and Ding Xiu sparring. Both were highly skilled, and their exchange was spectacular. Several experts from the West Depot stood at the sidelines, watching.

The emperor had just put Yu Huatian in his place at the palace. Although he had quickly adjusted his outlook, some unease still lingered in his heart. He had no interest in watching and went straight to his private quarters.

Tan Luzi, the second division chief, was nowhere to be seen either, but an unexpected visitor had arrived at the residence.

As soon as Yu Huatian entered his private quarters, he saw a figure sitting in the hall, cloaked in a black robe whose generous folds covered even her head. The blue-faced assassin Zhao Tong stood beside her, waiting quietly.

Hearing footsteps, both turned to look. Zhao Tong hurried forward and bowed. "Commander!"

The black-robed figure rose as well. Beneath the voluminous robe, a gentle, lovely face appeared, gazing fixedly at Yu Huatian.

Yu Huatian looked slightly taken aback, then immediately remembered who the woman was. His brows furrowed faintly. "What are you doing here?"

Yu Huatian waved a hand at Zhao Tong. Understanding at once, Zhao Tong cupped his hands in a slight salute, withdrew from the reception hall, and stood guard at the door to keep anyone from barging in.

"This servant pays her respects to the Commander."

The woman pulled the robe down from her head, stepped gracefully forward, and curtsied to Yu Huatian. Yet her eyes, tender as water, never left him, making no attempt to conceal the longing and love within them.

Yu Huatian's expression was indifferent. He was about to get straight to the point as usual and ask why she had come, but when he met those eyes, tender as water, he somehow could not bring himself to be harsh.

The woman was named Su Huirong. She had originally been an ordinary palace maid who, by chance, had offended a person of high standing in the palace. Just as she was about to be executed, the former owner of this body had saved her.

Afterward, his predecessor had brought this palace maid into his fold, making her an informant for the West Depot within the palace, gathering intelligence on his behalf.

Even his predecessor's opportunity to enter the palace and attend Consort Wan, winning her favor and thereby becoming the first commander of the West Depot, owed something to Su Huirong's recommendation.

But those were only the ties visible on the surface.

Yu Huatian could clearly sense Su Huirong's feelings for his predecessor from the look in her eyes.

Sadly, the falling blossoms yearned, but the flowing stream felt nothing.

His predecessor had perfectly embodied the saying, "With no woman in your heart, your drawn sword becomes divine." Although he knew how Su Huirong felt about him, he had always turned a blind eye, devoting himself solely to the pursuit of power and martial mastery.

He had even laid far-reaching plans to secure his position. After becoming commander of the West Depot, he had secretly used his influence to help Su Huirong rise within the palace, intending to elevate her to imperial consort, or even empress.

To that end, two months ago, his predecessor had deliberately arranged a chance encounter between Su Huirong and the emperor, leading the emperor to bed her once.

Whether Su Huirong had been repaying his kindness or her love for his predecessor had truly reached the point of utter devotion, she had obeyed his every word. So long as she could help him, even if it meant serving the emperor in bed at the risk of discovery and execution, she had willingly accepted his arrangements without complaint or regret.

Recalling all this now, Yu Huatian could not help grumbling inwardly about how melodramatic it was.

His predecessor had truly possessed the makings of a ruthless overlord. In pursuit of power, he could do even this-push the woman he loved into another man's arms.

Now that he had assimilated his predecessor's memories, Yu Huatian knew from them that his predecessor had not necessarily been without feelings for Su Huirong.

It was simply that his predecessor's ambitions had triumphed over his feelings for her. Moreover, his physical deficiency meant that he could never give Su Huirong a complete romantic relationship. That was why he had severed the threads of love and decided to make the most of her usefulness, eventually conceiving the plan to elevate her to imperial consort, or even empress.

Of course, seen from another angle, perhaps this had also been another way of showing that he cared for Su Huirong.

I cannot give you love, but I can elevate you to imperial consort, or even empress, and promise you a lifetime of splendor, free from worries over food and clothing...

At that thought, Yu Huatian could not help feeling a pang of wistfulness.

Sometimes, fate really did make fools of people!

Having sorted through these thoughts, Yu Huatian looked at Su Huirong again. A trace of guilt and conflicted emotion unconsciously surfaced in his eyes, but he quickly concealed it.

After a brief silence, his tone softened a little. "Palace maids cannot leave the palace at will. If someone discovers that you left without permission, you're bound to find yourself in trouble."

Hearing the faint concern in Yu Huatian's words, a hint of joy appeared in Su Huirong's eyes. But when she remembered why she had come, a flicker of desolation crossed them instead. She said softly, "Commander, I'm pregnant."

"Hm? What did you say?!"

Yu Huatian froze at her words, then his expression changed. "You're pregnant?!"

There was no cause for misunderstanding. Although Yu Huatian might have harbored a thread of affection for Su Huirong, he had never had a physical relationship with her. His bodily condition would not have allowed it, either.

And Su Huirong was gentle by nature, with a deeply rooted love for his predecessor. It was even less likely that she had been involved with some palace guard.

That left only one possibility: the child in Su Huirong's womb belonged to the Tianqi Emperor.

But as far as Yu Huatian knew, the emperor had only bedded Su Huirong once, and that had been specifically arranged by his predecessor.

The Tianqi Emperor was a scoundrel, too. After bedding Su Huirong that night, he had never mentioned the matter again. With so many women in the palace, he had probably long since cast her beyond the ninth heaven.

In other words, Su Huirong had conceived from that single encounter?

Could such a coincidence truly exist in this world?!

Facing Yu Huatian's incredulous gaze, Su Huirong held back her sorrow and nodded. She said softly, "This servant has been feeling unwell these past few days, so I found an excuse to leave the palace and went to a clinic to have a physician examine me. He said my pulse showed pregnancy. It has already been more than two months."

Judging by the timing, it had indeed been just over two months since the emperor had bedded Su Huirong...

Yu Huatian fell silent, his emotions impossibly tangled.

At that moment, he suddenly remembered the plot of the original Flying Swords of Dragon Gate, in which Su Huirong became pregnant and Yu Huatian planted her as a spy among Zhao Huaian's band of wandering swordsmen to pass information to him.

Thinking about it now, some things seemed to have been destined long ago.

In the original story, Yu Huatian had sent Su Huirong to infiltrate those wandering swordsmen so that he could eliminate Zhao Huaian and catch the entire band of assassins in one net.

Now, although Zhao Huaian was dead, Su Huirong was still pregnant...

According to his predecessor's plans, this should have been cause for celebration. Yet, for some reason, Yu Huatian suddenly felt a bitter ache in his heart.

So his predecessor truly had loved her...

Yu Huatian gave a self-mocking smile.

After a long while, Yu Huatian suppressed the tangled emotions in his heart, looked at Su Huirong, and nodded. "I understand. Go back for now. I'll make the arrangements."

Looking at Yu Huatian's calm face, a tear suddenly slipped from the corner of Su Huirong's eye. Holding back her grief, she answered quietly, "Yes, Commander."

She had finally fulfilled the Commander's hopes. This had always been what she wanted, too, yet now her heart hurt beyond measure.

She was pregnant, but the child in her womb was not hers and the Commander's...

Seeing the tears at the corners of Su Huirong's eyes, Yu Huatian could not help softening in the end. He had inherited everything from his predecessor, but he was still not that man...

He reached out with pale fingers and gently wiped away her tears. "In this life, my actions have not been my own, and my feelings have not been free to follow my heart. I have wronged you."

"You've already done enough for me. You've repaid the kindness I showed you in full."

"From now on, if you wish to leave the palace, I'll help you leave and ensure that you live out your life in peace, without worries over food or clothing. As for the child in your womb, whether you keep it is up to you."

"If you wish to stay, I'll do everything in my power to raise you to the supreme position of empress, promising you a lifetime of splendor and honor above all beneath heaven..."

"No! I could never repay your kindness, Commander, not in an entire lifetime!"

Tears poured from Su Huirong's eyes as she looked at Yu Huatian through her blurred vision. "Commander, do you know? That night, I was thrown into a well, and my world went completely dark. But after you appeared at the mouth of the well and saved me, you became my whole world."

"But this servant knows her station is lowly and that she isn't worthy of you. I don't want to hold you back, Commander. Whatever you want me to do, as long as it helps you, I'm willing to do anything."

"If you want this servant to become an imperial consort or empress, then I'll work toward it. Not for a lifetime of splendor or honor above all beneath heaven, but entirely for you, Commander. If you wish it, I'll do it!"

Yu Huatian lowered his head and said nothing.

Su Huirong continued, "This servant will keep the child, and I won't leave the palace. Although I don't know your ideals or ambitions, Commander, for your sake, I'm willing to strive to become an imperial consort or empress."

"You've prepared for this day for so long. Now that we've come this far, how could you abandon everything halfway and send this servant out of the palace?"

"Only, this servant would like to ask you something..."

The young woman bit her red lips and gazed fixedly at Yu Huatian.

Yu Huatian looked at her as well and nodded. "Ask."

"Commander, you just said that in this life, your actions have not been your own, and your feelings have not been free to follow your heart. Then in the next life, could we love each other and grow old together?"

Yu Huatian fell silent, then nodded. "If there is another life, we will."

Tears of joy flowed from the corners of Su Huirong's eyes again. Suddenly, she asked, "Commander, may I embrace you once?"

Without a word, Yu Huatian opened his arms and drew the woman before him into a deep embrace.

A blissful smile appeared on the young woman's face. She had dreamed of this embrace for so long.

Even if it was only this one brief moment, she was already content.

Yet at that moment, Yu Huatian felt only a crushing weight in his heart. He suddenly recalled the scene in the original story where the young woman in his arms had stood unwaveringly beside him until the very last moment before her death, urging him to flee...

"In this life, I will do everything I can to give you a lifetime of splendor and honor above all beneath heaven!"

"If there is another life, I will do everything in my power to find you and fulfill the promise I made in this one!"

Yu Huatian drew a deep breath, inhaling the fragrance of the young woman's hair. With resolve in his eyes, he made his first promise of this life.

A long time passed.

Su Huirong reluctantly left that tender embrace. By then, perhaps because she did not want to leave Yu Huatian with any burden or guilt, her expression had regained its calm, as though she had returned to her usual self.

She curtsied to Yu Huatian and said softly, "Commander, it's getting late. I'll go back now."

Yu Huatian nodded. "Be careful on the way. I'll have someone escort you back. Return to the palace for now. I'll arrange what comes next."

"Yes, Commander."

With that, Su Huirong pulled the black robe behind her head back up to cover it. Lowering her head slightly, she turned and walked out without lingering.

Yu Huatian watched her retreating figure, his spirits low, and remained lost in thought for a long time.

Thank you to [Book friend 20200221044436574] for the tip of 5,000 book coins. My respects to you, generous patron.

(End of chapter)