Jinwei joins hands in rebirth: villains can also eat at the table

Chapter 271 Comfort

Seeing that she didn't drink, Yi Huan sighed softly, a glimmer of understanding flashed in his eyes, and he didn't force her. Yi Huan knew that in this palace, everyone had their own concerns and persistence, especially a woman like Han Xiangjian who had just entered the palace and had experienced such a change.

"Since you don't want to, how about we talk about your Hanqi?"

Yihuan's tone was gentle, with a hint of concern. She looked at Han Xiangjian with sincerity in her eyes, hoping to open Han Xiangjian's heart in this way.

"The Emperor has already sent people to search for his remains, and he will be buried soon. You've just entered the palace, so you need to talk about things like this to feel comfortable..."

Yihuan said slowly, she knew that Han Xiangjian had deep feelings for Han Qi, and perhaps letting her talk about it would make her feel a little better.

Feeling the gazes falling on her, Han Xiangjian's body stiffened slightly. A complex wave of emotions welled up in her heart: sadness, longing, and resistance to everything in the palace. She turned her face away slightly, not wanting others to see the tears that threatened to overflow from her eyes.

Han Xiangjian's heart is filled with memories of Han Qi. Those beautiful times are now like broken mirrors, stinging her heart.

She slowly stood up and walked to the window sill, her eyes fixed on the outside, and said with a slightly melancholic expression. Her eyes revealed a hint of loss and helplessness, as if she was deeply moved by the scene outside the window.

"It's unfair that God gave me such a good appearance for nothing."

She sighed softly, with a hint of resentment in her voice.

"But now, look at this small window. All you can see through it are the fallen leaves in the yard. Even the sky isn't complete..."

She raised her head slightly, looking at the sky that was cut into pieces by the window frame, and an inexplicable sadness surged in her heart.

"Empress Shufei, have you ever been to the grassland? Do you know what it feels like to ride a horse with your beloved?"

Han Xiangjian turned her head and looked at Yihuan, a hint of nostalgia and yearning flashed in her eyes.

"We are not the same kind of people. No matter how much I say, you won't feel the same way..." Han Xiangjian's tone gradually became low. She knew that she and Yihuan had different experiences and backgrounds. Yihuan might not be able to truly understand her inner pain and desire.

However, although Han Xiangjian was refuting, as she spoke, she seemed to be opening up a bit.

Her eyes were no longer filled with defensiveness and indifference, but with a desire to confide in her. She began to unconsciously recount her life on the grassland, and her face became lively.

"Who says I can't empathize with you? Although I'm not good at horsemanship, I'm well-versed in poetry and literature, and I'm a famous talented woman in the capital. I also like freedom like you, and I don't need to enter the palace..."

Yihuan lowered her eyes slightly, her long eyelashes casting a shadow on her eyelids, also tinged with a hint of melancholy. She stood there quietly, as if lost in her own thoughts.

After hearing Han Xiangjian's words, a ripple appeared in her heart, and the past events came to her mind.

Han Xiangjian looked at Yihuan and couldn't help feeling curious: "Then how did you become the emperor's concubine?" There was a hint of doubt in her eyes.

Since you don't have to enter the palace, why do you voluntarily throw yourself into this cage?

Yi Huan sighed softly and said slowly, "I volunteered. When I was outside the palace, I accidentally saw the emperor and fell in love with him."

There was a hint of distant memories in her voice.

"At that time, I was young and naive. I only thought that the emperor was the most noble person in the world. His talent and demeanor fascinated me. So, I begged to enter the palace, happily thinking that I could be with him and spend my life with him."

At this point, Yihuan's lips curled up into a bitter smile, "It's ridiculous, isn't it? I didn't expect that in the end, I would be trapped in my own web..."

There was a hint of helplessness and self-mockery in her eyes, and her former aspirations gradually faded away during the years in this palace.

"You... don't love him anymore?" Han Xiangjian frowned slightly and asked in confusion.

If she really loves a man, why would she come to see the woman he is pursuing?

Moreover, Han Xiangjian saw only disappointment in Yihuan's eyes, without any trace of love. She didn't understand why the love she once had for him had turned into this state.

Yihuan was silent for a moment, raised his head, and looked into the distance with a somewhat empty gaze.

"Love? Perhaps I have loved him before. But after experiencing so much in this palace, I realized that the emperor's favor is so illusory. There are too many women around him, and I am just one of them."

There was a hint of fatigue and loneliness in her voice. The love she once had had gradually disappeared in the day-to-day waiting and disappointment.

Now, all that is left is a heart full of disappointment and hatred.

Hate really lasts longer than love. Over the years, she has forgotten how much she loved him, but she still remembers the countless moments when she should have hated him.

Han Xiangjian felt a surge of mixed emotions as she listened to Yihuan's words. She seemed to begin to understand how extravagant and fragile love was in this palace.

Both fell into silence.

Yihuan pondered for a moment and continued.

"He's not a good man. He's obsessed with beauty, and at the same time, he's afraid of the rumors that the Yehenara clan will destroy the Qing Dynasty. He even put drugs in the pregnancy medicine he gave me, preventing me from getting pregnant."

Yihuan's voice trembled slightly, and her eyes gleamed with a mixture of anger and pain. She bit her lower lip tightly, as if trying to suppress the surging emotions in her heart.

"I've been taking this medicine for nearly ten years. For ten years, I was like a fool, fully expecting to bear him a child, but I didn't know that I was always part of his plan."

Yihuan's hands clenched unconsciously, and the handkerchief in her hand was crumpled.

"If I hadn't taken so many medicines, my child wouldn't have died so early..."

At this point, Yihuan's voice choked, tears welling up in her eyes. She painfully recalled the lost child, and the pain in her heart was like a sharp knife, piercing her heart again.

After so many years, she has never been able to forget it. Instead, as time goes by, the hatred has deepened little by little.

Every lonely night, every time she saw other concubines with their children, it was like rubbing salt into her wounds, making her hatred for the emperor even stronger.

She was even afraid to see him, afraid that once she saw him, she would uncontrollably want to... kill him... This absurd thought was clamoring in her heart.

A hint of a smile crossed her eyes, a smile filled with bitterness and mockery, attempting to mask the hatred. But that hatred was like a surging tide, and it couldn't be easily concealed by a smile.

"Feel sorry……"

Seeing her sad look, Han Xiangjian suddenly felt a little at a loss.

A trace of panic flashed across her eyes, and her hands unconsciously clenched the corners of her clothes. She had never imagined that in this seemingly prosperous palace, there was someone hiding such deep pain.

She didn't know how to comfort Yihuan. Those pale words seemed so powerless at this moment.

I didn't expect there would be such a pitiful person in the palace. Han Xiangjian sighed silently in her heart. She thought she was miserable enough, having lost her beloved Han Qi and being forced to be trapped in this cage-like palace. Unexpectedly, Yihuan was even more sad than she was.

At least she was only facing a man, while Yihuan had to endure the pain of being betrayed by her lover. Han Xiangjian could imagine that kind of pain, a despair and sorrow that went deep into her bones.

She said, a man like that is not worthy of so many women throwing themselves at him.

Han Xiangjian felt a surge of disdain and resentment towards the emperor. After just a brief encounter, she knew what kind of person the emperor was.

While he enjoyed the love and flattery of many women, he also hurt them mercilessly.

"It's okay. These things happened many years ago." Yihuan tried to make her words calmer.

"You're lucky. He's old now, and he's not as troublesome as before. Just be patient. Maybe in a few years, you'll be free..."

When Yihuan said these words, she didn't have much confidence in her heart. Freedom was such a luxury in this palace. But she still hoped to give Han Xiangjian some hope, even if it was just a faint glimmer of hope.

Such outrageous words made Han Xiangjian feel uneasy. She looked around in panic, fearing that someone else might have heard it.

"But, what's the point of living like this?"

"In the palace, no one can live for themselves. Han Qi is dead, but your people are still alive. Your relatives and friends who grew up with you are there. Do you want to see the Qing cavalry flatten the grasslands of your Han tribe?"

Yihuan murmured.

If he didn't have a family to blame, who would allow him to be humiliated here?

This one sentence left Han Xiangjian speechless.

She really couldn't bear to watch the Han tribe being destroyed.

She's not that cruel.

"In that case, live well. Nothing is more important than living. At least, one day, you may truly be able to return home and ride your horse across the grasslands again..."

Yihuan smiled softly, but what she showed Hanxiang was a bit of determination.

Is it really possible?

Can she really return to Hanbu?