The Princess and Her Rough-Rider Khan
Chapter 516 - 515 I’m sorry (second update)

Chapter 516: 515 I’m sorry (second update)

Murong Ce’s gaze was icy cold, his expression inscrutable, "Yelu Yan is full of tricks and deceitful schemes. We must not take him lightly."

He paused, then said, "Moreover, everything is proceeding too smoothly. I always have a bad premonition."

Murong Ce looked at the innkeeper and asked, "When does General Xue change the guard?"

"At 7-9 PM."

Murong Ce said, "Issue the order for everyone to rest briefly. Be fully equipped before 7-9 PM, and be ready to depart at any time."

"Yes!"

After finishing his instructions, Murong Ce returned to the private room where Li Xianyun was.

Upon entering, he saw Li Xianyun sitting in a rocking chair by the window, tapping her leg with her little fist as she gazed outside.

His eyes softened at the sight of her.

Li Xianyun was enveloped in the warm light of 11 AM-1 PM, her entire being bright and gentle, conveying a sense of peaceful years.

Peaceful years—wasn’t that what he had tirelessly sought but could never attain?

Since he could remember, Murong Ce had been bullied by other princes and princesses. Besides bearing physical pain, he also had to endure mental torture.

He had suffered the humiliation of being beneath others, the despair of having his face stepped on, and he had even been forced to eat filth.

Everything he endured stemmed from his mother’s lowliness and the humiliations in Jinluan Hall.

But his birth mother didn’t see it that way. Instead, she believed that all the disdain and mockery she suffered came from her young son.

Even his birth mother would abuse him, cutting him with scissors, burning him with hot tongs...

The wounds that covered his body had healed over the years, but they seemed to still ache faintly, emitting a repulsive stench.

And that woman in the Cold Palace—his birth mother—cried daily that he was heartless, proclaiming everywhere how she had cultivated him to achieve his current success.

How ludicrous.

He was never surrounded by good people; he wasn’t even a good person himself.

But Li Xianyun was.

She was the only light that shone into his life.

Li Xianyun, too, had been bullied, sharing similar experiences with him. The difference was that he became vicious and brutal in his violent struggle, whereas Li Xianyun—despite her hardships—remained pure and kind, healing the sick, and always doing good unto others.

He couldn’t live like her.

To punish the wicked, one must be a hundred, a thousand times crueler than the evil-doers themselves. He still believed this to this day.

Therefore, he admired her courage, marveled at her kindness, respected her resilience, and his attention to her grew. Gradually, he fell hopelessly, incurably in love with her.

Murong Ce walked over.

Two old women, perceptive, left the room and quietly closed the door from outside.

Murong Ce stood by the window and looked down at Li Xianyun.

Even with the window half-open, it wasn’t cold.

The winter snow on the roof and roadsides hadn’t fully melted, but because of today’s rare clear skies, the weather was warm.

"Are your legs swollen?"

Li Xianyun looked up at him, hummed in acknowledgment, and continued to look outside.

Murong Ce wanted to help rub her legs, but knowing she wouldn’t allow him to touch, he refrained.

He followed Li Xianyun’s line of sight for a moment, then turned his head back to look at her.

The room was silent, with only the sounds of passersby’s conversations seeping in from outside.

Some discussed the affairs of the Zhang and Li Families, others talked about food, and yet others about the city’s latest news...

Ordinary conversations, yet they filled Murong Ce with immense envy.

If he could lead a simple and unassuming life with Li Xianyun, this life would be enough.

"I’m sorry."

In the hushed room, Murong Ce’s words echoed with weight.

Li Xianyun looked at Murong Ce as if he were a monster.

Hearing these three words from him was truly rare.