Yin Lingxi sat on her chair, nervously combing through the fur of the asleep demonic beast cub, waiting for Da Wei who had been sitting silently in front of her with his eyes closed for some time now.

  Ever since breaking out of that illusion in the ruins and revealing everything to Da Wei, Yin Lingxi could not help but second-guess her decisions.

  However, she knew that if she continued to stay silent and keep those secrets from Da Wei and started her relationship on buried truths, she would end up regretting it in the future.

  That is why, in addition to admitting her feelings to him, she also revealed all the secrets she had hidden from him, for better or for worse.

  She knew that the likelihood of Da Wei rejecting her feelings just to spite her for keeping secrets was extremely low based on his personality, and yet, the chances were not zero.

  But, after experiencing that illusion, she knew that she must not keep secrets from him anymore if she did not want to end up like that bitter woman that she called a mother.

  Even if it meant that the man she loved would reject her feelings.

  Thankfully, her trust in his personality proved to be right as Da Wei did not blame her for keeping such secrets from her.

  However, this raised a new issue, He did not comment on her confession until now, which made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

  Finally, Da Wei opened his eyes and sighed heavily before looking Yin Lingxi in the eyes, making her sit up straight.

  “…Lingxi, I think I have had enough time to think about what you said, both about my family secrets and your feelings.”

  Her heart sped up as her stomach dropped in dread and excitement.

  “…And?”

  “I think you did the right thing in keeping the details about my family secret until now. I will admit, I felt angry at first, but, after thinking about it clearly, I really would have reacted badly if I had learned of this just after we met.”

  “…I see. Thank you for not blaming me for that.”

  Da Wei smiled at her words, knowing that she felt somewhat disappointed that he did not comment on her confession.

  But, his smile quickly disappeared as he stared seriously at the Empress.

  “On the other hand, about your confession”

  The dread that Yin Lingxi felt increased exponentially as Da Wei took a deep breath, already imagining the worst.

  “…I feel the same way. I love you as well, Lingxi. But-“

  Before Da Wei could continue speaking, Yin Lingxi threw herself at him and embraced him tightly. Her fears of having her feelings unrequited were washed away by his words.

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  Yin Lingxi is a tough and powerful woman. A born empress with the temperament required of her station.

  She is capable of ruthlessness that would make even the hardiest of cultivator sweat and her cunning can make even the greatest of scholar’s head spin.

  She is a royal who is even capable of massacring her own family for the sake of her empire.

  And yet, below all these shades that made her the perfect Empress, is a girl who only ever wanted a happy family. A dream that proved to be an impossibility for a Royal like her.

  Sure, she had her Aunt who loved her dearly, and a father that favored her a lot, but she knew that she could never have a loving family like what she normally saw even the mortals of her empire have.

  Sometimes, she felt extremely jealous of them, for having loving parents and siblings who looked after each other.

  A few years ago, she thought she had finally found someone else aside from her Aunt who truly loved her, but that proved to be nothing more than an illusion for that man only ever cared about her title and her beauty, not her heart.

  For a time, she believed that such a simple and pure emotion was out of her reach and focused purely on running her empire.

  And yet, the heavens proved her wrong once again when she ran into Da Wei on that fateful day at the Auction house.

  Yin Lingxi was not religious. She believed in the Heavens just like the rest of the people on this continent, but she did not pray to it like everyone does.

  But now, she can’t help but be grateful to the heavens for guiding her towards the man that she has now fallen in love with.

  Da Wei smiled at her reaction and hugged her gently as she started to speak excitedly.

  “Let’s go back to the village quickly! I’ll speak with Da Ling and the village chief. I’ll contact the royal family’s astrologers to look for an auspicious date for our marriage-“

  Da Wei gently placed a finger on her lips, making her stop talking.

  “Lingxi. I am not opposed to your plan, but, I think we should postpone such stuff for later since we are approaching a war with the Baihu empire. Besides, I need to tell you something.”

  At her confused look, Da Wei took a deep breath before speaking seriously again.

  “Lingxi. I will be honest with you, I have never fallen in love like I did with you. Sure, I had a fiancé until a few years back and we grew up together, knowing that we would be husband and wife someday. But, I never felt for her as I do you. So, I will say this in advance. If, in the future, I ever make a mistake and hurt you in any way, tell me immediately. Because I am completely inexperienced in matters like these.”

  Yin Lingxi fell silent at those words as she remembered that this former fiancé of his was in her palace back home and that she had forgotten to tell him about her. But, after hearing his words, she felt relieved, knowing that he had no feelings for that woman.

  She gently kissed him before speaking.

  “I am the same, Wei. I too have never experienced this kind of love. There was a time when I thought I had something like this, but it turned out that it was just my wishful thinking. So, just like you, if I make a mistake, you must tell me. Oh! One more thing.”

  This time, her gaze sharpened and the Empress of the Yin Long empire replaced the shy maiden in love.

  “In the future, if you bring back any other women from outside, they will only remain as your concubines and will always be beneath me in status. Never even dare to think that they can have the same status as I do because my empire belongs to me, you after our marriage, and our future children. No one else, not even any of your children from other women, can claim ownership of the throne.”

  At her serious concerns, Da Wei could not help but laugh loudly, much to her annoyance before he leaned in and whispered into her ears, making her blush madly.

  “Don’t worry, my empress. I am strictly monogamous. That means that aside from you, there will be no other woman in my life. So, you don’t need to worry about any competition that would steal away my attention from you.”

  She gave a fake cough, trying to compose herself again, but the deep blush on her face betrayed her feelings, as did the giddy grin on her face.

  “Good. Then, shall we go back now?”

  Da Wei matched her grin as he waved his hand, bringing out his airship from the storage.

  “Yes, let's go home and tell our family the good news.”

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