Chapter 205: I Am Ji Xuan

Qi Min looked at Su Wan’s face in astonishment. Su Wan was standing shoulder to shoulder with the Empress, and their faces bore a 70-80% resemblance.

It was impossible for her to suspect any direct relationship between Su Wan and the Empress, as the Empress had already clarified that these two were old acquaintances of hers from the Great Zhou.

However, the young girl before her was only in her teens, and the Empress had been in Xiliang for nearly fifteen years. The answer was obvious.

The young girl standing before her was very likely the Empress’s child from the Great Zhou.

And the one tightly hugging her, squeezing her to the point of being unable to breathe, could possibly be the debt of gratitude she owed?

The thought flashed by, and Qi Min grew uneasy.

She leaned back, falling into the embrace.

The Regent, taking the opportunity, released her and gently laid her back down on the bed. Her disheveled hair covered her face, and he naturally brushed the hair aside, revealing her pale countenance. “Does it still hurt?”

Qi Min had not yet processed this news. When she glimpsed the deep affection, guilt, pity, and even the barely perceptible pain settled in his eyes, she instinctively moved back a little.

Such intense and complex emotions were overwhelming, making it hard for her to adjust, and she even felt a twinge of resistance.

To her, the person before her was merely a stranger she had just met.

She glanced at the Empress, urgently needing her to clarify the identities of the two of them.

The Regent noticed the unfamiliarity and self-protective caution in her eyes, and a pain as if poisoned spread through him, gnawing at his heart. He wished he could cram all of their past into her mind at once, allowing her heart to accommodate him.

But he couldn’t act too hastily.

His hand resting on his knee tightened into a fist, and the veins on the back of his hand standing out starkly from his restraint.

His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, and he spoke hoarsely, “I am Ji Xuan.”

As he turned his head, he introduced Su Wan: “This is my daughter, Ling Zhao.”

After a brief pause, he relaxed the muscles in his face, attempting to smile at her, but in the end, only managed a slight twitch of his lips. “Do you think this name is nice?”

Seeing his eyes slowly redden, Qi Min turned her head away for a moment, as if she faintly glimpsed a glimmer of tears. But soon he turned back, his eyes dark and impenetrable, as if it were all just her illusion.

Suddenly, she felt a dull ache in her heart.

She gently nodded her head.

“I met her mother in Yunzhong City, and we fell in love at Ling Zhao Temple, so we named her Ling Zhao.” Ji Xuan paused for a long time before he slowly continued, “Her mother once said she wanted one boy and one girl. The boy would be called Yun Zhao, so I could have them both, making a complete family.”

Qi Min felt a strange prickling in her eyes; she couldn’t understand where this emotion came from. She reached up to wipe her face, only to find her hand wet.

“She was very committed to her promises. Now, after more than ten years, this unfulfilled agreement…” The Regent paused, his dark eyes locking onto hers, desperately restraining the urge to wipe away her tears. His voice was hoarse as he asked, “Do you think she would still honor her promise?”

Qi Min didn’t want to answer; in her eyes, the Regent’s words felt like an offense.

Yet a voice deep within her, filled with resolve, pushed her to say, “If she is a person who values her promises, she will certainly honor her word.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Qi Min realized her response, opened her mouth slightly, and gently averted her gaze, not wanting to meet his eyes. “All of this is based on the condition that the feelings between the two of them have not ruptured.”

The phrase “ruptured” nearly tore apart the calm he had desperately maintained.

Su Wan noticed his emotional shift and placed her hand on his shoulder to ease the atmosphere. She then turned to Qi Min and asked, “I am a doctor. May I take your pulse?”