Chapter 17: Don’t miss the opportunity
"you……"

Zhao Yuanwan didn't expect Liu Xunyi to say such a thing. He stood up suddenly, pointed at Liu Xunyi repeatedly, and finally slammed his hand on the table, scolding him in grief and anger: "You were cultivated by me, how can you have such disloyal and unfilial thoughts now? You know that the three armies are in the hands of the Privy Council. If you go to serve in the front, won't you abandon the East Palace and go to the West Palace?"

Liu Xunyi didn't dare to look up, kneeling on the ground and answered: "My Lord, I know that I am ashamed of the East Mansion and the Marquis's upbringing and cultivation, but I really can't abandon Princess Xinde. I once tried not to meet her again, but when I saw the tear-stained letter sent by Xin'er, I completely understood that for her in this life, I am willing to give everything..."

"Xunyi, you have always been sensible. How could you say such nonsense today?" Zhao Yuan scolded, "What do you mean by willing to give up everything for her? What do you have now? Even your life belongs to me, what qualifications do you have to talk about giving up everything? You really disappoint me!"

Liu Xunyi kowtowed several times, until blood flowed from his forehead, and begged: "My Lord, Xunyi has fallen into this trap, and I'm afraid I will never be able to extricate myself in this lifetime. Please help me..."

"Help me?" Zhao Yuan couldn't believe his eyes and shook his head repeatedly. "How can you ask me to help you? Do you want me to go to the emperor and propose marriage for you? It is said that even heroes cannot resist the temptation of beauty. Now it seems to be true. You are so stubborn and will only hurt others and yourself in the end. I just praised you and warned you not to let me down. I never thought that you would do such a rebellious thing in the blink of an eye. It is simply unreasonable!"

Liu Xunyi was heartbroken. He didn't want to hurt Zhao Yuan's feelings, but he also didn't want to give up Zhao Xin. For a moment he didn't know how to respond. He could only kneel on the ground with his head down, remaining silent.

"I will ask you one last time, can you sever your ties with Princess Xinde? Either promise me to work peacefully in Tianji Pavilion and achieve fame in the future. Or..." Zhao Yuan's old eyes flashed with grief and anger when he said this. Then he pulled out the sword hanging on the wall and threw it in front of Liu Xunyi with a clang. He said in a trembling voice, "Or you can commit suicide now to apologize for your sins, so as to avoid making a big mistake in the future!"

Looking at the sword in front of him, Liu Xunyi's body trembled violently, his lips trembled and he couldn't make any sound. He didn't expect that he would end up in such a situation, and he didn't expect that Zhao Yuan would rather kill him than allow him to continue to associate with Zhao Xin.

"Xunyi, I don't want you to choose a path of no return!" Zhao Yuan reminded coldly.

"My Lord..." Liu Xunyi stared at the sword in front of him with red eyes. He suddenly started crying and laughing, looking like a madman. "My Lord, you have given me a new life. I must not disobey your orders... but Xin'er loves me deeply, and I cannot let her down..." Caught in a dilemma, Liu Xunyi felt the agony for the first time.

Zhao Yuan said: "Xunyi, as long as you stop dreaming of being with the princess, you will definitely achieve great things in the future. Not only does this marquis have high hopes for you, but even the East Palace Minister Jia has a new respect for you. Given time, you will definitely achieve great things in the court. As a man, you should know what is important and what is not, and how can you be bound by love?"

"Xunyi wants to make great contributions to the court, and also to be worthy of Princess Xinde one day..." Liu Xunyi said with a wry smile, "It's a pity that I can't wait for that day... Xunyi can only repay the Marquis's kindness in raising me in the next life!"

After saying that, Liu Xunyi's eyes suddenly turned fierce, and then he reached out and grabbed the sword and slashed it towards his neck without hesitation. Zhao Yuan didn't expect that Liu Xunyi would actually choose to die for love, and he was shocked.

"Whoosh!"

Before the sword touched Liu Xunyi's skin, Zhao Yuan suddenly waved his hand and shot out a sharp energy, breaking the sword. The broken sword flew along Liu Xunyi's neck, leaving a bloody mark on his neck, but did not hurt his vital parts.

"My Lord, what are you doing..." Liu Xunyi looked at Zhao Yuan in surprise, then looked at the sword that was broken into two pieces on the ground. After a moment, he said thoughtfully, "My Lord, please forgive me for not knowing what is good for me. I will never break up with Princess Xinde."

"Ugh!"

Zhao Yuan sighed helplessly, and sat down slowly with tired eyes, letting Liu Xunyi kneel on the ground and kowtow repeatedly. Both of them were silent. After a long time, Zhao Yuan finally said quietly: "You get up first!"

Liu Xunyi looked at Zhao Yuan doubtfully and asked, "Could it be that the Marquis will no longer force me to break off contact with Princess Xinde?"

Zhao Yuan looked at Liu Xunyi with a dim gaze, sighed again, and said, "You have always regarded me as your father for so many years, and I have also regarded you as my own child. I just wanted to force you to submit, but I didn't expect that you would even give up your life for Princess Xinde. I really can't think of anything else in this world that can separate you two."

"Thank you, Lord Marquis, for your help!" Liu Xunyi was overjoyed and kowtowed three times to Zhao Yuanlian.

Zhao Yuan waved his hand and said, "Don't thank me in a hurry. I just stopped interfering in the affairs between you and Princess Xinde, but I didn't say I would help you. What's more... I don't have the ability to do that." Liu Xunyi understood Zhao Yuan's difficulties, so he didn't dare to force him. But when he slowly stood up, he asked suspiciously, "Did the Marquis agree to Xunyi's request just now?"

Zhao Yuan was stunned for a moment, then recalled what Liu Xunyi had just said about serving in front of the battlefield. He frowned and shook his head, saying, "Even if this marquis agrees to you, I'm afraid the people in the West Mansion will never give you the opportunity to make achievements. Don't think that you can become a general by killing a few more people on the battlefield. The conspiracy and scheming in the army are even more intense than in the court. With your character, I'm afraid you will be used by others if you really go to the battlefield, and end up with a death wrapped in horsehide. If heroes are really judged only by military exploits, then General Yue was... Alas! It's better not to say it. In short, people's hearts are treacherous, and making achievements is not a matter of a day or a night. If you want to be worthy of Princess Xinde, you must at least be a general of the second rank or above. If you serve in front of the battlefield and become a general, even if you are lucky, it will take more than ten or twenty years to achieve it. Will Princess Xinde wait for you for more than ten or twenty years? Even if she is willing to wait, how can the emperor ignore the face of the royal family and let her do whatever she wants?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Xunyi's expression darkened and he muttered to himself, "It seems that I thought things were too simple..."

Seeing Liu Xunyi's gloomy face, Zhao Yuan sighed and said, "Everyone has weaknesses, and Xunyi, your weakness lies in the word 'love'."

Liu Xunyi was full of disappointment at the moment, so he was a little absent-minded about Zhao Yuan's warning. He just nodded numbly as a response.

"In this case... I won't have the chance to stay with Xin'er forever..." Liu Xunyi muttered in a low voice while thinking of a solution in his mind. But when the thought of 'elopement' flashed through his mind, he quickly shook his head and slapped himself twice, secretly blaming himself: "How could I have such a thought? It's really disloyal and unfilial..."

Looking at Liu Xunyi who was talking to herself, Zhao Yuan casually glanced at the white paper on the table and said lightly: "Xunyi, in fact, between you and Princess Xinde... it is not completely impossible."

"What?" Liu Xunyi raised his head suddenly, his dark eyes full of surprise, "My Lord, you just said that between me and Princess Xinde..."

"Xunyi, if..." Zhao Yuan hesitated again and again, and finally asked solemnly under Liu Xunyi's eager gaze, "If I give you a chance to make achievements now, so that you can be qualified to be worthy of Princess Xinde. And after the matter is accomplished, I am willing to act as a matchmaker for you in front of the emperor together with the Prime Minister. What do you think?"

Zhao Yuan's words made Liu Xunyi feel like a long drought had finally come to an end. For a moment, she was so excited that she could not control herself. She opened and closed her mouth for a long time but could not say what she wanted to say. She just kept nodding at Zhao Yuan.

"Have you thought it through?" Zhao Yuan asked in a doubtful tone.

"If the Marquis can really give me this opportunity, I will never blink an eye, no matter how hard it is." Liu Xunyi suppressed the excitement in his heart and said seriously, "If the Marquis has any instructions, just tell me, I will never say no. This is not only for Princess Xinde, but also to repay the Marquis for his help."

"Take a look at this!" Zhao Yuan stretched out his hand and pushed the paper on the table in front of Liu Xunyi, saying, "These are a few names written by the Prime Minister himself. They are all good people who have worked for the East Palace in the past two years, but the Prime Minister gave the final right of selection to this Marquis."

Liu Xunyi looked at the names that were crossed out one by one, and asked in confusion: "But I don't know what this means? Why are Brother Qiu and Brother Qin's names crossed out, but my name is..."

"Because I want to leave this opportunity to achieve success and fame to you." Zhao Yuan said solemnly, "This matter happened by accident. It can be regarded as a chance given to you by God. Xunyi, I thought about it for a whole day after returning from the Prime Minister's Mansion, and finally decided to summon you. I hope that this time I will not make a wrong choice, just like when I rescued you from the street that year."

Liu Xunyi sensed the seriousness of the matter from Zhao Yuan's tone and wording, so he calmed down and said, "Please tell me, sir. I will do my best!"

Zhao Yuan stood up and walked to Liu Xunyi's side, personally pushed him to sit on the chair, and said calmly: "In this case, I will tell you all the secrets of the East Palace that I learned during the three days in the Prime Minister's Mansion. Remember, this is the top secret of the court and must not be passed on to others!"

Liu Xunyi's spirits suddenly perked up, and a serious look appeared in his eyes when he looked at Zhao Yuan.

……

(End of this chapter)