Gong Yao’s body went rigid for a moment, then slowly relaxed again, but her eyes grew even wetter.

Your Majesty really is so gentle and down-to-earth, no wonder...

She steadied her emotions and asked, "What does Your Majesty wish to ask me?"

Shen Tang looked at her. "Have you seen me before? I keep feeling like you seem to know me."

Gong Yao shook her head. "I’m just an ordinary person from a small tribe, I never had the chance to know Your Majesty. Only that time when you went to the Icefield, I saw you from a distance... But afterward, I did often pay attention to news about Your Majesty, because..."

Shen Tang finished the sentence for her. "Because of Yun Han, right?"

With her secret laid bare, Gong Yao’s cheeks flushed even redder. She nodded, embarrassed. "I’m sorry, Your Majesty, I don’t know if this counts as overstepping..."

Shen Tang didn’t mind. "There’s nothing wrong with that. Back when Yun Han quietly left the Imperial City for the Northern Territory, once I found out, I’d always hoped he could completely put the past down and find a female who truly loved him and would walk by his side."

"You can stay by his side and keep him from being alone anymore; I’m truly happy for you both."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for being willing to say these things to me."

Shen Tang’s tone was gentle, like casual conversation. "When did you and he meet?" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

After a few exchanges, the atmosphere relaxed quite a bit, and Gong Yao gradually loosened up as well.

She lifted her eyes to Shen Tang, sorrow rising in them, as if she had gone back to the past. "A year ago, our tribe was attacked by a herd of beasts—it was Yun Han who saved us. Later, my brother and I followed him to the city to settle down, and my brother joined his squad... That’s how we slowly got to know each other."

Shen Tang nodded. "So you two got together because of a life-saving debt?"

Gong Yao shook her head, lowered her gaze to her own fingers, and showed a smile that was both sweet and bitter. "Not exactly."

"He was just passing by then, lent a hand in passing, and probably didn’t even notice me."

"But I fell in love with him at first sight. For this life, it could only ever be him, so I wanted to pursue him."

Her voice was soft, as if recalling a memory. "Later, a lot happened between us, and by a twist of fate, we ended up together."

Gong Yao lifted her head to look at Shen Tang again, bit her lip, and her voice grew even softer. "Your Majesty is a very good person; no wonder Yun Han can’t forget you. I sincerely thank Your Majesty for telling me all this today, but I know, the female he truly loves deep down... is you."

Back then, the moment she saw the way Yun Han looked at Shen Tang, Gong Yao knew she had lost completely—no, she didn’t even have the qualification to be compared to Your Majesty.

She admitted she had once been jealous, but now that feeling had long since faded, leaving only admiration and regret.

She gave a self-mocking smile. "Your Majesty is the true beloved he hides in his heart. I only happened to meet him when he was at his loneliest, and took advantage of that opening, that’s all."

Shen Tang was taken aback for a moment, then shook her head and smiled. "He and I certainly had an unforgettable past, and he did indeed love me once, but if you belittle yourself like this, then you’re wrong."

"Your Majesty..." Gong Yao was stunned.

Shen Tang’s tone was gentle. "The Wolf Clan is a faithful race. If he were only with you because he was lonely, he wouldn’t have left the Imperial City so decisively back then."

She gazed into Gong Yao’s eyes and said earnestly, "The one he truly loves is you."

Gong Yao’s breath caught. She shook her head in disbelief. "How is that possible... He’s never said he loves me, and he’s never confirmed our relationship... I even doubt whether he’s ever liked me at all... Maybe he only thinks of me when he occasionally needs to stave off his loneliness..."

"Do you know that Yun Han once had an engagement? He was deceived by his fiancée and became utterly disillusioned with love. Since he chose you, how could it be merely for physical desire?" Shen Tang shook her head. "After experiencing a failed marriage, people become even more cautious about a new relationship. He definitely has feelings for you. It’s just a pity that he perhaps simply hasn’t had the chance to tell you what’s in his heart yet."

Shen Tang knew very well that Yun Han did harbor complicated feelings toward her—regret, guilt, gratitude, mixed with countless emotions that could not be clearly named... but that was not simply the love between male and female.

Even without those past events, she could not give Yun Han what he truly wanted.

What he longed for had always been unwavering, single-hearted love.

They were never suited to each other, and could never be together.

Whereas with Gong Yao, he could instead obtain true happiness.

Yun Han understood this as well, so after she rejected him, he did not cling; instead, he resolutely left the Imperial City, cast off the past, and went to the Northern Territory.

Meeting Gong Yao might have been an accident, but Shen Tang believed that with Yun Han’s proud nature, deciding to be with Gong Yao must have been the result of careful consideration.