Xiaoyao just listened without speaking. This matter was similar to what he had heard from Qi Bupo—it wouldn't be false. Moreover, with Yun Qingyi's current appearance, she wouldn't lie.

Only Yun Qingyi would tell these things. If it were Luo Yuntian, he believed he wouldn't speak of them. This was the difference between men and women—some things men would say while women wouldn't, and some were exactly the opposite.

"Sigh, at that time I only thought about how much I had sacrificed for Yuntian, so he should treat me better. I never considered that he had actually sacrificed a lot for me too..."

After speaking, Yun Qingyi let out a sigh of emotion.

That's right—people were like this, only thinking of their own sacrifices while rarely considering others' sacrifices. Even between spouses, they always felt they sacrificed more and deserved more.

Originally, this bit more or less didn't matter, but if it exceeded a certain range, problems would arise.

No matter how deep the love, it was just a matter of higher tolerance levels. Once the tolerance limit was exceeded, the final explosion would be very severe.

"That day, I quarreled with him, then said some angry words and separated from him. At that time, I really thought we should just separate like this, especially since he didn't chase after me and coax me back like usual—I became even angrier. After some days, when my anger subsided, I went back, only to discover he was gone. I went to find him and discovered he was together with your mother."

...

"At that time I was very angry and even attacked and injured your mother..." Yun Qingyi looked at Xiaoyao with some guilt.

"Yuntian stopped me that time and didn't hit me. He had never hit me or scolded me—even now it's the same. Even though I did so many wrong things, I was really foolish then, not knowing that I was originally the most important person in Yuntian's heart. I personally sent him into your mother's arms."

"Originally, they were together just as friends—nothing happened. Even later when they developed feelings over time, Yuntian's love for your mother was still not as deep as for me. This isn't self-deception or belittling your mother—I believe Yuntian would admit this point too," Yun Qingyi looked at Xiaoyao with a bitter smile.

Xiaoyao didn't speak. He could feel Yun Qingyi's current pain—he believed when she understood this matter, she was even more pained. Now was much better.

He also didn't think Yun Qingyi's words were self-deception—this should be fact.

He knew that although Luo Yuntian was somewhat angry now, he still loved Yun Qingyi. So many years of feelings—Luo Yuntian couldn't easily abandon them.

Because of this, Xiaoyao hoped their situation could be simpler, not so complicated. At least resolvable—he didn't want to see tragic story developments.

The past events were as Yun Qingyi described. If Yun Qingyi hadn't lost her temper, if she hadn't injured Fang Chunxue, perhaps Fang Chunxue and Luo Yuntian wouldn't have been together, and there would be no Xiaoyao.

Next, Yun Qingyi spoke of more matters. Qi Bupo had mentioned these—conflicts between them that brought Luo Yuntian and Fang Chunxue closer together.

"Most inappropriate was that your mother died in the end, making her forever more important than me. Competing with a dead person is impossible to win, because memories are the most beautiful."

Yun Qingyi looked at Xiaoyao and spoke directly without avoiding the topic, expressing her inner feelings. Naturally, Xiaoyao didn't blame her for anything, because this statement caused the most pain to Yun Qingyi herself.

As her words indicated, regardless of how Fang Chunxue died or whether it was related to Yun Qingyi, once she died, it meant her position in Luo Yuntian's heart could never be surpassed—not even by Yun Qingyi, unless she also died for him.

"Also, your mother's death was somewhat my fault," Yun Qingyi added.

Xiaoyao didn't speak or show any expression change. He just listened quietly—he wanted to understand the entire matter and wouldn't resort to violence over one statement.

At this moment, Yun Qingyi looked at Xiaoyao, seeming to find it difficult to speak, but finally said: "Your mother died from complications in childbirth."

So this was what was difficult to voice. If it was complications in childbirth, then Xiaoyao should feel guilty. If such matters could be concealed, naturally they should be.

However, Xiaoyao felt this matter was questionable. If Fang Chunxue died from complications in childbirth, logically the Fang family should have been able to tell. Why didn't they mention this?

The Fang family seemed to say Fang Chunxue was injured—this didn't seem like a simple childbirth complication issue.

Nevertheless, Xiaoyao still didn't ask this question. He knew Yun Qingyi should have more to say. If these words couldn't explain clearly, he would definitely ask.

"That day, after she gave birth to you, she had some bleeding. Yuntian went to find a doctor, but on the way he encountered us. He wanted to leave but was entangled by us. Without that entanglement, your mother shouldn't have died," Yun Qingyi sighed.

"Yuntian begged me, but I didn't believe him, thinking he was making excuses. I didn't let him go—I just had people take him away. It's right for him to blame me, and you can hate me too."

Yun Qingyi spoke painfully with a bitter smile, seeming to mock herself.

If it were only this, Xiaoyao wouldn't hate Yun Qingyi. After all, he didn't have much emotional connection with Fang Chunxue. Yun Qingyi didn't directly kill Fang Chunxue, and she had suffered for so long—the punishment was enough.

Of course, if Yun Qingyi showed no remorse, Xiaoyao definitely wouldn't let her off.

But was this really all there was?

"Later we went over, but it was too late. Your mother had already died from excessive blood loss. Under normal circumstances, this situation wouldn't be serious, but she had just given birth to you and was very weak..."

Yun Qingyi looked at the distant sky, silent for a moment. Before her eyes seemed to appear the situation from that time. After a while, she spoke: "Afterward, Yuntian went mad and fought with my father's subordinates. I knew he blamed me, but he still didn't attack me. Now thinking about it, I'd rather he had attacked me then..."

Xiaoyao continued listening, thinking this was why there were signs of battle back then. Though somewhat different from previous assumptions, the nature was similar.

But there was still a question—where was Xiaoyao at that time? Why did Luo Yuntian think Xiaoyao had also died?

"Yuntian didn't care about anything then. However, his strength was far inferior to others at that time and he was quickly knocked unconscious and taken to the passage. He didn't even see you. I originally wanted to bring you to this side, but I was selfish and finally decided to leave you there, telling Yuntian you had died."

"Yuntian didn't doubt my words—he felt I wouldn't lie to him, even though I had wronged him... This made me feel I owed him even more!!"

Xiaoyao could understand. This reason made sense. Though Luo Yuntian was angry, it didn't mean he would necessarily doubt Yun Qingyi.

"Later, we married. He agreed to marry into my family. Originally I thought he was compromising due to my father's pressure, but later I learned he married in only because he didn't want to acknowledge I was from the Luo family."

Yun Qingyi smiled bitterly. Though helpless about this, she didn't blame Luo Yuntian. After all, he was still with her, albeit in a state with almost no marital reality.

In these twenty-plus years, Luo Yuntian had spoken very few words to her—no more than a hundred sentences, most being simple responses like "mm" and "oh."

"But he still loves you—that's enough," Xiaoyao interjected.

"Yes, I couldn't understand before and was willful, not considering things from his perspective, which led to this bitter fruit," Yun Qingyi nodded and sighed.

"This is human nature. Many people are like this—abandoning happiness to pursue so-called happiness, but in the end it's all empty. More pitifully, later they discover happiness was originally beside them but was personally destroyed by themselves," Xiaoyao said.

"At least you still have a chance. Though he resents you, he still cares about you—much better than others. You should cherish this more and shouldn't be here but accompanying him," Xiaoyao said.

"But..." Yun Qingyi hesitated.

"Don't be embarrassed. You're an old married couple—what are you afraid of? Feelings are like this—if you take initiative, he'll naturally respond. Even if the response is small, it's better than now," Xiaoyao said directly. He knew Yun Qingyi's current thoughts—because of his appearance, she felt she had deceived Luo Yuntian for so many years and couldn't face him, so she was avoiding.

Actually, avoidance wasn't a good solution for this matter. She needed to persist. Originally Luo Yuntian still had her in his heart—going back would resolve things. This wasn't some decisive error. Compared to Fang Chunxue's matter, this was nothing.

Though initially Luo Yuntian would definitely find it hard to accept, time would heal things. Given Luo Yuntian's feelings for Yun Qingyi, it would definitely be like this.

This also showed that Luo Yuntian actually loved Yun Qingyi very deeply. If it were someone else, or if feelings weren't so deep, they would have turned against Yun Qingyi long ago.

"..." After hearing Xiaoyao's words, Yun Qingyi's face reddened slightly. At her age and cultivation level, this shouldn't happen, but being spoken to this way by Xiaoyao, a junior, made her momentarily embarrassed.

"Aren't you worried about your current situation?" Yun Qingyi quickly returned to normal and changed the topic. However, this topic was very important—even more important than what they had just discussed, at least in Yun Qingyi's feelings.

(End of Chapter)