Zhan's pov:~

After Yibo died, I gave my life to the kingdom. I truly understood what it meant to fully commit to serving my nation.

I assisted the Emperor to form new alliances, to form and enforce new rules and regulations.

I spent most of my time working.

I fought wars, I defeated our enemies time and time again.

Soon after Yibo died, his mother died as well, and his father passed away a year later. Yibo's brother married and had a beautiful daughter Vera, who was trained to take over the Wang household.

The emperor married my sister Illiana and she became his empress, they gave birth to a beautiful boy and named him Vincent.

My brother married Princess Isolde and had a son and a daughter named George and Inara, they had a happy and prosperous family.

However one fatal problem that we encountered was that Gideon had escaped from our custody. He must have been helped by his accomplices.

The emperor had ordered his execution but before he could be executed he escaped, we searched for him and killed as well as demoted all his supporters, we looked for him for years but he always managed to escape.

He disappeared for a few years and came back with his own small army to defeat us, and I went to war against him and was able to defeat him, I killed him in that war, I still remember the day we fought against each other.

My sword against his neck as he was kneeling on the floor at my mercy, Gideon had looked at me with rage and hatred as he spoke, "You bastard! You killed Yibo! You didn't deserve him at all! He was supposed to be mine, I loved him!"

I had no reaction hearing that.

Gideon continued, "I would have made him so much happier, I would have kept him with me, I would have given him the world!"

"But Yibo did not want you and you were the crown prince, the king cannot marry another man, you would have to marry a woman and produce an heir."

"So what! I would have still kept him with me! By my side... but that stupid idiot! He was too blinded by your love to truly understand what was best for him, I could have made him so much happier! But you! You killed him!"

"Yibo would have never wanted you."

"I would have forced him, he would have accepted me sooner or later! But he was mine!"

I raised my sword, "go to hell." and beheaded him then and there.

~~

Years passed after that, the kingdom grew and prospered, the emperor shut down Nathan Aberdeen's business and ordered the execution of his family, he also ordered the execution of all the people who were involved in buying and selling slaves.

He set all the victims free and gave them heavy compensation and apologised to them personally, he also found the families of the deceased victims and offered them relief.

The king rebuilt the infrastructure and focused on providing education to everyone.

Ziyi became a doctor and later on went  in an academy as a teacher, it was the same academy where I and Valerian had once studied, and she thrived as a teacher, Adrian became the new commander of the royal knights.

While Haoxuan stayed by my side.

~~

"This year's festival of Bastina has almost arrived." Cheng spoke as we sat beside each other drinking some tea.

"Yes."

"Are you coming to the hunt?" he asked, with hope, it had been years since I went to the hunt, after the kingdom had stabilised and had grown more prosperous, I had slowly stopped going to social events.

I had slowly isolated myself from everyone, from my parents, my brother, everyone, not because I hated them but because I couldn't bear to see them pity me, every time they would look at me, I could see they were sad for me.

Many times my brother and the emperor tried to convince me to marry or to move on, Duke Ashvald proposed marriage with his daughter, offered his estate, but I couldn't do it, the thought of loving someone other than my Yibo was a curse.

My ability to love died with Yibo, my soul, my heart all died with him, I was just a puppet living only to serve the people.

"Dad!" I heard my nephew's voice and saw him and his sister coming towards us, the two children hugged their father before they jumped on me.

I smiled and hugged them tightly, "Uncle, we missed you!" Inara said as she kissed my cheek.

I smiled as I hugged my fourteen-year-old niece.

This was another reason that I stayed away, every time I would go to a social event, I would see families, young couples getting married, forming homes and having children, having a life, a future, something that I wanted with Yibo.

Every time I would see them and think that I could have had that life with Yibo, even if I had stopped feeling ages ago, it was these moments that would always reopen my wounds and would remind me that I was still alive, still breathing, living in this torment. It would make me realise that I still had a heart but in a bad way.

It would remind me that I still had a heart, but I felt like it had a huge gaping hole, and it was empty.

"Uncle!" I was brought out of my thoughts when George called me and I smiled at my nephew, "please come to the hunt!" They were not the first ones to ask me to come.

The emperor had tried as well, and the crown prince Vincent also begged me to come.

"Yes!" Inara spoke as well.

My brother smiled as he drank his tea while the two kids whined and finally Inara said, "please uncle, consider it as my birthday gift!"

I smiled at them and was about to pick up my tea, but suddenly George moved back and bumped into the table which made the hot tea fall all over my hand, I felt my hand burn.

"Oh shit!" My brother said as he grabbed my hand and the two kids looked at me with worry, I just looked at them and smiled, "I am fine, it's okay."

George looked sorry, "I am sorry uncle."

I gently patted his head, "don't be sad, I am okay, really."

But George did not look convinced and I sighed, "fine. I will come to the hunt, now smile at me."

George and Inara smiled and hugged me tightly, "now go and play."

The two kids went their way and I looked at my brother who, for some reason, looked worried, "what happened?"

My brother held my hand and said, "Why is it not healing, Zhan?"