Chapter 1538: Her Highness the Princess (End)

“I refuse to believe I'm inferior to her. If one year isn't enough, then ten years. If ten years aren't enough, then twenty. If twenty years aren't enough, then thirty. One day, I will surpass her.”

And so, Yun Huayin truly began helping Western Yun develop.

Unfortunately, she knew very little about such matters.

She read countless books and, despite her hatred for Tang Guo, even forced herself to study the stories written about her.

For Yun Buxiu's sake, she humbly sought advice from old farmers and copied Tang Guo's methods.

But she wasn't Tang Guo.

Even when she painted a tiger by imitation, what emerged was merely a cat.

The results differed far too greatly.

Since that incident, Northern Xia had severed all relations with Western Yun.

The other countries, knowing the two nations had fallen out, dared not interact much with Western Yun either, fearing they would offend Northern Xia.

Thus, three years passed.

Western Yun had improved only slightly, yet Yun Huayin did not give up.

Ten years later, Western Yun had finally achieved somewhat greater progress.

The Emperor of Western Yun was rather pleased.

At least this gave him something to look forward to.

Over the years, he had thought about many things. He no longer floated on the pride and arrogance that had once made him believe he could marry Northern Xia's Grand Princess.

If time could turn back, he would never have done such a thing.

Perhaps Western Yun, by maintaining good relations with Northern Xia, would have developed much further by now.

But Yun Huayin had helped him and was his benefactor. Many matters still depended on her, so he could only turn a blind eye.

In the blink of an eye, twenty years had passed.

Yun Huayin believed that Western Yun was finally no worse than Northern Xia.

She did not immediately urge the Emperor of Western Yun to wage war.

Instead, she decided to secretly investigate Northern Xia.

And after twenty years, she also wished to see Yun Buxiu again.

More than anything, she wanted to see whether the once peerless Grand Princess, whose glory had illuminated an era, was still as beautiful as before.

Looking at her gradually aging reflection in the bronze mirror, despite all the care she had taken to preserve herself, she couldn't help thinking that the Grand Princess was older than she was.

Surely, she couldn't have aged any better.

No matter how carefully one maintained oneself, time could never be defeated.

Yet as she entered Northern Xia's cities, Yun Huayin was stunned.

Every city she passed through was incredibly prosperous.

There was hardly a single city that wasn't flourishing.

Each one was almost comparable to Western Yun's imperial capital.

Her heart sank to the bottom.

When she finally arrived at Northern Xia's capital and looked upon its majestic walls and strange, towering structures, she merely pursed her lips and said nothing.

How had she forgotten?

While she had spent twenty years progressing slowly, Northern Xia had been advancing at astonishing speed.

It was impossible to catch up.

Yet she still wanted to see Yun Buxiu and the Grand Princess one last time.

Even though she had already lost.

“Tomorrow is Grand Princess Fengshuo and Lord Imperial Preceptor's death anniversary again. Every year, this day makes my heart ache.”

Those words suddenly entered Yun Huayin's ears, causing her to freeze.

Death anniversary?

She had to have misheard.

How could Brother Buxiu have died so early?

And that Grand Princess, pampered and adored by countless people—surely she would have lived a long life.

They hadn't even settled the score between them.

She hadn't won yet.

How could that arrogant woman die?

After questioning many people, she received the same answer.

They were dead.

They had been dead for many years.

In a daze, Yun Huayin wandered through the capital, hearing countless stories about Tang Guo and Yun Buxiu.

On the day of their death anniversary, she bought a residence in the capital.

It stood directly opposite the Grand Princess's former residence.

“Living together and dying together? Dream on.”

“When I die, I'll occupy a place here too.”

“You two can forget about having any peace.”