Six years later

Feiyan felt a smile cross her lips as she watched Yixing step out of his tent after morning court, deeply engrossed in conversation with one of the court officials. He nodded along as the court official gave his opinion on something Yixing asked, his brow furrowed slightly in thought. He was so busy talking, he barely noticed Feiyan standing in his path until the court official stopped and bowed at her. Yixing’s eyes lit up as he saw her at last.

“Yan’er!” He chirped, a broad smile crossing his face. The court official excused himself, and Yixing pulled Feiyan into a hug.

“You came to get me from morning court?” He grinned. Feiyan laughed and gave him a slight push away.

“Everyone is watching!” She protested. Yixing grinned and looked around at the court officials smiling at their ruler’s open affection.

“There is nothing wrong about being deeply in love with my wife.” Yixing replied as he kissed Feiyan’s cheek. Feiyan giggled and slipped her arm through his.

“To be specific, I was going to check on the children and thought you would like to come if you were done with morning court.” She replied, “If you are busy, I can go alone.” Yixing smiled and shook his head.

“The Ming farming method you taught me was a massive success!” He said, “Instead of a near famine, there’s now too much food!” Feiyan grinned.

“I’m glad.” She replied. Yixing chuckled and poked Feiyan on the nose.

“What would I ever do without you?” He said with a grin. Feiyan laughed.

“Miss out on a lot of things in life.” She replied. The royal couple chattered away happily as they walked through camp, and Feiyan felt her chest grow warm as she listened to Yixing talk about his day. Her husband had matured into a magnificent khan in the past years, and all she ever heard from their people was praise for their young leader. The happy laughter of children drew her attention as they crossed a hill, and Feiyan smiled as she looked at the scene in front of her. Yijun and Ruo Xue each sat on a tiny pony, their eyes wide in delight as a soldier led them in circles around a small pen. Their small hands clenched the reins tightly, uncertain but unwilling to give up on the chance to ride at the same time. Near the eldest twins, Feiyan and Yixing’s four year old twin sons, Yitian and Yifeng sparred with small wooden swords, their yells filling the air as if they were adults fighting with real swords. Their youngest daughter, three year old Ruo Yue sat weaving strands of grass into little patterns as she watched her older siblings learn. Next to her, the children’s nursemaid watched over the children carefully while holding the youngest child, four month old Yihai. Ruo Yue bounced to her feet as she saw her parents approach and rushed over. She bobbed into a little bow before running into Yixing’s arms.

“Papa!” She cried happily. Yixing chuckled and brushed a loose strand of hair away from his younger daughter’s face.

“Yue’er, are you being good?” He asked, “Are you making crafts?” Ruo Yue nodded and handed Yixing a messy little knot of grass. It wasn’t made in any particular form or pattern, but Yixing grinned in delight anyway.

“It’s so pretty Yue’er!” He exclaimed, “Papa will treasure it well.” Feiyan laughed softly. While Yixing loved all their children, their daughters definitely had Yixing wrapped around their little finger. Ruo Yue had recently learned to pronounce “papa” properly, and Yixing never got tired of listening to it.

“Yue’er, does Mama get one too?” She asked. Ruo Yue nodded eagerly.

“I make one for Mama.” She promised solemnly. Yixing laughed and kissed the little girl on the cheek before letting her run off to play again. He looked curiously at his wife as Feiyan grinned at him.

“What?” He asked. Feiyan giggled as she looked her arm through his and laid her head on his shoulder.

“You are a daughter’s fool.” She teased. Yixing chuckled.

“They say that fathers are more attached to their daughters.” He commented, “I guess they were right!” Feiyan laughed in amusement.

“Then it’s good that I had two!” She teased. Yixing laughed and hummed softly in agreement. The royal couple stood watching their children for a few more minutes before Yixing squeezed Feiyan’s hand.

“I found a nice spot where we can see the entire camp.” He said, “Do you want to walk up there?” Feiyan grinned and nodded. The camp had recently moved to a new spot as the season changed,and Feiyan loved looking for new places to explore every time they moved. A little while later, she grinned as she looked down from the hill Yixing had found. As he had promised, they could see the entire camp from where they stood. If Feiyan looked closely, she could see Luhan walking with his newly wed wife around camp, his arm wrapped protectively around her waist. She could hear Yifan’s deep voice barking at the newly recruited soldiers, his strict voice keeping them focused and under control. Yizhong was walking around camp with one of the court official’s daughters, his head bent towards her as he nodded along intently to what she was saying. Feiyan smiled faintly. It seemed that before long, there was going to be another wedding happening in the Mongol camp. Yixing wrapped his arms around Feiyan’s waist and rested his head on her shoulder.

“What do you think?” He asked. Feiyan smiled and leaned back into his embrace.

“It’s beautiful.” She replied. Yixing chuckled and kissed her on the cheek.

“I’m glad you like it.” He answered. For a few moments, Feiyan closed her eyes and let herself relax in the warmth of Yixing’s arms. A soft giggle rose to her lips. Yixing looked down at her in confusion.

“What’s so funny?” He asked. Feiyan laughed.

“I’m just remembering how unwilling I was to marry you in the past.” She replied, “I thought that I was only marrying for the sake of politics, and I would spend my entire life alone and without love.” She reached up and patted Yixing on the cheek.

“But here we are, six years later with a growing family, and I couldn’t say enough about how much I love you.” She finished with a smile. Yixing chuckled.

“I could say the same about you.” He replied, “I could barely believe what my father was saying when he suddenly arranged a wife for me. I thought my life was going to be finished, bound to a wife that I didn’t even love.” He reached down and pressed Feiyan’s fingers to his lips.

“But here I am now, and I cannot imagine what life would be like without you here.” Yixing confessed. Feiyan felt her chest fill with warmth at his words.

“Yixing.” She said softly, “Promise me, if there is a next life, you will only love and marry me alone.” Yixing smiled and turned her around to kiss her on the lips.

“Xu Feiyan, I swear that if there is a next life, I will surely find you and love you alone.” He said, “From now until eternity, my heart belongs to you alone.” Feiyan grinned.

“I will also give you a promise.” She said, “I promise that until the end of our days, I will watch over our people by your side, under this deep blue sky.” Feiyan reached down and linked her pinky with Yixing’s.

“And when the next life comes, I will fall for you, so deeply that I could never leave your side.” She promised. Yixing laughed and pulled Feiyan into a hug.

“I will be looking forward to that day.” He replied. Feiyan smiled and snuggled into Yixing’s arms.

Zhang Yixing, I love you. We’ve been through so many things together since we were first married, but I don’t regret a single day of it. If I could choose again, I would still marry you, and spend the rest of my days by your side.

Yixing’s hand gently rested on Feiyan’s hip as he held her in his arms, the soft sounds of her breathing and the warmth of her body putting his heart at ease.

Xu Feiyan, I love you so much, words cannot express how important you are to me. Thank you for coming into my life, and teaching me to love again. I never want to have another woman by my side except for you. If I could choose again, I would still take you as my consort, and shower you with more love than you can ever imagine.

The royal couple smiled as the sun shone down on the Mongol camp, covering the white tents with a golden glow.

Let us protect this land for the rest of our lives, under this beautiful deep blue sky.

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Author's note: Here it is, the ending! Thank you everyone for staying with me throughout this journey, and I hope you enjoyed the story overall. As hinted by Yixing and Feiyan's last little exchange, I'm thinking of a sequel placed in modern times in the kpop industry, about Yixing and the female lead who are forced to pretend to date for a year because of a paparazzi misunderstanding/big blow up that turns into a scandal. Would anyone be interested in reading that? I probably can't use Feiyan's name because it's more ancient sounding, but it would more or less be the future version of her.