Chapter 476: Things Change, People Change

The carriage enters the cold city and arrives back at the Northern Borng Palace.
Along the way, Qin Wan doesn't open the carriage curtain to look outside, just listening to the sound of the wheels rolling on the green bricks, which is enough to tangle her heartstrings.
The carriage arrived at the North Rong Palace, and Qin Wan only got out of the car. She looked up at the towering palace gate and was a little absent-minded.
Ning Yi once said that the North Rong Palace was home.
But she didn't think so.
She has never considered this place as her home, but only as a palace to stay temporarily.
Because Qin Wan requested to block all news about her returning to the Cold City, there were no familiar faces at the palace gate to greet her. Qin Wan felt it was better this way, as it spared her the exhaustion of being overwhelmed by emotions and kept everything simple.
Ning Miao walked up to Qin Wan and said, "Your Majesty, I have had the Chonghua Palace cleaned up…"
"I only want to go to the Chonghua Tower," Qin Wan said directly. Her only purpose in returning to the palace was the Dongxia Jade Bottle.
Ning Miao agreed with Qin Wan's words, nodding in agreement.
Qin Wan got on a sedan chair and followed the palace road all the way to the foot of the Chonghua Tower.
Carp led the others to kneel in the open space in front of the tower gate and immediately kowtowed to Qin Wan to pay their respects.
Qin Wan smiled at Liyu. Liyu has now succeeded in becoming the most noble in the palace, and she was now red-eyed, trying her best to hold back her tears.
Qin Wan walked into Chonghua Tower. The decoration here has not changed much, only adding some shelves. The first thing she saw was a set of three-layer sword racks.
"Bixiao, Cangsi, Longlin..."
Qin Wan walked to the sword rack, lifted her hand to stroke Bixiao, and then picked up Longlin. She grasped the hilt of the sword and slowly drew it out. The cold and sharp blade had obviously been well preserved.
Ning Miao stayed by her side and explained, "Mother, I have kept all the items you and father left behind here."
"Thank you, Miao Miao. They are all very important to me," she said.
Qin Wan put the dragon scales back on the sword rack and continued forward. She saw a table with an exquisite sandalwood carved dressing box on it. Qin Wan carefully opened the first layer, inside of which were the pair of golden amber earrings.
Qin Wan's gaze paused for a moment, looking at the pair of amber earrings and getting lost in thought. She thought that the memories she had forgotten had been instantly awakened by them.
This pair of earrings matched well with her once-golden demonic pupils. Although things have changed, their beauty has not diminished at all.
Qin Wan closed the top layer of the makeup box and opened the next one.
To her surprise, her Vermilion Bird hairpin was inside.
Without hesitation, she picked it up and replaced the jade hairpin on her head with it.
Following her were Ning Miao, Qing Chi, and Ning Xizhao, all of whom saw her change her hairpin.
Ning Xizhao clenched his fists, his gaze sinking like the depths of the sea. Qin Wan returned here, immersed in memories of the past. And he could only endure the burning jealousy without being able to prevent it.
Ning Miao saw the expression on Ning Xizhao's face with the corner of his eye and felt heartbroken.
Qin Wan walked up the stairs, step by step, until the seventh floor.
The seventh floor was different from the other six floors. It was empty, with only a small white jade altar in the center. The altar was protected by Ning Miao's Diamond Barrier, and the jade vase of Dongxia was well-preserved inside.
Qin Wan stood in front of the small altar, looking at the jade bottle, silent.
She thought she and the two soul breaths in the jade bottle had entered the reincarnation, but she did not expect that it was only herself.
She smiled self-mockingly, not knowing whether she was blessed or punished by the heavens for being reborn again.
Xun Che was just a passing fancy for her.
Qin Wan turned around and looked at Ning Miao and the others who followed her to the top of the tower, "You guys leave, I want to stay here alone for a while."
"Mother..." Ning Miao hesitated, but was interrupted by Qing Chi.
Qing Chi persuaded, "Princess, let's go down."
Ning Miao looked at Qin Wan, who seemed calm, and could only agree with a nod, following Qing Chi and walking towards the bottom of the tower.
Ning Xizhao didn't move, but looked at Qin Wan with concern.
Ning Mia noticed that he had no intention of leaving, and was about to speak, but swallowed his words back.
Qin Wan also noticed that Ning Xizhao did not leave with Ning Mia, and sighed helplessly. She said to him, "Don't worry, even though this place is high, I have no intention of jumping off. As long as Ning Yihun's soul is here, I have a reason to live. You don't have to worry, just go down with Mia Mia."
Having heard Qin Wan's words, Ning Xizhao bowed and said, "I take my leave." He then walked down the stairs.
When everyone had left, Qin Wan opened a window and sat down by the small altar.
She looked out of the window to see a high sky, light clouds, and the sound of the west wind entering the room, giving a desolate feeling.
Under the Chonghua Tower, the green pond refused to leave, choosing to stay at the first level instead.
Ning Xizhao and Ning Miaoxi walked out of the tower gate and into the courtyard.
They walked one after the other in silence, neither of them wanting to say anything.
As they reached the entrance of Zhonghua Hall, Ning Miao stopped Ning Xizhao and said, "Xizhao, go and see the children. They've missed you while you've been away."
Ning Xizhao turned around: "No, I have been away from handling government affairs for a few days and I still need to go and deal with them."
Ning Miao said, "Xizhao, they are also your children!"
Ning Xizhao replied, "Once I finish dealing with the public affairs, I will come and see them."
With that, he bowed and left in big steps towards Xuanzheng Hall.
Ning Miao stood in place with a gloomy expression for a while before walking towards Chonghua Hall.
……
As night fell and stars appeared, Qin Wancai descended from the tower. When she reached the first floor, she saw that Qing Pond was still there.
"Why haven't you left the palace and gone home?" Qin Wan asked, a bit surprised.
"I wanted to dine with you," Liyu replied.
Liyu brought in a table full of dishes, all of which were Qin Wan's favorite dishes from back in the day.
秦晚和青池面对面坐着，喝下饭前的一碗苦药后，又喝了一点粥。这一顿饭算是她生病以来吃得最多的一次。
晚饭后，青池屏退了所有宫人，问向秦晚：“母后，您不如搬到宫外和我住在王府里。”
"No need for that, I don't want to live with your queen in the same palace after you have married," said Qin Wan as she stood up and walked to her cosmetic case. She opened the first layer and took out a pair of amber earrings, and brought them over to Qingchi. "Here, give these to a girl you like in the future."
青池接过那对耳珰，上古琥珀的金黄色，与雪枭族的眼瞳同色，美得超乎绝伦。
"Are these from my father?" Qing Chi asked.
Qin Wan shook her head. "What your father gave me, I wouldn't bear to give to you."
青池看向掌心那一对儿耳珰，想了想，忽然恍然大悟道：“……是父王给您的？”
秦晚点点头：“你还记得他的样子？”
"I have a vague memory of it." Qingchi answered truthfully, "In these years, I occasionally return to Weiming and pay respects at my father's tomb."
"How are Queen Lanmei and Qingze?" Qin Wan asked.
青池：“嗯，青泽已经继承王位，他们一切都好。”
秦晚：“那就好。”
“Your Majesty, although there are certain matters that I should not ask or interfere with, I still can't help but worry about your safety, so I want to speak up.” Qingchi furrowed his brows and spoke seriously to Qin Wan.
"I know what you want to ask," Qin Wan sighed, "Your sister probably told you about Ning Xizhao, otherwise you wouldn't be so anxious to come here with her to pick me up."
"Your highness, what were you thinking?" Qingchi asked, "If Ning Xizhao indeed has inappropriate intentions towards you, he should not be allowed to live!"
Qin Wanchen remained silent for a moment before saying, "It wouldn't be difficult to kill Ning Xizhao, but I asked your sister and she still wants him to live."
"But..." Qingchi's expression turned serious.
Qin Wan: "I don't want to lose Miao Miao because of killing Ning Xizhao. As long as Miao Miao disagrees, we cannot lay a hand on Ning Xizhao."
"Mother, Princess Huan is too obsessed with Ning Xizhao, and I don't think that's a good thing," Qingchi said bitterly.
"It's all my fault," Qin Wan rubbed her forehead. "For now, we can only maintain the status quo until your sister makes a decision. As long as I stay in the palace, Ning Xizhao cannot threaten me. Right now, I just want to guard the Dongxia Jade Bottle and hope that someday your father can come back."