"...They married after the war, after...the siege of the burial mounds and..." Xichen goes quiet for a moment, folds his hands into his lap. "There are things we should probably tell you, just so you have a better understanding of what things are like at the times we're from." But first.

"I'm sorry, A-Yao, I know how devoted to her you were." His fingers find A-Yao's, squeeze them before he takes a breath, turns back to Mingjue. "...How much are you comfortable knowing about what will come to pass?"