Su Tianyou hadn’t expected his words to anger Princess Cuiwei once again. His voice abruptly stopped, and he stared at her in stunned silence.
Princess Cuiwei lifted her head, her face—soft monts ago—now once again cold and tense. As she looked at Su Tianyou, her gaze carried an inexplicable hint of mockery.
"Cousin Tianyou, it seems you didn’t co here today specifically for but rather to play the diator for her, didn’t you? Ha, well, how wonderful. You’re all on her side, one after another. But what right does she have to lecture ? She killed my lover, and even her own flesh-and-blood son! She’s a venomous woman—a poisonous and malicious snake!"
At the ntion of Empress Su, Princess Cuiwei’s emotions grew even more agitated. In her eyes, the tragic deaths of her lover and her most cherished elder brother were all thanks to Empress Su!
If it weren’t for her insistence on testing their resolve, how could they have ventured deep into the forest and encountered disaster?
Seeing Princess Cuiwei’s pallor grow even more pronounced, Su Tianyou instinctively stepped closer, raising his hand to steady her and calm her emotions. Unfortunately, Princess Cuiwei didn’t give him the opportunity.
"Enough. The palace banquet is ahead. Surely, you wouldn’t want to linger in the Imperial Garden, Cousin Tianyou? Aren’t you afraid of gossip?"
Not afraid!
Su Tianyou was just about to utter those two words when Princess Cuiwei rcilessly blocked him with her biting response: "You may not fear it, but I do!"
There it is again—"I"!
Su Tianyou’s lips twitched. Once, whenever Princess Cuiwei saw him, she would call him Cousin Tianyou with warmth and affection. When did things beco so distant between them?
"Cuiwei... you should think about it again. You’re not so young anymore. The other two princesses are already betrothed. You, as the Eldest Princess...
Ha.
Princess Cuiwei tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, lifted her hem, and turned to leave. "My own affairs don’t need Cousin’s concern. Perhaps you should worry about your sister’s matters instead. I heard she’s fallen ill again. Hmph, why be so persistent on one-sided love? When it cos to unrequited affection, you siblings are truly alike!"
Hearing the traces of disdain in Princess Cuiwei’s laugh, Su Tianyou felt as though countless daggers were twisting chaotically inside him, leaving him battered and trembling.
Hidden within the belly of the mountain, the two figures remained silent. Lin Yuan’s quietude stemd from unease over Princess Cuiwei’s harsh rejection of Su Tianyou. Xia Zheng, anwhile, was silent because Lin Yuan wasn’t speaking to him.
After a long while, Lin Yuan sighed. "Princess Cuiwei, truly she doesn’t know her fortunes!"
Indeed, such a good man like Su Tianyou, yet she can’t cherish him, clinging instead to the mory of a man who’s been dead for years, whose very bones might be lost to ti.
To the ancients, perhaps they’d call this devotion. But in her eyes, Princess Cuiwei was simply stubborn—a single-minded fool!
Xia Zheng was unimpressed. "Fortune? Ha, how do you know accepting Su Tianyou would be fortunate for her? That ans you don’t know about Cuiwei and that man’s history. If you did, you wouldn’t speak like this."
"What history?" Lin Yuan raised a brow, turning her head to fix her gaze on Xia Zheng. Her intuition told her Xia Zheng might know sothing.
Xia Zheng, however, had no intention of spilling the details. He shrugged nonchalantly and said, "I was young back then, but I saw for myself the bond between Cousin Cuiwei and that guard. That guard... let put it this way: Su Tianyou is good to Cousin Cuiwei, right?"
Lin Yuan nodded. A man loving a woman unwaveringly for nearly twenty years, remaining unmarried for her, and even openly stating that he didn’t mind her heart belonging to another—how many n could do this?
But as it turns out, there really was a man even better than him.
Xia Zheng’s eyes flickered faintly, as if transported back to many years prior. He muttered, "Su Tianyou is good to Cousin Cuiwei, but that goodness is not even one-tenth of his."
Not even one-tenth?
The balance in Lin Yuan’s heart seed to tilt. Perhaps she could finally understand why Cuiwei couldn’t forget that man.
"Let’s go. The banquet should start soon."
Just as the two were about to leave, their ears caught the faint murmuring of Su Tianyou outside.
Lin Yuan wasn’t particularly sharp-eared, and Su Tianyou’s voice was so quiet that she instinctively asked, "What did he say?"
Xia Zheng’s expression shifted briefly but quickly returned to normal. He smirked slightly and replied, "Nothing important. He just said: Had I known, I wouldn’t have relinquished Cuiwei back then."
"Had I known"—a phrase seemingly loved by any man who has missed his chance at love. Lin Yuan shrugged, her feelings for Su Tianyou indifferent.
"Two people loving each other isn’t sothing you can relinquish at will, is it? This Su Tianyou truly thinks highly of himself. Did he assu that if he fought for Cuiwei back then, Cuiwei would definitely love him? Ridiculous. That man is long dead, yet Cuiwei would rather dwell on the mory of a dead man than accept him—shouldn’t he reflect on why?"
Still preoccupied with Su Tianyou’s earlier murmuring, Xia Zheng hardly paid attention to Lin Yuan’s ongoing muttering. His distracted deanor carried him as he led Lin Yuan’s delicate hand towards the palace banquet.
After wandering around the artificial hills, the palace banquet hall grew progressively crowded. Aside from a few concubines and princesses, most of the young masters and noble ladies had already arrived.
Lin Yuan and Xia Zheng entered hand in hand, naturally becoming the focus of attention yet again.
But thanks to the earlier sharp lesson taught by Xia Zheng’s unforgiving glares, the crowd only spared them a glance before wisely averting their eyes. Nobody wished to be publicly stared down again.
That said, they were acutely aware that if Xia Zheng felt like it, he could fix his gaze on every single noble lady or gentleman in the hall, one by one.
"Why are you doing this?"
Lin Yuan, standing close to Xia Zheng, naturally noticed those fleeting yet resentful and evasive glances from the noble ladies and gentlen.
She couldn’t help but wonder—these people seed to have rely glanced at them, yet Xia Zheng was unapologetically and rcilessly glaring them down!
Xia Zheng pursed his lips, guiding Lin Yuan to a seat reserved for guests while casually explaining, "I glared at the n because they dared to look at my wife. As for the won—well, I wouldn’t want so Mother Tiger getting jealous and losing her temper!"
"Pfft!"
Lin Yuan swore she heard her heart blossom with joy. To prevent her jealousy, he had glared at all the won who even remotely looked his way?
Though delighted, Lin Yuan suddenly rembered the phrase "Mother Tiger" he had just uttered. In an instant, her temper surged, and she turned her head with a snort. "Who’s a Mother Tiger? Who’s the one getting jealous? Stop making wild assumptions!"
Oh?
Xia Zheng raised his eyebrows, clearly knowing Lin Yuan was bluffing in anger, but he couldn’t help feeling inexplicably happy hearing her fiery retort.
"Not angry?"
Lin Yuan stubbornly shook her head, refusing to give him even one glance.
"Truly not jealous?" Xia Zheng could barely suppress his laughter.
Lin Yuan shook her head again, yet the subtle twitching at the corner of her eyes betrayed her inner thoughts.
Xia Zheng feigned enlightennt, loudly declaring, "Ah, since that’s the case, I won’t glare at them anymore! I’ve been curious about what the young maidens of the Capital city have grown into. Let have a good—ouch! My ear! Let go, Grand-Aunt!"
Xia Zheng’s ear-piercing wail, akin to that of a pig being slaughtered, instantly drew the attention of everyone in the grand hall.
Lin Yuan’s face flushed with embarrassnt as she silently cursed Xia Zheng a thousand and one tis in her heart. All she had done was pinch his ear lightly—she hadn’t even used any strength! Yet here he was howling as though she’d struck a mortal blow. Could he possibly have done this on purpose?
"Enough! One more yell and I’ll really use force!"
Being watched by so many varied stares made even thick-skinned Lin Yuan feel awkward.
But she had no intention of letting Xia Zheng off the hook just yet. Her mischievous fingers slid from his ear down to his waist.
"Fine, no yelling," she said, her hand deftly pinching a soft bit of flesh and preparing to twist it rcilessly.
Xia Zheng, having previously endured Lin Yuan’s fad pinching technique, imdiately shut his mouth. Nevertheless, his playful grin remained as he said cheekily, "My lady, your lesson is astute. How could a man yell so loudly? If anyone should call out, it ought to be my lady herself—oh, I imagine your voice would sound lovely!"
Lin Yuan’s lips twitched, and her hand showed no rcy. She pinched firmly, prompting a stifled groan from Xia Zheng.
This ti, it really hurt!
Lin Yuan smiled with satisfaction. Who said won’s voices were better? n screaming had their own appeal too!
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