Zhao Li was waiting for her in Zhao Pei's inner room. She came early and looked around. She saw that the room was elegant and unique. Every window and pavilion was exquisite and unique, and every word and painting was full of interest. The three-legged gold-carved incense burner in the room was emitting smoke, and the fragrance was refreshing. She sat down on the soft couch in front of the window, and felt soft and comfortable. Opposite the couch was an eight-treasure cabinet, which was filled with various toys, treasures and decorations.
She envied Zhao Pei more and more, and felt more pity for herself.
As she sighed, the beaded curtains collided with each other. The woman in red walked in with a smile: "Third sister, I've been waiting for a long time."
Zhao Li quickly stood up and smiled, "I just sat down." Her eyes immediately fell on the delicate and beautiful baby in Zhao Pei's arms. Her eyes were particularly bright and clear, and her whole body was chubby and cute. Zhao Li exclaimed, "Is this Han Zhen? She is so adorable!" Then she reached out and held her small and round hand. Zhen Er was not shy, and let her hold her hand openly, babbling.
"This child is so rude to everyone." Zhao Pei smiled and pinched her pink cheeks.
Zhao Li teased her for a while and said, "Second sister, she looks exactly like you. She will definitely be a beauty when she grows up. Look at her eyes and nose. Her lips are thinner, just like her father."
Zhao Pei's smile froze, but she didn't say anything.
Zhao Li discovered something again and looked at her with a smile: "Second sister, the black jade on Han Zhen's neck is really beautiful. Where did it come from?"
Zhao Pei looked at it and saw that it was the one Xiao Yi had brought back to her from Jingzhou. He gave it to Zhen'er because she kept holding the jade on her neck. She just smiled and said lightly, "Xiao Yi gave it to me." But she could hear a sense of boredom.
"What's wrong with you, second sister? Did you have a quarrel with your brother-in-law?" Zhao Li teased her with a smile. At this time, Zhen'er yawned, and perhaps she was tired after a day of trouble, so she blinked her eyes dazedly. Zhao Pei called the nurse to carry her down, and sat down on the soft couch, with a hint of mockery: "How could I have a quarrel with him?"
"What's the matter? He becomes so sullen when his second sister is mentioned?" Zhao Li sat down aside.
Zhao Pei didn't want to delve into this question any further, so she asked her, "Li'er, is what you said in the letter true?"
When she heard this, the teasing expression on her face disappeared completely. The light in her eyes dimmed slightly, and she nodded helplessly.
"Did they try to stop you from coming out this time?" Zhao Pei looked at her carefully and found that she had indeed lost some weight.
Zhao Li scolded him lightly with an unclear meaning: "Why stop them? They are the same whether they are in the mansion or not. They just revolve around that woman and hope she will give birth to a child."
Zhao Pei frowned and bit her lip, and after a long while she said, "Don't worry, Li'er. She is just a concubine no matter what. Even if she is favored, she will not endanger you."
“Second sister, don’t you understand me? This status is not what I want, and I don’t want it. I just want to find a man who can understand me and love me, but I met the wrong person.” After saying that, she lowered her eyes and there seemed to be tears in her eyes.
She didn't know how to comfort Zhao Li, so she just kept saying, "Don't worry, Li Liangyu was just confused for a moment. He will naturally find out your goodness over time. But, Li'er, do you have feelings for him?"
Zhao Li was stunned and silent for a long time, as if she had never thought about this question. After a long silence, she murmured: "At the beginning, I really didn't have the slightest affection for Liangyu. At that time, there was only that person in my heart..." Zhao Pei understood who "that person" referred to, and she felt depressed again when she thought about it. She didn't dare to tell Zhao Li about the unhappy ending last time. Zhao Li continued: "But since I married into the Li family, I just accepted my fate. I just want to live a good life. Li Liangyu is gentle and considerate, handsome and elegant, really rare among people. But I know his heart is not with me, and I didn't have any strange feelings at first. But since that woman entered the mansion and saw that the two of them were in love, I began to find that I was very angry about this matter, and I was even more angry that she was pregnant, and I was angry about Liangyu's favor to her and his politeness to me."
Zhao Pei felt the same way about what happened above, and asked anxiously, "What does this anger mean?"
Zhao Li said sullenly, "Second sister, I think I love him."
Love? Love! How is that possible! Zhao Pei frowned tightly and shook her head vigorously. What a joke! Xu Zhao Pei, Xu Zhao Pei, you can't take it for granted. That's Zhao Li's feelings for Li Liangyu, not your feelings for Xiao Yi, what are you imagining? At most, you like him, that's all.
Zhao Pei cursed herself in her heart and shook her head vigorously. Fortunately, Zhao Li was immersed in her own sorrow. She said bitterly: "Second sister, sometimes I think how good it would be if she didn't get pregnant or if she didn't exist. No matter what, I..." She choked up in her throat and couldn't say any complete sentences. She said intermittently: "Second sister, I really envy you. The Seventh Prince likes you so much..."
Zhao Pei opened her mouth and wanted to tell her who the woman named Yuan Ming was, but in the end she swallowed the words back.
As women, none of them would escape this disaster. But what really scared her was her attitude towards the matter.
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At night, Zhao Pei half-knelt in front of the crib to coax Zhen'er to sleep. When she finally fell asleep after a long struggle, it was already the second watch. She realized that taking care of a child was so tiring.
I dragged my tired body back to the house, and as soon as I stepped over the threshold, I saw Xiao Yi sitting at the table.
With a frown on her face, Zhao Pei didn't even look at him. She walked straight past him, sat down in front of the dressing mirror, and let down her waterfall-like black hair.
Xiao Yi slowly walked up to her, leaned over and asked softly: "Why didn't you eat dinner?"
Zhao Pei didn't look at him, she just combed her hair and said coldly: "How can I have time to eat when Zhen'er is making a fuss?"
"Can't you just leave these to the nurse? Why not do it yourself?" Xiao Yi lifted a strand of hair from her ear and tucked it behind her ear. Zhao Pei turned aside and said coldly, "Is it because Yuan Ming is waiting there for me to have dinner with you that you insist on me going?"
Xiao Yi cleared his throat and said in a deep voice, "This is also a reason. Moreover, because..." Before he could finish, Zhao Pei closed the mirror case with a snap, stood up and walked towards the bed. She asked with a hint of sarcasm, "Why did the prince have the leisure to come to me today? Don't neglect the beautiful lady who just came into the mansion." Her anger and annoyance were obvious in her words.
Seeing her turn over and fall on the couch with her back to the inside, Xiao Yi shook his head helplessly but smiled slightly and leaned forward to whisper in her ear: "Is Peipei angry?"
Zhao Pei closed her eyes and asked, "Which eye did you see?" She regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth, and then immediately continued, "I'm not angry, I'm just tired and want to rest."
Fortunately, Xiao Yi didn't seem to take it to heart. Zhao Pei felt him get on the couch and lie down beside her: "Then take a rest."
"You really don't want to go? People are waiting for you." Zhao Pei still didn't turn around, but her words were much softer. Xiao Yi turned over and said solemnly: "That woman was just given to me by my father on a whim, not my intention. Why should I go?"
After hearing this, Zhao Pei muttered to herself, "What trouble does the old emperor want to make?" He had said so much to her in Tongtai Temple before, but what he did later was inconsistent with his words.
Xiao Yi heard her faint voice and chuckled: "Pepe, you are still angry after all."
Zhao Pei was stubborn and said in a cold voice: "I'm really not angry. Every man has three wives and four concubines. Since I entered the palace, I knew that this day would come. I just blame the emperor for giving my child a special full-month gift, a second mother."
Zhao Pei said this, but in fact, she was about to explode in anger. She could not tolerate sharing her husband with others, nor could she tolerate that woman in his arms. The inexplicable restlessness made her panic. But she refused to admit it.
"Do you really think so?" Xiao Yi's voice gradually turned cold, and he asked her in a depressed voice. He propped up his head as if he wanted to see Zhao Pei's expression clearly.
The moonlight was cold, shining on her careless face. Her face, like a white lotus, was not rippled under the bright moonlight, just stating a fact.
But in his heart, a huge wave of hatred was rolling. She didn't care? She didn't care!
It turns out that after all the efforts I made, all I got in return was a lack of care
Xiao Yi could no longer lie beside her peacefully, and suddenly sat up and got off the bed. Zhao Pei turned around quickly, but only saw the back of the man who left angrily and a series of messy footsteps, without even leaving a word. He pounded the bed in anger, and left without saying anything. Was he really going to accompany Yuan Ming
Xiao Yi was so angry that he was confused. In fact, if he calmed down and thought about it, Zhao Pei's words were just angry words. But as smart as he was, he took it seriously. (To be continued)