At night, when the lights were on, she lifted the curtains and looked out at the bright lights and the bustling streets filled with fragrance. She stared blankly at the joy, without any feelings in her heart, not even any pain.
"If I had promised myself a long time ago not to care so much, maybe everything would be different now."
"Pepe, have you ever hated me?"
It was like a curse, constantly asking questions in her mind, tormenting her. Suddenly, a big hand reached out and touched her face: "Why are you crying?" There was still some detachment in his words.
Zhao Pei then realized that she had been crying without knowing when. She quickly wiped her face and looked at him with a wry smile: "The wind is too strong, my eyes hurt."
"Then don't face the wind." He said as he lowered the curtain, and the carriage became dark. The tears were still flowing, but they seemed to be even more violent.
His palms were warm, and at this moment he held her hands in his palms, saying with a hint of resentment: "Why are they so cold? You are not a child anymore, why don't you know how to take good care of yourself?" Zhao Pei was speechless, and she didn't know whether she was sad or something else in her heart, she just felt empty, so empty that it made her feel uneasy.
She buried her head in his chest and heard his heart beating strongly. Xiao Yi was clear-headed at this moment, his body stiffened and then softened immediately, and he hugged her silently.
"Qi Fu, do you believe in fate?" The woman in his arms choked with sobs.
"I don't believe it." Xiao Yi replied.
"But... I dare not not believe it..." Her voice was as sad as a thread, so low that even she could not hear it clearly.
_>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Xiao Tong was ill. I don't know if he had been ill since he was at the study or just got sick after he came back. The imperial physician said that he had caught a cold and was too worried. He just needed to rest. But the illness came back violently and continuously. The emperor also visited him many times and gave him instructions again and again. For more than ten days, the news he heard was that he was still resting in the East Palace.
Zhao Pei was panicked and secretly resented Xiao Gang for going to Yangzhou at this time.
She suddenly remembered the past and became even more nervous. She called Ziye to check and wanted to find a date to meet Qinglan, but Ziye brought her a shocking news. Qinglan was really mute.
When Zhao Pei heard the news, her hands and feet went cold. She couldn't wait to find Xiao Yi, but every time she wanted to say something, she swallowed it back. Qinglan's words tortured Zhao Pei for three years. She didn't dare to mention anything about him in front of Xiao Yi, so she had to ignore it.
Early that morning, the Eighth Prince's Consort Wang Yanran came to the gate of the mansion looking for Zhao Pei, saying that the Crown Princess had just obtained a new music score and wanted to take Zhao Pei to listen to Xian'er.
Zhao Pei was getting sicker and sicker and didn't want to move around. Besides, she wasn't very close to the Eighth Princess and wanted to refuse. But when she heard that it was the East Palace, she followed without saying a word. Xiao Yi had no objection and asked her to come back early and tell the prince to rest and recuperate. Zhao Pei was stunned for a moment, looked at him with some confusion, and then smiled like a spring flower.
After getting on the car with the Eighth Princess, they exchanged a few pleasantries and then stopped talking. They were silent all the way. Zhao Pei was suspicious. Seeing the Eighth Princess acting like this, it seemed that they were not close enough to invite her to go to the East Palace together. It seemed that she was being asked by someone. But who was this person...
But Zhao Pei obviously didn't care much about this question at the moment, and she quickly put it behind her mind. From a distance, they saw Yao Yunshang waiting for their car at the door. As soon as the car stopped, Yao Yunshang came up and greeted them into the mansion with a sweet smile. The luxurious clothes and the smile on her face made Zhao Pei a little unhappy when she saw her.
The prince is still ill, but she is still in the mood to invite people to listen to music.
But later, Zhao Pei saw the deep loneliness and sadness in the eyes of the woman under the delicate makeup, and she had never seen Xiao Tong since she entered the East Palace. All this made her feel even more puzzled and uneasy.
As she sat there restlessly, the song became boring no matter how beautiful it was. Yao Yunshang was very attentive. Seeing her looking around, it was obvious that her mind was not on herself. Suddenly she smiled and said, "Seventh sister, what's wrong? Why are you so worried?"
Zhao Pei said apologetically under Wang Yanran's surprised gaze: "I haven't slept well these past few days, so I'm not in a good mood. Don't be offended, sister-in-law."
Yao Yunshang shook her head and smiled: "If Seventh Sister doesn't want to listen to the music, how about we take you for a walk in the yard? Now is the time when hundreds of flowers are in full bloom, it must be very beautiful."
Zhao Pei quickly replied, "Don't bother me. I'm already sorry for disturbing the mood of my eldest sister-in-law and eighth sister. How can I trouble you again now? Zhao Pei can just walk by herself." Yao Yunshang had no objection and smiled as she called the maid beside her, "The lotus flowers are in full bloom now. You can take the Seventh Princess to have a look."
Zhao Pei smiled faintly, followed the maid and stood up and left. She turned around and looked through the pink curtains fluttering beside the moon door. Yao Yunshang was sitting on the table, elegant and beautiful. She was like a noble and beautiful peony, but at the peak of her beauty, she had a sense of desolation and withering. She didn't know why she had such a feeling out of nowhere, but the feeling of annoyance kept lingering in her heart for a long time.
Suddenly I had a bad feeling, and I couldn't put my finger on it.
The maid led her to the west hall and all the way to the back garden. Zhao Pei looked around but saw no one, so she couldn't help asking her, "Do you know how the Crown Prince is doing?"
The maid replied, "My princess, His Royal Highness is doing well."
What does "very good" mean... After passing the rockery and waterfall, they had already entered the lotus garden. She just opened her mouth to ask for more details, but she saw a white figure by the lotus pond out of the corner of her eye.
Then she paused, hesitating whether to move forward. Unexpectedly, the maid seemed to have known about it and did not react at all. She stepped aside and said respectfully, "Princess, please go and relax. I will wait for you outside the garden."
Zhao Pei opened her eyes wide, feeling a little dizzy. It seemed like this was all planned out by someone... (To be continued)