Without the second prince and with a daughter, it seems there is no difference.
Life went on the same way, and Li Xuan was still the honorable prince's consort.
For a proud person like her, not being able to get what she wants is a death sentence.
She was originally weak and had suffered some damage from childbirth. After six years of deep thought, she finally couldn't endure it anymore and passed away in the misty April.
The disease was so severe that the imperial physician rushed over and shook his head after examining the patient.
On the couch, Li Xuan was as slender as a willow branch, with skin so pale that one could see red bloodshot on her face if one got closer.
A pair of almond-shaped eyes were half closed, filled with tears.
"Has the rain stopped outside? Open the window and let me take a look."
The dowry maid bit her lower lip tightly to stop herself from crying out loud, nodded, and went to open the window.
The cool breeze blew into the room and lingered around her heart. Li Xuan seemed to recall their first encounter.
There were hurried footsteps in the yard.
The second prince pushed the door open and walked in, brows furrowed, and when he saw the open window he was about to close it.
"The princess is ill, how can she be exposed to the wind? You are too ignorant!"
"Your Highness." Li Xuan called softly, "Please open it. The cool breeze will help me stay awake in my dying moments."
The second prince was slightly stunned.
He lifted his robe and sat down beside the couch, gently holding Li's hand.
"What nonsense are you talking about? I am here to invite famous doctors from all over the world to treat you."
Li Xuan smiled weakly, "I believe Your Highness, but it's not necessary."
She believed it, but she also knew that if that was the case, the Second Prince could say the same thing to other women, so what was the point
"The lotus is not as beautiful as the beauty's makeup, the wind blows over the water palace and the pearls and jade are fragrant. Your Highness, do you still remember this poem?" Li Xuan said.
The Second Prince nodded, "Remember, when I first met you, I was struck by how stunning you were. Even Furong couldn't compare to you."
"But the second half of the poem is, who will cry and cover the autumn fan, waiting for the king with the bright moon hanging in the air." Li Xuan looked at the person in front of her with a bitter smile on her lips, "The person in the poem can't wait for the king, and I can't get your true heart either."
The second prince's expression changed slightly, and he seemed to want to say something, but was stopped.
"Your Highness told me to leave peacefully, but we never met each other when we were young. I hope to marry an ordinary man in the next life, raise children with my husband, and grow old together."
Li Xuan sighed lightly, then slowly closed her eyes after saying this.
The second prince held his wife's hand and was stunned for a long time.
When he lowered his head and looked again, he found that Li had not responded to him since just now and just let him lead her.
Thoughts flooded in, and it seemed like it was the same back then.
He barged into Li's world blindly, took her heart away, but never gave her his true heart.
How could such a proud woman be willing to do this
So before leaving, Li told him that she only wished they had never met and that they would never see each other in the next life.
The second prince didn’t know whether Li hated him or not, but he understood that Li regretted having met him in this life.
The death of the prince's wife caused grief throughout the palace.
But the second prince, for some unknown reason, sat in the main courtyard all night.
Li's funeral was held in a very dignified manner, with the Second Prince personally handling all matters. Outsiders saw this and said that Li Xuan was very lucky to marry such a husband who treated her well.
But on the day when the coffin was buried, the second prince hesitated again and again, and finally took down the token of love from their marriage and put it in the coffin and buried it together.
Li Xuan left so decisively that he felt sad to see her go. However, it was precisely because he felt sad that he did not want Li Xuan's last wish to go unfulfilled.
After burying this engagement item, I hope the two of them will have nothing to do with each other in the next life.
At this moment, the second prince finally realized that he had been a jerk for many years.
The position of the first wife became vacant, and Ning Chen intended to remarry him, but the second prince did not agree.
This made his concubine, who gave birth to the eldest son, ambitious, and she even planned to take the position of the head of the court.
The Second Prince, who had been gentle for many years, became furious. He pointed out Wang's thoughts and warned her not to have any wild thoughts.
Unexpectedly, Wang's words broke through the second prince's defenses.
"Your Highness is always kind to others. When she was alive, you treated her with special care. Now that she has turned to ashes, no one can touch her. Your Highness has been fair to everyone for many years. How come Li can be the principal wife, but I can't!"
Why can't others do it
Perhaps that proud and elegant woman, like a lotus emerging from the water, had finally become different in his heart.
After Wang was confined to her house, the Second Prince fell seriously ill upon his return.
His dreams were filled with memories of his years with Li Xuan. He finally discovered that after they got married, the light in the woman's eyes gradually faded.
The second prince, who never felt that he had let anyone down, cried like a child when he woke up from his dream.
At this point, the second prince still liked poetry, calligraphy and painting, but he no longer liked to be with beautiful women, and the backyard almost became a decoration.
But there was one place he often went to.
The main courtyard was arranged according to the way Li Xuan lived when she was alive. People were ordered to clean it every day, and he would go there to sit every few days.
One year, it was Li Xuan’s birthday.
The second prince was drunk and crying in the main courtyard.
No one can persuade him.
After much deliberation, the servants decided to call the legitimate daughter over. This was the only thought Li Xuan left for the second prince.
The twelve-year-old girl is six points similar to her deceased mother.
Pushing the door open, the second prince seemed to see his long-passed-away wife.
The girl was still young and didn't know what love meant. She just followed the servants' instructions and comforted her father.
The second prince did not explain anything and left the main courtyard with the help of his daughter.
Later, the second prince came less often.
After his daughter got married, he sat in the main courtyard for a long time as he did before.
After coming out, he ordered people to clean up everything in the main courtyard, and from then on the main courtyard became an empty courtyard.
Just like the second prince's empty heart.
As he grew older, the second prince became fascinated with Buddhism.
Members of the royal family naturally could not become monks, so he built a small Buddhist temple in his residence, and spent all his free time in the temple meditating and copying scriptures.
He lived a very long life, the oldest among his brothers, and died at the age of eighty-seven.
Before he left, the only person who stayed with him was his concubine, Yun, but he had quite a few children.
Five sons and three daughters, which is considered a abundant offspring.
The children were crying, but he was smiling.
He held the hand of his eldest daughter, just like he had held the hand of his first wife when she was dying.
"I'm sorry to your mother. She's such a proud woman, but I've never treated her with true love. Your mother said that she doesn't want to see me again in the next life, but I'm selfish. I always want to make it up to her in the next life, but I'm afraid your mother will never forgive me."
It is no longer like when we were young, when true love could be gained through a poem, a painting, or a flower.
In fact, Mrs. Li passed away early, and her daughter hardly remembered what her mother looked like, so she was confused about what her father said.
The second prince smiled and let go of his daughter's hand.
After his death, his children followed his instructions and buried his hair, which was tangled with Li's at his wedding, with him.
Maybe with this, he can find her again.
I just don't know if she will forgive him again like she did when she was young.