Prince An laughed at himself and said, "In this world, what is worthwhile or not worthwhile?"
"Your Highness is still young, he should find a lady to spend the rest of his life with." Yuan sincerely hoped that he could find his true love. Although she had no previous relationship with him, his deep love had been a burden to her, which led to her current guilt.
"I am a warrior, I don't know how to say sweet words, no lady likes me."
Yuan smiled, "If the prince really wants to get married, I'm afraid the queue will stretch from the palace to the city gate."
"No," Prince An smiled and stared at her, "I have someone I like, so I'll wait for him/her. If I can't wait for him/her, I'll live like this for the rest of my life. That's good enough."
Yuan was stunned and turned away, not daring to face him.
But Prince An had started talking, but he didn't intend to stop. He continued to look at her with burning eyes, "From the day she got married, I told myself that I was not destined to be with her in this life, so I would come earlier in the next life. It would still be too late in the next life, so I would continue to wait in the next life, and there will always be a time for me to wait."
Yuan was still in a daze. She knew what she had missed, but as smart as she was, she knew that some mistakes could not be undone and once missed, it was missed.
"The prince also said that he is not good at sweet talk. If these words are heard by any woman, she will feel like she is in heaven." Yuan sighed softly.
Prince An looked at the lotus in the distance, but it was not as colorful as hers. He turned back to look at her and said, "I don't know if you have ever loved someone. If you have, you will know that others cannot enter your heart. If someone is not yours, what is the point of coming? You have failed yourself and others, so you don't have to feel guilty. You have not failed me. I just want to fulfill myself, that's all."
Yuan began to feel a little uncomfortable. There were some things she thought he would never say to her in his lifetime, so she was not mentally prepared for it.
"Sometimes I feel that knowing you is something that happened in my previous life. When I dream at midnight, I think of the moment when I first saw you. I always think that was the happiest moment of my life. I also thought, if I had not led the army to war that year, but had come to ask for marriage, would everything be different? However, the past is hard to retrieve. It is good enough for me to stay in this capital and know that you are alive."
Yuan didn't know when her face felt wet and cold; she reached out to touch it and found it was tears.
His fingers slid across her face, wiping away the traces of tears, trying to smooth out the wrinkles between her brows.
He whispered, "Don't be sad. Even if everyone in the world betrays and abandons you, I will always be here to protect you. If you need me, I will come. If you don't need me, I will quietly watch you go through the affairs of the world. Life is very short. After this life, I will definitely come first in the next life."
"That year, I was watching you paint here. I should have talked to you for a while, but I thought I should talk to your father first and come back later. I always thought I could go back and return to this scene, but in the end, I found that I could return to this pavilion, but you were no longer there. I regretted that I should not have left that day."
He knew that perhaps he would only have one chance in this life to confess his feelings to her, and he would have to exchange a lifetime of waiting for just one morning like this.
Yuan opened her mouth and the wind brushed past her lips, carrying a breath of despair.
If she hadn't gone to war that year, if Xia Huaijun hadn't entered her life with a mature and steady demeanor with ulterior motives...
No ifs.
Everyone has to pay a price for their choices.
Zi'an was holding a cup of tea and standing not far from them. When she heard what Prince An said, she felt an indescribable heaviness in her heart.
Others could not imagine the hardships that Prince An endured, but he was actually content to endure them. Sitting with her in this pavilion and watching the lotus flowers, he was actually as happy as if he owned the world.
She couldn't bear to disturb them, so she left Nanny Yang here to serve her and went back home.
Ximen Xiaoyue's request was to show her power and establish authority after the new lady took office. As the eldest daughter, she had to kneel down, kowtow to her, offer her tea, and call her mother.
"Miss, please be careful!" said Nanny Yang.
"I see." Zi'an turned around and glanced at her. "Mammy hasn't been to the palace to see the Queen recently. Tomorrow, it's time to go to the palace."
Nanny Yang smiled, "I know."
She has been devoted to Zi'an, and the Queen has no plans to let her return to the palace. The Queen wants to keep her by Xia Zi'an's side as an insider.
Xia Zian is now emerging, but she knows how to be restrained. When she should have pressed on to win, she slowed down. Someone who can be so patient and tolerant will not be bad in the future.
Nanny Yang has been in the palace for many years, and conspiracies and scheming are nothing new to her. She also knows that in the palace, servants like them can be sacrificed by their masters at any time. What she values is Xia Zian's love for Xiaosun.
It’s reassuring to be with someone like this.
Before leaving the palace, the Queen ordered that she should return to the palace to pay her respects every few days, in fact, to report on Xia Zian's situation.
She did not betray the Queen, and what she confessed to the Queen were all what Zi'an had done so far. What she talked about most was how he treated Prince Liang.
The Queen is not too wary of Xia Zian because she is still useful and she is not yet the Regent Princess.
Before she left, she glanced at the two people in the pavilion, sighed softly, and said to Yang Ma: "Don't disturb them. Maybe this is the only chance in this lifetime."
Although Nanny Yang had developed a heart of stone in the palace, she was still somewhat touched when she saw the infatuation in Prince An's eyes and brows. The more one is used to coldness and calculation, the more easily one is moved by true feelings.
If you live in a simple world, you will find all the conspiracies and calculations ridiculous.
Today the Prime Minister's residence is bustling with the sound of gongs and drums.
From the Prime Minister's daughter Xia Zian marrying Prince Liang to the Queen's arranged marriage with Xia Wan'er, to the old lady's birthday banquet, and now Prime Minister Xia marrying a concubine, every happy event has been directed to the Prime Minister's Mansion.
The intensive bombardment of happy events did not cause guests to be absent. On the contrary, it attracted more people to attend, because everyone seemed to have a consensus that any happy event in the Prime Minister's Mansion would inevitably turn into an embarrassing event.
The nobles in the capital are extremely bored, who wouldn't like to watch the fun
And because Ximen Xiaoyue was the remarried widow of a military martyr, everyone had more topics to talk about.
Ximen Xiaoyue's requests received mixed reviews. Some people said that she confused the status of wives and concubines and did not distinguish between the superior and the inferior. Some people felt that since she was a first-rank imperial lady and entered the mansion as a co-wife, these superficial rules should not restrict her.
The reason why today's wedding caused a sensation was that Regent Murong Jie was also present.
This is the first time.
Everyone knows that the Regent usually does not attend such occasions. Even when Prince Liang married Xia Zian last time, Murong Jie did not come. That was his nephew and he had a good personal relationship with him, but he just refused to attend.
But today, he came.
Not only him, but also General Xiao Tuo.
When Chen Liuliu learned that Xiao Tuo would attend, she seemed particularly happy and went back home to dress up.
Not only Chen Liuliu attended, but Chen Liuliu's twelve brothers also attended.
However, they only came for Xiao Tuo.
(End of this chapter)