The door creaked open, and the previous maid walked in. She helped up Qi Manyan, who was crouching on the ground and crying. "Miss, what's wrong with you? Let this servant help you out to take a rest."
Qi Manyan wiped away her tears. "I don't want to rest. You go out."
The maid frowned. "But the second young master told this servant to come and tell you that this woman is a witch. He told you not to stay with her for too long."
Qi Manyan pointed coldly at the door. "I told you to go out. Did you hear me? Go out and close the door! I'm not crazy or stupid. Her hands and feet are tied up. What do I have to worry about?"
The maid had no choice but to glare at Gu Liyue fiercely, then turned around and went out.
Qi Manyan calmed her emotions, walked to a chair and sat down. After thinking for a while, she said, "I've known him since I was very young. My aunt is the Noble Consort Shu in the palace. Even the queen has to give her some leeway. And I often went into the palace. Everyone doted on me and praised me."
"The only thing that bothered me was Lu Yunxi. Lu Yunxi was just a princess, but because of the Prince of Qingling, everyone in the palace let her have her way. She was the most fond of playing tricks on others. Once, I don't know what I said that offended her. She locked me in a dark room. It was raining heavily outside. The room was terribly gloomy. There were eerie sounds not far away, like the cries of ghosts. I was so scared that I kept pounding on the door, but no one came to rescue me."
"Later, he came."
A smile appeared on Qi Manyan's face, which was quite different from her usual dignified and gentle smile. She turned her head and looked at Gu Liyue. "Do you know? He came. He was soaked through by the heavy rain, but he didn't care. He came to open the door for me, then took my hand and led me away from there... Liyue, I've known him for so long. He was so gentle to me at that time. I was only five or six years old, but I decided that I would marry him in the future."
Gu Liyue listened attentively and nodded seriously. "You must have felt very happy at that time, right? I envy you so much that you could know him so early."
Qi Manyan's face sank again. "But he was good - for - nothing. The Prince of Liang was doing it for his own good, and the princess was considerate and meticulous. But he always hated the princess and always went against the Prince of Liang. I was very sad. On the day of the eldest princess's wedding, I saw him again. He was leaning against a tree alone, with apricot blossoms covering his body. I walked over to persuade him, but he treated me like a stranger. He completely forgot that he had saved me before."
Gu Liyue asked, "Why did you persuade him?"
Qi Manyan paused and retorted, "Why not? He was doing the wrong thing. If I didn't persuade him, wouldn't he go further and further astray?"
Gu Liyue shook her head. "How do you know it was his fault? The princess wasn't his real mother. No matter how good she was, she wasn't. He was just a child. Isn't it normal for him to reject his step - mother? The Prince of Liang was doing it for his good. Why couldn't he take his time and wait for him to grow up?"
"You don't understand anything!" Qi Manyan stood up and screamed. "You know nothing but talking nonsense. He is the heir apparent. How heavy the burden on his shoulders is! How can he be the least bit negligent? If I didn't persuade him, should I just watch him drift further and further away?"
Gu Liyue said, "But your persuasion didn't work either."
Qi Manyan sneered. "What do you want to say? Do you want to say that if it was you who persuaded him at that time, he would definitely accept it?"
Gu Liyue lowered her eyes and shook her head. "No, it would be useless no matter who persuaded him. If you haven't experienced others' hardships, why should you persuade others to be kind? I wouldn't persuade him because I think he did nothing wrong."
"How ridiculous. So this is how you attracted his heart?"
Gu Liyue sighed softly. "Actually, you're not really being good to him. The person you fell in love with isn't really him either."
Qi Manyan said angrily, "Impossible. I've said that I fell in love with him since then!"
"The person you love is just the one you imagined in your heart. When you found that he was rebellious and unruly, you didn't think about understanding him. Instead, like others, you tried every means to lead him onto the path you thought was right."
Qi Manyan was stunned. Her eyebrows were tightly knitted. Obviously, she didn't understand.
"He didn't listen to your persuasion, so you hid your love for him. Until - until both the queen and the Noble Consort Shu took a fancy to you and wanted you to marry the crown prince or the second prince, then you panicked.
You came up with a perfect solution. You announced publicly that you had taken a fancy to Lu Jinchen. But any smart family would think that you were making concessions for the Qi family. After all, although Lu Jinchen was the heir apparent of the Prince of Liang, his reputation was so bad. He was not tolerated in the prince's mansion. Even his position as the heir apparent was in jeopardy. How could you really like him, right?
They all thought that you just came up with this method to reject the crown prince or the second prince. Only naive and innocent girls thought that you were sincere. Of course, their words were often not taken seriously by others. Is this kind of feeling love? No, it's just exploitation."
Qi Manyan shook her head desperately. She stepped forward and slapped Gu Liyue again. "You're talking nonsense. I clearly love him. I love him so much. But... I'm a noble lady. I'm the most beautiful and the best woman in the capital. If he wants to marry me, he naturally has to pay a little price! I didn't ask him to do anything excessive. I just asked him to be the heir apparent properly!"
"Then do you love him or the heir apparent of the Prince of Liang?"
Qi Manyan slapped her again. "You bitch. How dare you talk nonsense? Do you think I really won't do anything to you?"
Gu Liyue burst into laughter, which made Qi Manyan feel terrified.
"Hit me. If you kill me, it will be more in line with your wishes, won't it, Qi Manyan? I know you hate me. You wish you could skin me and draw my tendons. Now I'm right in front of you. Do it! I've angered you? But you're not a moody person. You know how to restrain yourself best. You're an example for the noble ladies in the capital. You're angry just because I've hit the nail on the head, aren't you?"
"Ah!" Qi Manyan let out a wild scream. "Shut up, shut up! I love him. He's the one I love most! If it weren't for you, he would have been mine sooner or later, mine!"
Unable to bear the pain, she knelt on the ground and howled.
"I love him, but I'm a daughter of the Qi family. I'm worthy of a prince or a noble. The crown prince and the second prince, who doesn't covet my beauty and my prestige? But I didn't even look at them. If I were greedy for power, why would I reject the crown prince and the second prince? I love him whole - heartedly. Shouldn't he love me whole - heartedly too? But he... I've tried every means to make him understand that as long as he softened a little and bowed his head to his father, we would be a perfect match that everyone would envy. Did I do something wrong? Tell me, where did I go wrong?"
Gu Liyue looked at Qi Manyan on the ground and sighed slightly. Obsession was really painful. She couldn't let go of Lu Jinchen, nor could she let go of her identity and status as a noble lady.