After realizing that his mind was wandering again, Murong Xiu tried his best to steady his nerves. He turned the silver bracelet over and gently stroked the patterns on it with his fingers. However, his thoughts scattered once more, pulling him back to the past.
That day, he staggered back to the Duke's Mansion. His heart was in turmoil, as if being roasted by a raging fire and stabbed by a thousand knives.
Facing the concerned looks from the servants, he always had the illusion of being mocked. So he couldn't wait to escape and somehow ended up in Cuiwei Courtyard.
Then he found a red - lacquered carved wooden box covered in thick dust under the bed. Inside it was a small and lovely silver bracelet for a girl.
He stared at the silver bracelet for a long time and suddenly remembered all the memories. He then knew that after he had fallen seriously ill and lost his memory that year, his mother had sent someone to move him out of Cuiwei Courtyard. This box had been left here, and so had his memories.
Now, the memories had returned, but the people were no longer the same as they were back then.
The owner of the bracelet, the little girl back then, had now married the new top scorer in the imperial examination.
It was after noon when he heard the news from the palace that the emperor had issued two new imperial edicts. Only then did he know about the mistake in the marriage.
But whether it was right or wrong, in any case, she wasn't going to marry him.
Murong Xiu let out a desperate sigh. He raised his hand, clenched the bracelet tightly, then put it back into the box and locked it.
At this moment, there was a knock on the door. When he opened it, he saw his mother.
"Zisheng, my son, I've come to apologize to you. I stopped you from marrying the princess that day and even hit you. I was wrong. But I don't want this incident to make us hold grudges against each other.
I still love you, Zisheng."
The Duchess of the Duke's Mansion's eyes were filled with infinite sorrow and struggle. She had been tough all her life, and this was the first time she had compromised with her son. Firstly, it was a bit hard for her to save face. Secondly, she did have some selfish motives. Now, having to tell her son about those sinful selfish motives truthfully made her feel embarrassed.
"Mother, you've raised me and taught me how to be a man. I'm only grateful to you and have no resentment!" Murong Xiu supported the Duchess to sit down at the table. Then he poured a cup of soothing tea and held it in front of her.
"A filial son is born under the rod. Isn't it natural for a mother to beat her son? Mother, you don't need to mind."
The Duchess held the warm cup in her hand and smelled the fragrance of the tea. She felt more relaxed and wasn't as nervous and helpless as when she first came.
"Mother has her own selfish motives. I don't want you to marry the princess. Firstly, the princess is willful and unworthy of you. Secondly, she is the monarch's daughter while we are her subjects. If you marry her, even your father and I will have to bow to her.
In other families, it's the daughter - in - law who bows to the mother - in - law, but in our family, it would be the other way around. I'm not comfortable with this.
However, I've thought it over. Apart from the princess, no matter what kind of woman you marry, whether it's a well - matched noble lady or a..."
The Duchess paused.
Murong Xiu focused his gaze on her.
The Duchess opened her mouth and forced herself to continue, "A commoner woman is okay too... It's okay. In any case, after she enters our family, I'll patiently teach her. As long as she can shoulder the responsibility of the mistress of the family, I have no objections."
"Got it." Murong Xiu had no intention of talking about these things for the time being.
The woman he liked the most, his mother didn't allow him to marry. Even if she did, he couldn't marry her now.
As for the others, he wasn't really interested.
"Mother, what the Empress Dowager did back then..."
"It's true." The Duchess admitted before he could finish speaking.
Because she really didn't have the courage to listen any further.
Murong Xiu opened his mouth, and the words he hadn't finished were swallowed back. He heard her say, "The main purpose of the Empress Dowager summoning us to the palace that day was to match you with Princess Yuanyang.
But, I still stand by my words. I don't want to have a powerful daughter - in - law whom I'll have to bow to in the future, so I politely declined."
"Oh." Murong Xiu's eyes dimmed slightly. His heart was filled with intense pain and surprise, but on the surface, he remained calm, not wanting to burden his mother.
"It's getting late, Mother. I want to sleep."
"Then I won't bother you anymore."
"Okay."
The first ray of sunlight in the early morning climbed in along the window frame.
Li Xinyue opened her eyes. She thought of Chu Junyi, whom she had sent to the study to practice calligraphy. She wondered how he was doing. But thinking that she had hardly slept all night and he hadn't either, she felt more at ease and her spirits lifted.
She sat up, put on a cover - up, and went to check on him.
The door of the study creaked open. A piece of white paper with black characters flew towards her face like a charm. When she took it off, she saw that it was neatly filled with her name.
Looking at the papers scattered on the ground, all of them were filled with her name, densely but neatly written.
She had told him to copy books, but he had only written her name.
Although he was a bit disobedient, she had to admit that her heart softened.
When she walked to the desk, she saw that he had fallen asleep at some point. Half of his face was buried in the ink, and there were large ink stains on the desk, the ground, and even on his body.
Alas!
He looked so pitiful now, as if she had bullied him.
But thinking about what he had done, it was clearly she who had been bullied!
She really loved and hated him at the same time!
Li Xinyue crumpled the paper in her hand and stormed out of the study. She almost bumped into Lian'er head - on and was almost splashed with hot water by her.
Fortunately, Lian'er stopped quickly. She held the copper basin and stepped back quickly. As a result, the sloshing hot water splashed on her own face.
"Ugh! Princess!"
Li Xinyue was amused by Lian'er's stupidity. She raised her eyebrows, feeling a bit more comfortable. Thinking about Chu Junyi's pitiful state, she decided to show mercy.
"When he wakes up, clean up the study and let him live there. Also, clear out one of my cloakrooms for him. Order someone to buy some decent clothes and send them to the cloakroom."
"Ah? For whom should I buy the clothes?"
"Him!"
After Li Xinyue said the word "him", she realized that she had been tricked by Lian'er. She gave Lian'er a sideways glare.
Lian'er stuck out her tongue and fled in a hurry, "I'll go and do it right away, Your Highness!"
Inside the room, Chu Junyi heard the sound and slowly opened his eyes.
Outside the room, Li Xinyue turned around and went back to her bedroom. She put on a neat suit of clothes and tied a simple ponytail. Then she directly climbed out of the windowsill, leaped, and left Mingyue Courtyard.
By the time Chu Junyi chased out, he only saw a bright and valiant figure disappearing from his sight. This scene was as desolate as when he had rushed from the Princess - Consort's Mansion to the Princess's Mansion in a hurry and saw her flying away.
Li Xinyue walked briskly towards the main entrance of the Princess's Mansion.
The sunlight shone on her shoulders. The shadows of the trees and flowers were like patterns on her black Hangzhou - silk suit, making her slender and straight figure look more imposing and high - spirited.
She was going to deal with someone now, Bai Yiyi.
...
"Slap!"
A clear slap sounded in the room.
Five finger marks were clearly printed on Bai Yiyi's face, and each finger had been wearing a ring.
The slap was so painful that tears welled up in her eyes. She wanted to cry out but couldn't because her mouth was gagged. She wanted to rub the painful spot, but her hands were tightly tied.
Bai Yiyi was at a loss from the pain. Her round and beautiful almond - shaped eyes squinted slightly, showing a bit of despair and resentment. But when she met Li Xinyue's disdainful gaze, she immediately held it back. She didn't dare to show the slightest bit of resentment.
She was afraid of dying even faster.