Qi Yuan finally raised her head to look at him, and the question that had troubled her for so long was nearly about to burst from her lips.
But her reason forcefully suppressed that doubt.
Xiao Yunting’s feelings weren’t fake. The things he had done for her weren’t fake either.
But the most unbearable thing in this world isn’t that someone doesn’t love you—it’s when they say they love you deeply, over and over again, and then still give you up without hesitation.
In the end, she merely looked at Xiao Yunting calmly, gave a faint smile, and then her expression turned cold: “Just as Your Highness said, whether or not I like you is my business. As for whether you have what it takes to make me like you… we’ll just have to wait and see.”
If something can’t be resolved, then leave it to time.
She had said she wouldn’t be troubled by love—but if someone insisted on being troubled by love for her, then she couldn’t be bothered to stop them.
Qi Zhen was hiding behind a tree, nearly tearing the bark off in frustration.
He always knew his daughter wasn’t ordinary—but he didn’t expect her to be this extraordinary.
His Highness had practically proposed, and yet Qi Yuan could still keep her cool?
What kind of man would she accept?
Xiao Yunting, however, was not discouraged.
The things you love are always expensive, and the expensive things are always rare.
Qi Yuan understood why he was so passionate now.
It’s always the things one can’t obtain that seem the most precious.
She tapped the stone table lightly and looked up at Xiao Yunting. “Your Highness, as the chief judge of the Pu Wuyong case, must be extremely busy. I won’t keep you any longer.”
That was a clear dismissal. Xiao Yunting felt a little helpless, but in the end, he simply stood up, looked at Qi Yuan silently for a moment, then turned and left.
Just as Qi Yuan said—some things needed to be left to time.
Only over a long journey do you know a horse’s strength; only with time do you see someone’s true heart. Sooner or later, he would make Qi Yuan see his sincerity.
Meanwhile, the court was in chaos over the matter of the Eastern Isles.
Cuizheng grabbed the hem of his robes and dashed out after court, terrified that if he were too slow, Censor Tie and the group of old veteran officials would catch and beat him up.
He was truly innocent!
Marriage alliances had never existed in Great Zhou. Even sending a princess was already giving the Eastern Isles an immense honor—what more did they want with a noble lady as dowry?
The reason the Ministry of Rites and the Court of Diplomatic Ceremony hadn’t taken action for so long was precisely because they disdained the whole idea—no one had taken it seriously!
At most, they might send a couple of palace maids as dowry attendants, and even that would be generous.
When Princess Baorong got word of what had happened, she smashed everything in her palace that could be smashed.
Qi Wang simply stood to the side and quietly watched her rage.
For a moment, he felt dazed.
That was the previous life, wasn’t it?
At that time, Princess Baorong and Qi Yuan had been at each other’s throats. Princess Baorong claimed that Qi Yuan harbored ill intent and had secretly passed intelligence to the rebels. But Qi Yuan had wept, insisting it was all Princess Baorong’s slander.
Qi Wang felt an unexplainable ache in his heart.
That woman had always been a good actress.
When she cried, she made you believe she was truly in pain.
So he had confined Princess Baorong, imprisoning her and her princess consort in the princess’s residence, forbidding them to leave.
Now that he thought about it, Princess Baorong had also raged like this in the palace back then.
Hysterical. Furious to the point of madness.
Qi Yuan really did have the ability to drive people to madness.
Qi Wang’s heart throbbed with pain. He leaned back against the meditation cushion, pressed his lips together, and after a long while finally muttered: “Let it go, Baorong. You’ll never beat her.”
That woman—she could be ruthless, she could bow low, she could kill without hesitation.
She had almost no weaknesses, as if she wasn’t even a complete human being.
Princess Baorong turned back with bloodshot eyes and stared hard at Qi Wang. In the end, she spat out two cold words: “Useless. You’re truly useless!”
She grabbed everything within reach and hurled it at him.
“You knew all along what kind of thing she was! And yet because of your petty feelings, because of your pathetic softness, you let this scourge live to this day—she got Uncle killed, got Grandfather killed, and even got Mother killed!”
The fury she had suppressed for days burst out all at once and could no longer be held back. Princess Baorong grabbed the front of Qi Wang’s robe and slapped him across the face—twice, with practiced precision.
She was quite used to slapping people like this.
It was just that after becoming a princess, she rarely had the chance to do it herself.
Now was the perfect time—and her old skills came back strong and fierce.
Qi Wang was stunned by the blows. By the time she had landed several more slaps and his ears were ringing, he finally shoved her away and roared, “Are you insane?!”
He could hardly believe it.
Princess Baorong had always been arrogant and domineering—but that was toward others. Toward them, she had always been warm.
When had she ever looked like this—like a complete madwoman?
Princess Baorong glared at him with hate in her eyes. “Mother won’t rest in peace beneath the earth. Xiao Ling, you worthless coward! You are the one who got them all killed!”
With that, she turned and stormed straight out of the hall.
Qi Wang slumped behind her, lost and shaken, then suddenly came to his senses and rushed after her, dragging her back into the palace, lowering his voice and demanding, “What the h*ll are you trying to do?!”
Princess Baorong curled her lip in scorn. “What am I trying to do? I’m not like you—mourning spring and grieving autumn, brooding over your dead little romance! I’m going to kill her!”
Qi Wang’s expression twisted in anger and humiliation. He grabbed her wrist tightly and warned, “Stop this madness! Haven’t you realized yet? Xiao Yunting is helping her. You’re no match for her—you can’t fight her! If you truly want revenge, you should lie low for a few years…”
He was going to be sent to his fiefdom.
Even if the Emperor disliked him, he wouldn’t be too harsh.
As long as the Emperor still ruled, he would have a chance to build his own power. Then he could come back, fully prepared, and strike without fail.
But Princess Baorong lifted her eyes and looked at him, her gaze filled with undisguised ridicule. “A few years? You think I still have a few years left if I go to the Eastern Isles?”
That Huailiang Qin Wang—did anyone really believe he was a good man?
Rumor had it that if not a thousand, at least eight hundred women had died at his hands.
Yes, she was a princess of the Celestial Empire.
But soon enough, Huailiang Qin Wang would realize that even a princess couldn’t change much—that she couldn’t actually bring him any real benefit from the court.
And when that time came, would he still let her live?
Besides, now that everything had blown up like this, she might not even get the chance to marry at all.
She was already standing in h*ll—why should she care if the floodwaters rise?
Qi Wang felt a chill under her gaze. For a moment, he couldn’t reply. He could only watch her walk straight out.
She disappeared from sight in an instant.
Just as he was about to give chase, Eunuch Xu quietly stepped up beside him and said softly, “Your Highness, let her go. You can’t stop the princess.”
Qi Wang turned his head and saw Eunuch Xu—rarely—looking him straight in the eyes. “Your Highness, in times like these, it would be good enough if you can protect yourself. And it’s not just the princess—Princess Mingcheng and the little prince are both still young. They’ll need their older brother to look after them in the future.”
In the past, Eunuch Xu would never have said such things.
But the current state of affairs left no room for any more mistakes from Qi Wang.
He understood what Eunuch Xu meant.
Watching Baorong’s figure disappear around the corner, he closed his eyes.
In the end, he didn’t go after her.
