Chapter 295 Sorrow Arises from Love

That evening, Chu Jichen returned to the Regent's Palace earlier than usual.

For once, his brows were furrowed, and his usually smiling eyes were now filled with seriousness.

As soon as he entered the room, he stared intently at Shen Qingci, his eyes seeming to hold a thousand unspoken words.

Shen Qingci was sitting by the window sorting out her last few personal belongings when she saw this. She raised an eyebrow and teased, "Why are you looking at me like that? Are you reluctant to part with me?"

Chu Jichen pursed his lips, walked up to her, and said in a low voice, "I will deal with those people and those matters as soon as possible. If you miss me, you can come back secretly..."

He paused for a moment, as if he had thought of something, and changed his mind: "Never mind, don't come back to see me."

“I have many eyes and ears around me, and this is a critical moment. I’m afraid that if I can’t help myself and try to keep you here the moment I see you, I might reveal something and give someone a handle to use against me, which would end up harming you.”

Shen Qingci chuckled, put down what she was holding, stepped forward and gently wrapped her arms around his waist: "I thought that Your Highness was always fearless and could kill gods and Buddhas if they got in your way. I never thought that one day I would hear the word 'fear' from Your Highness's mouth."

Chu Jichen grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head: "I was indeed fearless before, because I didn't care about anything or anyone back then. I was just a worthless life, so let them do whatever they wanted with me."

“But now,” he tightened his arms, “with people I care about, I naturally have a weakness, and I have fears.”

Shen Qingci's lips moved, and a Buddhist saying suddenly came to mind: "From love arises sorrow, from love arises fear..."

A slight thought crossed her mind. She raised her head, stood on tiptoe, and gently kissed Chu Jichen's forehead, softly saying, "I understand."

"We won't be apart for too long. This short separation is just so that we can be together for a long time and live a peaceful life together in the future."

Chu Jichen responded softly, his eyes darkening: "Qingqing is right. A short separation is only for the sake of being together for a long time."

"This will definitely be the last time we are forced to separate. From now on, no one, no matter who it is, will ever make us separate again."

After Chu Jichen finished speaking, he suddenly pulled Shen Qingci close, touched his lips with his slender fingers, and said with a hint of teasing in his eyes, "Qingqing, you must remember this in the future. If you want to comfort me, you have to kiss here."

Before he could react, he lowered his head and kissed Shen Qingci.

The kiss was passionate and lingering, filled with reluctance and longing for the impending separation.

After a long while, Chu Jichen finally released Shen Qingci, slightly out of breath, his eyes glistening with tears.

He took a deep breath and calmed himself down: "Let's go, while you're still in the manor, let's take a walk around the manor."

“Apart from my courtyard, which has been thoroughly cleaned, there are likely other places in the mansion where they have eyes and ears.”

“Let’s go for a walk, act a little more intimate and affectionate, so that those people hiding in the shadows can see and be more convinced that you are still in the mansion.”

Shen Qingci responded and pushed Chu Jichen's wheelchair out the door.

The scenery of the Regent's Palace was indeed carefully crafted, with beautiful views at every turn and pavilions and towers arranged in a harmonious and orderly manner.

Shen Qingci pushed Chu Jichen around the mansion slowly, feeding the koi by the lake. The two sat side by side on the swing in the courtyard and talked for a while until it got dark, then they strolled back to the main courtyard.

As soon as Shen Qingci returned to her dormitory, she saw a woman who looked exactly like her standing quietly in the dormitory waiting for her.

Hearing the noise, the woman turned around, revealing herself to be Chu Yuening in disguise.

"Royal brother, royal sister-in-law." Chu Yuening bowed to the two of them, her voice deliberately imitating Shen Qingci's.

Shen Qingci was taken aback: "You're here so early? I thought you were going to come in the middle of the night."

Chu Jichen lowered his eyes, his gaze icy: "I was thinking that since Qingqing has already packed everything today, it would be a bit unreasonable for her to stay here any longer if people noticed the change in her luggage. It would be better to switch places while we've just taken a stroll around the manor and no one is suspicious."

"The sooner we make the exchange, the sooner we can lure people out, and the sooner we can end this, the sooner you can rest assured and come back sooner."

Shen Qingci nodded: "That's true, it's better to do it sooner rather than later."

She walked up to Chu Yuening, looked her over carefully, and felt somewhat relieved to see that her disguise was so lifelike.

Shen Qingci smiled and took Chu Yuening's hand, saying solemnly, "Then everything is in your hands."

"You must protect yourself. If you encounter danger, it's okay to expose yourself, but you must ensure your safety. You must think about Tuantuan all the time; she is still waiting for her mother to come back."

Mentioning Tuantuan, Chu Yuening's expression softened, a resolute glint in her eyes. She simply nodded and replied, "Alright, sister-in-law, don't worry, I understand. For Tuantuan's sake, I will never let anything happen to myself."

Chu Jichen watched from the side, his eyelashes fluttering slightly, and said, "Yuanbao and Yelan have always been by your side to protect you, but now that you have switched identities with Yue Ning, in order not to reveal any flaws, Yuanbao and Yelan cannot go with you, otherwise it will easily arouse suspicion."

Chu Jichen frowned. No matter how meticulous the arrangements were, his eyes were still filled with worry, as if he wanted to etch Shen Qingci into his heart and take her away: "I have transferred a few of the guards who were also secretly protecting you before, but who have never shown their faces, to follow you."

"Their skills are no less than Yuanbao's and Yelan's, but they don't usually walk in the open, so they are not easily recognized."

"In addition, I summoned Qingming and asked her to transfer some elites from the Shen family's secret service to accompany you to the other courtyard. The Shen family's secret service has special methods, which may be of great use in critical moments."

Shen Qingci felt a warmth in her heart. Seeing Chu Jichen's tense expression, she couldn't help but laugh, trying to ease the atmosphere: "There's no danger for me to go to the other courtyard. Isn't that your territory too?"

"There's no need to arrange so many people. The situation in the capital is tense right now, and you need more manpower here. You can leave the extra people in the capital to help you."

Chu Jichen did not answer her question, but simply pursed his lips tightly, clearly indicating that there was no room for discussion on this matter.

He whispered, "I'll have my guards take you out through a secret passage. Only a very few trusted men know about this passage; it's absolutely safe. Be careful, and don't make me worry."

Seeing his insistence, Shen Qingci said no more.

She reached out and gently scratched Chu Jichen's palm, as if it were a silent comfort and promise, before reluctantly letting go of his hand and turning to follow the guards into the secret passage.