Chapter 51

A glimmer of hope ignited in Duanmu Huaixin's heart. It was great that his sister Wen could still be by his side, even in the future...

Before Duanmu Huaixin could think about the future, Wen Weili decisively dispelled all his thoughts: "I'm sorry, Xinxin, forget me."

What? What is Sister Wen talking about? Duanmu Huaixin felt as if a huge torrent surged through his ears, shaking his chest and making it feel empty. "Are you kidding me? You must be lying to me again..."

Duanmu Huaixin's eyes were filled with heat, blurring the view of Wen Weili as she left. Just lie to me, just like when we were little, just lie to me, and when I cry out loud, appear in front of me with a smile, wipe away my tears with a handkerchief, and coax me to laugh again with sweet snacks.

"Xinxin, look, this is the calming tea I made for you," Xiao Wenweili handed a cup of tea to the little Duanmu Huaixin, "I learned this from my master with great difficulty. As long as you drink this, you won't have bad dreams at night."

"Woo wow—this is so bitter, Sister Wen, will this really help me sleep well?"

"Hahahahaha, stupid Xinxin, of course not."

"Wow wow wow...", Duanmu Huaixin was deceived and burst into tears, crying breathlessly, "Bad sister... I'm going to tell father that you bullied me again."

"Oh my," Xiao Wenweili quickly stuffed a sweet candy into the little Duanmu Huaixin's mouth, and then quickly took out a handkerchief, turning it to the side without patterns to wipe the little Duanmu Huaixin's tears, "Good girl, try this sweet candy."

Even though he was deceived, little Duanmu Huaixin still opened his mouth and ate the candy: "Hmm, it doesn't seem very sweet."

"Will it be less bitter this way?" Xiao Wen Weili smiled and threw the handkerchief aside.

"Oh, thank you Sister Wen." Little Duanmu Huaixin thought for a moment, then showed a very cute smile. Later, he always ate such a not-so-sweet 'candy'. He didn't understand it at that time, but only realized when he grew up that these 'candies' were the real things that made him stop having nightmares.

But even though Duanmu Huaixin didn't understand the deeper meaning behind Wen Weili's actions when he was a child, he followed her instinctively and didn't care even if he was laughed at by others.

Duanmu Huaixin thought that they would always be happy like this. Even though the eldest brother, the crown prince, tried to attack him again and again for the throne, he just avoided it because he felt that Wen Weili did not like the palace and even hated the royal family. He did not want to sit on the throne and could give up his status as a prince and just want Sister Wen.

He had already made preparations. After Sister Wen married him, they would go to see all the beautiful scenery in the world, indulge themselves in the mountains and rivers, no longer care about the intrigues, and live their lives to the fullest.

No matter how beautiful Duanmu Huai's dreams were, he was rejected by Wen Weili the first time he confessed his feelings to her. He thought he was not doing well enough, so he listened to Wen Weili more from then on, but he still failed the second time.

He also asked Wen Weili why, but Wen Weili just said that it was impossible for them.

Duanmu Huaixin was unwilling to give up. He was a prince who was not loved by everyone since he was a child. After receiving the warm light from Wen Weili, he became more determined, just like a drowning person grabbing a life-saving straw, trying desperately to get it, but he didn't know that it would only make himself and his beloved person further away.

In this way, time and time again, Duanmu Huaixin gradually learned to hide his thoughts in front of Wen Weili, as if the initial confession of affection was just a joke between children. Sure enough, Wen Weili believed Duanmu Huaixin's disguise and treated him like a younger brother. Even the compensation after using him was not tainted with a trace of love between men and women.

When Duanmu Huaixin learned that Wen Weili was going to marry him as a concubine, he was confused and worried, but he still pretended to be happy and married her. This was not only to fulfill Wen Weili's wish, but also to satisfy the ominous premonition in Duanmu Huaixin's heart.

In Duanmu Huaixin's countless nightmares, this scene finally appeared before his eyes. Wen Weili's farewell came very suddenly, but Duanmu Huaixin was not that surprised. Perhaps it was the repeated rejections, or the look in Wen Weili's eyes that had never been moved. He had known for a long time that he could not keep Wen Weili, but he was still unwilling to give up.

He couldn't bear to see their long-standing friendship so fragile, couldn't bear to see the happiness that seemed so within reach vanish, and couldn't bear to never see Wen Weili again. Although they promised to meet again, when would that be? Would it be in a year, or ten years? Or would they never see each other again in this lifetime?

As Wen Weili 'gave up' on him again and again, Duanmu Huaixin's hatred grew wildly, just like the murderous look in his dark eyes. The hateful look finally attracted Wen Weili's attention. Wen Weili was a little surprised by this, but it still couldn't make her stop.

Because she doesn't love him, love can only be let go, and hatred cannot be kept.

"Wen Weili, I hate you." Duanmu Huaixin roared. He fell powerlessly in the room and could only watch helplessly as the person he hated slowly left his sight, turned into a glaring dot, and finally disappeared. Only the empty wind wandered in the yard, just like Duanmu Huaixin's broken heart howling in the cold wind.

The day after Wen Weili disappeared, autumn rain finally swept through the imperial city with a freezing cold wind. The emperor was very angry during the morning court. He scolded the soldiers guarding the city for being useless and the guards in charge of the palace for dereliction of duty. In the end, he had no choice but to let go of a small person who broke his promise.

In the third month after Wen Weili disappeared, the Wen Mansion's secret search finally stopped. Countless forces related to the princes were mobilized, wanting to take this opportunity to overthrow the second prince and his supporters in one fell swoop. In the end, they spent a lot of money but got no results. The staff thought that he was just an unfilial person and must not be of any importance, so they gave up the investigation.

It was the first New Year that Wen Weili had disappeared. The imperial city was still bustling with traffic and people were decorating it with lights and colors everywhere in preparation for a lively New Year celebration. The absence of one person had almost no effect on the city. The turmoil caused by the crown prince's regent a few months ago was no longer mentioned. With the crown prince's dethronement and self-harm, and the second prince Duanmu Huaixin's silence, the remaining princes and nobles also lived in seclusion and were very quiet in front of the emperor. After all, no one wanted to follow in the crown prince's footsteps.

On the night of New Year's Eve, the bustling sounds of hawking passed by the dilapidated wall of Prince Huai's Mansion. Duanmu Huaixin raised the wine jar in the moonlight and poured a glass of wine into the glass of the person opposite him.

The man opposite held the cup in his left hand, drank it all in one gulp, and said with a cheerful laugh, "Second brother, a long time ago, I never thought that I would be able to meet you here one day."

Duanmu Huaixin's eyes were dull, as if he was in a trance.

"Hahaha, my good father, this is the son you wanted. I wonder if you are satisfied with how 'well-behaved' we are now?" The deposed prince drunkenly picked up a rusty sword from the ground and danced with the sword with his left hand under the moonlight, while his right sleeve was empty, swaying in the cold wind.

As the last sword strike came down, the deposed prince thrust the rusty sword forward, placing it across Duanmu Huaixin's neck and saying, "My dear brother, would you please visit the Netherworld Palace?"

Duanmu Huaixin seemed to be dead. Even when the deposed prince threatened to kill him, he did not move an inch.

"What is love in this world... a promise of life and death..." The deposed prince smiled even more happily, "If it weren't for that woman, you would be the new prince now, my dear brother."

Hearing this, Duanmu Huaixin finally blinked his eyes, and instantly became alert: "She's back? Is Sister Wen back?"

"Of course not," the deposed crown prince took the wine jar and drank the water eagerly, as if he was dying of thirst. He laughed wildly until he choked, "Ahem... Hahahahahaha, look at us, look at us, the once glorious crown prince, the once arrogant Prince Huai, are now useless!"

"You, for a woman, have become like this." The deposed prince leaned close to Duanmu Huaixin and whispered, as if blown away by the wind the next second, "Only by ascending to that position can you bring that woman back."

Duanmu Huaixin finally smiled a little, "It's useless, he can't do it, and I can't do it either. Sister, sister will never come back." He smiled happily, but the hole in his heart was full of coldness. Looking at the moon in the sky, Duanmu Huaixin only hoped that his sister Wen could live happily, even if his heart was frozen to death here.

"Humph, you can't do it?" The deposed crown prince grabbed Duanmu Huaixin's collar. "I've known what kind of little monster you are since you were little. You can only live like a human being by relying on her. She made you like a human being, but you and I both know that the monster's skin will be peeled off eventually. When that time comes, do you think she will still accept you?"

Duanmu Huaixin fell silent under the questioning of the deposed crown prince. Seeing this, the deposed crown prince also stopped talking and poured wine into his mouth. After a long time, Duanmu Huaixin finally spoke: "Yes."

"What a poor creature you are," the deposed prince drank the wine in the jar in one gulp, "you little monster, just wait for death in this rubbish." As he said that, the deposed prince threw the wine jar at Duanmu Huaixin, laughed loudly, and staggered out from the crack in the middle of the wide-open main gate of Prince Huai's Mansion.

Duanmu Huaixin sat there for a long, long time, until the rising sunlight shone on his face with a hint of warmth. Duanmu Huaixin looked straight towards the east, and shed tears as he looked at the red sun, not knowing whether it was because of the pain. In his hand, he tightly grasped a piece of silk cloth used by women, one side of which was embroidered with the latest patterns, and the other side was stained with a faint woman's fragrance.

Duanmu Huaixin covered his face with his hands, greedily absorbing the scent from Wen Weili. It really is my sister. Ah, Xinxin misses you so much, so much, so much, so much, so much, that he is going crazy and missing you so much, but he will not die, because you are still alive.

Sister Wen...I will find you, I will avenge my hatred on you, and I will ask for my love from you.