True feelings are hard to predict

Jing Yao once thought that when everything was over, she would confess everything to Si Pei.

But only now did she realize that since Si Pei was also hiding something from her, had he ever considered being honest with her? If he was willing to speak first, she would tell him about the grudges of past and present lives according to her original intention. If he evaded her and revealed it...

"Yaoyao, are you asking how I'm going to get into the city?" Si Pei's expression remained calm, as if he had truly understood what she meant. "Thanks to Yaoyao for instructing Wen Rencuo to come and help me in advance, I was able to avoid the trap set by Yue Ningning at the critical moment and successfully enter the city."

When Yue Ningning was acting as Si Jue, he did not have too many troops under his command. Wenren Cuo appeared with the token of Wenren Da Sima, and there were not many blocking troops after entering the outer city gate.

The army entered the palace smoothly, and officials naturally saluted Si Pei as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince as usual. The individuals held captive in the Palace of Heavenly Purity regained consciousness after six hours, but the emperor had grown even weaker due to his physical condition. Furthermore, he had already placed high hopes on Si Pei, and now, suddenly, power still lay in his hands.

Si Jue's power was completely uprooted, and those who had defected before were liquidated one by one during the half month that Jing Yao was comatose.

"Anything else?"

Si Pei pondered her thoughts. "Don't worry. The Baili family and the Wenren family are not involved. I did reduce some of the power of the former, and the latter... Although Wenren Cuo has made contributions, it is difficult to offset his faults. I only assigned their children to serve in the border areas. Don't worry, the youngest son Wenren You can stay in the capital. His marriage with the second lady of the Jiang family will not be affected. I have already granted a separate marriage. In addition, the eldest lady of the Jiang family has made contributions, and the emperor has conferred her the title of Princess as a reward. The Huo family was not involved from beginning to end and will not be implicated. As for Zuo Yuanwu... I won't touch him."

Si Pei knew that although Jing Yao seemed indifferent on the surface, he was still worried about his friends. Coincidentally, Baili Wenfu and several young masters of the Wenren family were indeed useful talents, so he basically gave them a lenient sentence.

He was right. Jing Yao had indeed worried about what would happen to these people. Jiang Jing had risked her life that day, disguising herself as another Qing'er to help her. She could never forget this favor. If the Wenren family was raided, Jiang Wen and Wen Renyou, lovers, would be forced to separate. The last thing she wanted to see was her friend suffer and be heartbroken.

"Besides these," Jing Yao raised his eyes, trying to see any panic or guilt on Si Pei's face, "is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Now that everyone else's affairs have been arranged, it's time to talk about what's going on between them.

Si Pei was stunned for a moment, then suddenly raised his lips, his voice filled with uncontrollable joy. "There is indeed something I want to tell you... Yaoyao, are you still willing to join me in the wedding ceremony that was unexpectedly not held?"

The spark that had just ignited in Jing Yao's heart was instantly extinguished, and he continued to watch Si Pei happily reminiscing with a forced smile.

"The old emperor just summoned me to talk today. He said he didn't know when he would die, and he hoped we could get married soon."

Even that old stubborn man agreed, so who else in the world could oppose him and Yao Yao?

Si Pei looked at Jing Yao expectantly, his eyes filled with thousands of tender emotions. Jing Yao's heart was filled with mixed feelings, which finally turned into just one word: "Okay."

Her body suddenly lost weight and was lifted into the air by the young man. Jing Yao subconsciously hugged his neck tightly during the brief dizziness. Si Pei was overjoyed and spun her around several times in his arms.

He grinned so foolishly that the corners of his mouth almost reached his ears. He looked less like a prince and more like a silly son of a landlord who had been given some candy.

"Yaoyao! Yaoyao!"

Si Pei turned around and slowly put Jing Yao back on the ground. Their two warm and cool foreheads touched each other. He couldn't help but breathe heavily, and his heart was so excited that it almost jumped out of his throat and rushed to Jing Yao.

He didn't know what was wrong with him, but he couldn't help but keep whispering her name over and over again, his joy overflowing with words: "Yaoyao...Ayao..."

"What's wrong."

In stark contrast to him, Jing Yao's reaction could be described as calm, even cold, and the smile on his lips seemed a little forced.

Si Pei lowered his eyes to look at her. Perhaps he could see or perhaps he was just pretending not to understand Jing Yao's loss. He still held her hand tightly and placed it on his heart.

"Yaoyao, this heart will always belong to you, only you."

The clear and strong heartbeat traveled along the veins in her palm and resonated in her mind. Jing Yao never doubted that Si Pei would lie about loving her.

The more sincere he was about this feeling, the more Jing Yao couldn't accept his deliberate concealment.

Jing Yao is not a person who likes to be suspicious. He has lived two lives and there is no need for him to be so paranoid. But if he didn't have something to hide, why didn't he even want to mention the Jing family case?

"I'm tired, go get ready yourself."

Si Pei nodded repeatedly, and did not forget to pick her up and gently put her back on the couch.

"Yaoyao, just take a good rest. I will prepare the most grand wedding ceremony in the world for you."

The excitement in Si Pei's eyes was undeniable. Jing Yao closed her eyes, looking exhausted and pretending to fall asleep. The man sat by the bed for a long time before finally leaning over and placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Yaoyao, I love you."

The footsteps gradually faded away, and Jing Yao suddenly opened his eyes. His chest heaved violently and he couldn't help but take deep breaths and gasps repeatedly, which scared Bo Yue Zhiyue outside the screen.

"Madam, what's wrong with you?"

Jing Yao stopped Bo Yue who wanted to come in to check on him: "No need, I'm fine, I just had a nightmare."

"yes."

Bo Yue retreated awkwardly, looking at Zhi Yue beside her and whispering, "What's wrong with Madam Jing? She's been so uninterested and downcast since she woke up."

"Maybe I'm not in the mood because I just recovered from a serious injury."

Jing Yao lay calmly on the bed. Si Pei had been staying in her bedroom for the past few days because he was afraid of disturbing her. She finally enjoyed the feeling of sleeping alone for the first time in a long time.

As the night deepened, all around was quiet. Jing Yao didn't know if it was an illusion, but she felt that she could almost hear the crackling sound of the candle burning in the lamp beside the couch and the sound of wax sliding down, as if the drop of wax was passing by her ear.

Jing Yao woke up in a daze, only to find that it was already daylight outside the window. Unbeknownst to him, the night had already passed.

"Miss?"

Zhiyue brought a basin of hot water for her to wash up. Jing Yao got up and went to the bathtub, saying that she wanted to soak in the bath to warm herself up.

Zhiyue's face was full of confusion, and only Jingyao knew how sticky the cold sweat on his back was.

The great news of Jing Yao's awakening quickly spread from the palace to outside the palace. Those who were most worried about her wanted to get up early and squeeze into Yilan Palace to see her.

Therefore, Jing Yao had just washed off his tiredness comfortably when he informed Huo Zhuxin and the others that they were coming outside the hall.

"Ling Yi!"

Jiang Jing was still the one rushing in the front. She looked much more excited than Jing Yao. What happened that day always made her feel scared when she thought about it.

"I was so worried about you!"

Jiang Jing was about to hug him but hesitated for a moment. Jing Yao saw her worry and patted his chest and said, "My wounds are fine, don't worry."

Hearing this, the three of them rushed forward and hugged her. The youngest, Jiang Wen, couldn't hold back her tears. She knew that there would be big changes in the capital when her sister left in a hurry that day, and she didn't expect that even Jing Yao almost lost his life.

Huo Zhuxin felt both distressed and angry. Jing Yao and Jiang Jing actually dared to do such a dangerous thing without informing her in advance, leaving her in the dark and worried about them.

"It's okay, aren't we all fine?" Jing Yao finally smiled from the heart. Only when she was with her friends could she briefly divert her thoughts away from Si Pei's affairs.

"Should I call Ajing 'Princess' Your Highness now?"

When Jing Yao thought of this, he couldn't help but bring it up to make fun of it. Jiang Jing had just received the imperial edict a few days ago. She laughed so hard that she couldn't stop, but she felt it was rude and could only shake her head repeatedly. The Zhuofang flower hairpin on her head was swinging back and forth, which was not very noticeable.

Before Jing Yao could express his surprise, Huo Zhuxin beside him took over the conversation: "Yes, yes, this is none other than the Princess Yuzheng, who was personally appointed by His Majesty."

Jiang Jing glanced at her coquettishly, then said to Jing Yao, "I don't care about the empty title of princess or not, but Zhao Lingli has a solution that can solve my urgent problem."

Jing Yao asked: "What?"

Jiang Jing wiped away her tears and replied, "The Emperor said that my sister's marriage is her own decision, and no one is allowed to make any rash comments on whether or not to get married, or with whom to marry."

This is indeed a great thing for Jiang Jing, who loves freedom by nature but was born in a large family. Especially since her younger sister is already engaged and her elder sister has never married, there have been many rumors in the capital. Now that she has the title of princess and the emperor's personal edict, she doesn't have to worry about these things.

"My marriage is nothing special, but Ling Yi, you... hehehe, you're definitely the Crown Princess." Jiang Jing twirled a few strands of hair with her fingers. "After that, it'll be the Empress... The Crown Prince doesn't seem like someone who would have three harems and six courtyards, so the heir will definitely come from you..."

Seeing that Jing Yao's expression became more and more strange the more Jiang Jing spoke, Huo Zhuxin reached out and patted the girl who was still daydreaming beside him, signaling her to shut up.

The atmosphere was awkward for a moment, and Jiang Jing couldn't understand why Jing Yao reacted this way to the mention of marriage. Could it be because he was homesick?

"It's okay, I'm just still a little dizzy."

Jing Yao smiled, and his expression returned to normal. His friends wisely stopped talking about the appointment of the Crown Princess and turned the topic to Jiang Min.

Si Pei also came over during lunch. In front of Huo Zhuxin and the other two, he was considerate and gentle to Jing Yao, taking care of him in every detail, which was simply impeccable.

Originally, the three sisters had a bad impression of him because he locked Jing Yao up in the Eastern Palace. Later, Jing Yao himself didn't take it seriously so they didn't care about it anymore. Now it seems that Si Pei has some ability to make Jing Yao soften his heart.

Before leaving, Huo Zhuxin gave Jing Yao a few words of advice: "You said you were willing to accept Si Pei before, but if you have changed your mind now, don't force yourself. We are still here."

As she spoke, she turned around to look at the Jiang sisters playing. Jing Yao held Huo Zhuxin's hand and comforted her: "Don't worry, if I don't want to, no one can force me."

When Jing Yao sent the sisters away and returned to the palace, she found Si Pei had already left. Perhaps he had changed his ways now, knowing Jing Yao didn't want to see him, so he simply refrained from appearing in front of her.

In the afternoon, a guest came to Yilan Palace who was far beyond her expectations.

The white-haired young man sat at the table, sipping the tea Jing Yao had brewed for him. He frowned and said, "The tea in your palace is just so-so."

Jing Yao lowered his head and laughed: "Then why did Master Liu have the interest to come to my place?"

"Your injuries were treated with my medicine. I heard you woke up so I came to visit the patient. Is there anything wrong?"

"Of course not."

Liu Shiwei reached into her sleeve and pulled out a small box. She placed it on the table and gently pushed it towards Jing Yao. "I heard that you and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince are getting married soon. Unfortunately, Xiaoyu and I have to leave for Weihua Valley tomorrow, so I'm afraid we won't be able to make it in time. This is my advance wedding gift."

He took a deep breath. "I've already investigated the Crown Prince's poison. It's relatively stable now, but it's still not eradicated. I'll go back and look for medical books to research. If I make any progress, I'll let you know."

Liu Shiwei appears indifferent on the surface, like a hermit who is untainted by worldly affairs, but he is willing to show such concern for them for the so-called opportunity.

"Meeting is fate, and since it is fate, there must be a conclusion."

Liu Shi smiled slightly, answering Jing Yao's inner doubts.

Jing Yao thought of something.

"There's one thing I don't know if you can do."

Liu Shiwei shrugged: "Just say it."