Princess Zhaoyang cried for a while, then pushed Marquis Yong'an away, wiped away her tears, and continued speaking.

"Although the arrow did not hit my sister's vital organs, the arrowhead was highly poisoned, and she left a few days after returning to the palace."

Before she left, she held my hand and told me not to be sad, and to live well, for her sake too…

She couldn't describe how grief-stricken and remorseful she felt when her sister passed away.

For the rest of her life, she regretted her willfulness and mischievousness countless times.

If she hadn't insisted on dragging her sister to find the white deer, they wouldn't have encountered the assassin.

If they hadn't encountered the assassin, her sister wouldn't have died saving her.

She was about to get married, and she should have lived a harmonious and long life with her husband, surrounded by children and grandchildren.

But because of her, he died at a young age.

Besides them, the Empress had no other children. Her older sister grew up by her side, and her feelings for her sister were much deeper than for her.

She couldn't accept her sister's death.

She cried herself to death.

After waking up, she continued to cry.

She threw herself on her sister more than once, wailing in utter grief.

"You're so young, how could you leave your mother behind? Your mother would rather die herself..."

She was completely numb at that moment; despite being extremely grief-stricken, she couldn't shed a single tear.

Upon hearing her mother's words, she thought to herself: "Yes, why was it my sister who died, and not me?"

I wish I were the one who died.

That way, Mother wouldn't be so sad, and my sister could live a good life.

Thinking this way, an idea came to mind.

She took off her disguise mask and put it on her sister's face.

"...From that moment on, I 'died,' and my elder sister survived, the dignified, poised, composed, and gentle princess."

Princess Zhaoyang said calmly.

She sheathed all her sharpness, all her wildness, all her preferences, all her aspirations and dreams, and from then on lived like her older sister.

Read the books my sister loves, practice the characters she often writes, draw the pictures she likes, follow the rules she follows, and marry the person my sister wants to marry.

She wanted to live the rest of her life in her sister's place.

Because she wanted to observe mourning for her sister, she postponed her wedding for three years, citing poisoning and being bedridden.

In the past three years, she has completely replaced herself with the older sister. Even when the Empress Dowager sees her, she subconsciously thinks that the person standing in front of her is the eldest daughter.

After marrying Yi Sheng, she continued to live her life according to her sister's personality.

Yi Sheng treated her very well, far better than she had imagined.

She had assumed that he was like most literati, with only romance, poetry, wine, tea, and classical texts in his eyes, and disdainful of everything else.

But no.

He cared for her deeply, wishing he could spoil her like a pampered wife who never had to worry about anything.

When her period started, he personally brewed brown sugar ginger tea for her. When the weather got cold, he brought her water to soak her feet. He even washed her underwear every day by hand.

Seeing how painful childbirth was for her, he took medicine to stop having children, saying that Han'er was enough.

Under his subtle and gentle care, she unknowingly fell for him.

Sometimes she forgets she's the older sister and acts a little temperamental.

He never cared and only spoiled her more.

This made her feel even more guilty, feeling sorry for both her sister and Yi Sheng.

Such a good husband should have been my sister's.

Yi Sheng originally wanted to marry the older sister.

She impersonated his older sister and deceived him for so many years.

If he knew the truth, he definitely wouldn't forgive her.

She never intended to reveal the truth; Song Shiwei no longer existed in this world, only Situ Ning remained.

If Linlang hadn't suddenly appeared, she probably would have taken the truth to her grave.

Cooked food...

“Linlang and my sister look exactly alike, even the mole on their eyebrows looks like they were made from the same mold.”

Princess Zhaoyang said.

“But she’s definitely not the older sister. I’ve counted the spiral patterns on the older sister’s head; she has one spiral pattern with nine loops, while Linlang has three spiral patterns with seven loops.”

If it weren't for this difference, she would have thought that her sister had been preserved by a secret method after her burial and had now come back to life.

But Linlang's temperament is somewhat like her older sister's.

She has the exact same face as her sister, so how could she bear to ignore her?

After Princess Zhaoyang finished speaking, she looked out the window and remained silent.

Marquis Yong'an sighed deeply.

He pulled the person into his arms.

"How could you be so silly..."

She was so foolish that it broke his heart.

What initially attracted him was her appearance, but over the past twenty years, what has made him increasingly fond of her is her unintentional unruliness and naivety.

Perhaps if he had married the original princess, he would have lived a loving life with her, but he might not have spoiled her to this extent.

I thought I was good enough to her, but it turned out to be far from enough.

She lived in pain and guilt for so many years, and he never even noticed.

She even thought she deserved to be called a dutiful husband.

"I was so negligent; I should have noticed it sooner."

Marquis Yong'an comforted him gently.

Princess Zhaoyang couldn't hold back and buried her face in his shoulder, bursting into tears.

Xiao Qingyin turned her head away, refusing to look at them.

But their eyes met Yi Shuihan's.

He also happened to turn his head to the side.

The two looked at each other for a moment, then looked away.

To be honest, before Princess Zhaoyang revealed her true feelings, Xiao Qingyin only thought of her as a pampered rich flower who was unaware of the hardships of life.

After hearing it, she felt like worshipping him.

What kind of endurance and perseverance does it take to play another person for more than twenty years?

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!