Emperor Xiao patiently said, "If you want to see Pei Zhi, then you must not do anything that will anger her."

Xiao Chengci didn't know what else he could do. "Then what should I do?"

"Right now, all you can do is give her a proper burial."

"Xiao Chengci, you need to become a man of integrity and take responsibility. Only then will Pei Zhi respect you more, understand?"

"Don't disappoint me again, or I will really depose you."

If Xiao Chengci still can't see through matters of the heart...

Emperor Xiao dared not entrust such a vast country to Xiao Chengci.

"I will give you three days. After three days, I want to see Xiao Chengci, the Crown Prince of the Great Xiao, not a Xiao Chengci who is troubled by love."

Emperor Xiao left after saying this.

Three days is enough to do a lot of things.

During these three days, Lu Xiuyuan buried Pei Zhi and resigned from his official post.

Lu Xiuyuan was unwilling to stay in the capital any longer, and Pei Zhi left behind a sum of money.

Lu Xiuyuan presented these items to Pei Minxue, but Pei Minxue told Lu Xiuyuan to keep them.

With this money, Lu Xiuyuan's future should not be too difficult.

Pei Minxue had already given the mansion to Pei Zhi and Lu Xiuyuan, and he hadn't taken it back.

After resigning from his official post, Lu Xiuyuan took Pei Zhi's ashes and planned to find a small village to live in seclusion.

As for Lu's mother, she was arrested by the authorities on the day the incident occurred.

Before leaving, Lu Xiuyuan visited his mother in prison.

Lu Xiuyuan gave a sum of money to the yamen runner, asking him to send a letter in advance if anything happened to his mother so that he could come and collect her body.

Lu's mother was, after all, Lu Xiuyuan's biological mother. For her to poison her daughter-in-law was a grave crime, and she would probably spend the rest of her life in prison.

Lu Xiuyuan was too exhausted to be too harsh on his mother.

Shang Huai was in good health, and his wound wasn't too deep. He also didn't want to stay in the capital, a place that caused him so much heartache.

Three days later, Xiao Chengci put on the crown prince's court robes and attended the morning court session. Everything seemed to have cleared up after the storm.

A month later, Emperor Xiao and Empress Shang discussed and decided on the candidates for the Crown Princess and two concubines.

The Crown Princess is the daughter of the Grand Secretary, and her family has been high-ranking officials for three generations.

The Crown Princess's maternal family is the Liu clan of Nanyu, whose members have countless sons serving as officials in the imperial court.

The other two candidates for concubines are also quite distinguished.

No one was surprised by the choice of the Crown Princess; there were only a few candidates.

The Crown Prince's marriage is a major event, and the wedding banquet is scheduled for six months from now.

Normally, the date is set for a year later, but His Highness the Crown Prince is not young anymore.

Emperor Xiao was also worried about what might happen, so he decided to set the date closer to the future.

In any case, the palace has a large number of people, and the things needed for the crown prince's wedding were prepared long ago, so there won't be any shortage of time.

This time, Xiao Chengci had no objection to the selection of the Crown Princess.

After the candidate was confirmed, Xiao Chengci simply said he understood.

Xiao Chengci has accepted that Pei Zhi is truly dead.

Xiao Chengci accepted it; Pei Zhi would never exist in this world again.

Xiao Chengci accepted it; after Pei Zhi's death, it didn't matter who he married.

From selecting the Crown Princess to the betrothal ceremony, there were other cumbersome procedures.

Xiao Chengci did not show his face at all throughout the entire process.

Empress Shang would avoid troubling Xiao Chengci whenever possible.

On the day of the wedding banquet, Xiao Chengci made a brief appearance, bowed to heaven and earth with the bride, and didn't even drink a couple of cups with the guests.

Pei Minxue, as Xiao Chengci's subordinate, drank quite a bit on the day of Xiao Chengci's wedding.

When Pei Minxue returned to the manor drunk, he heard from the servants that His Highness the Crown Prince was at the Duke's mansion. Pei Minxue was sobered up immediately.

What's wrong with Xiao Chengci this time?

Today is Xiao Chengci's wedding day, but at this hour, Xiao Chengci is not in the bridal chamber.

If word got out that they came to his house, who knows how nasty the rumors would be.

Pei Minxue hurriedly followed the servants and found Xiao Chengci.

Xiao Chengci was in Pei Zhi's former courtyard.

At that time, Pei Zhi's courtyard was burned down, and initially there was no plan to repair it.

Later, it was Pei's mother who suggested that the courtyard be repaired so that it could be a memento.

If you miss Pei Zhi, you can go and sit in Pei Zhi's courtyard.

The burned-down courtyard was repaired to be almost exactly the same as when Pei Zhi was there.

The decorations should be arranged exactly the same; if you can't find the exact same ones, look for similar ones.

Xiao Chengci didn't know where to go that night. He wanted to return to the main courtyard, but Deshun persuaded him that he should go to the back courtyard tonight and sleep with the Crown Princess.

The thought of sleeping in the same bed with a woman he had never met made Xiao Chengci feel nauseous.

Xiao Chengci wanted to go for a walk, but he didn't know where to go.

Where did Pei Zhi stay after he came to the capital?

That was Pei Zhi and Lu Xiuyuan's home. Inside that house were countless memories of Pei Zhi and Lu Xiuyuan. Xiao Chengci didn't want to go.

Therefore, Xiao Chengci had no choice but to come to the Duke's mansion.

Xiao Chengci was surprised that the Duke's Mansion had actually renovated Pei Zhi's courtyard.

"Your Highness, you're a real father to me!" Pei Minxue wailed upon seeing Xiao Chengci.

"On your wedding night, you left the Crown Princess in her room and came to my house. What kind of behavior is this?"

Pei Minxue sighed, "It's a good thing, there are no more girls in my family who are ready to get married, otherwise, even with several mouths to feed, we would still be in trouble."

"I don't want to stay in the East Palace. I want to go out for a walk, but I don't know where to go to find her."

Xiao Chengci said in a low voice, "When she first came to the capital and we met, she lived in the Duke's mansion. I wanted to come and see her."

Pei Minxue was deeply moved. "Your Highness, you are already married. Don't dwell on the past."

"Yes, I've already listened to you and gotten married. Can you please stop pressuring me?"

After Xiao Chengci said this, Pei Minxue could no longer offer any further advice.

With the wedding approaching, Pei Minxue and other subjects of Xiao Chengci were given a death order by Emperor Xiao.

If anything goes wrong at this wedding banquet, all of them will be beheaded.

"Then I will say no more."

Pei Minxue had also noticed Xiao Chengci's changes over the past six months.

His Highness became more composed and diligently completed all his tasks every day.

With someone else's wedding approaching, it's inevitable to experience some emotional ups and downs.

For His Highness, this wedding was merely a task to be completed.

To fulfill Emperor Xiao's mission and the expectations of the ministers.

As everyone had hoped, His Highness successfully completed the wedding banquet.

"If Your Highness is tired, why don't you rest at home today?"

"I'd like to rest in her room, is that alright?"

Pei Minxue hesitated for a moment, "This house has been uninhabited for a long time, so it's inevitable that there will be some dust."

"It's alright, I want to stay here today." Xiao Chengci wanted to stay here today, in the house where Pei Zhi used to live.