Chapter 18 A tear fell into her heart.

Li Yunru felt a lump in her throat. She had seen the cold-heartedness of aristocratic families before, but she never imagined that people could be so cruel as to not even spare their own daughter.

"I didn't want it to be like this, elder sister, I don't want it to be like this. I'm willing to let Aheng go back with the Liu family because I want to protect her. I don't want her to be trapped in this palace with me..."

Li Xun broke down and cried out.

“I know.” Li Jing patted his back gently and spoke softly, “I know you’re doing this for her own good, I know.”

"Since it's for her own good, Your Highness, you don't need to be so angry."

Li Xun looked up in surprise, puzzled, and stared wide-eyed at Li Jinghe.

Li Yunru found a seat and sat down, picking up where her sister left off: "Given the current situation... if Sister Heng gives birth to the child, she will become the subject of gossip among the noble families. A woman who has lost her reputation and has a child, even if she is a noble lady, will have to think twice before marriage. Once she loses her usefulness, Sister Heng's life in the Liu family will not be any better than it was in the palace."

Li Jinghe never expected that her usually innocent and carefree younger sister, who only cared about today and not about tomorrow, would say such a thing. She stared at her in surprise for a long time until Li Yunru asked, "Sister, am I right?"

Only then did he finally come to his senses.

"right."

Li Jinghe affirmed her statement, "Now that the royal family is in decline, the aristocratic families who want to support Prime Minister Xiao will naturally do something to sever ties with the royal family. Aheng is a noble lady from an aristocratic family and is also the Crown Princess, so she is naturally being used as a pledge of allegiance."

"But that child..."

That child was one they had longed for for many years.

Li Xun and Crown Princess Liu Yanheng had been married for six years, but they had no children. Even so, Li Xun's Eastern Palace had never added a single beauty or concubine...

This may be attributed to the example set by Emperor Qi Xuan and Empress Zhenyuan. The two were a couple who went through thick and thin together and never abandoned each other. Even after many years on the throne and enjoying all the riches in the world, the court officials repeatedly proposed to select noble ladies to enter the palace, but they did not waver. Crown Prince Li Xun was influenced by his parents and was also devoted to his love.

Regardless of how they came together in the first place, their six years of loving marriage are undeniable.

Perhaps out of pity, Heaven took pity on them and, finally, in the middle of this year, Liu Yanheng discovered she was two months pregnant. Who would have thought...

Alas, in the end, it's all fate's cruel joke!

Li Yunru couldn't help but think of her relationship with Yan Ning...

Even with his own brother and sister-in-law so deeply in love, he couldn't reconcile the two in this situation. As for them, their union is based on self-interest, a mixture of genuine and feigned affection, nothing more than mutual exploitation. What will happen when the Li family's empire truly collapses...?

It was quite obvious that the Yan family wanted him to choose another high-ranking wife.

She looked up at Yan Ning. He stood quietly to one side, his posture upright and still as a pine tree. Only his clothes fluttered in the wind. The setting sun shone through the window and fell on him, as if sprinkling a thin layer of golden light on him.

He is the divine son of Zuiyu Tuishan.

Would such a virtuous gentleman, nurtured with the full resources of his family, truly choose her over himself and his family?

"What's wrong?"

Noticing the gaze, Yan Ning turned her head and asked in a low voice.

The clear, soothing voice dispelled her thoughts, and she replied, "It's nothing."

Li Yunru gathered up her jumbled thoughts and focused her attention on her elder brother.

This incident was a great blow to him. No matter what the two sisters said, he could not control himself. In order not to disturb Emperor Qi Xuan's rest, Princess Huayang, Li Jinghe, took the initiative to send him back to the East Palace to recuperate.

When Empress Zhenyuan heard this, she could only sigh deeply and say, "It's fate, it's destiny," and then she could say nothing more.

...

After Li Xun left, the two sisters waited outside the hall for a while longer before the people inside slowly woke up and were finally allowed to enter.

Emperor Qi Xuan's health is deteriorating. He used to be able to get up and walk around occasionally, but now he spends almost all his time in bed, and he is awake very little during the day.

He was ill and had no appetite. He was terribly thin, and his bright yellow nightgown hung loosely on him, making him look like a clothes hanger.

His eyesight wasn't very good either, and it took him a long time to recognize Li Yunru and Li Jinghe, and then Yan Ning and Qin Zhan.

Just as Yan Ning said, seeing him come along made him feel more at ease. The moment he recognized Yan Ning, he excitedly said "Good" twice.

He took her hand, then placed Yan Ning's hand on top of it, and said with relief, "Seeing you all like this, I feel at ease."

Even in this state, she still thinks of her; Li Yunru's nose turned red.

After holding them for a while, the man reached out and grabbed Li Jinghe's hand, saying as if in repentance, "I've wronged you all these years. You are Father's greatest pride."

Li Jinghe rarely cries. After all, being the eldest sister weighs on her, and she always has to be a role model for her younger siblings, giving them support. She's always on edge.

She doesn't need anyone's approval, but when someone affirms her, she breaks down and tears stream down her face.

The man cried as he promised Emperor Qi Xuan that he would take good care of his younger siblings and persuade his sister Hua An to come back.

Emperor Xuan shook his head. "You have already done very well. You don't need to do anything more for others. From now on, just live your own life well."

When Hua An was mentioned, Emperor Xuan's eyes, which had seen through the ways of the world, became moist. He said in a drawn-out tone, "Hua An also has her own destiny, and there is no need to disturb her anymore."

...

As if giving his last words, he made many arrangements, and in his last fifteen minutes of lucidity, he sent them out, leaving Yan Ning alone.

No one knows what Emperor Qi Xuan said to Yan Ning at that moment, but when he came out, his expression was very solemn, and he was no longer as calm and composed as before.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

Yan Ning didn't say anything, and Li Yunru didn't ask any more questions. The group left the palace before the gates were locked.

On the way back, Li Yunru was like a wilted eggplant, listless and didn't say a word. Yan Ning didn't speak either. The two of them got along in a strange atmosphere until they returned to the Yan family home and it was already night.

The autumn night is so quiet that all thoughts in one's mind are laid bare, giving rise to many reverie.

Unable to sleep, she stared blankly at the Qilin on the ceiling of the canopy bed for a while before tentatively asking, "Yan Changjun, are you asleep?"

"No."

"Shall we talk?"

"Okay, what do you want to talk about?"

What shall we talk about?

Li Yunru didn't have many thoughts, or rather, she had too much to say, but in the end she didn't know where to begin, so all that remained was this silence.

In the darkness, their breaths rose and fell in sync. Li Yunru's thoughts wandered back to a year ago.

Under the pear blossom tree, after a fleeting glimpse, she no longer objected to the marriage.

On the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, a woman dressed in an elaborate red wedding gown walked out of the palace gates.

When Emperor Qi Xuan’s most beloved little princess got married, the streets of the capital were filled with the sound of drums, as if the whole world was blessing them.

However, this is just an illusion.

Stepping through the door, she discovered that beneath the bustling crowds and grand atmosphere lay a great deal of scheming.

But back then she was proud and always felt that she could overcome these obstacles.

This dignified and upright husband became a pawn in her power struggle against powerful families.

For every bad treatment they gave her, she would take it out on them in return.

He was a man of refined character, fond of tranquility and purity, untouched by worldly dust; yet she insisted on dragging him down into the mire…

She treated him as her plaything, to be humiliated and conquered. But as she played with him, she fell in love first, though she was reluctant to admit it. It was the truth. When someone falls in love, they always demand more. It's no longer just about physical intimacy or superficial harmony based on mutual benefit. They want him to have genuine feelings for them and for her to be the only one in his life...

She didn't want him to one day have another woman by his side, and he would treat her the same way he treats her now, going along with everything she does... Just thinking about it made her feel like her heart had been torn to pieces.

That incident with the Lu family made her realize the reality.

They belong to completely different worlds. Without this shared interest, they would never have been involved. And even if they were, neither of them would compromise for the other, so it was destined to have no future. What she wanted was just wishful thinking, impossible.

She gave up.

But he's so wicked!

But then, at this very moment, he gave her a glimmer of unrealistic hope. He chased her to the capital, where he grieved at Lanchun Pavilion. With red eyes and a choked voice, he said that he was pure and begged her not to leave him!

That tear flowed into her heart, and her once rock-solid heart began to waver, even though she knew that in the end there might be no result.

But today at Qian Yuan Palace, the scenes involving her elder brother, the Crown Prince, once again wounded her.

Their present may be her and Yan Ning's near future.

"Yan Changjun, please don't marry someone else, okay?"

The low, hoarse voice was especially clear in the darkness; it was a rare softness, tinged with uncertainty, and it was a plea.

"Even if you want to marry me, wait until I'm dead."

Yan Ning did not answer her.

Li Yunru glanced over furtively from the corner of her eye. The person was lying upright, their distinct features outlined by the night, their clear eyes gazing at the ceiling...

She was very calm, so calm that you couldn't tell any emotion from her.

I didn't say definitely.

She swallowed the bitter taste in her throat and said nonchalantly, "Actually, if you want to marry me, there's nothing I can do right now. But I think you shouldn't marry me before I die. As you've seen, in my family, from my father and mother to my two older sisters and my brother, everyone has chosen their own people. There's never been a second person. If you marry someone else so soon, I'll be laughed at. I've suffered for several years since I was born, and I've always been pampered and spoiled. It would be so shameful to be laughed at like that. But it won't matter when I die. Anyway, I'll be gone. You can marry whoever you want then. I won't know anymore, so it won't matter if you laugh at me. If I'm lucky, those folk tales will even write about how pitiful I am. It'll be thanks to your Yan family that I'll be remembered for eternity."

"What nonsense are you spouting!"

A low, hoarse sound rang out, and then Li Yunru felt her hand being grabbed. A tall, dark figure appeared before her, its deep, dark eyes fixed on her…

She felt like she couldn't breathe.

A note from the author:

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Another missed chapter! My Dao heart is a bit broken. After this chapter, I'll update randomly. I want to say I won't give up, but I'm not sure. I need to go back to the real world to adjust. Well, that's all for now. Happy May Day everyone, and may you all have safe travels!