Chapter 32 The Emperor's Heart is With Her

The person who was always bright and flamboyant, always surrounded by beautiful flowers, was now dressed in a light-colored shirt, her hair was unkempt and she wore no makeup. Her face was deathly pale, and she was sobbing sadly. The tears that slid down her cheeks were like a stream, inch by inch falling into Song Ji's heart.

He trembled as he reached out and touched her face, gently wiping away the tears. His deep voice, filled with heartache and sorrow, said, "Princess, you have been wronged."

"Waaaaah."

With someone understanding and someone to rely on, Li Yunru could no longer control herself and burst into tears, throwing herself into someone's arms.

Song Ji's hands froze in mid-air for a moment. He took a deep breath, convinced himself, and slowly relaxed his hands, embracing the person in his arms.

Li Yunru's long-suppressed emotional outburst lasted for a very long time, until the moon began to set in the west, at which point she finally stopped, but she was so exhausted that she fell asleep immediately.

Songji didn't leave. He carried the person to the bed, sat down on the footstool, and leaned over the bedside. By the dim candlelight, he carefully examined the person he had been thinking about day and night.

Only at times like these does he dare to openly reveal his thoughts.

They are not afraid of being discovered by others, nor are they afraid of her finding out.

From the past to the present, he has always been greedily attached to every moment of the deepest night.

Songji boldly grasped her hand and placed it in his palm, but he slowly became unsatisfied. He lowered his head and gently kissed the back of her slender, smooth hand.

Her movements were gentle and tender.

“My princess, perhaps you never knew that the person you entrusted your heart and soul to, beneath his gentle and kind appearance, harbored such a despicable heart. He left in a sorry state, only so that you, my princess, could find your own happiness. He traveled across mountains and rivers to return, just to see you once more… But seeing you like this now, his heart is breaking.”

...

Li Yunru slept soundly that night, and even had a dream.

In her dream, she had not yet married into the Yan family and was still a little princess cherished by everyone.

She went to her father and mother to act coquettishly, perhaps just because of a nightmare that woke her up from her afternoon nap.

Go play with the maids at your eldest sister's house, snatch cakes from them, and make the children cry.

Go to Sister Hua'an's palace, take one of her ivory mats, and put a troublesome dart inside. She got so angry that she chased him all over the Imperial Garden, but he was eventually caught and beaten up.

On the eve of her brother's wedding, she secretly went to see the bride and pretended to be the groom, making the bride both embarrassed and anxious. But the kind and generous man did not hold it against her in the end, and simply said: "My sister is still young, lively and playful, and very interesting and lovely."

She also kept a musician, who would pretend to be sophisticated and have someone play for her all day long. She couldn't understand the music, but she had a lot of opinions, finding fault with this and that, which often made the musician blush and get angry.

People love to see him angry but not daring to get angry. Whenever he does, they always burst into laughter and say in a cheeky tone, "Oh, you're angry? Getting angry won't help. Let me tell you, what I say is the truth. If I say you played it wrong, then you're wrong. You're not allowed to argue!"

The man indulged her, playing the piano for her again and again, even offering explanations.

He said, "The princess is right, the princess's words are the truth."

His obedient and compliant appearance amused her, and she finally let him go. She put her arm around his shoulder and promised him a life of luxury: "If you serve me well and make me happy, I will go and plead with my father to grant you an official position, and I will guarantee you wealth and honor that you can enjoy endlessly."

Those days were carefree and unrestrained, so wonderful that even though Li Yunru knew it was all fake, she was willing to remain immersed in them forever.

However, good dreams must eventually come to an end.

This coup shattered the Li family's beautiful dream and also awakened her.

When Li Yunru opened her eyes, it was already close to noon.

The weather isn't very good today; the sky is foggy, and there's a thick layer of frost outside the courtyard.

Winter has arrived in the blink of an eye.

No wonder it's so cold.

She flinched twice, took a deep breath to calm herself, got up and opened the door of the Zen temple.

Shu Yun had been keeping watch under the eaves. When she saw that she had woken up, she hurried over to greet her.

"The princess has woken up."

"Um."

It was freezing cold that day. After being outside for so long, Shu Yun's nose turned red from the cold, and a thin layer of frost covered her eyelashes.

"Why don't you come inside and wait?"

Shu Yun said, "It's rare for the princess to sleep well, and with Mr. Songji serving her, too many people making noise might disturb her peaceful dreams."

"stupid."

Li Yunru pulled her into the house, sat down in front of the red-hot charcoal brazier, shook off the moisture from her body, and then took a handkerchief to wipe the frost off her eyelashes.

"From now on, unless I give you specific instructions, stay in your room most of the time on days like these. You don't need to be on call all the time, understand?"

She had said this more than once, but Shu Yun still served her as usual.

I was afraid of delaying even a little bit.

Even though she has fallen on hard times, people still treat her like a princess.

She was a loyal servant, but because of this, the boundaries of their relationship were very clear; no one would allow themselves to overstep the rules.

There were many things that Li Yunru couldn't tell her, such as the current predicament and the various feelings of depression and distress in her heart.

She knew she would comfort herself, but in the end, the only advice she could get was: "Why don't we go back to the prince consort? He will stand up for you."

But she couldn't go back to the Yan family.

It's impossible to find Yan Ning...

She kept talking, but Shu Yun didn't respond. She looked at Li Yunru for a while, her face contorted with worry, and said hesitantly, "I have something to say, but I don't know whether I should say it or not."

"What?"

Shu Yun said, "Yesterday, the Prince Consort came. I originally wanted to inform you, but he was too fast and I didn't have time. Later..."

He saw Songji; they were very close together, so... he turned and walked away.

"Princess, do you think we should go and explain this to the Prince Consort?"

Shu Yun said, "I saw that he looked very unwell when he left, so he must have misunderstood."

"Need not."

Let it be a misunderstanding, it doesn't matter anymore.

She didn't want to think about these things anymore, as it would only annoy her. She let Shu Yun sit there, then went to the courtyard, fetched a basin of cold water, and poured it on her face. The icy chill went straight to her head, and her consciousness cleared up a bit.

After washing up, Songji brought over the meal. There wasn't much good food at this mountain temple, just some simple porridge, side dishes, and steamed buns. But for the time being, having something to eat was already a blessing.

After eating it for a few days, Li Yunru had gotten used to it and didn't find it particularly strange, but she was also getting a little tired of it.

After lunch, Songji asked, "What are the princess's plans next?"

If she had no plans, he would invite her to leave the capital and travel to any place in the world... wherever he was, she could find a place to stay.

However, Li Yunru already had her own ideas. She said, "Let's go back to Jiankang."

There was her huge princess mansion there, with about a hundred servants and maids; she always had to go back and visit.

Even if we can't afford to raise them, we still have to arrange a home for them.

Song Ji's eyes dimmed for a moment, and he murmured, "Yes, we must go back to Jiankang."

That was the hometown of the Imperial Son-in-Law Yan Ning; they were husband and wife... No matter what, they would always have to go back.

Last night was a beautiful dream for him; a person of such lowly status should not have too many fantasies.

Li Yunru was unaware of his thoughts. She only thought that she had few close friends left and it would be rare to see him again, so she invited him, "Songji, come with me to Jiankang."

She said, "Actually, I regretted it all that day. Why did I let you leave? I promised you a high-ranking position and wealth, but in the end, I got nothing and you left."

Li Yunru remained deeply troubled by this matter.

"Although I am now down on my luck, I am still a county magistrate. I cannot guarantee you a smooth career, but with my salary, supporting another musician will not be a problem."

"puff!"

Songji laughed out loud. Without being too shy, he stood up, clasped his hands in front of him, bowed, and said, "Songji thanks the princess for taking me in."

After deciding on their destination, the group packed their belongings and, before the first heavy snowfall of winter blocked the mountain pass, descended from the mountain temple and returned to Jiankang.

As they returned home, the Yan family also left the capital in a grand procession to return to their hometown.

For everyone in the Yan family, Li's departure was a good thing, and not many people cared, so it didn't affect their mood for the trip in the slightest.

Taking this opportunity, Cui arranged for Cui Wan to ride in a carriage with her son. Throughout the journey, Cui Wan behaved dignifiedly and properly, taking care of his daily needs and occasionally discussing poems or books with Yan Ning to relieve his boredom.

However, Yan Ning didn't have much interest in discussing these matters with her and only gave perfunctory answers.

Cui Wan noticed his lack of enthusiasm and suggested, "I brought chess sets. Why don't we play a game? I played a game with my third cousin when I was young, and it's been a long time since we last played. Look at me, have I improved over the years?"

Yan Ning had no interest in playing chess and refused again. Cui Wan wanted to say something more, but he interrupted her, saying, "I don't have much energy to do anything else right now. If Wan'er feels bored, you can go to your mother. I think she would be happy to play a game of chess with you."

"No, cousin, I..."

He didn't want to be too direct, as it would really hurt the young lady's feelings, but continuing like this would only cause more misunderstandings. With this in mind, Yan Ning raised his eyes, his expression becoming more serious. He said calmly, "I know why you did all this, but Wan'er, Changjun has no intention of divorcing his wife and remarrying."

"But Madam Li is gone! She's not coming back! And she has a young gigolo by her side now, you saw it with your own eyes!"

Cui Wan recalled the day he returned to the Yan family and got completely drunk.

Yan Ning secretly gripped a piece of paper in his sleeve with his lowered hand. He looked up at Cui Wan and said seriously, "Although the princess is not here, she is still my lawfully wedded wife. I cannot allow anyone to overstep their bounds and take her place."

As for what I saw... perhaps it was all a misunderstanding. Even if it wasn't a misunderstanding, it should be said by her own mouth, and others shouldn't be allowed to slander her like that. So the person added, "The princess has her own thoughts. Talking behind someone's back is not the behavior of a gentleman. I don't want to hear such words from anyone, especially you, again."

"well."

Yan Ning sighed and said, "Actually, Wan'er, you are dignified and beautiful, well-read, and handle things with composure. Many men in this world may not be able to do what you do. You should be a phoenix soaring in the heavens, and you should have other good men to match you. Why hang yourself in the Yan family?"

Cui Wan pursed her lips and remained silent. After a long while, she asked, "Can I ask my cousin a question?"

She asked, "Why is it the Li family?"

That person is spoiled and willful, uneducated, of humble origin, and cold-blooded...

She simply didn't understand!

Why the Li family?

Yan Ning had never thought about this question; everything was so natural, as if it were meant for her, and the answer she gave was also natural.

"Because the eldest prince is fond of her."

He repeated, "She is the woman Changjun loves."

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Author's Note: Okay, I'll keep updating. This story won't be very long; it'll probably end after two or three more major plot developments. I won't abandon it, so please add it to your favorites!