After the Imperial Noble Consort left, Yan Zhi sat down beside her. "Sister Rong, what Aunt said is all true. Women outside are not as happy as you imagine. They are all miserable."

My mother had two maids who had served her for many years, and my mother planned to arrange good marriages for them. One of them followed my mother's arrangement and married a man who, although a bit dull and not good at sweet talk, was honest and kind to her, and she was living a good life now.

Another maidservant, dissatisfied with the man my mother introduced her to, insisted on marrying a glib and handsome guard. After the marriage, he proved to be very unfaithful, frequently talking to the other maids in the courtyard. Meanwhile, at her husband's home, she had to take care of the children and serve her mother-in-law. Her husband was ungrateful, saying she was useless and didn't earn any money!

When Yan Zhi suddenly started talking about these trivial matters, Rong Yu didn't understand her intention for a moment. "Yan Zhi, what exactly are you trying to say?"

"What I want to say is that a marriage arranged by others is not necessarily bad, and a marriage chosen by oneself is not necessarily good either. In short, it is not easy for women, whether in the palace or outside the palace."

"You are a princess. With this status, no one will dare to bully you in the future. If you were born into an ordinary family and became a common woman, you would have to be a good wife and mother, serve your in-laws, do laundry and cook—you would have to know everything, otherwise you would be beaten and scolded."

The scenario Yan Zhi described was beyond Rong Yu's comprehension; she found it hard to understand and felt it was unlikely. "It can't be that bad, can it?"

Yan Zhi nodded with great certainty and said, "Some women live even more miserable lives than I have described! You have never been outside the palace, so you naturally do not know how difficult the lives of women outside the palace are. You were born as the emperor's daughter, and you are born into a life of luxury and honor. This is a blessing that all women in the world envy! You should cherish it."

Before this, Rong Yu felt she was living a very happy life, but this marriage completely shattered her peace. She realized that she was carrying such a heavy responsibility, a so-called mission that made it hard for her to breathe.

"They only know that I live a life of luxury, but they don't know that my parents are going to send me to Mongolia, where I will spend the rest of my life in a remote and unfamiliar place."

If Yanzhi were to marry into Mongolia, she certainly wouldn't be willing, but since the matter was already settled, Yanzhi could only advise her to think positively.

“Your aunt and uncle are already doing their best to help you choose a suitable consort. I think Lejur is a calm and handsome man. He is also the heir apparent of a prince and will inherit the title in the future. Even if you go to Mongolia, your life will not be difficult.”

Lying on her side, Rong Yu sighed, "But no matter how luxurious the food and clothing, you won't be happy if you marry someone you don't love!"

This was what Rong Yu cared about most. Yan Zhi asked curiously, "There's nothing wrong with Lejur! He's learned to speak a lot of Chinese in the past few years and can communicate with you normally. Why don't you like him?"

“Because…” After hesitating for a moment, Rong Yu whispered to her, “I have someone I like.”

Recalling that scene from a few years ago, Yan Zhi suddenly realized, "Is it Mingyi?"

Rong Yu never dared to tell anyone her secrets; keeping them hidden in her heart was very painful. Yan Zhi was the only person she could truly trust, so she stopped denying it.

"You found out? Don't tell anyone!"

Back then, Yan Zhi had suspected that Rong Yu might have feelings for Ming Yi, but the two had kept their distance over the years, so Yan Zhi assumed Rong Yu had moved on. She never imagined Rong Yu was still thinking of Ming Yi.

"So... what's Mingyi's attitude? Does he like you?"

Speaking of this, Rong Yu felt regretful, "I asked him tactfully today, but before he could answer, my elder brother and the others came looking for me."

“Mingyi is quite good, but you have to marry him for political reasons, so it’s impossible for you to be with him, unless…”

Curious, Rong Yu sat up slightly. "Unless what?"

Resting her chin on her hand, Yan Zhi pondered to herself, "Hoping that the Emperor will propose not to be engaged is definitely impossible, unless the Mongolians propose first. If they don't want to be engaged, then you don't have to get married. But that's impossible too. The Mongolians are eager to form a marriage alliance with the royal family, so how could they refuse?"

Yan Zhi had only said it casually, but Rong Yu took it to heart. She suddenly felt that this might not be a bad idea...

After thinking it over all night, Rong Yu decided to talk to Lezhuer. To her surprise, when she was about to leave the island, the guards stopped her, saying that it was the Emperor's order and that she was not allowed to leave the island without the Imperial Noble Consort's company.

So, has Father Emperor placed her under house arrest? Rong Yu grew increasingly angry, yet there was nothing she could do. Even with her freedom restricted, she still did not intend to give up.

After much thought, she decided to ask her younger brother for help, and Yorejur came out.

Although the relationship between Yongzhang and Lezhuer had improved somewhat, Yongzhang never made an appointment with Lezhuer. He was too lazy to go and say nice things to Lezhuer, so he flatly refused.

Rong Yu wanted his help, but she didn't dare to say anything harsh. She could only coax him gently, "I've cleaned up your messes for you all the time. For the sake of our sibling relationship, please help your sister this once!"

Yongzhang thought to himself that this phrase was inappropriate here; their relationship was far from being one of deep sibling affection! It was clearly one of deep sibling enmity!

With a slight turn of his dark eyes, Yongzhang seized the opportunity to set conditions, "Then tell me first, what do you want to see Lejur for? If you tell me the reason, I will help you."

If she told the truth, she figured her younger brother wouldn't dare help her, so she could only lie, "Didn't Father want me to get engaged to Lejur? Then I definitely need to spend more time with him, ask him what fun places there are in Mongolia, and find out beforehand."

Yongzhang gave a soft "hmm," then thought about it carefully and felt that something was off. "Then why don't you just go find him directly? Why do you want me to go find him?"

When asked about the reason, Rong Yu crossed her arms indignantly and snorted, "Isn't it because Father Emperor has confined me to my quarters and won't let me leave the island? So I had no choice but to send Lejur over. Otherwise, I wouldn't want to trouble you!"

After her sister's repeated requests, Yongzhang couldn't bear to refuse and finally agreed to help her arrange a meeting with Lejur.

After Yongzhang explained his purpose, Lezhuer became suspicious:

The princess usually ignored him, so her sudden visit was probably not for anything good. However, since the princess was injured, Lejur should have gone to visit her.

After a moment's thought, Lejur agreed, saying that she would go to Huanbi Island with Yongzhang after school to visit the princess.