His gaze was too scorching, and Tao Ti didn't know what was going on, but she felt inexplicably empty in her heart.

She pursed her lips and turned her eyes away stiffly, "I want to go out and play. It's boring to stay in the palace all day. Besides, I have been in Chang'an since I was born and have never been anywhere else. I heard that Luoyang is second only to Chang'an in prosperity. I also want to see the outside world..."

Pei Yan narrowed his eyes and dragged out his words a little, "Is that so?"

"Yeah." Tao Ti nodded hurriedly and added, "Besides that, there is another reason."

Pei Yan couldn't help but hold his breath and looked straight at her.

Speaking of another reason, Tao Ti was very confident. He met Pei Yan's gaze with sparkling eyes, "I want to take this opportunity to go outside and do some research to understand the local customs and practices."

Pei Yan, "..."

After a pause, he raised his eyebrows and found it funny. "Investigating the local customs and practices? Do you still want to be an official?"

Tao Ti said, "I want to open a snack shop."

Pei Yan: "......?"

Tao Ti said, "The initial plan is to open a dim sum shop. If it can be successfully opened and the profit is good, it may be possible to open some teahouses and restaurants in the future... If it is successful in Chang'an, maybe we can open a chain in other provinces..."

Pei Yan tried to find some hint of joking in her face, but to no avail.

She spoke enthusiastically about her arrangements and plans, her eyes flickering and her spirits high.

Her eyes were so eager and yearning, like a baby bird that had just broken out of its shell, yearning for the vast sky.

Pei Yan turned slightly to the side, his long eyelashes drooping, hiding the darkness and possessiveness surging in his eyes.

The future she talked about was bright and beautiful.

But, he does not exist.

To her, this marriage is like a cage that imprisons her, right?

But how could he let her go? No matter how cruel or selfish he was, as long as he wanted something, he would do whatever it took to get it.

Even if... I have to break her wings and imprison her with my own hands.

"Your Highness, Your Highness?"

A soft and pleasant voice sounded beside him, and Pei Yan came back to his senses.

When she raised her eyes again, the gloom and coldness in his eyes were completely gone, and he was still as gentle as usual. He smiled lightly, "Hmm?"

Tao Ti clasped her hands together, blinked her big eyes, and looked at him pitifully, "Please, please, Your Highness, just take me with you."

This soft and tender voice, begging him tenderly, made him feel suffocated in his chest.

I originally thought that she went to ask the emperor for help because she wanted to be with him.

In fact, she was looking forward to going to Luoyang in order to plan for the days after the divorce...

Pei Yan's mouth was straightened. Suddenly, he raised his hand and pinched her soft little face, and said solemnly, "Don't say it."

Her coquettish and pleading look really made him want to push her onto the bed and bully her severely to make her behave better and more obedient.

He, he pinched her face?

Tao Ti was stunned, "..."

Pei Yan suddenly came back to his senses and realized his momentary loss of composure. He quickly brushed his fingers across her cheek, coughed lightly, and whispered, "There's something on your face."

Taoti: "...Is that so?"

She reached out her hand and wiped her face in a daze, and it seemed like there was nothing dirty?

Pei Yan changed the subject and stared at her, "Do you really want to go?"

Tao Tizheng nodded heavily, "Yeah!"

The clear eyes are full of determination.

Pei Yan gently turned the white jade ring on his hand, thought for a moment, and finally couldn't bear to see her disappointed, so he moved his thin lips slightly, "Then go."

These words were like fireworks that had been lit. The little girl's eyebrows and eyes lit up all of a sudden, and her tone was also light and cheerful, "Really? I know that you are the best, Your Highness. Don't worry, I will definitely not cause you any trouble!"

He is the best?

No, he is not a good person.

However, her excited look is really...very likable.

Pei Yan coughed lightly, turned around and said, "It's getting late. Let's walk two more laps and then go back to the house to rest."

Tao Ti followed him obediently, her little mouth busy all the way, muttering about what food to prepare for the journey. Pei Yan listened quietly, occasionally agreeing with her.

After they both finished washing up, the hazy moon quietly climbed up to the top of the sky, and the night became quieter.

The curtains were drawn, and the air was filled with the delicate and pleasant smell of benzoin.

Tao Ti and Pei Yan lay side by side. It was late at night and both of them closed their eyes, ready to fall asleep.

Tao Ti's sleep quality has always been very good. Normally, she could fall asleep almost immediately after touching the pillow. But tonight, as soon as she closed her eyes, her mind unconsciously thought of what happened when she met Pei Changzhou during the day.

Now that he and Pei Changzhou were enemies, he was extremely jealous of each other.

Now, relying on her status as the Crown Princess, she can still suppress him, but... things will change. In the future, when Pei Changzhou becomes the Crown Prince and has power and status, how will he retaliate against her?

Alas, I have traveled to such a dynasty, but still have such an unfortunate identity.

If Pei Yan could be healthy and live a long life, it would be great. With him protecting me, I could live a peaceful life, and when my life span is over, I can go to the underworld and reincarnate. But Pei Yan only has one year to live. Alas, people are gone and my good days are getting shorter and shorter...

The more Tao Ti thought about it, the more upset she became.

My mind was in a mess and I felt something was wrong no matter how I lay down. Sometimes my ears felt itchy, sometimes my shoulders felt cold, and sometimes I felt that the pillow was a little high.

She thought she had done these little movements very gently, but when she adjusted the pillow for the nth time, a deep voice came from the side, "Can't sleep?"

Tao Ti froze.

After a moment, she whispered, "I...I didn't mean to wake you up. I won't move. Go back to sleep."

She heard someone turning over beside her. His voice was closer to her, hoarse and low, "Is it because you are going to Luoyang that you can't sleep?"

"Uh... no."

"Why is that?" He asked earnestly, with a gentle and caring tone.

Perhaps it was because his tone was so disarming, or perhaps it was because people were more emotional late at night. Tao Ti considered for a moment and decided to have a chat with him.

So she turned over, and now they were lying face to face.

The curtains were tightly drawn, but the dim candlelight still shone through the gauze, allowing them to see each other's facial features and glowing eyes.

Tao Ti bit her lip and then asked softly, "Your Highness, your body... is there really no way to cure it?"

Pei Yan was silent for a moment, apparently not expecting that she tossed and turned insomnia in the middle of the night just because of this.

He didn't confirm or deny it, he just asked, "Why do you ask this suddenly?"

Tao Ti thought he had acquiesced, and she felt a little sad. With her eyelashes drooping, she said sullenly, "This is too unfair. You are such a good person, why did this happen to you?"

Is it true that good people don't live long while bad people live for thousands of years?

She sighed faintly and asked, "If you... well, I mean, if, if you were gone, would His Majesty choose the third prince as the crown prince?"

In the darkness, Pei Yan frowned.

Could it be that she was still thinking about Pei Changzhou in her heart and wanted to reconcile with him after he died?

This realization made him extremely unhappy.

"Maybe." He said coldly.

Tao Ti did not notice the slight change in tone. When she heard him say this, she felt even more depressed. She said with great sorrow, "How can a man like him be qualified to be the crown prince!"

Pei Yan, "..."

Pei Yan, "You think he's unworthy?"

Tao Ti said without hesitation, "Of course. With such a corrupt character and low morals, the country will be ruined if it is handed over to him. In my opinion, even Xiao Wu is more reliable than him. Although Xiao Wu is a bit domineering and spoiled, his character is not bad. As long as he is taught well, he can be an upright and kind person. The Third Prince is not good. He is bad from the root and cannot be washed away."

Hearing her words, Pei Yan felt a little complicated for a moment.

Her evaluation of Pei Changzhou showed that she and Pei Changzhou were completely broken off, and he was happy.

But he couldn't be happy when he heard her condemning "corrupt character" and praising "integrity and kindness".

She likes honest and kind people, but he is neither honest nor kind.

Even more ruthless, cruel and cold-blooded than Pei Changzhou.

Pei Yan's eyes darkened a little. If one day she knew his true face, would she hate him and stay away from him just like she spurned Pei Changzhou?

"You are just a little weak, so Qin Tianjian's words may not be accurate. If you can take good care of yourself, it shouldn't be difficult for you to live past the age of 23." Tao Ti was still talking to herself. "By the way, how about I teach you Ba Duan Jin starting tomorrow? It's easy to learn, and if you keep practicing, it will strengthen your body and cure diseases. Practicing it every morning won't waste much time."

As long as Pei Yan lives one more day, Pei Changzhou can ascend to the throne of crown prince one day later. If it can be delayed for five, six, seven or eight years, it will be even better. By then, when Xiaowu grows up, he may really be able to compete with Pei Changzhou for the throne of crown prince!

Pei Yan saw through her little plan at once, and felt both angry and amused.

He looked at her twinkling eyes in the darkness, and could not help but bend a finger and tap her forehead lightly, "Don't think too much."

This intimate little gesture left Tao Ti stunned.

It was as if he was knocking not on her head but on the door of her heart, waking up the sleeping deer inside, and starting her to go crazy again.

"No matter what happens in the future, I will arrange everything for you." His voice was filled with tenderness and laziness. "It's late, go to bed."

Tao Ti uttered a hesitant "hmm".

The tent became quiet again.

Tao Ti closed her eyes, and with a mess of thoughts in her mind, she gradually felt sleepy.

She had a dream. In her dream, white paper money was floating in the sky and the whole city of Chang'an was in mourning. She was wearing a white mourning dress and kneeling in front of a black coffin, crying.

In the coffin, there was a person lying quietly. He was extremely handsome, pale and fragile like a glass sculpture. It was Pei Yan, who was less than 23 years old.

She looked at him lying there breathless, feeling extremely sad, and her tears kept falling like beads from a broken string.

Suddenly, the scene changed, and Pei Changzhou, wearing a red-gold dragon robe, was sitting on the dragon throne, laughing wildly.

He held a bloody knife in his hand and walked towards her step by step from the dragon chair.

The fifth prince, the sixth princess, Xu Wenchan, the wife of Marquis Yongwei... they all died one after another under Pei Changzhou's knife.

Finally, Pei Changzhou walked up to her, smiling evilly, "Go to hell, you bastard!"

He raised the knife high and swung it down fiercely—

"Don't, don't kill me..."

"Woo woo...Mom...Dad...I want to go home..."

Pei Yan, who was awakened by the crying, looked at the little girl huddled up on her side and couldn't help but frown.

When I put my hand on her forehead, I saw a fine layer of sweat.

Are you having a nightmare?

He raised his upper body slightly and patted her back gently, "Ati, wake up."

The person didn't wake up, but instead hugged his hand as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw.

He couldn't hold on any longer and leaned towards her instinctively. His eyes dropped slightly and he saw her delicate and charming little face.

Tao Ti slept very uneasily, with her eyebrows furrowed, her rosy little mouth half open and half closed, sobbing softly, sometimes she said don't kill her, sometimes she said she wanted to go home.

The voice was soft and gentle, with a hint of crying.

Pei Yan pressed against her soft body, his arms still wrapped around her. Through the thin layer of pajamas, he could feel the undulating curves of her body.

His throat moved and his black eyes darkened a little.

After a moment, he pursed his lips, suppressed the restlessness in his body, and tried to pull his hand back.

But Tao Ti held his hand tightly and kept murmuring, "Don't die, don't die..."

Pei Yan stopped moving and stared at the woman under him.

After a moment, he stretched out a finger and gently stroked it under her eyes, and the tip of his finger was slightly wet.

Is this a dream that he died and you are crying for him?

Pei Yan's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he remembered her repeated "Don't kill me". So she was so scared because she dreamed that Pei Changzhou wanted to kill her?

She looks fearless...but she is still a little girl after all.

Pei Yan did not pull his hand back. Instead, he lay down, adjusted his position, and turned her into his arms.

He let her hold one hand, and with the other hand he held her thin back, patting her from time to time, "It's okay, it's okay."

He coaxed her softly, his chin resting on her soft hair, his nose lingering with the sweet feminine scent of her body, making his charming thoughts grow like wild weeds.

Gradually, the person in the arms calmed down.

Listening to her even breathing, Pei Yan placed a light kiss on her smooth forehead, like a feather falling on the water. The depths of his eyes were filled with a richness like ink that could not be dissolved.

"Don't worry, I won't die."