Yueyue continued, "Five years ago, when I first heard the truth, I couldn't believe it either, and I completely understood why you left. But five years have passed, and I've gradually come to see the Crown Prince and Cousin Yuanbai as one. After that, I don't find him so hateful anymore."
Moreover... three years ago, before Princess Xuan passed away, I was the one who took care of her. She was truly pitiful; every time she regained consciousness, she would try to kill herself.
In the eyes of Xuanwang's uncle, he would rather she live in a daze than have her hurt herself while she was conscious...
For the past ten years or so, if it weren't for her elder brother, the Crown Prince, pretending to be her cousin Yuan Bai and keeping her in check, she probably would have already...
Of course I know that's no excuse for your brother, the Crown Prince, to deceive you. Besides, he even pretended to be drunk that night... If it were me, I wouldn't forgive him either..."
Hearing this, You Ran suddenly looked up, "What did you say? He's faking it because he's drunk?"
Yueyue asked in astonishment, "Isn't that right?"
Suddenly, she realized something, her eyes widened, and a sly grin spread across her face. "Oh... it wasn't him, then it must be you... did you take the drug I gave you... it was you!!! Hahaha!"
You Ran blushed. "What are you laughing at?! You and my brother are in love, so you naturally don't understand the pain of being forced into marriage! Wasn't I desperate and driven to the brink of desperation? Who would have thought he would actually be... I've completely lost face!"
She forcibly took over a man who refused to marry her; she was more wronged than Dou E!
Yueyue laughed for a while before slowly calming down. "Others don't know how shameless you are. He told everyone that he was drunk and couldn't control himself, and that's why you left in anger... Tsk tsk tsk, he did it all to protect your reputation..."
You Ran was speechless for a moment.
Yueyue asked again, "So, you're not really unwilling to enter the palace, you're just unwilling to enter like this, right?"
You Ran paused, then sighed deeply, "Perhaps. After all, once you enter the palace, you'll be confined within its walls for the rest of your life. I don't think there's anyone in this world important enough for me to willingly give up my freedom..."
Yueyue nodded, "You say you and your senior brother are childhood sweethearts with a deep bond and you won't marry anyone but him, but in my opinion, that's not romantic love at all, it's more like brotherly and sisterly affection. Otherwise, you wouldn't have said such things!"
He shrugged nonchalantly, "Maybe."
"In the end, you still don't love her enough." She ruffled You Ran's hair, just like when she was a child. "You're a mother of two now, when are you going to finally understand?!"
You Ran slapped her hand away, saying, "You all know I'm a mother of two, so don't touch my head anymore!"
"Hahaha—" Yueyue laughed for a while, then suddenly asked, "If you don't have romantic feelings for Cousin Yuanbai, then have you ever had someone you liked?"
You Ran's heart skipped a beat, but her face was full of anger. "What nonsense are you talking about?! Don't you know who's around me? I have an older brother who you can mess with, but your younger brother can't even come close!"
Yueyue spat several times, "He's only a few years old, how could you do that?!"
Leisurely chuckled, then asked curiously, "What does 'like' mean?"
Yueyue thought for a moment, "It's like... a few years ago when I fell in love with your brother, I was overjoyed to see him, and I missed him terribly when he wasn't around. When you were with him, if you were truly happy, you felt at peace even if you did nothing, and all you wanted was to be with him. If something happened to him, you would be terrified... On the way back to the capital with the Emperor, I heard that you ate and slept together the whole way, but you didn't develop any feelings for him at all?"
You Ran listened attentively, originally intending to compare her previous expectation of marrying her senior brother and then becoming a widow to confirm that she did not truly love her senior brother. However, she was caught off guard when Yue Yue suddenly changed the subject and asked her about her relationship with Chu Heng. You Ran was momentarily stunned.
After a moment's thought, "I... he gets along well with the children, and the children are happy... if he weren't the emperor, but just an ordinary person, perhaps I could accept it..."
Yueyue glared at him. "That assumption doesn't hold true! I understand now. You may have some feelings for the Emperor, and you may be able to share a room with him because of the child, but you don't like him enough. He's not important enough to you to make you dare to step into the palace."
You Ran glared back, "What do you mean by 'dare' or 'dare'?! Am I such a coward? I just don't have any confidence in any man in the world. Do you believe that I have the only woman in the harem and can do whatever I want? Promises are easy to make but hard to keep, easy to keep for a while but hard to keep for a lifetime. He is the ruler of a country. He can't give up the world for me alone, and I can't give up my freedom for him alone."
A look of realization dawned on Yueyue's face.
You Ran quickly pushed her out, "Alright, alright, it's getting late, you should go back now!"
As soon as Yueyue left, Suyue rushed over and hugged Youran tightly, "Miss! You're finally back! Waaah... Miss, you can't leave me behind again!"
Miss is back today, but there are too many masters to take care of, so she hasn't had a chance to be with them.
With a leisurely chuckle, she said, "Suyue, you're not getting any younger, are you? How come your mother hasn't married you off yet?"
She remembered that Su Yue was two years older than her, and must be twenty-three this year.
Su Yue wiped away her tears. "Five years ago, Madam asked me why I wouldn't marry! Now that Miss's whereabouts are unknown, how can I marry in peace?"
She grabbed You Ran's hand and emphasized, "Miss, you must promise me that you will never abandon me again! Even if you have to leave, I will go with you!"
I may not be very capable, but I can still serve you tea and water, do your laundry, and cook for you.
"Whenever I think about how you, my lady, have raised two children all by yourself all these years, my heart aches so much..."
Seeing that she was about to start wiping away tears again, You Ran quickly stopped her, saying, "Alright, alright, I know! Even if I have to leave in the future, I'll take you with me! You have no idea how much I regret leaving alone!"
Su Yue then stopped crying and started laughing.
...
When Yueyue returned to the Su residence and told Su Youchen about it, the two sighed and unanimously recalled that incident.
Su Youchen had told Yueyue about the nightmare his sister had when she was unconscious last time. Both of them were very distressed. His sister's thoughts were probably not as simple as just being clueless. Perhaps... she still had the shadow left by that dream and an unresolved knot in her heart.
She lost faith in all men in the world, let alone the absurd promises of a king.
Let alone those directly involved, even outsiders like them felt that it was easy for a monarch to make a promise, but difficult to keep it. If there really was only one woman in the harem, wouldn't the court officials be in uproar?
But right now, the most important thing is to help my sister realize her true feelings and regain her confidence.
Su Youchen thought about it and decided that she should give it a push.
...
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