Cui Yulu felt wronged and wondered what Fu Xiaoyu had gone through to become so negative.
Fu Xiaoyu fell silent; he didn't know how to explain it to her.
He felt sorry for her suffering here and didn't blame her.
Cui Yulu felt increasingly wronged as she thought about it, and she regretted that she had said something too harsh and hurt Fu Xiaoyu's feelings.
The two remained awkwardly at odds. Fu Xiaoyu's gaze never left Cui Yulu, while she secretly shed tears while looking outside.
In the end, it was Fu Xiaoyu who spoke first.
"I'm sorry, I just didn't want you to suffer here, that's all."
Hearing him speak, Cui Yulu stopped being stubborn and came to his side to continue treating his wounds.
"Why do you always say you're afraid I'll suffer? I'm really not afraid. You saved me, and I want to thank you. I want to learn to be grateful."
"Do you only feel gratitude towards me?"
Cui Yulu paused in applying the medicine and took off the coral hairpin from her head.
“Brother, none of you are willing to tell me the story behind this hairpin, but I have a pretty good idea of it. So I’m returning it to you now. When you find a woman you can spend your life with, give it to her. I will only ever consider you my elder brother.”
Fu Xiaoyu looked at the things she handed over but did not reach out to take them.
"This hairpin was a gift from my father. It carries the weight of a beautiful love story, but the ending was tragic. You should know that this hairpin was Fu Xiaohan's mother's most cherished possession, and she was also the late emperor's most beloved woman. But fate loves to play tricks on people. After his mother gave birth to him, my mother went to the palace to visit him, and as a result, she caught the emperor's eye and became empress by a twist of fate."
Fu Xiaohan's mother became depressed and unhappy. Her rightful empress position was taken away, and she lost even the emperor's favor. Therefore, she hated my mother, causing Fu Xiaohan to live with hatred from a young age.
He hated us for taking away the love that was rightfully his, and he hated my mother even more for taking away the empress's position that belonged to his mother.
As Fu Xiaoyu spoke, her emotions became quite volatile, and her voice became somewhat hoarse.
Cui Yulu quickly fed him a sip of spiritual spring water.
"I see. So your mother and his mother are sisters, right?"
No wonder they look somewhat alike, except that Fu Xiaohan's eyes are filled with more desire and scheming.
"Yes, later his mother was banished to the cold palace for poisoning the prince. She fell ill and never recovered, and died soon after. From then on, Fu Xiaohan stopped talking to us and would always try to show off in front of the emperor, which made the emperor dislike his personality and unwilling to pass the throne to him."
Cui Yulu did some mental calculations. Fu Xiaohan was the fourth prince, so there should be three princes above him. According to the succession method of the Great Yuan Dynasty, the eldest son and grandson should be established. Without the three above him, the throne should rightfully go to Fu Xiaohan.
But the late emperor actually gave the throne to the eighth prince. Cui Yulu couldn't help but look at Fu Xiaoyu: "Why don't you become emperor?"
Fu Xiaoyu looked up at her innocent eyes and said with a faint smile, "Not everyone wants to be an emperor. I've been used to being carefree since I was a child and I don't like being bound by this court."
"So you refused the emperor's decree to make you emperor and volunteered to guard the border."
Fu Xiaoyu nodded without saying anything.
"But after this catastrophe, do you really think what you did was right? Fu Xiaofan is not suitable to be emperor. You should be able to see that. If you still don't want to be emperor, then this country will eventually belong to someone else."
Fu Xiaoyu remained silent.
"Brother, you're emperor material. Stop refusing. Unless you want to watch this empire fall into someone else's hands, you need to pull yourself together and get your act together, understand?"
"So you accepted this coral hairpin?"
Upon hearing his words, Cui Yulu quickly handed him the hairpin in her hand.
"I cannot accept that we are worlds apart. I will not covet unrealistic things."
"So you have feelings for me, right?"
"No, I respect you as my elder brother, and my feelings for you have always been those of a brother and sister."
Fu Xiaoyu fell silent again.
She will never accept herself.
"So you'd rather accept Han Yu'an, who hurt you, than accept my feelings, right?"
This time, it was Cui Yulu who remained silent.
The light in the dungeon grew increasingly dim, and she could hardly see the wounds on his body. She could only feel that he was covered in wounds, and there was no way to wipe them all off.
"Alright, you must be tired. Take a rest. This dungeon is damp, unlike outside. Find a better place to rest."
After Fu Xiaoyu finished speaking, he lay down on the mat. It wasn't that he didn't want to give it to Cui Yulu, but that he was too weak to move.
Nothing happened that night, and before we knew it, it was the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.
These days have been quiet and peaceful. Since Cui Yulu was locked up, Fu Xiaohan has not been seen at all.
Cui Yulu was anxious, not knowing what the situation was like outside.
Whether Tuoba Xuan had escaped or Xu Wanqing had found evidence weighed heavily on Cui Yulu's mind, making it difficult for her to eat.
These past few days, Fu Xiaoyu has been obedient, taking her medicine and healing her injuries obediently. Even Fu Xiaofan has become close friends with Cui Yulu and no longer cowers in the corner in silence. He has become much more cheerful.
Fu Xiaoyu became quiet and taciturn, sometimes not speaking for half a day, and he also became somewhat distant from Cui Yulu. However, he still did not accept the coral hairpin that Cui Yulu wanted to return to him.
In Jingyuan Town, Liu Meie made a big pot of Laba sweet porridge in the morning and is now waiting for everyone to sit around and eat.
"Mom, this Laba sweet porridge looks delicious. I'm going to eat three bowls today."
Han Bao was the first to arrive. By this time, his relationship with Lin Qiaoyue had stabilized, and he was just waiting for the mourning period to pass before marrying Qiaoyue.
"You're always so silly and happy. Did you buy the things I asked you to buy for Qiaoyue yesterday?"
"Mom, don't worry, you can trust me to handle things. I bought the best."
Liu Meie glanced at her son; with that carefree attitude, she wondered who he took after.
Han Chunying and Han Yu'an both looked preoccupied. Liu Meie was most worried about them. They were absent-minded all day long, and she never knew when they would run off to Kyoto. They were a real handful.
"Mother, why did you set out an extra set of chopsticks and a bowl? You didn't prepare it for Cui Yulu, did you?"
Han Bao counted the bowls and chopsticks on the table and asked curiously.
"You talkative one, hurry up and eat. After you're done, send a chicken and some pork to the Lin family, understand?"
Liu Meie was afraid that Han Yu'an would be sad, so she quickly tried to clear away the dishes, but then she thought of Yu Lu, and she missed her dearly too.
"Sigh, I wonder if Yulu ate Laba porridge in Kyoto. She loves sweets, and she would definitely like this sweet porridge today. What a pity..."
"Mother, please stop talking. Didn't Yulu say that she'll be back for the New Year? Don't overthink it."
Cao Qiaoniu quickly interrupted her mother-in-law, not letting her continue, lest Han Yu'an become anxious.
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