Seeing that Guan Zhiyue had stopped struggling, Li Qiji slowly said, "Didn't you want to know why I despised you so much back then? Why I banished you to the Cold Palace?"
"Hmm! Why? If you don't give me a clear explanation today, I will absolutely not forgive you."
Li Qiji patiently pulled Guan Zhiyue to sit in his lap before reminiscing, "Back then, it was because there were spies of the Seventh Imperial Uncle in the palace. Do you remember the palace maids and eunuchs who died tragically in the palace back then?"
"Hmm, I remember, wasn't it that they wanted to be paired up as lovers, but the palace maids disagreed? Why are they bringing that up again now?" Guan Zhiyue asked.
Li Qiji shook his head and said, "No, what you said is wrong. That's what we said back then to keep our eyes open. Actually, it was because they were Seventh Imperial Uncle's men, but they sent back false information, which led to the Imperial Uncle sending people to kill them."
"I spread the news of the 'pairing up' to quell the fear in the palace." Guan Zhiyue was surprised to hear this, and then said, "So you made up that story too?"
Li Qiji did not answer, but simply nodded slightly, indicating that this was indeed the case.
"And then what! What does this have to do with you throwing me into the cold palace on my wedding day? What do you mean by ignoring me for so many years?" Guan Zhiyue instantly recalled that the original owner of this body had burned to death in the cold palace, and that's why she ended up with this body.
Li Qiji quickly said, "Because there were many of my seventh uncle's people in the palace back then, and many people in the court also supported my seventh uncle. So I was afraid that he would harm you, which is why I neglected you and banished you to the cold palace without paying any attention to you."
“I have people to protect you, but for you, it might just be surveillance. I know I was wrong all those years ago; I shouldn’t have treated you like that, but…”
Upon hearing this, Guan Zhiyue shook her head. She couldn't forgive Li Qiji for what he had done on behalf of the original owner, since it was because of his actions that the woman who had always been devoted to him vanished like smoke.
If it weren't for his self-righteous actions, perhaps the original owner wouldn't have died. Guan Zhiyue has no way of forgiving him on behalf of the original owner.
"I want to know how we met? And what's the story between me, Qi Shang, Lan Shanqi, and Su Xu?" Guan Zhiyue really wanted to know what her life was like before she was four years old.
Li Qiji was surprised that Guan Zhiyue would bring up this matter. He took a deep breath, as if he were making a big decision. After deliberating for a long time, he slowly said, "This story begins when you were just born."
“Your mother passed away when you were born. You were born with no one to raise you. Your grandmother and maternal grandmother were both very old. We were afraid that a wet nurse would mistreat you. Moreover, you were very sick. In the end, we sent you to Guiling Valley.”
“But Guiling Valley has a rule that family members are not allowed to enter, so only you went in. Qi Shang and I were already inside. After all, we were there to escape the poison of Father Emperor’s women, while you went there purely for treatment.”
"Su Xu was there at that time, as well as Lan Shanqi, and the Crown Prince of Ningjian Kingdom, who also came to our Nanding Kingdom back then, but you didn't see him."
“We’re all around the same age, so we can get along well. We’re all boys, but you’re the only one who’s small and wrinkled, and you’re a girl. We all want you to be our little brother, but our master from Guiling Valley told us to take good care of you and to love you like a little sister.”
“You were very, very small then, all red all over, and you were locked in a box. Master said that it was the box of your life, and you could only look at it but not touch it. We looked forward to you growing up day by day and protected you day by day.”
As if he had thought of something, Li Qiji hugged Guan Zhiyue even tighter, making Guan Zhiyue feel like she couldn't breathe.
"Days passed by, and you came out of that box. Master said your life was saved, but you cried a lot back then. You would start crying as soon as you came out of that box, probably because you were afraid of the cold!"
As Li Qiji spoke, he recalled something, and a faint smile unconsciously appeared on his lips. This was a genuine and gentle smile that Guan Zhiyue had never seen before.
"Later, you gradually learned to crawl, started growing baby teeth, and started talking. I still remember the first word you uttered. Several of us asked you to call me 'brother,' but you couldn't pronounce it. You could only say 'aunt.' We taught you again and again, but you still kept saying 'aunt.'"
"But back then you were weak and sickly. You would catch a cold if the wind blew or the weather changed, so you always had medicine with you. I remember that Qi Shang saw you were suffering from taking medicine and even knocked over your medicine. Just because you missed one dose, you were bedridden for three whole days."
“That’s when we found out that you were taking medicine all the time. Your master said that your life was being kept alive by the medicine. If you missed a dose, you would catch a cold. Later, as you gradually got able to walk, run, and jump, your ability to withstand the cold improved, so your master gradually reduced the dosage of your medicine.”
“Back then, you played with us every day and followed us around. Whether we were reading, studying, practicing martial arts, or meditating, you would stay by our side without making a fuss, crying, or shouting. We didn’t know what you were thinking. We just laid a mattress on the ground for you, and you would stay obediently by our side all day.”
Li Qiji smiled and said, "Qi Shang likes you very much. He said that when he grows up, he wants to marry you and make you his queen, and he wants to become your knight and your family."
“When he told me these things, I was actually uncomfortable inside, because I liked you from then on. I liked you following me around every day, I liked the way you asked me to hug you, and I liked the way you cried and begged to crawl into my bed on every stormy night.”
“I liked the way you used to chase after me and call me Brother Ji even more. Later, we grew up and left Guiling Valley, but you didn’t leave. Later, I heard that Lan Shanqi became your new favorite. I also heard that you liked Lan Shanqi and wanted to be intimate with him every night.”
When Li Qiji said this, Guan Zhiyue clearly felt a chill. What did this mean? Was this guy planning to settle scores later?
I'm not the original owner of this body, and I don't want to take the blame for this!
The original owner was quite bold, managing to sleep with all these men! Although they were young and didn't understand the proper separation between men and women at the time, if I'm not mistaken, everyone except the original owner should have been around five or six years old.
"Oh my god, original owner, you really have caused a lot of harm!" Guan Zhiyue roared inwardly. Li Qiji, who was standing to the side, watched Guan Zhiyue's ever-changing face with great interest, remaining silent as if waiting for Guan Zhiyue to say something next.
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