Beside the artificial hill, Pei Jingzhou, dressed in a light blue silk robe, stood there with the posture of a pine tree. His ink-black hair, flowing over his shoulders, gave him the air of a transcendent, otherworldly Taoist master.
The cool temperature inside the artificial hill gave Shen Mingzhuang goosebumps. Pei Jingzhou was only a step away from her. She crossed her arms slightly, and her thin gauze dress looked rather flimsy. Pei Jingzhou looked at her without saying a word for a long time.
"Is there something wrong?" she urged impatiently.
Perhaps because she harbored resentment, she didn't want to spend too long with Pei Jingzhou. If there was something to discuss, she would discuss it; otherwise, she would leave.
"I was unaware of your entry into the palace beforehand. If I had known..."
He hesitated and didn't finish his sentence. Shen Mingzhuang composed himself before saying, "Young Master Pei, there's no need to blame yourself. Some things are beyond our control. But since things have come to this, we can only take it one step at a time."
These words were somewhat ambiguous. Pei Jingzhou thought of the handkerchief and her previous broken promise, and pursed his lips. "I asked you to meet me at the temple that day, but you didn't come."
With a tone that sounded both questioning and resentful, Shen Mingzhuang looked at the handsome man in front of her, seemingly lost in thought.
Do you have something to say?
"If that's what Young Master Pei wants to ask, then I have nothing to say." She had already entered the palace, and it had proven that Pei Jingzhou was unreliable, so she naturally wouldn't continue to entangle herself with him. As for why she didn't keep the appointment that day, there was even less need to explain.
She wouldn't easily reveal any flaws that others could exploit until everything was perfectly in place. At that time, although Pei Jingzhou recognized her, he didn't rescue her immediately, which made her hesitate.
Seeing her about to leave, Pei Jingzhou's heart was in turmoil. He reached out and grabbed her wrist, "Pin'er."
“It’s not appropriate.” Shen Mingzhuang looked at Pei Jingzhou with a cold gaze and an icy expression, which also gave her a cold and aloof air, making Pei Jingzhou think of the past.
He went with his father to visit Grand Tutor Shen's mansion. There, under the peach tree in the back garden, a delicate little girl, seeing that he was in a bad mood, climbed up the peach tree and broke off a peach blossom for him.
The peach blossoms were in full bloom, and petals adorned the little girl's jade-like face as she asked him in her sweet, childlike voice, "Don't you like it here?"
He remembered that he answered yes at the time. Back then, every time he went to Grand Tutor Shen's mansion with his father, he would be tested on his knowledge. He was still young, and he always had a hard time answering. Therefore, he was always depressed every time he went to Grand Tutor Shen's mansion.
However, the two families were old friends, and his father always took him to Grand Tutor Shen's mansion, so he couldn't refuse.
"Here, this is for you, osmanthus cake, sweet and sticky, this is the last piece."
The little girl was a little reluctant, but she still placed the pastries in his hand. From then on, he no longer resisted going to Grand Tutor Shen's mansion, and even... looked forward to it.
Later, he often saw her at Grand Tutor Shen's mansion. Each time, she would leave him a piece of osmanthus cake and ask him if he had anything happy to share. Gradually, the little girl grew into a beautiful young woman with outstanding looks and captivating charm.
The boy's affection gradually changed from its initial purity to something more intriguing. However, his father told him that Shen Meiling was destined to be the Crown Princess. She was adopted from a collateral branch by Grand Tutor Shen so that the Shen family could produce an Empress!
At the time, he only thought that Daiyu didn't like the Crown Prince, and he was unwilling to give up. However, the late emperor passed away too quickly, and he was unaware of the turbulent events in the court. He only knew that the Crown Prince ascended the throne and, within a few months, ordered the confiscation of the entire Grand Tutor's mansion.
At that moment, he felt as if struck by lightning, yet he was powerless to do anything about it.
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