Zhao Yefan noticed that Su Muxue was acting strangely. Usually, she would never give him such a nice look. She would either nitpick at him or speak rudely to him. He wondered if she was drunk.
Zhao Yefan looked into Su Muxue's eyes and tentatively said, "It's getting dark. You should go back to the palace with Chunyun. Otherwise, once the palace gates are locked, you won't be able to get back."
Su Muxue shook her head: "That palace is so cold and indifferent, I don't want to go back."
Chunyun then took a warm, damp handkerchief and tried to wipe away the tears on Su Muxue's face, but Su Muxue gently pushed her away.
"Chunyun, you should go back to the palace first. I will be going to my brother's place later. Take my token back to the palace, otherwise the palace will find out that I haven't returned and report it to Father Emperor."
Chunyun glanced at Su Muxue, then at Zhao Yefan, and couldn't help but feel a little worried.
Su Muxue smiled at Chunyun: "Don't worry, with Zhao Yefan here, he will protect my safety. If he can't, neither my father nor my brother will let him off the hook."
Zhao Yefan was initially worried about Su Muxue, but now it seems that Su Muxue's words are just as sharp as ever, which puts him at ease.
However, upon hearing Su Muxue's words, he couldn't help but roll his eyes countless times. So, he rushed over in such a hurry, risking his life. If it weren't for the fact that these two siblings were so difficult to deal with...
Zhao Yefan said to Chunyun, "You should go back to the palace first. It would be too conspicuous for her to return in her current state. I'll take her to Prince Yi's residence. Don't worry about it."
After hearing Zhao Yefan's assurance, Chunyun felt a little relieved and left Shidinglou to return to the palace, looking back every few steps.
Seeing that Chunyun had left, Su Muxue continued to fill her own wine cup with the wine pot, and also poured a cup for Zhao Yefan.
Zhao Yefan still couldn't stand Su Muxue's seemingly fine exterior but rotten interior. He would rather Su Muxue be like usual, scolding him every now and then, that would be the normal Su Muxue.
Zhao Yefan stood up, grabbed Su Muxue's arm and said, "Stop drinking, get up, I'll take you to your brother's."
Su Muxue frowned and broke free from Zhao Yefan's hand.
"I'm not going. If you want to drink with me, then stay. If you don't want to drink with me, then get out. Anyway, there are plenty of people who want to drink with this princess."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yefan really didn't want to indulge her. He snorted coldly and said to Su Muxue, "You're quite something, aren't you? Then this young master won't keep you company. I don't care whoever you want."
Seeing that Su Muxue didn't react and continued to drink a glass of wine by herself, Zhao Yefan rolled his eyes at her, stood up, and walked towards the front door.
But when he turned around and saw Su Muxue's life-or-death expression, he had no choice but to grit his teeth, curse himself for being so pathetic, and sit back down next to Su Muxue with a resentful look.
"Su Muxue! Let me tell you, I came back not because I was worried about you, but because I promised Chunyun that I would take you to the Prince Yi's mansion. If I left and something happened to you, I would still be in deep trouble. I won't do such a bad deal!"
Upon hearing Zhao Yefan's words, Su Muxue couldn't help but smile and say, "Then come and drink with this princess."
Zhao Yefan glared at Su Muxue, picked up the wine glass that Su Muxue had just filled for him, and drank it down in one gulp.
Zhao Yefan said, "You're a princess, you can have anything you want, what happened that made you act like you're dying?"
Su Muxue continued to pour wine for Zhao Yefan, and said leisurely, "This princess has everything, except a happy family."
Zhao Yefan was taken aback by Su Muxue's words.
Today, Su Muxue was overjoyed to learn that Su Yi had finally taken the initiative to go to the Zichen Palace to find Su Mu. It had been so many years since her brother had paid any attention to their father, it seemed to be after their mother passed away, when her brother sent her things to their maternal grandfather according to her last wishes.
In my memory, when I was a child, my father would go to the Yukun Palace where my mother lived after court to accompany the three of us—my mother, my son, and me—to study and have meals. That was the most beautiful part of my mother's childhood before she passed away.
She knew from a young age that her father loved her mother very much. Every day, he would think of ways to send her all sorts of gifts, including precious jewelry, rare flowers and plants, and ordinary oddities from the market. However, her mother would just smile and have them put away when she received them, and never used them.
She asked her mother if she didn't like it. Her mother said no, she was afraid of breaking it, so she put it away.
Only today did she realize that her mother wasn't afraid of breaking it; she simply didn't want the gift from the man who had deceived her.
As Su Muxue laughed, she said, "Only today did I realize how badly my mother was deceived by my father back then. She could have lived a much better life, but for the sake of us in her womb, she willingly stayed in Dongyue Kingdom and eventually died in sorrow."
Zhao Yefan took Su Muxue's wine glass: "Your mother did this only so that you and Prince Yi could be happy every day. Since she doesn't want you and your brother to know about their less-than-ideal side, why are you still clinging to the past?"
Su Muxue took back her wine glass and sneered, "Most men in this world are heartless. It's better to live a carefree life alone. It seems that my decision not to marry was a wise one."
Zhao Yefan nodded, then suddenly realized he was also a man, and shook his head: "You can't say that. There are still good men in this world, you just haven't met them yet. You said that your father only dotes on your mother in the palace. It seems that the emperor couldn't control his heart before, but he just hadn't met your mother."
Su Muxue scoffed: "After my mother died, didn't he still send tons of women into the palace? Humph~ No man is any good."
"This..." Zhao Yefan suddenly didn't know how to respond. After all, who could understand that the emperor was in charge of the country? Weren't those women who entered the palace a means for him to balance the various forces in the court?
Su Muxue picked up her wine glass and shoved it into Zhao Yefan's mouth: "Come on, let's not talk about these upsetting things, let's drink."
"No, no, no, we can't drink anymore. I'll take you back to the Prince Yi's residence instead."
"Enough with the nonsense! I, the princess, told you to drink, so just drink! Stop with the endless chatter!"
Cough cough~ Zhao Yefan choked after Su Muxue poured him another cup of wine, and hurriedly said, "To be honest, I can't hold my liquor. If you drink any more, I won't be able to take you to the Prince Yi's mansion."
"If you can't deliver it, then don't go! Enough nonsense, Zhao Yefan, let's play rock-paper-scissors, ten, fifty, ten, hahaha~ You lost, drink!"
Inside the room, the candlelight flickered, casting dappled shadows on the exquisite bed. Beneath the sheer gauze curtains, Su Muxue murmured softly, seemingly in a dream, "Chunyun~ This princess is thirsty, pour me a cup of water~"
Su Muxue called out several times, but no one answered. She then rubbed her sleepy eyes and slowly sat up.
However, when she saw Zhao Yefan lying next to her, and then lifted the blankets to see the blush-inducing marks on their bodies, she was struck dumb, and all her sleepiness vanished instantly.
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