“Wang Shunyi repeatedly pleaded for the Duke of Tang and his son. His Majesty, considering that Wang Shunyi and the Duke of Tang had rendered many meritorious services to the Great Sui, decided to be lenient with them.” After speaking, Yunyi stared at Du Ruhui and said, “However, judging from Young Master Du’s expression, it seems you don’t believe this.”

Du Ruhui said in a deep voice, “What the Princess says may not be false, but I believe that Wang Shunyi alone could not make His Majesty change his mind and retract the imperial decree that had already been announced to the world.”

Yunyi stared at him and said, “According to Young Master Du’s meaning, do you think I also pleaded for them?”

“Whether it is or isn’t, the Princess knows best in her heart.” Facing Du Ruhui’s aggressive words, Yunyi smiled and said, “Regardless of whether Young Master Du believes it or not, I am not the assassin you think I am. The hour is late, Young Master Du, please return.” After saying this, she turned to leave. This Du Ruhui was too perceptive; continuing to speak with him would likely expose more flaws.

When Yunyi had walked several steps away, Du Ruhui’s voice came from behind her again, “If the Princess truly has nothing to do with all this, how could you just now call out the three words ‘Wu Meixue’ so readily? From beginning to end, I never mentioned that Meixue’s surname was Wu.”

Seeing Yunyi stop in her tracks, Du Ruhui continued, “If I were to tell the Duke of Tang and the Second Young Master about seeing the Princess today, do you think they would consider it a joke, or would they think the same as I do?”

Yunyi suddenly stopped, and after a long while, she slowly turned around. The smile had disappeared from her face, and her voice was as cold and sharp as winter wind, “Is Young Master Du threatening this Princess?”

Du Ruhui bowed and said, “I am merely a minor official of the seventh rank, how would I dare threaten the Princess? I only want to know the truth.”

“But those who know too much of the truth often don’t live long.” As soon as Yunyi finished speaking, Du Ruhui said, “As long as I can seek justice for Meixue, what does it matter if I sacrifice this life?!”

Yunyi’s delicate brows furrowed slightly, and she asked in confusion, “Justice? What do you mean by this?” Du Ruhui had mentioned similar words before, but at that time, constrained by her identity, she hadn’t asked in detail.

Du Ruhui’s pupils contracted slightly, and he said coldly, “I swore an oath before Meixue’s grave that I would definitely avenge her, even if the murderer is a Princess of the current dynasty, I will not change my vow!”

Yunyi said with a strange expression, “You think Meixue was killed by me?”

Du Ruhui was stunned, then said, “Wasn’t it? Or are you saying that at this point, the Princess still wants to claim you never went to Honghua Commandery?”

Yunyi remained silent for a moment, then finally said, “That’s right, the person you saw that day was indeed me, and Li Xuanba also died by my hand, but Meixue was not killed by me.” She then recounted how she had hidden in Meixue’s house that day and personally witnessed Chunxiu accidentally killing Meixue while searching the house. Finally, she said, “I saw that Meixue had died, and since I happened to look exactly like her, I buried her in the back courtyard and used her identity to remain in the Governor’s residence. Later, Chunxiu discovered my secret and accidentally fell down the mountain slope and died while arguing with Wu Laosan.”

Du Ruhui stood there in a daze, and after a long while, he finally opened his mouth and said, “You’re saying… Meixue was killed by Chunxiu?”

Yunyi nodded, “That’s right. Jirong was also present at the time, she should know best. If you don’t believe me, you can go ask her.”

“You didn’t kill Meixue…” Du Ruhui murmured this sentence, then said, “This means Uncle Wu wasn’t killed by you either?”

Yunyi said excitedly, “Father knew I wasn’t the real Meixue, yet he still loved and cherished me like his own daughter, even risking his life to save me. How could I kill him? Father… he died when he was accidentally killed by pursuing soldiers while helping me escape.” She took a light breath, suppressing the sourness in her eyes, and said, “The person I’ve wronged most in this life is Father.”

Du Ruhui’s expression changed several times. He had always thought it was the assassin who killed Meixue and her father, so he had sworn to kill the assassin to avenge Meixue and them. He never expected the truth to be like this.

After a long while, he said hoarsely, “Why did you go to Honghua Commandery? Why did you assassinate the Governor? If you hadn’t gone, none of this… would have happened. True, you didn’t kill Meixue and Uncle Wu, but in fact, both of them died because of you. You’re still a murderer!”

This sentence caused the sourness that Yunyi had barely suppressed to surge up again, turning into a transparent tear that fell on the tip of her moonlight-white shoe. Over the past year and more, she often dreamed of the events in Honghua Commandery, and every time she woke up, her face was streaked with tears.

Yunyi caressed the railing that had been heated by the sun, and said mournfully, “You’re right. If I hadn’t gone to Honghua Commandery, perhaps none of this would have happened. Father and Meixue would still be living well now, but now… it’s too late to say anything.” After pausing for a moment, she said, “Promise me, don’t mention this matter to anyone!”

Du Ruhui said with slightly red eyes, “What if I don’t agree? Are you planning to kill me?”

Yunyi stared at him and said, “If you don’t want the world to fall into chaos and the people to suffer, you must agree!”

After staring at each other for a moment, Du Ruhui suddenly turned and left. Even when he disappeared from sight, he hadn’t given an answer—whether he agreed or refused…

In the Du residence, ever since Du Ruhui entered the palace, Mother Du had been stretching her neck waiting. Seeing Du Ruhui approaching from afar, she hurriedly went up to meet him, asking anxiously, “How did it go? Did the Princess choose you as Prince Consort?”

Although Du Ruhui had passed the palace examination as first place and been given an official position, he was still just a minor official of the seventh rank. In the eyes of the main family, a branch family that produced such a minor official was nothing at all. When she went to pay respects to the Du family’s main branch last time, she had been snubbed—they didn’t take her seriously at all. But being Prince Consort was different; that would make him the current Emperor’s son-in-law. Not only the Du family, but even those great aristocratic families would have to bow to him.

Du Ruhui said wearily, “Mother, I’m very tired and want to go rest first.”

Mother Du had been waiting for most of the day and wouldn’t let him leave like this. She said, “Tell your mother first, did the Princess choose you or not?”

Du Ruhui shook his head, “I couldn’t answer the Princess’s question. In the end, Cuiji and Zheng Yang were selected. Which one the Princess will ultimately choose is still unknown.” Mentioning Yunyi, Du Ruhui thought of that face identical to Meixue’s, and his heart ached faintly. No matter how similar they looked, she wasn’t Meixue. He… would never see that gentle and kind woman again.

Hearing this, Mother Du’s face turned white at once. All her hopes had turned to bubbles, making it difficult for her to accept. She shook her head repeatedly, “Impossible! You’re so intelligent, how could you not answer the Princess’s question? Did someone deliberately harm you and make you lose the selection?”

“It has nothing to do with anyone else. It’s because your son couldn’t answer it.” Du Ruhui answered casually and was about to leave. What had happened today really made him feel very tired; he just wanted to be alone and quiet.

Mother Du grabbed him and said with a stern face, “Was it really that you couldn’t answer, or did you deliberately refuse to answer?”