Li Wenship said, “That’s natural! No matter how much the Second Prince wins people’s hearts, the Third Prince is still born of the legitimate wife. What the Great King cares about most is bloodline. Even if the Third Prince is inadequate, he ultimately has people in the court, and the Great King cannot ignore these considerations.”

“Then what do you mean?”

Li Wenship fell silent for a moment. “Let’s wait for now. Unless absolutely necessary, don’t recommend the Third Prince to the Great King. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, we’ll be digging our own graves.”

“Yes, I’ve also considered these things, so when the Great King asked for my opinion, I could only keep being evasive.”

“That’s for the best.”

Both men understood clearly in their hearts that right now they felt they couldn’t openly stand on the Third Prince’s side. Otherwise, if the Second Prince was ultimately chosen, the two of them would become the first targets the Second Prince would eliminate after ascending to the throne.

This risk couldn’t be taken!

Li Wenship said, “By the way, your family’s Shilin has always been close to the Third Prince. During this time, you should advise him to visit the Third Prince’s manor less often.”

“Yes, I know.”

At this moment—

The Third Prince’s Manor.

In the courtyard at the back.

A purple-robed young man was wielding a sword practicing martial arts. Each step and each sword strike was very solid, though somewhat lacking in experience.

There was also a gray-robed young man sitting at a stone table nearby reading a book.

One literary, one martial—perfectly harmonious.

After a while, the purple-robed young man sheathed his sword, already covered in sweat.

A servant quickly handed him a handkerchief.

He tossed the long sword in his hand to the servant, wiped his hands with the handkerchief, then simply flung it away.

The servant had just caught the sword and immediately caught the handkerchief as well.

The purple-robed young man was Huyi’s Third Prince!

And the young man reading the book was Gong Shilin!

The Third Prince sat down across from Shilin.

Gong Shilin pushed the tea he had already poured earlier toward him, without even raising his head. “Have some.”

“Thanks.” The Third Prince gulped down the cup of water in one go. Not enough—he poured another cup.

Gong Shilin continued reading, asking without taking his eyes off the page, “You’re practicing swordsmanship all day now. Aren’t you tired?”

“Tired? Of course I’m tired!” The Third Prince admitted directly, then said, “But you also know that Father King likes people with both literary and martial talents. Second Brother’s martial skills are formidable, and Father King has praised him many times. I can’t lose to him, so of course I have to practice quickly.”

“He’s been practicing since childhood. Can you catch up now?”

“I’m naturally intelligent and learn everything quickly. Just a few fancy moves—they can’t stump me at all. I just need to show off in front of Father King. It’s not like I’m going to the battlefield to kill enemies.”

Gong Shilin smiled slightly without speaking and turned a page of his book.

After a while.

Gong Shilin’s eyes suddenly darkened slightly. He put down the book in his hand and asked, “By the way, it’s been so long—how come I haven’t heard you mention that Princess Consort? The last time I saw her was at the palace banquet.”

The Third Prince’s expression changed immediately. He clenched his fist and pounded it on the stone table, saying, “If you hadn’t brought it up, fine, but once you mention it, I get angry. Originally, as long as I married that princess from Da Lin, Father King would definitely pass the throne to me. But then that princess’s mother consort and imperial brother had consecutive incidents in Da Lin. That great mountain has collapsed—what hope do I have left?”

“You mean… you’ve been neglecting her all this time?”

“What else? A woman with no use value—should I keep her by my side?”

Originally, the Third Prince thought Jing Yi would become the Emperor of Da Lin. Then, as long as he married Jing Yi’s sister Jing Xuan, Da Lin would become his greatest backing. He had planned this wishful thinking early on, which was why he asked the King of Huyi to seek this marriage alliance with Da Lin for him. How could he have known that this calculation was lost from the moment Jing Yi’s rebellion failed—utterly lost, not a single piece remaining. Yet he still had to marry that princess from Da Lin.

Gong Shilin didn’t know what to say and simply closed his mouth.

He continued reading.

The Third Prince stood up, looking at the distant sky, his lips curling into a sinister smile. “However, even so, it doesn’t change my identity as the future King of Huyi. No matter how hard Second Brother tries, no matter what merits he achieves for Huyi, everything he’s doing today is merely helping me consolidate my position. In the future, I will be king, while he… is destined to be only the one who guards the kingdom for me.”

The Third Prince’s eyes were filled with desire to control power.

How was he any different from Jing Yi?

The west wing of the rear courtyard.

Although this place looked magnificent and opulent, a place where someone of status would reside.

Inside, it seemed extremely desolate.

In the room, a woman sat alone.

She wore plain and elegant clothing, not dressed in fine garments. Her black hair cascaded down, held only by a simple hairpin gathering a bit of her hair.

Jing Xuan sat on a chaise lounge by the window, concentrating on embroidering a handkerchief in her hands.

She wasn’t embroidering mandarin ducks, nor peonies or bamboo.

But characters.

She didn’t know when she had fallen in love with the habit of embroidering characters on handkerchiefs. In the year-plus since marrying into Huyi, she had embroidered many characters.

So many that even she couldn’t remember them all.

And those characters—she embroidered them extremely well!

Who would remember that willful and capricious Jing Xuan of years past—when was she ever a gentle woman skilled with needle and thread?

Time and experience truly could completely transform a person!

A maid from the manor brought in a pot of tea, placed it on the table, then silently went back out.

Once outside, two maids began discussing.

“Tell me, this Princess Consort, since marrying here, either sits in the courtyard or by the window in a daze all day, or sits there embroidering. She doesn’t embroider mandarin ducks—she just embroiders characters all day. Why do you think that is?”

Another maid glanced inside, then shook her head and said, “How would I know? As maids, we can only watch, we can’t speak or ask.”

“Actually, the Princess Consort is quite pitiful. Since marrying here, she’s only seen the Third Prince twice. Any woman would find this unbearable.”

“Isn’t that the truth?”

Both felt it was very regrettable.

Inside the room.

Jing Xuan finished the last stitch.

The corners of her mouth curved slightly in a smile, her fingertips gently touching the character on the handkerchief.

It was the character “guang” (light).

She had finished embroidering it in less than half a shichen.

She didn’t know why she had embroidered this character. Perhaps she simply liked it.

She gently folded the handkerchief and placed it on the table in front of her. Rising, she walked to the window and gazed at the large tree outside.

Winter was approaching!

The leaves had already turned yellow and were falling one by one.

Because there had been light rain last night, there was still some standing water in the low spots on the ground. Yellow leaves fell into the water, stirring up circles of tiny ripples.

But Jing Xuan’s heart was extremely calm!

She very much liked her current life.

Liked being alone in peace and quiet.

Only this way could she slowly let the past settle and become clear.