Xiao Shao lowered his gaze to look at the woman in his embrace. Though he hadn’t entered the courtyard, he had clearly understood everything that had transpired. He knew that while Jiang Ruan usually appeared indifferent to everything, she simply wasn’t accustomed to showing her emotions outwardly. These maids had all grown up by her side, and people always placed complete trust in companions who had supported and accompanied them. To discover in the end that it was nothing but a deception disguised as loyalty—she was someone who couldn’t tolerate even a grain of sand in her eyes, so the grief in her heart was unimaginable.

He patted Jiang Ruan’s back without saying a word.

In such a broad, gentle embrace, Jiang Ruan’s emotions gradually calmed. Actually, she was most unwilling to suspect Bai Zhi. Among all the people in this life, only Bai Zhi had accompanied her to the very end in her previous life. Now it seemed that Bai Zhi had belonged to Xia Yan from the beginning. Though Xia Yan hadn’t ordered her to do anything to harm herself, their positions had been adversarial from the start. And in the end, when she entrusted Pei’er to Bai Zhi, hoping Bai Zhi could help Pei’er escape, Pei’er still ended up in Li Dong’s hands. Perhaps Bai Zhi had simply handed Pei’er over to Jiang Susu, or perhaps she truly hadn’t managed to escape. But what the actual situation had been, only the previous life’s Bai Zhi could answer. Yet this matter stuck in her throat like a thorn—whenever she thought of it, she would wonder whether Bai Zhi had personally sent Pei’er to her doom. She had always been obsessive by nature, and once this suspicion took root, she could never find peace with Bai Zhi again. There were so many coincidences and misunderstandings in this world—who could truly know?

She gently pulled away from Xiao Shao’s embrace, feeling that she had been rather unseemly just now. Seeing this, Xiao Shao thought for a moment and said, “You should enter the palace tomorrow and visit Xuan Pei.”

Jiang Ruan started, for a moment almost thinking that Xiao Shao already knew the cause and effect of everything. She probed, “Why?”

“He seems to have something he wants to say to you,” Xiao Shao pressed his lips together. “You haven’t entered the palace for quite some time either.”

Indeed, his words carried some intention to divert Jiang Ruan’s attention so her mood wouldn’t be so heavy, but they still startled her. What could Xuan Pei possibly have to say to her? In this life, the two of them had virtually no connection. Yet Xiao Shao’s implication was that Xuan Pei had actively sought to find her. The suspicion that had once surfaced in her heart appeared in her mind again. Jiang Ruan tried to restrain herself from thinking that thought, but she couldn’t help but drift toward it.

“Don’t worry,” Xiao Shao seemed to perceive her unease and comforted her. “Once you go, you’ll know what it’s about. In any case, I will protect you.”

He always expressed his stance of standing by her side so directly. Jiang Ruan looked up at him—the young man’s features were coldly beautiful, yet the words he spoke carried a convincing power, as if anything that came from his mouth could certainly be accomplished. She smiled slightly, temporarily suppressing the unease in her heart, and simply said to Xiao Shao, “Alright.”

…

Snow fell all night. When they arose the next day, the fresh snow had covered the bloodstains on the ground. The traces of last night’s heart-stopping events had vanished, and everything was so peaceful it was as if nothing had happened at all.

Not far from Prince Li’s manor, newly built graves seemed to have appeared overnight. They weren’t luxurious, yet they weren’t crude either, showing careful attention to detail throughout. A stone tablet bore not a single character, and no one knew who had erected it. Two young women crouched before the grave, burning paper money in an iron basin. Several sticks of incense stood in an incense burner.

Lian Qiao burned money while choking back tears slightly: “Bai Zhi, in this life we were sisters after all. May you be reborn into a good family, and in the next life, don’t be a servant. As you said, even being a farmer’s daughter would be good—fate is always in one’s own hands.”

Though Lu Zhu was angry that Bai Zhi had led poison to Jiang Ruan, the tragic circumstances of last night still made her heart heavy with emotion. She was naturally soft-hearted, and having lived with Bai Zhi day and night for so many years since following Jiang Ruan, remembering how Bai Zhi’s gentle nature and how she always cared for her like a big sister, Lu Zhu’s eyes also reddened. Her voice was somewhat choked: “Sister Bai Zhi, if there is another life, when we meet again, I hope I’ll still have the fortune to be sisters with you.”

Both were feeling melancholic. After finally finishing burning all the paper money in the silver basin, the two who were usually lively in temperament both felt heavy. Jiang Ruan hadn’t come to pay her respects—master and servant for one lifetime, yet now she didn’t know what face to show when meeting her, which was truly absurd. Returning to Prince Li’s manor, Jin Er saw Lu Zhu’s downcast expression and for the first time didn’t deliberately tease her. Instead, he stood behind her for quite a while before extending his hand to offer her a handkerchief: “Hey, you look terrible when you cry.” Lu Zhu, however, wasn’t in the mood to banter with him and didn’t take his handkerchief, keeping her head down. Seeing this, Jin Er, always an expert at playing among flowers, felt somewhat at a loss. After a long while, he hesitantly moved closer and gripped the handkerchief tightly as he stood in front of Lu Zhu. Lu Zhu looked up at him in surprise, and Jin Er held the handkerchief to wipe the tears from her face, saying rather unnaturally, “How can someone in Prince Li’s manor cry and wail? It’s really unseemly.”

Lu Zhu stood motionless, as if enduring something. Jin Er’s hand couldn’t help but freeze, and he looked at her with some concern. Finally unable to restrain himself, he softened his voice for the first time: “What’s wrong with you?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Lu Zhu finally couldn’t hold back. She grabbed his lapel with one hand and buried her face in his clothes, crying loudly. Jin Er’s body stiffened somewhat, not knowing what to do as he looked at Lu Zhu clutching his clothes. Lu Zhu had always been a girl who loved to laugh in Prince Li’s manor, and her laughter was quite infectious, as if nothing was too serious in her eyes. This was the first time he had seen her so heartbroken. Jin Er felt that her crying made his own heart ache. Finally mustering courage, he reached out to pull her into his embrace and began to comfort her in low tones.

Jiang Ruan didn’t know about the matter between Lu Zhu and Jin Er. After Lian Qiao returned to the manor, she took Lian Qiao and Tianzhu into the palace. Since her poisoning, she hadn’t entered the palace again. Even Empress Dowager Yide’s place couldn’t be neglected, so today she borrowed this opportunity to enter the palace. Jiang Ruan first went to Cining Palace to see Empress Dowager Yide. The Empress Dowager found it strange that she hadn’t seen Jiang Ruan for so long. Jiang Ruan simply said she had caught a cold and had been recuperating in Prince Li’s manor for more than ten days. Only then did Empress Dowager Yide feel relieved. She pulled her aside to ask about how she and Xiao Shao were getting along as husband and wife, and Jiang Ruan answered each question. Empress Dowager Yide was very satisfied with their harmonious relationship, probably also pleased with the excellent match she had arranged. She kept Jiang Ruan for lunch, but since Jiang Ruan was now married and had become Princess Jinying, naturally there was no longer any propriety in staying at the Princess’s palace. When Empress Dowager Yide took her afternoon rest, Jiang Ruan bid farewell to Nanny Yang.

However, she didn’t leave the palace directly, remembering Xiao Shao’s words. She went straight to Nanyuan to see Xuan Pei. Having moved about the palace frequently in her previous life, Jiang Ruan knew where Nanyuan was located. However, back then Xuan Pei had been out of favor and lived in an extremely remote and gloomy courtyard before being raised by her side. Now Xuan Pei’s position in the palace was completely different—he was deeply favored by the Emperor. The Emperor’s favor might be a kind of poison, placing him in a position where everyone could see him, with countless cold arrows and hidden blades aimed at him. But at the same time, it was also a more useful protective talisman than anything else. As long as the Emperor favored him, any cold arrows shot his way would have their power greatly reduced.

The closer she got to Nanyuan, the more nervous she became. Since her rebirth, she had rarely felt this nervous. Tianzhu and Lian Qiao, who were following her, both noticed Jiang Ruan’s abnormality. Tianzhu stopped and said, “Young Madam, is something wrong?”

Jiang Ruan suddenly came to her senses and shook her head: “Nothing.” She forced herself to calm down. Everything now was just her wild imagination—no one could say for certain what the truth actually was.

When they reached the entrance to Nanyuan, a young eunuch guarding the gate saw her from afar and immediately bowed in salute: “This slave greets Your Highness the Princess.”

Jiang Ruan was slightly startled. In the palace, most servants usually addressed her as Princess Hong’an. Now hearing them suddenly change to calling her “Princess,” the deeper meaning was unknown. Just as when a princess marries, she still considers herself a princess in the palace, but recently people in the palace had been calling her Princess. This conveyed a meaning from the side—the title of Princess of Prince Jinying’s manor was more prestigious than Princess Hong’an. It also further demonstrated Xiao Shao’s position in the palace.

A palace maid with delicate features came out. After seeing Jiang Ruan, she first glanced at Tianzhu, then smiled: “This servant is Mingyue from beside the Thirteenth Prince. His Highness instructed this servant to welcome Your Highness the Princess inside. Please follow this servant, Your Highness.”

Jiang Ruan naturally caught that glance Mingyue gave Tianzhu. At first she was somewhat puzzled, then understood. But then she found it somewhat incredible—why would Xiao Shao send his own hidden guard to Xuan Pei’s side? However, since it was Xiao Shao’s person, she felt completely at ease. She followed Mingyue into Nanyuan. Passing through the front hall, she saw the luxurious decorations inside and understood that Xuan Pei indeed enjoyed deep imperial favor now and lived quite comfortably. She felt somewhat more at ease. Mingyue stopped in front of the study and smiled: “His Highness is waiting for Your Highness the Princess in the study.” After speaking, she stepped back, indicating that Jiang Ruan should enter alone.

Lian Qiao was still somewhat nervous, afraid that Jiang Ruan might fall into someone else’s trap again and wanted to follow her in. Unexpectedly, Tianzhu grabbed her arm and shook her head. Tianzhu came from the Embroidered Uniform Guard and was skilled in combat. Lian Qiao naturally trusted Tianzhu, and though she didn’t understand, she no longer intended to follow inside. Jiang Ruan herself was indifferent. She trusted Xiao Shao’s people, and furthermore, in her heart Xuan Pei would forever be that beautiful, delicate child from her previous life. No matter what he became, in front of her he would always be a childlike existence. She wouldn’t worry that Xuan Pei would want to harm her—that was a mother’s instinct.

So Jiang Ruan only paused slightly before pushing the door open and walking in without looking back.

The light in the study was dim, the curtains having been drawn by someone. So it was somewhat blurry. Jiang Ruan turned to close the door and walked toward the writing desk. A small figure sat in the large chair in front of the desk, holding a writing brush and seemingly writing something, looking very serious. Because of his small stature, he looked rather comical, plainly diminishing the usual sense of distance and alienation he displayed.

Jiang Ruan slowly approached him. The child was writing seriously with his head down, his brush-holding posture inexplicably familiar. With his head lowered, she could see his delicate nose and red lips, carved like jade, resembling an exquisite jade doll. Jiang Ruan watched silently. In the dim light at one side, she finally made out the characters on the paper clearly—they were actually four characters. Two names: one was Jiang Ruan, the other was Xuan Pei.

Jiang Ruan was struck as if by lightning, her entire person frozen in place. It was as if a scroll had been torn from her mind and suddenly unfolded before her. It showed a child in simple palace quarters, wearing ill-fitting clothes yet with extraordinarily delicate features, clumsily holding a brush and asking: “Mother Consort, look, Pei’er has learned to write his own name and Mother Consort’s name!”

That child’s smile was joyful, but his words were heartbreaking to hear. A prince of the nation, yet so neglected that not even a tutor had been hired for him. Perhaps no one would notice whether this unfavored prince had any learning at all. But as his mother consort, Xuan Pei’s calligraphy had been taught by her hand-by-hand guidance. The first time she taught Xuan Pei to write his own name and hers, Xuan Pei had said exactly this.

Now on that snow-white paper were still those two names, and the handwriting was exactly the same as in the previous life, even every detail identical. The scene before her eyes suddenly overlapped with the scene in her memory. For a moment, Jiang Ruan couldn’t distinguish whether what was before her was present or past, or perhaps all of this was just a dream, and she was either in reality or in the dream?

Xuan Pei put down the brush in his hand. Seeming to hear her voice, he finally looked up. Seeing it was her, he smiled sweetly and said: “Mother Consort, Pei’er has been waiting for you for so long.”

Jiang Ruan’s steps halted abruptly. She suddenly stepped back two paces, her usually calm and composed eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment, as well as complete disbelief and shock. She murmured: “What did you say?”

“Does Mother Consort still plan to acknowledge me? I am Pei’er,” Xuan Pei said thus.

Jiang Ruan’s eyes widened extremely, feeling her mind go completely blank. She stared blankly at the beautiful youth before her. He clearly looked exactly like Pei’er from her previous life, yet that smile was refined and meaningful, definitely not that of the previous life’s child who understood nothing and was innocent and kind. He was much cleverer than the previous life’s Pei’er.

Xuan Pei gave a bitter smile, looking up at Jiang Ruan. He slowly put away his smile, no longer using that feigned innocent manner toward her. He said: “Mother Consort died under chaotic clubs in the previous life, and Pei’er followed to the Yellow Springs afterward, thinking that life was thus ended. I didn’t expect Heaven to give me another chance at life, much less that I could see Mother Consort again in this life.” He looked at Jiang Ruan: “To this day, Mother Consort, are you unwilling to acknowledge me?”

Each word he spoke struck Jiang Ruan’s heart like a heavy hammer. No one else would know these things—he wasn’t lying. Even if there had been only a trace of disbelief before, it now completely vanished. Jiang Ruan didn’t know whether her heart held joy or sorrow, only feeling a kind of surprise at what was lost and found again. She strode forward, about to reach out to touch Xuan Pei’s face, but her hand suddenly stopped in front of him. For an instant she felt somewhat timid, doubting for the first time: “Are you… truly him?”

“Mother Consort taught Pei’er to write his own name. Pei’er wrote Mother Consort’s name together with his own—from now on they will never be separated again,” Xuan Pei smiled through tears.

Jiang Ruan started. When she had taught Xuan Pei to write his own name and hers, Xuan Pei had indeed said this. Now these words seemed to ring in her ears, and hearing them from Xuan Pei’s mouth again, Jiang Ruan finally embraced Xuan Pei: “That’s right, you are him, you are Pei’er. How could I not have thought of it? Since I came back to life then, you were also possible. Pei’er, it’s all my fault. I should have come to find you earlier. If I could have recognized you sooner, it would have been better. You’ve been alone in the palace—you must have been very afraid.”

Her voice trembled with excitement. Even those closest to her had never seen Jiang Ruan in such a state. She was like a cold, hard stone, and Xuan Pei was her only softness. The previous life’s Xuan Pei had died, so in this life she was hard throughout, without even that last trace of softness. But with Xuan Pei’s return from loss, it stirred her true nature—the gentlest part of the previous life’s Jiang Ruan that had already died.

“I wasn’t afraid,” Xuan Pei instead comforted her softly: “I lived very well in the palace. I knew how to protect myself, and I also wanted to help Mother Consort take revenge. I had always thought Mother Consort was different from the previous life’s Mother Consort. When Mother Consort helped me out of trouble in front of Princess Heyi, I thought that in this life I need only protect Mother Consort’s safety. I never expected… when Mother Consort was poisoned, from Prince Jinying’s words, I learned that Mother Consort was still that Mother Consort.”

Jiang Ruan was startled. How could Xiao Shao know of this matter? She was somewhat uncertain whether she had uttered some words while unconscious—Master Baqi had mentioned this as well. Xiao Shao was a clever person and could naturally deduce some clues from them. But he had actually told Xuan Pei about this matter—had he already guessed the relationship between herself and Xuan Pei?

Her thoughts weren’t particularly clear. Jiang Ruan slowly loosened her hold. She pulled Xuan Pei to sit on the kang beside them, just as they had often done in the previous life, and said: “Pei’er, what exactly happened to you at the end of the previous life? How were you captured then?”

Hearing this, Xuan Pei bit his lip. Even though his current intellect was no different from an adult’s, mentioning this matter brought those sealed gray memories flooding back, still making his heart feel cold. He paused before saying: “When Mother Consort had Sister Bai Zhi take me to escape through the secret passage, we had only gone halfway when people rushed over. Sister Bai Zhi was killed. I was captured, and later…” Thinking of those humiliating memories, Xuan Pei closed his eyes: “Later Mother Consort was beaten to death with clubs. I bit off that person’s ear, and he flew into a rage and killed me with one stroke.”

Jiang Ruan suddenly pulled him into her embrace: “Enough, don’t speak of it anymore.” She took a deep breath: “It was my failure to protect you properly.”

“This has nothing to do with Mother Consort,” Xuan Pei said through gritted teeth. “All of this was just Xuan Li’s scheme. If not for him, how would Mother Consort have been wrongly accused and ended up with such a fate? So since I began this life, the only thing I wanted to do was bring down Xuan Li and not let him sit securely in that position.”

This youth’s brow showed determination, and when mentioning Xuan Li, the coldness in his eyes was identical to Jiang Ruan’s. Looking at him, Jiang Ruan felt a sudden pang of indescribable melancholy. She said: “Then tell me, what have you done in this life? How have you lived these years?”

“I discovered I had returned to many years ago and originally thought it was just a dream,” Xuan Pei said slowly. “Later I found it wasn’t a dream. I couldn’t change the fact that my birth mother had already died. It happened to be during the few years when Consort Chen was most favored. The princes in the palace who gained even slight regard from Father Emperor all died mysteriously. Others didn’t know why, but I knew it was the good work of that mother and son pair.” Xuan Pei sneered: “It’s just that I was still too young then, and my abilities were truly too weak. I didn’t dare confront them directly. So I played dumb, willingly being an unfavored prince, just as in the previous life, at least preserving my life first.”

Jiang Ruan gently stroked his head: “Pei’er did very well. You’re very clever.”

“But this was really too slow,” Xuan Pei murmured. “I couldn’t just preserve my life—I also had to take revenge for Mother Consort and myself. Xuan Li always placed his chips in the court. I didn’t want him to live too comfortably. Over these years, I’ve also secretly cultivated some people. Some are in the court, others are outside the palace. Even if Xuan Li has planted people everywhere in the court, at least in terms of commerce, if I want to trip him up, it’s as easy as turning my hand.” Speaking of this, Xuan Pei gave Jiang Ruan a sly smile: “For him to sit securely on the throne, he needs a continuous supply of silver. But the silver is all in my hands—he can never have smooth sailing.”

Jiang Ruan suddenly understood. No wonder Xuan Li in the previous life had always been like a fish in water, yet in this life he had been going downhill until now, not even matching his position from several years ago in the previous life. This certainly had Jiang Ruan’s contribution, but she hadn’t expected Xuan Pei to have given him a push as well. With the enemy in the light and them in the shadows, Xuan Li was bound to stumble no matter what.

“You,” Jiang Ruan couldn’t help but laugh. “When did you become so cunning?”

“In the previous life, Mother Consort protected me, yet I could only watch helplessly as Mother Consort died before my eyes without any way to help,” a cold gleam flashed in Xuan Pei’s eyes. “In this life, I will be the one to guard Mother Consort. If anyone troubles Mother Consort, I will find every possible way to make them pay a hundred or thousand times the price!”

Jiang Ruan’s gaze fell on Xuan Pei. The youth wasn’t yet tall, his face still seemed to retain some childishness, born beautiful and delicate like an exquisite doll. However, the determination between his brows could not be ignored. When he spoke, his words carried weight—he was still the original Xuan Pei, yet ultimately was no longer that Xuan Pei.

“Pei’er, you’ve grown up,” Jiang Ruan smiled.

“Mother Consort, counting both previous and present lives, I’m already of marriageable age,” Xuan Pei blinked. “Mother Consort absolutely cannot look at me with the eyes one uses to look at a small child, because I’m not a child at all.” He glanced at Jiang Ruan and suddenly smiled: “However, though Mother Consort has also lived this long, your appearance is still as beautiful as in the previous life. I just wonder whether Prince Xiao, knowing that his wife is actually so many years older than him, would be furious with rage.”