“Xihe…” Xiao Chanying suddenly stood up. He took a step to follow but could only watch helplessly as she left without hesitation. A trace of melancholy welled up in his eyes. “Let go… from others’ mouths it’s just two light words, but when placed on oneself, it’s a thousand-pound burden, impossible to move.”

He didn’t know when he had developed such feelings for her. At their first meeting at the Ma family estate, he was exhausted from being pursued, suspicious, and wary of everyone, including her.

Later, she told him coldly and forcefully that all his suspicions were merely his wishful thinking.

He had always been vengeful by nature, impetuous and domineering. In the past, he would have torn anyone who stole his evidence into pieces to satisfy his anger. But with her, he never thought of revenge. He kept telling himself it was because of her special status, that he had no concrete evidence. Later, he told himself it was repayment for saving his life…

Time and again he found countless reasons, but looking back now, it was simply that he couldn’t bear to hurt her even slightly.

His brother said he had fallen for her, but he refused to admit it. So he kept avoiding her, using some inexplicable awkwardness to try to prove he hadn’t fallen for her – how could he fall for such a crafty woman?

His brother couldn’t stand watching this and created opportunities for him. Step by step, he saw clearly into his own heart, gradually being drawn to her until he could no longer deceive himself. His brother offered to arrange the marriage, saying that as long as Shen Yunan and his father agreed, he would ask the Emperor to grant the marriage.

He had been expectant and joyful, but what he received was this outcome. Just as she had said at the Ma estate, she would not marry him – not an excuse or playing hard to get, but truly would not.

Xiao Chanying didn’t understand what was wrong with him. He wanted to ask for a clear answer, but before he could, his cousin from the Rong family heard about it from his mother and hurt her badly, undoubtedly pushing her even further away.

At this point, he felt he had lost to his elder brother the Crown Prince. He used to think the Crown Prince was weak and rumored to die young, all alone without any maternal relatives, quite pitiful.

Today, however, he extremely envied his royal brother.

“Sister.” Shen Yunan, not seeing Shen Xihe when he returned, was about to enter the restaurant when he met her at the entrance. He glanced inside before asking softly, “Are you alright?”

Previously, Shen Yunan had thought Xiao Chanying might be better, but after today’s incident with Miss Rong, he rejected the idea. There were too many messy affairs – marrying him would only bring more trouble.

That’s why Shen Yunan had gone back to advise Xiao Huayong, essentially approving his sister’s choice.

“I’m fine,” Shen Xihe smiled slightly, returning to the carriage with Shen Yunan.

“It’s my fault…” Shen Yunan felt somewhat guilty. If he hadn’t wanted to give Xiao Changqin and Xiao Chanying a chance, today’s events wouldn’t have happened.

“My foolish brother, this isn’t your fault,” Shen Xihe laughed lightly. Her brother wasn’t stupid at all – he was brilliant in military strategy but less adept at handling these subtle complications. “Prince Xin only hinted at this to you yesterday, and neither of us had responded yet. How did Second Miss Rong learn of it?”

Shen Yunan realized she was right – it was barely even a possibility yet, with Prince Xin only making private inquiries, so it couldn’t have reached their uncle so soon.

“It couldn’t have been our maternal relatives, but it could have been their mother,” Shen Xihe smiled gently. “Noble Consort Rong has been warm and attentive to me, but never had the critical eye of choosing a daughter-in-law. From the beginning, she never intended to let Prince Lie marry me.”

Noble Consort Rong didn’t want Prince Lie to marry her, but couldn’t show opposition for fear of alienating her son, so she used her niece to achieve her goal.

“To think Noble Consort Rong would disregard family ties like this!” Shen Yunan was shocked.

“There’s a reason behind this. Noble Consort Rong’s current second sister-in-law isn’t the original wife. Lord Rong’s first wife was Noble Consort Rong’s close friend and left behind a son and daughter. It’s said that before Lord Rong’s first wife passed away, he was already involved with his current wife…”

Some things weren’t proper for a young lady to say too directly to her brother: “The Rong family wants to strengthen their ties through marriage. When Prince Xin married the lady of the Gu family, though she has now passed and the position of Princess Xin is vacant, Prince Xin isn’t easy to influence. So they wanted to marry their daughter to Prince Lie.”

Prince Lie was brave but lacked subtlety, straightforward, and upright – a good choice for a husband.

“Is the Second Miss the only one in the Rong family qualified to be Prince Lie’s wife?” Shen Yunan sneered. “So this was Noble Consort Rong’s plan to kill two birds with one stone.”

It both ended their hopes for Prince Lie and prevented any Rong family lady from marrying in.

“The Rong family is tied to Prince Xin and Prince Lie – whether through marriage or not, they must plan for them,” Shen Xihe nodded. “Why would Noble Consort Rong waste a princess title on the Rong family?”

Marrying a daughter of civil or military officials would add another piece to Prince Xin and Prince Lie’s arsenal.

“Youyou, you were right!” Shen Yunan was now extremely grateful that Shen Xihe had made her own choice.

He and their father were men after all, and men thought differently from women. They had only considered Prince Xin and Prince Lie themselves, completely overlooking Noble Consort Rong and her daughter. His sister would have to interact with her in-laws in the future.

What good could come from having such a two-faced mother-in-law?

The Crown Prince wasn’t bad at all – the Empress had passed away early, and when his sister married into the Eastern Palace she would be its mistress, entering through the palace’s main gate in an eight-bearer sedan chair. Even Noble Consort Rong would have to pay respects to her when they met.

As long as she was happy, she could even manage the inner palace as a Crown Princess if she wished.

Shen Xihe smiled slightly, not explaining that she wasn’t afraid of Noble Consort Rong, who would only suffer losses when dealing with her.

As long as Shen Yunan abandoned the idea of marrying her to Xiao Chanying and sided with her, he would certainly persuade their father when he returned to the Northwest.

Meanwhile, Xiao Chanying returned dejectedly to his residence and then went to Prince Xin’s mansion. Seeing his brother was still awake, he didn’t know how to express his heartache, so he sat silently to the side, drinking cup after cup of strong wine.

Xiao Changqin leaned against a pavilion pillar, sitting sideways on a long bench with one foot bent on it, his robe falling loose. His fingers held an ocarina, playing a melody that was ancient and rich, low and tragic, making Xiao Chanying’s heart ache even more.

After finishing the piece, Xiao Changqin took a white handkerchief and gently wiped it: “Do you know why Mother deliberately let our second cousin know about your intention to marry Princess Zhaoning?”

Xiao Chanying’s hand tightened on his wine cup.

“Because… His Majesty disapproves,” Xiao Changqin wiped with great care and gentleness.

This was a gift his late wife had casually bought for him when he had persistently followed her.

With a crash, the cup was slammed onto the table. Xiao Chanying’s face was dark, his eyes filled with struggle and pain.

“I told you, in Mother’s heart, His Majesty comes first. For His Majesty, she can abandon everything, including you and me,” Xiao Changqin carefully wrapped the cleaned ocarina in a clean handkerchief.