Jingrong turned around, grasped her hands, and gently wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes.

He held her trembling, slender body tightly in his embrace.

“Yunshu, I know you’re suffering greatly, but am I not the same? But no matter what, at least we still have each other now, don’t we?”

She nodded in his arms: “Jingrong, thank you.”

She spoke this word of thanks so solemnly.

Jingrong: “Between you and me, where is there need for thanks?”

“You often say you’re afraid of losing me, but do you know? I’m the one who fears losing you the most. You’re already a part of my life. I simply cannot imagine days without you by my side.”

Her tears welled up from her eyes, the scalding tears flowing down her cheeks onto Jingrong’s chest.

Jingrong’s expression was filled with heartache.

He could only hold her even tighter.

The next day.

A message came from the palace.

It was brought out by a young eunuch.

In great haste.

After Ji Yunshu received that message, she hesitated and struggled internally. She didn’t know how long passed before she finally made a decision.

Then she entered the palace.

Inside the palace.

Everything in the imperial palace seemed unchanged—what it was before, it remained now.

Yet within the resplendent palace, a Buddhist hall located at the far left of the bell tower appeared quite desolate.

Few people even passed by this place.

Everyone avoided it from afar!

This was where Zhang Quan, Eunuch Zhang, had previously stayed.

But now it housed a new resident!

Someone no one dared discuss or even approach!

The Buddhist hall seemed to have been renovated—inside and out, everything was clean and orderly. The roof and main door had been repaired, and the old worn lanterns at the entrance had been replaced with two new ones. It was indeed a very suitable place for someone to recuperate quietly. And because winter had arrived, the large tree in the courtyard had shed most of its leaves. At this moment, a eunuch was sweeping the ground with his head lowered.

After Ji Yunshu entered the palace, she walked all the way to the entrance.

She hesitated outside the door for a while before finally pushing it open to enter.

The sweeping eunuch heard the sound and looked up. Seeing it was Ji Yunshu, he was startled!

He quickly bowed and came forward, “Lord Ji?”

She nodded, her gaze looking toward the Buddhist hall as she instructed, “Guard the entrance.”

“Yes!”

The eunuch obediently stood guard at the entrance.

Ji Yunshu stepped inside.

The Buddhist hall was filled with the thick scent of incense and candles. The golden body of the Great Buddha had been freshly painted with a new layer of lacquer. The shelves around it were filled with lit candles—it truly resembled a Buddhist hall in a temple.

Before the Great Buddha, a man in an elegant, loose gray robe knelt on the ground, his hands clasped together, eyes closed, expression peaceful, very devout.

He hadn’t been here long, yet it felt as if he had been here for a very long time…

Day after day, he didn’t know how he managed to live on.

Night after night, he didn’t know how he endured.

Fortunately, he wasn’t dead yet!

Ji Yunshu walked to the entrance of the Buddhist hall, gazing at the man’s back, her footsteps pausing.

She didn’t enter for a long while.

The man seemed to sense someone had arrived. His long, thick eyelashes trembled faintly twice.

The Buddhist prayer beads in his hand stopped.

He set them down on the ground.

He spoke: “Come in.”

His tone was calm.

Ji Yunshu’s heart trembled, and only then did she step across the threshold.

Standing behind the man.

The two remained silent like this, neither speaking.

Ji Yunshu looked at his back, suddenly recalling a scene from the past.

“Wei Yi, have you ever carried anyone on your back?”

He shook his head!

“Then today, carry me, will you?”

He nodded vigorously.

That night, Wei Yi carried her on his back, facing the moonlight, and they went home.

The past was so vivid!

Suddenly—

“You’re truly so heartless.” The man opened those deep eyes, tilting his head slightly to look at the Great Buddha before him, saying, “Are you really so heartless that you won’t even see me one more time?”

Wei Yi’s tone carried distress, yet one could still hear him maintaining his last shred of dignity.

Ji Yunshu looked at him without saying a word.

After a while, Wei Yi stood up and turned to face her. “I know you hate me in your heart. I also know you’re very disappointed in me. If I hadn’t sent someone to Prince Rong’s manor, were you really planning never to come see me again? To let me be trapped in this cold Buddhist hall for the rest of my life?”

“Does it still matter whether I see you or not?”

“Of course it matters.” He walked toward her step by step, saying, “Shu’er, I no longer pray for your forgiveness, nor do I hope we can return to how we were before. I just want to see you, to see if you’re doing well.”

As he approached, Ji Yunshu took several steps backward, almost retreating outside the door. She said coldly, “I’m standing right here now. You’ve seen me. If you have anything to say, then say it.”

“Must you treat me this way?”

“Wei Yi, I should be the one asking you that question.”

Uh!

Wei Yi froze for a moment.

“You hurt me—I have nothing to say about that. But what you should never, ever have done was turn your possessiveness of me into a reason for slaughter!”

“Uh.”

“You caused Ziran’s death, caused Tang Si’s death, and caused Muruo’s death too! All of Houliao became a river of blood with countless casualties. Do you know that because of your selfishness, because of your desires, so many people died? Even if you spend your entire life repenting in this Buddhist hall, you can never wash away the blood on your hands.”

Wei Yi laughed, laughing so pitifully. He spread open his hands and said, “I know. I know the sins I’ve committed cannot be undone. I also know that even if I die, I still cannot repay the debts on my hands. But Yunshu, I just wanted you to return to my side.”

“Even now, you still don’t know you were wrong.”

His hands dropped powerlessly to his sides. He turned to look at the Great Buddha behind him and said, “Do you know what a person’s greatest sorrow is? It’s not losing everything, and it’s not life and death—it’s not knowing where exactly he went wrong. Yunshu, perhaps this is my sorrow.”

Ji Yunshu no longer held any hope for him.

The only reason she came here to see him was hoping he could completely give up. But Wei Yi’s obsession with her was far stronger and more terrifying than she had imagined.

“Wei Yi, this is the last time I’ll come see you. Tomorrow, I will leave the capital.”

He turned around abruptly.

“You’re leaving with Jingrong?”

“Yes.”

“Where to?”

“I don’t think there’s any point in telling you.”

He smiled slightly, “Yes, I will be trapped here for the rest of my life. Whether you tell me or not, what can I do about it?”

Now, he was a pitiful person!

A pitiful yet detestable person!

Ji Yunshu hated him to the extreme.

That kind of hatred could be described as penetrating to the bone marrow.

He also knew that even if he died before her right now, he could not make up for the wrongs he had caused.

Everything was so ironic! So ironic that he was helpless!