What could be more humiliating than being ignored by the one you love?
What could be more heartbreaking than being forgotten?
The memory she had treasured so carefully, with such heartfelt joy, meant nothing at all to Prince Yan. He couldn’t even recall who she was.
Ling Jingyan covered her face with both hands, tears welling up endlessly between her fingers.
This time, however, Ling Jingshu did not offer gentle words of comfort. Her voice was calm and composed. “Honestly, this isn’t that big a deal.”
Ling Jingyan’s whole body trembled, and she stopped crying long enough to protest indignantly, “That’s going too far to say! It might not be a big deal to you, but to me, it’s the most important thing in the world!”
Ling Jingshu gazed at her, her eyes carrying a hint of coldness. “Even if he did remember you, what then?”
Ling Jingyan: …
Ling Jingyan was left speechless, choked into silence.
“Even if he remembered you, even if he held some fondness for you — would that mean he’d actually marry you as his Princess Consort?”
There was little expression on Ling Jingshu’s strikingly beautiful face, and her voice carried a sharper chill. “He is Empress Xu’s legitimate son, of a status more exalted even than Prince An or Prince Kang. As for imperial favor, he may even surpass the Crown Prince, who is resting quietly in the Eastern Palace. The only one who could rival him at all would be the Crown Grandson.”
“When Empress Xu chooses a principal wife for Prince Yan, she will certainly be extraordinarily particular. With Uncle’s status as a mere fourth-rank official, there’s simply no possibility of you becoming Princess Consort.”
“You know this perfectly well in your heart. Even if Prince Yan looked upon you favorably, at most he would take you as a secondary consort. Are you really willing to be a concubine?”
Ling Jingyan bit down hard on her lip, leaving a deep mark on her chapped lips.
Of course she wasn’t willing!
“Let’s set all that aside for now. Even if you were willing to lower yourself, Uncle and Aunt would absolutely never allow it.” Ling Jingshu’s tone was utterly certain.
Ling Jingyan stared blankly for a moment before finally forcing out a few stammered words. “Why would you say that?”
Ling Jingshu’s lips curled, and instead of answering directly, she asked a question of her own. “Cousin Yan. Why do you think Uncle went to such trouble to arrange the marriage between Cousin Brother and Cousin Sister-in-law?”
Ling Jingyan thought about it and answered, somewhat uncertainly, “Cousin Sister-in-law, though born of a concubine, was raised in front of the principal wife — talented, beautiful, and of good birth. Of course she’s a fine match for Eldest Brother.”
Ling Jingshu smiled. “You’re not wrong — Cousin Sister-in-law is indeed beautiful and clever, and she and Cousin Brother are a match made in heaven. But Uncle’s deliberate effort to arrange this marriage back then wasn’t only for those reasons.”
“Cousin Sister-in-law comes from the Jiang family. Though not of the main line of Duke Ying’s lineage, hers is the branch maintaining the closest ties with the Duke Ying household. The late Empress Jiang — Cousin Sister-in-law would have to address her as great-aunt. Even though Empress Jiang has since passed, the connection between His Highness the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace and his maternal relatives has never been severed.”
“Uncle hoped to use this marriage to forge a connection with the Eastern Palace. How could he possibly allow you to marry into Prince Yan’s household?”
Ling Jingyan looked as though she had been struck hard in the chest, her face suddenly turning pale.
Ling Jingshu, calm to the point of cruelty, went on to state the fact that would hurt Ling Jingyan the most. “What’s more, Prince Yan holds no special affection for you at all. This has all been your own one-sided infatuation and wishful thinking. Even if you were willing to be a concubine, and even if Uncle stepped back and allowed it, Prince Yan still wouldn’t marry you.”
Ling Jingyan: …
Every word struck home like a needle to the heart! Each sentence pierced straight into her most vulnerable, aching places.
The tears that had already stopped came surging out again in an instant.
Ling Jingyan wept and sobbed until her voice grew raw, crying until her whole body lost all strength, then collapsed onto Ling Jingshu’s shoulder to keep weeping.
Seeing Ling Jingyan cry with such heartbroken despair, Ling Jingshu was not without sympathy.
But a long-lasting pain was worse than a brief one.
Rather than letting her sink deeper and deeper, unable to free herself in the future, it was better to sever this misplaced infatuation of Ling Jingyan’s as soon as possible.
Even the thickest door panel could not block out the sound of Ling Jingyan’s crying, let alone the fact that she kept sobbing on and off for a very long time.
Bai Yu, listening from outside, couldn’t help feeling quietly worried.
She wasn’t worried for Ling Jingyan, but rather concerned in her heart for Ling Jingshu.
With Ling Jingyan crying so pitifully, anyone on the outside would think it looked exactly as though Ling Jingshu had bullied her… If the eldest Madam and the eldest Master found out, they would surely take their anger out on Ling Jingshu.
After a moment’s thought, Bai Yu quietly moved over beside the maid Bi Tao and said in a low voice, “Bi Tao, the Eighth Miss has been crying for nearly half an hour now. We don’t even know what’s happening inside — why don’t the two of us go knock on the door and ask?”
Ling Jingyan had a total of six maids serving her, and the eighteen-year-old Bi Tao was her chief first-rank maid.
Hearing this suggestion, Bi Tao shook her head firmly, saying in a low voice, “We absolutely cannot go knock on the door. Our young lady cares more about saving face than anything else ordinarily — we don’t even know what’s making her cry so badly right now. It’s best we act as though we know nothing. If we knock and meddle, our young lady will surely fly into a humiliated rage, and none of us will come away unscathed.”
Bai Yu frowned slightly. “So we’re just supposed to keep listening and waiting like this?”
Bi Tao nodded vigorously, her expression earnest.
The other maids nodded in unison as well, without anyone prompting them.
Bai Yu: …
Bai Yu silently swallowed back the words that had risen to her lips.
After waiting a little longer, the crying inside the room finally began to gradually fade.
Having cried for so long, Ling Jingyan’s throat had already gone hoarse.
Now that the crying had finally stopped, she simply sat there in a dazed stupor, not moving at all. Her eyes were red and swollen, her gaze blank and unfocused, with no clarity to it at all.
Ling Jingshu’s shoulder was soaked through, mixed with tears and mucus… well, this was no time to worry about that.
“Cousin Yan, you’ve cried for so long now — surely you must feel a bit better now!”
Crying was the best way to release one’s pent-up distress. After crying for so long, no matter how much pain she carried, it should all have been released by now.
Ling Jingyan gave a weak, listless hum of acknowledgment.
Ling Jingshu looked her over and offered a sincere suggestion. “It’s getting late. Aunt will soon send someone to call us for dinner. Just come up with some excuse — say you have a headache or a stomachache or something — and skip going over to Aunt’s side.”
With her eyes swollen like peaches and looking so listless and dispirited, anyone with eyes could tell something was wrong.
Ling Jingyan hummed in acknowledgment once more.
Ling Jingshu stood up. “Rest well. I’ll go back and change clothes. I’ll come keep you company again tomorrow.”
Ling Jingyan nodded silently.
Ling Jingshu turned to leave, and just as her hand touched the door latch, a voice suddenly came from behind her. “A’Shu, actually, you’re right. It was all just my own wishful, one-sided infatuation. Prince Yan doesn’t even remember who I am, and he holds no affection for me at all. I should forget about him as soon as possible.”
Hearing Ling Jingyan say this, Ling Jingshu let out a breath of relief, feeling quite gratified in her heart. “It’s good that you can think this way…”
“But, I’ve liked him for so long now, I probably won’t be able to forget him just like that. The calling card he sent you — give it to me! Whenever I miss him, I can take it out and look at it.”
Ling Jingshu: …