Song Chuyi took a step back, pressing her lips as she turned her head to look at the four-panel glazed screen painted with beauties beside her. After quite a while, her throat felt so dry it was smoking. She hesitated for a moment, then went to stare at her toes.

“I know you’ve never been reckless, much less so shortsighted as to tie A’Yan to your side and not let him move.” Zhou Weizhao gently broke the silence: “But the things you’ve been doing recently have all been too hasty, one after another.”

Song Chuyi’s back, which had just relaxed, became rigid again. Her throat felt sore. After a long silence, she raised her head to look at Zhou Weizhao. Zhou Weizhao was also staring intently at her, his gaze gentle and clear. She suddenly felt her heart ache: “Are you referring to the matter of the Crown Prince and Prince Gong?” It had indeed been too hasty. Even Song Chuyi herself felt it was a bit too rushed later on. Stepping on Prince Gong and the Crown Prince mercilessly in one breath had certainly eliminated many hidden dangers, but in the end, just as Empress Lu said, Emperor Jianzhang finally became suspicious of Zhou Weizhao. Although Prince Gong’s reputation was thoroughly ruined and he no longer had any possibility of succeeding to the throne, he was still alive. And with the Crown Prince, there remained a pile of messes that hadn’t been cleaned up yet, waiting for them to handle.

There was also Elder Du and a whole string of other problems. If they had slowed down a bit, they might originally have had better methods to handle these matters more properly.

Zhou Weizhao nodded. Seeing Song Chuyi stare at him with wide eyes, he slowly sighed and reached out to pull her to sit by the window: “I don’t mean to blame you. I know you’ve always been very worried about me.”

“You once mentioned to me that in your dream, I died very early.”

When he mentioned his fate from the previous life so nonchalantly, Song Chuyi’s eyes reddened again. In the previous life, she had loved Shen Qingrang desperately to the point of life and death, but it was truly youthful infatuation—she understood nothing. With a little instigation from others, and Shen Qingrang giving her a few small favors, she would truly give him her whole heart. What Zhou Weizhao of this life gave her was far more than just a few small favors.

In the previous life, she had been arrogant and domineering, but because she lost her mother at a young age, this arrogance carried a bit of deliberate lack of confidence. If she had truly been arrogant and domineering, if she had truly been spoiled to the point of bad character, Shen Qingrang and Song Chuning might not have been able to commit adultery so easily. But having lived this life anew, with everything changed, only one thing remained unchanged—when others treated her even slightly well, she felt it was more than she could bear. Since Zhou Weizhao would risk his life for her, naturally she would do the same for him.

Therefore, both Song Yan and Zhou Weizhao—their lives were now more important in her heart than her own. When Zhou Weizhao so casually mentioned his fate from the previous life, Song Chuyi’s heart skipped a beat, but she unexpectedly felt relieved.

She wasn’t afraid of seeking and not obtaining—she was only afraid of losing after obtaining. Before, she was afraid to mention it to Zhou Weizhao, feeling that even mentioning the word “death” was a heavy burden. She didn’t know how to convince Song Yan that it was just a dream, and dreams are opposite to reality. Now that Zhou Weizhao brought it up himself, she felt a weight lifted from her shoulders. Her eyes were moist as she nodded: “Died very early.”

She wanted to smile, but in the end it was still somewhat forced. She simply didn’t smile, sitting across from Zhou Weizhao with a straight face: “I know many things are already different from my dream, but I’m still afraid. So I thought, if you could all be by my side—”

Old Kong knocked on the door, and Qing Zhuo’s voice was already ringing out: “Sixth Miss, your big brother is here to take you home!”

Qing Zhuo never called Song Jue “First Young Master Song”—it was always “your big brother, your big brother.” Once, Song Jue knocked him hard on the head with his knuckles. He scurried away holding his head, but next time he still didn’t learn his lesson.

With Song Jue here, they couldn’t continue this conversation. Song Chuyi stood up, but was pulled back by Zhou Weizhao.

“I’ll see you home together.” Zhou Weizhao pulled her hand and led her out of the room, only to see Song Jue waiting in the courtyard with his hands behind his back.

Later, throughout the journey, Qing Zhuo stayed far away from the stern-faced Song Jue, afraid of getting knocked on the head again. He really couldn’t understand, turning back to ask Han Feng: “Our Highness is really something. Why ride in a carriage for no reason? And sharing one carriage with Sixth Miss—her big brother is the hardest to talk to. Of course he wouldn’t be happy.”

The complained-about Zhou Weizhao, however, had no awareness whatsoever of being disliked by Song Jue. Sitting in the carriage, he smiled and asked Song Chuyi: “Why did you die very early?”

Song Chuyi sniffled: “Before, I was afraid to tell you because I was concerned about His Highness the Crown Prince. But now there’s nothing to worry about anymore, so I’ll tell you.”

She watched Zhou Weizhao nod with a calm expression, and finally told him all her worries: “So, although Prince Gong, the Crown Prince, and Concubine Fan Liang are all finished now, I still can’t help but worry.”

Not knowing who exactly betrayed him in the previous life, so she was especially worried.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” Zhou Weizhao looked at her eyes, wet and moist like a pitiful little cat that had been caught in the rain, and sighed: “I would believe whatever you said. You should have told me these things. I said I would accompany you through this lifetime—how could I not cherish my own life? What’s there that can’t be said? When it concerns my own life, even if I feel these people could never betray me, I should still be more cautious.”

Song Chuyi truly felt she could never find anyone who understood her thoughts better than Zhou Weizhao. Every sentence he spoke hit the mark. She had indeed worried that Zhou Weizhao wouldn’t believe that among those who had accompanied him and worked hard alongside him until now, there might be someone else’s spy, which was why she wanted to shoulder everything herself.

Now that he had asked clearly, Zhou Weizhao wasn’t in a hurry. Song Chuyi’s fingertips were still cold. He reached out to hold them and warm them, while saying: “You don’t need to worry about this matter. I’ll resolve it myself. As for A’Yan’s matter, Xiao Yi, we can discuss it some more.”

He didn’t directly tell Song Chuyi that she should agree to let Song Yan go to Hubei, but used the word “discuss.” Song Chuyi felt better in her heart, and the anxiety and pressure of being forced to make a decision eased slightly. After thinking: “I’ll ask A’Yan’s thoughts again.”

Being willing to ask Song Yan’s thoughts already indicated she was inclined to agree. Zhou Weizhao knew when to stop, patted her head, and simply accompanied her back to the Earl of Changning’s residence.

Song Yan naturally was willing. He stood before Song Chuyi, glancing at Song Jue and Zhou Weizhao sitting beside her, telling Song Chuyi with some coquettishness but also some determination: “Sister, I truly want to go with my teacher. After others pass the scholar or provincial examinations, they still go on study tours to broaden their knowledge. I’ll just consider myself going on a journey. Uncle is in Hubei, and I’ll have plenty of people with me. What are you still worried about? Let me go.”