Amid the pitter-patter of raindrops, Li Shimin heard the creaking sound of a door opening behind him. Turning around to see Yunyi emerge, he asked, “Is everything settled?”

“Mm.” Yunyi gently closed the palace door and said, “These past days, You’er has been trapped in self-blame and fear, his spirits exhausted and dispirited. After I counseled him for a while, I coaxed him to sleep.” As she spoke, she walked to Li Shimin’s side, gazing at the pattering rain. “The weather certainly changes quickly. Rain started falling in just this short time.”

Li Shimin took the oil-paper umbrella that palace servants had prepared early. “Let’s go.”

Yunyi nodded and stepped into the rain under his opened umbrella. Although the umbrella was large, under the wind and rain, it still proved somewhat inadequate. Li Shimin tried his best to shift the umbrella toward Yunyi to prevent her from getting soaked. Eventually, two-thirds of the umbrella covered Yunyi’s head while most of his own body remained exposed outside, his clothes continuously dampened by the rain.

Yunyi forcibly pushed the umbrella back toward him somewhat. “At this rate, your clothes will be completely soaked before we even reach the palace gate.” She joked, “If I were to make the Second Young Master ill, I couldn’t afford to compensate.”

Li Shimin laughed. “Don’t worry, I definitely won’t ask you to compensate.” Speaking thus, he gazed at the rainwater beyond the umbrella’s edge. “Do you remember when we were in Honghua Prefecture? You and I once shared an umbrella like this.”

“I remember. That time I went home to visit Father, and when I was returning, it suddenly started raining. Fortunately I encountered you, or I would have had to walk all the way back to the Governor’s mansion in the rain.” At this point, Yunyi’s eyes shifted, and with a half-smile she said, “Speaking of which, was that truly a chance encounter, or were you secretly following me?”

Li Shimin smiled wryly. “What, planning to settle old scores with me?”

Yunyi smiled with pursed lips. “If the Second Young Master doesn’t wish to say, just pretend I didn’t ask.”

The corners of Li Shimin’s mouth held a trace of amusement. “Your guess is correct. I initially suspected you were an assassin, so after you left the mansion, I had been secretly following you. That time we climbed the mountain to paint was also a deliberate test, but unfortunately you deceived me completely. After that, I truly believed you were just an ordinary dancing girl.”

Yunyi smiled slightly, but a layer of smoke-like melancholy clouded her beautiful eyes. “I often wonder whether going to Honghua Prefecture was right or wrong. If I hadn’t gone, my hands wouldn’t have been stained with so much blood, but then I wouldn’t have had the chance to meet you, to meet Meixue and Father, to know I had a twin sister.” Before her words finished, her cold fingers were already grasped by a warm palm. “Right or wrong matters not, because past events cannot be changed.” After a pause, he said, “Yunyi, please give me a bit more time.”

Yunyi gripped his hand in return, smiling peacefully. “Alright, I’ll wait for you.”

Four simple words, yet they stirred endless affection in Li Shimin’s heart. Their clasped hands grew even tighter. Perhaps… this love could truly help him overcome the barrier in his heart.

In the following days, Li Jiancheng ordered people to search throughout Chang’an city for the best lip-reading instructors. While Li Chengzong could still speak, they would teach him lip-reading, otherwise, remaining in a state where he couldn’t hear sounds for an extended period, Li Chengzong would likely forget how to speak, truly becoming a deaf and mute invalid.

At this time, Zheng Shi fell ill again, said to be from wind-cold. Wind-cold was typically a minor ailment – normally, taking medicine for a few days and resting would cure it. However, Zheng Shi’s wind-cold was unusually severe. Despite taking medicine for several days, she remained bedridden with no improvement. The physician said it was due to emotional blockage in her chest, causing her illness to persist. Because she was pregnant, the physician dared not prescribe strong medicine.

On this day, Yunyi returned from outside the manor and happened to encounter Zhangsun Shi carrying a food box. Upon inquiry, she learned that Zhangsun Shi had stewed rock sugar with snow pears and planned to visit Zheng Shi.

“If the Princess has nothing urgent, why not go together?” Faced with Zhangsun Shi’s invitation, Yunyi hesitated briefly before agreeing and went with her to Zheng Shi’s courtyard. Upon entering the room, they saw Zheng Shi with a pale complexion, leaning against the bed, covered with an autumn-fragrant colored brocade quilt. The room was filled with the lingering scent of medicine.

Seeing them enter, Zheng Shi said in a hoarse voice to her maid, “Quickly arrange seating for the Princess and Second Young Madam.”

After sitting on the embroidered stools brought by servants, Zhangsun Shi asked with concern, “How does eldest sister-in-law feel today?”

Zheng Shi replied hoarsely, “How can I feel? Still the same. At least I won’t die.” Hearing this, Zhangsun Shi quickly said, “How can eldest sister-in-law say such inauspicious words? Please never say such things again.”

Zheng Shi coughed several times and said mournfully, “What’s so inauspicious about it? I’d rather be dead now, so I wouldn’t have all this heartache and sorrow.”

Yunyi frowned. “Forgive Yunyi’s bluntness, but if the eldest young madam continues thinking this way, no amount of medicine will cure your illness.”

Zhangsun Shi continued, “The Princess speaks correctly. Actually, it’s already been proven that the matter with the eldest young master has nothing to do with eldest sister-in-law, and eldest brother-in-law has also lifted the confinement. Why must eldest sister-in-law continue to dwell on this, needlessly harming your own body?”

Her words were meant to comfort, but when Zheng Shi heard them, her eyes reddened and she said mournfully, “If Nanny Tong hadn’t committed suicide from guilt, hadn’t left that confession letter in a moment of conscience, would my husband have been willing to lift the confinement?” Without waiting for Yunyi and the other to respond, she shook her head. “No, he would only have concluded that I was malicious, that I had poisoned Chengdao. We’ve been married for years, yet he doesn’t have even a shred of trust in me. Every time I think of this, this suffocating feeling in my chest just won’t dissipate.” By the end, she couldn’t help but shed tears. A maid wiped her tears while gently consoling her. This was Zheng Shi’s dowry maid who had followed her since childhood, called Liuye.

Zhangsun Shi sighed inwardly. She could understand Zheng Shi’s feelings – if it were herself, she would also be extremely saddened. She consoled, “Actually, eldest brother-in-law doesn’t necessarily distrust eldest sister-in-law. It’s just that before the matter was clarified, he could only act that way. I heard that eldest brother-in-law came to visit eldest sister-in-law yesterday, which shows he still cares for you.”

Zheng Shi wept without speaking. Yunyi said, “The eldest young madam is now six months pregnant. I’ve heard people say that although the fetus is still small while in the mother’s womb, it can sense all of the mother’s conditions. If the eldest young madam continues to be so sorrowful, the one most harmed will be the child in your womb. Even if the eldest young madam doesn’t think of yourself, you must consider the child. If something truly happens, it will be too late for regrets.”

Zheng Shi’s hands unconsciously covered her protruding belly, her expression tense. Clearly she still cared greatly about this child. Zhangsun Shi seized the opportunity, “Just as the Princess said, if eldest sister-in-law only thinks about those unhappy things, you’ll only harm the child, and there’s also Chengdao. Surely eldest sister-in-law won’t disregard him as well?”

Zheng Shi looked down at her protruding abdomen and said softly, “Both he and Chengdao are children with bitter fates.”

Zhangsun Shi sat beside the bed, grasping Zheng Shi’s hand. “With eldest brother and sister-in-law’s love, how could their fate be bitter? If not, there’s still my husband and me – we’ll all treat Chengdao and the others well.”