“You must have left, otherwise where did this lantern come from?” Qingsi shook her head. “There was nothing like this in Your Highness’s room.”
The servant felt wronged: “I… I have been here the whole time!”
Qingsi wanted to say more, but Huaiyu reached out and stopped her.
“Don’t blame him,” she chuckled softly. “The door is guarded, but isn’t there also a window?”
Some people prefer to walk through doors openly, but if they meet a mischievous lady who teaches them how to climb through windows, then no one will notice when they do it again.
Qingsi saw that Huaiyu seemed to understand but had no intention of pursuing the matter, so she kept quiet.
Li Huaiyu lifted her skirt and entered the room. She picked up the lantern, examined it, and after a moment of contemplation, tucked it into her tiger-skin cloak and turned towards the guest room.
Jiang Xuanjin was standing by the window, lost in thought when suddenly the door was kicked open.
With a loud “bang,” his heart skipped a beat. Turning around, he saw Li Huaiyu poking her head in, grinning as she asked, “Does Your Lordship have some free time?”
His fingers trembled, then clenched into a fist. He frowned and said, “Your Highness should ask that when knocking on the door.”
“You know I never knock,” she said, stepping inside. “I feel a bit guilty for disturbing you so late, so I’ll get straight to the point—
“The moat of Yixian City is slowly filling with water. In a few days, when the dam upstream in Danyang is fully opened, the project will be complete. I plan to officially incorporate Yixian City into Danyang. What does Your Lordship think?”
Jiang Xuanjin lowered his gaze, gently turning to the side: “Without Your Highness, Yixian City would have long been a dead city. The people here are already devoted to you. What opinion could I possibly have about you incorporating it into Danyang?”
He had no intention of stopping her, not even a hint of hesitation as if he had already considered this matter.
Her previous assumptions were incorrect. Huaiyu looked at him steadily for a moment, then moved to face him again and asked, “Even if Danyang borders Ziyang, it doesn’t matter?”
“No problem,” Jiang Xuanjin seemed reluctant to look at her, turning his body away again.
Huaiyu laughed and insisted on getting in front of him: “What does Your Lordship mean by this? Aren’t we supposed to be mortal enemies? Why aren’t you even fighting me for the border city?”
Was she the only one who thought they were mortal enemies? Jiang Xuanjin clenched his hand, coldly saying, “Is Your Highness eager for me to fight you?”
“No, I just don’t understand.” Looking into his eyes, Huaiyu smiled, but her gaze was sincere. “What exactly do you feel about me now?”
She thought he misunderstood her pregnancy and would never show her mercy, but… the situation seemed different from what she expected.
Could it be… could there be a possibility…
Jiang Xuanjin furrowed his brows, his face looking somewhat pale. After a long silence, he said softly, “Aren’t you very clever?”
“If you’re so clever, then guess.”
Huaiyu was stunned, staring blankly into his eyes.
Jiang Xuanjin’s eyes were truly beautiful, like a still ink lake, or a turbulent sea, filled with emotions that were all hidden away when they met her gaze, leaving only a calm, deep black.
She reached out, took the lantern from her cloak, and held it up to him, asking, “Is this yours?”
Her expression seemed confident, but inside, she was anxious, as if standing on thin ice, afraid it would crack at any moment, making her breath light.
Jiang Xuanjin glanced at the lantern, his pale lips parting slightly: “What if it is mine?”
He admitted it!
He admitted it!
Her heart skipped a beat, and Huaiyu blinked, finding his straightforwardness hard to believe: “You…”
“What about me?” he spoke, his voice low, “I have feelings for you. Did it take you this long to guess?”
It was like a giant hammer striking her heart, causing her chest to pause and then race uncontrollably. A wave of heat spread from her throat to her entire body, making her tremble slightly.
Jiang Xuanjin… had feelings for her?
Li Huaiyu’s pupils contracted, staring at him in shock, not just at his words, but at the fact that he would say them.
With his awkward nature, what kind of mindset did he have to tell her this, thinking she was carrying someone else’s child?
“Do you find it strange too?” Seeing her reaction, Jiang Xuanjin’s lips curled in a mocking smile. “I find it strange too. You deceived me, used me, betrayed me, yet I still have feelings for you.”
He turned around calmly, his back to her: “So just treat it as a joke. You can throw away the lantern; it’s worthless anyway. I heard from Juwu that Your Highness and Manager Lu’s wedding is approaching. I wish you both a long and happy life together. I’ll be leaving for Ziyang tomorrow, and I’ll send a gift later.”
His tone was calm. Jiang Xuanjin took a step towards the inner room: “Please close the door for me when you leave.”
He maintained his composure, not letting her see any embarrassment. Once inside, he stood by the window, looking out at the silent night.
It was good. He had said everything he needed to say, and there would be no regrets after leaving. She could laugh at him all she wanted behind his back, but once he left, it would be hard to meet again. At opposite ends of the world, he could pretend she didn’t exist.
It didn’t matter. She could live without him, and he could live without her.
Footsteps sounded behind him, and someone came over, pulling aside his wide sleeve and holding his trembling fingertips.
“Ziyang Lord is quite carefree,” she laughed. “If you’re so open-minded, why are your hands so cold?”
His body stiffened, and the person by the window held his neck rigidly, not turning around.
Huaiyu reached out, pinching his chin as she used to, forcing him to turn his face.
Such a proud and aloof person, yet now his eyes were red, his thin lips stubbornly pressed together, and his pupils filled with mist.
Her throat tightened, and Huaiyu smiled: “Can I understand that you truly like me and want to spend a beautiful life together, which is why you’re so upset now?”
“No.” His voice was hoarse, “The wind is too cold.”
Shaking her head with a roguish smile, she said, “You should be honest. You dared to speak earlier, so why be afraid now? Isn’t it better to let it all out?”
You’re the one who’s broken, your whole mansion is broken!
He shook off her hand, frowning: “Does it matter now?”
“It does.” Huaiyu nodded seriously, “It matters to me.”
The night wind blew in, carrying a chill. Jiang Xuanjin glanced at her, then reached out to close the window: “If I didn’t want to spend a beautiful life with you, you wouldn’t even be able to enter my courtyard, let alone anything else.”
Huh? Wait? Huaiyu was shocked: “Bai Xuanji didn’t enter your courtyard? Who are you fooling? Didn’t you favor her the first day she came?”
Jiang Xuanjin frowned, looking at her as if she were a fool: “Who told you that?”
“Bai…” Her mouth twitched, and Huaiyu realized she had been foolish, actually believing Bai Xuanji’s words. Bai Xuanji would love to make her uncomfortable, and she fell for it.
Jiang Xuanjin looked at her with a strange expression: “Do you take me for your second brother? Letting just anyone into my courtyard?”
Slightly choked, Huaiyu scratched her temple with her index finger, finally swallowing her breath.
“Then…” she said, “since you’re willing to live with me, why don’t you trust me?”
Jiang Xuanjin asked softly: “Trust you about what? Trust that you’re not the Princess of Danyang, or trust that you didn’t approach me for revenge?”
From the moment she confessed to Liu Yunlie in the bamboo forest to confronting him in the dungeon, she never denied these two points. If she had continued to lie and deny it, he might have wavered.
But she didn’t. She was Danyang, she came for revenge, and she deceived him.
“What do you want me to do?” he asked her, “If you were me, what would you do?”
Huaiyu was silent.
She knew the answer herself. If someone dared to deceive her feelings like this, she would have them executed and hung at the city gate.
“Fate is cruel,” she muttered. “If Huailin hadn’t sent you to give me poisoned wine, I wouldn’t have thought you were the one who killed me, and I wouldn’t have gone after you.”
They missed their chance from the start. She had feelings for him, but in his eyes, she was a scourge. He sent her on her way, and she saw him as an enemy. When they met again, she was full of thoughts of revenge, deceiving and using him, only to find out she had avenged the wrong person.
By the time she regretted it, the truth was revealed, and there was no escape. They were destined to drift further apart.
If Jiang Xuanjin hadn’t said these things today, Huaiyu would have let go. Time would erode everything, and two people without fate, separated by so much hatred, would only suffer if forced together. It would be better to forget each other.
But he spoke, and it turned out he, like her, had hoped for a beautiful life together.
She hadn’t lost to him, so who did she lose to? Fate?
Narrowing her eyes slightly, Li Huaiyu suddenly felt indignant.
Letting him go like this, carrying unresolved love and hate alone, was it satisfying? Life is so short, and emotions can’t be taken to the grave. If not resolved in this world, they can’t be spent as money in the underworld!
Her heart suddenly clear, she asked him: “Can you write me a divorce letter?”
Without a divorce letter, remarrying would be somewhat improper, right? Jiang Xuanjin lowered his gaze, speaking softly: “I can.”
“The divorce letter must include a clause,” Huaiyu handed him a pen and ink, “After you divorce me, everything we shared, anything I want, will be mine.”
If she said this to someone else, they would surely call her domineering. But Jiang Xuanjin said nothing, only nodded.
Watching him write, Huaiyu smiled with satisfaction. When he finished, she happily picked up the letter, blew on it, carefully folded it, and tucked it into her bosom, then asked him: “Do you know where Qi Jin is?”
Jiang Xuanjin replied: “In Ziyang. If you want to see her, I’ll have her come to accompany you.”
“That would be great.” Huaiyu patted her belly, “I’m very confident in Qi Jin’s medical skills. With only a few months left until delivery, have her come to assist with the birth.”
His face turned even paler, Jiang Xuanjin turned his head, stiffened for a moment, and then nodded: “Alright.”
“You should stay too,” she said. “You’ve been here so long, a few more months shouldn’t matter.”
Jiang Xuanjin shook his head, ready to refuse without thinking.
Huaiyu smiled, cutting him off: “It’s settled then. Remember to send a letter to Qi Jin quickly, and let me know when she replies. Also, with the moat about to be filled, please do me the honor of accompanying me to see it.”