Before long, the King of Yue looked at He Le'an who was huffing and puffing, then looked at the dish He Le'an had served him, emitting a strong savory soy sauce and scallion aroma, but with no other ingredients or dishes mixed with plain white rice, “……”

  He looked at her, she also looked at him, he thought seriously for a moment, and finally picked up his chopsticks to eat one mouthful after another. Then he handed an empty bowl back to her and said: "Another bowl." There was no dish, only rice, and one bowl was not enough for him.

  Moreover, the Prince of Yue saw that what was previously a bowl of plain rice mixed with soy sauce and scallions had now become just soy sauce, and there was only half as much rice as before.

  He looked at her, she also looked at him, he thought for a moment and still ate it up, then handed the empty bowl to her and said: "Bring another half bowl." So, the King of Yue saw less than half a bowl, no, even less than half a bowl, not even scallions, nor soy sauce, just plain white rice that he could swallow in one mouthful. He had to compromise and said: "An'er, you can say what you want to say."

  "But you don't intend to listen carefully, so I'm too lazy to waste my breath."

  "I'm all ears, go ahead and speak."

  "When I went to the Wang Fu banquet, my mood was like soy sauce and scallions mixed with white rice, tense but still balanced." She took a deep breath and said, "But after you appeared, I was always afraid that you would deliberately tease me again, and my mood became unbalanced like soy sauce mixed with white rice, only leaving tension. When you really 'made a scene', my mood was like plain white rice, not knowing what to add, so nothing could be added."

  "I know you're trying to stand up for me, and I appreciate that, but the way you're doing it is only going to backfire. It will just make them retaliate against me even more fiercely. I'm different from you - I'm just a low-born illegitimate daughter. No matter how much my grandmother loves and spoils me, she can't change my birth status. The more you treat me differently, the more they'll hurt me."

  "Just like two years ago." He Lian said, "I know that you, the King of Yue, have enough ability to protect me, a small concubine, but you can't always be by my side to escort me, so... I don't need armor with a time limit, nor do I want to see myself covered in scars when I lose the armor."

  "I'd rather stay away from the hustle and bustle, I just want to live a stable and peaceful life in a small town. Maybe sometimes there will be some unavoidable conflicts, but it's not like a battlefield with thousands of soldiers, I can handle it myself."

  Marquis Yue listened to her words that were all about clearing herself from him, furrowed his brow, "He Le An, what are you really afraid of?"

  He Le's heart skipped a beat, she lowered her eyes and pursed her lips, clenched her fist and said: "I only want to marry a man with a status equal to mine, this life no concubine, no sharing the bed, no fighting for favor in the back house, just one couple for a lifetime, open a small restaurant together, and live a stable and peaceful life"

  "Even if I said I was willing to make you my queen, would you still persist in this?" The Prince of Yue interrupted coldly.

  His words were like a blade coated with honey, she hadn't even felt a hint of sweetness when the deeply ingrained fear had already cut away a piece of flesh, the wound was so deep that it exposed the pale white bones, she was in so much pain that she could only clench her fists tightly, her voice soft but firm as she said: "Yes."

  Marquis Ye looked at her unwaveringly, as if wanting to find a hint of anger and hypocrisy in her expression, but he only saw her determination. He smiled, a short, abrupt sound, like self-mockery.

  He Lian'an raised her eyes and saw him pick up the bowl, pour that mouthful of white rice into his mouth and swallow it without saying a word. He got up and walked straight upstairs, then completely disappeared from her line of sight. The breath stuck in her throat was released, but her heart... hurt terribly.