Chapter 65

  "Good morning, Crown Prince." Hong Yu calmed her nerves and spoke first. Since she had seen Yue Jiao that day, she clearly knew that she still held an irreplaceable position in Sima Zhe's heart, which made her secretly delighted. Although she had betrayed Sima Zhe back then, she didn't expect that Sima Zhe would be a lovesick person, marrying the beautiful Murong Xuan but still unable to forget herself.

  Simazhe let out a deep breath, looking around in all directions. This was a small garden path. He had just returned from the government office and was thinking about something when he started walking aimlessly, unintentionally ending up here. It was also here that many years ago, he had witnessed the affair between Hongyu and Sima Qiang. Although he detested this place, he would often find himself returning here absent-mindedly. This place was very secluded, not many people came by, so at this moment, apart from the two of them, it seemed like there was no one else around.

  She looked at Hongyu, who was still the same as before, except for a few more worries between her eyebrows and a few more mature flavors on her body. The other changes were not great, although she had been in the border area for a long time, her appearance had not changed much.

  "Hello." He said two words, omitting the greeting, and his tone was also light. After a slight pause, he continued to say in a lukewarm tone, "What a coincidence, running into you today."

  "Are you still resentful towards me?" Hong Yu asked sorrowfully, with a hint of apology in her eyes, looking at him quietly. She knew she was wrong, but Sima Zhe would never hold it against her. If Sima Rui had guessed correctly, Sima Zhe must have thought the same way too.

  "It's already an old matter, why bring it up again." Sima Zhe said quietly, but in fact, there was still pain in his heart. It was just that things had already come to this point, and what could be done about it? He paused for a moment, "Just please don't hurt Yu Jiao again, she's just an outsider after all, why..."

  Hongyu was taken aback for a moment, lowered her eyelids, and said with a hint of grievance: "Hongyu knows, but Hongyu has her own thoughts. That Yu Jiao is after all a courtesan, and as the crown prince of the Great Xing dynasty, how can you be associated with such a woman? Hongyu only wants to do good for you. In the past, it was Hongyu who wronged you, but now, Hongyu wants to make up for her mistakes when she was young, even if you scold me harshly today, Hongyu won't regret it."

  Simazhe sighed, still thinking of the woman in his heart. Now that he looked at her again, he originally had some sympathy for her, but now after hearing what she said, he felt a bit apologetic towards her.

  "Are you still used to staying at the border?" Sima Zhe changed his tone and said gently.

  Hong Yu smiled slightly at Sima Zhe, "It's fine, just not as convenient as here, but after living for a long time, I got used to it."

  Simazhe nodded and was silent for a moment.

  Perhaps both of them were too focused, and neither of them noticed that someone was hiding behind the nearby trees. There are many trees and flowers here, clustered together, making it easy for someone to hide among them without being detected, especially since this person was intentionally concealing themselves.

  Hong Yu vaguely felt a chill gaze watching her, and she couldn't help but shiver. Subconsciously, she looked around, but except for the trees, flowers, and grass, there was no one's shadow. However, she still felt uneasy in her heart.

  She suddenly remembered that many years ago, she and Sima Qiang had become husband and wife in this very place. At the time, they were both drunk and their emotions ran deep, causing them to lose control of themselves. Unfortunately, they were seen by Empress He and Sima Zhe, who had just returned. The awkwardness of the situation still made her heart skip a beat when she thought about it now. She couldn't help but wonder how bad Empress He's expression was at the time, and how Sima Zhe's shock was impossible to conceal. How could they be in this place again? This made her feel uneasy.

  "If nothing else, Hongyu bid farewell." After finishing speaking, Hongyu hastily left, but always felt that gaze coldly following her.

  Simazhe let out a soft sigh and slowly walked away.

  After a while, Sima Qiang finally came out from behind the trees, with an expression on his face that was strange and ambiguous, seemingly somewhat disappointed and also somewhat annoyed.

  On the way, I met Murong Xuan with a calm smile on her face and greeted her warmly. This woman has always been steady and composed. It's fortunate that Sima Zhe married her. As the future Emperor of the Great Xing Dynasty, what is needed is a steady and introspective Empress to preside over the harem. Otherwise, if the harem is in chaos, it will also affect the front lines. Just like now, if there was no Empress today, with the Emperor's temperament, who knows how many troubles would have arisen?

  Sima Qiang and Sima Zhe's matter should have nothing to do with this woman, so the two people usually meet and will say a few words, this time is also the same.

  "Big sister, are you okay?" Sima Qiang still followed the proper etiquette in front of Murong Xuan, and even more so because she had such an adorable younger sister Murong Feng. Intelligent, calm, gentle, he felt that all the beautiful adjectives he could think of could be applied to Murong Feng, it was just a pity that she was married to his most hated enemy Sima Rui.

  Murong Xuan smiled slightly and said quietly, "Alright, thank you Second Brother for your concern. Hmm, didn't Red Jade go with you? I just saw her come out from Liu Niangniang's place and head towards Yu Tongyuan."

  Yu Congyuan? Sima Qiang is too sensitive about this garden. Where did she go and what did she do?

  Simazheng was thinking, Murong Xuan seemed to say unintentionally: "Oh, right, second brother, I just heard the guard say that your older brother came out of the government office and also went in the direction of Yucheng Garden. If you go to find Hongyu, if you run into your older brother, let him go to grandmother's place, it's possible that the imperial uncle has left, and grandmother needs to find your older brother."

  Simarong reluctantly nodded, and his heart was really uncomfortable.

  Unexpectedly, in the Yu Xuan Garden, he really saw two people talking, Hongyu's shy appearance and sincere words, Sima Zhe's hesitant expression, and the mention of Yuejiao, all made him angry. He deliberately hid behind a tree, quietly observing them.

  My mother once said a sentence that suddenly echoed in my ears: Qiang Er, since we married her, we must take good care of her. Since she can betray Sima Zhe for you, one day she will also betray you for someone else!

  Will she? He didn't have any suspicions, at the border, she had been keeping a low profile, to the point of making him feel very relieved. But - after returning to the palace, why did she secretly meet with Sima Zhe again?

  He didn't show up, but his gaze conveyed a message, angry and venomous. That time, he had always suspected that Hongyu was not a virgin, but Hongyu vehemently denied it and even sought death to prove her innocence. At the time, due to intoxication and being caught by the Empress Dowager and Sima Zhe, there was no way to investigate, so they had to give up. However, this has always been his heart disease.

  Murong Xuan didn't know the reason, she could face herself calmly, but she couldn't face Sima Zhe calmly. No matter what the reason was at that time, a brother's wife cannot be deceived. However, he married the woman who had already been engaged to Sima Zhe. Originally, she should have been his elder sister-in-law, even though Empress Dowager had avoided family scandal and helped him marry Hongyu, how could he not feel guilty towards Sima Zhe? Although in this matter, Sima Zhe never had any confrontation with him.

  At that time, the Empress Dowager decided on her own and Hongyu's marriage in the shortest possible time. From the discovery of the matter to their wedding, it took less than three days, which was a bit hasty, but also avoided many things. Then they went to the border, sometimes returning, but Hongyu basically never came back. So everything seemed normal until now.

  Really? —— Hongyu and Sima Zhe are still connected by a thread?