"Sister, since youve already seen through it, dont you want to know why I went to so much trouble to invite you over?"

  In the vast bedroom, empty and deserted, only I and she remained, while Yuers voice was faintly smiling, with a breath like Mantra.

  "You want to see me, just have someone convey the message and its done, whats so difficult about that?" I looked at her smiling face and said quietly: "Why must you make Yuxiang suffer for this."

  She smiled coldly: "With so many eyes and ears in the Eastern Palace, if I had sent someone to invite you, it wouldnt have taken a moment for everything we said to reach the Crown Princes ears. So I could only wait for you to come see me of your own accord. But after waiting for so many days without success, and with the current situation not allowing me to continue waiting, I had no choice but to use An Xiangs illness as an excuse to bring you here, making it seem seamless and above suspicion."

  I looked at her and said lightly: "Shes just a child, dont you feel guilty making her suffer like this?"

  "Ah, sister, youve misunderstood me. It was my idea, but it was actually Ah Xiang who insisted on soaking in cold water on this frosty night, which led to her high fever not subsiding. I invited the imperial physician, indeed to let everyone in the Eastern Palace know about her illness, but she refused to take the medicine prescribed by the imperial physician and often didnt cover herself with a quilt at night, which made her condition relapse. She told me that if she did this, you would definitely ask me to bring her to the Crown Princes residence to visit her, so I could see you."

  I was taken aback for a moment and couldnt help but softly sigh: "Shes still just a fourteen-year-old kid."

  "Which is why I said youre truly heartbroken over Xiao Ying, so she can retain her true nature."

  I looked at her, my own flesh and blood sister, and felt that I had never understood her before. The familiar face now seemed so strange to me.

  "So, youve gone to such great lengths to bring me here, what is it that you actually want to say to me?"

  After a while, I heard my own voice, calm and peaceful, all the fatigue and melancholy were well collected, without revealing a single bit.

  She fell into a smile, gazed at me silently for a moment, then opened her mouth to ask softly: "Its been over ten days since the Third Prince left the capital, does Second Sister know where he is now?"

  Her words were light, but I clearly felt that there must be something wrong somewhere. I stared at her eyes without blinking and replied: "The mountains are far away, letters are difficult to send, except for the news of peace that was sent back to the mansion five days ago, I havent received any other news from him. Judging by the distance, he should have arrived in Youzhou by now."

  "No, its Liangzhou." Linger slightly closed her eyes, ignoring the astonishment in my heart. She got up and went to the door, looked out the window carefully, making sure no one was around. Then she returned to the bedside, took out a stack of paper from a secret compartment.

  She handed me the note without a word, and in her beautiful eyes there was a deep, quiet light.

  I knew that her words and actions must have a good reason, so I didnt ask much at the time, but took the paper from her hand without hesitation and read it carefully.

  The further down I read, the more frightening it became, uncontrollable, a chill spreading.

  I handed the note back to her, she took it and burned it into ashes with a candle flame, saying softly: "It was originally for sister to see, Ze Er risked staying until today, now finally can rest assured."

  I stared at her, opening my mouth in an exceptionally calm tone: "The militarys march is a top-secret matter, and every detail of its progress is recorded with utmost care. Even the most trivial matters are meticulously documented. How did you get your hands on these?"

  "This is why I will stop at nothing to bring my sister here." Lingers beautiful eyes gazed steadily at me, her voice measured as she spoke: "The contents of this note are the daily intelligence that the Crown Prince must obtain; I dont know what channels he uses to get them, but I do know he is always waiting for them."

  "How could he let you know something so confidential?" I looked at her, calmly asking out loud, my gaze also fixed on her beautiful eyes without blinking.

  "If he had been willing to let me know without beating around the bush, why would I have to go through so much trouble just to see you once?" Rouer smiled: "There was a time when he stayed in my Rui Huang Lou, and an urgent letter arrived at that moment. Under such circumstances, he could still control himself and leave, so I knew it must be something extraordinary."

  She spoke in a veiled manner, but I wasnt obtuse and naturally understood what she was getting at. I remained silent, listening to her voice continue to come through.

  "Afterwards, I was on the alert everywhere and although he had hidden these papers very secretly, I finally found them. So when he went to the palace for official business or slept soundly at night due to exhaustion, I would secretly take out these papers to copy them, and then put them back in their original place without changing anything. Therefore, what sister saw just now was not the original but the content is exactly the same."

  My heart was racing, but my face remained extremely calm. I gazed deeply into her eyes and asked word by word: "Huaner, now that youve married into the Eastern Palace, why are you telling me these things?"

  She lowered her eyes, and after a while, she smiled slightly, but didnt answer my question. Instead, she continued to speak on her own: "The Crown Prince must have received these messages through his informants in the military, and Im afraid their rank is not low. If the information I overheard is true, then even putting down the rebellion is just a pretext. The Third Princes trip this time may be fraught with danger, and its likely that hell fall into an internal and external conspiracy to kill him by borrowing a knife."

  I remained silent, only gazing deeply at her, and she met my gaze for a long time. Finally, she smiled self-mockingly: "Forget it, forget it. It seems that if I dont make everything clear to you today, you wont believe me. Second sister, do you still remember how this marriage between me and the crown prince began?"

  I didnt expect her to ask this suddenly, and I thought for a moment before responding: "According to my mother, you and the crown prince met unexpectedly during last years Lantern Festival, and it was love at first sight."

  She smiled, as if with nostalgia, though radiant and unmatched, yet always making people feel desolate.

  She looked at me with a faint smile in her voice: "Its indeed the Lantern Festival, but the person I met was not Nan Chengmo, but... Third Highness."

  My heart skipped a beat, and I looked at her with mixed shock and pain, but Yuer seemed to be completely unaware of my expression, continuing to smile faintly as she spoke: "I had my eye on a palace lantern, but couldnt guess the riddle on it. He happened to pass by, didnt even need to think about it, and effortlessly won that lantern for me, one that many people have been admiring..."

  Her voice was filled with nostalgic wonder, as unreal as a dream: "I knew he was the Third Prince of the current dynasty. Once when I accompanied my mother to the palace, I saw him from afar, but he didnt know who I was. He smiled and handed me a palace lantern before turning around and leaving. At that time, I was like one possessed, not caring about shyness or etiquette, chasing after him and saying When the prince comes to my Murong familys residence in the future, I will personally thank you for the gift of the lantern."

  My heart aches with unspoken pain, I tightly closed my eyes, her words were so subtle yet full of deep meaning, nothing more than to inform him of her identity, disregarding etiquette and shyness, just not wanting to miss him.

  Later, Fathers birthday arrived, and the imperial edict for the arranged marriage also came down. You wouldnt know how happy I was at that time, just like picking all the flowers of spring... I carefully dressed up, put on my most beautiful clothes, played the flute and danced at the banquet, outsiders all said that Miss Mu Rongs talent and filial piety moved heaven, but they didnt know, it was all because he was present, nothing more.

  From her narrative, I vaguely guessed the twists and turns of this matter, but still subconsciously resisted, unwilling to believe. Looking at my sisters face as bright as the moon yet also as cold as the moon, I asked with a slight tremble: "Then why was there still an elopement?"

  Yuer smiled, making people feel endless sorrow and heartache: "Second sister, you actually guessed it already, but didnt want to believe it. Just like me back then. Mother often said that Im too proud and arrogant, with a personality as sharp as a knife, one day Ill suffer for it. Before, I didnt think so, but now, I have no choice but to believe."

  She continued to smile, but her eyes were cold and unfeeling, without even a hint of hatred. Her voice was flat, as if she were telling someone elses story: "At Fathers birthday banquet, since the three princes were invited, how could the crown prince be left out? It was I who tied myself up in knots; that one melody on the flute and that one dance did not move the heart of the person I loved, but instead piqued the interest of the Eastern Palace."

  I recall the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet not long ago, where Huer wore a plain white dress and her flute playing sounded like heavenly music. She was as beautiful as a fairy in the moon, and although I didnt get to see her performance with my own eyes, its not hard to imagine how stunningly beautiful it must have been.

  She closed her eyes slightly, no wonder she played that piece "Surprise Goose" so well, with its hundred twists and turns, was the painstaking practice also for him?

  "I dont know how Nan Chengmo explained it to Father and Mother, I only remember Mothers tears and pleas at that time. Although my Murong family is powerful, after all, we are subjects, these princes and nobles cant afford to offend us. Even if there was an imperial decree as an excuse for the marriage, it would still have gone against the Crown Princes wishes, and naturally, one can imagine what kind of situation I would be in later on."

  She glanced at me with a faint smile: "So, since the marriage certificate did not explicitly state which Miss Murong was betrothed to the Third Prince, why dont we just have my sister marry into the Wang Manor and Ill enter the Eastern Palace? That way, both will be perfect."

  I looked at her, suppressing the chill that was spreading inside me, and asked aloud: "Did Mother say this to you? And did you agree?"

  The young lady shook her head: "The princes will is pressing down on us, and Father and Mother are also powerless. I still remember that night when my mother kept crying, I knew she was heartbroken for me, but she told me, as a daughter of the Murong family, I am destined to sacrifice for the family. I can understand their difficulties and helplessness, but there is no way I can not resent it at all."

  Two lines of tears slowly slid down her jade-like cheeks, she didnt wipe them away, but instead softly spoke: "At first, I naturally refused to agree, no matter what my mother said, I just shook my head and refused. When it got urgent, I even pushed her away and ran out the door, my mother was left standing there with tears streaming down her face, but in the end she didnt stop me."

  I watched as the tears on her face fell like broken strings of pearls, more and more, yet her expression remained calm and serene as ever. Inside, there was a dull ache that kept surging up, and her eyes were also burning with pain.

  "I kept running on the street, and the only thought in my mind was to find Third Highness. I didnt know what identity I could use to find him, or what I would do after finding him. But at that time, I just kept running, kept running, all the way towards the direction of the Third Princes mansion."

  She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, and her voice continued to come through, without any heartache, only an inexplicable indifference: "He is not in the Wang Fu, the servant told me he was on a boat tour at Tai Ye Lake, so I didnt care about anything else, and hurriedly rushed to the shore of Tai Ye Lake."

  She suddenly turned her face to look at me, with long eyelashes still carrying tears, like butterfly wings fluttering and trembling, but a smile slowly spread across her lips, so beautiful it took my breath away.

  The sky was exceptionally fine, with a clear blue sky and a picturesque landscape. I caught sight of him at once, on the pleasure boat, his arm around the waist of a beautiful woman, laughing with abandon. Yet, despite his carefree demeanor, he seemed utterly out of place among the revelry on the boat, exuding an inexplicable sense of coldness. In that instant, I suddenly saw things clearly - without reason, yet somehow irrevocably certain: this man would never belong to me in this lifetime.

  I looked at her, unable to utter a word, and could only listen to her soft, smiling voice echoing in the quiet room.

  "He didnt see me, and I didnt go forward again. After returning to the mansion, I let the family arrange everything, and together with An Xiang, we moved into the East Palace. In my heart, I knew that even if I really married into the Third Princes mansion, it would only be one of his countless gentle indulgences, something he could have or not have, and he wouldnt spare too much thought on me. But if I were to marry into the East Palace, at least Nan Cheng Meng admired my beauty, at least I could do things for him that the Third Princess couldnt, just like today."

  My heart is icy and painful, I slightly closed my eyes, but still dont know how to speak.

  She glanced at me and smiled faintly: "Second sister, you dont have to think Im pitiful or owe me anything. This is all my own choice, just like you said, everything in this world has its own destiny, and its useless to force it. Moreover, at least the prince treats me well, in this regard, I may be luckier than you."

  I took a few deep breaths, forcing down the surging emotions, and looked at her, my voice inevitably somewhat hoarse: "Since you also know that the prince treats you well, why do you still want to do this? You havent let go of the past, have you?"

  "Yes, thats why I brought you here today to show you these papers. Because even now, I still cant bear to see him get into trouble." She looked at me for a moment before speaking in a light tone: "However, sister, this is the first and last time. From now on, I wont do something like this again. This time, lets just say its my final farewell to the past, to those beautiful dreams and infatuations. Im using this method to thoroughly end my infatuation with him. From now on, Murong Yan will only have the identity of the Eastern Palaces Crown Prince Consort. If one day, the enmity between the Eastern Palace and the Three Kingdoms is unavoidable, I will stand by my husbands side, even if it means facing you all with swords drawn."

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