No pop-up ads, so refreshing! Thanks for your support! Sounds good to me ^_^... Chapter 83 - 1

  If it weren't for that accidental encounter outside the music hall, I would have never seen her with tears in her eyes, like a pear blossom in the rain, or a cicada's autumn dew on a branch, and perhaps I wouldn't have felt such pity for her.

  But now, I just feel tired, so I opened my mouth and said faintly: "Miss Du is being overly cautious, the imperial edict has already been announced to the world, you are the side queen of the third prince who has not yet entered the palace, it's really not necessary to come over and tell me these things, because no matter how I look at you, it's actually not important, what's important is how the third prince looks at you."

  She looked at me with tears in her eyes, as if she still wanted to say something, but I really didn't want to force myself to pretend to accompany her anymore, so I just said I wanted to rest and let Huayi send her out of the Returning Ink Pavilion.

  This time, she didn't pester me again. She stood up straight and gave me a deep bow before quietly retreating out of the room.

  After she left, Shuying thought for a while and still said angrily: "Even if what she said was true, I still hate her!"

  I smiled and patted her hand: "Shuying, remember, if it's really for my own good, then even if you dislike her again, you have to bear with it."

  What Du Ruyin just said is actually not all false, I believe her because she's naturally beautiful and has been bound by too many things since childhood.

  But it's also because of this that I'm convinced she's not the simple, harmless woman people think she is. Her intricate plans may be even more beyond my imagination.

  "Miss, why are you always so self-deprecating? We don't need to give her a good face at all!" Shu Ying said indignantly.

  I gave a faint smile and shook my head: "I'm not disappointed, I just don't want to cater to other people's wishes."

  After that day, Du Ruyin still came to the Returning Ink Pavilion every morning and evening to pay her respects, even though I only truly saw her about one or two times out of ten, even though Nan Xiangyao had spoken up and told her not to bother with these empty formalities.

  I had never paid attention to everything about her, but rumors are always everywhere, and the various things in Shao Yi Guan still continue to spread into my ears intermittently.

  They say he indulged her with extreme favor, sparing no great expense to reward her, searching the world for rare flowers and strange grasses, all just to coax a smile from her rosy face.

  They say that for her sake he abandoned the Three Thousand Weak Waters, and even the number one dancer of the Southern Dynasty, Sang Muqing, was nothing more than a former beauty.

  He took her on a flower-viewing boat ride, took her to spring outings and banquets, where he was extremely warm and considerate towards her, unable to contain his emotions, without avoiding public attention.

  Although she has not yet been named as a concubine, within the imperial city, there is no one who does not know the three words "Du Ru Yin".

  In the three palaces, her figure was omnipresent, except for "Yulu Hall" and "Maple Forest Evening".

  I smiled wryly, no matter how similar they were, but after all, she wasn't the one who couldn't shake off that lingering fragrance in his heart.

  I don't know if Du Ruyan knows about the past affairs of the princess from the previous dynasty, but I believe that even if she does know, she will pretend to be unaware.

  I once heard her practicing a tune of "Huan Xi Sha" in the Wangfu Garden, with a clear and melodious voice, soft and lingering, every word and sentence full of unspoken longing.

  "Sighs only sighs, the scenery is empty with distant thoughts. Worries only worries, fallen flowers and rain hurt spring even more. Worries only worries, life's years are limited. Do you know or not? It's better to cherish the person in front of your eyes."

  I didn't know if she had practiced singing for Nan Chengyao, and she hadn't noticed my arrival either. She just sang over and over again, with a lingering tone, yet with a hint of melancholy that was hard to detect. At that moment, I knew that what she said about her feelings for Nan Chengyao was not fake.

  "The princess, Miss Du refused to leave, saying she had something to present to the princess. I said I would help her deliver it, but she wouldn't let me, insisting that she must hand it over personally." Hua Yi came in, looking helpless: "I've never seen anyone so stubborn before."

  Still remember the shocking swan's reflection (harem)