chapter 11

So my dear elder sister, Zhen Yuting, made an appointment with the Crown Prince to compose poems together, and then poured out all of my difficulties and grievances to him.

It really didn’t matter what she told the Crown Prince. I even hoped the more far-fetched she made it sound, the better.

I had the Mutton Fat Jade Bracelet sealed up and sent back to the Crown Prince’s Mansion, but I kept the Magnolia Earrings.

Then, while the Marquis of Dingguo and the Crown Prince were in discussion, I sent someone to invite the Marquis back home. “Marquis, my lady cried herself into a faint.”

When the Crown Prince followed the Marquis of Dingguo back to the Marquis Mansion, I had just woken up. I knelt weakly on the floor to pay my respects to the Crown Prince.

“Hanyu never thought she would have the chance to see Your Highness again.” My eyes brimmed with tears, yet there was a smile at the corner of my lips.

“You haven’t wanted to see me for a long time now, have you? It’s I who have been presumptuous.” Perhaps the Crown Prince was recalling what Zhen Yuting had said.

I struggled to hold back my tears. “So long as Your Highness and my elder sister can love each other as you did at the start, whether it is the one-and-only bracelet in all the world, or the one-and-only Crown Prince under heaven, Hanyu is willing to do as my sister says and return them both to her.”

The Crown Prince’s back, which had been turning to leave, suddenly went rigid.

That day, after a brief moment of daze, he still left without looking back. I knew this wasn’t enough force to shatter the White Moonlight in his heart. But that was fine. Once there is the slightest crack, breaking apart completely is only a matter of time.

The Crown Prince never came to see me again, but Zhen Yuting began visiting more and more often. I never hurried her away; on the contrary, I spent nearly all my time with her. So when Lady Boyang sent a calling card to invite me over for a little chat, she naturally came along.

The moment Lady Boyang saw Zhen Yuting, displeasure flashed plainly across her face.

“Hanyu, do you know the fable of the farmer and the snake? Sometimes, you mustn’t be too good to others.” Lady Boyang spoke when Zhen Yuting went to change her clothes.

I smiled faintly. “But Elder Sister Yuting is the very apple of the Crown Prince’s eye. She lacks for nothing. There’s nothing of mine she could possibly covet.”

After Zhen Yuting returned, Lady Boyang casually remarked, “Hanyu, your uncompetitive, uncontentious nature is so very much like the Empress. My younger sister back then also just let things take their course, and who would’ve thought Heaven would favor her and make her Empress.”

That one sentence was enough to snap the last thread of Zhen Yuting’s reason.