Chapter 8
Before the empress had finished speaking,
Xiao Yichi’s face darkened. He turned to me.
“Second Miss Song, don’t you have something to tell Mother?”
The hall fell silent.
Everyone looked at me.
I caught my sister’s hand before she could speak for me.
Feigning confusion, I looked at Xiao Yichi.
“What would you like me to say, Your Highness?”
His lips parted, but no words came for a long moment.
The empress called the attendants in.
We went behind the screen to have our measurements taken.
Outside the palace, as we were getting into the carriage, Xiao Shengjing rode up beside it.
“Third Brother and I will escort you home.”
Our eyes met, and I agreed with a smile.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
The days passed quickly. My sister’s wedding was a grand and splendid affair.
At the Third Prince’s residence, I went into the garden for some air.
Seeing how beautifully everything had been arranged, I could not help looking forward to my own marriage to Xiao Shengjing.
Even after a failed marriage,
meeting the right person could give me the courage to begin again.
“Song Yueying.”
Xiao Yichi’s voice came from behind me.
My good mood faded at once.
“Your Highness.”
I had not seen him for months. Gone was his former swagger.
Much of his arrogance had faded too.
“Song Yueying, there’s still time to tell Mother you want to marry me.”
He spoke as though I really had been putting on a show of playing hard to get.
I gave a soft laugh, unwilling to bother with him.
“Song Yueying, if we marry, we’ll only be living our previous life again. What were you dissatisfied with? I gave you rank and status. Even the crown prince’s position went to your son.”
Smack!
I shook my aching, throbbing hand.
My right palm had turned red at once.
Xiao Yichi stared in disbelief, the handprint on his cheek growing clearer.
“You dare hit me?”
“You’re exactly who I meant to hit, Xiao Yichi.”
I looked at him coldly.
“Perhaps you’ve forgotten. Whoever I choose becomes crown prince. The choice of heir has never been yours to make. Without me, your abilities would never have brought you within reach of that position.”
He touched his cheek and sucked in a breath.
“I was supposed to choose the Eighth Prince in our previous life. If not for your painting, I would have married him then too. Now things have merely returned to their intended course.”
My voice was cold.
Xiao Yichi opened his mouth, struggling to speak.
“If I truly depended on you to become crown prince and take the throne, why was I reinstated all three times I was deposed?”
I looked at him as though he were an idiot.
His three depositions were his own doing.
His three restorations had been won, step by step, by my father and brothers.
As for the next crown prince, naturally the eldest legitimate son I bore would take that position.
It had nothing whatsoever to do with whether Xiao Yichi was his father.
“You were deposed three times because you were incompetent. Do you know why I had to suffer with you each time?”
“Why?”
The question escaped him.
Looking at him, I spoke each word distinctly.
“Because you’re a walking curse. Anyone who gets involved with you suffers for it.”
His face turned livid.
Then I saw Xiao Shengjing approaching, and a smile rose to my lips of its own accord.
“Ah Jing.”
As I passed Xiao Yichi, he seized my wrist.
“What do you mean by this, Sixth Brother?”
Xiao Shengjing strode over, glaring at him in anger.
Yet he was afraid that tugging me between them would hurt me.
Xiao Yichi tightened his grip on my wrist until I bit my lip.
“Eighth Brother, do you really know what sort of person Song Yueying is?”