Chapter 5

At my father’s birthday banquet, I saw Jiang Songjing.

The gentle youth who once wore a blue robe had now changed into court attire and raised his wine cup.

All his lofty ambitions seemed to have turned into the wine in his cup, each toast offered to those in high positions.

It was as if roots had grown beneath my feet-I stood motionless, my gaze fixed on him.

He had grown much thinner.

Suddenly.

Jiang Songjing straightened slightly, his gaze swept across the room and met mine.

I was so nervous I even forgot to breathe.

I had imagined countless reactions from him: anger, shock, sadness, even public ridicule and scorn.

But his eyes passed over me without pause, falling elsewhere.

As if he were looking at a stranger.

A sharp pain gripped my chest. I couldn’t help but twist the corner of my robe in my hand, trying to suppress the bitterness in my heart.

“Jinshu.”

Someone called me.

It was Xie Heng.

He beckoned me over with a wave.

I hesitated and called out, “Brother-in-law.”

He introduced me to the others, “This is the Marquis’s Youngest Daughter, Zhou Jinshu.”

“My little sister.”

Everyone in the court knew of Xie Heng’s relationship with my elder sister.

No one found it strange; they all chimed in, praising me for being as outstanding as my sister.

Only I found it ironic.

Little sister.

A little sister who would lie on the same bed.

Throughout the banquet, my gaze kept drifting toward Jiang Songjing.

It seemed my breakup letter had truly ruined him.

The once high-spirited young man now had calculation in his eyes, ambition written across his face.

For the sake of his career, he bowed slightly and toasted Xie Heng.

I was too far away to hear clearly, but I caught half a polite phrase: “In the future, I will have to rely on General Xie’s guidance…”

Xie Heng did not drink that cup of wine.

Instead, he glanced in my direction.

Jiang Songjing did not notice; seeing his toast declined, he bowed even lower.

His manner was humble.

My heart ached terribly.

The more I saw him like this, the more afraid I became.

If-if one day, the veil between me and Xie Heng was torn away, what would Jiang Songjing think of me?

I dared not imagine.