Chapter 3
His hand tightened sharply around his cloak, as if he could not believe what had happened.
The palace maid stepped forward, bowed, and held out her open palm.
Shen Yanbai stared straight at me. This time, I was the one who lowered my gaze and smoothed the fur at my cuff.
He gave a hoarse laugh and handed the jade token to the maid.
“This should have happened long ago. Your Highness… Yanbai takes his leave.”
He had come alone, and he left in utter solitude.
Like a reed standing in the winter wind.
The moment a gust passed, the reed bent at the waist.
Thud.
The palace maid cried out, “Your Highness, Young Master Shen has fainted!”
Instinct made me take half a step toward him. In the end, I stopped and ordered a young eunuch, “Take him to the Imperial Medical Office.”
The eunuch hoisted Shen Yanbai onto his back and ran.
When I had still been torn between two choices, old affection had swayed me toward Shen Yanbai.
Now that his heart belonged elsewhere and I had decided to marry another man, I would leave him no lingering hope.
Shen Yanbai would never enter Xingyun Hall again.
I told the palace maids, “Pack up everything in the hall connected to Shen Yanbai. Tell the Shen family to come collect their master, and send those belongings to the Imperial Medical Office so they can take everything home together.”
Word soon spread inside and outside the palace.
Princess Ci’an and Shen Yanbai, inseparable for six years, had fallen out and would never be as they were before.
My imperial sister and brother heard the news quickly. Each sent me a handsome young man to cheer me up.
One look at them put me on guard.
This had to be another of their schemes to lure me into a life of pleasure, only so they could mock me after I succumbed.
With no time to mourn the end of six years, I set one young man to grinding ink and the other to pouring tea, then began the assignments left by the imperial tutor.
I was engrossed when a palace maid entered to report, “Your Highness, a maid has come to the door. She says you misunderstood Young Master Shen and that she can explain.”
Without looking up, I said, “I will not see her.”
The palace maid continued, “She is kneeling at the entrance. She says that if Your Highness cannot forgive Young Master Shen, she would rather die to prove her innocence.”
My hand paused around the brush.
To threaten a princess—was this so-called heroine supremely confident, or did she simply have no brains?
I set down the brush and stepped outside.
Sure enough, it was the woman Shen Yanbai had painted.
The same heroine mentioned by the floating comments.
As she appeared, those comments materialized before my eyes again.
“Wasn’t the Third Princess supposed to care about nothing but Shen Yanbai all these years? How can she be so heartless? The second male lead fainted, and she wouldn’t even let him remain in the palace.”
“Who cares? The Third Princess is only an irrelevant supporting character. The crueler she is to him, the more the second male lead will appreciate the heroine’s kindness.”
“The heroine and the second male lead are perfection—saving each other in both directions. Right now he’s saving her; later, she’ll cure his illness.”
“After six years together, you’d feel something even for a dog. If the little princess lets go this easily, maybe it’ll only make the second male lead miss her more.”
“I get it. She’s playing hard to get.”
The woman they called the heroine knelt on the ground, her back ramrod straight and righteous conviction written across her face. “Your Highness, Young Master Shen helped this common woman only out of the goodness of his heart. He feared Your Highness would misunderstand and entered the palace to explain despite his illness, all because he could not bear for you to misjudge him. If Your Highness resents anyone, direct it at this common woman. I will accept it without complaint.”
She performed a full prostration, striking her forehead hard against the floor.
The words overhead suddenly grew excited.
“A commoner dares confront a princess directly! The heroine is risking her life for the second male lead.”
“It’s over. The second male lead will be devoted to her for life now.”
I raised my eyes.
Supported by attendants, Shen Yanbai approached. His gaze lingered on the kneeling woman for a very long time.