Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I sat up and gripped the thin quilt tightly.

“I want to go home.”

He thought for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly.

“You mean Yanzhou? It is currently occupied by Western Xia, and Han people are not permitted to approach. However, I heard that Western Xia wishes to form a marriage alliance with us. Once the Marriage Alliance Princess is wed, I can take you back to Yanzhou to have a look.”

I nodded. “Alright.”

He then turned the conversation to the events of the day and reached out to place a hand on my forehead.

“Once you’ve recovered from your illness, go and apologize to Lanci.”

I leaned back to avoid his hand. My throat felt constricted, making it difficult to breathe for a moment, so I could only turn my head to look out the window.

Outside, the sky was dim.

“I did nothing wrong; I will not apologize. Your Highness, please leave.”

Zhao Xizhen was silent for a moment before slowly standing up.

“Ah Yu, your temper is growing by the day.”

He looked down at me from his height.

“She is the future Crown Princess. Regardless of the circumstances, you should not have shamed her publicly.”

I looked up, staring straight at him. “But I am a Commandery Princess, am I not?”

Though I had no fiefdom, I held a noble rank. There was truly no need for me to defer to the daughter of a Duke’s Mansion.

Even if she was the prospective Crown Princess.

Zhao Xizhen was left speechless.

He glanced around the hall, and seeing it filled with bestowed gifts, he moved to have half of them taken away and sent to Meng Lanci’s quarters in the palace as an apology.

I spoke up to stop him. “No, these are for when I…”

“When you what? Where are you taking them?” His tone was wary.

I cut myself off, fearing his suspicion, and changed my wording. “They are for my future husband’s house, as my dowry. I must save for myself.”

Zhao Xizhen was struck dumb.

He changed his method of punishment.

“For the next seven days, you will copy the Admonitions for Women a hundred times. I will send someone to collect them every day.”

Suffering from a cold, I stayed up late to write. Every stroke, every line, was filled with the misery of unrequited love.

Before I left this place, I had to carve him out of my heart.

Every day, when the stack of papers was taken away, it felt as though my affection was being drained from my heart, growing thinner day by day.

Until seven days later.

Sky lanterns drifted over the Eastern Palace like a sky full of stars.

As the candlelight glowed through the paper, I could see the crisscrossing ink marks-dense and crowded, they were all in my handwriting.

“Commandery Princess, I’ve looked into it. The Crown Prince is the one releasing them.”

Could it be that he was conveying his feelings to me?

I struggled with the thought for a long time.

Not wanting to leave with even a single regret, I ran toward that direction anyway.

On the viewing platform of the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince and the prospective Crown Princess stood side by side. He looked down at Meng Lanci, his eyes and brow filled with a warm, gentle smile.

He truly was clever.

To think of such a method-using the pages of my punishment to make lanterns-to apologize to his fiancée.

When his gaze inadvertently swept over me, the smile in his eyes stalled for a brief second.

Panicked, I turned around, leaning against the palace walls as I fled back.

All along the way, the cold wind whipped my face until it was numb.

Only after I had fled far enough did I realize, belatedly, that my face was covered in tears.

But it was fine. Carving out flesh and blood is supposed to be agonizing.

I picked up a sky lantern that had fallen into the muddy grass.

I slowly pulled it into my arms.

Once the pain passes and the wound is carved clean, everything will be fine, won’t it?