Chapter 103: The Unexpected Turn

If I could have foreseen the future, I would never have let Yun Rong off so easily. There was no need to play the saint; had I not been so level-headed, I should have slapped her hard across the face. Even if I hadn't struck her, I should have driven her out of Prince Xuan’s Manor, or at the very least, politely had someone escort her back to the General’s Manor.

People are always like this—once something irreversible happens, and the debt has carved itself into their very bones, they cannot help but look back, returning to that fatal turning point, fantasizing that if things had been different, the subsequent disasters would never have occurred.

Yet, fantasy is no match for reality. One merely thinks, sighs, feels a pang of regret, and then continues down the path ahead.

Nothing is truly insurmountable, and no one stays by another’s side forever; it is just that the process of reaching this realization is agonizingly painful.

At dinner, the atmosphere was exceptionally harmonious. Perhaps the news of Yun Rong offending me that afternoon had reached the ears of Li Yexuan and Yun Heng word for word, as Yun Rong was unusually quiet. I acted as if nothing had happened—she was just a child, after all, and there was no need to bicker with her. I had overlooked the fact that in this era, at her age, she had already learned the schemes and machinations of the inner court.

I sat beside Li Yexuan. He possessed great refinement, his every gesture embodying the grace expected of a prince. He did not need me to serve him food. Ah Zheng was still young, so I busied myself preparing dishes for him, while Lan Xin sat by his side, occasionally placing food in his bowl. Ah Zheng kept calling us "Royal Aunt," which filled us both with delight, drawing smiles from Li Yexuan and Yun Heng.

I had never imagined the two of them could sit together and dine so harmoniously. The only thing that displeased me was that Yun Rong kept stealing glances at Li Yexuan while she ate. *Sigh*, why did this child have to set her sights on the cold and unapproachable Li Yexuan? I asked myself the same question, but finding no answer, I decided it was more practical to focus on feeding Ah Zheng. The logic was sound, and I immediately put it into action.

Looking at the small mountain of food building up before Ah Zheng, I felt a sense of satisfaction. I loved him by extension, simply because he was Li Yexuan’s nephew.

After the meal, Lan Xin suggested viewing the moon in the manor’s garden, and Li Yexuan indulged her. Steward Wu was highly efficient, and soon had everything arranged.

Because the moon-viewing was impromptu, the new servants were somewhat flustered. One of them spilled a cup of hot goat milk tea toward me, but Li Yexuan moved faster, shielding me with his body. The tea splashed all over his clothes.

"This maid deserves death! This maid deserves death!" the girl cried, kneeling and kowtowing in apology.

It was a pity about the tea, which had been prepared for Ah Zheng. I ordered her to clean it up and leave, and she looked as though she had been granted a reprieve from death.

"Your Highness, you should go change your clothes."

"You take good care of Lan Xin."

"Yes."

Li Yexuan turned and walked away. My gaze did not leave his retreating figure; I felt as if something was slipping away.

"Sister-in-law, stop staring. Your husband is already far away," Lan Xin teased, and I had no choice but to look away.

Yun Rong excused herself to use the restroom, and I had a servant guide her.

My eyelids kept twitching—I had a bad premonition. Why hadn't Li Yexuan returned yet?

The night wind rose, scattering leaves in all directions. One leaf detached from the rest and landed on the nearby lake; in its solitude, it seemed quite lonely.

The night was chilly. Sitting here watching Yun Heng and Lan Xin, I felt a bit awkward. My heart was full of concern for Li Yexuan; it was getting cold, and he should put on another layer. Entrusting Ah Zheng to Zi'er and Lan Xin, I made an excuse to go find him. Even with Yun Heng right before my eyes, my thoughts were entirely on Li Yexuan. In that moment, I finally understood my own heart.

Little did I know that I was walking step by step into hell. Years later, I would attribute this entire tragedy to that single bowl of goat milk tea.

When I reached the door, I found it slightly ajar. Since when had Li Yexuan become so careless? Before I could ponder this, a sharp, elevated female voice drew me in.

"Why! Why don't you like me? Why won't you take me as your own? I only want the position of a concubine!"

It was Yun Rong.

My heart hammered against my ribs. Peering through the gap in the door, I saw the scene inside.

Li Yexuan stood with his back to me. He had changed into black robes, which seemed even darker in the gloom of the night. Yun Rong stood before him. Though she was facing me, our lines of sight were blocked by Li Yexuan’s tall frame.

Yun Rong lunged at him, but Li Yexuan stepped aside. I caught a glimpse of his profile—he was clearly furious, his hands clasped within his sleeves, a habitual gesture of his when displeased.

"I know! You've fallen for Mu Fan, haven't you, Li Yexuan? Tell me it's true!!!"

If my heart had been suspended before, it was now in my throat.

"My affairs are none of your concern. Get out!"

Yun Rong clung to his waist, refusing to let go.

"Li Yexuan, don't think I don't know. You and Yun Heng are both using Mu Fan. Yun Heng tried to control her, seducing her into ensnaring you. Mu Fan is the maid of Huangfu Zijun, the Princess of Lingyun that you pine for, and you are merely playing along! I never thought you’d be more calculating and patient than Yun Heng, actually taking her in. But Yun Heng miscalculated—Mu Fan wasn't under his control, yet you took her anyway. Are you striking back, or giving Yun Heng a warning? Mu Fan is a pawn being used for your own ends. You knew she had been drugged that night by Yun Heng, yet you went anyway—to save her, to take her innocence, and to bring her back to Prince Xuan’s Manor! Li Yexuan, you are truly so devious... I am willing to submit to you..."

The world spun, and I struggled to stay upright.

"So what? Do you truly believe you and your brother can manipulate me?"

That was the pride of Li Yexuan, and it struck my heart like a physical blow.

He had actually admitted it.

A nameless fire scorched me, making my whole body burn, but in a blink, a wave of icy chill swept through me from head to toe. I took two steps back and stumbled to the ground.

Yun Heng, Li Yexuan—they had both treated me as nothing more than a pawn.

"Who's there!" Li Yexuan’s cold voice rang out. I didn't care about anything else; I scrambled up and ran for my life, not even looking back for the jade pendant he had given me, which had fallen to the floor.

In ordinary times, I would have kicked the door open to confront him, but after the fall of my country, I knew how precious survival was. If I had kicked the door down, I would have been silenced before I could even ask a question. To a pawn with no further use, death was the only outcome.

Once Li Yexuan stepped out and saw the jade pendant, he would know what had happened. He would come after me.

Sure enough, one cannot outrun light-footed martial arts. I had intended to run toward the northwest of the manor, where the stables were.

"Don't come any closer!" I shouted, holding the bracelet up toward him. "You know what’s inside—don't force me."

"Don't do anything foolish."

Li Yexuan stood not far away. My face was streaked with tears; there was no hiding the truth now.

"Yexuan, since she knows, stop the act..." Yun Rong stood behind him, her eyes fixed on me with the gaze of a victor looking at the defeated.

"Get out!" Li Yexuan spat, silencing her instantly.

"Mu Fan, I..."

"Li Yexuan, let me go, or we will die here together."

I closed my eyes and opened them again, more tears tracing paths down my already wet cheeks. I had never wept so much in my life.

"Don't be impulsive!"

"You know I mean what I say. I don't want you to follow me." I triggered the mechanism in the bracelet and held it to my own throat, stepping further and further away from him.

From the initial rage, to the later madness, to this calm departure—I had indeed matured. But my heart was pounding, and I could feel my legs trembling. I kept the bracelet pressed against my skin, never daring to let my guard down.

Li Yexuan, you never imagined that the thing you crafted for me would be used against you.

I leaped onto a horse and fled Prince Xuan’s Manor. The turn of events had been too swift; the servants at the back gate, seeing my panicked expression, let me pass without question.

Neither Yun Heng nor Li Yexuan would let me go. By tomorrow, all of Yuehua would likely be hunting me. What else could I do but run?

On horseback, tears streamed down my face, and I clutched my chest to stifle the pain. I begged myself not to collapse. My younger brother was still alive; he was my last hope, my final lifeline.

I could not die. I must not die.

Only a few hours ago, I had been cradled in Li Yexuan’s arms. *Heh.*

The horse galloped through the night, driven by the frantic lashing of the whip. The wind felt like blades against my skin, and the pain made me wish for death. But the burden I carried did not permit it. I could not forget my mother’s final words, telling me to live on. How could I forget?

The horse, unable to bear my desperate whipping, let out a wild neigh and threw me off. I tumbled to the ground.

In the end, even the horse abandoned me, leaving me alone in the dark night. Was I truly a cursed star, destined to be alone?

I realized I was on the side of an unfamiliar mountain. I had tumbled down, my body raked by countless branches, until I finally came to a stop, feeling too numb to notice the pain.

I had thought I could escape with a cool head, but I had ended up lost in the depths of a wilderness I did not recognize.

Li Yexuan, I had truly underestimated the place you held in my heart.

My vision darkened, and I sank into the abyss of the night.