Her face was like peach blossoms reflecting the spring’s red glow, misty waves flowing and swirling, hiding her thoughts.
Delicate and poised, with a heart as intricate as fine jade, the flowing water headed east, never to return again.
Since that day… it had been more than half a month.
When she saw the way that man looked at the woman, Li Yuer wasn’t even sure if she was still alive at that moment.
For these past fifteen days, she had barely been living—more like a walking corpse.
Every day she sat in the pavilion, idly playing with a porcelain bottle in her hand.
That was… the Porcelain Bottle given to her by Mister Pu Jing.
Though the medicine inside was all gone, leaving only an empty bottle, it was as if her body was the same—empty inside, with nothing left.
“Miss… the sun is so nice today. How about we go into town for a walk? Didn’t you used to enjoy visiting the market? Today just happens to be market day. Maybe we’ll find some surprises~”
Xiao Jing’s face was beaming with a bright smile, her eyes filled with hopeful expectation.
But after she happily spoke those words, she took a careful look at the girl, whose gaze was almost entirely void of emotion.
The smile gradually faded.
She hurriedly glanced around and suddenly spotted the flowering tree outside the wall. She quickly raised her hand and pointed that way.
“Miss, look! Those flowers are so pretty—seems like they’ve grown over from the neighbor’s yard. Why don’t we pick a few?”
Yet, in response to her cheerful voice, there was only that silent, vacant stare.
The smile vanished once again.
Xiao Jing wilted like an eggplant touched by frost, her spirit drooping. Turning back, tears welled up in her large almond-shaped eyes.
“Miss~ It’s already been half a month. You… you really shouldn’t wait anymore. He… he probably won’t come.”
Seeing her lady like this, Xiao Jing felt nothing but heartache.
Xiao Jing knew all too well why Li Yuer had become like this, having witnessed everything along the way.
It was all because of that man.
Now, Li Yuer barely ate or drank. If it weren’t for Xiao Jing’s forced smiles and daily encouragement, she probably wouldn’t even swallow a single bite.
And yet, even so, Li Yuer was visibly growing thinner day by day.
Once already slender, she now sat there like a withered bone in a tomb, her eyes nearly lifeless.
If not for the faint rhythm of her breathing, one might have thought that the figure seated there was no living person, but a corpse long since cold.
“No… he will come. I believe him.”
It seemed that only when ‘that man’ was mentioned did Li Yuer show any reaction.
Her faint voice seemed to contradict Xiao Jing’s words, yet also sounded like she was convincing herself.
“He wouldn’t just abandon me. I… am still his patient.”
Watching Li Yuer like this, Xiao Jing was both angry and anxious.
“Miss, if you really miss Mister so much, then just go see him.”
Li Yuer didn’t respond, only weakly lifting her head to glance at Xiao Jing before slowly lowering it again.
At this, Xiao Jing was completely at a loss.
If you go, you don’t go; if you don’t go, you sit here looking like you’re about to die.
After thinking it through, Xiao Jing stamped her foot.
“If Miss won’t go, then I will! I don’t believe Mister really forgot us!”
Xiao Jing began to walk out, but after just two steps, a sharp rebuke from Li Yuer stopped her in place.
“No going!”
At the sound of her lady’s firm tone, Xiao Jing’s eyes welled with tears in grievance as she looked at Li Yuer’s gaunt face.
“Miss, if you won’t go, won’t you just wait here like this? What if… what if Mister really forgot us?”
“He will come. I trust him…”
“But what if he doesn’t? What if he’s off enjoying pleasures and forgot about us?”
“I… will wait for him.”
The corners of Li Yuer’s eyes trembled slightly, clearly troubled by those worries, but she bit her teeth and said two words—
“No going!”
In truth, she no longer knew what exactly she was feeling.
That day, when she saw the love and indulgence in that man’s eyes, a nearly insane thought took root in her mind.
‘If only he were looking at me… how wonderful that would be.’
When this thought arose, she knew it was wrong, yet she could hardly suppress the storm of emotions inside her.
Envy and jealousy burned repeatedly within her conscience and pride.
That night… she was unable to sleep.
Yes, she envied Pei Qingxuan—the foolish girl who had once been naive enough to receive his adoring gaze.
She was jealous; she wished she could take her place, so that the man’s eyes would be filled only with her.
She even wanted to humbly beg for something.
But she was a princess, the Shunnan King’s Heir; she was a living person.
She had her own pride—pride that would not allow her to bow her head over this matter.
What she refused to admit was that… she was not in that man’s eyes.
And she was unwilling to face that truth.
So, she became lost.
She chose not to meet him again.
This was both an escape and a form of self-protection.
Deep down, a faint emotion stirred restlessly.
She wanted to prove that she still held some weight in that man’s heart, even if it was just a tiny bit.
If he came to see her before leaving, that would prove that she still held a place in his heart—perhaps just a little.
Maybe with some effort, she could squeeze into his thoughts.
But if, until he left, he never came to see her again, then she wouldn’t trouble Xu Ping’an anymore.
This was her stubbornness, her pride, and her current resolve.
To many, such stubbornness might seem childish.
But she persisted all the same.
They say cleverness can sometimes backfire—sometimes the clever are more prone to obsessing over things than the simple-minded.
Clearly, Li Yuer was stuck in such a mental trap.
During these past two weeks, whether it was Xiao Jing pleading, Father King advising, or even letters from the Empress Mother chiding her, she had not once wavered.
After all… her fate had already been sentenced.
If not even this could win him to glance her way, then what meaning was there in saving her life?
“Miss!!”
Xiao Jing stamped her foot anxiously.
But seeing Li Yuer sink back into silence, unwilling to speak a word, her little face filled with grievance.
“It’s all his fault… He’s definitely off indulging in pleasures by now. What was that saying again? Right! New lover forgets old. I knew it… men are just like those silly picture books—love whoever they see.”
Xiao Jing’s complaints were loud, but she didn’t fear revealing anything. After all, the previous turmoil had settled.
In the Duke of the Southern Border’s Residence, who else dared to intrude so easily?
Or so she thought.
“Oh? Mister, am I really so worthless in your eyes? And what’s this nonsense about new lovers forgetting old ones? She came first, didn’t she? No, why am I even arguing with you? I almost got dragged into your nonsense about new and old! You little girl, stop learning such bad habits and reading those messy stories!”