Volume 2, Chapter 4

"..."

His silence embarrassed her, so she lowered her head and whispered, "Goodbye."

As she turned to leave, she heard Long Ang's chilling voice behind her.

"Were you divorced?"

She stopped in her tracks, her body trembling slightly. "After all these years, are you going to be so aggressive the first time we meet?"

"No, I'm just curious. I've often heard people say that you and your husband are a loving and harmonious couple. How come your husband would be willing to let you travel all the way to the Capital alone?"

"..."

"Even your father, Prime Minister Li, dared not tell you. Instead, you had to go to Longyang to enter the city. Doesn't she seem like a young wife who has run away to her parents' home? Li Danxin."

Li Danxin turned around angrily, her eyebrows furrowed, her lips slightly bitten, and her delicate nose wrinkled. She was furious with him, but he still wasn't satisfied.

"If you are really divorced, the Li Household will lose face, and I think your most beloved father will be very disappointed in you."

Her hand trembled as she raised it, casting a shadow on his cheek. A few rays of sunlight peeked through her fingers. He looked up at those rays of light, standing firmly in place, not flinching, waiting for her to slap him hard across the face.

Why didn't you tell me you were coming back? Why didn't you come to the city to find me? Why did you let others get there first? Why wasn't it first-come, first-served? Use this slap to tell me, and then wake me up.

"Let's stop arguing, okay?" Her gentle voice was completely different from the one he remembered. Instead of slapping him, she gently placed her hand on his shoulder. She tiptoed, and the angle of her tilt made him feel for a moment that she would fall into his arms. But she stood firm. A fallen leaf was gently picked up from his shoulder and carried away by the wind from between her palms.

Then, he heard a voice trembling with sobs, "I didn't want to see you like this. I've thought about it so many times, how I should see you again, I've prepared myself for how to see you. But—"

The rest of his words were drowned out by the soft scent of the Aromatherapy Snow Gauze, and the Buyao Hairpin gently, reminding him that he had taken the first step, that he had pulled her into his arms first.

She was already married and far from the Capital, living a life unrelated to him in a place he had never been. He was the Minister of Rites, bound by Book of Rites and regulations, with none of them allowing him to hold another woman in his arms, yet he did just that.

She didn't struggle; instead, she grabbed his Long Gauze and burst into unrestrained sobs the next moment.

He didn't speak, but simply let her nestle in his arms. He knew why she hadn't struggled, because—

"I thought you'd never talk to me again. I didn't mean to say that, because I was so scared. If I couldn't even compare to you in terms of beauty and femininity, Daddy would think I was useless. I was so afraid he'd look at me with that disappointed look. It's all your fault for always trying to compare yourself to me! It's all your fault for not telling me you're a boy! You didn't tell me such a big secret, of course I'd be angry! We said best friends could talk about anything and have no secrets!"

A jumble of incoherent words and long-sealed memories of the past flooded his mind, but all he heard was a simple answer.

Yes—that's the correct answer. Li Danxin never saw him as a man. In her eyes, he was her best friend, a childhood sweetheart, a confidante. They could exchange gossip, share their innermost thoughts, and share their little secrets. They would compare their looks, makeup, and clothes, quarrel, throw tantrums, and then make up. Their friendship was so deep that the only difference was that they had never fallen in love with the same man.

"Slow down, eat slowly. How can a young lady like you eat so badly?"

In the private room of the Restaurant, Long Ang reached out and put some food into her bowl. She held the bowl and relaxed completely, swallowing and talking as she ate.

"All that pretense is just to fool outsiders. I've been traveling all this way and my legs are so weak that I haven't had a proper meal. You know, I don't like eating in front of others." She pouted slightly, a rule she had been taught since childhood that whenever there were men around, she had to be the most dignified, elegant, and beautiful young lady, opening her mouth with only two teeth and chewing slowly for twenty-eight times before swallowing.

Long Ang handed her a cup of lukewarm tea and asked, "You've just entered the city and aren't going back to your residence. Is it alright for you to wander around outside like this?"

At this point, her appetite suddenly wilted by half; she slowed her chewing, and her hand holding the chopsticks drooped. "I've already gone back."

Long Ang's eyes were full of confusion.

She sighed, "... I was turned away. My father wouldn't see me and kicked me out."

Author's Note:

It's so hot! It's so hot! It's so hot! (10,000 words omitted)

Turning on the air conditioner is afraid of catching a cold. Without it, it is impossible for people to live. QAQ I heard that it is very hot everywhere these two days. Everyone should pay attention to avoid the heat. A certain Sakura who almost suffered from heat stroke two days ago told her in tears=Dan=

Then I'll continue to shower my beloved readers with love and care for their daily messages! Mwah! =3=

Chapter 46, Volume Two, Chapter Four

"..." Long Ang pursed his lips and remained silent. He roughly understood Prime Minister Li's temperament. As a politician, if he were too enthusiastic when his married daughter returned home to visit her family, it would arouse suspicion and criticism in the court. But as a father...

Her shoulders were slightly hunched, her eyes filled with disappointment, but she just shrugged habitually. "Father is still the same. But I've been gone for three years. How is Xiaojing? I miss him so much... but now I can't even see him. Also, I heard in Yuanzhou that Xiao Pu ascended the throne. Father must have finally felt relieved. I, your daughter, am actually quite useful in crucial moments, aren't I?"

"..."

For a moment, his gaze became unfocused, unsure of how to look at her to make himself feel better.