You cause trouble and I collect your body, the little emperor’s aunt abuses the scumbag again

At that moment, she hated her own powerlessness.

At that moment, a fast horse was galloping towards the palace gate outside the East Palace.

Lin Daxiong hadn't slept all night, clutching the dragon-patterned jade pendant Meng Siya had given him, his heart filled with anxiety. He knew that ordinary methods wouldn't allow him to see the Crown Prince, let alone attend the morning court session. In desperation, he steeled himself, pulled a dagger from his robes, and slashed his own arm.

Meng Siya held the sleeping Sui Sui without looking at him, her chin taut. She could feel his warmth and the scent of ambergris, and felt a deep irony about it all.

Finally, a small courtyard came into view.

A sandalwood plaque hangs above the courtyard gate, bearing the three large characters "Tingyuxuan" (Listening to the Rain Pavilion).

Ji Yongyan stopped in his tracks.

He stared blankly at the courtyard gate, his eyes darting through the wood grain, seeing a rainy day from many years ago.

"arrive."

He said softly.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, a scent of earth and osmanthus filled the air. The courtyard wasn't large, but it was carefully arranged. Every plant and tree was so familiar, just like the courtyard of my old home, except the cobblestone path was covered in moss. The swing he used to push her on was old, now entwined with vines.

Things are wrong.

Her home...

It's already gone!

Meng Siya's gaze swept over the swing, and her heart clenched painfully. She had once smiled so brightly here, thinking it would last a lifetime.

Seeing the pain in her eyes, Ji Yongyan felt a glimmer of hope and quickly pointed to the furnishings in the room. His voice was ingratiating.

“Look at this dressing table, it’s made of your favorite rosewood, and the carvings on it are the designs you drew.”

"And the soft couch under the window is covered with snow fox fur, because you used to be most afraid of the cold."

“These were all arranged the way Ya Ya used to like.”

He realized he had misspoke halfway through his sentence and quickly corrected himself, but the probing was quite obvious.

His eyes lit up, hoping she would be moved.

However, he was disappointed.

Meng Siya glanced at the furnishings, and the memories behind each item felt like poisoned needles. Those memories pierced her heart. She remembered all the good things about him, which made her hate his betrayal even more.

"Your Highness."

Her voice was soft and cold, yet it pierced his illusions like an icicle.

“This woman is not used to living in this kind of gilded cage.”

She looked up, her eyes filled with only estrangement and wariness.

"The woman only wants to go back to her humble cottage in the city, where, though it is simple, at least she can get a good night's sleep."

As soon as he finished speaking, the light in Ji Yongyan's eyes quickly dimmed. Finally, it went out completely.

Golden cage...

The home he painstakingly preserved for her was, in her eyes, nothing more than a prison.

His Adam's apple bobbed as if he wanted to say something, but he found his throat dry and unable to speak. His heart ached terribly.

A deathly silence fell over the room.

Finally, Sui Sui broke the deadlock with a soft hum.

Ji Yongyan found a way out and hurriedly stepped forward, clumsily helping her settle the child on the bed. Looking at the little face that resembled his own, he felt a pang of sadness mixed with tenderness.

After everything was settled, the palace servants brought over medicine and meals.

Ji Yongyan knew he had to leave; the Empress Dowager had eyes and ears everywhere. Staying any longer would only cause her trouble.

He stood up, regaining his princely dignity, and gave instructions to the palace servants outside the door in a deep voice.

“Serve them well, or I will take your heads.”

After saying that, he gave Meng Siya a deep look, then turned and left.

But he didn't go far.

He neither returned to the Eastern Palace nor attended to state affairs; he simply stood alone behind the artificial hill outside the Listening to Rain Pavilion. He was unwilling to leave.

As dusk fell, a light rain began to fall, and the raindrops dampened his shoulders, bringing a chill.

Inside the pavilion, candles were lit.

He could see the silhouette on the window paper and hear her humming a lullaby in a low voice to lull the child to sleep.

The voice was soft and gentle, just like the scene he had imagined in his dreams.

a home.

He and she, and their child.

Now he can only stand in the rain, watching that warmth like an outsider. Loneliness and regret overwhelm him.

The night grew deeper.

Meng Siya had managed to lull Sui Sui to sleep, but she herself wasn't sleepy. She walked to the rosewood dressing table and ran her fingers over the carved patterns.

Everything here made her feel suffocated.

She subconsciously groped for the edge of the dressing table, her fingertip pressing on a corner.

"Click".

With a soft click, the hidden compartment under the dressing table popped open.

There was no jewelry inside, only a dagger, rusted and dull. It was the very dagger she had hidden here for self-defense years ago.

I never expected it to still be here after all these years.

Meng Siya took out the rusty dagger; the cold touch calmed her down. She gripped the dagger tightly, her eyes hardening.

She has never changed; she will never entrust her life to someone else.

The rain outside the window has stopped, and the dark clouds have dispersed to reveal the waning moon.

Just as Meng Siya was about to go to sleep, she heard a slight noise coming from the window.

Startled, she immediately hid the dagger in her sleeve, rolled over, and pretended to be asleep. But she involuntarily held her breath.

A dark figure silently climbed in through the window, moving with practiced ease. He was clearly very familiar with the place.

The shadowy figure walked to the bedside by the moonlight streaming through the window, without turning on the light.

He stood there motionless, his gaze piercing through the darkness and fixed on her.

Meng Siya's heart leaped into her throat, and she gripped the knife hilt tightly in her sleeve.

After an unknown amount of time, the shadowy figure bent down, seemingly wanting to see more clearly.

The scent of ambergris mixed with the smell of the rain entered her nostrils.

It's him.

It was Ji Yongyan who left and then returned.

The sound of rain pattering against the tiles of Tingyuxuan made the atmosphere inside the house tense.

Ji Yongyan was soaked to the bone, rainwater dripping from his chin onto the floor.

He didn't wipe it, and he even breathed very softly.

He was afraid of disturbing the person whose back was to him.

He approached the bed step by step. Meng Siya was lying on her side, breathing steadily, as if she were fast asleep.

Ji Yongyan sat stiffly on the edge of the bed, his gaze falling on her wrists that were exposed outside the blanket.

There were bandages wrapped around his skin, and by the moonlight, you could see the bloodstains on the edges of the bandages and the red mole on his skin.

He called out Ya Ya's name in his heart, his heart aching and numb.

He reached out his hand, his fingertips trembling as he hesitated to make a move.

He was afraid that this was all a dream that would shatter, and he was also afraid that she would look at him with unfamiliar eyes when she woke up.

In the end, he reached out and his fingertips touched the red mole.

In that instant, the woman who had been fast asleep suddenly turned over very quickly.

A flash of cold light, and a rusty dagger was pressed against Ji Yongyan's throat.

The rusty blade was not sharp, but it could have cut his throat if it had been an inch closer.

The air seemed to freeze at that moment.

Meng Siya's hair was loose, covering half of her face, and her eyes, which were exposed, showed no sleepiness but only wakefulness and murderous intent.

Ji Yongyan didn't dodge, and didn't even blink.

He just stared at her, a bitter smile playing on his lips as the dagger pressed against his mouth.

His voice was hoarse, with a sickly gentleness.

"You're awake? I remember you used to be a very sound sleeper, it seems you haven't been doing well these past few years."