cold clothes

"His Highness the Third Prince truly lives up to his reputation as the most noble and outstanding prince."

When Zhao Yin was five years old, he was playing Cuju (ancient Chinese football) by himself. The ball accidentally rolled into the palace maids' room. The small Zhao Yin stumbled and staggered to pick it up, and then he heard the palace maids talking quietly.

Zhao Yin picked up the ball and stopped, listening curiously.

"The Third Prince is only seven years old, yet he can draw a bow and shoot down birds. He's incredibly talented."

"Not only is he skilled in riding and archery, but I also heard that the Third Prince won a game of chess against the Master using a famous opening move. The Third Prince is practically a genius."

"Yes," the palace maid suddenly said in a low voice, "It's so pitiful for the Fifth Prince and the Third Prince to live in the same palace. His birth mother has passed away, and he has a congenital illness. Compared to the Third Prince, he is like a firefly in the bright moon..."

"Oh dear, are you saying you don't want to live anymore?"

Zhao Yin lowered his head deeply, his expression ashen.

It turns out that the palace maid thought the same way. He was inferior to Zhao Qun in every way, and everyone's attention was focused on Zhao Qun, so no one would pay attention to him.

Why... Empress Wang clearly killed my mother, and the Wang family clearly framed the Xie family, so why are they the ones being fawned over?

Why should the perpetrators enjoy supreme glory while the victims are utterly humiliated?

If his mother's family had not been framed, and if his mother had not been secretly poisoned by the Empress and passed on to him while he was still in her womb, he would never be so weak and incompetent.

Zhao Yin clenched his fists tightly. From this moment on, he vowed that one day he would wipe out the Wang family and make sure no one would dare to underestimate him.

He had always regarded Zhao Qun as an enemy he absolutely had to crush... Whatever Zhao Qun excelled at, he was determined to surpass him—swordsmanship, chess, strategy... He now considered himself a hundred times better than Zhao Qun.

But to his surprise, Leng Yi said that Zhao Qun was more open and honest than him, something he could never match.

Is someone like him, living in the gutter, really inferior to the universally praised Third Prince? Will Leng Yi also like Zhao Qun and not him, just like everyone else?

—I really want to strangle Leng Yi by the neck so she won't have any thoughts of liking Zhao Qun.

Oh no, he seems to have to leave, otherwise he might do something irrational.

So Zhao Yin stood up and left without saying a word.

A strange feeling rose in Leng Yi's heart. She thought to herself, "Why did you leave without saying anything?" and called out to him casually.

"Wait, you haven't answered me yet."

No reply.

"Zhao Yin? Yin Jiu?"

The room was empty, as if no one had ever been there.

“…Bastard, despicable, scumbag!” Leng Yi was stunned for a moment, then broke down and muttered a curse.

They came and went so suddenly, what's the deal with that?

With her hands clenched tightly, Leng Yi noticed the jade pendant in her palm. The pendant was very warm, as if it had been carried by someone for a long time.

Zhao Yin came to find her angrily because she didn't take the jade pendant with her?

Leng Yi had a ridiculous thought: Could Zhao Yin have taken the jade pendant as a token of their love? Could their relationship really be called love?

-

The next morning, Hong'e and Lingcao came to help Lengyi get up and wash, and they were both surprised to see Lengyi's appearance.

"Ningbi! What happened to your lips? And your eyes are all dark and gray. Didn't you sleep well last night?" Lingcao exclaimed, and immediately grabbed a wet handkerchief to wipe Lengyi's lips.

"I accidentally bit myself last night, and it hurt so much I couldn't sleep all night," Leng Yi said listlessly.

“The wound is deep. Why didn’t you call us last night, Miss?” Hong’e asked worriedly. “But Miss’s beauty is truly breathtaking. You look beautiful even like this.”

Despite her worries, Hong'e was secretly amazed by Leng Yi's beauty. Her bitten red lips, set against her flawless white skin, were as vibrant as peonies. The bluish-gray under her eyes made her strange blue eyes appear even deeper, making her look like a monster.

"It's nothing serious, just a sore lip," Leng Yi said.

“How could it be nothing to worry about? How about Lingcao and I take turns sleeping in Miss’s room and take care of her at night?” Hong’e suggested.

"No, I don't like having people in my room at night." Leng Yi quickly refused. What would happen to her secret if someone was there? What if Zhao Yin came again and Hong E was there?