They were in charge of being beautiful, and she was in charge of taking the hits.

Finally having a moment of free time, Wu Ziyan pulled Sima Lingchuan and Han Yuxiu aside and whispered, "Has anything unusual or amiss these past few days? Has there been any news from the court?"

Han Yuxiu and Sima Lingchuan answered Wu Ziyan's question, saying that there had been no letters from the court in the past few days, and Xiao Yun'er had not written a letter either.

Then, the scene shifts back to the day Sima Lingyu got married.

Because the Queen merely granted permission without bestowing any further favors, the wedding became nothing more than idle gossip among the common people.

The wedding of the Second Princess Wu Chengye was quite a grand affair, after all, she was marrying her principal husband, not some concubine or minor official. The procession stretched for miles in red, and the suona horns blared loudly. However, the newlyweds did not smile.

Sima Lingyu sat in the sedan chair, unable to smile. He knew Wu Chengye's character; he desperately wanted to sit in that position, but with her eldest sister above her and her fourth sister below her, she would never get that position. And her mother was just using her; it was all wishful thinking on her part.

"Is it because my face looks too much like my brother's? I'm afraid my future won't be easy." He thought to himself, resigned to his fate.

Wu Chengye, dressed in red, sat on a tall horse with a smile on his face, though the smile didn't reach his eyes. He was generous to the onlookers, scattering strings of copper coins tied with red threads.

The common people had heard about the struggles between the royal families, but who would turn down money? They were all bent over picking up the copper coins, praising how good and powerful the second princess was.

Wu Chengye was very pleased with these words. He turned to look at the sedan chair, and at that moment the wind lifted the curtain. He saw Sima Lingyu's expression, which was gloomy and distressed. She immediately lost interest.

Her expression changed rapidly, instantly turning cold and ruthless, while the sedan chair bearers and those carrying the dowry didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

And so, in a grand procession that lasted most of the day, they circled almost the entire city, letting everyone know that Wu Chengye had married the son of the Prime Minister.

What was supposed to be a beautiful story turned into a tragedy. The sedan chair stopped at the gate of Wu Chengye's mansion. Wu Chengye dismounted and lifted the curtain of the sedan chair. She seemed to have a hallucination, as if the person in the sedan chair was Sima Lingchuan.

Her lips moved slightly, but she didn't speak in the end. Sima Lingyu didn't speak either. They walked into the gate one after the other. There were many rituals inside. After they were completed, Sima Lingyu was sent back to the bridal chamber.

He hadn't eaten or drunk a single grain of rice or water in between, and he was extremely hungry. But all around him were dates, longans, peanuts, and the like, which were meant to symbolize the wish for him to have a son soon. But how could that be possible?

He didn't want to have children with Wu Chengye because this woman didn't love him at all.

He had taken contraceptive pills at home before coming here, just to prevent any accidents.

Wu Chengye accompanied the dignitaries in the front hall, drinking and chatting until the banquet ended. She was also reeking of alcohol. Looking at the sky, the moon was exceptionally round, so round that it felt like she had returned to that day when she was a child.

She was still young then and very mischievous. In the evening, while he was playing in the garden, she was lying on the artificial hill when she happened to run into Sima Zongcheng, who had just finished talking with the Empress, leading Sima Linchuan out of the palace.

In her panic, she slipped on the artificial hill and fell into the pond. She couldn't swim, and since she had sneaked out and no one was watching over her, she was terrified in the water and tried to shout for help, with water constantly gushing into her nose.

At this moment, Sima Lingchuan seemed to hear a sound. He let go of Sima Zongcheng's hand and moved closer to the edge of the pool. Sure enough, there was a child splashing around in the pool. Sima Lingchuan couldn't swim either.

He was very clever. He found a dead branch by the pond and handed it to Wu Chengye while shouting, "Mother, Mother, come quick! Someone has fallen into the water!"

Sima Zongcheng thought that anyone who could play in this imperial garden must be the Empress's offspring, so he hurriedly stepped forward and pulled Wu Chengye out of the water.

At this moment, Wu Chengye only had eyes for Sima Lingchuan, and he could see his face clearly by the moonlight.

Although he was young at the time, it was already clear that he was a very handsome person.

"I am the second princess. You saved me, and I will definitely ask my mother, the queen, to reward you handsomely." It turns out that she had this bad temper since she was a child. Upon hearing that she was a princess, the two knelt down and bowed.

Wu Chengye was shivering from the cold. Sima Zongcheng went to find a palace servant to ask Sima Lingchuan to stay with her there for the time being.

Wu Chengye stared at Sima Lingchuan, completely mesmerized: "You're so handsome, grow up to be my husband!"

Sima Lingchuan lowered her head and did not answer. Wu Chengye was very grateful to Sima Lingchuan for saving her life. Moreover, in such a life-threatening situation, she was prone to transferring that life-saving grace to other feelings and having a misconception.

Even after she grew up, Sima Lingchuan's place in her heart remained irreplaceable. Originally, the Prime Minister intended to match the two of them up, but who knew that Wu Ziyan would interfere in the process! Speaking of this, she was furious again!

"Your Highness, it's very late. Aren't you going to your master's room?"

“Go! A moment of spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold, how can I not go!” She said this without a trace of happiness.

The door was kicked open with a bang, and the bright red veil was still covering Sima Lingyu's head. He sat there upright and motionless. Even when he heard such a sound, his shoulders trembled slightly, but he did not make any movement.

Wu Chengye reached out and lifted his red veil. Sima Lingyu raised his head slightly, and Wu Chengye looked down at him. From that angle, he looked exactly like Sima Lingchuan.

Sima Lingyu saw love and resentment in his eyes, and knew that she had once again regarded him as her brother.

"Your Highness."

The shout interrupted her reverie. She looked closely at the person in front of her. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and wore light makeup. Although they looked similar, their temperaments were completely different.

Wu Chengye sneered. Sima Lingyu took off the ornaments from her head and threw them aside. She also pulled at her collar.

The servants tactfully closed the door. Wu Chengye looked at Sima Lingyu's mournful face, and, momentarily blinded by alcohol, exclaimed, "Lingyu! Today is our joyous day, why aren't you smiling!"

Sima Lingyu turned his head away, not wanting to look at her; seeing her made him feel disgusted, both mentally and physically.

Wu Chengye is usually the one who has people chasing after her and throwing themselves at her. Seeing Sima Lingyu sitting there unmoved, she reached out and pushed Sima Lingyu onto the bed. His expression was cold, and his eyes were like a frozen pool.