From the moment she was old enough to understand her father’s precarious position, she had told herself to work hard, to strive, to ensure that her father could hold his head high in the capital.
And she had done it.
For years, who in the capital did not praise her upon seeing her?
She had lived cautiously, never daring to slack off for even a single day. And in the end, what did she receive in return?
Her father, fearing she would drag him down, had cast her aside without hesitation, wishing more than anything that she had never existed.
It was truly laughable.
Xiao Yi’s eyes stung. Her knees still ached. But she kept her back straight and walked forward, as if afraid that any sign of weakness would invite scorn. As she turned into a side path, she raised a hand and wiped away the glistening tears at the corner of her eyes.
She hadn’t meant to cry—
It was just the wind, too strong, blurring her vision.
—
Gu Wuyou was not particularly surprised when she heard that Xiao Yi had come to see her.
She was reclining against a beauty couch covered in white fox fur, a relaxed posture that exuded casual elegance. On the nearby high table, a coiled peony incense burner emitted delicate wisps of smoke—an exquisite fragrance from Persia, a tribute gift. Her third brother had sent it to her just last night.
Holding a book of leisure readings in her hand, Gu Wuyou leaned against a brocade pillow, making no move to rise. Her expression remained composed and at ease.
Before she could say anything, Hong Shuang, standing beside her, could no longer hold back. Grinding her teeth, she snapped, “She still has the audacity to come?” Then, without waiting for a response, she turned to the maid outside and ordered sharply, “Send her away! Don’t let that wretched woman spoil my lady’s mood.”
The maid hesitated and looked toward Gu Wuyou.
Gu Wuyou casually flipped a page in her book, not even raising her head. “Let her in.”
“Miss…” Hong Shuang frowned, clearly displeased.
“We should meet at least once.” Gu Wuyou smiled, closing the book and placing it aside. Then, she turned to the maid waiting for instructions. “Go ahead.”
The young maid immediately responded and hurried out. In a short while, she returned, leading Xiao Yi inside.
Even as Xiao Yi entered, Gu Wuyou did not rise. She remained seated on her soft couch, her attire today rather casual. Yet, no matter how simply dressed, her striking beauty remained undiminished—she was a woman who could carry both bold, dazzling makeup and a bare, natural face with equal ease.
“Go pour tea.” Gu Wuyou instructed.
Though Hong Shuang loathed Xiao Yi to the core, she would not embarrass her mistress in front of outsiders. No matter how unwilling, she still went to pour the tea.
Gu Wuyou then pointed to a seat. “Sit.”
Xiao Yi said nothing and sat down. When the maidservant placed a cup of tea before her, she finally looked at Gu Wuyou and spoke. “I came today to tell you—I will be going to the royal temple for a year of seclusion.”
Gu Wuyou was in the middle of using a silver hairpin to pick out a candied fruit. Upon hearing this, her hand paused slightly.
Gu Wuyou seemed a little surprised by Xiao Yi’s decision, but in the end, she only let out a light “Oh,” selected a fine piece of candied fruit, and placed it into her mouth without offering any further comment.
Xiao Yi watched her composed demeanor and said, “I don’t like you.”
As soon as the words fell, the two maidservants in the room immediately frowned. Gu Wuyou, however, remained unchanged. She continued to recline against the brocade pillow, her proud face lifted slightly, letting out an indifferent “Mm” as if she didn’t care whether Xiao Yi liked her or not.
Seeing this—
Xiao Yi was the first to laugh.
It was the first time she had ever laughed so freely, so wildly, to the point that tears nearly spilled from her eyes. She must have looked like a madwoman…
She had lost completely.
She had spent years hating someone who never even cared about her hatred.
A cold scoff escaped her lips.
She raised her hand to wipe away the tears that had come from laughing too hard. Then, straightening her posture once more, she looked at Gu Wuyou and met her with the same proud, unyielding attitude.
“I came here to tell you that I don’t like you. I never have, not since childhood.”
“It was true in the past, it’s true now, and it will always be true in the future.”
“But I—” Xiao Yi hesitated for a moment, her voice softening slightly. “I never wanted you dead.”
No matter how much she disliked Gu Wuyou, she had never wanted her life. But there was no need to explain further—saying anything more would sound like an excuse.
It seemed this was the only reason she had come. Having said what she wanted to say, she rose to her feet, not even bothering with a farewell.
The well-mannered Princess Changning, who had always followed the rules, seemed to have disappeared entirely.
Just as she was about to step past the curtain and leave, she suddenly stopped, as if something had come to mind. She turned back and looked at Gu Wuyou.
“The annulment of your engagement… did you always know it was me?”
Gu Wuyou was taken aback.
It had been so long ago that she had nearly forgotten. She didn’t bother to lie and simply nodded. “Mm.”
Xiao Yi frowned. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
Of course, she wouldn’t believe that Gu Wuyou had kept silent for her sake. A thought flashed through her mind, but before she could speak, the curtain was lifted from outside.
It was Gu Yu.
She held a small oil-paper package in one hand and a skewer of candied hawthorn in the other. Behind her, a maidservant followed, carrying an assortment of items.
She hadn’t expected to see Xiao Yi and immediately halted. Her expression darkened.
Once, the two of them had been inseparable. Now, standing face to face, neither of them spoke a word.
Xiao Yi glanced at Gu Yu as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she said nothing. She only smiled faintly, not waiting for Gu Wuyou’s response, and lifted the curtain to leave.
Even after she had walked far away, she could still faintly hear Gu Yu’s voice.
“She came to apologize?”
“…Mm, something like that.”
“She… Forget it.”
Tears suddenly slipped down Xiao Yi’s cheek.
This time, she did not wipe them away immediately. Instead, she closed her eyes beneath the vast, open sky.
She didn’t know how long she stood there before she finally turned and walked toward the outer courtyard.
“Princess Changning, this isn’t the way to the Flower Hall,” the maid trailing behind her reminded hesitantly, struggling to keep up.
“I know.”
Xiao Yi didn’t look back. She continued walking forward, heading straight out of the Duke’s manor.
A carriage had long been waiting outside. By the carriage stood her personal maid, Chunxi, who immediately came forward upon seeing her.
“Princess, are you alright?” Chunxi asked anxiously.
Xiao Yi replied, “Let’s go.”
Chunxi hesitated. “Princess, are you sure you don’t want to wait for His Highness? Maybe…”
Xiao Yi shook her head, her tone firm. “Let’s go.”
“Understood…”
Chunxi had no other choice but to help Xiao Yi into the carriage. Once she was seated properly, the carriage set off toward the royal temple in the outskirts. Chunxi poured a cup of tea and spoke softly, “Just now, I saw Seventh Miss Gu. Did you meet her?”
Xiao Yi’s hand, holding the teacup, paused. After a long silence, she finally replied, “Mm.”
“You—”
Before Chunxi could say anything further, Xiao Yi closed her eyes. Leaning against the carriage, she listened to the jingling of the carriage bells outside and thought back to the days when she used to sit in this very carriage, laughing and chatting with Gu Yu.
She had actually wanted to say something to Gu Yu.
She wanted to say, I’m sorry for disappointing you. She also wanted to say, What I said yesterday wasn’t truly from my heart. You are wonderful. In this lifetime, the best person I have ever met is you…
You never did anything to wrong me. It was I who wronged you.
But when she realized why Gu Wuyou had chosen to keep the truth hidden that day, those words suddenly became impossible to say.
So in the end, it was she who was truly disgraceful.
The wind lifted the carriage curtain, brushing against the strands of hair at her ear.
She opened her eyes and looked at the scenery outside.
She hoped that when she returned in the future, she would have the courage to stand before Gu Yu and say, I’m sorry.
—
Meanwhile, on the official road—
Another carriage was heading toward Duke Ding’s manor. It was the Fu family’s carriage, carrying Li Qinyuan, Fu Xian, Jing Yubai, and Qi Xu.
Jing Yubai was brewing tea, while Qi Xu was slowly nibbling on a piece of osmanthus cake.
Fu Xian turned to look at Li Qinyuan, who was teasing a small squirrel, his expression hesitant and somewhat displeased. “Qilang, do you really like that little pepper?”
Even after an entire night had passed, he still couldn’t believe it.
But some things couldn’t be denied just because he didn’t want to believe them.
Last night, Qilang had shown up at his house specifically to say that since the academy was on break today, they should go see little pepper. That had nearly made his eyes pop out in shock. Then, in the early hours of the morning, while he was still groggy with sleep, he had woken up to find someone standing by his bedside.
Qilang, holding a small squirrel in his arms, had stood there impatiently. The moment Fu Xian opened his eyes, Li Qinyuan had unceremoniously thrown his clothes at him.
Told him to get up quickly.
Still half-asleep, he had been dragged along as they then went to disturb both Dabai and Xiao Xu. Now, sitting in the carriage fully awake, he had finally processed everything.
Li Qinyuan, still cradling the little squirrel, was feeding it peeled pine nuts. He didn’t even lift his head at Fu Xian’s words, only letting out an indifferent “Mm.”
The little squirrel was still somewhat timid. It curled up in his arms, staring at the pine nuts it loved yet not daring to reach for them. It peeked up at him once, then tentatively extended a tiny paw, glancing at him again. Confirming there was no danger, it cautiously reached further.
Finally, its paw touched Li Qinyuan’s hand. Seeing that he still didn’t react, it swiftly scooped up the handful of pine nuts and buried its head down, nibbling away carefully.
Watching its timid yet endearing behavior, Li Qinyuan couldn’t help but laugh.
It really was just like that little girl.
At first, she had also approached him so hesitantly, bit by bit. But as time passed and she figured out what kind of person he was, she had begun testing his boundaries.
The more he indulged her, the bolder she became.
Yet he had liked her like that—he was happy to spoil her.
This little squirrel was something he had caught last night after school in the mountains behind the academy. Winter made it hard to find squirrels, and he had squatted there for a long time before managing to catch this tiny one.
He wasn’t sure why, but he had suddenly wanted to give her something.
As if confirming their relationship meant he had to give her a gift.
Gold and silver jewelry were too tacky.
Food didn’t seem particularly special either.
After thinking it over, the only image that came to mind was the time he ate meat pies with that little girl. Her cheeks had been puffed out, her round eyes sparkling with delight—so incredibly adorable, just like the little squirrel he had once encountered.
“She really is just like…”
Li Qinyuan reached out carefully, stroking the soft fur of the squirrel in his arms. His brows softened, and his face lit up with a radiant smile.
While he was basking in joy, Fu Xian, on the other hand, was on the verge of tears. He had spent so much effort trying to guard against this, yet Qilang had still fallen into the clutches of that little pepper. Now, wearing a miserable expression, he muttered, “How did you end up liking that little pepper?”
He wanted to badmouth her a little, but after racking his brains, he couldn’t think of a single thing to say.
Fine.
Admittedly, the little pepper of today had a much better temper, had become gentler, and had even helped Qilang on multiple occasions… He really couldn’t say anything bad about her anymore.
But it still made him uncomfortable.
Not just uncomfortable—jealous!
He and Qilang had been brothers for over a decade, yet he had never seen Qilang treat anyone this well before!
His gaze shifted to the small squirrel nestled in Li Qinyuan’s arms—so delicate, so chubby, and absolutely adorable. He had always liked small animals like this, yet Qilang wouldn’t even let him touch it, guarding it as if it were a priceless treasure. Unable to hold back, Fu Xian sourly grumbled, “You’ve never given me anything before. You’ve completely abandoned your friends for love!”
Li Qinyuan, apparently very much intending to live up to that accusation, didn’t even bother acknowledging him. Instead, he continued peeling pine nuts for his little squirrel while musing, “What name should I give you?”
Since it was a gift from him, it couldn’t have some ordinary, generic name—it had to be special.
Jing Yubai, who was in the middle of brewing tea, chuckled when he heard this. “A while ago, my elder brother gave my sister-in-law a Persian cat.”
“Hm?” Li Qinyuan glanced up at him, waiting for him to continue.
Jing Yubai calmly poured four cups of tea, then picked one up, swirling it slightly before leisurely saying, “I noticed they practically treat that cat like their own son. They call it ‘son,’ ‘baby,’ or ‘little treasure’ all the time.”
Li Qinyuan was momentarily stunned.
When he finally processed the implication, his face immediately flushed red—a rare sight among his group of brothers.
Young Master Li opened his mouth as if to refute, but no words came out. Just as he was still reeling from the teasing, the small squirrel in his arms let out a soft squeak. His embarrassment momentarily forgotten, he immediately looked down, only to find the little creature tilting its tiny head up at him, its beady eyes filled with anticipation. One of its small paws stretched toward him, clearly begging for more food.
Faced with those familiar-looking, bright and expectant eyes, Li Qinyuan muttered under his breath, “Well… it’s not entirely out of the question.”