Chapter 30: It's Hard for People to Part Ways

  After bathing, Yuan Longqiao changed into a sky blue casual robe, with a waistband made of soft silk satin embroidered with silver thread and a jade pendant hanging from his waist. His raven-black hair was combed back and secured with only one white jade pin. The simple yet elegant attire made him look even more spirited and handsome, like a piece of fine jade.

  His nose was slightly stuffy, and his head hurt a bit. He hadn't slept all night, but he had no intention of sleeping. The whole person relaxed and leaned back into the armchair, with both arms casually placed on the armrests, eyes lightly closed, and head tilted back against the chair. He wanted to calm down for a while, but his mind kept flashing back to the same figure: Qing Lian in Longzheng Hall, who was independent and elegant; Yu Dan in the bridal chamber, who was majestic and beautiful; You Lan in Moluo Pavilion, who was proud and unyielding; Li Hua after being injured, who was pitiful and lovely... When did she merge into his heart?! Suddenly opening his eyes, he stared at the auspicious cloud pattern on the ceiling, his chest rising and falling slightly, his temples throbbing. He couldn't help but think of her gaze, full of dependence, looking up at the summer sun. He lifted his foot and kicked it fiercely, causing the desk in front of him to crash to the ground.

  "Your Highness?" Zhou Song hastily ran in.

  "Get out! No one is allowed to disturb me!"

  Startled, Zhou Song hastily closed the door and quietly dismissed all the attendants inside and outside the pavilion.

  He rubbed his forehead with his hand, gently massaging the corners of his eyes. His emotions had never been as chaotic as they were in these days, and this chaos almost made him lose the calmness he had always been proud of. His right hand clenched into a fist, and he involuntarily turned his head to recall the temperature that seemed to still exist in his palm. Hot! He took a deep breath, no mistake, her wrist was hot...

  The chair creaked and a gust of wind swept by, with a flash of sapphire blue at the door.

  The tables and chairs in the house are all overturned, outside is a light drizzle of rain.

  Desolate and bleak.

  The servants' quarters of the Ling Wang Fu, where the lower-ranking attendants lived, was also the most secluded corner of the estate. The woodshed was located in the backyard of the servants' quarters, and it was rare for anyone to come here easily. The door of the woodshed was tightly closed, and inside, it was quiet and still without a single sound.

  Yuan Longqiao stood with his hands behind him under the eaves of the back corridor of Jiaoye Residence, quietly gazing at the old black wooden door across the continuous rain curtain, his heart filled with contradictions and struggles.

  But she's just a woman, albeit a more beautiful and special one. Could it be that Yuan Longqiao would become a hero for the sake of a little woman? At 18 years old, he had already taken his first concubine. In these few years, although the number of concubines by his side has increased, he never put them in his eyes. Men can't do without women, but as the sons of emperors born with noble status, how could they not weigh the pros and cons when taking a wife or concubine? Family, power, military power, political power - these are often more important than a woman's beauty or ugliness.

  His right hand clenched into a fist, he tried to calm down his restless heart, and his gaze gradually cooled. Or maybe these days he had some feelings for her, but wasn't it because of Xia Jingting's relationship? She became his wife, and at the same time became his strongest guarantee and support, so being good to this "wife" who had become a fact and couldn't be changed seemed reasonable. He hadn't forgotten the oath he made in front of his mother's sickbed, that in this life he would never let any woman mess with his heart, nor would he let any woman become his weakness.

  His emotions gradually calmed down, he stood silently, firmly closing his eyes and no longer allowing himself to waver in the slightest.

  The rain grew heavier, striking the ground and splashing up tiny water flowers. The sound of pattering continued unabated. The stone road surface was washed exceptionally clean. The accumulated water on the eaves converged into streams that poured down, forming a natural crystal curtain.

  The curtains moved, but the person didn't. The sky grew darker and darker, yet that figure stood still for a long time, not moving forward, nor ever leaving...

  In the summer, leaning against the wall with one leg stretched out and the other bent, forehead resting on the bent knee, hands hanging weakly on both sides of the body, drowsy as if asleep. Cried out, only dry tear marks left on face, the wound on back aching and itching, hot and painful like being on fire.

  On the tray on the floor was her dinner: two dishes, a bowl of soup and a bowl of fine rice. A little eunuch had brought in lunch first, and then came back with dinner, saw that lunch was still there untouched, he just glanced at Xia Tian and silently changed the dishes before retreating out quietly.

  Is she going to die? She held her increasingly heavy head, and her body was chilled. The sound of the rain outside made her irritable, this sky is leaking or what, not stopping for two days and still not enough, so she changed to a quieter place but couldn't bear to leave this only point of light that came in - the lanterns hanging under the eaves outside.

  "Rustle rustle rustle, rustle..."

  What was that noise? She suddenly shivered.

  "Squeak... squeak!" The sound came from not far away.

  She subconsciously straightened her back, tightly biting her lips, and even her dizziness seemed to have improved a lot in an instant.

  "Eeek!" She didn't know if it was her imagination, but the sound seemed to be getting closer and closer... Her hair stood on end, she sprang up from the ground with a sudden burst of energy, although one hand covered her mouth, the terrified shriek still escaped through her fingers.

  "Ah~~~" The surroundings were quiet, and this sharp cry was particularly startling.

  As soon as the shout was heard, Yuan Longqiao rushed over almost simultaneously, kicking open the door with one foot. With a few weak lights, he suddenly found that there were several gray-haired mice squatting on the tray of rice and dishes on the ground.

  A gust of wind blew in his face, and a figure rushed past him like a madman, as if he had been greatly frightened, running desperately towards the outside.