I couldn’t believe my eyes.

The river was not turbulent, it was more like a pool of still ice at this time. The sunlight reflected little sparkles on the river surface, which dazzled my eyes. I squinted slightly and only looked at the almost brilliant light.

In the middle, a small boat slowly sailed towards us.

There is also a thin figure on the bow of the boat, standing against the wind.

I stood at the head of the trestle, unable to move. I wonder if it was because of the wind brought by the small boat, which caused the water waves to rise and hit the river bank one after another. The waves under the trestle gradually rose and stirred up.

The water splash almost wet the corners of my skirt.

That cold dampness came back to me just like that day when I was wandering by the river outside Jixiang Village, step by step, making that difficult decision.

I couldn't help but pinch the hem of my skirt with one hand.

Han Zitong, who was standing aside, was originally looking at the boat that had sailed to the center of the river in shock. At this time, she felt something strange around her and turned to look at me. Looking at my almost absent-minded gaze, she slightly

He frowned and looked at my pale face in confusion.

At this moment, a thick wind cloak was draped on my shoulders.

The warmth came over me, but I didn't know why it made me shiver slightly. When I turned around, I saw Pei Yuanxiu walking behind me for some reason, with a gentle smile on his face. He held my shoulders with both hands and said softly.

: "Stop standing here, go back and sit."

Han Zitong on the side turned around and left silently.

I hesitated for a moment, then looked back at the small boat that had sailed to the center of the river: "But-"

"You promised me that if you come today, you must be obedient."

"..."

"It's cold on the river, and I don't want you to catch a cold."

"..."

"Qingying, be obedient."

Under his gentle voice and strong hands, I knew that he would never let me stand at the bridge to greet the ship today. I finally gave in, turned around, and followed him step by step towards the pavilion.

When I walked over, there were already attendants following me. They walked to the trestle and waited quietly.

When we walked back to the pavilion, Han Ruoshi was sitting there. When she saw us walking in, she gently placed a cup of hot tea in front of me and said softly: "Sister, come and have a cup of tea."

"Thank you."

Speaking of which, I was indeed a little uneasy. Not only was my heart beating hard, but my hands and feet were also extremely cold.

Just when I was picking up the teacup, I vaguely heard a gust of wind and something leaning against the trestle.

The voices of the two attendants speaking were a little blurry in the wind.

I was sitting with my back to the trestle, so I couldn't see what was going on there. I only saw Han Zitong sitting opposite me with cold eyes, looking behind me with a hint of sharpness. Her eyes slowly moved from far to near.

Moving slowly, amidst the sound of wind and water waves, we seemed to hear footsteps, slowly approaching us.

The water in the tea cup rippled slightly and almost overflowed.

Finally, the footsteps stopped behind me.

"Young Master, Madam, and two young ladies, Mr. Liu, the Yin of Yangzhou Prefecture, has arrived."

As soon as he finished speaking, Pei Yuanxiu, Han Ruoshi and Han Zitong all stood up one after another and raised their hands behind me: "Master Liu."

"Meet the two Jiangxia princesses..."

This voice...

As soon as I heard this voice, I felt as if someone had punched me so hard in the chest that my heart was about to explode.

This voice is deep and has a hint of hard texture. It seems that you can feel the roughness and fortitude of the rock from the words. It is obviously so familiar, but yet so far away. It used to be with you day and night, and you sleep every night. Now, now

They have become like meeting each other in another life, as if they are already memories of the previous life.

As soon as I heard this sound, I felt that all the blood in my body had frozen into ice in an instant. When it started to flow again, I could almost hear the sound of blood rushing through my body. It was like beating a drum in my ears.

The roaring sound is endless.

After a long while, I suddenly realized that it was the surging river water.

It seems like it’s my heartbeat.

I was still sitting there, motionless, holding the cup of tea in both hands. The cup was obviously placed on the table, but as my hands were shaking, the tea was overflowing.

And when I looked up, I saw Han Ruoshi standing opposite me.

At this time, she was looking at the person behind me. I saw a slight frown on her eyebrows and a look of astonishment in her eyes, as if she had seen something very surprising and terrifying. Even Han Zitong next to her opened her eyes wide.

Eyes.

What happened to them?

I subconsciously wanted to turn around, but found that my whole body was so stiff that I couldn't even move.

But at this time, the voice sounded from behind again——

"Meet the young master."

Upon hearing these words, Han Zitong was the first to react: "Master? Mr. Liu, as an official of the imperial court, don't you know who is in front of you?!"

"Of course I know."

"You know? Then should you call me Young Master, or - Prince?!"

The water in the river became more and more rapid, lapping at the trestle, causing splashes as high as a person, as if the heartbeat at this moment was surging and intense.

I don’t know why he could really cross the river alone, but before he crossed the river, he must have thought clearly about what he was going to face.

Then, I heard a sigh that sounded like a chuckle.

"Please forgive me, sir."

Pei Yuanxiu has been silent. The expression on his face is not so much calm as a kind of solidification. No matter what others say or do, it can no longer affect him. His eyes are fixed on the person in front of him, and his eyebrows are slightly.

Wrinkled, even slightly distorted.

I don’t know what he saw that made him so stunned.

"Of course I know who is standing in front of me. However, a month ago, the current emperor has issued an imperial edict to make the emperor's eldest son the crown prince. The current prince is Pei Nianshen, the emperor's eldest son. I, as a member of the imperial court,

The magistrate naturally understands that there are no two days in the sky and no two kings in the country. There is only one prince."

Han Ruoshi and Han Zitong both changed their expressions.

I listened, and my heart skipped a beat.

Pei Yuanhao has been crowned the crown prince?!

……

I don’t know why, maybe I had already had such a guess in my mind, so I wasn’t too surprised when I heard the news, but it was also a bit unexpected.

When I left the palace, Chang Qing was already pregnant, and she should have given birth long ago. Could it be that she gave birth to a princess? Is that why Pei Yuanhao became pregnant?

I don’t know why, but I feel a little uneasy.

When I was still a little confused, I heard his voice ringing behind me again - "Please forgive me, Master."

It was only then that Pei Yuanxiu smiled faintly: "You are an official of the imperial court and you act in accordance with the imperial court rules. What crime do you have?"

"Thank you, Mr. Sir."

After speaking, he paused and seemed about to speak, but fell silent again.

For a moment, the entire Wangjiang Pavilion was quiet, with only the sound of wind and water filling the humid air around it.

I never looked back or even stood up. In other people's eyes, I didn't know how to move forward or retreat. But even now, even if my back is turned to him, I seem to be able to feel his eyes on me, and there is a numbness behind my back.

The feeling made me tremble slightly.

"This is——"

"..."

Finally, it’s time to face it.

I stood up, took a deep breath, and slowly turned around.

The moment I met his eyes, I froze.

The person in front of me——

This person!

The person in front of me is Qinghan! He is still the same as in his memory, with dark skin, bright eyes, and a temperament as rough and resolute as a rock. These have not changed.

But his face——

I couldn't believe my eyes, but I couldn't help but believe that what I saw in front of me was a large and terrifying scar on his left cheek!

How could this happen?

I thought I had seen it wrong, so I blinked my eyes desperately, and even took a step forward to walk in front of him, but I could see more and more clearly the uneven scars on his face, which almost spread to most of his forehead and the left half of his cheek.

The scar extends to the corner of the eye.

Fortunately, his eyes are still intact, but because of his intact and bright eyes, the scars around them look even more terrifying!

How could this happen?

How could this happen?!

No wonder Han Ruoshi and Han Zitong looked so shocked just now. They were both shocked by this scar!

But why does his face look like——

I stared stupidly at the ferocious wounds on his face, and suddenly, what Yang Jinqiao had said to me before flashed through my mind——

"Especially, he was injured."

"I heard that a flood in the palace collapsed a large hall. He was inside and was hit by a collapsed beam, so——"

……

Could this be the injury he suffered?!

Is this why he burned down the Jixian Palace in order to save me, and was hit by a falling beam and his face was burned?!

"How could this happen..."

I looked at him, and all the hatred, anger, and unwillingness that had been surging in my heart disappeared at this moment. Only heartache, sadness, and helplessness came to my heart.

No wonder...

No wonder people in Yangzhou City say that he has a "face as fierce as a Yaksha and a heart as kind as a Bodhisattva." It turns out that sentence is true.

The face is sharp, like a Yaksha... The heart is kind, like a Bodhisattva...

It turns out that Yaksha and Bodhisattva can actually exist in one person's body like this, but why - why is it you? Why is it you who suffers such harm for me?

At this moment, I just felt my heart aching and couldn't say anything. I only raised my hand subconsciously, tremblingly wanting to touch his face, wanting to know how many more injuries he had suffered because of me.

How much suffering you have endured.

But just when I stretched out my hand and was about to get close to his cheek, Qinghan suddenly frowned and took a step back, a look of displeasure flashed across his face, and he seemed to glare at me.

That glance was like a basin of cold water being poured down on my head.

The sadness in my heart seemed to be extinguished by that cold look. My outstretched hand froze in the air, and I was still a little unable to recover.

He——Why is he looking at me like this?

Could it be that he is blaming me?

"Light——"

I was about to call him, but as soon as the words came out of my mouth, I saw him straighten his expression, and then he bowed his head towards me: "Just kidding."

Light cold...

I looked at his eyes that were as calm as ice, and my heart was so painful that I couldn't speak. I could hardly hold back the tears in my eyes, but at this moment, he turned around and asked Pei Yuanxiu.
Chapter completed!