Pampered Consort Of The Fragrant Orchard

Fu Yalan held back Du Xiaoli, unconsciously thinking that Lu Junqi had no good intentions in inviting Du Xiaoli for a walk.

"I won"t hurt you," Lu Junqi explained.

Du Xiaoli looked at Lu Junqi, patted Fu Yalan"s hand, and said, "It"s fine.”

She then told Lu Junqi, "Let"s go."

Fu Yalan felt a little uneasy watching Du Xiaoli and Lu Junqi leave together. She was not to blame for worrying because the Third Princess of Eastern Li had a terrible reputation of being crafty and unruly. On top of that, Lu Junqi once had such inclinations toward Du Xiaoli in the past, thus anyone would think she called Du Xiaoli out to cause trouble for her.

On the contrary, Lu Junqi did not intend to do that. She and Du Xiaoli walked all the way to the lakeside in the Imperial Garden and sat down in the pavilion.

"Princess, what matters exactly did you want to see me for? You didn’t just drag me here to feel the autumn breeze, did you?” Du Xiaoli asked while looking at Lu Junqi, who was still silent.

It was already late autumn, and winter was approaching in a few days. The latter part of autumn in the north thus far had already begun to be very cold. To describe it accurately, once September pa.s.sed, the temperature dropped down rapidly. It was now mid-October, so it was quite chilly in the evening.

"I..." Lu Junqi thought Du Xiaoli was ridiculing her. However, upon seeing that there was no sign of mockery in Du Xiaoli’s bright eyes, Lu Junqi’s words stopped as they reached her lips.

Du Xiaoli looked at Lu Junqi with some surprise. Was this shy-mannered person in front of her really the arrogant and domineering Third Princess of Eastern Li from before?

"Princess, if you have something to say, just say it. Otherwise, we should just go back."

Lu Junqi bit her lip like she had made up her mind about something, and she said, "Well, I just wanted to call you out to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?" Du Xiaoli blinked. Earlier, a Princess of Northern Qi came to say goodbye to her. Now, Lu Junqi was also doing the same. Was tonight a farewell night?

"I have been away for too long. I suddenly really want to go home. So I’ve already discussed it with my Fourth Senior Brother. We’ll depart tomorrow," Lu Junqi said.

Du Xiaoli wasn’t sure of what to say, so she just blurted out these words: "Oh. I wish you a smooth journey."

"Then will you be going to Eastern Li with Prince Ding in the future?" Lu Junqi asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Du Xiaoli didn"t react for a moment. It took her a few seconds to realize that Lu Junqi was inviting her over. "I’m not sure. No one can say for sure about the future."

"Yeah," Lu Junqi responded and went silent again.

Lu Junqi’s unusual self today made Du Xiaoli somewhat confused. If Lu Junqi quarreled with her like before, Du Xiaoli would still be able to deal with it. However, it was instead like this, so she was a little uncomfortable.

Lu Junqi sat on the stone bench in the pavilion and slowly recounted: "Ever since I was young, I have been viewed as a precious treasure by my father and mother. They spoke to me a lot, afraid I’d change. They kept me close, afraid I’d fly away

. Born in a royal family, I inherited a n.o.ble status by default, and I possess superior beauty. I am proficient in the four arts—zither, Go, calligraphy, and painting. My dancing is renowned throughout several countries. It can be said that I have never encountered any setbacks since I was a child."

Du Xiaoli didn"t know how to respond, so she simply kept quiet. Sighing inwardly, she wondered if Lu Junqi looked for her just to have this heart-to-heart talk.

Lu Junqi didn’t care about what Du Xiaoli’s thoughts might be and continued to talk: “The first time I saw him was at the welcome banquet. He was with some envoys, but with one glance, I noticed him amidst the crowd. He was so dazzling that he caught my eyes in an instant. From that moment on, I no longer noticed any other man."

‘Han Mingyi!’ Du Xiaoli thought.

Lu Juniqi continued: "I asked my father to arrange a marriage for me with Prince Ding. Although my father was reluctant to let me be married into the family here, he couldn"t dissuade me and ultimately brought up the proposal of marriage to Prince Ding. Unexpectedly, Prince Ding rejected my father’s proposal without any hesitation in front of all the court officials at the state banquet. He even said that he already had a fiancée.

"Although I saw him for the first time on his diplomatic mission to Eastern Li, I had heard of his reputation a long time ago. Nonetheless, I had never heard of him being engaged, let alone having any concubines. Therefore, I thought that was just an excuse for him.

"I was really fond of him. I really was. So, after the banquet, I went to find him. I wanted to ask him why he refused to marry me," Lu Junqi said sadly. "However, he refused to see me right from the start, so I climbed over a wall for the first time just to see him. When I found him, he was sitting on his lounge chair and staring dazedly at an ugly pouch, appearing to be longing for someone. That was when I realized that what he’d said about having someone in his heart was true.”

‘Ugly pouch? Ahem, wasn"t it the money bag I gave Han Mingyi?!’ Du Xiaoli thought.

"What happened after that?" Du Xiaoli asked. She felt it would be bad not to give a response after hearing Lu Junqi say so much, so she put forth this question.

Lu Junqi glanced at Du Xiaoli, smiled bitterly, and said, "You should have already heard about what happened later. I knew there was someone in his heart, but I even told him that I don"t mind sharing him with others as long as I can marry him. I was willing to be one of his many women. However, he coldly answered me that it was impossible as he would not have any other women. I didn’t believe it, so I did something… I thought I had an attractive body, yet he didn’t even glance at me even though I was exposed like that. Instead, he had the guard find a quilt and wrap me up before throwing me out."

‘So the rumors were true!’ Du Xiaoli had thought it was just an exaggeration of what really happened. She didn"t expect him to be so cruel.

So why was there a warm feeling in her heart?

Ahem, wasn’t she being somewhat unkind?

"For him, I stepped on my pride and self-respect, only to receive such shame in return. Regardless, I don"t hate him... because I love him," Lu Junqi said. "But I did start to hate the owner of that pouch. I thought that she must be an extraordinary woman, but when I discovered you were just a village girl who grew up in a mountain village, my chest exploded with anger. I couldn’t believe that a village girl would be better than I am, so I ran out secretly, only bringing Yueyin with me. I wanted to come and see what you’re like and find out why you could walk into his heart, but I couldn"t."

Du Xiaoli couldn"t help but lament inwardly that love truly tormented people!

"Princess, you are outstanding and well-known even across several countries. You have the courage to pursue love, which is stronger than that of many men. It’s just that love is based on our destiny. Some people are fated for each other, while others simply aren’t."

Lu Junqi smiled and said, "Maybe. In the beginning, I didn"t take you seriously. When I first saw you, you didn"t look like an ordinary village girl, but you didn"t have any outstanding aspects either. Later, I realized that you were not inferior but that you had simply hidden your true self. It was ridiculous for me to have gone against you in a compet.i.tion without being aware of my own limits, and I lost my last shred of pride."

"Princess…"

"If the events of that time had not been enough to wake me up, I completely understood when I walked away from the gates of h.e.l.l later on. You’re right. As the Third Princess of Eastern Li, I am not only representing myself but also my country. My willfulness and arrogance will only cause trouble to the people around me. Sometimes, if a person doesn’t work hard, they end up with a bad result. That’s what they deserve. But sometimes, they can work hard and still end up with a bad result. That just means it wasn’t fated to be. I’ve done so many embarra.s.sing things, but after a few years or a few decades... or even when I am getting really old, I can at least tell myself… I fought, and I worked hard. I have no regrets.

"I have never admired anyone in my life. You are the first woman I admire from the bottom of my heart. You are indeed more qualified than me to stand by his side, and you’re worthy of his wholehearted devotion to you. I won"t get entangled with him anymore. I believe I will also meet a man who will treat me sincerely, be willing to give up the protection of Three Thousand Weak Waters

for me, and only want to grow old with me."

References

MoonWhisperer, BlackieMeow"s Thoughts

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