4999

Chapter 4999: 5.0751 I Lied to You

Qiao Mu "oh"-ed and slowly walked forward.

His gaze remained fixed on her, the playful smile on his face slowly, gradually fading as she left. It was as if starlight dispersed, a long river flowing quietly, or perhaps an endless, lingering feeling, engulfing him.

Ultimately, he simply watched her enter with a profound gaze, and she closed the palace door behind her. The heavy thud of the closing door pressed heavily on his heart. He stared at the two tightly closed palace doors, standing for a long time before finally turning to leave.

Today, he had no heart for court affairs; he wished to think of nothing. He had calculated that she would flee in disarray and escape far away, yet he still miscalculated that his heart would, after all, feel this much pain.

He entered his study, closed the door, opened the window, and with a blank expression, ground ink and took up his brush. On the unrolled paper, he wrote a strong, vigorous character: "静" (calm).

If the heart is not calm, how can one find peace?

Qiao Qiao said she didn't want to give him any hope, fearing he would suffer. But how could she know that perhaps, even a glimmer of hope would bring joy to his heart? Even if disappointment, or even despair, would follow, at least... there had once been that tiny bit of hope.

He dropped the brush. A touch of dampness spread across the "静" on the paper, like the ripples in his heart, expanding in layers.

I'm sorry, Qiao Qiao.

I lied to you...

I just don't want you to leave, purely don't want you to go far from me right now...

I worry, I dread, I fear that if you leave now, we will be strangers when we meet again.

I lied when I said I felt nothing for you. That was a falsehood.

A million points of love for you are in my heart, unspoken to anyone, wishing only to be deeply buried, giving you no chance to glimpse even a fraction of it.

I love you, my heart delights in you, I uncontrollably desire to be close to you.

Even just to watch silently, my heart would be content, this life would be enough.

Qiao Mu didn't wake until evening, feeling a bit groggy as she got up. The little stoic, her face taut, casually pushed open the long-latticed window. She heard faint, fragmented whispers: "Did you hear? The Ninth Princess got into a fight with two women in the rear garden."

"Oh, keep your voice down. The Ninth Princess has been running back to cry to His Majesty every three days since she married Prince Guangwa of the Barbarian Tribe. It's not a one-day or two-day thing."

A sharp-voiced little palace maid secretly chuckled, "How could His Majesty bother with her? They say a married daughter is like spilled water. Even if His Majesty were her biological brother, let alone not, who would care about the life or death of an unfavored princess?"

"Do you know who those two women are?"

"Who knows? Prince Guangwa has so many concubines. These two must be newly acquired."

"Pffft... Can the Ninth Princess even win that fight?"

"Is the Crown Princess awake?" Yuan Zhen's voice came from outside the door.

"Come in," the little Crown Princess's voice was devoid of any emotion.

Yuan Zhen entered and bowed. Before she could speak, the little Crown Princess said, "Aunt, there are three gossips outside. Have someone drag them in."

Yuan Zhen was startled, then quickly turned and gestured to two close palace maids. Those two nimble maids quickly stepped out the door and, in a moment, dragged in three wailing young palace maids, kicking them to the ground.

All three young palace maids were not old, their eyes darting nervously, shrinking their heads and refusing to make eye contact with the little Crown Princess.

Yuan Zhen immediately understood and, her face sinking, angrily shouted, "How dare you!"

"Crown Princess, spare us, Crown Princess, spare us."