Chapter 5: Revealing True Feelings

Watching the old eunuch depart, Madam Li’s face darkened. With a gloomy expression, she said, “Your Highness, I am unwell and cannot keep you company. Forgive me.” With that, she turned and headed for the inner court.

The others dispersed one after another.

The vast main hall was left with only Jing Chen and Li Lingli.

Jing Chen glanced around, and once he was certain no one else was present, he thought to himself: There’s no need to keep pretending to be a fool in front of her anymore. It’s time to reveal my strength. Even if she knows, no one else would believe it if she told them.

Smiling, he said, “Sister Lingli, while I was in the imperial prison, I often heard people say that you were one of the four great beauties of talent and virtue, graceful and accomplished in both character and learning.

But it seems the reality is not as famous as the reputation.

This is my first time at the marquis’s estate, and I haven’t even had a cup of tea. Is it that I’m ignorant, or is this simply the way the House of Marquis Jing’an receives its guests?”

Li Lingli looked at Jing Chen in surprise, her pretty face flushing as she hurriedly brought him fragrant tea.

Jing Chen took a light sip and said gently, “Sister Lingli, don’t stand there. Sit down. I have something to tell you.”

Li Lingli cast him a suspicious glance and slowly took the seat opposite him.

The corner of Jing Chen’s mouth lifted slightly. “Lingli, you’re two years older than me, so I’ll call you Sister Lingli.

This marriage edict really cannot be blamed on Father Emperor. It was I who asked him to bestow you upon me.”

Alarmed, Li Lingli rose to her feet. “Do you know that I was once married to...?”

Jing Chen smiled. “Of course I know. You were once the Crown Princess.”

“Since you know, why did you still ask for my hand?”

Jing Chen smiled and said, “Everyone has a past. The past is only an experience.

As the saying goes, a fair lady is the ideal match for a gentleman.

When the spring breeze stirs the willows and the night is calm, one cup of rough wine is enough to question the blue heavens. Why do flowers bloom again after falling, while people are never young twice?

We should treasure what stands before us.”

Li Lingli murmured the verse softly, her eyes widening in disbelief.

Wasn’t the Seventh Prince supposed to be a stupid fool? Was this a fool?

Her cheeks burning, Li Lingli clasped her hands awkwardly at her sides and asked in a low voice, “Then do you know? I... I... am a...?”

Before she could finish, Jing Chen waved a hand and chuckled. “Lingli, those are all nonsense—petty minds making trouble for themselves.

People are tall or short, with sparse hair or thick hair; it is nothing more than a natural physical trait.

On the road to the underworld, there is no distinction between old and young—must all of it be blamed on someone else’s fault?”

Li Lingli stared at him in a daze, her eyes beginning to glisten.

She asked foolishly, “You truly do not care? Your Highness, you could choose someone better than me, a pure and virtuous maiden from a proper family.”

Jing Chen looked into her eyes and said with deep feeling, “I only care about you. What matters to me is not your past, but your present and your future.

Since I have chosen whom I love, then I love the one I have chosen.

When I love someone, I love with all my heart, as fiercely attached as a mouse to rice, unable to let go.

When I hate someone, I hate as the autumn wind sweeps away fallen leaves, cold and unfeeling.

Lingli, if you are unwilling to marry me, I will never force you. You and I may simply address each other as siblings.”

A strange light flashed in Li Lingli’s eyes. “Your Highness, everyone says you are a fool. What are you trying to do? Can I trust you?”

Jing Chen’s eyes reddened as he looked at her. “Lingli, remember this: I was always a fool. If I were not a fool, I would never be sitting here today.

My prince’s residence has only just been established. I have some money-making ventures and plans, but I cannot stand in the open. I can only remain behind the scenes, and I need your help. You will be my representative.

I trust you. I am placing my life and fortune entirely in your hands.

Rest assured, I would never betray my woman. As long as I still have a breath left in me, I will protect you and keep you safe!”

Li Lingli was stunned. Was this a fool?

No. Absolutely not.

He had deceived everyone. Such resilience, such endurance, such restraint—none of it was ordinary.

Jing Chen looked at the sky and said softly, “Lingli, it’s getting late. Bring me paper and brush. I’ll write two poems, and then you’ll understand what is in my heart.”

The paper was laid out and Li Lingli ground the ink. Jing Chen began to write:

Long ago, in my wretched days, there was little worth boasting of;
Today, wild and free, my thoughts stretch boundless.
Riding the spring breeze, my horse’s hooves are swift;
In a single day, I would see all the flowers of the capital.

Before his transmigration, Jing Chen had often accompanied wealthy patrons to visit masters of calligraphy and other men of refined taste, merely to flatter their vanity. Because of the peculiar nature of his work, he had also practiced regular script whenever he had time.

His calligraphy was forceful and upright, the brushstrokes tall as pines, the ink lingering like the resonance of a zither, every horizontal, vertical, left-falling, and right-falling stroke governed by perfect discipline.

Li Lingli was stunned beyond words, her mouth forming a perfect O.

When autumn comes on the eighth day of the ninth month,
After my flowers bloom, a hundred others shall wither.
Their fragrance rises to pierce the capital beneath the sky;
The whole city will be draped in golden armor.

Li Lingli quietly recited the two poems, her gaze hazy with admiration as she asked, “Your Highness, were these poems written by you?”

Jing Chen gently tapped her forehead and smiled. “You little fool, these poems were written by you. I’m just a fool who can only drool while counting ants. How could I possibly write poetry?”

“I wrote them?” Li Lingli was stunned, then immediately understood what Jing Chen meant.

Feeling his intimate gesture, a blush rose to Li Lingli’s face, and a sweetness she had never known welled up in her heart.

From childhood to adulthood, she had always wrapped herself in armor. Outwardly cold and unsmiling, when had anyone ever truly loved her, cared for her, or tried to understand her heart?

Everyone thought she was a curse, a widow-maker, an ill-omened woman, and kept their distance.

“Lingli, for the time being, do not tell anyone about my true situation, including your family.

No more words. I should return to the prince’s residence. Remember to come tomorrow and help there. I’m counting on you, and I am troubling you with this burden.”

Jing Chen spoke solemnly.

Li Lingli said with a trace of reluctance, “Your Highness, take care on the road.”

She escorted Jing Chen to the marquis’s gate, where they saw a middle-aged man storming toward the estate in great agitation.

“Your Highness, please do not mind him. That is my elder brother. He is busy from morning till night and always behaves as if the whole world owes him money.”

Jing Chen leaned close to Li Lingli’s ear and whispered, “It’s all right. I’m looking forward to seeing you again.”

His breath brushed her ear, sending a tingling sensation through her body, faintly itchy and strangely pleasant.

Li Lingli instinctively turned her head aside, and her cheek happened to brush against Jing Chen’s lips.

Her face turned crimson, red all the way to the nape of her neck.

The two of them were standing at an angle, making it look almost as though they were embracing.

The two guards had been waiting outside the gate. Seeing this, they both widened their eyes, staring at the pair in disbelief.

After seeing Jing Chen off, Li Lingli had only just stepped back into the house when Li Lingfei cried out, “Lingli, you’re not really planning to marry that fool, are you? You know he’s foolish, and you still want to marry him! That only proves you’re even more foolish than he is.”

Li Lingli smiled. “What choice do I have? This is a fate arranged by heaven. It is the will of the heavens, and the imperial decree has already been issued.” With that, she happily ran toward the inner court.

Everything had changed. Something felt wrong, yet she could not say exactly what.

Li Lingli smiled.

For a full ten years, her younger sister had never smiled like this, let alone smiled so happily.