Jian Guozhi amusingly peered at Xue Yu-Yan. She was conversing differently with him, which was indeed strange for him. Xue Yu-Yan, on the other hand, getting no response from Jian Guozhi thought about leaving. "I shall leave," she turned to leave when Jian Guozhi stopped her. Xue Yu-Yan was bewildered. She was confident that Jian Guozhi would not stop her. However, the opposite happened. 

Jian Guozhi came near her and halted right in front of her. "Will you listen to me?" He looked for an answer. Xue Yu-Yan nodded and hummed. 

"Come," he walked past her. 

"I shall call the servant to clean that," Xue Yu-Yan said while looking at the floor and flipped the table. 

"Let it be. I am not in a mood to even see people at this time," Jian Guozhi pronounced while taking a seat around the table. 

"Then why did you allow me?" 

Jian looked at her and replied, "I did not allow you. You came on your own. And since you came then sending you away, talking rudely to you did not seem right." He looked at the chair, adjacent to him and then Xue Yu-Yan, "Come, sit here." 

Xue Yu-Yan dragged herself ahead and sat on the chair. "I had never thought that we two sit in front of each other like this. Forgive me for not trusting you," Jian Guozhi apologized to her once again. 

"Are you sincere?" Xue Yu-Yan queried. 

"Hmm," he nodded his head. "These days I feel, if I have not been the First Born, then I would have a little freedom to choose. It is an irony that I am talking this way, who always looked down on the people in the past. Now, I feel that a commoner's life is better than mine. I am tired," Jian Guozhi proclaimed; his eyes had turned watery. 

Xue Yu-Yan realized that Jian Guozhi was suffering a lot. However, he always kept his feelings hidden and always put on the mask of being happy. 

"Even I think the same. Commoners have freedom unlike us. We are bound to our duties no matter how hard we try to run away," Xue Yu-Yan asserted. Jian Guozhi agreed with her. "But they also have to undergo many problems." 

"At least they are happy. Two days ago when I went out, I saw many couples going to some fair in the market. Among them, there are no trust issues, no plotting or evil scheming, and no greed. My mother turned evil because of her greed and I always supported her until realization hit me. No one knows how tough it was for me when I handed the evidence against my mother to my father." His voice quivered. 

"Zhilao Mi came forward to lend her shoulder to me. But that was fake. She also wanted power. When the Crown Princess told me she was suspicious, I was not ready to believe for a few minutes." Jian Guozhi lowered his eyes and chuckled. "I badly want to run away from here," he said. 

"The more you will run away, the more it will chase you," Xue Yu-Yan stated. "When the Crown Princess forgave me, I learned this from her. The more you run away from your problem, the more it will haunt you. Just face it and keep moving ahead," Xue Yu-Yan advised Jian Guozhi. 

"I see, you have turned optimist. I am amazed," Jian Guozhi stated. "I will try then," he said. 

"Did you have dinner?" Xue Yu-Yan asked. 

"No. I did not feel like eating," Jian Guozhi replied. 

"She affected you this much? Is there no way to forgive her?" Xue Yu-Yan inquired from him. 

"Her crime is unforgivable," Jian Guozhi affirmed. "She is a traitor and forgiving her can affect us," he added. Xue Yu-Yan peered at him and felt lucky. "Thank you for forgiving me at that time," Xue Yu-Yan expressed her gratitude. "Though I also deserved a severe punishment that time for wrongly accusing the Crown Princess and the Sixth Prince," she asserted. 

"But your crime was not dreadful like Zhilao Mi. She plotted against the entire Royal Family and even replaced the real Princess Zhilao, who was supposed to marry me," Jian Guozhi explained to her. 

"You shall take your dinner," Xue Yu-Yan stated. "Don't take out your anger on the food," she smiled at him. "You are a brave man, Jian Ge," she praised him. Jian Guozhi did not expect her to say things like this to him. 

She stood up from the chair and bowed. "I shall take my leave," she said. Jian Guozhi hummed. 

"Thank you." 

Xue Yu-Yan passed a tiny smile to him and left. 

~~~~ 

Nianzu was doing calligraphy when Eunuch Chung disturbed him. "Forgive me, your highness." Chung had lowered his head. Nianzu put the brush down on the brush stand and looked at him. 

"What happened?" Nianzu asked.

Eunuch Chung was a little worried and was not able to understand how he would tell his master. "What happened, Chung?" Nianzu waited for him to reply. 

"Your highness, Miss Chuntao...she…" Eunuch Chung took a few pauses. 

Nianzu frowned as he heard about Chuntao. "What happened to her?" He was anxious now. "Speak," Nianzu demanded the answer from him. 

"Miss Chuntao has left the village. Upon your orders, I went to check on her. However, she was not there. I inquired from the neighbors. Most of them did not know but then an old lady said that she saw her leaving early in the morning in a bullock cart," Eunuch Chung after much hesitation informed the Fourth Prince. 

"She might have gone to meet her relatives somewhere," Nianzu stated. He did not want to believe that Chuntao left Shanxi village. 

"I am afraid, my master, but the old lady confirmed it from Miss Chuntao. Miss Chuntao told the old lady that was leaving the place permanently," affirmed Eunuch Chung. The entire time while conversing, his eyes were lowered. 

Nianzu was dejected to learn about that. "How could she leave the village? Something is weird. She loves her parental house and she would never leave the place unless something had happened," Nianzu concluded. He stood up from the chair and told Chung that he would come to the chamber a little late. 

"Your highness, where are you going at this night? The weather is also not pleasant," Eunuch Chung expressed his worries. 

"Do not worry about me," Nianzu assured him and walked out of the chamber. 

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