âHmm, it seems biased to talk only about a daughter and not a sonâ¦â After murmuring this, she caught herself and laughed. âI donât think Iâll have a son or daughter in this life. If I get pregnant, I wouldnât be allowed to live no matter if the child is Your Highnessâs or not. Itâs better to be alone all my life. I get to have such a large house to myself. Whatâs there to be dissatisfied about?â
She pulled aside his blanket and looked at the injuries on his wrists. After she carefully cleaned and frequently changed the dressing over the course of several days, his injuries were beginning to look much better.
Nodding in satisfaction, she gently covered him up again and continued, âSome things in this world are really unfair. Jiang Mingwei ran away from the marriage, but when she came back, itâs almost as though nothing had happened. With just one word from her, I had to relinquish everything. Itâs really unfair. After she marries the Prince of Jin, Jiang Honghao would most likely be promoted to the rank of Grand Chancellor. Thatâs the highest rank after the emperor! Who knows how much glory the Jiang family would possess? Iâm afraid I wouldnât live to see the day they fall.â
âBut I guess itâs not all Jiang Mingweiâs fault. Marriage is impossible if one party is unhappy. To put it bluntly, the only reason Jiang Mingwei is able to come back and become a princess is because the Prince of Jin doesnât mind. He didnât even question her about how she ran away. Being loved sure is nice, isnât it? She could play around and then come back to marry her childhood sweetheart when she got tired of playing. Why donât I have an infatuated childhood sweetheart too?â
There was a lot to lament. âStill, Iâm glad I was able to get out of that mess early on. I shouldnât try to obtain what doesnât belong to me. Even the leads in a classical play wouldnât be able to act as affectionately as those two do. I reckon they only see me as an annoying clown. I was a substitute who thought she could really marry Xie Xuanji, but who is Xie Xuanji? Naturally, he is not someone just any ordinary woman can marry.â
She genuinely thought that Xie Xuanchen was very inspiring. Every step he took had taken him higher on the staircase to eminence, and he was the epitome of someone who would go down in history.
Meanwhile, Mu Mingtang would act wildly after gaining even the slightest of advantages. Her actions were never modest or admirable. In this sense, Xie Xuanchen was the same. He was extremely arrogant, only doing what he wanted without an ounce of concern for other people, and thus made many enemies along the way. Truthfully, he was more likely to go down in history as a tyrant than a righteous hero.
She sighed. âItâs no wonder the Prince of Jin was able to climb higher and higher while we became like this. If this was a book, the hero would be Xie Xuanji. â
When she finished, she noticed that it was late and slowly stood up with the lantern. âIâm going to bed now. Goodnight, savior.â
After Mu Mingtang left, Xie Xuanchenâs eyelids trembled, but in the end, he failed to muster the strength to open them. Over the years, heâd realized that there was something wrong with his medication. After drinking it, he would feel muddled and sleepy, so he refused to drink it. Every time he was awake, he would shatter the bowl. Unable to control his strength after being bedridden for so long, the person in charge of feeding him would also suffer.
Thus, no one dared to feed him medicine again, but he would still accept the bowls of congee that were his meals. He didnât find it at first; it wasnât until a long time had passed that he realized the medicine had been added to the congee.
However, although it made him weaker and more tired, he had no choice but to eat it. These days, he would remain conscious for several hours without being able to open his eyes.
He had sensed the arrival of a new maidservantâoh, maybe it wasnât a maidservant. Xie Rui had found a wife for him.
Xie Xuanchen didnât trust anyone that Xie Rui sent, but this woman was not quite how he had imagined. At least, he was satisfied that she had changed his congee.
But he couldnât reconcile to being called a âpretty boyâ and whatnot. Moreover, what did she mean just now? Why was it that if they were in a book, the hero would be Xie Xuanji?â
Would Xie Xuanji be able to triumph if he, Xie Xuanchen, wasnât ill?