She curled her lips, “What’s wrong? Which word struck a nerve?”
The man frowned at her, “Don’t speak like that.”
“Don’t speak like that, or don’t speak about her like that?”
“…”
The man’s expression darkened again, “I don’t love her. The one I love is you.”
Di Ronghua laughed mockingly, “So what? Am I supposed to accept her staying by your side and pretend nothing is happening?”
“Ronghua.”
The man’s gaze grew heavier, fixed intently on her, “I didn’t come here to argue with you.”
Di Ronghua lowered her eyelids, her smile fading, leaving her expression cold and unreadable. She slowly but firmly pushed his hands away from her, “Coincidentally, I’ve had a long day. You can leave now.”
Her attitude was too rigid, as unyielding as a block of ice that could never melt.
Xiao Hanjin stared at her for a long time, his Adam’s apple bobbing several times, “Are you really going to marry him?”
Without hesitation, she replied, “That depends on whether you’re willing to open the city gates or not.”
“Ronghua, you’ll regret this.”
With those words, the tall figure of the man turned and left.
The door opened, and a cold wind rushed into the room, dispersing the last trace of warmth. A chill seeped into her bones in an instant.
Di Ronghua didn’t know how long she stood at the doorway, long enough for her limbs to grow cold, long enough for another familiar face to appear in her sight, “Still standing here like a fool?”
Her gaze wavered slightly, “When did you get here?”
“I knew when he came.”
“…So you were eavesdropping?”
Xiao Yixun chuckled, “Your Highness, do I look like someone with that kind of hobby?”
Di Ronghua met his charming and handsome smile, but her expression was tinged with a complex seriousness, “What should I do? It seems I can’t leave after all. How about… you go tell your father to cancel the wedding?”
The man’s gaze paused, and he fell silent for a moment before saying, “No.”
“We agreed…”
“We agreed it was just an act,” the man said indifferently, “In that case, shouldn’t you see it through to the end?”
Di Ronghua frowned, “I agreed to this to get away from him, not to actually marry you, and certainly not to hold you back. If you really marry me, even if it’s fake, how will you marry another princess in the future?”
Xiao Yixun raised an eyebrow, a faint smile playing on his lips, “Then you’d better remember this favor of mine, and stop mocking me so often.”
Di Ronghua, “…”
The man hesitated for a moment, then gently patted her shoulder, comforting her, “Ronghua, this is just a mutually beneficial arrangement. You want to escape him and avoid his entanglement, and I want to form an alliance with Xiliang. So there’s no need for you to feel guilty, understand?”
……
For three consecutive days, Di Ronghua did not see Xiao Hanjin again, and there was no news from the Crown Prince’s residence.
Sometimes she couldn’t help but wonder, if he could watch her marry someone else, why couldn’t he just let her leave Beixi?
Did he plan to continue harassing her even after she was married?
But… although Xiao Hanjin wasn’t a good person, judging by his attitude toward Mu Qingshuang, he would never actively pursue a married woman.
So what was he planning? To ruin the wedding?
In front of his father, he wouldn’t dare, right?
Di Ronghua’s head ached from thinking about it, but she couldn’t figure it out.
“Your Highness, it’s time to go out,” the maid’s respectful voice pulled her back to reality.
Di Ronghua nodded absently, allowing the maid to place the red veil over her head and support her as she slowly walked out.
She had never imagined that, in less than a month, she would wear a wedding dress twice.
