Chapter 123: Deeply Yearning

The Crown Prince had not expected that after being too busy to visit Lie Changan for a mere two or three days, he would find the man looking even worse than when he had been unconscious—as if he had fallen deathly ill all over again.

"What has happened to you?"

The Crown Prince strode into the room, utterly bewildered by the sight of Lie Changan’s decadent, withered appearance. Logically, given how much Guli doted on him and cared for his well-being, she surely would have tended to his every need. How could he look as though he had been mistreated?

Upon hearing the Crown Prince’s inquiry, Lie Changan offered a salutation, but lacking the strength to explain, he merely pulled his lips into a stiff, hollow smile.

Seeing his silence, the Crown Prince’s gaze fell upon the few military treatises resting beside him. Recalling the "allure" of those books, he burst into laughter. "Don't tell me you’ve reduced yourself to this state by reading strategy? These books may be rare, out-of-print treasures, but they aren't worth exhausting yourself over. If Guli finds out, she’ll give me a real talking-to. I lent them to you to help pass the time, not to have you ruin your health. She certainly won't let me off the hook."

At the mention of Guli, Lie Changan’s lowered eyelids flickered slightly. He recalled that since that day, she had not come to see him for two full days.

He wondered if she were angry. He worried that perhaps he had spoken too harshly, and he spent his time questioning what she was doing these past two days. Why had she not come? Had she found something more amusing and cast him to the back of her mind?

"The Princess... what has she been doing these past two days?"

Lie Changan hesitated, his thin lips parting as he finally asked the question. He had to know.

"You're asking me?"

The Crown Prince was stunned. "You live in the same palace, and you’re asking me?"

Having witnessed how inseparable and affectionate Guli was toward him, he had assumed that since Lie Changan moved into the Yunyan Palace, the two would be stuck together like glue. How could it sound as if they hadn't seen each other in days?

The Crown Prince answered truthfully, "I’ve been too busy to come by these past few days myself, which is why I only saw her today at the Empress Dowager’s Yannian Palace. She should still be there now, keeping the Empress Dowager company, chatting and amusing her. I heard the Empress Dowager invited a theater troupe into the palace, so naturally, she went to join in the festivities."

Lie Changan felt a bitter smile bloom in his heart.

As expected, he had been overthinking things.

He should have known—she was so carefree and heartless, how could she possibly be angry? She likely couldn't have been happier to know he didn't care for her. Without that burden on her mind, she had simply found a new diversion and discarded him, an insignificant person, into the recesses of her memory.

Only he was left, pining for her, turning himself into this broken, wretched mess.

The Crown Prince had come with matters of state to discuss, so he did not pay close attention to Lie Changan’s anomalous behavior. He continued, "You have heard of the remnants of the previous dynasty, haven't you?"

Hearing the phrase "remnants of the previous dynasty" again, Lie Changan was no longer unfamiliar with it. He nodded. "Yes. What are your instructions, Your Highness?"

"It is like this," the Crown Prince said, sighing heavily. "I have guessed who the mastermind is behind the groups of assassins that targeted Guli and me in Lihuai County, but I am currently hampered by a lack of evidence. They have led me step-by-step into a trap, directing all the conspiracies and sparks of conflict toward the remnants of the previous dynasty."

"His Majesty is furious. For years, there have been rumors of these remnants stirring in various regions, which has always weighed heavily on his mind. This time, because these 'remnants' nearly cost Guli her life and caused her to suffer so greatly, his rage is impossible to quell. For these past few days, he has been ordering me to thoroughly investigate the movements and disturbances of these remnants across the land."