097 Returning to the Prince's Residence

After washing and dressing, Duan Nanyu stood in the courtyard, waiting anxiously.

He had deliberately made himself presentable, no longer the miserable wreck he had been these past few days, all so that when she returned, he might leave her with a better impression.

Hope stirred in his heart, yet so too did an inexplicable fear.

For a moment, he seemed to see the resentful look in her eyes. And yet, when he heard that she was coming back, his heart leapt so wildly it nearly took flight; heedless of everything else, he only wanted to see her as quickly as possible.

He remembered promising her days ago that he would bring her mother to the prince’s residence, but matters had delayed him and he had let it slide. This time, he would not go back on his word. He had brought her mother here.

Would she... forgive him?

He gave a soft, self-mocking laugh. Since when had he become so pathetic? The Prince Xiao who once commanded storms and thunder now found himself wanting to win the favor of a woman.

As Yun Xueyan stepped into the Prince Xiao residence, she looked around. The scenery remained the same, yet everything had changed...

Could she still live here without a trace of grievance in her heart?

No. She could not. She no longer could.

Led by the steward, Yun Xueyan followed closely behind, her head slightly bowed. She watched her steps carry her little by little deeper inside, and little by little closer to Duan Nanyu.

The bitterness, sorrow, and hatred in her heart surged upward, so thick they seemed to burn even her throat.

She looked down at the path beneath her feet, then gradually furrowed her brow and lifted her gaze to the steward ahead. "Where are you taking me?" This was clearly not the way to the Moon Pavilion.

At her words, the steward hurriedly turned around, too afraid to raise his head and meet her face. That face was far too terrifying.

"Consort Yan, your Moon Pavilion has already been tidied up and moved to the Morning Dawn Tower. His Highness is waiting for you there."

With that, the steward quickly turned back and continued to lead the way.

She did not care about the frightened, flickering look in the other man’s eyes. She had long since grown used to it. What choked her, however, was that he had once again made decisions on his own.

She gave a helpless, bitter smile. He was the prince—what could possibly be wrong with that?

Standing outside the Morning Dawn Tower, Yun Xueyan lifted her head to look at the pavilion before her, then walked inside.

Not far away, Duan Nanyu stood in a clean robe of dark black. Even in the sunlight, it seemed to carry a chill. His sharp, cold face was carved in clear, resolute lines, and his deep, ink-dark eyes shone as they watched her.

That yearning gaze struck hard at the bottom of her heart, shattering it to pieces.

She could not see even the slightest trace of weariness or decline in him. He had harmed her child, yet she saw no remorse in him; he still lived with effortless ease.

Hatred crashed violently through her. He was a prince—what pain could a child possibly bring him?

Only she would be the one in agony. That child had been severed from her own body.

"Yan'er..." Duan Nanyu called out from afar, urgency trembling in his voice, and beneath the strain of his restraint, his pain still bled through.

The estranged, hateful look in her eyes drove a blade straight into his heart. He did not dare step forward and hold her. He despised his own cowardice.

Yun Xueyan did not move. A breeze passed gently by, lifting the black hair that covered her cheeks and revealing the hideous scar beneath; the once-lovely purity of her face seemed as though it had never existed at all.

"Why?" Duan Nanyu asked. Why had she chosen to reveal her face?

For a moment, Yun Xueyan froze. Then her smile deepened, only to be quickly stained by a bleak, wintry chill.

Why did he ask why?

Was it not his relentless pressure, step by step, that had made her what she was? And he still had the audacity to ask why?