"You are still angry about this!" Lu Fengjin said, deeply disappointed with Chu Yueli. "It was merely a trivial matter, yet you are still holding onto it!"
"Does the Prince consider it a trivial matter that my eldest brother's life was ruined?"
He was disappointed in Chu Yueli, but was not Chu Yueli equally disappointed in him to the extreme? The Lu Fengjin of the past—impartial, just, and unwavering—had long since vanished without a trace.
"If the Prince truly believes it is a trivial matter, why don't you let her stab you once next time to see how it feels?"
Lu Fengjin imagined the scene, and a sudden tightness gripped his lower abdomen. A deep sense of helplessness washed over him. "Forget it, Ali. You stabbed her too, letting her... Do you know how badly she was hurt? Not only was her body injured, but her pride was wounded as well. That knife wound made her feel she was no longer a flawless maiden..."
"When was she ever flawless?"
"Ali!" Lu Fengjin said with a trace of displeasure. "I don't want to argue with you. Let bygones be bygones! As for you and General Chu leaving your posts without authorization—"
"I had someone gallop back to send a message to the Emperor, earnestly requesting His Majesty's permission to bring my eldest brother back to the capital for treatment. The Emperor has already agreed, and I have obtained the imperial decree to leave at any time."
Chu Yueli's detached gaze fell upon his handsome face, which instantly flushed red. Expressionless, she said, "If the Prince doesn't believe me, you can go into the palace and ask the Emperor yourself."
Lu Fengjin glared at her, completely unexpected that she had bypassed him to handle so much behind his back.
A wave of anger still lingered, but catching sight of the wooden box clutched in her arms, he swallowed back the stifled frustration in his chest. Since she had brought a gift and showed a willingness to reconcile, he was not petty enough to hold on. Besides, he had another purpose in coming today.
"Very well, let's forget the past! Ali, in ten days, it will be the day of our grand wedding. I came today because there are some things I wish to say to you."
Chu Yueli remained silent, simply listening quietly. Lu Fengjin seemed to hesitate; words like these were, after all, difficult to utter. Yet the wedding date was near, and this matter could no longer be delayed.
"Ali, I... strictly speaking, I didn't need to discuss this with you, but after all, we have known each other for many years. I hope we can live together in peace in the future, without..."
"Is the Prince looking to marry Tuoba Feiyuan?" Chu Yueli's slender fingers brushed across the wooden box. Her quiet demeanor made it impossible for Lu Fengjin to guess what she was thinking.
Her thin lips curved upward into an ironic smile. "Half a month ago, didn't the Prince say you would forget her soon?"
Lu Fengjin turned his face away, avoiding her gaze. The smile at the corners of her lips made him feel somewhat embarrassed.
"Ali, I have known you for many years, and I have always respected you. But in the past... in the past, I did not know the taste of romantic love, which was why I mistook what we shared for true passion, until I met Yuan'er."
Lu Fengjin let out a soft sigh and said helplessly, "Ali, I am sorry. I am fond of Yuan'er; she is the only woman I want in this lifetime."
"Neither the Emperor nor Consort Rui will ever agree to you marrying the daughter of a bandit..."
"Those were crimes committed by her father and brother, what does that have to do with her?" Lu Fengjin immediately interrupted her.
"Since your mind is made up, you should go beg the Emperor for a marriage decree yourself. Why come looking for me?" How could Chu Yueli not know the difficulties he currently faced? With Tuoba Feiyuan's background, how could it be easy for him to take her as his bride?
Lu Fengjin tightened his grip slightly, turning things over in his mind for a long time before finally looking at her. Chu Yueli was sipping tea with a leisurely and carefree expression, which only served to highlight his own vague sense of wretchedness.
At last, Lu Fengjin said in a deep voice, "Ali, originally I only intended to marry Feiyuan. But since we have known each other for many years, I do not want my breaking off the engagement to plunge you into ruin."
Chu Yueli raised an eyebrow. Her flawless face bore no excessive emotion. "And so?"
"And so, I can choose not to break off the engagement. We can still proceed with the wedding as originally planned, making you the honorable Princess Jin. But I have two conditions."
Lu Fengjin pressed his thin lips together, looking as though he found it extremely difficult, yet he hardened his heart and said, "First, you must personally go and beg the Imperial Father to let me take Yuan'er as my concubine, so that she may bow before the ancestral tablets and enter the family on the very same day as you."