298 Embrace The Change (1/2)

Imperial Palace, Wuyi

Li Xueyue didn't realize how lonely the Palace would be until the first morning that they didn't have breakfast together.

The Emperor was too preoccupied with paperwork. Her mother was whisked away to fulfill her Empress duties. The twins were also sent off for their duties as soon as they had awoken, leaving both of the daughters to eat in their respective rooms.

What she missed was not a meal together, but time that they should've spent chatting around the table. Much has changed. And she wasn't ready for loneliness.

Li Xueyue didn't want to be holed up in her room, all alone. Thus, she toured the garden with a stomach filled with nerves.

Yet again, she had only eaten small bites here and there. It just didn't feel the same. She didn't know why.

”What could be so interesting about this ripped up garden?”

Li Xueyue swiveled around in a heartbeat. She was astonished to see Wen Jinkai standing a few feet away from her. When did he get here?

”Your mother seemed to have busied herself with redecorating the tens of gardens in the Palace.The flowers that used to grow here were all snipped off.”

Li Xueyue bit her bottom lip. ”If anyone of them held meaning to you or to the late Empress, you can always tell my mother. She's kind enough to compromise.”

”I've already informed her this morning. The ones by the late Empress's residence will be preserved.”

Li Xueyue was taken aback by this. For a split second there, she saw remorse and melancholy flash upon his suave features. It left as quickly as it came. Her heart was heavy with sympathy for him.

”I'm sorry that you lost everyone,” Li Xueyue slowly said. She didn't want him to think this emotion of hers suggested something she didn't intend. Did he have to carry himself like an abandoned puppy?

His shoulders were still raised and taut, but it slightly slouched. The confidence that he carried himself with had dimmed. He was everything that he had always been, yet he was different.

”I don't need your pity.”

”I wasn't going to offer any,” Li Xueyue responded with a small smile. ”But you can think as you wish,” she added on.

Li Xueyue settled herself onto one of the wooden benches. She liked this part of the gardens, since it allowed her to be under the shade, but within sight of the flowers.

Li Xueyue wished she could see the final product of the renovated gardens. Without a doubt, her mother's flowers would fill this palace with more life.

Wen Jinkai approached her bench but didn't sit down. He leaned against it and folded his arms across his chest. ”Do you feel like a replacement for Minghua?”

”No, but you definitely viewed me like that,” Li Xueyue calmly said.

Li Xueyue used to be offended by his intentions, but now, she couldn't bring herself to even care.

All of that was in the past.

She had learned to accept it and move on. There was no point in dwelling on the unchangeable. She refused to waste her time worrying over these things.

”It was never my intention to do so,” Wen Jinkai explained.

He cast her a side glance and held back a sigh. What a fool he had been to the women in his life. ”You certainly reminded me of Minghua, and at times when I stood up for you, the thought of her crossed my mind, but I never wanted to replace her. There is no one in this world who can fill her spot.”

”Except her,” Li Xueyue stated. She tore her gaze from a butterfly that had landed upon a flower. ”You should go and beg her for forgiveness. What are you doing here in the first place?”

Wen Jinkai pressed his lips together. ”You're departing for Hanjian soon. In the end, that man won, didn't he? I wanted to see you one last time. To make amends.”

”He didn't win anything. You were never a competitor in his eyes,” Li Xueyue remarked.

Wen Jinkai chuckled at her bitter words. Even in the end, she was still ruthless and cold.

How had he not seen it sooner? He always thought her frigid words were because of the irritation she felt for him. Who knew it was actually a part of her behavior?

”Besides,” Li Xueyue said. ”There are no amends to make.”

”I've said it before, but I'm sorry for hurting you that day. I didn't realize I was so rough, or the fact that I was even—”

”You need to stop being so possessive and manipulative,” Li Xueyue interrupted. ”That is not the proper way to treat a woman. Even if you are in the wrong, and your temper gets the best of you. Neither of these are excuses for your behaviour.”

Wen Jinkai was irked by the snipes she took at him. He didn't come prepared to be lectured by her, like an older sister. It felt weird, especially because he was much older than her, by at least three or four years.

”I'm not trying to offend you. I just want us to end on good terms since we started that way,” Li Xueyue added on.

She turned her chin to peer up at him and his stormy expression. His brows were drawn together in concentration and he was watching the gardens.

Wen Jinkai was unable to accept her advice at the moment, but it had gotten through him.

”Let's talk about something else,” he asserted.