That night, Zhao Zhang Wei spent a lot of time in the Imperial Garden.
Remembering how the prince had been asking about Wangfei's whereabouts eagerly in the past few days, Eunuch Zhang wanted to ask him if he ever noticed wangfei coming to the Imperial Garden.
However, he never got any such chance.
Before he could ask Zhao Zhang Wei this question, Zhao Zhang Wei noticed him and ordered him to make some arrangements so that Concubine Shaolin could sit there.
Disappointment flickered in Shaolin's eyes for a moment as she glanced at the empty space beside Zhao Zhang Wei.
He asked to make separate arrangements for her instead of allowing her to sit beside him.
She was his concubine but he could not let her even sit beside him.
Bitterness surfaced inside her heart as she remembered Yi Huiqing sitting beside Zhao Zhang Wei during the three days of the Mid Autumn banquet celebration.
However, she knew very well to hide her bitterness from Zhao Zhang Wei who was too lost in remembering his mother on her death anniversary.
Sitting arrangements were soon made for Concubine Shaolin.
For a long time, she told all the incidents her mother had told about Noble Consort Shu.
On the other hand, the Xinhe Palace was soon filled with rumors that the prince was now finally moving his eyes away from wangfei.
Now the target of new favor was Concubine Shaolin…the concubine who was not even visited by the prince on her first night in Xinhe Palace.
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The sky was starting to brighten.
Outside the cave, An Ping was hiding behind a tree, guarding the entrance.
His hawk-like eyes looked in every direction. He didn't sleep the whole night as he was afraid that more shadow guards would try to attack them.
He had covered the cave fully with leaves, branches, and trees so that if someone even tried to attack then they would not be able to find the place where his master and Lady Li were.
He had wanted to go to Xi Manor but couldn't do so as leaving Lady Li alone with his unconscious master didn't seem wise to him.
An Ping was sure that other shadow guards from Xi Manor must be looking for them in the forest as his master had ordered An Si to bring them to help. However, since they were very deep inside the forests, it was no wonder that they have not been able to find them.
On the other hand, inside the silent cave, the atmosphere was a little strange.
Lying on the stone bed, Li Rui was sleeping peacefully.
A moment later, her eyelashes fluttered slowly and she gradually opened her eyes. The sound of birds chirping instantly fell in her ears that could be heard from outside the cave.
However, it was not something that Li Rui should pay attention to.
All of her senses were attentive to the man who was staring at her without blinking his red eyes.
Hovering over Li Rui's body, Xi Ying's red eyes looked at Li Rui with so much intensity that Li Rui who had not feared anyone suddenly swallowed nervously.
Confusion flickered in her eyes when she felt that she was lying on the stone bed.
Hadn't she just closed her eyes leaning her back against the wall?
She had actually not wanted to sleep and take care of Xi Ying all night as she was afraid that he would catch fever or his wound could get infected.
However, in between all this, she also remembered that she was now pregnant. It was not only her life she was responsible for but also her child's.
And she had promised Xi Ying that she would protect their child.
So Li Rui had closed her eyes for a few moments and decided to take a rest. However, it seemed that her exhaustion won over her firm determination of talking only a small rest.
She wondered just how long she had been sleeping on this stone bed where Xi Ying should be resting for.
Also…just how long Xi Ying had been staring at her like this?
She couldn't even feel any weight of his body on hers. She glanced down and saw him supporting all of his weight on his two arms as he completely hovered over her body.
A frown marred Li Rui's body and she instantly said
"You can't rest your whole weight on your arms. Here …lie down."
As Li Rui said this, she was about to move away, however, she couldn't do so.
Her waist was grabbed suddenly and she was hugged tightly.
"No…don't go anywhere…"
The frown on Li Rui's forehead went deeper.
She seemed to have heard some trembling in Xi Ying's voice. So she couldn't stop herself from asking
"Xi Ying …are you feeling uncomfortable?"
At this moment, Li Rui was just worried for Xi Ying so she didn't pay any attention to using honorifics.
She tried to pull Xi Ying away so that she can climb down from the stone bed and then check the wound on his back.
However, Li Rui, no matter how much strength she used, couldn't move Xi Ying away from her body.
Her waist was held tightly by Xi Ying and his whole torso was lying on her upper body.
Li Rui frowned. She knew that Xi Ying would not have done this knowing that she was pregnant if he was fully unconscious.
She was about to say something when she suddenly felt something wet on her neck.
Her whole body went stiff suddenly as Xi Ying buried his face in her neck.
"Rui…don't hate me …don't leave me alone. I will do whatever you want me to do. I will not show you my face if that's what you want. Just …don't leave me alone in this world…"
The whispers fell in her ears that came out of none other than Xi Ying's mouth.
Li Rui, on the other hand, was still staring blankly at the ceiling of the cave as she tried to comprehend what was going on.
She could sense the despair, helplessness, and vulnerability in Xi Ying's voice.
Was he crying?
She wondered as she again felt some moisture on the skin of her neck.
"Xi Ying…are you okay?"
She whispered softly as she tried to look at his face by pushing his shoulders a little. However, the man didn't seem to have any wish to let her see his face as if he didn't want her to see his weak self.
He resisted strongly and continued to hide his face in her neck as he continued to hold his waist tightly.
"Don't leave me …Rui…"
The vulnerable whisper fell in her ears again.
This time, she didn't try again to push him away from herself.
She lied there without any struggle.
"Rui….My Rui…"
Whispers fell in her ears in every few moments making her heart skip a beat every time with the vulnerabilities they held.
The wetness on her neck never got dry and she was sure that Xi Ying was really crying.
In her mind, she imagined the dignified prime minister crying like this, and Li Rui suddenly felt a little bit of discomfort inside her heart.
For the next few moments, she herself was not aware of what she was doing.
Her hands slowly started to rise on their own and she hugged Xi Ying's waist gently where he didn't have any wound.
Slowly she started to pat his back gently just like she used to do with Xi Ling when he used to miss his father in Xi Ying's absence.
"Ssshhhh…everything will be alright.
The arms around her waist only tightened in response and the head buried inside her neck only went deeper as if he wished to merge them together.
"My Rui…so sweet …"
It was a strange but peaceful morning.
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦