It’s Really Too Dark

She jerked her head up, her eyes gleaming bright, as if someone had lit two tiny lanterns within her pupils.

That joy arrived directly, purely, with no concealment and no pretense.

Gu Xiaoli's reaction was even more outwardly expressive.

The corners of her lips curled upward, lifting even higher than Lin Qingyan's, and two shallow dimples appeared on her cheeks.

They seemed to hold two pools of honey, so sweet they were almost about to spill over.

She unconsciously shuffled half a step forward, wanting to draw closer to Gu Chengyin's side, but her foot had hardly lifted before she drew it back again.

She shot a furtive glance at Lin Qingyan, then ultimately stood obediently in place.

Yet the delight simply couldn't be hidden—it spilled out from the corners of her eyes and the arch of her brows all at once.

Luo Zhao watched this scene unfold and felt even more exasperated.

Her gaze swept back and forth across Lin Qingyan's and Gu Xiaoli's faces.

Taking in every nuance of their thrilled, eager expressions, she felt that stifled rage in her chest surge upward another notch.

It was all Gu Chengyin's fault—he was the instigator, he was the philanderer, he was the two-timing scoundrel.

Why, then, had he ended up as the one being forgiven?

Why?

The sky over the Crown Prince's palace was far too dark!

Dark beyond the point of seeing one's own hand in front of one's face, so dark that right and wrong, yes and no, were indistinguishable.

It was Gu Chengyin who scattered his affections everywhere, yet in the end, two of the three women were actively apologizing and admitting fault to him.

The third, namely her, Luo Zhao, hadn't apologized, but had instead been used by him as a teaching example for the other two.

Gu Chengyin had lost nothing at all—rather, he'd profited handsomely.

Lin Qingyan had become more obedient, Gu Xiaoli more well-behaved.

And as for her, Luo Zhao, although she'd been angry enough to bite him.

But after the bite?

Wasn't she still sitting here, watching him continue to scheme and orchestrate?

The sky over the Crown Prince's palace was simply too dark!

But Lin Qingyan paid no heed whatsoever to Luo Zhao's odd expression.

At this moment, her mind and heart were entirely occupied with Gu Chengyin—how could she spare a glance at Luo Zhao's face?

After obtaining Gu Chengyin's forgiveness, she relaxed completely.

The combative stance she'd worn in the courtyard moments ago had vanished entirely.

In its place was the softness and closeness she reserved solely for Gu Chengyin.

So Lin Qingyan immediately pressed herself to Gu Chengyin's side.

Her movement was natural and familiar, as if it were something she'd done countless times.

She turned sideways, reached out, and slid her slender arm through the crook of Gu Chengyin's elbow.

Then with a gentle pull inward, she looped his arm within her own embrace.

Her fingers rested naturally on his forearm, pressing in slightly, as if confirming that this person truly existed right beside her.

Her shoulder leaned softly against his, and through a thin layer of fabric, they could feel each other's body heat.

Then Lin Qingyan's gaze drifted downward, landing on the imperial edict unrolled in Gu Chengyin's hand.

The golden-yellow silk brocade glowed softly in the lamplight, Emperor Luo's will preserved in precise, forceful brushstrokes.

Lin Qingyan's eyes lingered on several key phrases for a moment.

Her name. His name.

From the instant she'd laid eyes on the edict, her gaze seemed glued to it, unable to pull away from those two names.

The betrothal—it was a marriage decree between her and Gu Chengyin.

Emperor Luo's words were golden, his edict written in black and white, binding her name and his together in writing.

Rendered with the imperial brush, stamped with the imperial jade seal.

In this world, there was no more legitimate marriage contract than this.

So once again, she had won—from the moment she'd first met Gu Chengyin, to winning Gu Chengyin himself, to this edict.

Every time, it was she who triumphed. Every time, it embodied what it meant to say Lin Qingyan wanted it, Lin Qingyan got it.

Gu Xiaoli watched this scene, her little mouth pouting slightly.

Her gaze settled on Lin Qingyan's hand wrapped around Gu Chengyin's arm, lingering on those slender, fair fingers for a moment.

Then it drifted to Gu Chengyin's captured arm, and finally moved away, landing on the floor in front of her own toes.

Her lips pushed out just a little, carrying a hint of small grievance and a trace of suppressed envy.

Just moments ago in the courtyard, she'd felt she had the right to say such things.

Her brother had shared the marriage vows with her, and she'd carved those few sentences onto her dao heart.

In that moment, Gu Xiaoli had truly believed she was the one closest to her brother.

But now it was different.

She'd just apologized, admitted her mistake, acknowledged that she'd been inconsiderate earlier.

Having admitted her fault, she could no longer stand before her brother with the same righteous confidence as before.

Besides, Elder Sister Qingyan had His Majesty's edict—it was legitimate and proper. What did she have to compete with?

She only had those few marriage vows, and those vows were the oath her brother had made her swear.

Though in her heart they weighed heavier than any imperial edict, in others' eyes, they counted for nothing at all.

So Gu Xiaoli merely pouted and said nothing.

Then she obediently walked to the seat on the other side of the desk and sat down.

That seat was neither too close nor too far from Gu Chengyin—exactly one desk's distance away.

She didn't press herself to Gu Chengyin's side like Lin Qingyan had, nor did she try to fight for anything.

She simply sat quietly, resting her hands under her chin, cradling her little head.

Her elbows rested on the desk, her wrists bent slightly, palms cupping her cheeks.

It squished her exquisitely pretty, world-weary little face into a slightly deformed shape, giving her an endearing, clumsy charm.

Then her big eyes fixed unblinkingly on Gu Chengyin.

Her gaze was so focused that it seemed as though nobody else existed in the entire hall besides him.

Her eyelashes were long and curled, and every blink was like fanning two little feather brushes, casting flickering shadows beneath her eyes.

Her eyes were bright—bright as an autumn lake teeming with the entire season.

And in that water's surface reflected Gu Chengyin's profile.

In her gaze were adoration, dependence, joy, and a sour ache carefully tucked away.

Gu Xiaoli just watched quietly, without fuss, without clamor, without playing sweet or acting coy—she simply watched.

Seeing how things stood, Luo Zhao also knew that for now, she'd have to accept this situation.

She drew a deep breath, pressing that surging anger in her chest back down bit by bit.

Her gaze shifted away from Lin Qingyan's hand on Gu Chengyin's arm, away from Gu Xiaoli's chubby-cheeked face cradled in her hands.

Finally, it settled on the golden edict before Gu Chengyin.

The focus now was clearly no longer the lovelorn battlefield.

The battlefield was already over.

Lin Qingyan and Gu Xiaoli had apologized and admitted fault, and Gu Chengyin had forgiven them.

Now the two of them—one clinging to his arm reading the edict, one sitting across from him propping her chin up and staring—

The atmosphere, though not exactly merry and heartwarming, had at least returned to a surface-level calm.

If she kept harping on what had just happened, she'd only look petty and narrow-minded.