Unrepentant

Chapter 16:He did not rely on her affections for him

Gu Hong Jian kept her promise. She said that he no longer needed to look at her again, and Lin Si Ze really did not look her way in a very long time. He did not know where she withdrew to either.

Lin Si Ze's heart was now in disarray. In addition, the palace was also thrown into an uproar; so, for the time being, he did not want to look at Gu Hong Jian—and she complied to this. Every morning when he rose and looked in the mirror, however, he would see the scar on his lip, causing his mood to become very complicated.

Lin Si Ze was very good at concealing his inner thoughts most of the time—excluding the day of Zuo Ning Yan's death.

Zuo Ning Yan's death had made him very depressed, but he also gave himself a time limit for his grief—a limit of one day.

Although he would never be able to forget this matter, as the mere thought of it had him sighing sorrowfully, he could only restrain his grief. After all, he had too many things to deal with.

Zuo Ning Yan's death had instigated quite a large stir in the capital city.

Most people cursed the Yao family and Yao Tian Ao and talked about how he had hounded Zuo Ning Yan to death. Many cursed the Zuo family as well, saying they had actually forced their daughter to marry that scum Yao Tian Ao and had thus ultimately hounded their daughter to death. From beginning to end, the Zuo family remained silent, never even explaining why they agreed to this marriage.

Zuo Xiang had clearly spoken a few words with the emperor, however, as the emperor's coloration had darkened with anger. The first prince and Imperial Tutor Yao were summoned and ruthlessly reprimanded. Lin Si Ze was also scolded with the same strictness, but it was with a warmer tone and voice. Lin Si Ze knew what the emperor meant in his heart, yet he did not expose a trace of joy. He simply listened to the teachings with a serious bearing, like before, which made the emperor internally become increasingly satisfied with him.

Meanwhile, the emperor's health worsened. Lin Si Ze even heard a whispered discussion between two imperial physicians about how the emperor would not last this winter.

Nevertheless, the emperor continued to remain very calm and had yet to declare his chosen crown prince. In the blink of an eye, three months passed.

In these three months, Lin Si Ze had only seen Gu Hong Jian once.

In fact, he was worried that Gu Hong Jian had actually run away early on into her disappearance, so he had even sent people looking for her. This revealed to him that Gu Hong Jian had, in fact, not left the palace. She had not even left De Ze Palace and had simply hidden away in her room. Because she had an excellent and extremely favorable relationship with Lin Si Ze, she was the Head Palace Maid. This previously also meant that she could basically enjoy master treatment. Therefore, no one would say anything even if she never left her room.

Lin Si Ze knew how Gu Hong Jian's temper ran, however. Just as expected, when he sat in the courtyard alone one night, drinking, he had recalled Zuo Ning Yan's smile as she glanced back and then recalled Gu Hong Jian's tear-filled eyes as she shouted at him. His heart and mind were in chaos; he could not help but sigh lightly.

Just as he sighed, he saw a figure gracefully flit across the rooftops of De Ze Palace. Lin Si Ze's gaze followed that figure, but he just so happened to meet Gu Hong Jian's eyes. The two of them stared into one another's eyes for a short, brief moment. Neither could deduce the deep intentions hidden within each other's gaze. Gu Hong Jian did not remain still for long and confidently returned to her room with ease. Peng— Her door slammed shut.

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The day before Winter Solstice, the emperor suddenly sent down an imperial decree establishing Lin Si Ze as the crown prince. At the moment, the emperor's body was indisposed, so Lin Si Ze held the government within the palm of his hand. The first prince had no choice but to assist Lin Si Ze's rule; he had no right to criticize the emperor.