Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 427 Hypocrisy
Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye.

This time, her soul left her body for too long, and Yan Ciwan was very worried that if she didn't return soon, something might happen to her body.

With a click, Li Baizhou opened the locked box, which contained many odds and ends. These were all gifts he had given to Ning Qingyang before, which Ning Qingyang had later returned.

He reached out and picked up a medical book, his fingers gently stroking the cover. Last night he had a dream in which he returned to fifteen years ago, when his mother was still alive and Ning Qingyang had not left him.

He still looked like a teenager as he handed over a stack of medical books.

"Ah Yang, these are things I brought back from outside the palace. You like to study medicine, so I'm giving them to you."

Ning Qingyang happily accepted the medical book, her eyes crinkling with a smile: "Thank you."

The dream had ended, and Li Baizhou remembered that he hadn't yet delivered this stack of medical books before he and Ning Qingyang parted ways.

He put the medical book back in the box, then picked up the piece of light red cloth. The blurry image of the two of them entwined that night floated into his mind, and his resentment grew stronger.

He originally thought that bestowing Ji Songluo upon Yan Hengyu as a concubine would create discord between Yan Hengyu and Ning Qingyang, causing the couple to drift apart.

But so many years have passed, and he has never received any news of discord between the King of Xizhou and his wife.

Li Baizhou sat down at his desk and began to write.

Yan Ciwan stood right behind him, able to clearly see what he was writing—

"Ah Yang, it's been so long. How have you been? I saw you in my dream last night. The scenes from the past are still vivid in my mind, lingering in my heart and keeping me tossing and turning. I miss you terribly. I know you are now married. I don't want to make things difficult for you. If you would just reply with a few words to let me know that you are well, that would be enough for me."

After the ink dried completely, Li Baizhou folded the letter and stuffed it into an envelope, personally sealed it with beeswax, and ordered someone to secretly deliver it to the Princess of Xizhou.

Yan Ciwan looked at the secret letter that had been sent away, knowing that it would reach her mother, but her mother did not reply, and Li Baizhou's hopes were destined to be dashed.

But Li Baizhou didn't think so. He was very confident that Ning Qingyang still had a place for him in her heart, otherwise Ning Qingyang wouldn't have appeared in his bedroom that night and even threw herself into his arms.

The reason she pretended to ignore him afterwards was probably because she was angry that he had married someone else.

Now, all that's missing between him and Ning Qingyang is an opportunity. If he takes the initiative to lower himself and offer her a way out, Ning Qingyang will surely return to his side.

The scene before him changed. Li Baizhou sat in his bedchamber, gently stroking the piece of water-red fabric. Three years had passed, and he still hadn't received a reply from Ning Qingyang.

He felt angry, but even more so, he felt resentful.

He got up, walked to his desk, and quickly wrote a letter.

By the dim candlelight, Yan Ciwan could clearly see what he had written.

"Ah Yang, I have waited for so many years, yet I have received not a single word from you. Do you still blame me for leaving you so cruelly back then? I wronged you then, but I am no longer the same as before, and I am willing to do everything I can to make it up to you. I believe that I still hold a place in your heart, otherwise you wouldn't have offered yourself to me that night. This is the fabric of the dress you wore that night; I have kept it all this time. Every time I see it, I am reminded of that night, and my longing for you grows ever stronger. I know that you are worried about Yan Hengyu, fearing that he will harm you and the child if he finds out about our relationship. I have a plan. You can poison Yan Hengyu's food when he is off guard. After he dies, I can bring you and your daughter back to Chang'an in style. Once Yan Hengyu is eliminated, there will be no more obstacles between you and me. I await your good news in Chang'an, and I hope you will not disappoint me this time."

Yan Ciwan was furious when she saw it and couldn't help but rush over to tear up the letter.

But her hand went through the letter and she couldn't touch anything.

She could only watch helplessly as Li Baizhou stuffed the letter into the envelope, and he also put the piece of light red cloth into the envelope.

At this moment, Yan Ciwan finally understood why her mother had become so angry that she vomited blood and fainted after seeing the letter. Li Baizhou's letter was not only offensive, but also extremely malicious.

He outwardly flattered Ning Qingyang with kind words, but in reality, he wanted to use Ning Qingyang to get rid of Yan Hengyu.

The scene before her changed again. Yan Ciwan arrived at the Sizheng Hall and saw a eunuch rushing in, presenting a secret letter with both hands.

"Your Majesty, there is an urgent letter from Xizhou."

Upon hearing this, Li Baizhou was overjoyed, thinking that Ning Qingyang had replied. He immediately put down the memorial he had not yet finished reading.

When he received the secret letter from the eunuch, unfolded it, and read its contents, his expression suddenly turned ugly.

It turned out that this was not Ning Qingyang's reply, but a letter announcing her death, containing only a few words—

"Princess Ning Qingyang of Xizhou fell seriously ill and died."

Li Baizhou never expected that after waiting for so long, he would end up with such a result.

The woman who had reached out to him when he was most desperate and helpless was gone.

He sat alone for half a day, and when night fell, he dreamed of Ning Qingyang again. She was still as beautiful and charming as she had been twenty years ago, as if time had not left any trace on her.

He wanted to hold her hand, but he couldn't touch her no matter what he did; it was as if there was an invisible, enormous chasm between them.

When I woke up, it was still dark outside the window.

Li Baizhou summoned someone in and ordered in a deep voice, "Pass down the order to the Secretariat to draft an edict to bestow the title of Princess Leyou upon Yan Ciwan, the daughter of the King of Xizhou, and to arrange her marriage to the Crown Prince."

"Yes."

The eunuch withdrew with the emperor's decree.

Inside the bedchamber, Li Baizhou waved his hand, dismissing all the palace servants.

He opened the locked box and looked at the many things inside. His eyes were filled with longing, and he murmured to himself, "Ayang, I really miss you so much. Yan Ciwan is your daughter. She must look a lot like you. If she could be by my side, it would be some comfort."

Yan Ciwan felt utterly disgusted upon hearing this. If it weren't for Li Baizhou's malicious secret letter, her mother wouldn't have been so angry that she vomited blood, which worsened her condition and ultimately led to her death. Her mother died because of him, yet he still had the nerve to pretend to be affectionate here.

She desperately wanted to rush up to him and tear his hypocritical, sanctimonious face to shreds!
Suddenly, a faint sound of a zither drifted from afar.

Although the sound of the zither was very faint, the familiar melody must be Xiao Wang playing "The Returning Traveler"!
Yan Ciwan perked up and ran without hesitation toward the direction from which the music was coming.

She dashed out of the Zichen Palace as if the wind were blowing through her feet, passing through the long palace corridor, through the tall palace gates, and through one gate after another...

Finally, she arrived at the Xiao residence.

She found the Wei Rui Building with ease and stopped outside the music room. By then, the music had become extremely clear, and every sound reached her ears, causing her heart to beat faster involuntarily.

She stepped over the threshold into the music room and saw Xiao Wang sitting behind the guqin.