After the divorce, I was adorned in a phoenix robe, while my ex-husband's entire family dug up

The Regent's Palace.

Xiao Rongwang kicked a pebble on the roadside, cursing under his breath as if venting his anger.

"That's enough, stop upsetting your brother." The Seventh Princess nudged Prince Rong.

"You've just returned. Your brother hasn't seen you for so long, he might have a good talk with you. Just don't say anything you shouldn't, understand?"

Pei Quan sighed, "I understand."

The inner palace doors were tightly closed. Yun Ce stood guard at the entrance and bowed to the young Prince Rong when he saw him arrive.

"How is my elder brother?"

Yun Ce didn't speak, he just shook his head, looking very helpless.

Pei Quan focused his mind and gently pushed open the door. He only opened it a crack, but the overwhelming stench of alcohol inside hit him, causing him to cough violently.

The room was completely dark and silent, as if dead.

A dozen or so empty wine jars were scattered haphazardly on the table, the wine dripping down the edge and forming small puddles on the bluestone slab, emitting a strong smell that made one's throat tighten.

Pei Yi leaned against the soft couch, his black brocade robe half-open, his jade belt hanging loosely at his waist, his black hair falling messily, obscuring his eyebrows and eyes, revealing only a section of his taut jawline.

He was still clutching a half-empty jar of strong liquor in his hand, the liquid sloshing around and splashing onto his clothes, but he was completely unaware.

He raised his hand and gulped down a large mouthful of liquor. The spicy liquid burned his throat, causing him to cough violently. A sharp pain shot through his chest, but his eyes welled up with tears.

The hall was eerily quiet, save for his heavy breathing and the occasional muffled cough.

Pei Quan suddenly felt a little lost.

In his memory, his elder brother never drank alcohol, and even at palace banquets, he would not drink an extra cup.

The last time my elder brother drank heavily was a year ago. No one knows what happened, but he locked himself in the palace, refusing to be exposed to any light, attending court, or dealing with state affairs. No one could persuade him otherwise.

Even when drunk, he didn't cause any trouble. He just lay on the floor, his black hair spread all over the place, his blood-red eyes staring unblinkingly at the ceiling, as if he couldn't feel any pain and wanted to stare his way through the roof.

He didn't say a word, just drank silently, not acting like a drunkard, but as calm as a madman.

He was depressed for more than ten days, not eating or drinking anything, and almost got drunk to death.

If he hadn't been discovered in time, he might have lost his life.

When the imperial physician arrived at the residence, he found that the regent had a high fever and was on the verge of death. The entire Imperial Hospital was in a panic and it took a lot of effort to pull him back from the brink of death.

When Pei Quan rushed back from Meishan, the first thing he said to his elder brother when he opened his eyes was, "It would have been better if he were dead."

His eyes were filled with deep despair, and he had no desire to live at all. No one knew what had happened.

Then something suddenly happened, and the elder brother cheered up, as if he wasn't the one who was depressed and spent his days drinking. This incident scared everyone quite a bit, but fortunately he recovered later, and no one dared to mention it again.

Pei Quan cursed inwardly, "Why is it always like this? Nothing good ever comes back from Meishan."

This situation is more serious than the last one.

"Brother..." Pei Quan called out softly.

But Pei Yi seemed not to hear him and continued to pick up the wine jar and pour it down his throat.

It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Pei Quan cautiously approached and snatched the wine jar from Pei Yi's hand. "Royal brother!"

Pei Yi seemed to realize that there was someone else in the room. He lifted his sickly eyes, glanced at them, and said coldly, "Get out."

A surge of anger rose in Pei Quan's chest. "It was because of Wei Zhaoning a year ago, wasn't it?"

Pei Yi clenched his fist and punched the wall. "I said, get out."

"Brother, how could you become so despondent because of a woman? Look at yourself now, you truly disappoint me!"

Pei Quan is someone who can't suppress his emotions. Despite Pei Ran's repeated instructions, he couldn't help but blurt out his innermost thoughts upon seeing this scene. He just had to get it off his chest!

Pei Yi didn't speak and fell into a long silence again.

Halfway up the mountain, he stood up, staggered a couple of steps, and took another jar of strong liquor from the wine cabinet.

"Go back to your Meishan."

Pei Quan was furious. "Brother! We haven't seen each other for almost a year! And you're in such a hurry to get rid of me as soon as you see me?"

"How could you be so pathetic! People are practically begging to become his concubines, what's the point of you wallowing in despair here! Are you even the regent anymore?"

"Yun Ce!" Pei Yi roared, panting heavily.

Yun Ce immediately came in. "Your Highness, please come out first. Let the Prince have some peace and quiet. Don't add fuel to the fire."

Pei Quan: "I'm not leaving! Royal brother! I came all this way not to see you in this terrible state!"

He struggled and tried to attack Yun Ce several times, but he was using both his mouth and hands at the same time, which made him quite flustered. It was normal that he couldn't attend to one thing at a time. Taking advantage of his distraction, Yun Ce chopped at his neck and dragged him away.

Pei Yi lay down, and the light outside gradually disappeared. He was hidden in the darkness and was about to be swallowed by it.

He sighed heavily.

To be fair, he's lived his whole life getting whatever he wanted, and there's nothing he's ever really interested in.

The only thing that frustrated me was the Wei Zhaoning incident.

twice.

Why couldn't he keep Wei Zhaoning even after he returned to the capital?

His Majesty's words echoed in his ears: "Seven years of feelings are not so easy to let go of."

Wei Zhaoning also said, "After so many years of relationship with him, I'm just an ordinary person, a flesh-and-blood human being. Even if I were to act foolishly, I couldn't let go of this relationship. In the end, I can't live without him."

The resolute look in her eyes when she said this made it seem as if their time together had been a joke.

Yes, but he only spent a little over half a year with Wei Zhaoning after returning to the capital. Compared to seven years, what is this half a year?

He wasn't being self-deprecating; rather, he simply realized that he lacked the resources to contend with Lu Zhufeng in this situation.

After all, it was Lu Zhufeng who kept her company during the days he was away.

He suddenly felt a pang of regret. Why had he pretended to be a gentleman during all those days and nights that were so close at hand?

He clearly wanted to devour Wei Zhaoning the moment he saw her, so why pretend to be a gentleman?

If it had been sooner, if it had been sooner, would Wei Zhaoning have not gone back?

When he realized this, he was shocked. How could he have such thoughts? Wei Zhaoning would hate him for it.

But what should he do?

Why did he always fall just short of her? Wei Zhaoning never belonged to him; she belonged to another man.