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

That night, Pei Yi did not go back to his room to sleep. After Xiao Mengxi left, he asked Yun Ce to bring some wine. Looking at the snow outside the window, he felt much more depressed.

Finally, he slept on the desk for more than an hour.

To be precise, after Wei Zhaoning left, he didn't get a single good night's sleep. He didn't even dare to go back to that room and just made do in the study every day.

He often didn't even dare to close his eyes, because if he fell asleep, everything from that day would turn into a nightmare from which he could never wake up.

He rarely gets real rest. Every night is like this; he needs strong liquor to get a little bit of hazy sleep and get a couple of hours of rest.

He asked himself if he had ever been afraid of anything in his life, and nothing could make him so dejected. Many times he even looked down on himself, but when it happened, it happened. He was finished.

He could only live a miserable life, feeling fortunate for her smile in his dreams, yet also tormented by her hurtful words.

In the end, all he could do was not disturb them.

He used all his strength to restrain himself and force himself not to do anything to hurt Wei Zhaoning, driving himself to the brink of madness.

Only he knew how much he wanted to rush to the Marquis's mansion, snatch Wei Zhaoning back, lock her up, and if she didn't love him, then he would use every means to pry open her heart and force her to fall in love with him.

She likes Lu Zhufeng, so kill Lu Zhufeng and make sure he can never appear in front of Wei Zhaoning again.

His inner thoughts grew darker and darker. His most primal desire was to trap Wei Zhaoning beneath him, so that she could never turn over or escape.

But humans and wild animals are ultimately different.

Even if he had imagined these ruthless methods a thousand times in his mind, Pei Yi would only ever think of Wei Zhaoning's words: "Please, don't bother me anymore. I like him, and I want to be with him."

If he were to disturb her again, it would be a source of pain for Wei Zhaoning.

He thought about how he had been gone for five years, and how he hadn't been able to protect her during those five years, which he felt indebted to her. Now, how could he possibly bear to cause her any more pain?

He doesn't even qualify.

He wanted to satisfy his deepest desires, even at the cost of using any means necessary, but he couldn't bear to hurt the people he loved.

In the end, it can only be a dead end; he can't lock her up, he can only lock himself up.

They lived such a miserable and agonizing life.

"Your Highness... Your Highness?"

Yun Ce said softly, and gently nudged Pei Yi with his finger.

Pei Yi snapped out of his daze and realized that he had closed his eyes again without realizing it, losing all awareness of his surroundings and becoming immersed in his emotions.

"Your Highness, are you alright?"

Yun Ce asked cautiously; he had actually been scared to death just now.

She clearly saw that the prince had woken up, but no matter how she called him, he wouldn't respond, and later even his breathing became weak.

"It's nothing."

Pei Yi's voice was devoid of any emotion, but Yun Ce knew that the prince had not slept well again last night. In fact, it could be said that the prince had a very difficult night. He had been guarding outside and heard the sound of wine jars being smashed several times throughout the night.

Only when things gradually quieted down inside did he dare to quietly lead his men in to clean up the mess.

He swallowed hard. "Your Highness, Miss Xiao is kneeling outside."

Pei Yi frowned slightly, his expression as if he had a question mark in his eyes.

Yun Ce: "Miss Xiao has been kneeling outside since before dawn, and she still is now."

"Nonsense." Pei Yi pushed open the door and saw Xiao Mengxi shivering in the snow. The only difference was that her eyes shone with an unwavering determination, determined to achieve her goal.

Pei Yi found this look very familiar; an old friend of his had looked like that, and... Wei Zhaoning would also show this expression.

"Brother Yi, Mengxi knows she was wrong. Mengxi shouldn't have spoken so recklessly. Please, Brother Yi, don't send me away."

The little girl's fragile voice echoed through the snow, but her eyes remained unfrozen by the wind and snow.

Pei Yi took a deep breath. "You don't have to do this."

Xiao Mengxi said, "I respect and love you. I offended you last night. I know you feel brotherly affection for me, but that's five years of brotherly affection. I don't want us to make things so awkward. You have no feelings for me, so I won't force you in the future, nor will I say anything that might cause misunderstandings. I will avoid suspicion, but... I've lost my sister, and Brother Yi wants to drive me away. I really have nothing left..."

Pei Yi was slightly moved. In fact, when he woke up this morning, he also felt that what he said last night had indeed hurt the girl's self-esteem.

But the thought was fleeting. The regent would never feel guilty or want to make amends for what he had said. Even if it was wrong, he would just let it remain wrong.

Who would have thought that Xiao Mengxi would have been kneeling here for so long in this freezing weather?

"Get up. There's nothing to fuss about. I've said before, if you don't have any ulterior motives, you can stay as long as you like."

Xiao Mengxi's eyes finally softened, turning red in an instant. "Brother Yi, you really...you really forgive me? You really won't hold it against me? I really know I was wrong, I wasn't just saying that for fun, Brother Yi, please...please don't be distant with me anymore..."

Pei Yi nodded, signaling Yun Ce to pull Xiao Mengxi up from the snow.

After Xiao Mengxi got up, she wanted to say something, but Pei Yi just waved his hand, telling her not to say anything more, and took off his cloak and handed it to her.

Then he took Yun Ce with him and left.

He wouldn't take such a minor incident to heart, because he had more important things to do. He also had no intention of arguing with a little girl. As long as she knew she was wrong, it didn't really matter to him whether she was in the palace or not.

Xiao Mengxi was already frozen stiff and sneezing repeatedly. She wrapped the cloak around herself and looked at Pei Yi's tall back while shivering.

"Miss! Let's go inside quickly, what if you catch a cold? Why do you have to do this to yourself? You're only hurting your health. You're healthy, but you can't treat yourself like this," her maid said anxiously.

Xiao Mengxi seemed oblivious to the cold, a sharp glint flashing before his eyes.

"How could he forgive me if I didn't risk my life? Since he won't listen to reason, I'll have to resort to force. You forced me to do this, Brother Yi."

Having said that, she adjusted the Regent's cloak, brought it close to her nose, greedily inhaling the scent of the Regent's masculine charm, and gently closed her eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, they were cold and sinister. "Go and spread the word. They're right. Trying to be gentle won't work. Heh."