Since she had decided not to let him know of her feelings, she naturally kept her distance from him.
Her body was tainted, she was unworthy of someone as good as him.
Someone as good as him would definitely be troubled if he knew that she was fond of him.
Perhaps he would even marry her out of sympathy for her being an orphan, to fulfill her wishes.
But she didn’t want sympathy.
She also didn’t want to make things difficult for him. Even if he was willing to marry her, his mother wouldn’t agree.
It was better this way.
They might seem like strangers, but they could still exchange a few words now and then, and she could catch occasional glimpses of him. That was enough to satisfy her.
Her heart ached fiercely...
Once out of Prince Yi’s Mansion, Tobanya turned left.
She walked slowly, taking measured steps to the left, staring ahead with a vacant look in her eyes.
It wasn’t until she was a fair distance from Prince Yi’s Mansion that Tobanya turned a corner and entered an alley.
The alley was long, narrow, and quiet, with not a soul in sight. As soon as Tobanya stepped in, she leaned against the wall, clutching her chest with one hand and covering her mouth with the other, tears rapidly filling her eyes, her heart aching so much she couldn’t breathe.
It’s better for just me to suffer, you deserve someone better.
On the other side, Meng Zhuqing saw Tobanya leave and initially wanted to send two guards after her, but he thought it might offend or disgust her. Worse, she might fly into a rage, and he didn’t want their relationship to become that tense. With this in mind, Meng Zhuqing did not send guards to follow and protect Tobanya.
Meng Zhuqing heavily sighed in his heart, filled with both helplessness and worry.
When it came to her, he supposed he could never really be at ease for the rest of his life.
Not wanting to appear unusual, Meng Zhuqing did not linger after Tobanya left, and he too exited Prince Yi’s Mansion.
After all, there were still things he had to attend to.
Even after a nap in the afternoon, An Jing and the others did not get up, still lying in bed.
The four children were originally lying on their backs with eyes wide open, but after waking up briefly, they turned over and lay next to An Jing and Xiao Changyi, chatting with them with bright smiles.
Seeing the playful children, An Jing and Xiao Changyi comfortably lay on their sides, watching the little ones.
The family of six frolicked on the bed together.
"Yun Er, come recite ’Quiet Night Thoughts’ for daddy and mommy, and your brothers," An Jing suddenly sat up, pulled An Yiyun into her arms, and smilingly asked him to recite the poem.
Among the four children, it was her youngest son who had the best memory. He memorized "Quiet Night Thoughts" not long after she taught it to him, while the other three took quite some time to get it.
The four children only knew that poem.
"What ’Quiet Night Thoughts’?" An Yiyun looked at An Jing with a blank expression, as if he didn’t understand what she was talking about.
An Yiqing immediately raised a small hand and cheerfully said to An Jing, "Qinger knows! It’s the one that starts with ’Before my bed, the moonlight glows’!"
"Oh, our Qinger is indeed clever," An Jing praised An Yiqing before turning to An Yiyun again, "Yun Er, it’s what your third brother said. ’Before my bed, the moonlight glows.’ Do you still remember the last three lines?"
"Then recite it for daddy, mommy, and your brothers to hear."
An Yiyun then recited in his childish voice, word by word, "Before my bed, the moonlight glows, I suspect it casts frost on the floor; I raise my head to view the moon, then lower it, missing my hometown."