I am the champion of palace intrigue, and even the proud prince bows his head in submission.

Chapter 197 That Lady Kissed Me

During this time, she and Xie Yanli had become much closer, and she hadn't seen him with such an expression in a long time.

Qin Jiuwei patted Xie Jue on the back and whispered a few words in his ear.

Xie Jue nodded obediently, picked up the kitten, and quickly left.

The room became quiet again.

Qin Jiuwei walked up to Xie Yanli and gently touched his face.

"what happened?"

Xie Yanli reached out and placed his hand on hers, holding it in his palm.

He pursed his lips. "It's nothing, I was just thinking about some things from when I was a child."

When I was a child? Qin Jiuwei's eyebrows twitched slightly.

Xie Yanli seemed to have never told her about his childhood.

Qin Jiuwei looked up at him, her expression gentle, "Would my husband be willing to tell me about it?"

The two sat down on the soft couch, the candlelight flickering and illuminating their faces.

“My mother died in childbirth. The following year, my father remarried, and she soon gave birth to Xie Zhongzhi.”

Xie Yanli's voice was very calm, as if he were narrating someone else's story.

"With the birth of the new child, my father and grandmother's attention quickly turned to Xie Zhongzhi. After Xie Zhongzhi got a little older, my father started to pay attention to me, but soon after, Xie Wanning was born."

"I was raised by nannies and maids. My father never held me once in my memory."

Qin Jiuwei listened quietly, her expression beginning to change.

Xie Yanli rarely talked to her about these things, or rather, he never did.

He was always restrained, rational, and busy.

I would never linger over something like that.

“I didn’t have any playmates when I was a child,” Xie Yanli continued, his eyes slightly lowered, like a finely sculpted porcelain piece.

"The maids and nannies were afraid of my status and dared not speak to me much. It was too quiet to be alone in the room, it was eerily quiet."

“I started thinking of playing with Xie Zhongzhi and the others, but I forgot that they are siblings and don’t need any other playmates.”

"So I stopped paying attention to them and started studying seriously."

"I started my formal education at the age of three and was able to compose poetry by the age of six."

"Because I was good at studying, I composed a poem at a banquet. The late emperor thought I was talented and sent me to the Imperial Study to study with the imperial relatives and nobles, but I couldn't get along with them."

In his narration, Qin Jiuwei seemed to see Xie Yanli as a child.

He sat solemnly at the table, the books laid out in front of him, while the sounds of children playing outside the window drifted in.

He put down his book, peeked outside, hoping someone would invite him to play, but no one did.

His gaze, which had been looking out, returned again and again.

He stopped looking and closed the window.

From then on, poetry and books became my companions.

Qin Jiuwei slowly reached out and grasped Xie Yanli's hand, placing it in her palm.

Xie Yanli smiled at her and said, "You should have heard about what happened later. The late emperor made me his military advisor and accompanied me on my campaigns. Before he died, he promoted me to the cabinet."

Qin Jiuwei couldn't help but think of herself.

Her mother passed away when she was nine years old, and all her memories before that age were beautiful.

Back then, my mother was gentle, my father was loving, and everything was fine.

That memory often churned in her mind.

Whenever I think about it, I feel a sweet warmth in my heart, and the wounds on my body don't seem to hurt as much anymore.

Good memories are the best medicine for wounds.

Everything seems to be holding on.

But Xie Yanli didn't even have such memories.

He lost his mother at birth, and from then on, he also lost his father.

Born into nothingness, they grow up wildly on their own.

Qin Jiuwei couldn't help but feel sorry for him and reached out to touch his face.

Seeing her gaze, Xie Yanli's brows twitched slightly. "Does Madam feel sorry for me?"

Qin Jiuwei nodded honestly, "A little bit."

"The lady kissed me."

Qin Jiuwei: ……

Where did that helpless and pitiful little boy go?

Xie Yanli stopped speaking and just looked at her with deep eyes.

Helpless, Qin Jiuwei stepped forward and kissed him on the cheek.

Xie Yanli's lips immediately curled up.

"So, is that why you're not close to the Xie family?" Qin Jiuwei asked, toying with his well-defined fingers.

She wanted to learn more about Xie Yanli.

Xie Yanli nodded slightly. "My relationship with my father has always been very distant."

"Lady Hou was not good to me when I was a child. I was too young and didn't show anything, so she thought she could control me."

"I experienced the methods of the Lady Hou when I was a child. She was kind and gentle to my father, but in private she would torment me with little things, such as giving me a broken calligraphy brush, unsuitable shoes, and smelly clothes."

At this point, Qin Jiuwei said, "That's why you didn't trust me at all in the first place."

"Madam is clever," Xie Yanli smiled.

“But as I grew older, the Lady Hou realized that she could no longer bully me, and her attitude towards me began to change. She was very respectful to me both in public and in private. That’s when I entrusted my three children to her when my grandmother fell ill.”

“I just didn’t expect…” Xie Yanli’s long eyelashes trembled.

Although he didn't finish speaking, Qin Jiuwei knew his guilt towards Xie An and his apology to the children.

Qin Jiuwei raised her eyes and suddenly saw the weariness in Xie Yanli's eyes.

The once aloof and arrogant Prince Xie suddenly seemed to have gained popularity.

Qin Jiuwei stepped forward, put her arm around his neck, and pressed her forehead against his.

It conveys warmth and soothes wounds.

“You are no longer alone; you have me and the children.”

Xie Yanli raised his eyes, paused, and said, "I'm sorry I wasn't good to you before."

"Loving someone is something you have to learn." He pursed his thin lips, his gaze fixed on her. "Would you be willing to teach me, Madam?"

"Of course you can." Qin Jiuwei's eyes crinkled into a smile. "You must be the smartest student."

Xie Yanli chuckled softly.