After refusing marriage, she was pampered by the prince who acted as a shield.

Chapter 62: Memories of the Past

"If you want to know the answer, eat first."

Li Jingyang lowered his eyes, slowly picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, and began to eat.

His eating movements were elegant, like a flower on a high mountain.

Lin Rusi frowned, feeling inexplicably like she was being played.

Before she could ask another question, Li Jingyang, as if he had anticipated her words, interrupted her directly, saying, "The food will get cold soon."

"If you want to know the answer, eat first."

He then placed another piece of her favorite dish on Lin Rusi's plate.

"You rushed to find me at the crack of dawn, you must not have had breakfast yet."

Lin Rusi shook her head, "I haven't eaten yet."

"Then hurry up and eat!"

Lin Rusi said "oh" and started eating.

The food was delicious, but her mind was preoccupied with those questions, and she had no appetite at all.

After a few bites, Lin Rusi lost her appetite and simply put down her chopsticks.

"Your Highness, why are you unwilling to tell my daughter directly?"

"All my daughter wants is an answer."

Li Jingyang raised his eyes, his deep gaze fixed on hers, and Lin Rusi felt a sudden panic.

She pretended to be calm and avoided the conversation, then scooped up a spoonful of hot porridge and drank it.

How does it taste?

Li Jingyang seemed not to have heard her question, and instead asked her seriously how the porridge tasted.

Lin Rusi felt that Li Jingyang didn't really want to answer her, and she was a little unhappy.

However, she still reluctantly hummed in agreement, "It's delicious."

"If it tastes good, drink more."

Neither of them spoke again; the only sounds in the pavilion were the rustling of the wind and the clinking of bowls and chopsticks.

Lin Rusi could no longer hold back, wondering how long Li Jingyang intended to keep it a secret.

With a stern face, she stared intently into Li Jingyang's eyes and asked, "Your Highness, why are you unwilling to tell me?"

Li Jingyang looked at Lin Rusi and said, "It's not that I don't want to tell you."

"Then why hasn't Your Highness answered me yet?"

"Why did you want to make me your queen at first sight? Why are you so good to me?"

Li Jingyang replied in a serious tone, "Because you are my queen."

"Of course I will treat you well."

This answer was clearly just a perfunctory response!

Lin Rusi's face visibly darkened. She pouted and looked at Li Jingyang with a gloomy expression, her eyes filled with anger.

Lin Rusi was not satisfied with this answer.

Li Jingyang sighed helplessly, just about to explain.

Lin Rusi preemptively asked, "What if the prince marries another woman?"

"Will the prince treat her just as well?"

She stared intently into Li Jingyang's eyes, "If Your Highness's wife were not my daughter, would Your Highness still be as good as ever?"

She unconsciously gripped her chopsticks tightly, as if her heart were being squeezed by an invisible hand, making it hard to breathe.

While waiting for Li Jingyang's reply, Lin Rusi felt her heart stop beating.

She didn't know why she was so nervous, so eager for an answer.

What would she do if the answer she received was not what she expected?

For a moment, Lin Rusi's mind was in a mess, with countless thoughts swirling in her head.

She couldn't calm herself down.

Li Jingyang stared straight into Lin Rusi's eyes, remaining silent and not uttering a single word.

Everything around seemed to become very quiet; even the sound of heartbeats and breathing could be heard clearly.

Li Jingyang's silence was like a sharp blade, piercing Lin Rusi's heart without any mercy.

A sharp pain began to spread from my heart and then swept through my entire body.

Lin Rusi's heart sank to the bottom along with Li Jingyang's silence.

Disappointment and sadness surged like a raging flood, engulfing her in an instant.

Lin Rusi bit her lower lip, her eyes red as she looked at Li Jingyang, who was standing close to her.

She didn't understand why he chose to remain silent.

Or is it that no matter who his fiancée is, Li Jingyang will treat her the same way?

Lin Rusi felt inexplicably sad.

She clenched her fists, stood up abruptly, and a bitter smile appeared on her face.

"If Your Highness does not wish to answer, I will not press the matter any further."

"This humble girl will not bother Your Highness again."

Lin Rusi tried hard to force a smile, but little did she know that her expression was even worse than when she was crying.

Just as Lin Rusi was about to turn away in despair, her wrist suddenly tightened.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she turned around to meet Li Jingyang's eager gaze.

His pair of dark eyes were like black holes, ready to swallow Lin Rusi whole if she wasn't careful.

Their eyes met, and time seemed to stand still.

Then a crisp snapping sound interrupted Lin Rusi's thoughts.

She looked down following the sound and found a jade pendant had fallen out of Li Jingyang's arms.

The jade pendant is light green and very translucent, with lifelike carvings of willow branches.

Lin Rusi stared intently at the jade pendant on the ground, fragmented images flashing through her mind without warning.

I feel like I've seen this jade pendant somewhere before.

Lin Rusi had a vague sense of familiarity, but she couldn't quite place where she had seen it before.

Lin Rusi frowned, and as if possessed, she half-squatted down and picked up the jade pendant.

Holding the jade pendant in my hand, it felt cool and refreshing, which was very comfortable.

The more she looked at it, the more familiar it seemed, especially the willow branches on it...

Just as Lin Rusi was examining it, a familiar yet unfamiliar memory suddenly entered her mind.

Lin Rusi gasped, her eyes widening.

The jade pendant she's holding now doesn't belong to Li Jingyang; it belongs to her.

This jade pendant was made by Si Yu with all her savings to protect her when she was born.

Lin Rusi gave the jade pendant to a friend and lied that she had lost it, for which she was severely beaten by Si Yu.

She clearly remembered giving this jade pendant to a childhood friend, so why is it on Li Jingyang now?

Lin Rusi tried hard to search her memory for that friend.

She vaguely remembered that her companion was tall and thin, a handsome young man.

In order to ensure their survival, Si Yu took her to the temple in the mountains to pray for blessings every day.

If you think about it carefully, that temple is now the Royal Nunnery.

The boy in my memory was always taciturn and gloomy, appearing and disappearing mysteriously in the royal temple.

Every time Lin Rusi and Si Yu came, they would always find him in a corner.

He was always alone, which looked quite pitiful.

Lin Rusi was very curious about what his voice sounded like, so she often teased him, hoping he would smile.

However, he always had a gloomy face and didn't say a word.

Lin Rusi was stubborn and insisted on hearing him speak, so she pestered him tirelessly all day long.

One day, the boy was injured, and Lin Rusi was very scared. She took out all the medicine she had to treat his wounds.

Fortunately, the boy was lucky and Lin Rusi pulled him back from the brink of death.

It was around that time that Lin Rusi gave him the jade pendant.