“Is it because you simply didn't know that I was poisoned too?"

Even now, Gao Minyue still harbored illusions. Her eyes were red as she stumbled towards Xie Jin Yan.

Reaching Xie Jin Yan, she slowly leaned in to embrace him.

Xie Jin Yan frowned slightly, subtly sidestepping to avoid Gao Minyue's embrace.

This action shattered Gao Minyue's last hope.

Unwilling to accept it, she looked at Xie Jin Yan with tears in her eyes, choking out, "Shixiong, surely you didn't know I was also poisoned that day, which is why you had physical intimacy with Yu Qingwu, right? She said it herself, that she seduced you! She also said that she had tried to seduce you many times before without success. You didn't like her then, did you? You only pitied her for being poisoned, thinking that she was still your shijie, and you couldn't bear to watch her die, so you did that with her. If that hadn't happened, you wouldn't have married her and made her the Crown Princess, right? Shixiong, tell me, the way you protect her now is all out of responsibility, not because you like her, is it?"

Gao Minyue's words were urgent, every sentence about Yu Qingwu's seduction, every word about responsibility, as if saying these things could prove that her good shixiong didn't like that annoying and enviable Second Shijie.

Seeing her almost frantic expression, Xie Jin Yan remained silent for a long time, only looking down at her quietly, with a hint of disappointment and helplessness…

After a while, he said softly, "A-Yue, why deceive yourself? Why did you frame A-Wu that day? Wasn't it because you felt that I had feelings for her?"

The words were extremely gentle, without any anger, but revealing a hint of pity, which only made Gao Minyue more distraught.

She clenched her teeth, large tears rolling down her cheeks, wanting to refute something, but unable to say a single word.

Yes, the reason she framed Yu Qingwu in the first place was that she had noticed that shixiong always paid special attention to that annoying Second Shijie. Although shixiong always bullied that woman on the surface, she could see that he was using bullying to deliberately attract her attention, and every time he finished bullying Yu Qingwu, he would always quietly make amends…

This made her feel increasingly threatened, making her feel that she was gradually losing shixiong, making her feel that the position of Crown Princess was slipping further and further away from her.

Therefore, she thought that as long as shixiong knew that Yu Qingwu was having an affair with someone else, he would definitely despise her and give up on her.

But she never expected that Yu Shi, who usually acted weak and frail, would be so ruthless, actually sending her to Jiang Ming's bed, completely cutting her off from becoming the Crown Princess…

Later, Jiang Ming finally 'died,' and she thought her chance had come, but after arriving at the Crown Prince's residence, she discovered that that bitch had already gotten there first…

Gao Minyue hated it and was unwilling to accept it. She tried to convince herself with responsibility, that shixiong didn't love that woman…

But now…

Gao Minyue's fingers tightened involuntarily. She looked at Xie Jin Yan with tears in her eyes for a moment, then suddenly sneered, "So, Shixiong, you knew that I and she were poisoned at the same time that night, but you chose her, didn't you?"

"That night, I didn't know you were also poisoned." Perhaps because he had always regarded Gao Minyue as a younger sister, Xie Jin Yan seemed a little awkward when talking about such a topic with her.

He coughed softly, avoided Gao Minyue's gaze, and continued to explain, "A-Yue, if I had known you were poisoned, I would never have abandoned you. There are hundreds of ways to detoxify. Whether it was you or A-Wu, I would have had other ways to detoxify you. Throwing you into cold water, acupuncture, or detoxification soup, any of those would have been enough to detoxify you. But for A-Wu, I had selfish motives, so I used the fastest way to detoxify her. If I had to do it again, I would still make the same choice…"

So, the meaning was.

He could have used other methods to detoxify Yu Qingwu, but he insisted on choosing to have physical intimacy with her.

But if it were her, he would probably have thrown her into cold water, or given her a few needles…

Gao Minyue didn't say anything more. She slowly lowered her head, involuntarily smiling bitterly, and finally simply collapsed to the ground, murmuring, "So, it's always been me being sentimental? It's always been me overthinking?"

"It's always been me overestimating myself…"

"But if that's the case, why did you have to be so good to me? If you weren't so good to me, I wouldn't have misunderstood, and I wouldn't have had those fantasies! Even if, as you've always told me, you only treat me as a younger sister, you shouldn't have been so good to me!"

"Shixiong, you indulged me! You turned me into this! You spoiled me, but now you don't want me anymore! What do you want me to do? What do you want me to do?"

As if suppressed for a long time, Gao Minyue shouted louder and louder, almost hysterically.

Xie Jin Yan stood beside her, not speaking, not helping her up, and not offering comfort as he used to.

After a long time, until she calmed down, he spoke again, calling her softly, "A-Yue, perhaps you're right, I spoiled you, so I won't indulge you anymore in the future. Leave tonight."

"Also, don't think about using any underhanded methods to see Mother."

"Mother, she doesn't like you, never has liked you…"

Xie Jin Yan closed his eyes and stepped out of Chunfang Pavilion.

This time, there were no more cries or sounds of things being smashed inside.

It seemed that she was now completely disheartened.

That was for the best, to avoid future troubles.

Coming out of Chunfang Pavilion, it was almost noon. Xie Jin Yan had the kitchen prepare some light meals and sent them directly to the main courtyard.

Yu Qingwu was seriously injured, so she could only lie in bed, unable to eat anything too hard, raw, or cold. She could only drink a bowl of millet porridge and eat a small bowl of steamed egg custard before lying back down.

Xie Jin Yan was not in the mood to eat, only eating a little before telling Mama Xun to take it away.

Yu Qingwu lay half-reclined on the bed, watching his tightly furrowed brows, and asked, "What's wrong, Your Highness? Is it because you're sending A-Yue away and feel reluctant?"

Hearing this, Xie Jin Yan was stunned for a moment.

Meeting the woman's pale face, he immediately reacted, a shallow smile appearing on his lips as he replied, "What are you thinking? A-Yue did such a thing, she can't possibly be allowed to stay. Besides, even if she hadn't done those stupid things, just harming you alone is enough for this capital to not tolerate her."

"It's just that A-Yue said some things today that made me feel a little sad."

"She said that it was me who made her become like this, but I can't tolerate her." Xie Jin Yan sighed, a few traces of sorrow appearing between his brows, and he said with a bitter smile, "I've thought about it for a long time, and it's indeed the case."

"It's me who is sorry to her, and it's also our imperial family who is sorry to Uncle Gao, but now that she has done such a thing, me letting her go can be considered a clean break. As for what happens in the future, whether it's fortune or misfortune, it depends on her own creation."