During that period, Prince Wen was actually quite happy.
This was because he discovered that Ti Le paid him a lot of attention. He had even considered that perhaps Ti Le was more suitable to be his Princess Consort than he had imagined.
To please Ti Le, Prince Wen eventually sent Ah Xiu away.
On that day, watching Ah Xiu cry inconsolably, Prince Wen's heart ached, but thinking of Ti Le, he bore the pain and sent Ah Xiu to another place.
However, he had made arrangements for Ah Xiu, ensuring her a future free from worry about food and clothing.
He even specifically bought Ah Xiu a small shop in Yazhou. Ah Xiu's needlework was excellent, and coupled with the substantial sum of money he provided, she would have no problem living a good life even if she never married.
Speaking of this, Prince Wen poured a cup of wine for Mu Changxi and then gave a wry smile, "I thought Ti Le had completely forgotten about you. She planned to settle down with me, which is why I sent Ah Xiu away. But later, not long after the envoys from the Southern Kingdom arrived, Ti Le changed."
Initially, Prince Wen only noticed that Ti Le seemed to be unhappy all day long.
He assumed it was because the people from the Southern Kingdom had arrived, and Ti Le naturally thought of her homeland.
So, he tried various ways to make Ti Le happy. However, Ti Le's initial unhappiness eventually turned into her consistently avoiding Prince Wen.
Only then did Prince Wen realize that perhaps Ti Le's feelings were not just about missing home.
He wanted to see Ti Le and understand what had happened.
He felt like a headless fly, unsure of what to do.
Until about half a month ago, Ti Le suddenly expressed a desire to see Prince Wen!
Prince Wen was overjoyed. He even chose a place Ti Le frequented and made all the necessary preparations.
However, Prince Wen did not expect that upon meeting him, Ti Le's first question would be about Mu Changxi.
But Prince Wen and Mu Changxi had always had a good relationship, so although Prince Wen felt a bit disappointed, he didn't think much of it.
This time, Ti Le inquired about Mu Changxi's past and present.
The "past" referred to Mu Changxi's life before leaving the capital.
Ti Le seemed very curious about Mu Changxi's past, but Prince Wen was too young at that time and remembered nothing, so he couldn't tell Ti Le what Mu Changxi was like as a child.
Afterward, Ti Le also asked about everything that had happened since Mu Changxi returned from the Southern Kingdom.
This time, her questions were even more detailed than before.
Prince Wen was initially reluctant to speak, but seeing Ti Le's unhappy demeanor, he had no choice but to tell her.
However, he also reminded Ti Le that their current identities represented two countries, not just themselves.
They could not have any other thoughts, not even a fleeting one!
Ti Le told Prince Wen that she understood. But there were some things she needed to confirm.
Seeing that Ti Le didn't seem to have any other intentions, Prince Wen saw no reason not to tell her.
So, he recounted everything about Mu Changxi's situation after returning to the capital, omitting no detail.
Ti Le did not appear to be significantly different, but her emotions of unease and unhappiness seemed to intensify.
After that meeting with Prince Wen, Ti Le began to avoid him again.
But Prince Wen found himself beginning to miss this girl!
He didn't know when it happened, but Ti Le seemed to have entered his heart. He realized that he had fallen in love with Ti Le. But he couldn't be sure if Ti Le liked him back.
Prince Wen wasn't in a hurry to confirm this matter. After all, they were about to get married, and their future together was long. Why the rush?
Until three days ago, Prince Wen heard about something—
The courtyard he had bought for Ah Xiu in Yazhou was meant for her to live out half her life peacefully, as a way to compensate for his debt to Ah Xiu.
However, the servants in that courtyard said that they had waited for Ah Xiu for a full month without her arrival. So, they sent someone to the capital to inquire if Ah Xiu was no longer coming or how she was to be handled, and whether the courtyard should still be kept.
Only then did Prince Wen realize that he hadn't received any news from Ah Xiu for a long time.
Although Ah Xiu was just a maid, she had served Prince Wen for many years, so Prince Wen naturally had to search for any trace of her.
Finding Ah Xiu was not a difficult task.
But the result of finding Ah Xiu was something Prince Wen found difficult to accept.
When he saw Ah Xiu, she was already a cold corpse, and it was evident that she had been dead for a long time. She had likely died before even leaving Shengjing.
Her body had been hidden in a dry well of a dilapidated temple on the outskirts of the capital. If Prince Wen hadn't sent people to search, she would probably have remained a lonely ghost beneath the dry well forever.
And Ah Xiu had not fallen into the dry well by accident; she had been beaten to death and her body thrown into the dry well.
Following the clues from the dilapidated temple and the dry well, Prince Wen uncovered something that caused him immense pain: Ah Xiu's death seemed to be related to Princess Ti Le.
At that time, Prince Wen was even afraid to investigate further. This was because Princess Ti Le was, in his heart, his future wife, the person he respected and loved.
On the night he didn't know what to do, he dreamt of Ah Xiu.
She stood in his dream, covered in blood, and tragically questioned him, asking why he had treated her this way. After serving him for so many years, was this the only end she could expect?
Her sorrowful cries startled Prince Wen awake in the night, and he then resolved to thoroughly investigate the matter for Ah Xiu.
The more he investigated, the more pain Prince Wen felt.
This was because everything pointed to Princess Ti Le.
Princess Ti Le had always disliked Ah Xiu. Knowing that Prince Wen was sending Ah Xiu away, she deliberately had someone lure Ah Xiu to the dilapidated temple, claiming that prayers there were very effective.
Ah Xiu was foolish. The temple was so dilapidated that it clearly had no incense offerings; how could it be a place where prayers were effective?
No one knew what Ah Xiu prayed for that day before the dusty idols.
Perhaps she wished for a stable and smooth future for herself, or perhaps she was still praying for Prince Wen's health and well-being.
But Ah Xiu did not manage to leave that dilapidated temple that day.
Princess Ti Le had sent people to drag Ah Xiu to the backyard, then beat her to death, and thrown her body into the dry well.
The person Prince Wen apprehended said that Ah Xiu had desperately pleaded before her death, saying she would never enter the capital again and would never appear before Prince Wen.
But Princess Ti Le's order was to kill her, to leave no living soul. Princess Ti Le did not allow any other woman to appear by Prince Wen's side; she felt Ah Xiu was the greatest threat.
Speaking of this, even Prince Wen's eyes reddened, "Ah Xiu served me for so many years. She was just a maid, what threat could she pose to Ti Le? And I did as she wished and sent Ah Xiu away. Why couldn't she let Ah Xiu go, why did she have to beat Ah Xiu to death?! Ah Xiu was so good, yet she died because of her. I have failed Ah Xiu!"