Chapter 170 – Rebirth of Prince Ding (I) Part 2

“Princess Consort! His Highness is fine! His Highness is back!” Zhao Zhongfang’s joyful voice reached her ears.

Her heart settled, and she let out a long sigh of relief. The tension that had gripped her finally released, and tears of joy fell uncontrollably. Steadying herself, she quickly wiped her face and stepped forward, heading out of the courtyard. She had barely reached the gate when a familiar figure came striding quickly toward her.

“My dear—”

Tears still in her eyes, princess consort stepped forward and called out softly. But before she could say more, he had already crossed the threshold in a single stride. Without a word, he opened his arms and pulled her into a tight embrace.

He held her so tightly, as if she would disappear if he let go. The force of his grip nearly pressed her into his body, so fierce that she could hardly breathe.

Before princess consort could fully react, the next moment, her husband’s cold lips heavily pressed against hers.

This was the first time they had a quarrel in all these years of marriage, and it was also the first time for princess consort to see him lose his composure to such an extent, even expressing his love in front of so many servants.

In her astonishment, her heart also started pounding. Unable to break free, she had no choice but to give up, her face red, allowing him hug and kiss her.

Zhao Zhongfang was pleasantly surprised and quickly sent away the maids and servants who were staring in a daze nearby.

After a moment, as if he finally felt her presence, he let her go and then held her hand tightly again. Once he brought her into the room, he embraced her once more.

Princess Consort Yin felt Prince Ding lower his head and bury his face in her hair.

She was naturally puzzled by her husband’s actions, but a quiet joy gradually welled up in her heart. So she obediently stayed behind the doorway, allowing him to hold her as he wished. After a while, she realized his robes were soaked through and his body ice-cold. His breathing, however, had begun to steady. Gently, she tried to slip out of his arms and led him to sit down, then turned to fetch him dry clothes—but her arm was suddenly grasped from behind.

With a gentle tug, Prince Ding pulled her down onto his lap. Once again, he embraced her. This time, it was from behind, his arms wrapped tightly around her, still unwilling to let her go.

Though they had always shared deep affection, and she had grown to truly love this man she had liked from their very first meeting, married life was not always simple, especially with her status. She had never truly opened up to him about her inner thoughts. No matter how close they became, she always felt there was an invisible wall between them. But tonight, he was completely different. As if desperately needing to prove she was still here, terrified of losing her—she could feel it.

“What’s wrong?” She turned to face him.

His hair was damp and his face was pale.

“I am here. But you’re soaking wet. I’ll go get you some clothes for you to change into. It’s getting cold in autumn, and it won’t be good if you get sick.” She said gently.

He finally let go. Only then princess consort was able to get up, fetch clothes for her husband, and help him change. While tidying up the collar of his clothes, she looked up and met his eyes. He kept looking down at her, his eyes never left her, as if he wanted to swallow her into his stomach. She couldn’t help but feel puzzled and her heart was racing.

Although she was already a mother of a daughter, she still blushed like a young maiden under his gaze. Suddenly, Prince Ding picked her up and pressed her down on a couch nearby. Caught off guard, she let out a soft cry and struggled slightly. “Hao’er is in the room—”

In the midst of her half-hearted resistance, her foot accidentally knocked over a censer at the corner of the couch. It clattered to the floor with a loud bang, startling little Li Hao’er awake. She rubbed her eyes and called her mother in a daze, but the moment she caught sight of Prince Ding—whom she hadn’t seen in days—her sleepiness vanished. “Father!” she cried joyfully, climbing out from under the covers. Barefoot, she jumped down from the bed and ran straight into her father’s arms.

The princess consort got up in a hurry. Prince Ding stepped down from the couch as well, striding toward his daughter with a broad smile. He caught her in his arms and lifted her up, holding her tightly, gazing deeply at her little face. Then he ruffled her hair and began planting kisses on her nonstop—more than a dozen in one breath and still not stopping. The stubble on his cheek pricked her delicate face, making Li Hao’er wrinkle her nose and protest. She tried to squirm away while scolding him: had he forgotten all about her and her mother? Why hadn’t he come to be with them for so many days?

“I’ve already told Mother that if you don’t come tomorrow, I’ll be really angry! I will ignore you! I will ignore you for the rest of my life!”

Prince Ding apologized to his daughter with a smile, and said that he was too busy in the past few days, so he didn’t come. But today, as soon as he had time, he came immediately.

“How could Father ever forget you and your mother? You and your mother are the dearest people to Father. Father will remember you both for a lifetime, will protect you both for a lifetime! Father swears it!”

Prince Ding’s face was clearly full of smiles, but at the end, his voice was choked with sobs. He could not continue, stopped, hugged his daughter tightly again, and suddenly, tears flowed down.

At first, Li Hao’er was laughing joyfully in her father’s arms, but when she saw him crying, she quickly raised her tender little white hand to wipe his tears.

“Father, why are you crying? I’ll comfort you. Father, even if you don’t come tomorrow, I won’t ignore you!”

One hand wasn’t enough—she raised her other hand to help. But even with both hands, it didn’t help. Her father’s tears only came faster, soaking her little palms.

She finally panicked and started crying too. While wiping her father’s tears, she turned to princess consort for help.

“Wuwuwu… Father got scared and cried because of me… He won’t listen to my explanation… Mother, come quickly, help me talk to Father…”

The princess consort hurried over, and before she could ask again feeling full of doubts, Prince Ding had already stretched out his free arm to her and held her and their daughter tightly in his arms.

Holding her and their daughter in his arms, he closed his eyes, took a long breath, then opened his eyes again and smiled at his beloved wife who was looking at him in confusion.

“Don’t worry, A Jing.” He called her, “I’m fine, everything is fine.”

That night, the bedroom of the villa was filled with Li Hao’er’ happy laughter. She claimed the spot right between her parents and ordered both of them to hold her. Because she had been deceived by her father many times before, she no longer trusted him. She wanted to hold on and stay awake, but in the end, she was so sleepy that she couldn’t hold on any longer. Just before drifting off, she was still mumbling: “Father, you’re not allowed to take me away while I’m asleep! I want to sleep here! If you take me away, I will be angry with you…”

She closed her eyes and fell asleep. When she woke up from a sweet sleep the next morning, she found herself in the same bed as the night before. Father did not take her away again.

But Father and Mother were missing.

She didn’t know when they had snuck away and gone off to sleep somewhere else—just the two of them!

Li Hao’er sat there sulking, hugging her little feet, secretly vowing that today she really wouldn’t talk to her father and was determined to scare him to tears again. But of course, she had no idea how happy her mother had been the night before, after she’d fallen asleep.

Once the two of them had coaxed her to sleep, they finally had a chance to talk. Before princess consort could even begin to explain anything, her husband spoke first. He admitted that everything had been his fault. He said he knew now there had never been anything between her and the court painter—that the man was, in fact, a true gentleman. He confessed how deeply he regretted his earlier jealousy, his harsh words and unreasonable temper, and begged for her forgiveness. He also said that, because of the matter with the Liu family and their eldest son, her position as his wife and stepmother had never been easy—yet she had never once complained in front of him. He told her he saw her goodness, her quiet strength, and he swore to cherish her for the rest of their lives, to make sure that she and their daughter would be the happiest people in the world from now on.

The princess consort was stunned. She couldn’t understand what exactly had happened to her husband to bring such a change. The man before her—gentle, humble, and full of remorse—was nothing like the proud and domineering one she had known. And she knew he wasn’t just saying pretty words. He had never been one to rely on sweet talk. What’s more, the way he looked at her—that heartfelt sincerity in his eyes—was something that simply couldn’t be faked.

She burst into tears, tears of extreme happiness.

She spent a happy night that was even more unforgettable than her wedding night.

After returning from the villa, Prince Ding outwardly seemed no different than before. In fact, he appeared even more domesticated—indulgent in pleasure and leisure. Day after day, he either helped his beloved wife draw her brows before the mirror, or took the little princess out on excursions, spoiling his daughter as if she were a treasure held above the skies. His reputation for being idle and frivolous became widely known. Behind his back, people said he’d been so frightened by the fate of his brothers that he had become what he was now.

Chang’an remained as splendid and dazzling as ever, filled with music, dance, and the illusion of peace. The emperor’s favorites and trusted courtiers flaunted their power and vied for dominance in the court, each drunk on their own influence. Meanwhile, upright and practical officials either kept silent under the weight of oppression or found themselves ostracized, one by one forced out of the political arena. Great change was looming, yet no one seemed to care. Or perhaps—some had already seen it coming, but were powerless to act. Like Pei Ji, who had long since left Chang’an. Like Pei Gu, who earlier that year had angered the emperor by submitting a memorial warning of dangerous local powers, and had since been dismissed and transferred out of the capital.

At the same time, the emperor grew increasingly wary of the Crown Prince, whose power and influence had reached new heights. By contrast, he grew ever more pleased with Prince Ding. In his delight, he even rewarded him with a garden estate and gold and silk. No one knew that beneath Prince Ding’s outward appearance of indifference to worldly affairs, he had in fact been quietly making preparations all along. His innate meticulousness and depth of thought had now reached their peak—even the emperor, with his vast network of informants, had been successfully kept in the dark.

Forming ties with the Pei family was a key step in his current plan. At that time, Pei Ji had resigned from office and returned to his hometown. Lady Cui, whose husband had been transferred out of the capital earlier that year, had also taken her son and returned to Hedong. While laying his plans, Prince Ding learned of a recent development: just the day before, Pei Ji’s son, Pei Huaiguang, had accompanied Lady Cui and her son back to Chang’an.

A few days later, Prince Ding Mansion hosted a garden banquet to celebrate the emperor’s generous bestowal of the estate. An invitation, sent from none other than Princess Consort Ding, was delivered to Lady Cui at the Yongning Mansion.

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