The Princess Who Divorced Her Husband - Chapter 5.1

Soft moonlight gently spilled over the Moon-Fishing Pond. Under its glow, with the cool touch of autumn in the air, most of the plum blossoms on the tree had already bloomed. No one knew exactly when it started, but every night when everything grew quiet, Zuo Shengxing would come to the pool alone—not just to admire the plum blossoms, but also to listen to their music.

Yes, nearly every night, Yan Mei—the woman known as the Plum Blossom of the Xiangyang Pavilion—would come and play her zither there. Somehow, they always arrived around the same time, as if they shared a secret connection. One played; the other listened. Of course, the one playing didn’t know someone outside the pavilion had become her silent admirer. And he, the listener, never planned to show himself.

But that didn’t mean he didn’t want to. In fact, he wanted to see her desperately. He just feared… that Yan Mei didn’t want to see him.

Tonight, like always, he came again to listen to her music. But this time was different. Along with the sound of her zither, he heard her singing too.

“Alone I climb the western tower,
The moon a hook in the sky.”
In the deep courtyard, the lonely phoenix tree
locks in the crisp autumn air.
The threads of sorrow can’t be cut,
and the more I try to sort them out, the more tangled they become—
This pain of parting lingers in my heart.”

Her voice was gentle and sorrowful; her music low and filled with longing. When the song ended, all the sadness and bitterness in her heart were so vivid, the listener could feel every bit of it.

Zuo Shengxing was completely lost in her song. Without realizing it, he had stepped into the Xiangyang Pavilion and walked up to the second floor. When Yan Mei saw the unexpected visitor, she gasped softly and quickly stood up.

“I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to bother you. I… I came by accident…” Zuo Shengxing explained awkwardly. The panic in Yan Mei’s dark eyes made him feel terribly guilty.

He was nothing like the fierce man from that night. Tonight, Zuo Shengxing looked like a child who had done something wrong and was waiting to be scolded. Yan Mei looked like she wanted to run, but eventually, she didn’t.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. She wasn’t afraid of him anymore, but she still kept her guard up.

“I came to see the plum blossoms,” Zuo Shengxing said gently. “I wanted to see the blossoms outside the pavilion… and the one inside, too.”

Yan Mei gave him a quiet glance but didn’t reply.

It had only been a few days since they last saw each other, but Zuo Shengxing felt as if she had become a stranger. Although they had never been very close, the Yan Mei who stood before him now, dressed in white just like on that first night, conveyed an completely different impression.

Back then, she was like a fairy, dreamlike and distant—beautiful, but untouchable. Now, she was still just as ethereal, still like a dream… but even farther away. Though they stood so close, It felt like their hearts were worlds apart—one heart was at the ends of the sky, while the other heart was at the edges of the sea.

Zuo Shengxing suddenly missed the old Yan Mei—the one who was full of life, full of fire. But now? Her beautiful eyes were filled with sorrow. Her brows, always gently furrowed, seemed to whisper silently about the pain in her heart.

She was no longer proud or fierce. He knew very well—he was the one who had crushed that vibrant, spirited Yan Mei. Her music, her face, everything about her told him the same truth: she had lost all hope in him. Her heart had already turned cold.

“I like listening to you play the zither,” Zuo Shengxing said, knowing she probably didn’t want to talk to him. So he tried to find words on his own.

“Do you?” Yan Mei answered quietly.

“Uh… about last time. I’m truly sorry. I lost control, and I…”

“Forget it. I’ve already put that matter behind me.” Yan Mei looked him straight in the eye and said slowly, “I think you feel the same way as I do. We…”

“Young Master, I’ve been looking everywhere for you. So this is where you are!” A sudden voice cut Yan Mei off—it was Xiao Xue. Her petite frame pressed closely to Zuo Shengxing’s side, and the smile on her face seemed to tell Yan Mei just how happy she was.

The heroine had arrived. Yan Mei, an underappreciated supporting character, decided it was time for her to take the hint and leave the two of them.

Cradling her zither, she turned to leave.

“Yan Mei, didn’t you have something to say to me?” Zuo Shengxing called out to her in a hurry.

Yan Mei paused and glanced at Xiao Xue, then turned her eyes back to Zuo Shengxing.

“What I have to say can be said anytime. I’ll leave you two alone for now.”

“Princess, please don’t say that. I’m the one intruding on your time with the Young Master. I should be the one leaving,” Xiao Xue said anxiously.

This woman—hadn’t she already won? Why still play games with the one who had lost? There was no need to keep acting or saying such disingenuous things.

Yan Mei gave Xiao Xue, who was still giving her performance, a cold glance and walked away without looking back.

“Young Master, did I say something wrong?” Xiao Xue asked, almost in tears.

Zuo Shengxing shook his head weakly. His gaze drifted beyond the pavilion, watching Yan Mei’s lonely figure disappear into the distance, with sadness in his heart.

*****

“Young Master Zuo, thank you so much for bringing all these clothes. The weather’s getting colder, and just yesterday I was worrying the children didn’t have enough to keep warm,” said Uncle Zhong.

“Uncle Zhong, no need to thank me. It’s just a few clothes—hardly worth mentioning. Compared to all the care you give these children, what I do isn’t even a tenth of that,” Zuo Shengxing replied with a smile.

He had met Uncle Zhong about a year and a half ago. Back then, he’d come across Uncle Zhong and the orphans by chance on the outskirts of town. Uncle Zhong, a farmer with no wife or children of his own, had taken it upon himself to care for orphaned or abandoned kids who might otherwise end up begging on the streets. He gave them food and shelter, using up his savings just to give them a warm home.

Zuo Shengxing had been deeply moved and impressed by Uncle Zhong’s kindness. Since then, he’d been helping—providing money while Uncle Zhong provided care. Thanks to their efforts, the children now lived without fear of hunger or cold. Uncle Zhong looked after them daily, while Zuo Shengxing came by when he could to teach them and play with them.

“You haven’t been around in a while, have you? The children really miss you,” Uncle Zhong said cheerfully. Since Zuo Shengxing kept his charity discreet, Uncle Zhong had no idea he was the governor’s son. He just thought he was a kind-hearted young noble.

Zuo Shengxing smiled but said nothing. He thought to himself, “Ever since I got married, I haven’t come here. My life’s become such a mess—how could I have had the heart to come?”

“But even though you haven’t come, the kids haven’t been lonely!” Uncle Zhong added brightly. “A lovely young girl has been visiting almost every day. She plays with them and teaches them to read and write. The kids adore her.”

Zuo Shengxing’s interest was piqued. “Oh? Is she from around here?”

Uncle Zhong shook his head. “Doesn’t seem like it. She always comes on horseback.”

On horseback? A sudden thought struck Zuo Shengxing, and he stared intently at Uncle Zhong. “Does she ride a white horse?”

“Huh? How did you know?” Uncle Zhong asked, surprised.

“Just a guess.” Zuo Shengxing pressed on. “Do you know her name?”

“No. I asked, but she wouldn’t say. She told the kids to call her ‘Sister Mei,’ so I just call her ‘Xiao Mei.’”

Zuo Shengxing’s eyes lit up. “Is the ‘Mei’ from ‘plum blossom’?”

“You got it again!” Uncle Zhong chuckled. “You’re on fire today, guessing everything right.”

Zuo Shengxing smiled too, though only he knew that beneath that smile, his heart was already burning—for her.