Sheng Li met Xiao Zhan and ordered him to give his message to Nianzu. Also, he told him to take the official verdict from the First Prince.
"Your Highness, the First Prince might ask me how do I know Prince Nianzu's location?" Xiao Zhan raised a doubt.
"I will answer the First Prince. Go to Xiandong and bring them safely to Luoyang," Sheng Li stated. Xiao Zhan bowed his head. The results of the exams were soon to be declared in the various provinces because of the network of messengers, who worked expeditiously.
"Yes, Your Highness." He joined his fist & palm and bowed in front of the Crown Prince before leaving. Sheng Li took the Crown off his head and handed it to Xing-Fu.
"I would like to rest for some time," Sheng Li said and removed his upper robe. Xing-Fu took it and found Sheng Li was tired. He opened his shoes and went to bed.
"Your Highness, is everything alright? The Crown Prince looks tired," Xing-Fu worriedly said as he put the Crown on the table and also put the robe beside it.
"I could not sleep last night," Sheng Li said and laid down on the bed. Xing-Fu covered Sheng Li from the blanket and pulled down the curtains. Xing-Fu stepped out of the chamber and closed the door behind him.
Sheng Li tossed and turned on the bed. However, he could not fall asleep. He sat up; his left knee in the air while his left hand rested on it. "Why am I unable to sleep?" He murmured and brought his hand near his chest. He recalled the words of Yongzheng that soon Lili would go away from him. He curled his fingers and knitted his brows.
"Who could harm her? Is it the First Prince or the Third Prince? I will give up this Crown for her if any one of them exposes his true face. But what if Lili got harmed before that. Will I be able to save her? The people who got closer to me had left me in the end. First, I became the reason for my mother's death; then Hu Jingguo and Wan Ju died. I should not have involved her with my life," Sheng Li contemplated as his eyes turned misty. He sighed as he recalled the words of Hu Jingguo not to fall weak, seeing Ying Lili in danger. 'She always was his strength.'
'You have to put your faith in us, Brother Sheng.' He recalled the words of Jian Guozhi. "Shall I again trust them? A rotten apple rots the other apples too," he muttered. "Did they really change?" He wondered.
Suddenly, he heard the door open. He tilted his head and saw Ying Lili with a tray in her hand. He put away the curtains. "Lili," he whispered her name.
"It is difficult to sleep, isn't it? It happens sometimes. When a person takes too much stress, it happens," Ying Lili said and put the tray on the bedside table.
Sheng Li looked at the tray and saw oil in a bowl. "Do you want an oil hair massage? It has been since your wife did this," Ying Lili said with a smile.
'How could she smile in this situation? Isn't she scared? Because of me, she almost lost her life.' Sheng Li astonishingly looked at the woman in front of him.
"What are you thinking?" Ying Lili came towards him and stood in front of him. She brought her hand on the top of his bun to remove the hairpin when Sheng Li rested his head on her belly.
"Lili, do you think that bad thing will stop?" Sheng Li's question troubled her. She recalled the words of the Emperor where he told her that Sheng Li had started to question himself again.
"I have faith that everything will turn good," Ying Lili stated and caressed the head of Sheng Li. Her statement comforted him. He pulled back and asked her about the oil.
"It is a special oil which will improve the blood circulation and also relieve your stress," stated Ying Lili and removed the hairpin from his hair bun. She put it on the table and let his hair spread down till his shoulders.
"Sit here. I will sit on the floor. That will be good," Sheng Li stated and put his feet on the ground.
"Sit on the bed. I will do this," Ying Lili said, but Sheng Li stood up from the bed.
He pushed her on the bed and said, "Sit on the bed and let me sit on the floor." He sat on the floor quickly while Ying Lili was on the bed. She picked the bowl in which warm oil was put. "I have put some aromatic dry flowers in it," she asserted.
Ying Lili dipped her fingers into the oil and then gently pressed her fingers into his scalp. Sheng Li closed his eyes while Ying Lili continued to do that.
"Sheng Li, nothing will happen to me. Brother Jian and Brother Zemin have turned good. They have left the path of vengeance a long ago." Ying Lili tried to make Sheng Li understand. "Do not let your fear overpower you," she stated.
"Do you think so?" Sheng Li asked.
"Yes."
"I believe your words, but what about the betrayal of the Second Prince. I started to trust him. I almost trusted him. I was happy that he started to consider me as his younger brother. Lili, did you see how kindness affects a person? Kind people whimper in pain. I cannot risk your life in any way, Lili," Sheng Li pronounced.
Ying Lili again dipped her fingers in the oil and started to rub his scalp. "I know that you cannot risk my life. The same goes for me. I cannot risk your life and your happiness in any way. Betrayal happens, but it does not mean that everyone will betray you. Trust is a must for survival. Nothing will happen to me, Sheng Li," Ying Lili proclaimed. Sheng Li furrowed his brows and kept quiet.
After a while, he said, "Let me sleep on your lap." Ying Lili hummed and put the bowl on the tray. Sheng Li came to the bed and laid down, his head on her lap. Ying Lili had wiped her hands from the towel already. She placed one on his chest and the other on his forehead. Caressing it, she helped Sheng Li to fall asleep. Once he fell asleep, she pulled the blanket up and covered him from it.
"I need to give him my maximum time.. Sheng Li is on the verge to go into his past self," she thought as she gazed at his face.
