Love like the Galaxy : Five Years Apart

Chapter -8

Four months had passed, and Shaoshang found herself right where she had left off. Each morning, she made promises to herself-promises to move on, to stop caring about him, and just live her life. But as night fell, she gracefully failed to keep those promises.

Shaoshang refused to be pitied. She was not a character drowning in sorrows and pain. She was merely a fifteen-year-old girl frozen in time, unsure of how to process everything that had happened to her.

Her life's incidents had turned her into a laughingstock in the capital. Some pitied her because of the unfortunate endings of two betrothals.

Others openly laughed at her, mocking her vulgar background and her almost-marriage to Zisheng.

Some only acknowledged her when she was Zisheng's bride. The noble ladies gossiped incessantly about her, worsening the already harsh comments she received. With no one to protect her, she had to rely on herself to survive.

But then she wondered, who was there to protect her from the moment she was born? These thoughts haunted her in the solitude of her room.

Her room was dimly lit, containing only the essential furniture for survival-a bed with a single mattress and a thin lining, a study table with various scrolls. Even amidst her hardships, Shaoshang remained fiercely focused on expanding her knowledge.  Within a year, she faced more trials than most experience in a lifetime.

Nighttime arrived, and as was her routine, she finished her duties and retired to her room-the only place that shielded her from the world. She lay down on the cold floor, her head resting on her right arm, and her hair cascading freely around her. The cold floor served as her self-inflicted punishment, as some nights, she slept there entirely. Her blank gaze fixed on the wall as she delved deep into her thoughts.

"I think... I cannot hate you. If I cannot hate you, then I won't hate myself either," she whispered to the empty room. She truly believed that he had loved her deeply, but he failed to understand the magnitude of what she felt the moment he jumped. She had learned about his secret purely by chance. But who would have informed her if he had simply died?

She no longer hated herself, yet she struggled to find a path to happiness. Despite everything, she refused to be seen as a helpless person. Even after enduring countless tragedies, she had not lost her true nature entirely. She had merely lost a part of herself-a person who once smiled freely and thought without ulterior motives. Now, she questioned the intentions of everyone around her, only smiling when necessary.

She pondered what had happened that day, the day that had changed her to her core. When she was engaged to Ling Buyi, everyone had taught her how to love Zisheng, how to trust him, how to understand him. And then, the rest became history. Doing all these things had transformed her life into a living hell.

After enduring an hour of self-imposed punishment, she stood up and made her way toward her bed. Tomorrow, she was visiting her family. Despite repeatedly ignoring their letters, her Majesty had convinced her to go meet them, and whatever her Majesty said was final for Shaoshang.

She lay down on her bed, turning to the other side, and her eyes fell upon the scrolls given to her by the new intriguing character in her life .

Earlier that day, Su Su had informed her that Qiao Hui and the Crown Prince frequently met. "If the Crown Prince keeps him by his side, then there is no one more capable than him," she whispered to herself.

"He is capable, but his true nature is still a mystery... But wait a minute, why would his nature concern me?" Shaoshang closed her eyes, feeling fatigue wash over her. She didn't even know why she had asked Su Su to find out more about him.