But now, had that decision changed? Had the foundation upon which that decision was based been shaken? Had the rift between them grown so large that they could ignore the greatest secret and the greatest commonality they shared from the same era?
Ye Tao was unwilling to accept this reality.
"I need to go to Danyang. How long will it take your fastest route?" Ye Tao asked bluntly, summoning the head of FedEx in Yicheng again.
"Are you going alone?" the head asked.
"Alone."
"At least take me with you," Lu Dan muttered from the side.
The head hesitated for a moment and said, "Let's make it a special case. Four and a half days. Alternating between carriages and horses, is it alright to rest and sleep in the carriage? It'll be tough, but it's the fastest way."
Ye Tao nodded without hesitation and said, "Make the arrangements. When can we leave?"
"In an hour." The head knew that Ye Tao had made up his mind and no one could change it. As the technical director of FedEx, and as a shareholder with profit sharing, Ye Tao had never issued such a blunt order before.
And so, a little over four days later, Ye Tao and Lu Dan returned to Danyang.
Travel-worn, Ye Tao didn't even think about going back to Zheng Yuan to wash up and rest. He went straight to Princess Zhaohua's residence.
When the maid Sisi went to announce them, she kindly described their disheveled appearance. Tan Weixin listened and sighed softly, instructing, "Let them in. Have Lu Dan wait in the guards' room. Just let Ye Tao come over... here."
Loyal to the princess, having served the enlightened Tan Weixin for many years, and being a perceptive young woman—these qualities combined meant that Sisi's attitude towards Ye Tao was definitely not good. Like many people in the princess's residence. However, she was not surprised that Tan Weixin decided to meet Ye Tao in the quiet room between the study and the bedroom. Just as she never doubted that there was some kind of strange connection between the princess and Ye Tao.
Tan Weixin's complexion didn't look too bad at first glance. Lately, from the time she fell ill until now, her family members had been taking turns visiting her, and watching her drink the medicinal broth made from super expensive herbs, which inevitably tasted terrible. A large amount of nourishing medicine gave Tan Weixin's complexion an unusual flush, and perhaps a quarter of that unfounded rosiness was due to the weather, which hadn't cooled down yet.
Seeing the weakness hidden beneath Tan Weixin's rosy complexion, Ye Tao even forgot to pay his respects to the princess in front of the guards at the door and Sisi standing beside her. As the door slowly closed behind him, he could only sigh:
"What is this all for?"
Anyone could understand the emotional tone of his question. He wasn't questioning the princess, nor was he lamenting the vast distance between a commoner and a princess. He was merely asking as one party in a simple relationship between a man and a woman to the other. His tone was light, almost as light as Tan Weixin's.
"Don't you think... um, as a princess, I'm quite competent?" Tan Weixin said with a smile.
"You have too many opportunities to be competent, does it matter if you miss this one?" Ye Tao responded, his tone firm and confident.
Tan Weixin chuckled. "Hehe, as expected, no one knows me better than you." Her words were mixed with a bit of emotion and gentleness. "But you're really confident."
"...Even though there are many reasons for me to lack confidence, I have never lacked confidence." Ye Tao said casually, even he himself thought this line sounded familiar.
"How unoriginal, you still remember that TV series? Not easy." Tan Weixin's words reminded Ye Tao of the source of his words - a TV series called "Beijing Summer".
Tan Weixin was half-reclined on a lounge chair piled with cushions of moderate firmness, actually one of the few fabric products. She gestured for Ye Tao to sit beside her, and she curled up, looking at Ye Tao who was so close. She no longer wanted to be angry. The previous anger and dissatisfaction had long since disappeared. "Actually, it's not exactly a lie. Making this decision wasn't because of resentment towards you, or any impulse..." Perhaps even she felt that it wasn't very convincing, Tan Weixin sighed and changed her words: "Okay, there's a little bit of that... However, in general, it's for Dongping. Identity and profession have never been so closely intertwined in one body as they are now. Father doesn't want to give in, but he needs two months to deploy. But the other side won't wait two months. If we want to keep the Xiling army in its current situation, and even a little careless, at the latest, by noon the day after tomorrow, any princess will do, but at least a princess's carriage must depart with the Xiling envoys."
"If I really had to marry that pig, who would do it? But it's impossible for me or my little sister to go and then have the army snatch us back. The imperial physician said that with my current physical condition, I have about three months to live. Compared to my little sister, don't you think that, in every way, I am the best person to solve this dilemma?"
Ye Tao said in a deep voice: "Xin'er, don't take those words about three months or whatever seriously."
"I know," Tan Weixin said quietly, "I'm just preparing to die there, whether it's three months or several months, I just need to take it seriously myself."
"Xin'er..." Ye Tao wanted to dissuade her.
"Don't try to persuade me either. Of course, there are other reasons, but I don't want to tell you. With my current body, I said, besides racking my brains and tormenting people, I can't do anything. No matter how considerate you are, how understanding you are, I can't be a good wife, or a qualified wife. I'll be jealous, I'll let my imagination run wild... I'll always be like this. I'm probably a bit pessimistic." But Tan Weixin's expression showed the joy of finally speaking her mind.
"Are you just planning to leave me like this?" Ye Tao sighed, he really couldn't think of anything to say.
"Don't say it so pitifully," Tan Weixin chuckled, "...If you're willing, you can help my father more, help my younger brother, and help me take care of my little sister. Although they don't lack anything, but you know, I'll still be a little worried."
"Even if there's only a sliver of hope, I hope you can be here, stay here. Not for anyone, for any country or family, just for yourself," Ye Tao said.
"Yeah, okay." Tan Weixin said cheerfully, but her next words shattered Ye Tao's momentary joy: "As long as you can conjure up two months... I just made a choice, so that Father doesn't have to feel wronged, so that this country doesn't have to be subjected to that inexplicable interference. Of course, I will definitely scold all those who are fueling the flames and fear that war will affect their careers and income before I leave, they won't be able to jump around for a few days."
Tan Weixin felt a little heartache at Ye Tao's disappointment: "Being with you is really fun. From the beginning to now, it has been. However, this is not our era after all, not the era we are used to, like, and are greedy for. But I also like it here. I like my family here, I like the career I created with my own hands. And you. Go back and get a good night's sleep, you look so tired. When you wake up, if you've figured it out, you can come and see me off."
Tan Weixin didn't say all the reasons that prompted her to make this desperate decision. However, after she sent Ye Tao away, she felt calm in her heart. She believed that she had done everything she could. For the country, for the family, for the lover. And she still hid some things at the last moment, hid the identity from another era that she had always wanted to reveal to Ye Tao.
The rift caused by the conflict with Ye Tao at the time, which prompted Tan Weixin to decide to use the pretext of a marriage alliance to buy Dongping two months, was only a negligible reason. Her own body and sense of fatigue were more important. But more important was for the family.
On a night a few days ago, inside the princess's residence, when their family gathered together to discuss, Tan Weishi, the Embroidery Princess, who had been silent for several days and usually laughed and jumped around, said quietly: "Let me go." Tan Weishi's eyes were clear and cold, but one could see her determination.
No matter how Tan Xiaopei expressed that he would never agree to Xiling's request, that he would rather pay a huge price and fight Xiling to the death, he was stunned by Tan Weishi's logical analysis. Tan Weishi was very clear about the pros and cons. For the present, agreeing to a marriage alliance between the two countries was undoubtedly the best choice. The princess herself jumping out to agree to this matter could quell the surging controversy in the court, allow Tan Xiaopei to continue to maintain a strong and sufficient position, and allow Dongping to continue to follow its own path of development. And Tan Weishi, in her eloquent speech, finally mentioned that if this marriage were established, she would never have children for the Xiling Crown Prince, and at the appropriate time, she would die in a suitable way to give Dongping, which was ready at that time, a reason to launch an attack.
Serious, thoughtful, calm... When these characteristics, which had only been shown in Tan Weixin in the past, were presented in Tan Weishi in a more extreme way, everyone couldn't accept it. But Tan Weixin said, seeing her father almost painfully agree, "Although it won't have such a big effect, I'll go instead... Two months, that should be enough."
After sending away her parents and two younger brothers, who had not yet recovered from the shock, and leaving Tan Weishi alone, a conversation between Tan Weixin and Tan Weishi was even more unexpected.
"A Shi," the two sisters touching their foreheads, Tan Weixin asked softly, "When did you start liking Ye Tao?"