Jian Guozhi was sitting around the floor table with his mother. The morning meals were served to them. Jian picked up the chopsticks when he heard his mother, "Why are you tense?"

"I am alright, mother," Jian replied, keeping a tiny smile on his lips.

"A child cannot hide anything from his mother," Weng Wei pronounced.

Jian peered at his mother and placed the chopsticks on the plate. "Mother, there is nothing. You think too much." Weng Wei was assured that nothing was going on with her son, so she told him to eat.

After a while, Weng Wei said, "Jian, Sheng Li will return soon to the Palace after solving the problems in the Southern Province. This time I have planned something that would definitely kill him. He cannot escape death this time," Weng Wei proclaimed and smirked. Jian stopped eating and put his hands down.

"Mother, I told you not to plan anything now. After the poisoning incident, everything turned negative for us. Your half-brother is dead and the Wei Family is now seen as the traitor but because you are the Empress, no one has the dare to speak about this openly. Don't do anything for some time," Jian requested his mother.

Weng Wei drew her brows together. "But if I do not do something quick, then Sheng Li can be a proven threat to us. Ying Lili had joined hands with him despite my trying to create misunderstandings between them," Weng Wei muttered.

Jian Guozhi snickered. "Why did you not stop their marriage then? If she would have been married to me, then things would have been different. You would not have to plan things like this," Jian stated. Weng Wei observed that the infatuation of Jian Guozhi towards Ying Lili had still not gone.

"That's why I want to rectify the mistake I made. Giving more time to Sheng Li will increase difficulties for us. This time he cannot escape from my trap. I have made two plans. First, when they reach the border an attack will happen. Sheng Li will not have time to think about anything and they will all be killed there. If this plan succeeds, then you will get the Crown. But if it fails, then the second plan is also ready," Weng Wei pronounced.

"Is mother planning to kill Yingér as well?" Jian Guozhi queried.

"If the first plan works then she will also die," Weng Wei replied. "But why is the Prince asking about this? For him, the focus should be on the Crown and the future throne," Weng Wei proclaimed.

"Mother, there is no need to take the life of Yingér. It is not her fault that she got married to Sheng Li. And your brother died because of his foolishness. Moreover, there is no proof that Yingér went to his residence. Sheng Li might have a woman spy who broke into that secret chamber," Jian tried making his mother understand.

Weng Wei realized that Xue was right. Jian was still in love with the Crown Princess. But why? This was bothering the Empress, so she asked her son, "Do you love her?"

Jian did not expect this question to be coming from his mother's mouth. They both looked at each other when Jian inquired, "What if I love her? Will you let her live peacefully for my sake?"

Weng Wei could not believe that Prince Jian would ask such a thing from her. "Do you think after Sheng Li dies she is going to fall in love with you and support you?" Weng Wei questioned her son. "Prince, you cannot ruin your future just because of a woman. Look at Xue and Zhilao who adore you. Eyeing another man's woman does not suit the prince," Weng Wei pronounced.

"Mother, do not say the name of Xue in front of me. I know my ambition. I know I have to take over that throne but it does not mean that I will take that killing the woman who saved my life," Jian Guozhi veraciously said.

"Saved you?" Weng Wei exclaimed.

"Mother, do you remember when I had gone to the city near Juyan for the Capital's work?" Jian asked his mother who nodded her head. "Mother, I took the wrong route that time and got lost in a dense forest. I do not know what the Crown Princess was doing there, but she saved me from getting submerged in a swamp. The Crown Princess had forgotten about that but I did not. That's why I expressed my desire to marry her. For you, I did not marry her but now she is in front of me, but then she is also far away from me," Jian Guozhi proclaimed.

The pain in his voice could be felt. It was true that he did everything his mother told him to and never defied her. "Mother, I just want you to not target Yingér in all this," Jian Guozhi requested to his mother again.

"You should have told me that time. Now, nothing can be done. Son, she might prove a threat to us later. What if she harms your mother just like she and the Crown Prince did to my half-brother? Have you not seen how she asked for political powers from his majesty? Son, I cannot take the risk by sparing her," Weng Wei affirmed.

"What about me? I am ready to take that risk. Just do not harm her," Jian Guozhi pleaded with his mother.

Weng Wei found that Jian was adamant about that request. "I am afraid. I cannot let you get harmed in the future. Xue was right that you are captivated by Ying Lili. Now, I will definitely kill her along with Sheng Li because I cannot see my son getting weak for a woman!" Weng Wei declared her decision.

"Xue told you that I was captivated by Yingér?" Jian asked with a raised brow when Weng Wei averted his gaze from her. He stood up in the middle of finishing the meals and said, "Now, we two have our next meal when you will agree to me and will not do anything to the woman who saved your son's life."

Before Weng Wei could speak, Jian Guozhi left the chamber. Weng Wei shouted the name of Jian Guozhi, but he did not return so in anger, Empress Wei turned the floor table upside down. The entire dishes over the table broke into pieces and the food spread on the floor.

Jian Guozhi, oppositely, went straight to Xue's chamber, but then he stopped mid-way. "I cannot do that. That woman will again go to mother, manipulate her and tell her to give orders to kill Yingér," Jian thought. He turned back and went back to his chamber.

~~~~~

Sheng Li and Ying Lili could be seen in the chamber. Sheng Li was telling Ying Lili about his plan for the return journey.

"Wang Hao and Xiao Zhan have gone to the nearby town to check the security for us. We will leave with a group of merchants to Han else we might get attacked," Sheng Li proclaimed.

"Will the Empress spy be waiting for us in those two routes?" Ying Lili queried him.

"Yes. Weng Wei will get a shock seeing both of us safe and sound. Lili, since you have accepted me as your husband, you might face difficulties because of me. Earlier only my life was in danger, but now your life is also at risk. You can step back and live the way you want to. I will not force you for anything," Sheng Li pronounced.

"Are you telling me to leave you in the middle?"

"No."

"Then?"

Sheng Li had no words to explain the fear he had in his mind when he heard Ying Lili speaking.

"Are you worried about me? I mean… you think that I might get hurt, which is scaring you. Sheng Li, I am not that easy to be killed so do not ever ask such a question. The day I told you I am ready to share everything with you, I meant that. Your happiness is mine and your sadness is also mine. The pain you will undergo, I will share that with you. Together we will negotiate everything and bring justice to your late mother," Ying Lili assured Sheng Li.

The Crown Prince recalled the day when he first saw Ying Lili and told her that she might get killed if she would marry him. She then said the same words to him–'I am not that easy to be killed.' Perhaps that was the quality that fascinated Sheng Li towards Ying Lili because she was the one and only one who did not step back even at that time when they were unfamiliar with each other.

Sheng Li lifted his hand and stroked Ying Lili's long hair. "I like this quality in you. Only you have the courage to stand beside me," Sheng Li said. Ying Lili smiled when she felt Sheng Li's lips on her.