The Darker the Night, The Brighter the Stars

That night, Zhao Yan waited for Fu Yanqing to come back from the palace. She stayed in his study room while reading. Both Jae Ha and Chun Lan were fussing over her, saying that it was late and that Zhao Yan should go back to her courtyard to sleep.

Zhao Yan insisted on waiting a few more minutes until Fu Yanqing arrived. When he did come back, his brows were furrowed upon seeing her waiting for him. He looked at the two maids who bowed at him.

"You are both excused." Both maids left together while glancing at Zhao Yan with a meaningful look.

"It is late." He said while frowning.

"Your Highness, you finally came." Zhao Yan said with a smile.

His frown deepened. "Yanyan, are you not sleepy? Why did you have to wait for this prince?"

"Your Highness, I came to talk to you. I would like to clarify something. "

"What is it that you want to tell this prince? Is it important enough that you can't wait for tomorrow?" Fu Yanqing said in a low voice as he eyed her appearance.

He reached out to hold her small cheek that was a little pale from staying up.

"You are tired."

Zhao Yan stilled when he touched her. She couldn't help but tremble. She held his hand and gently removed it without avoiding his gaze.

Fu Yanqing immediately understood and he took the initiative to take his hand back, stepping back slightly to give her some space.

His little woman was very quiet for a few seconds so he spoke up," Yanyan... Do you hate this prince?"

Zhao Yan hid her hands behind her back, clenching them tightly.

"Your Highness..." How was she supposed to answer?

Fu Yanqing was sharp. He didn't need to hear the words to come from her own mouth. Her hesitation was enough.

"I already know that you hate this prince. But..."

He took a step forward and stood in front of her, his deep eyes looking at her. "This prince does not regret what happened. But rather, this prince will take full responsibility. You are not obligated to forgive me. In the first place, what I did to you was unforgivable. I have placed you in a difficult position and you are forced to marry the same man who had assaulted you. Yanyan, you must hate me a lot, right? This prince knows this very well."

He had the urge to touch her but he restrained himself and gave her back the space she deserves.

Zhao Yan was quiet for a few seconds. His words were hard to answer and his bluntness made her remember the night of so many moons ago.

Fu Yanqing was not bothered. He was aware of his sin and was not planning on justifying his actions. If she hated him then so be it, it was only right since he had forced her and taken something precious from her out of his own selfishness.

Zhao Yan looked up at him. "Your Highness, you are wrong."

Fu Yanqing smiled. "Where am I wrong?"

"I agreed to this marriage. You did not force me. " Then it was Zhao Yan's turn to smile.

Fu Yanqing's lips twitched at her response.

"But you are right. I hate you. I only agreed to this marriage because of the child in my belly. Didn't His Highness said that it was better for the child to grow up in a complete family? I considered it and thought very hard about it." Zhao Yan confessed in a serious tone.

Since she grew up under her grandfather's care, she wanted her future children to grow up with two loving parents, a mother and a father. She realized that although she could raise her child alone, he would still need a father figure.

Zhao Yan wouldn't be enough. Later on, her child would ask about the father. What would she say? Lie? She couldn't do that. She had lived in an environment where people lie and scheme against each other.

She couldn't do that to her child and she wouldn't do it to Fu Yanqing. She came here to clarify everything with him.

Since she was going to marry him, they needed to talk very seriously about this matter.

But, she didn't expect him to touch her which led to this tense atmosphere. Zhao Yan tried very hard to keep composed.

"Growing up in a complete family with people surrounding my child. I thought that it would be nice.... How good would it be for my child to grow up with a father and mother? I feel happy just by thinking about it because I know that my child would not be alone." Zhao Yan continued to smile as she fiddled with the bracelet he gave her.

"Your Highness, you treat me very well and I hope you would also treat my child in the same manner. There are only two days left before we get married. I wanted to talk with you and ask you, do you really wish to marry me because of what happened? Or do you wish to marry me because of this child? I wanted to know the answer so I would know where I should stand. "

Zhao Yan's voice remained soft as she said this and she waited for him.

Fu Yanqing walked towards his table, grabbing the book that was left on it.

'The Analects of Confucius' He thought, reading the front cover, noting how wrinkled the sides were and the worn out pages. His own copy of the book wasn't as worn up as this.

He saw how often she would read this to their child. He didn't understand why she would do it because the book of Confucius strongly emphasizes a patriarchal society where men are dominant and women are subservient.

Yet she would still do it while smiling as if their child could already hear and understand the words.

"Li Zhao Yan, this prince will marry you, because you are the mother of my child and because I want to take care of you. Does this answer satisfy you?"

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