Do you believe in the bonds of past and present lives? Ye Lishu didn't believe it, until she met the man who held her in the palm of his hand.

I believed it.

……

The sixth year of Chengzong's reign.

The Emperor has reigned for six years.

Beyond the aged red walls of the courtyard, there was revelry and feasting, a world of drunken pleasure and extravagant indulgence.

Within the courtyard wall, Ye Li shu leaned against the cold palace windowsill, her withered hands gnarled and wrinkled as she meticulously combed through her long hair, brittle as straw, with a worn wooden comb.

She possessed a beautiful face, with willow-shaped eyebrows that curved gracefully. Her eyes resembled peach blossom petals, and her demeanor exuded charm. A tear mole beneath the corner of her eye was a testament to her beauty. She was once truly the first among women in Kyoto.

Now, she's just a withered husk. Her once playful features are gaunt and sunken, her peach blossom eyes deeply set in their sockets. She's as thin as a twig, frail and shrunken.

"Creak"

The dilapidated palace gate creaked open from the outside, and a fierce-looking old matron walked in.

"Bang!"

He unceremoniously threw the bowl onto the table, his expression disgustingly disdainful. "Eat quickly, finish up so we can leave."

With her long hair cascading down, she stopped, her eyes glazed over, her voice raspy: "Grandmother, what is the meaning of this journey?"

"Hmph." Granny scoffed, pulling out a three-foot white silk ribbon. "What do you mean? Don't tell me the Empress still doesn't understand?"

The antiquated wooden comb slipped from his hand, falling onto the windowsill and then out the window.

Ye Li's eyes widened in disbelief as she muttered, "Impossible, he wouldn't do this to me, it's impossible..."

The white silk sash was too glaring, causing to believe.

Five years have passed, and Xiao Shuke has kept him confined to this cold palace that is lifeless and desolate every day for five years. He has never come to see him, not even once.

Now, he even cruelly bestowed three feet of white silk (a symbol of death).

Back then, in order to ensure Xiao Shuke's smooth ascension to the throne, they even resorted to using lives as leverage, forcing his maternal grandfather to become his advisor.

He ascended the throne successfully, but was deposed in his second year as emperor.

Now sitting in the back seat is actually her younger sister, Ye Liwan. What an irony!

"Sister."

Ye Li Shu's thoughts were drawn back by the sound of silk. A pair of enchanting eyes looked towards the palace gate.

Ye Liwan, in a fine silk robe, walked towards us. Her head ornament swayed with her every step, and the elaborate makeup on her face seemed to bloom with each graceful movement as she was supported by palace maids.

Elegant and dignified, she exudes an air of refinement.

"Sister, just eat. It's better than ending up as a dead ghost in the underworld."

Every word, like a blade, scraped across Ye Li's heart.

Over the past five years, only Ye Liwan would occasionally come by. Her purpose was nothing more than to show off.

Ye Li Shu had long since become numb. The only reason he was clinging to life like this was to learn about his brother's whereabouts from Ye Li Wan and the safety of his maternal grandfather's family.

Xiao Shuke once swore that he would find his elder brother and protect his maternal grandfather's family.

"Hmph." Ye Lishu let out a sneer, her enchanting eyes fixed on Ye Liwan, her voice raspy. "Is it you who wants me dead, or Xiao Shuke?"

"Presumptuous!" A palace maid behind Ye Liwan shouted angrily, slapping Ye Lisu's face with a heavy hand. "You dare to call the Emperor's name directly?"

Before Ye Liwan could react, she had already knelt in front of him, her sharp nails cruelly pinching his thin skin. He winced in pain, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Ye Lishu, you are still so foolish, foolishly thinking that the emperor ever cared for you. He has always been with this palace, you are nothing but a pawn in his hands." Ye Liwan gritted her teeth, her face contorted with ferocity, then suddenly laughed, a strange laugh that unsettled Ye Lishu's heart. "Since you are going to meet your demise, there are some things you should know, lest you die unjustly."

"Big brother was killed five years ago, and my maternal grandfather... tsk tsk tsk, he dared to betray the country. Luckily, I pleaded with the emperor, sparing his wife and third uncle. It's considered a mercy for my grandfather."

"Oh, by the way, elder sister, you might not know this. My older brother was recently made a Marquis, but unfortunately, our father never favored him. He left home alone and was tragically run over by a carriage. How tragic..."

“Ye Li Wan.” Ye Lisu’s voice was a hoarse whisper, his whole body surging towards that direction, but he was held back by the fierce Nanny with a white sash around his neck. His thin face flushed crimson, his remaining strength choked out five words laced with heavy resentment: “You—can't—die—well!”

(Editor in charge：novel peter pan)