130 I'sm Not Consort Pan

The sun had barely risen and Yu Mei was already up. In fact, she had not slept a wink ever since the memory last night.

She knocked on Pei Nan's door. She knew it was not proper for her to seek a man but this issue had been pondering on her mind.

When he saw it was her, he grinned. "Did you miss me that much?"

Unlike her usual witty self, she continued to stare at him blankly. "We need to talk." Nothing amusing in her voice.

Yu Mei sat across from Pei Nan. Her fingers fidgeting under the table.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Yesterday she was fine. So why did she look so pale and uneasy.

"I…I…" She was afraid. Afraid that if she told him the truth, he would abandon her like he did to Consort Pan…

"Did something happen last night?"

"I had a dream." She started out. "Pan Yu Mei came to me in my dreams. I saw pieces of her memories."

Pei Nan furrowed his brows. "Pan Yu Mei! Are you unwell?" He bent forward, about to feel her forehead when she scooted her chair away.

"I'm not Consort Pan." It took all her strength to speak those words. But she was not prepared for his response.

"I know." He spoke as if it was no big issue.

"You know?" This time it was her turn to give him a confused look. "Your highness knew? How? And why didn't you turn me in then?" She didn't believe he knew.

He sighed heavily. "I admit I didn't know at first but the day you kicked me...I knew you weren't Consort Pan. The Consort Pan I knew was well-mannered, graceful and sweet. No matter what I did, she never once talked back to me. So how would I not know?" He spoke as if he knew the real Consort Pan well.

He was scary. Truly too scary.

Who was he? And if he knew, did that mean he didn't care about the whereabouts of the real Consort Pan?

She shook her head in disbelief. Was the Prince Nan she knew fake the whole time? Was he truly as cold-hearted as the one in her dream? "Your highness never pursued the matter about Consort Pan's death then?"

He was silent.

How was he supposed to explain it to her? Ever since he had speculations, he spent every single day reading up on astronomy, science and anything else he could find that would link to this craziness. This soul switching theory he did not believe existed. He had also sent Xu Hou Lei to investigate in but no luck. So how exactly was he supposed to tell her when he didn't even know himself?

But she took his silence as guilt.

"I have judged your highness wrongly. I never thought you could be so cruel as to let Consort Pan die restlessly. I'm beginning to think you were the reason she died." Her tone was full of offense and disappointment.

At this point, she was not afraid to hide her feelings for him. The feeling of judging someone wrongly. She should have known better. She only came to tell him the truth. She never expected to find out how heartless of a man his highness was.

He stood from his seat. "She's dead?" His tone was filled of shock, regret and pain. This whole time, he was trying to look for an explanation as to how two souls could switch places. He never expected Consort Pan to have died. Even if he didn't love her, he did not want such an ending for her.

As if she didn't believe him, she too got up. "Your highness can stop acting now. You never cared about Consort Pan."

"And how do you know I didn't care about her?" He asked.

"I saw her memories. Not only did you abandon her on the side of the road, you gave her arsenic. If she hadn't shown me her dreams, I would never have guessed what a monster you truly are." She took another step further.

Pei Nan moved away from the table and proceeded to walk to her. Every step he took, she took a step back. "I can explain those misunderstandings. Please listen to me. Will you give me a chance?" He stretched his hand out to her. As long as she reached for him, he would know she still had a place for him in her heart.

She shook her head. "I won't believe you. Not when I saw it with my own eyes. Your highness shouldn't think of tricking me again." Yu Mei put her hand on the door handle, ready to barge out.

"Ju Ming!" A panicked Pei Nan called out. She didn't turn to face him but somewhere in her heart, a piece of her gave in to him. He had called her Ju Ming.

"I admit I have done Consort Pan wrong. I also admit I didn't love her but you…you are different. If you leave now, we'll both regret it."

She still didn't budge. No matter what feelings she has for him, she would never forgive him for the way he treated the real Consort Pan. If she stayed with him, she would forever feel guilty.

"I love you. And you love me too! Can't we work this out?"

"If I stay with you, I will forever be guilty towards Consort Pan. Even if you can live with this, I cannot. I refuse to." She paused. "Maybe this is the retribution we both owe her." Yu Mei heaved a sigh. "Your highness, I'm afraid I can't give you a month's time to make up for your mistake. Let's part here."

She swung the door open and ran out.

Evening came. And no matter how heavy the rain was, it could not hide the tears escaping Yu Mei's eyes. The cold lonely streets was empty.

She then crouched down in the middle of the street and balled her eyes out.

When she came back to the inn, her master was worried sick. After seeing how drenched she was, he asked her what was wrong? She told him she had a fallout with his highness.

It made sense to him now. No wonder Prince Nan left without saying a word.