And that night, Consort Pan made up her mind that she would try again with Pei Nan. Maybe she had really misunderstood him.
The weeks went by and they slowly made progress. But that quickly came to an end with another misunderstanding. This time it led to Consort Pan running away.
Pei Nan was on his horse, frantically looking for her. By late evening, he had found her wandering the streets alone. Coming up to her, he got off his horse and pulled her in for a hug. "I thought I had lost you."
But she pushed him away.
"Your highness, you know well why I am here. It's because you do not cherish me. Everything is about her and always her. I'm tired of it." She pointed to her tired heart. "If you have a shred of care for me, you would let me go."
He reached out to her but she flinched away from his touch.
"Consort Pan, is this really what you want?"
"Yes. My biggest regret is marrying you. Even if I am to be a commoner, I will not regret."
Her words...
She didn't know just how much it hurt him. It was as if a thousand needles had directly pierced his heart.
Regret? She regretted marrying him? He thought. Even if he did not love her, he tried his best to form a friendship. But every time they were happy with one another, it would suddenly go sour.
As a prince, he could not even make his wife happy. Only now did he realize what a failure he was. Was it truly better to let her go? He thought long and hard.
He closed his eyes. "Fine. I don't care whether you come back or not. It is up to you." And he cruelly turned away from her.
Consort Pan didn't get far when she heard the galloping of a horse come near her. Before she knew it, Pei Nan had ducked down and swept her up in one swift move onto his horse. Consort Pan held tightly onto his waist for balance.
She stared blankly at him. But his eyes were solely on the dark road.
"Your highness…"She began to speak.
"I, Prince Nan may not be the best husband but I promise you, I will never let you go like this ever again. I'll try my best to make you happy."
Months went by and their relationship had their ups and downs. Their relationship slowly built up again. But this also meant that Fei Ning came around more often. She would spout lies upon lies to Yu Mei. It was because Yu Mei was naïve that she believed Fei Ning's lies over and over again. It was to the point that she took her anger out on Chu'mei.
On the night of her death, it was Fei Ning who plotted the idea in her head. To make her death painless, Fei Ning told her to consume sleeping powder before drowning herself.
And that was when Ju Ming arrived.
Suddenly the dream faded into a black space. In the middle sat the real Pan Yu Mei. She was smiling at Ju Ming. "Ju Ming, I didn't mean to ruin your relationship." The woman sincerely apologized.
"You see...my soul has been trapped here ever since you entered my body. It was only until recently did I become free. I tried to show you my memories the past few days but I was too weak. I didn't have the energy to show up. I'm afraid I have caused you to misunderstand his highess."
Then all of a sudden, Ju Ming appeared inside her own dream. She walked towards Consort Pan.
"You're alive." Ju Ming said relieved.
But Consort Pan only shook her head. "Only one of us can come out alive. If I take over my body, you will disappear forever." She explained. And that made Ju Ming's heart drop. But she summoned all her courage to speak her next words.
"It's time you take back your body. It is only right."
Again, Consort Pan shook her head. "No, I did not come here to take my body back. I have already made up my mind to leave. I only came to thank you." Consort Pan grabbed both Ju Ming's hand and smiled at her with pure gratefulness.
"Why?" Ju Ming asked confused.
"Because that is the closure I needed. Thank you for making me see his highness in a new light. Maybe because I've always held a grudge against him that I was locked in here. Through you I am able to see that he is a good man. It is my fault for misunderstanding him all these times."
"Do not blame yourself Consort Pan. We are only humans. Humans who make misunderstand one another. His highness knows in his heart that you understand him."
Even when she was comforting Consort Pan, Ju Ming didn't feel right about taking over her body. Not now. Not after she found out the real her was still alive. "Now that you know Pei Nan is a good man, go back to him." Ju Ming tried to persuade her.
A look of appreciation covered Consort Pan's face. "I am already satisfied knowing his highness has found his true love. The special bond between you two, I cannot take that away. Even if I was to return, I will not be happy. Through you, I have found my peace of mind." Consort Pan hugged Ju Ming tightly.
"I'm afraid I will not be able to make up for my mistakes. Please tell Chu'mei I am sorry. I have never been a good mistress to her."
Ju Ming shook her head. "Chu'mei is a strong girl. She will understand you."
Seeing that she had said everything she wanted to, Consort Pan spoke her last words.
"Thank you for everything you have done. Take care and go get him."
And then she vanished.