Li Shimin Quotes

“Shimin gulps. "The last thing I needed was another reason for the world to hate me. Though, now..."
"Now?" Yizhi's voice goes as airy as the steam wreathing around them.
"Now, I see-" Shimin grabs Yizhi's chin. "It's all fucking bullshit."
He slams the window shut with his other arm, then leans down and takes Yizhi's lips with his own.
My heart stutters, drawing my chest tight. But I'm at peace with this. Instead of a betrayal of any form, it feels like a completion. My killer boy, my sweet boy. The final line in this triangular formation we've been dancing in, making us stronger than ever.
This is unconventional, yet another implicit rule we're breaking, but you know what? It works for us. And I think the three of us are done with letting the world tell us what's okay and what isn't.”
― Xiran Jay Zhao, Iron Widow

“Where does jealousy come from, if not an insecurity that I'll lose you because of him? But that's not how it works, no matter how many people believe it so. You're not something to be kept or taken, and love isn't some scarce resource to battle over. Love can be infinite, as much as your heart can open. I mean, when you think about it, love is fueled mostly by compatibility. Whether two people make each other happy by being close. So it'd be pointless of me to resent Shimin. However compatible you are with him, it doesn't have anything to do with how compatible you are with me.”
― Xiran Jay Zhao, Iron Widow