“Why don’t you come with me” — those six words were right on the tip of his tongue, almost ready to spill out.

He could cherish her better. He wouldn’t need three wives and four concubines, wouldn’t have to wrong her for the sake of court politics, wouldn’t let her suffer like this. He could accompany her properly while she did what she wanted to do.

But before he could speak, Hua Chun spoke first, her voice low and unconcerned: “There really are too many things in this world that don’t go the way you want. But that’s exactly what makes it interesting — otherwise living would be so dry and boring.”

He Chang’an was slightly stunned.

The sky lantern was lit. Hua Chun steadied it with her hands, thought for a moment, and said, “I think I’ve finally figured it out. If everything went the way I wanted, that would be boring too. The whole meaning of life lies in its uncertainty. I don’t know what the Emperor is thinking, I don’t know why he’s grown cold toward me — but since I don’t know, then I’ll just go find out the reason. Who told me to like him, after all?”

His throat tightened. He Chang’an asked hoarsely, “When did you start liking him so much?”

Hua Chun blinked, not entirely sure herself. “I don’t remember. Just… somehow I ended up liking him a lot.”

That, he could actually understand. It was the same for him — somehow, without knowing when, he too had come to like her.

He sighed. “If being with him doesn’t make you happy, will you keep persisting anyway?”

“No,” Hua Chun said. “Everyone’s persistence has its limits. If there are a hundred steps between him and me, and I’ve walked ninety-nine of them but he won’t take the last one, then I won’t take that last step either. I’ll leave him.”

“Why?” He Chang’an clearly couldn’t understand the logic. “You’ve already walked ninety-nine steps. Not taking the last one — isn’t that a waste?”

“It has nothing to do with waste. It’s a matter of a person’s dignity,” Hua Chun said, shrugging. “If in a relationship it’s always only me giving, then there’s no point continuing. No matter how much you like someone, you can’t have zero dignity — doing everything for the other person and asking nothing in return, that’s just being a fool.”

He Chang’an paused, looking at her with a complicated expression. “I was worried for a while that you were too foolish, that you’d be taken advantage of.”

“Don’t worry, Second Brother.” Hua Chun smiled brightly. “I know my limits well. I know exactly when to persist and when to let go.”

“…Mm.” He Chang’an nodded, watching her smile, and couldn’t help smiling along with her, momentarily forgetting what he’d meant to say.

He let go, and the sky lantern floated upward. Hua Chun worried for a moment that it would fall, but found there was no problem at all. All around, sky lanterns rose together, high and low, like palace lanterns hanging in the night sky — the sight was rather stirring.

“So pretty!” Hua Chun clapped her hands. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen something like this!”

Nonsense, Qing Niao thought silently, standing behind her. In the modern era, plenty of parks released Kongming lanterns every Spring Festival, but every time someone asked her to go watch, she’d hide at home and watch dramas instead — so naturally it really had been a long time since she’d seen this.

Still, standing here behind them, watching her mistress and the Marquis of Gongyu in front of her, the height difference between them was actually rather adorable — even their backs looked well-matched.

What a pity, though… sigh.

They released seven or eight sky lanterns in a row. Hua Chun drew cartoon characters on them, and even wrote famous quotes and English phrases. But on the last one, she thought for a moment, pressed her palms together, wrote nothing at all, and simply let it float up into the sky.

He Chang’an glanced at her. “Made a wish?”

“Mm.” Hua Chun nodded. “Hopefully it comes true.”

“A wish about the Emperor?”

“No.” Hua Chun smiled faintly. “It only concerns myself.”

He Chang’an nodded slightly, brought over a cloak and wrapped it around her, then said, “We should head back.”

“Mm.” The mountain wind was faintly cool. She took one last look at the sky full of lanterns, then turned and followed him down the mountain.

Zichen Hall.

Eunuch Qin truly couldn’t figure out what the Emperor was thinking. News had just come in about Consort Hua, and he wasn’t sure whether to mention it or not. Seeing that His Majesty showed no sign of wanting to ask, he simply held his tongue.

But when the appointed hour arrived, Yuwen Jie still spoke up: “What did she go do today?”

Eunuch Qin sighed softly. “Her Highness was in low spirits, so the Marquis invited her up the mountain to release sky lanterns.”

The Emperor’s expression didn’t change at all. He nodded. “Go fetch Us a plate of pastries.”

So it seemed he truly didn’t care anymore? Eunuch Qin shook his head, feeling an inexplicable pang of regret, but still went out to obey the order.

By the time he returned, the teacup on the table had somehow shattered — not knocked to the floor, but broken right there on the table, tea and tea leaves spilled everywhere.

Startled, Eunuch Qin quickly called for someone to clean up the mess, and asked nervously, “What happened here?”

“The cup was too fragile,” the Emperor said flatly. “We merely let it slip, didn’t hold it steady, and it shattered on its own.”

I see… Eunuch Qin nodded, hurried to bring him a new cup, then went back to attending the Emperor as he revised memorials.

From then on, the Emperor showed no more emotion at all. Eunuch Qin thought he understood clearly enough by now — His Majesty’s fresh interest in the woman must have faded again, hence this coldness.

Sigh, at this rate, when would the palace ever get an Empress?

Hua Chun had finished organizing the list of senior court officials, along with the biographical details of their descendants that she’d had He Chang’an investigate. Based on character and conduct, she selected an heir for each of Grand Tutor Tang and the others, drew up a table listing which official post corresponded to which descendant, and noted the appropriate compensation and rewards along with her reasoning. Then she handed it to He Chang’an.

“You really are impressive.” After looking it over for a long while, He Chang’an nodded. “I’ll deliver this to His Majesty.”

“Mm.” Hua Chun nodded. “I’ll keep resting.”

“All right.”

She had been out of the palace for five days now. He Chang’an felt it was time to ask the Empress Dowager to extend her family-visit leave — after all, since the Emperor was so cold toward Consort Hua, every extra day away was a day gained; there was nothing good waiting for her back in the palace anyway.

With that thought, he took the table first to Zichen Hall, left it for the Emperor to look over himself, then turned and headed to Huiming Hall.

Looking at the table, the Emperor knew at once whose work it was without even asking. He pressed his lips together and turned to ask Eunuch Qin, “Shouldn’t she be coming back by now?”

Eunuch Qin was stunned for a moment.

When the Emperor referred to the women of the harem, he usually addressed them distantly by rank — Consort Huo, Consort Shu, or, back when she was here, Noble Consort Hua. Using “she” — that was probably reserved for Consort Hua alone.

“Reporting to Your Majesty, if you wish Consort Hua to return, you need only issue the decree.”

Yuwen Jie pressed his lips together. “If We don’t issue a decree, can she simply not come back?”

Eunuch Qin nodded earnestly. “It seems the Marquis intends to have Her Highness stay longer at the manor. He’s already gone to Huiming Hall to report to the Empress Dowager. As for Your Majesty…”