Birthday?

He had investigated her background and had always remembered her birthday. Ziqing herself, if it hadn’t been for investigating Madam Ci, might never have learned the date at all.

A birthday — it seemed she had never really had one before. In her past life, she had been an orphan; she didn’t even know which day she had actually been born.

She had thought, once, of simply picking a date for herself. But with no one to spend it with, she had let the idea drop.

Though she’d let it go, it couldn’t help but feel like a small regret.

She never imagined Xuanyuan Lige would remember — that he would arrange all of this.

Watching Xuanyuan Lige walk step by step toward her, Ziqing’s heart was truly a tangle of mixed feelings, something indescribable, bittersweet, and yet she couldn’t deny she was deeply moved, deeply surprised.

Having someone remember this day, having someone prepare so much with such care just to celebrate her birthday — it felt truly good.

But — what if she had never woken up?

Wouldn’t all of this have been for nothing?

Wasn’t he the real fool here?

“Fool, what if I’d never woken up?” she couldn’t help but ask, feeling as though she’d been transported back to the past, back to when he had first kidnapped her.

Back then, Jun Beiyue hadn’t yet had any place in her life.

Back then, though he’d been an abductor, he had been graceful, gentlemanly, and attentive in his care of her.

She herself had still just been a simple, unencumbered person, with no ties to anything — the grudges and conflicts between Da Zhou and Dongqin had had nothing to do with her at all.

And he had been the kindest kidnapper she had ever encountered. He’d told her that once Xichu and Da Zhou went to war, she could leave. He had even taught her to play the zither.

Even knowing full well she was Jun Beiyue’s princess consort, because of a promise, he had rescued her from Xuanyuan Zhaoxi’s camp with his own two hands and personally escorted her back to Da Zhou.

She had never imagined she would fall in love with Jun Beiyue. Back then, she had thought the two of them — she and Xuanyuan Lige — could become friends!

And right now, in this very moment, it felt exactly like that time all over again.

All the complicated tangles of the world were, for the moment, set aside. There was only him and her.

Xuanyuan Lige didn’t stop in front of Ziqing. Smiling, he brushed past her and walked into the courtyard, sitting down before that unusual zither stand.

“Da!”

He plucked gently, the motion light, yet the sound was surprisingly loud — clearly produced by a blade of wind energy.

Though it lacked the timbre of actual zither strings, it strangely didn’t sound like the ordinary knock of wood on wood either — there was something ancient and profound about it.

What was he going to play?

Without meaning to, Ziqing set aside all the urgent matters weighing so heavily on her mind and slowly sat down on the threshold.

How long had it been since she’d sat so quietly like this, listening to him play?

The first time she’d heard him play had been during his match with Chu Feiyan, hadn’t it? And the last time — she could no longer remember, it felt as distant as something from a past life.

This time, what would he play?

She remembered that ever since he’d taught her every tune he knew, whenever he played in front of her, it was always that same piece — Lishang.

There wasn’t much left of the secret of Lishang. She and Jun Beiyue had been working hard, not only for the future of Da Zhou’s empire, but also concerning Yaoshun Island and Mingsha Mountain — these two places held the last secrets of Lishang!

“Da-da, da-da-da…”

Soon, the rhythm emerged, and to Ziqing’s astonishment, it wasn’t Lishang at all. She listened intently, carefully, yet she simply could not make out what piece this was.

Xuanyuan Lige, head lowered, seemed lost in thought as he played on, the corners of his lips unconsciously curving upward little by little.

Gradually, Ziqing realized this was an entirely new piece — the rhythm growing brighter and brighter, more and more urgent, yet with no trace of tension at all, only a joyful, lively bounce!

The more Ziqing listened, the more entranced she became — perhaps only Xuanyuan Lige’s music could captivate her so.

What a cheerful, joyful melody it was! Listening to it felt like standing amid mountain forests warmed by spring, watching a hundred flowers vying for beauty on lush green grass, watching colorful butterflies dance, hearing birds sing, hearing streams babble merrily…

Her mood unconsciously grew lighter and more cheerful right along with it, and it dawned on her all at once — so this was what happiness felt like!

As Ziqing listened, the corners of her lips unconsciously curved into a smile, and, half-laughing, she instinctively reached back for her Wuzheng — only to find nothing there. She had been so absorbed that she hadn’t noticed her slender fingers had already begun playing along in the air, matching his rhythm.

For no particular reason, she found herself carried along by the joyful rhythm the melody conveyed, her own mood turning light and unburdened right along with it.

She had never known that Xuanyuan Lige was capable of playing music like this.

She thought, surely only someone happy could play such a tune!

Yet she didn’t know — someone who wished for another’s happiness could play a happy tune too.

Simply because he wished for her to be happy, over these past two weeks, he had composed this piece.

Da-da-da, da-da-da…

The melody gradually came to a stop. On his pale, handsome face, a bright smile had long since bloomed. “Fool, if you won’t wake up, I suppose I’ll have to celebrate for you instead.”

She looked at him and couldn’t help bursting into laughter, laughing helplessly as she shook her head — helpless, wry, unable to do anything about him at all.

The two of them looked at each other, not quite knowing what to do next, simply grinning at each other like fools.

At last, it was Ziqing who spoke first. “Wish me… wish me a happy birthday!”

He frowned slightly, not quite understanding such a modern expression.

“Wish me a happy birthday!” Ziqing repeated.

Only then did he understand, and he laughed. “Happy birthday to you.”

But then, Ziqing suddenly turned serious. “Ah Li… thank you.”

Lige — how long had it been since she’d called him by that name?

He was still smiling. “No need to thank me. Just stay here…”

She froze, looking at his bright yet pale smile, and her heart suddenly ached.

“Fool, you really can’t take a joke, can you. I’m only teasing.” he said with a cheerful laugh.

Her heart ached even more.

“Really, I’m only joking. I… I’m about to take a wife.”

It was rare for him to speak a true word from the bottom of his heart, and even that truth had to be covered up with yet another lie.

As he spoke, he glanced to the right — that girl, Yu Xiaomeng, had already been standing there for an entire day. He had known it all along.

Yu Xiaomeng had slipped out early that morning while her mother, Madam Yu, was out gathering herbs, rushing all the way here, yet not daring to show herself, foolishly watching him busy himself around the courtyard the entire day!

Watching all those oil lamps, she had had no idea what he was actually doing, only assuming he’d gone mad — because that woman needed to stay warm, he had to make the whole courtyard warm as well.

Not until nightfall, when he lit the lamps one by one, and the surroundings gradually filled with twinkling points of light, finally becoming as brilliant as scattered stars — not until then, when the woman inside opened the door and stepped out, not until he sat amid the stars and played the zither empty-handed for that woman — did Yu Xiaomeng finally understand. All of this had only ever been to win a beauty’s smile.

Only, the two of them didn’t look like lovers at all.

She could clearly sense his indulgence toward the woman, his tolerance, his devoted effort, his restraint.

Yet she couldn’t sense any feeling from the girl toward him — only gratitude, only appreciation. But gratitude and appreciation, however genuine, were not the same as love!

And now he was saying he was going to marry someone?

He was looking her way?

What did this mean?

Yu Xiaomeng froze, instinctively wanting to flee, but the moment she met Xuanyuan Lige’s smiling gaze, it was as if she’d been bewitched — her legs turned to lead, and she couldn’t run no matter how hard she tried.

Take a wife?

Ziqing’s heart gave a sudden jolt, and she, too, looked toward Yu Xiaomeng. How had she not noticed this girl standing nearby? When had she arrived — had she been standing there long?

Take a wife?

What did Xuanyuan Lige mean by this?