Feng Suige loosened his horse’s reins and rode alongside Fu Yixiao. He had thought about following her but restrained himself. She was going to say farewell, and he wasn’t someone who should be present.

In truth, he privately hoped Yixiao could stay by his side, but he understood clearly that Su Sha was no paradise for her. He gazed into her bright black eyes, above which sat a pair of sword-like eyebrows, pale in color, sweeping diagonally into her temples. Below was a proud, upturned nose tip and lips pressed into a straight line, almost bloodless upon closer inspection.

In terms of appearance, Fu Yixiao couldn’t be considered a peerless beauty. Her allure lay in her fierce, thorny, and venomous intensity. The occasional starlight escaping from her eyes made one’s heart tremble, irresistibly tempting one to try and make her submit. Yet her tamed appearance was never seen, and the more elusive it became, the more one wanted to try again. His father, the King, was probably one of those, and he had once been the same.

“Is there something on my face?” Yixiao glanced at him. Feng Suige started, shifting his gaze. “It’s not that there’s something on your face. You are a flower.”

Yixiao snorted. “Is that so? If I’m a flower, then what are you?”

Feng Suige said very seriously, “I’m a flower thief.”

Yixiao burst into laughter, so forcefully that she nearly slid off her horse. Feng Suige reached out to steady her. “Come to my side—crying it out will make you feel better.”

“You’re crazy!” Yixiao laughed as she pushed his hand away, cursing.

Yixiao was almost immediately pulled over to him. For the first time, she voluntarily wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head in his chest. In just a moment, Feng Suige felt the wetness on his chest grow, accompanied by a scorching heat. He couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

“I thought for a long time yesterday. Light and darkness are cyclical and interdependent. As long as the bright moon remains, there’s the most dazzling light even in darkness… Fu Yixiao, we’re used to scheming against each other. What I’m saying now might be hard for you to believe, but just remember this—I won’t oppose my father, but I will do everything in my power to protect you. Of course, I have my selfish reasons, and I can’t possibly act without expecting anything in return, but that’s all for later.”

Yixiao, her head still buried, cursed hoarsely, “You are crazy!”

By now, the sun had risen to its zenith, yet it was obscured by clouds, scattering fine points of light in all directions. Ahead loomed the dark gray city walls.

Feng Qishan closed his eyes tiredly and leaned back into the soft cushions. He knew Feng Suige was escorting Fu Yixiao alone to see her off, but he wasn’t worried at all that she might not return—he couldn’t explain why he trusted her, he just knew that if she said she would stay, she would stay.

Initially, he had only intended to keep her under house arrest for a few years, planning to release her back to Jin Xiu after Xiyue had given birth to an heir and secured her position. But the various signs at the wedding banquet had made his intent to kill her grow stronger and stronger in his heart.

But he couldn’t kill her. He exhaled forcefully. At least not now.

The only pity was that such a formidable woman came from an ordinary background. Su Sha didn’t discriminate between men and women in choosing heirs. If she and Xiyue had both been born into the royal family… Feng Qishan’s closed eyelids suddenly twitched, silently rebuking himself for comparing Xiyue to her.

In his memory, Xiyue’s mother, who was then Imperial Consort Chen, was a passionate and devoted woman. He remembered the first time she demanded to accompany the army, and he refused. “If you want to leave your concubine behind, you’ll have to step over my dead body!” She pulled out a gold hairpin from her head and pressed it against her jade-like neck.

He was both angry and anxious. “The battlefield is perilous. You’re just a woman. If you’re captured by mistake, you’ll surely suffer unspeakable torments.” He wanted to scare her away.

“The King won’t let your concubine be captured,” she said resolutely.

“What about death? Aren’t you afraid of dying?” he asked, somewhat helplessly.

“What’s there to fear?” Imperial Consort Chen smiled radiantly. “I love following you, so I’ll die following you as well.”

From then on, no matter when he went on campaigns, the defenseless Imperial Consort Chen would always accompany him, until…

During that campaign, fatigue and worry caused Imperial Consort Chen to go into premature labor. Due to the harsh conditions and lack of medical care, he could only watch helplessly as Imperial Consort Chen’s life ebbed away bit by bit.

After Imperial Consort Chen’s passing, Su Sha’s hundred thousand soldiers, with white cloth tied around their arms, charged into the enemy ranks. After several days of fierce battle, they finally repelled the enemy forces. All thirty thousand prisoners of war were beheaded to appease Imperial Consort Chen’s spirit in heaven.

On the day of his victorious return to the capital, by his side was one less gently speaking flower, and one more tiny swaddled infant.

That was Feng Xiyue.

Xiyue was the continuation of Imperial Consort Chen’s life, the extension of his love for her.

He killed his beloved Consort Shu because the pastries she made had caused Xiyue to vomit and have diarrhea for two days. Consort Zhao, who had always been close to Consort Shu, was displeased and confronted him in court. She too was sentenced to death. After that, none of the imperial consorts dared to cause any more trouble.

When Xiyue heard that there would be grand celebrations among the common people of Jin Xiu on the day of the new emperor’s ascension, she pestered him to go and see. He agreed, not knowing that this single encounter would cause Xiyue to fall in love with Xia Jingshi, who was being conferred as the Prince of Nanzheng.

Xia Jingshi…

Originally, he had been the most likely candidate among several princes of Jin Xiu to be named heir, and also the most capable. But for some unknown reason, he suddenly announced his withdrawal from the struggle for succession. Not long after, news spread that the legitimate son of the then Holy Emperor and Empress had been established as the Crown Prince.

Even now, Feng Qishan still couldn’t fathom why Xia Jingshi would give up the fight for succession.

At the wedding banquet, when faced with Xun Xiang’s provocations, Xia Jingshi revealed a demeanor of innate nobility and kingship, his cold gaze sweeping around with the eyes of a predator.

This man was born to be a ruler, naturally possessing the power to captivate hearts. Yet, he gave up the world that was within his grasp.

Feng Qishan furrowed his brow.

Perhaps because he was busy dealing with a series of noble officials implicated in the Xun Xiang case, or perhaps because he no longer cared after achieving his goal, Feng Qishan hadn’t inquired much about Fu Yixiao’s life in Shui Hui Garden. Feng Suige was also glad not to touch upon this potentially explosive topic.

Fu Yixiao lived a carefree life in the Shui Hui Garden. She still resided in the same pavilion where she had been imprisoned, the only difference being that there were no longer any guards stationed there. Every day, she would simply lie idly on the soft, comfortable couch, quietly gazing out the window, watching the sunrise and the moon set, observing the clouds, rain, and starlight.

Feng Suige would always visit her pavilion at night, sitting for a while and trying to chat about old times. After the events before and after the wedding ceremony, Yixiao’s attitude towards him changed significantly. Occasionally, she would joke with him, but they both consciously avoided topics related to Xia Jingshi and Feng Xiyue.

Sometimes, when feeling playful, Feng Suige would sneak past the servants to the kitchen to boil a few eggs. He would blow on them, grimacing, and peel off the shells before handing them to her. She would always accept them with a faint smile, carefully holding them in her palm as if afraid they might slip away. She would eat them bite by bite while listening to his stories about sneaking into the imperial kitchen at night to steal food when he was young.

The days passed somewhat cautiously, but Feng Suige was content. At least he could let her live peacefully, without any unexpected incidents that might add to the shackles on her heart.

The peaceful days continued until this morning’s court session. Feng Qishan had, as usual, briefly inquired about some unresolved matters and was about to dismiss the court when a scholar-official stood up. “Your subject has a matter to report.”

Feng Qishan was somewhat surprised. Most governmental affairs had already been transferred to Feng Suige, the regent prince. Unless there was some major issue, the ministers wouldn’t usually present memorials in court.

Feng Suige’s face darkened. Of course, he knew what this was about. These pedantic old ministers, priding themselves on their learning and status, had been pointing fingers at him all day. After being rebuked by him twice, they wanted to bring it up to his father at the court meeting—

“…Although that woman from the Jin Xiu Kingdom is a noble guest of Your Majesty, she is after all an outsider. The Prince Regent bears important responsibilities and inevitably brings confidential documents home to work on. Therefore, we believe it is not appropriate for her to stay in the Prince’s private residence. We humbly request Your Majesty to issue an edict to find her alternative accommodation and deploy some imperial guards to keep watch…”

The scholar-official continued his statement, nodding and shaking his head, ignoring Feng Suige’s glare.