When General Zhou led the remaining cavalry to break through the Dantat troops’ encirclement and catch up, Duo Zhu was lying on the ground, his chest no longer heaving—he was dead. Xiaoyan lay beside him, also nearly dead.

General Zhou’s face changed drastically. He dismounted, supported Xiaoyan’s back, and placed his finger below Xiaoyan’s jaw to feel a faint, barely discernible pulse still throbbing.

In the distance ahead, dust was flying. Remembering Xiaoyan’s instructions, Zhou immediately ordered, “Three men stay to protect His Majesty, the other two hurry to intercept the carriage!” The remaining two riders galloped away.

Zhou dared not delay. He steadily supported Xiaoyan onto his horse and sped toward the camp.

The other two men raced along, and just as they were about to catch up with the carriage, a rider suddenly appeared at the fork ahead, quickly approaching the carriage. The man bent down and pulled out a figure from inside.

The two men on horseback were about to shoot their arrows when they saw this person craftily hold the person from the carriage behind him as a human shield.

The two hesitated in their shooting stance, aiming their longbows at the horse’s legs, but the rider had already moved farther away, and the two arrows missed their target.

At the fork ahead, the man holding the figure went left, while the carriage went right.

The two men exchanged glances momentarily, then chose to pursue the driverless carriage.

At this critical moment, they had to save whoever they could!

*

General Zhou galloped at full speed, taking less than half an hour to return to the large tent camp outside Di City.

Yu Dai anxiously waited outside the tent. Seeing Zhou return with someone on his back, his chest tightened suddenly. When he recognized the figure, his face showed even greater shock.

“What happened to Ah Yan?”

Zhou hurried into the tent, carefully placing Xiaoyan on the bed. As soon as he had entered the camp, he had already sent someone to quickly summon Chief Physician Hu.

Despite the jolting of the horse, Xiaoyan still hadn’t awakened.

Zhou said with furrowed brows, “Na Guo is dead, but His Majesty fell into a trap. He seems to have been injured by Duo Zhu. I just checked, and the only wound on his body is on his neck—just a shallow cut—but I don’t know why he remains unconscious.”

Hearing this, Yu Dai was startled. He leaned forward to examine the wound closely and noticed that the coagulated blood around the edge of the cut was faintly blackish.

The tent flap was lifted from outside as Chief Physician Hu rushed in hurriedly, running to the bedside and listening as Zhou repeated what had happened. He bent down to examine the wound carefully and said consideringly, “This cut may be poisoned, but I don’t know what poison it is.”

However, Chief Physician Hu, being a man who had weathered many storms, did not panic. First, he used a fine cotton cloth from his medicine box, moistened with a little clean water, and gently wiped the outer edge of the wound. He then put the cloth back in his box to examine it later, to see if he could determine what poison it was.

He felt Xiaoyan’s pulse for a while, then lifted his eyelids to look, and finally said, “We’ll try a few detoxification pills first. Once I can figure out exactly what poison it is, we can administer the appropriate treatment.”

General Zhou’s expression eased slightly, but Yu Dai frowned upon hearing this.

Chief Physician Hu looked at Yu Dai. “Does General Yu have something to say?”

Yu Dai hesitantly said, “In my early years in Dantat, I saw a type of poisonous plant. Those who consumed it would have blackened blood and black sores on their hands and feet. I wonder if this is the poison His Majesty has been afflicted with.”

Chief Physician Hu nodded. “Good. Could General Yu please tell me more details? If we could find this plant, that would be even better.”

*

Before Xiaoyan fell from the carriage, he only had time to glance at Gu Yi inside the vehicle. Seeing that she had no injuries, he finally felt relieved.

However, he knew that he absolutely could not leave Duo Zhu behind. If Duo Zhu remained in the carriage, with Na Guo dead, she would certainly take the opportunity to kill the two people inside.

Xiaoyan pulled Duo Zhu and rolled off the carriage, falling to the ground. Seeing that Duo Zhu could no longer move, he finally closed his eyes and allowed himself to sink drowsily into darkness.

He had thought he would fall unconscious without awareness, but suddenly his head began to split with pain, reminiscent of his previous headaches but far more severe than before. With each breath, it felt as if thousands of needles were slowly being inserted into his temples.

He struggled with all his might to regain consciousness. A flash of white light appeared before his eyes, and he seemed to finally open them.

But the scene before him was neither Di City nor the main camp.

Carved beams and red pillars, with shiny green bricks beneath jade steps, and eight vermilion doors wide open.

He was in the Tianlu Pavilion, watching himself in the pavilion like a wandering soul, just as in countless previous dreams.

He saw two partially opened pure white lotus flowers arranged in a white porcelain vase on the long table in the pavilion. The heat from outside surged in through the wide-open red doors, and the ice mountain in the corner of the room was melting drip by drip.

It was summer.

He turned his head to look at Eunuch Gao standing outside the pavilion and saw an unfamiliar young eunuch walking quickly from afar to Eunuch Gao. The young eunuch wore no smile but rather a mournful expression—the proper, formal grief he had seen in the imperial court.

After listening to the young eunuch speak a few words, Eunuch Gao sighed sadly. He turned around, entered the hall with a bow, and displayed a perfectly appropriate sorrowful expression as he bowed to Xiaoyan, who was reviewing memorials in the Tianlu Pavilion: “Your Majesty, just now someone from Xiu Yidian came to report that Concubine Gu from the western wing of Xiu Yidian passed away last night.”

Concubine Gu from the western wing of Xiu Yidian had passed away?

Xiaoyan was greatly confused. He saw himself at the desk, paused his writing, looked up with puzzlement, and asked, “Passed away?”

Eunuch Gao bowed again: “I heard she choked while dining last night. Unfortunately, no one was around at the time, so she couldn’t be saved. When the palace servants returned to the western wing, they found Concubine Gu with a blue-purple face, already breathless.”

Xiaoyan found this dream absurd, and the version of himself on the dais also seemed slightly stunned before displaying an expression between laughter and tears. However, he quickly composed himself and sighed lightly, “Where is the family of this Concubine Gu from the western wing? Have someone prepare the body and send word to her family. If they wish to take the body back, I permit it at once.”

Eunuch Gao accepted the order and left.

The death of Concubine Gu from the western wing of Xiu Yidian seemed to be a matter of little importance to the dream version of himself.

Was it Gu Yi?

Xiaoyan was filled with doubt and tried to walk outside the Tianlu Pavilion, even if just to take a look at the corpse. Although this dream was absurd, he still wanted to see, but he found that he couldn’t leave at all and was confined to remain by “himself.”

Afterward, he witnessed many people and events in the palace as if flipping through a picture book. Every one was exactly as he had experienced or dreamed of before, but there was no sign of Gu Yi.

Could it be that Gu Yi died from choking at the very beginning?

Later, Xiaoyan saw Zhao Wan in Lady Gong’s palace, watching her meticulously approach himself. He had already discovered her identity as Zhao Jie’s daughter, and Zhao Wan was smoothly promoted higher and higher.

He also witnessed himself recapturing Qing Province, but at the city gate of Yang City, he saw the bloody, arrow-riddled corpse of Xiao Lü.

Xiaoyan was suddenly shocked.

The following spring, Consort Liu, who was in the palace, also died after taking some pearl medicine, her life force completely exhausted.

Zhao Jie’s case was reversed, Dantat was defeated in battle, and he saw himself reach the summit of power, making Zhao Wan his Empress.

Xiaoyan found everything extremely absurd.

However, this dream abruptly ended at the grand ceremony of her investiture as Empress, and everything returned to cold, quiet darkness.

The excruciating pain in his head stirred again, forcing him to struggle to wake up once more.

Before him was still the Tianlu Pavilion in summer, and outside the door was still the small eunuch from Xiu Yidian with a sorrowful expression.

Eunuch Gao entered with a bow and indeed said: “Your Majesty, someone from Xiu Yidian just came to report that Concubine Gu from the western wing of Xiu Yidian passed away last night.”

Xiaoyan heard himself ask, “Passed away?”

But Eunuch Gao replied: “I heard that during last night’s sudden storm, a strong gust of wind knocked a white chrysanthemum stone pot off the bookshelf, which happened to hit Concubine Gu’s forehead. It immediately broke her head open, causing massive bleeding, and she died instantly.”

Gu Yi… died again?

Xiaoyan looked bewilderedly at Eunuch Gao, but heard him on the dais still indifferently say: “Where is the family of this Concubine Gu from the western wing? Have someone prepare the body and send word to her family. If they wish to take the body back, I permit it at once.”

Subsequent events unfolded just as before, passing before his eyes one by one, and again ending at the grand ceremony of the Empress’s investiture.

Xiaoyan vaguely sensed that all of this might not simply be a dream.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself by the lakeside in the Imperial Garden. The sky was pitch black, with bamboo shadows crisscrossing under the lamps. A crack of thunder rolled across the horizon, momentarily illuminating the lake surface white.

Suddenly, a loud “splash” came from across the shore, and palace servants shouted, “Someone has fallen into the water!”

Xiaoyan saw himself, walking ahead, stop in his tracks and order, “Pull the person out.”

After waiting for quite some time, two palace servants skilled in swimming finally dragged the person from the water onto the shore.

This time, Xiaoyan finally saw Gu Yi, but she lay on the ground, soaking wet, with closed eyes, a snow-white face, and a large bloody hole on her forehead.

A palace servant squatted down, checked her breath, and stammered, “Your Majesty, this person is not breathing.”

“Who is this?” he asked.

The palace servant looked for a long time before recognizing her. “It seems to be Concubine Gu from the western wing of Xiu Yidian.”

Xiaoyan saw his gaze coldly sweep over her face, showing a touch of pity, merely saying, “Prepare the body and inform her family.”

Xiaoyan stood in place and squatted down. He wanted to reach out and touch Gu Yi’s cheek to see if it was cold, but he found he couldn’t touch her at all.

Even when Concubine Gu from the western wing of Xiu Yidian died before his very eyes, it was like a tiny pebble thrown into a dry well without ripples, stirring not the slightest emotion.

In the events that followed, everything proceeded as before—each matter, each incident, people coming and going—finally ending on his wedding day with Zhao Wan.

Xiaoyan was anxious and at a loss. Was all this his previous life? Did Gu Yi always die young? Had he and Gu Yi never had a connection before?

His heart refused to believe it.

The excruciating pain in his head suddenly ceased at this moment. A night breeze brushed his face, and before him was the long, dark corridor in front of the Vermilion Bird Gate.

Xiaoyan saw himself disguised as Eunuch Gao turn the corner of the palace wall. In the quiet night, the crisp sound of a dry branch breaking startled him.

Xiaoyan looked toward the sound and saw a woman in palace attire holding a white lantern standing in the corner. As she came closer, in the candlelight, he saw that she had delicate white pearl flowers pinned in her hair. Her almond eyes were wide open, then she quickly lowered her head.

At this moment, Gu Yi timidly curtseyed to him and said, “Greetings to Eunuch Gao. I am Concubine Gu from Xiu Yidian.” After a pause, she quietly added, “The one who sent the golden peanuts.”

But he merely glanced at her briefly without stopping. Gu Yi curtseyed again, “Farewell, Eunuch Gao!”

The next moment, her lantern caught fire, with sparks flying past the black gauze of his official hat.

Xiaoyan saw the murderous intent that flashed in his own eyes.

Seeing Gu Yi panic, his heart suddenly alarmed, but he watched as Gu Yi tremblingly pulled out an embroidered handkerchief. “Eunuch Gao, your face is covered in black soot, making your features indistinguishable. Would you like to wipe it off?”

Xiaoyan couldn’t help but smile.

Indeed, he had met Gu Yi before.

The countless events that had occurred before continued to unfold, but this time, uniquely, Gu Yi was part of them.

They played chess together, enjoyed the moon, and climbed to the top of Wu Mountain.

On Gu Yi’s birthday, he lit a sky lantern for her, wishing her a long life of one hundred years.

Xiaoyan thought that in this life, he must have grown old together with Gu Yi.

On the day Tan Yuan Hall caught fire, a man in gray robes injured Gu Yi, leaving a scar on her leg.

Xiaoyan couldn’t help but sigh, so that was how it was.

At Western Mountain, Gu Yi asked him, “Will Your Majesty carry Concubine Zhao up the mountain in the future as well?”

Zhao Wan seemed to be just as before, always standing between them.

Gu Yi, lying on his back, said to him, “When I have white hair and wrinkled skin, I will still remember today. I will remember all the kindness Your Majesty has shown me!”

Xiaoyan saw Gu’s father, Gu Changtong from Fu Province, and again met Zhou Tinghe. Finally, he heard Gu Yi urgently tell him, “I… I love only Your Majesty in my heart!”

Xiaoyan thought that after this would be the recapture of Qing Province, but instead encountered Bo Gu’s ambush at Li Mountain Tea Garden.

Standing to the side, he spotted the figure rushing down the stone steps early on.

Gu Yi!

A long blade pierced through Gu Yi’s chest. Xiaoyan’s body and mind were greatly shaken, and fear instantly gripped his heart. He watched in disbelief as Gu Yi fell to the ground, her breathing gradually stopping, and finally died in his arms.

Gu Yi… still died…

Bo Gu was sliced into a thousand pieces, but what did it matter? One thing might be exchanged for another, but alas, the dead cannot be exchanged for the living.

Xiaoyan’s temples throbbed chaotically, his mind in a daze, still immersed in enormous grief.

But the scene before him suddenly changed. Bo Gu died, Qing Province was recaptured, Zhao Jie’s case was reversed, and Dantat was conquered.

He achieved imperial dominion but was alone. Gu Yi was buried in the imperial tomb.

So the nightmares he thought he had were all past events. This time, he finally saw his ending.

The phoenix tree was half-dead, the mandarin duck without its mate—he was nothing but a heartbroken man.

Xiaoyan had never believed in ghosts or gods, but if there were divine beings, and life was like a dream, with the past life not to be questioned, then in this life, his only wish was for Gu Yi to truly live until she had white hair and wrinkled skin—a long life of one hundred years.