Emperor Xiao’s life had been very difficult lately.

The walls of the Grand Tutor’s residence had been easy to climb before – he used to climb them whenever he had something to do or nothing to do, climbing into someone’s room to peek around, or directly abducting that person for moonlit romantic encounters. Although the peeking often failed, and although that someone was never very cooperative under the flowers and moon, regardless, the act of wall-climbing itself had been very free and uninhibited.

Now it was different. After a certain incident that left Emperor Xiao feeling extremely wronged, tragic, and bewildered, when he once again attempted his old trick of deliberately preparing to scale the wall, he looked up and immediately sucked in a cold breath.

Atop the high walls of the Grand Tutor’s residence, overnight, dense rows of sharp spikes had been planted. The spikes were all made of refined iron, thick as fingers, with gleaming points that shone with a dark green light in the moonlight – this fierce color made His Imperial Majesty know with just his finger that they were poisoned.

Xiao Jue hissed through his teeth and looked up at that corner tower of the Grand Tutor’s residence with deep unease. The woman living in that tower – even calling her “the most venomous woman’s heart” would be too polite. Afraid that spikes alone wouldn’t stop him, she had actually added poison!

Fine, if he couldn’t climb walls, surely he could use the main gate? Xiao Jue went around to the front entrance, only to find that the Grand Tutor’s residence, which usually bustled with carriages and horses even at night, was particularly quiet today. Xiao Jue hurried inside with his head down, when suddenly guards emerged from behind and extended their arms to block him. “Your Majesty!”

Xiao Jue flew into a rage – it was one thing for Chang Ge to block him, but how dare they? He was about to scold them when the guard tremblingly pointed with his hand. Only then did Xiao Jue notice the large red and black lanterns hanging from the gate beam – in Western Liang, this meant someone in the residence had smallpox and everyone else should please stay away.

You have smallpox, yet Rong’er is still in the camp being a soldier? You have smallpox, yet Chu Feihuan still trains troops during the day and returns to the residence at night? You avoid him but block me, yet you don’t avoid him? He lives in the same residence with you day and night facing each other, and I’ve been gritting my teeth and enduring it, but now you won’t even let me climb walls, and you hang lanterns at the gate claiming smallpox!

Xiao Jue reached out to grab the lantern, wanting to trample that thing under his feet. His secretly protecting guards immediately swarmed out in groups, desperately blocking him – no, absolutely not! What was smallpox? People turned pale at the mere mention of smallpox. For His Majesty to actually want to touch something hung outside a residence with smallpox patients was absolutely, utterly impossible!

The guards who rushed out crowded together in front of the Grand Tutor’s residence gate, crying and desperately blocking him with their lives. Xiao Jue was forcibly pushed back, and seeing that people around were already poking their heads out to watch the excitement, he had no choice but to stop. He really hated that he wasn’t a tyrant – whoever blocks me gets beheaded!

Yet leaving like this left him truly unwilling. Chang Ge had been claiming illness and not attending court for some time since that incident. He truly missed her desperately and hadn’t been able to sleep well. Now the Grand Tutor’s residence refused him entry, even pulling out the smallpox excuse. How much longer would these days of unbearable longing last?

After thinking it over, he stretched out his hand and Xiao Jue shouted, “Bring paper and brush!”

Paper and brush were quickly brought. Emperor Xiao sprawled over the stone lion at the gate and scribbled several large characters. Before the ink was dry, he unceremoniously pasted it on the Grand Tutor’s residence gate, then stepped back, cast a lingering glance at those flying eaves, and silently turned to leave.

He was planning to go to the suburban military camp, taking the roundabout route of having his son help him break through.

After the crowd dispersed from in front of the gate, that paper still fluttered on the door, unattended. The surrounding residents feared those two words “smallpox” and though curious, dared not approach.

After a long while, the tightly closed gate of the Grand Tutor’s residence suddenly opened just a crack. A snow-white hand emerged – slender in form with extremely nimble fingertips that deftly plucked the paper away.

Wind lifted the paper’s corners, vaguely revealing the bold calligraphy within:

“Even if you have smallpox, I don’t care. If we’re going to get it, let’s get it together – don’t leave me out!”

Young Master Xiao Baozi’s life had also been very difficult lately.

The vast difference between being a soldier and being a crown prince truly left Baozi grief-stricken beyond words.

Running drills at high noon, sweat dripping on the earth below,

Who knows the food in bowls comes from cabbages boiled in broth.

Alone crouching on guard duty, stomach empty and howling long,

If Chu people do not know, bright moon comes to shine upon.

Baozi listlessly gripped his chopstick-thin spear while standing guard, a piece of paper stuck to his chest reading: “This person is dead, burn paper for business.”

Using the spear to prop up his chin, his body tilted at a forty-five-degree angle, Baozi was off in a reverie. Roasted pig, deer tongue, roasted mutton, ham, various pastries were whirling and flying before his eyes, carrying tantalizing aromas and seductive poses as they laughingly rushed toward him. In his beautiful dream, Baozi grinned with delight, considering whether to grab the ham first or the roasted pig first.

“Ahem.”

After Baozi’s prolonged struggle, he finally decided to enjoy the roasted pig first. Just as his fingertips touched that delicious golden, oil-sizzling pig leg, an untimely, inappropriate dry cough sounded.

Bang! The beautiful dream shattered, the roasted pig flew away.

Baozi angrily raised his head, a drop of crystal saliva trembling at the corner of his mouth before falling to the ground, like Crown Prince Xiao’s heartbroken tears of parting with delicious food.

“You damned thing interrupted my good business…”

“Xiao Rong!”

The angry shout timely stopped the greeting that Xiao Baozi was about to voice – one that could curse for three days and nights without repetition. The drowsy, confused Baozi stared with wide eyes and only then clearly saw that standing before him was his furious emperor father.

Baozi stared at his old man, thinking that coming from the palace, he must have eaten his fill of palace delicacies before coming out. Oh, my corn pastries, oh, my phoenix-tail candy… grief welling from within and unable to be cut off, Baozi immediately blocked with his spear horizontally and shouted with full vigor, “State your name, visitor!”

…

After a long pause, Emperor Xiao, who had suffered the tragic fate of rejection even before his son, looked his “heroically spirited” son up and down. His gaze especially made several extra turns around his mis-buttoned shirt, then looked at the large wooden stump he stood on to add height, saying ominously, “Xiao Jue.”

“Mm,” Baozi pretended to dig in his ears, “Never heard of him. Which camp leader? What business? There are rules for paying respects – where’s the calling card?”

Thud, thud – the military officers who had come to greet them collapsed one after another.

“The calling card is this!” With a rumbling sound, heaven and earth spun. Xiao Baozi was grabbed up by his old man and received a crisp slap on his bottom. “My dragon palm print – is that enough?”

Baozi flew into a rage and hugged his father’s waist, giving it a vicious bite. “Not enough! Send some more roasted dragon meat!”

A sharp intake of breath sounded.

Xiao Jue, bitten on the soft flesh of his waist, didn’t feel pain but rather ticklish. He couldn’t help but smile, yet heard that rascal clinging to his chest whisper, “You hit me? I’m going to tell my mother when I get back. I’ll say a certain family head, due to certain disharmonious aspects of life, vented his emotions on a child without cause, leading to physical and mental trauma to said child, causing adverse psychological consequences…”

Xiao Jue looked down to meet his son’s threatening gaze. Though he couldn’t quite understand the strange words coming from his mouth, he vaguely knew it meant tattling to Chang Ge. His first reaction was that this little rascal had turned rebellious and needed a beating! But thinking again, he suddenly realized with great sadness that it seemed anyone speaking before Chang Ge was more effective than himself… Woe!

Suppressing his heart full of grief and indignation and the urge to howl at the heavens, Xiao Jue “very gently” put his son down and whispered in his ear, “Son, are you coming home tonight? Will Father Emperor take you back together? Have your mother prepare a feast to nourish you properly – look how thin you’ve gotten.”

“Don’t, old dad.” Baozi pushed him away, grinning as he looked at Xiao Jue’s strangely expressive face. “My mother has stored good food for me in the main tent. Every three days I can go replenish my provisions. If I go home without permission, three replenishments are deducted. If I bring home someone she doesn’t want to see, thirty replenishments are deducted. Old dad, you calculate – thirty times, that’s three months of my snacks! Even if you prepare a feast, could it make up for my losses?”

Xiao Jue fell silent, his knuckles cracking audibly. After a long while, he said in a low, vicious voice, “I’ll bring you feasts every day to replenish your provisions. You don’t need to worry about your mother’s snacks.”

“My mother said that as long as I accept bribes without permission, she’ll make Fengman Tower collapse within three days.” Baozi wagged his finger. “Old dad, feasts are what I desire, but Fengman Tower is also what I desire. Not only do these two conflict, but I choose mother over father!”

The fifth year of Qian Yuan’s snowless, lonely winter slowly passed under someone’s frantic circling, testing in all directions, encountering iron walls on all sides, and finding himself in desperate straits.

By the time His Imperial Majesty sat listlessly on his throne in Longzhang Palace, counting on his fingers that Chang Ge hadn’t seen him for three months, twelve days, and two hours, the eunuchs of Longzhang Palace were already busily climbing ladders to hang lanterns and drape colorful satin.

Xiao Jue watched the eunuchs going in and out with jubilant faces for a long while, then looked at Longzhang Palace decorated with exceptional festivity and prosperity, before realizing that it was almost New Year’s Eve.

From the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, the imperial palace entered the New Year celebration period. A series of seal ceremonies, ceremonial robes, kitchen god worship, palace cleaning, peach charm pasting, spirit welcoming, incense burning, year treading… Xiao Jue handled them all absent-mindedly, feeling he couldn’t muster enthusiasm for anything.

Today, rising at the fourth watch to burn incense in all palaces, he should have gone to Changshou Palace to pay respects after the incense ceremony and share the morning meal with the consorts. But Changshou Palace had no mistress, and the harem, due to the affairs of Concubine Yao and Concubine Shu, made Xiao Jue even more disgusted. The study had been sealed, so there was nothing to do. From the fourth watch to noon – seven or eight hours – His Imperial Majesty spent entirely in a daze.

The afternoon sunlight slowly moved across Longzhang Palace, casting the brilliant light of red satin into Xiao Jue’s vacant eyes, finally awakening him.

Today was New Year’s Eve! The New Year! When all families reunited! Was he still going to spend it like all those previous years, staying in this empty Longzhang Palace, keeping company with the bright moon, toasting his shadow, drinking alone until drunk amid gold powder and jade brocade, then awakening in bewilderment to the golden drums of New Year’s Day?

If she had never returned, there would be nothing more to say – he would just continue like this year after year. But she had returned. Was he really going to continue staying in this Longzhang Palace drinking cold wine facing the empty inner chambers, while she spent New Year with a man, holding her son, gathered around a table with high-burning red candles in joyful harmony? Could he only imagine with a heart full of sadness, unable even to join her warmth and happiness, only hearing it by circling around walls?

This was unbearable – as a man it was unbearable, and as her former man, it was especially unbearable.

Xiao Jue jumped up with a start and immediately rode out of the palace, prepared to brazenly face his one hundred twenty-eighth rejection.

Passing through the lively Tianqu and Xifu streets, the entire street was filled with families happily shopping for New Year goods, wanting to carry them home for the celebration. Dressed in red and green, calling to wives and husbands, though Xiao Jue hurried along, he couldn’t help but stop his horse and gaze absent-mindedly for several moments.

Human family bonds, the warmth of the mortal world – when would he truly possess them?

Xiao Jue was lost in thought on horseback when he suddenly felt the horse sway. Playful children were excitedly running past his horse’s side carrying sugar-coated hawthorns and strings of firecrackers, followed by parents calling out anxiously, afraid they might fall. The father caught up first, dusting off his son and showing affectionate scolding mixed with indulgence. The mother chattered as she collected the toys the little child had accidentally scattered. On the faces of this ordinary couple was a smile of harmony and contentment.

Xiao Jue stared in a daze. Though this prosperous scene of peaceful times and abundant harvests was his creation, at this moment the Western Liang Emperor felt no sense of glory or satisfaction, only deep envy.

After standing stunned for a while, he suddenly leaped off his horse and began buying things at roadside stalls. Poor His Imperial Majesty had spent his life either at war or being emperor. Even as an unfavored prince in his youth, he wouldn’t have shopped personally. Today was truly a new experience for him in this lifetime. So after wandering the stalls for a long time, he simply copied others – if they bought sugar-coated hawthorns, he wanted them too; if they bought pellet drums, he took them too; if they bought firecrackers that made a thousand sounds, he wanted ones that made ten thousand sounds. This made the stall owner glare at him with an ugly expression and scold, “Where did this fool come from! Ten-thousand-sound firecrackers are only made for the palace – you can’t buy them even with money!”

Xiao Jue rubbed his nose and continued choosing things for Chang Ge. This time he faced difficulty – everything on these stalls seemed too crude, unworthy of the incomparable Chang Ge. The silk flowers were vulgar and gaudy, the rouge was thick and greasy, the jade hairpins and gold rings were old-fashioned in style. How could he present such things?

His Imperial Majesty squeezed among a crowd of men and women in bright clothes, picking and choosing at the stalls, nearly turning over all the merchandise. The vendor frowned repeatedly, but Xiao Jue couldn’t see, focused entirely on his careful selection – sigh, he had never personally bought anything for Chang Ge in this lifetime. This feeling was truly strange.

The gift hadn’t even been given yet, and he wasn’t sure if she would accept it, so why did just choosing the gift here make his heart so joyful?

Xiao Jue wore a trace of relaxed smile and finally found a hairpin at the bottom of the goods pile. It was of very ordinary quality – the hairpin head was made from a whole piece of green jade carved into a flying wild goose, with a small piece of black agate for the eyes. The color was deep, lustrous, and brilliantly luminous. Among the stall full of golden phoenixes and jade peaches, it had a distinctive, transcendent charm. Especially those eyes reminded him of Chang Ge’s eyes – flowing with infinite radiance.

Xiao Jue said delightedly, “This one!”

The vendor rolled his eyes as he handed over the item. When it came time to pay, another problem arose – Emperor Xiao hadn’t brought any money.

The vendor watched him pat left and right without producing anything, his expression already changing from blue to black. He rapped on his stall impatiently, “Customer, if you don’t have money, please don’t handle my merchandise!”

Xiao Jue smiled sheepishly. He naturally knew that buying things required payment – he just really didn’t have the habit. When secretly following guards tried to step forward to pay, Xiao Jue immediately extended his arm to block them – today all gifts had to be bought by his own hand.

After thinking, he pulled off the gold buttons from his sleeves with rapid pops, smoothed the dragon patterns on them with his fingers, and handed them to the vendor.

The vendor dubiously took them, examining them repeatedly in his hands. Though Western Liang was wealthy, they hadn’t reached the point of using gold as currency. Common people at most had seen large silver ingots. Having someone casually pull a button from their clothes that turned out to be gold was truly hard to believe.

Xiao Jue, impatient with the fuss, grabbed a gold button and lightly pinched it. The button immediately flattened into a thin gold leaf. Xiao Jue raised his long eyebrows and smiled at the vendor, showing a mouthful of white teeth. “How’s that?”

The vendor jumped in fright, afraid that hands capable of flattening gold might flatten his head, and quickly accepted the gold leaf without another word. Xiao Jue laughed heartily, gathered up a pile of things, mounted his horse, and headed for the Grand Tutor’s residence.

Seeing the grim green spikes on the wall from afar, Xiao Jue sighed, tied his purchases into a bundle on his back, and prepared to climb the wall. Spikes were spikes, poison was poison – today no matter what, he would spend New Year in the Grand Tutor’s residence! He didn’t believe that if he got poisoned and collapsed in her residence, she could ignore it.

If she really ignored it, his life would have no meaning anyway.

Xiao Jue sighed and raised his leg.

“Creak.”

Xiao Jue turned in amazement to see the Grand Tutor’s residence gate, closed for many days, slowly opening. Two lines of people came out carrying lanterns. The first line he vaguely recognized as Chang Ge’s Phoenix Alliance subordinates. The chief steward of the Grand Tutor’s residence stepped forward and bowed deeply to Xiao Jue, saying, “The Grand Tutor commanded this humble one to wait here for a long time. Please, Your Majesty.”

Xiao Jue’s eyes widened, somewhat unable to adapt to the current scene. After months of being accustomed to closed doors, this courteous welcome left him rather at a loss. After staring for a long while, he said, “To welcome me?”

The steward’s calm countenance hid a trace of smile as he bowed again. “The Grand Tutor instructed that if anyone is seen climbing walls, they must be pulled down from the wall and invited into the residence for a gathering.”

Xiao Jue raised his eyebrows, looked back at the wall with its high-standing spike heads, laughed heartily, asked no more questions, and followed the steward into the residence.

Entering the gate, he noticed that the so-called smallpox lantern had disappeared.

The Grand Tutor’s residence was also decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers. The feast extended from the main hall all the way to the courtyard. Except for those on duty at their posts, all servants of the Grand Tutor’s residence and Phoenix Alliance subordinates had already gathered in the garden to drink, their joking laughter carrying to the back courtyard, creating an extremely lively and relaxed atmosphere.

The steward respectfully led the way, saying in a low voice, “The Grand Tutor awaits in the warm pavilion.”

Xiao Jue felt his heart grow warm and quickened his pace. Just as he turned around a corridor, a small red figure whooshed out and rolled warmly into his arms.

“Father Emperor!”

Xiao Jue caught him perfectly and before he could kiss his son’s extremely flamboyant and gaudy face, he was baptized with saliva first. Then the little fellow extended his hand, grabbed that large bundle, and laughed triumphantly, “New Year money! New Year money!”

Xiao Jue quickly put him down and opened the bundle with a touch of pride, saying, “Rong’er, look what I bought for you!”

Baozi stared wide-eyed and rummaged through the bundle’s contents for a while. Looking at those clay dolls, pellet drums, small windmills, and clay whistles that he had tired of playing with when he was two, he had a strong urge to laugh. However, seeing his emperor father’s proudly expectant expression, he rolled his eyes, pounced forward and nuzzled him, “Good father! You’re so good! I love these most!”

Youtiao’er stared with a black expression at his master who was hugging clay dolls with an intoxicated expression, deceiving his old father into a satisfied silly smile, inwardly criticizing his master’s shamelessness. “…Yesterday you said you hated clay dolls most…”

Baozi nuzzled against his old father, wiping all the messy rouge and powder marks that the uncles had applied to his face clean on his father’s sleeves before releasing Xiao Jue, constantly pushing him, “Go on, go on, my mother is waiting for you to eat New Year dinner.”

“My mother is waiting for you to eat New Year dinner.”

This simple sentence nearly brought tears to Xiao Jue’s eyes.

Not only because it was the first time in months that Chang Ge had sent a message of forgiveness instead of rejection and coldness, but also because of the atmosphere of home implied in this sentence.

How many years had it been since anyone waited for me to eat New Year dinner together?

Xiao Jue gently touched the hairpin hidden in his bosom, wearing a brilliantly satisfied smile as he went to push open the warm pavilion door.

The door suddenly opened by itself. Chu Feihuan emerged gracefully holding a wine cup, saying to someone inside as he opened the door, “I’m going to toast the brothers and set off firecrackers with Rong’er.” Turning his head to meet Xiao Jue face to face, he smiled faintly at him and said, “Your Majesty, today is a good day. I only hope you will cherish it well.” Without looking back, he left.

Xiao Jue watched his slender, handsome retreating figure, his heart filled with emotions he couldn’t identify – jealousy, envy, confusion, or gratitude. He stood stunned at the door for a long while until he heard the person inside laugh softly, “What? Have you gotten so used to eating behind closed doors that you have indigestion facing a New Year feast?”

Xiao Jue’s eyes lit up like cold stars flashing in the winter night sky. As he stepped through the door, he smiled and said, “You’re finally willing to see me…”

He suddenly froze.

In the warm pavilion, that girl who usually wore yellow men’s clothing had rarely changed into women’s attire for this festive day. Her long dress was crimson and pale white, embroidered with light silver flowers – the color was beautiful but not seductive, adding a pleasing touch to this festive day. Her raven hair was piled like clouds, her features gentle and graceful. As she moved, light flowed like morning clouds reflecting on snow. Her long eyebrows were delicate and her gaze distant and dreamy, with a special pure and elegant beauty, like a lotus with dew swaying gracefully in the wind.

Xiao Jue stared at her in fascination, as if looking at the most beautiful memory, the most magnificent legend, or perhaps gazing at the wonderful dream he had lost long ago. At the moment of reunion, he was overwhelmed with joy. His gaze was like glazed moon soaked for a day, clear, cool, and moist, fully reflecting her beautiful image.

After a long time, he sighed and said softly, “Chang Ge, you don’t know how much I’ve suffered missing you…”

Qin Chang Ge looked at him with an expression between smile and non-smile, somewhat annoyed by his direct gaze overflowing with love, yet within that annoyance arose slight joy… This straightforward, passionate person… he made one annoyed and hateful, yet even more helpless.

She saw Xiao Jue suddenly blush as he carefully searched in his bosom, pulled out a hairpin, and gently placed it in her palm.

Raising an eyebrow, Qin Chang Ge could tell at a glance that this wasn’t an exquisitely crafted imperial jade hairpin, nor a Phoenix Alliance accessory carved by famous artisans, but most likely ordinary goods from outside vendors. This fellow – ruler of the four seas and wealthy beyond measure – how could he be so stingy?

Yet she heard the man opposite say, “Chang Ge… I bought this myself, chose it for a long time, and felt this wild goose’s eyes resembled yours so much, equally intelligent and beautiful… Do you… do you like it?”

Do you… do you like it?

Qin Chang Ge’s hand trembled, suddenly remembering many years ago, on a certain day of brilliant spring light, that exuberant, lively young man circling around her, taking advantage of her inattention to quickly insert a jade hairpin flower in her hair, asking with a grin, “I just picked this, the most beautiful one. I chose for a long time. Do you like it, do you like it?”

How had she answered then? She had forgotten – probably she was busy organizing military intelligence and dismissed him carelessly.

Years had passed, the world had changed, and that young man and herself had both reached the pinnacle of power. Coming and going, going and coming.

The past had long become a cloud of smoke. All people had become rolling, tumbling travelers through the mortal world. Those topsy-turvy heart matters had been ground and refined through experience. No one could guarantee their state of mind remained as before.

He had long been prepared to lose everything.

Yet fate was both so tragic and so fortunate.

That young man, her former young man, though standing at heights for many years, his heart still remained in the original place, still carrying the same bright smile as before. He offered the jade hairpin he had carefully selected – the least valuable yet most precious – with sincerity mixed with familiar shyness, asking, do you like it?

Qin Chang Ge’s gaze was filled with countless emotions, yet her smile was light as spring wind. She gently tightened her grip on the hairpin in her palm. The somewhat rough jade quality rubbed against the delicate skin of her palm with a sandy texture, rubbing against her soft, fluttering heart.

She smiled softly and answered quietly,

“I like it.”