Xie Yanlai disdained eating candied fruits—he wasn’t a three-year-old child.

“In any case, my mother was also very formidable.” Chu Zhao continued speaking to Xie Yanlai, both sad and happy. “She was deeply loved by people, and her family background was impressive. Although it was a border region, the local gentry in that area were no less influential than the great aristocratic families. Because of my mother’s death, those people all blamed my father, so they remained distant and never appeared before us. It’s perfectly normal that I didn’t know of their existence in that lifetime.”

Xie Yanlai asked: “That lifetime?”

Chu Zhao giggled: “I misspoke—that time period.”

“That time period” didn’t sound right either, but whatever. Nothing truthful ever came out of her mouth anyway. Xie Yanlai made a scoffing sound.

But they had extended their love and respect for her mother to her, and were ultimately used by Xiao Xun. Chu Zhao let out a long sigh. They had no names or surnames, only being called “her mother’s people,” and she didn’t even know what they looked like.

Chu Zhao looked out the window and saw Xiao Man’s figure hiding not far away. In that lifetime, Xiao Man must have been among them too, and perhaps also present during the turmoil in the capital.

In that lifetime, she had married Xiao Xun, so there was no situation where she fought to the death with Xiao Xun’s men, but Xiao Man and the others must have fought desperately for her safety in other places.

Thinking of this, Chu Zhao’s eyes stung and tears fell.

Xie Yanlai turned his gaze away and made a scoffing sound: “What’s there to cry about? Be content with what you have.”

Though he said this, he still extended two fingers and pushed the fruit plate a bit closer to Chu Zhao.

“I’m crying because I’m happy.” Chu Zhao said, sniffling and wiping away her tears before lowering her head to read the letter.

She had written to her father telling him that she had lived through a lifetime. To make her father believe her, she pretended it was a dream, but emphasized to her father that it was extremely realistic—she had clearly felt each day’s passage of time.

She told her father what had happened in that lifetime: the deadly struggle between the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, Xiao Xun’s ascension to the throne, and what she herself had experienced—all in exhaustive detail without hiding anything.

Therefore, this letter was extremely important. Not a single mistake could be made, not a word could be seen by others. She didn’t even dare entrust it to Uncle Zhong. Fortunately, there was A’Jiu—

She glanced at Xie Yanlai.

Xie Yanlai immediately noticed. What? What kind of look was that? It sent chills down his spine!

Fortunately, Chu Zhao withdrew her gaze again and lowered her head to continue reading the letter.

Forget it. This girl was immersed in her father’s reply, lost in wild thoughts and wandering in a daze—it wasn’t strange for her to be peculiar. He wouldn’t bother arguing with her. Xie Yanlai also turned his gaze away again.

She had told her father such an incredible thing, yet her father had not questioned or rebuked her at all. Instead, he earnestly wrote back to her with explanations. Chu Zhao reached out to gently brush over the characters her father had written.

Her father’s first sentence was: “Ah Zhao, you’ve suffered.”

Chu Zhao’s eyes blurred again.

In this world, only her father would cherish her like this.

After she lost her father in that lifetime, no one in the world cared about her or was concerned for her.

A soft sliding sound came to her ears. Chu Zhao lifted her eyes slightly and saw that the fruit plate on the table had been pushed right to her hand. When she looked over, the slender fingers on the other side of the plate quickly withdrew as if flying away.

Chu Zhao couldn’t help but purse her lips in a smile. She reached out, picked up a piece of candied fruit from the plate, and put it in her mouth.

“Zhang Gu said that your father met with him personally,” Xie Yanlai said, looking into the hall. “He received the letter, let him rest, and the next day met with him again personally to give him the reply. He even thanked him—”

Well, here he concealed one sentence. Zhang Gu had said: “General Chu also said thank you.”

At the time, he had been annoyed: “Thank me for what? I’m not the one who delivered the letter.”

Zhang Gu said: “General Chu thanks you for looking after Miss Ah Zhao.”

At that time, Zhang Gu’s expression had been very strange—a mixture of moved, relieved, and sad. He had even said, “A’Jiu, you’ve suffered.”

What was that all about? How bizarre. Had that Vice General Zhong framed him somehow?

Xie Yanlai made a humming sound.

“Why are you humming?” Chu Zhao asked with a smile. “Didn’t my father thank you? Don’t worry—Brother Zhang will definitely tell my father that you were the one who had him deliver the letter, and my father will surely thank you.”

Xie Yanlai was too lazy to argue with her about this.

“Zhang Gu said,” he glanced at the girl, “your father’s spirits seemed quite good.”

Chu Zhao nodded and made an affirming sound.

“However,” Xie Yanlai continued—he wasn’t one to only say nice things. Comforting people was the most boring thing; it was better to recognize reality—”Zhang Gu said there was an extremely strong smell of medicine where your father was. He said your father appeared spirited, but the spirit in his eyes wasn’t genuine spirit—it was, induced by medicine.”

Chu Zhao’s expression dimmed, but this time no tears fell.

“I know,” she said. “My father’s body is already depleted. He… doesn’t have much time left.”

Illness was not fate.

She could avoid being deceived by Xiao Xun again and change the destiny of that lifetime.

But she had no immortal medicine; she couldn’t cure her father’s illness.

Xie Yanlai was silent for a moment before asking: “What do you plan to do?”

Chu Zhao looked down at the letter and pouted: “Father said not to be afraid of separation. If I miss him, he will always be there.”

“If you miss them, they’ll always be there.” Xie Yanlai scoffed—words meant to deceive children.

“I’m asking you what you plan to do in the future,” he said.

The future? Chu Zhao looked up at him: “The future? What future?”

Xie Yanlai frowned at her: “Your future. When that little brat grows up, what will you do?”

Her future… Chu Zhao looked at the young man before her and smiled: “How dare you refer to His Majesty that way? It’s only because you’re in front of me that I don’t blame you for being disrespectful.”

Xie Yanlai made a dismissive sound and ignored her.

Chu Zhao lowered her head and picked up another piece of candied fruit to eat. The sweet flavor dissolved in her mouth. She shifted to a more comfortable position, leaning against the table, and said: “My father asked me too.”

She had suddenly become this empress, and everyone was speculating about her motives and guarding against her intentions. Only those closest to her would ask about her future.

They didn’t believe she truly intended to be this empress.

What did she mean by “truly”! The young man, sensitive as he was, was about to say something when Chu Zhao, already knowing his reaction, spoke first with a smile.

“When the court is stable, when the threat of Prince Zhongshan is eliminated,” she said with a mixture of longing and sadness, “when my father can leave without worries, when Ah Yu grows up, I’ll go to the border region, to the place where my mother and father lived.”

At that time, although she would still be alone in the world, she would surely live more happily than when she was empress in that lifetime.

Moreover, she would have Xiao Man and Uncle Zhong—

Speaking of Uncle Zhong.

She quickly looked toward Xie Yanlai.

“Also, to wait for you—”

She reached out her hand.

Xie Yanlai was startled and moved backward: “What are you doing? Wait for me to do what?”

“Why are you afraid? I’m not going to eat you.” Chu Zhao laughed, raising her hand before Xie Yanlai’s eyes and clenching it into a fist. “I mean we also need to wait for you to hold military power, to be imposing and awe-inspiring, able to look after and properly settle Uncle Zhong and the others.”

Xie Yanlai raised his hand to brush the girl’s hand away: “Keep dreaming—dreaming that everything goes as you wish, that all your wishes come true.”

Chu Zhao withdrew her hand to support her chin: “Of course I have to dream. Only by dreaming is there hope, and then I’ll work hard to make it happen. You absolutely cannot refrain from even dreaming—that’s when there’s truly no hope at all.”

Xie Yanlai glanced at her: “So what do you want to do now?”

Chu Zhao rested her chin on her hand, looking at him, blinking her eyes repeatedly, as if not understanding what he was asking.

Xie Yanlai gave a cold snort: “Do you think by using such tricks on them, you can control Xie Yanfang and Deng Yi?”