When dusk fell, Li Mu returned to the governor’s residence.

Luoshen joyfully ran to the courtyard to greet him.

No servants or maids were nearby.

Li Mu lowered his head and leaned toward her.

Luoshen had bathed not long ago and still had cool, jade-like skin without any sweat. When he leaned close, she smelled his sweat and quickly covered her nose, making an adorable disgusted expression at him and dodging away.

Li Mu smiled, forcibly approached, and quickly kissed her face.

Luoshen hit him once and pushed him to go bathe. She followed him too.

As usual, she rolled up her sleeves and stood on the stone, pouring water down his back, pressing her palms against him to scrub, saying: “Langjun, you don’t know yet, do you? Today my sister sent people over, bringing me many things. Besides food and clothing, there’s also a large chest of gold, silver, pearls and gems. I first thought to keep the other things but have the chest taken back. Then I reconsidered – since Sister sent it to me, I’ll keep it. In the future there will surely be more and more children in the city. Running the school, giving them snacks, and we need many more spinning wheels and looms, plus hemp and cotton, mobilizing women to spin thread and weave cloth, making clothes and shoes for your soldiers…”

“I never knew before. Only now that I want to do some things myself do I realize everything costs money.”

Li Mu had already learned from the gate guards about Gao Yongrong sending people when he returned to the city at evening.

He listened to her chattering behind him, slowly turned his head, his gaze falling on that smiling delicate face, and smiled slightly.

“Teaching children to read and write seems busy enough for you. You needn’t do other things. I’ll find ways to solve military supplies – don’t trouble yourself too much.”

Better he hadn’t mentioned it – once he did, Luoshen’s small hand pinched hard on his back.

“You still say that! You think I don’t know! Before, you told Jiang Tao to handle everything and wouldn’t let me do anything!”

“You’re so busy yourself, having me stand around the house all day just waiting for you to return?”

Li Mu couldn’t help feeling guilty.

Not only because he had half-coaxed, half-forced her to stay but couldn’t give her the luxurious life she’d had before.

More because he was indeed very busy now. Just as she complained, since she’d stayed, he’d hardly spent any daytime with her.

Not only did she not blame him, she actively helped him with so many things.

“Forget it!”

She showed her dimples again, magnanimously waving her hand at him.

“I know you’re busy, I’m not complaining about you. I just want to have something to do myself. Don’t you dare stop me anymore! I won’t tire myself out. Oh right, hurry and wash, then come inside so I can show you Sister’s letter.”

Li Mu said nothing, quickly finished cleaning up, and followed her back to the room.

Lamps were lit in the room.

Li Mu watched as she handed him a letter.

He took it and quickly finished reading.

But his gaze still lingered on the rows of characters on the letter paper in his hands.

In his mind, scenes from his previous life’s final moments suddenly emerged again.

A warrior whose armor even the world’s sharpest sword couldn’t pierce had been easily defeated by a cup of gut-piercing poison wine laced with a beauty’s fragrance.

In the intense burning pain of his intestines being torn apart, he collapsed to the ground, watching her being led away by Lu Huanzhi.

How could he be willing to let her abandon him like that?

When she stumbled past him, he reached out and desperately grabbed her ankle, preventing her departure.

At that time, she had turned back to look at him on the ground, tears streaming down her face.

The sadness and despair in her eyes, that complete powerlessness against fate’s giant hand – even now, he still remembered it clearly.

The mastermind behind all of that was the very person who had now written this letter.

The letter was full of care and affection.

At first glance it seemed humble, but between the lines, it carried everywhere that condescending amiability that only those in power could possess.

…

Li Mu remembered that in his previous life, the Jiangbei war between Dayu and Beixia hadn’t ended in victory after just a few months like in this life, but had continued in a stalemate for over a year before Nanchao finally won with a decisive final battle.

Murong Ti, the Xianbei who would later dominate the north and become the greatest opponent in his planned final northern expedition, should at this time have just escaped from Beixia and begun his plan for revenge and restoration.

And Luoshen had also just married Lu Jianzhi not long ago. The Gao and Lu families were in their honeymoon period.

Emperor Xingping was indeed about to die. But the direct cause of his death was the Crown Prince’s accidental death.

It should be around this time when, one night, the Crown Prince was smothered to death in his sleep by a palace attendant with a quilt.

It was said that the previous night, the attendant had angered the Crown Prince, who declared he would be killed the next day. Fearing for his life, the attendant smothered the Crown Prince at night, then committed suicide by hanging out of guilt.

The Emperor, during the year when Gao Qiao left Jiankang to command the war, was unrestrained, indulging in wine and sex, taking Five Stone Powder again, which had already hollowed out his body. Shocked by the tragic news, he fell ill and died soon after.

The Xu clan’s dream of using the Crown Prince to rise to power and replace the Gao clan’s control was completely shattered.

Without the Crown Prince, Prince Dongyang, relying on his bloodline and the prestige of his wife’s Gao clan, was recommended by Prince Xin’an Xiao Daocheng and court ministers, and naturally ascended the throne.

This was what Li Mu knew of his previous life.

In this life, because of his sudden appearance, he had changed the course of the Jiangbei war.

Subsequently, he forcibly married Luoshen and left Jiankang alone to come here, deciding to directly fight for a path to quickly gain political power.

But in Jiankang’s Tai City, everything there seemed destined – or rather, he wasn’t a god. Though he knew what would happen, he couldn’t make everything go according to his wishes.

From deep in his heart, he didn’t want to see Prince Dongyang ascend the throne.

But as if some invisible force was manipulating events – perhaps this was fate. In this life, except for Luoshen becoming his wife early, mysteriously, everything in Tai City had circled back to what he knew it should be.

Those who were meant to rise to power still did.

This person who in his previous life had used her kindness and her attraction to him to kill both him and his unfinished dreams, today, in this tender, affectionate way, had made her entrance again between him and her.

…

After Luoshen handed him the letter, she watched Li Mu’s expression.

She secretly hoped he would feel pleased by Sister’s letter.

But he didn’t.

His gaze remained fixed on the letter in his hands, seeming to read it yet also seeming detached. His eyes were dark and stagnant, and in their depths, there even seemed to be a trace of cold, gloomy color.

After hesitating, suppressing the faint unease that arose in her heart, she carefully watched him and reached out to gently tug his sleeve.

“Langjun, are you unhappy? What are you thinking about?”

Li Mu was called back by the voice at his ear.

He looked up and saw her eyes watching him with what seemed like some unease, and immediately came to his senses.

He shook his head and returned the letter he was holding to her.

“Nothing,” he said.

“I just didn’t expect your sister would write to you so quickly.”

Luoshen breathed a sigh of relief, secretly laughing at herself for misreading his expression earlier.

Receiving such a letter from Sister, how could Langjun not be happy?

“Langjun, look,” she pointed to that sentence at the end of the letter.

“Sister specifically asked me to tell you this. From now on, with their support, you’ll surely be even more successful in your endeavors.”

Li Mu looked at her eager little face and smiled slightly.

“Langjun, trust what I say! My sister is truly a good person. When we were little, to save me, she was stung by wild bees and nearly lost her life…”

Acting on intuition, Luoshen sensed that he had no intention of aligning himself with her cousin, the current new Empress.

This gave her a sense of defeat.

She very much wanted to persuade him, to let him know that Sister was truly a good person.

Suddenly, she remembered the story he’d told her about their childhood encounter, and her eyes brightened.

“Langjun, you said before that I saved you when we were little. But have you forgotten? The one who finally spoke up was my sister! If she weren’t a good person, how would she have listened to me and come back to save you in the end?”

Li Mu gazed at her and smiled again.

“I do indeed owe the Empress a great debt. I will repay her in the future,” he said.

After saying this, as if he didn’t want to continue this topic with her, he touched his stomach.

“I’m hungry.”

Luoshen had to stop and put away her cousin’s letter, calling for dinner to be served.

After the meal, he brought Luoshen to the front office.

He discussed various matters with Jiang Tao. Behind a screen, Luoshen sat on a couch he’d specially prepared for her, writing by lamplight a reply letter to be taken back to Sister.

She finally finished the letter, but he and Jiang Tao hadn’t finished their business.

They were discussing the continuous stream of intelligence from scouts about the Xijin people attacking the western capital Chang’an.

The Xianbei Gu Huilong’s troop strength, his customary military strategies, marching routes, army composition, supply trains and provisions…

Everything in great detail, sounding somewhat tedious.

Luoshen gradually became drowsy, lying on the couch and unknowingly falling asleep.

When she woke, she found Jiang Tao had already left.

It must be very late. It was pitch black outside.

He bent down and lifted her from the couch, carrying her outside.

Luoshen slept with soft, limp limbs and wasn’t fully awake yet, not wanting to walk.

Anyway, to save oil, after dark, except for a few necessary places, the governor’s residence had few lamps lit, so she didn’t worry about being seen. She half-closed her eyes, leaning in his arms, letting him carry her.

Back in the room, he gently placed her on the bed.

After rustling sounds of undressing, he got into bed, crawled to her side, lay down, and reached out to pull her over.

In the darkness, he silently kissed and caressed her, and before long, pressed down on her.

Luoshen was languid, as if still immersed in her earlier dreams, not fully awake.

She half-opened her eyes, letting him enjoy her body.

Afterward, he lit a lamp, parted her legs, and gently cleaned her body.

He did this every time. Luoshen was very shy at first, but gradually got used to it and let him be.

She felt very comfortable, letting him tend to her. She yawned, closed her eyes, and sank back into sweet dreams.

When she woke again, it must have been the latter half of the night.

Only she was in bed – he was gone.

Luoshen rubbed her eyes, got up, put on clothes and went to find him.

Coming out, she saw him in the courtyard.

He had his back to her, sitting on the stone steps in front of the pavilion that she had previously repaired, holding a sword in his hand.

The sword was unsheathed, its blade perfectly straight.

He used a grinding cloth to repeatedly wipe the blade, his movements extremely careful.

After grinding for a moment, he would stop, hold the sword up to the moon, slowly rotating the blade to test its edge in the moonlight.

The night was cool as water, the moonlight bright and white.

Where the blade reflected, it flashed with mysterious ice-like blue sword light.

A kind of cold chill pressed toward her eyes.

Luoshen was startled. She opened her mouth to call him, but her voice caught in her throat and her steps stopped.

She was truly surprised.

In such deep night, instead of sleeping, he was alone in the courtyard sharpening his sword under the moon?

Apparently hearing her footsteps, he turned his head, glanced at her, sheathed his sword.

Luoshen finally walked toward that figure, stopped in front of him, and looked at him.

He remained sitting there without rising.

After silently gazing at each other for a moment, he opened his arms toward her.

Luoshen suddenly felt a sense of relief.

This was the familiar way he should be.

She immediately sat on his lap, nestling her soft, warm body that he loved into his embrace, letting him hold her.

“What’s wrong with you? Do you have something on your mind?”

She looked up at his face and asked.

“A’Mi, in the future, if one day your sister wants to kill me, what would you do?”

After a moment of silence, he said.

Luoshen was startled: “Sister is a good person. Didn’t I tell you? Why would she want to kill you for no reason?”

“People change. Your sister has become Empress, so naturally her thoughts will slowly change in the future.”

Li Mu lowered his head slightly, gazing at this clean, beautiful face in the moonlight.

“Take you, for example. Now you say you love me too and are willing to stay by my side as my wife. But in the future, perhaps you’ll change and won’t want me anymore.”

Luoshen hurriedly shook her head.

“I won’t! You’re thinking wrongly about me!”

In her mind, the scene from a few days ago when she visited that newborn baby suddenly emerged.

Not even a month old, lying in its mother’s arms, yet already looking so endearing.

“Langjun, do you want A’Mi to bear you a child too?”

Perhaps to prove he was wrong about her, these words slipped out.

After saying it, she became shy again, couldn’t help blushing, and covered her face with her hands, not daring to look at his eyes.

She knew that he carefully cleaned her body each time, probably because he didn’t want her to bear his children.

Originally she hadn’t thought about this at all.

As long as he loved her, and she could be with him and sleep beside him, she felt very happy.

She’d never thought about having children.

Moreover, that day she’d been frightened by that woman’s childbirth. She was a bit scared.

But at this moment, somehow, thinking that he only slept with her but wouldn’t let her bear his children, she suddenly felt wronged.

Imagining a tiny person who looked like both her and Li Mu, her heart actually felt some anticipation.

Sigh! She didn’t know what madness had possessed her, how she could like him so much.

Actually wanting to bear children for a man…

She released her hands covering her face and looked up at him.

“Langjun, I want to bear you children.”

She gathered her courage and said this sentence again, then bit her lip, looking at the man before her.

He stopped talking. After a moment of silence, his arm encircled her shoulder and he raised his hand to rub her head.

“Not yet.”

He kissed her pretty nose tip.

“You’re still too young, hardly different from a child yourself. Following me is already wronging you – I can’t bear to make you suffer this hardship too.”

“Besides, I haven’t yet conquered the western capital for you.”

Luoshen felt a wave of sweetness in her heart. She raised her jade arms and embraced his neck.

“Langjun, earlier when you couldn’t sleep, were you worried that in the future when your achievements overshadow your master, Sister will be wary and want to kill you?”

“Sister isn’t that kind of person. Even if such a day really comes, don’t be afraid. As long as I’m here, I will definitely protect you and absolutely won’t allow Sister to harm a single hair on your head!”

The tender voice spoke such solemn vows. Though it sounded childish, it was so touching.

But she didn’t know that what made him anxious and sleepless wasn’t that her sister wanted to kill him.

“A’Mi, in the future you won’t abandon me and leave me, will you?”

Li Mu gazed at the girl in his arms and asked.

Luoshen nodded, leaned over, and kissed his handsomely defined chin.

“A’Mi won’t stop wanting Langjun.”

Li Mu smiled.

“I’ll remember that.”

“A’Mi, you must also remember what you said tonight and never betray me again.”

He lifted her up, rose from the stone steps, and went inside.