This question was too far in the past. Though she wanted to get to the bottom of it, thinking it over now, there wasn’t much practical point. So after tangling with it for a moment, Hua Chun gave up. “Might as well just say you’re the best man in the whole world and be done with it.”

Yuwen Jie paused, looking up at her seriously. “Isn’t that true?”

Hua Chun: “…”

Being emperor really was something else—saying such shameless things, and no one dared to contradict him!

Rolling her eyes inwardly a few times, Hua Chun was about to play along, when she suddenly remembered something important.

“After giving birth I completely forgot! Your Majesty, this concubine has something urgent to ask of you!”

Raising an eyebrow slightly, the Emperor asked, “What is it?”

“Qing Niao left, and I don’t know where she went. Second Brother should know, but he won’t tell me,” Hua Chun said. “Could you help this concubine find out?”

“Why would she leave out of nowhere?” Yuwen Jie was somewhat puzzled. “She didn’t leave during Yanjing’s great crisis before, but now that everything’s peaceful, she leaves instead? Did you mistreat her?”

“Of course not!” Hua Chun gritted her teeth—the cause and effect here might be exactly the opposite of what the Emperor thought.

“This Emperor will ask around when he has time.”

“Don’t wait for free time, ask as soon as you go out,” Hua Chun said. “This concubine is truly worried about her.”

The Emperor paused, and couldn’t help but have certain scenes surface in his mind again—someone standing before him, where he could only see the hem of her skirt, then a faint voice saying: “If you truly loved her, why would you kill her with your own hands? If you didn’t love her, why would you drag Great Liang’s fate down into this endless hell with you?”

He opened his mouth but couldn’t speak, only feeling a dull ache in his chest, not knowing why it hurt.

That voice—it suddenly seemed somewhat similar to Qing Niao’s.

After a long silence, the Emperor said, “This Emperor will get it out of Chang’an. Don’t worry.”

“Mm.” Hua Chun nodded, then coming back to her senses, nearly cried out: “When did you feed this whole pot of chicken soup to me?!”

Yuwen Jie looked down at the empty bowl. “This Emperor doesn’t know either. When did you sneak it in?”

“Ahhh!” Hua Chun roared. “I’ll need to starve for two days just to lose this weight again!”

Her figure was already prone to changing shape after childbirth, and now he was feeding her like this—did he want her to live or not?

The Emperor said nothing, nor did he show any objection to her decision, only having someone clear away the bowl and chopsticks, then got up into bed, lying down beside her.

Hua Chun was startled, then held onto his arm, a long-missed sense of security welling up from her heart.

“Have we already made it through one great calamity?”

“Mm.”

“Then will we ever be separated after this?” Hua Chun gestured, dazed. “Like, if some devastatingly beautiful girl catches your eye, and I’ve grown old and faded, will you cast me aside?”

Glancing sideways at her, Yuwen Jie asked in a low voice, “You’re worried about this?”

“Mm, very worried,” Hua Chun nodded. “After all, you’re the emperor, you can have three palaces and six courts. But I’m a woman, and in this place, I can only be devoted to one man for life.”

Could she really still be considered an ordinary woman? Yuwen Jie pursed his lips. “You truly think you can only be devoted to one man?”

Thinking it over, that did seem to be the case. Hua Chun clapped her hands. “If you ever neglect me one day, I can just leave the harem and live my own life!”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“There’s a cause and effect here, threatening this concubine won’t help,” Hua Chun said. “If you dare abandon this concubine, your wife who’s shared hardship with you, this concubine dares to climb over the palace walls and live her own life.”

“Not even keeping the son?”

“Oh, then I’ll take the son with me too!”

Half laughing, half exasperated, Yuwen Jie pulled her into his embrace, closing his eyes. “This Emperor won’t give you that chance.”

See, men really did need training—look how much his sweet talk had improved! Hua Chun smiled contentedly, burying her head in his chest, falling peacefully asleep.

A month later, the Empress finished her confinement month, all disasters in Great Liang had settled down, and the Emperor began strengthening the nation, diligently handling state affairs each morning, then going to Renxuan Palace to accompany the Empress after court—practically a model husband, leaving He Chang’an not the slightest opening to exploit.

“Are there no other consorts left in the palace?” He Chang’an asked helplessly. “His Majesty hasn’t visited anyone else in a whole day?”

“There are,” Eunuch Qin said, bowing. “Not a single consort in the palace has left. Some officials have even sent more women in, all settled into their respective palaces.”

It was just that once the Emperor finished the necessary formalities, he never favored a single one of them. Though he often passed them on the road, he never spared them a second glance.

Perhaps the ones selected simply weren’t pretty enough?

Eunuch Qin had initially thought the Emperor might be trying to please the Empress, but if that were the case, why not simply announce that the six palaces wouldn’t be accepting anyone at all? Such exclusive devotion would please the Empress even more—yet the Emperor said nothing at all, just let it drag on like this.

Sigh, still didn’t know how to properly coax a woman.

He Chang’an gave a soft snort, fingering the jade pendant at his waist, looking at the layered palace halls in the distance, murmuring quietly, “As long as there’s still a possibility, one shouldn’t give up. This Marquis can wait, and see whether there’s truly an emperor in this world who can devote himself to one woman for an entire lifetime.”

“My lord?” Eunuch Qin was startled.

He Chang’an turned, and seeing his serious expression, broke into a smile. “Just joking, don’t take it to heart.”

“…Yes.”

Not everyone in this world gets to experience a perfect, blossoming love—many who never find it simply settle for someone to spend their life with. But he happened to be unwilling to settle. Hua Chun had once said he deserved a love that was his alone, so he would wait. If he couldn’t find it in this life, he’d carry this fated connection into the next—perhaps heaven would compensate him with an extraordinary love story yet to come.

“Ah right, there’s a letter, please trouble the eunuch to pass it to His Majesty and Her Highness,” He Chang’an said, drawing out a sealed letter. “It concerns Qing Niao.”

Eunuch Qin bowed and took it, saluted He Chang’an, then headed toward Renxuan Palace.

The Emperor and Hua Chun were taking their afternoon nap together, with the little prince lying wide-eyed in the cradle nearby—a peaceful, harmonious family of three.

Yet, both people on the bed seemed to be having nightmares. The little prince opened his eyes wide, hearing fragmented sleep-talk drifting over.

“Jinghua…”

“You go!”

“Listen to this Emperor.”

“This official bids Your Majesty farewell—in this life, we shall never meet again!”

Both nightmares seemed to be from the very same dream—how strange indeed. The little prince, unable to understand, just babbled along while sucking his fingers. The two on the bed struggled for a moment, then opened their eyes simultaneously—one drenched in sweat, the other utterly dazed.

Yuwen Jie rubbed his temples, then reached out and pulled the person beside him into his embrace. Hua Chun was somewhat dazed, taking a while before saying, “Dreaming about the past again.”

The Emperor didn’t quite catch what she said, only holding her to steady his racing heart, then muttering quietly, “Why do I keep having these dreams lately, it’s really strange…”